Chương 34: Breakdown.

Suddenly a chain snapped out of its joint. For a moment nothing happened. Then the second chain snapped. And then the third.

"No!" Aeris shouted. The entire chandelier shifted beneath my feet. My blood ran cold. For a split second, nothing happened, then the world tilted. The chandelier shifted to one side. Tilting upwards. I completely lost my balance. I threw my arms out instinctively, boots scraping across the metal as I desperately searched for something, anything to stop myself from falling. The beam was already unstable, it was shaking then another chain snapped from the joint. CRACK.

The sound exploded through the chamber and echoed louder than ever. The chandelier dropped further and I lost my footing.

"No!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Still trying to grab onto something. My body slammed hard onto the beam. Pain erupted through my ribs. The impact knocked the air from my lungs. For a second all I could do was gasp. The chandelier did not stay stable for long and I started sliding downwards as the chandelier tilted upwards. The metal beam tore beneath me.

"No, no, no—" I moved my body wildly, towards upward but my weight only brought me down even further. My fingers caught the edge at the last possible moment and my body swung into empty space. More than thirty feet of height waiting for my fall. A scream ripped from my throat. Below me was nothing but the chamber floor. My entire weight hung from a single arm. Grabbing it, desperately. Pain shot through my shoulder. It felt like the joint had been ripped halfway out of its socket.

The burning sensation shot right across my ribs. I could feel the muscle twitching underneath. The beam groaned above me. I clenched my teeth and held on. Barely.

"Nova!" Aeris shouted. Aeris, I looked down, she was already running towards me. Jumping over broken debris. Her face had gone pale.

"Hold on!" she shouted.

"I'm trying!" My voice came out strained. The beam trembled. But I kept hanging on to it. The beam groaned louder now, I knew it would fall any minute. Then a familiar voice reached my ears. It was another chain snapping from its joint. The sound echoed through the chamber. Then another. The chandelier shifted again. Dust fell from above, into my eyes. It blinded my vision and caught me off guard and my hand slipped like a reflex to scratch my eyes. Then I realised that I was falling. My stomach dropped.

I fought against my own natural reflex and tried to grab onto something. Anything. Metal screamed above me. My eyes were half closed, struggling to get open. I tried hard to find something to hold onto. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs. I was falling down faster than I expected. There was nothing to grab. Nothing. This was it, this was how I was going to die. Then something flashed past. A hanging chain. An instinct took over and I finally reached that chain. My fingers brushed metal. But, I missed it.

"No!" I twisted my body violently in midair and stretched my arms as wide as I could to reach again, pain exploded through my hand as the chain slipped through my sweaty palms. But I had to grab it somehow, even though my hands bled. I had to grab it and hold it, my life depended on it. My hands slipped all the way to the end of the chain, it was my only chance to grab it and my index finger hooked through a chain link. The force nearly tore the finger off.

I finally stopped from falling down, but started swinging hard. Dust went through my eyes, blinding my vision completely. I grabbed the chain with my other hand to slow down the momentum and quickly rubbed my eyes into my shoulders, forcing the dust out of my eyes. My vision got a little better, but then my shoulder started to burn even more. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. My finger felt crushed, broken. Maybe worse, but I was alive.

I hung there, swaying above the chamber floor. Breathing hard. Every movement sent agony through my hand. I slowly looked upward, the chain disappeared into the darkness above. Then I heard it. A metallic creak. My heart sank because the chain started to lose from the joint. One of the upper links had already started deforming.

"I need to pull myself up and swing to another chain near that platform. Before this chain breaks down even further." The word came out as a whisper. I need to hurry, my body is in rough condition right now, I need to make it to that platform. A voice reached my ears.

"Nova!" Aeris was closer now, much closer. She was climbing onto one of the platforms beneath me.

"Don't let go!" Easy for her to say. I was holding on to it with the strength of my index finger. My finger was literally on fire. The stress started catching up to me, sweat dropping into my half opened dusty eyes. I could feel myself slipping, one millimeter at a time. The chain groaned louder again. I had to move. Slowly, painfully, I brought my other hand up. Wrapped it around the chain. Then another grip, then another. I started pulling myself upward. Gradually. Every muscle in my body screamed in pain.

Sweat kept pouring down my face. I slowly started swinging. Below, Aeris reached the platform's edge.

"Nova! Hurry!"

"I'm trying!" My arms trembled. The chain groaned. And I lost my momentum. A sudden sound like the tearing of metal echoed through the chamber. I looked up. The upper support finally gave way and the chain snapped. I was falling again, for a moment there was no pain. No fear, only weightlessness. The chamber spun around me. Broken chains, twisted beams, the circular platform at the centre. Everything blurred together as I was falling down.

The wind roared past my ears and made me realise that I was falling too fast, my hand shot out instinctively. Trying to reach the nearest platform. If only I could grab the edge— My fingers scraped across metal and missed.

