over easy — Roleplayer Guild

Thalia

In the Upside Down? | If you gaze long into an abyss... | the abyss will also gaze into thee.

"Oh my god, Joseph?" I said, startled. "You're a cat? That's where you've been this entire time?" I scrutinized the black cat who was licking his paw calmly. Joseph had been going to these meetings longer than I had, and if he managed to look relaxed, while also being a cat, it was possible he had encountered one of Erina's "mental simulations" before, though I hadn't.

"And please, you're one to talk about contributing to a fight. What are you going to do? Cuddle the cave monsters to death? Suffocate them with your fluff?" I responded. I was alarmed at those around me picking up arms. Knowing Erina and her odd way of thinking, this exercise likely wasn't a simple test of offensive ability. At other meetings, she liked posing strange questions or crazy hypothetical scenarios, in order to get us to think outside the box. If this was anything like her other exercises, there was more than one way to skin this cat...(No offense to Joseph). 

The creature in the distance let out another growl, and I could hear what sounded like a large nose inhaling the sulfurous cave air into giant lungs. We needed to find a way out of this chamber, but it would be impossible to see anything with the cave this dark. But we didn't have enough time...whatever was roaming around sounded threatening, and it also seemed to have no trouble either navigating the cave, or locating us. It most likely had incredible hearing, an acute sense of smell, the ability to see in the dark...or some terrifying combination of all three. We needed more time - then I almost smacked myself on the forehead. 

"Guys, I need to focus. We don't have enough time to run around aimlessly, we'll be sitting ducks when this creature makes it to our chamber. I'm going to try to find a way out, but I need to calm down..."

Erina and I had worked hard on controlling my ability, to the point where certain breathing exercises could help me focus on freezing time. But there was a bit of a warming-up period, and the pressure of imminent disaster was not the most ideal environment to find my zen. 

"Um, Joseph..." I ventured, "Can I pet you...cats always help calm me down, and I figured maybe..." 

The cat narrowed his eyes at me. 

"Please?" 

Joseph rolled his eyes and muttered something about how now I needed his help. But he obliged, and I started rubbing his ear and trying to find that place in my mind where I needed to go, somewhat like a word that was on the tip of my tongue that I needed to identify, for the world to freeze around me.

And suddenly, it happened, and I found myself in the deafening silence of a still and timeless world.

Wasting no time, I rose to my feet. The world flickered around me, like a old television that was losing signal, but it re-materialized slowly, and I began searching for a way out. The others were standing about the chamber like statues. The bearded man, Heph I think, seemed to have located a vein of dark ore in the far wall. Angie and Valeria seemed to have been in the middle of discussing something. Angie seemed like she was deep in thought. I wondered if Cam was able to pick up anything from the creature we were hearing nearby...it was likely - maybe her abilities worked on non-humans. 

I continued walking around, feeling the exact dimensions of the cave walls as I did so. I noted several hazardous looking stalagmites poking up from the bottom, but as I followed the wall, never taking my hand from it, I walked in what seemed like a wide circle, ending up next to Joseph after walking maybe 150 feet. The area we were in was a rotunda, of sorts. Then, I ventured towards the middle. My leg passed through something bulky. It couldn't have been anything that any of us had taken with us, as we didn't seem to have brought anything into the mental simulation but the clothes on our back. At closer inspection, it was a stack of crates, neatly piled in the center of the room. There was a strange shape on top, and looking closer, it was a teddy bear. Strange. I couldn't open the crates or inspect the bear, as nothing I touched when time was stopped could be affected by me.

But I noted the pile's location and continued forward. I balked suddenly when I felt the rush of cool water touch my ankle. Looking down, I realized I had ventured into a small pool of water...no...actually it was stream. Running water! It had to be running somewhere. I remembered back to when I was a little girl, and had been sitting with my brother as we read Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. The expedition had found itself in a similar situation, lost in the labyrinthine tunnels deep underground. They had found their way out by following running water. 

I followed the motionless stream and it got wider, until it met the side of one of the cave's walls. I had missed it on my first go around, but upon closer inspection, there was a narrow crack in the otherwise seamless stone. It widened towards the bottom, but it was barely large enough for me to stick my hand through. However, it seemed like the only lead. We had to find our way out, and it looked like there was no other way than this tiny sliver of hope. But, even if we did manage to find a way to break through the wall, would we find ourselves in a chamber with a monster who seemed to have no trouble navigating in the darkness? And was there anything useful information or tools to be gleaned from the objects in the middle of the room? I didn't know, but I hoped the others would have ideas.

I re-focused on animating time, and after holding myself still and imagining the feelings and the sounds of the cave, I found myself sitting right where I had been before stopping time. I took a deep breath and stood up.

"Guys...there's a way out, and maybe some tools or clues or something towards the center of this chamber. But we need to work fast!"
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