"No." I twisted my body to the left leaning towards the edge and trying to reach the edge of the platform again but the platform had already slipped past. There was nothing that I could have done, it was beyond my reach. Nothing but empty air remained beneath me. This is it. This is how I am going to die. I had survived the Log this far. Survived the freakin dinosaurs. And now I was about to die because of a stupid chandelier. Out of all the ways to go, this is how it was ending for me.

Iris, I wish I could see you again. Scar I'm sorry that I wasn't able to keep my promise till the end. I almost laughed — almost. Then a voice shattered the silence.

"Nova!" Aeris, I looked up. She was leaning over the platform I had just missed. One arm stretched toward me. It was far, there was no way she could reach. Her face was pale, it was clear that she was completely terrified.

"No..." she whispered. For the first time since meeting her, I saw genuine fear in her eyes. That same face, that same look, I knew it very well it was the same as Iris when I drifted apart and got separated from her. Those terrified eyes, that fear, all of it reminded me of her.

"Aeris..." My voice came out strangely calm. I wanted to console her. Before I could say anything else. She immediately shook her head.

"No." I blinked.

"What?" Something was telling me it was not over and she hadn't given up on me yet.

"No. I won't let you die." The word came out harder this time. As if she was refusing reality itself. Her entire body stretched forward, dangerously far. One more inch and she would fall too. Her hand came downwards. Strong fingers wrapped around my forearm. My entire body jerked violently, the sudden stop nearly tore my shoulder apart, pain exploded from my arm, but I wasn't falling anymore. I shouted, "Aeris, stop and go back."

"No."

"Aeris."

"No!" Her voice cracked. Something in my chest tightened. I had never heard her sound like that before. For a second neither of us moved, neither of us spoke. I stared upward. Aeris stared back. Shock filled both our faces, then the reality returned. The force of my weight dragged Aeris forward.

"No, no, no—" She immediately hooked one arm around a metal support. The other remained locked around my forearm. Refusing to let go.

"Aeris!" I shouted.

"Don't you dare!" She shouted back, with tears in her eyes. What?

"Don't you dare tell me to let go!" I froze. For a moment all I could do was stare. Her entire body trembled from the strain. Hands were shaking as she desperately clenched my forearm tightly. The muscles in her arm visibly shook by trying to pull me up. Yet her grip only tightened.

"Don't let go, do you understand?" she spoke in a broken voice.

"Just, please don't let go." The words hit me like a physical blow. She was begging me for my life. A side of Aeris I never knew existed. Don't let go, such a simple sentence. Yet somehow it carried more weight than anything else. How could I give up after seeing her? Every fiber in my body just wanted to hug her and never let her go. Slowly and steadily, she pulled me up with all her strength.

"Nova!" Eli shouted.

"Grab the edge!" Right, the edge. I forced my free arm upward. Pain shot through every muscle in my body. Even though I just wanted to pull myself upwards despite all that. My fingers found metal. Slipped by my sweaty palms, but I managed to grab a hold of it. This time they held, tighter than ever. Slowly, painfully. I began pulling myself upward. Aeris never loosened her grip, not once. I finally dragged my body over the edge. My chest hit the platform first, then my stomach, then finally my legs. I rolled over.

For several seconds none of us moved. I simply lay there. Breathing. Alive, I was alive somehow. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs. Every muscle in my body screamed. Beside me, Aeris collapsed onto her back. Breathing just as hard. Silence settled between us. Then suddenly— I pulled her into a hug. Tightly. Then a second later she sobbed into my shoulders like a little child. I knew she needed this hug. I knew I needed this hug more than anything in the world right now.

For a moment none of us spoke, then she calmed down.

"You idiot!" I said, a tiny smile came to my face.

"Thanks for saving me, again." Her face went red, like she was dying from embarrassment after hearing me compliment her.

"Look how cute of a face you are making." She instantly turned back "I am not." I chuckled.

"Sorry, but I don't believe you. Look how red your face is.." Aeris was still looking away.

"That's because I am angry at you. You need to stop putting your life at risk."

"Says the one who put her life at risk for me."

"That was different." For a brief moment, we were arguing like little kids and had forgotten the fact that there was the deadly chamber surrounding us, everything just felt strangely peaceful.

"You two alright up there?" Eli shouted.

"Yeah we both are fine." Aeris said.

"We are heading down there right now." I said to him, Then a sudden low hiss echoed through the chamber.

"What's that noise?" Aeris said. Is it the exit?

"Eli check if a way is opening for us. Quickly." He nodded. We quickly rushed down, but the sound didn't stop. There is still no exit. Don't tell me. MYSTERY LOG QUEST: PROVE YOUR MIGHT. The holographic display appeared in front of us. The three of us froze like a rock. My smile completely disappeared. The chamber wasn't finished with us.