Chapter 3- Place Behind the Portal

A jagged stalactite, mouldy and greasy was dripping murky water. A dripping sound of water was crystal clear. A heaviness was in the air. A black and dense fog surrounded the area, making it difficult to breathe.

Ryan woke up amidst the dark and swampy cave with pungent smell irritating his nose. It was arduous to breathe inside. He felt a heaviness in his chest.

Nothing was visible. It was very dark. Ryan fished inside his backpack to find a torch or anything that could emit light. As he tried to get up, his hands touched the ground. It was wet and swampy. Mud stick on his hands. He wiped it off on his shirt and took out the torch.

He flashed the torch to find Oliver and Caroline lying near him, hugging each other. They were unconscious. He looked around to check his surroundings.

They were inside a cave, a very sickening smelling cave. It was a swampy area. The mud below didn't look or felt like usual mud. It had a pungent smell. Ryan checked further and saw insects and worms of unknown species crawling around them.

"Lini, Oli Wake up. It not safe here." Ryan wakes up his siblings. He nudged them on their shoulder.

"Where are we?" Caroline woke up and responded. Oliver too was awake but was still dizzy.

"No clue. Let us get out of this place first it doesn't look safe here."

The place was crawling with worms and insects, surrounding them from all the sides. They tried to get out of there. The insects were getting on their shoes and legs. They looked poisonous. They shook them off, but those things were relentless. Caroline took out a lighter and bug spray, among other things from her bag and sprayed on the insects. The bug spray didn't affect them at all. She lit them all at last. The fire spread all over the area and burned all the creatures, spreading a pungent smell.

They quickly got out of the place. The place was damp so the fire won't spread to other areas.

They moved ahead. The cave seemed never-ending. Oliver was checking their location in his smartwatch while walking in between his siblings. He was not able to determine their exact location.

"Did you find anything?" Caroline asked Oliver.

"There is some interference. We might get some result after getting out of here. Mom must know more about it. I will check her research notes after getting out of here." Oliver replied without taking his eyes off from the smartwatch.

It was still inside the cave, except for the sound of dripping water and footsteps. The dense, black fog was everywhere. It was miasma, common in the places infested with monsters in the parallel world. Ryan had read about the occurrence of miasma but did not know how to tackle it. It was getting increasingly difficult to breathe. Apart from physical discomfort, he was wary of the imminent danger in the long cave.

Soon his fears came true. Oliver, who was not paying attention to his surrounding tripped on some stalagmites and fell sideward. As he tried to get up, he slipped further down.

Ryan and Caroline ran after him. There was a hidden path in the side walls. When Oliver fell, he passed the passage. The trail was slippery. They had to be careful while getting down in that passage.

They soon got up to Oliver, only to find him stuck in some white silk. It was sticky and hard to get off. Oliver was struggling to get out of it. The more he grappled, the more tangled he got.

It was still inside the cave, except for the sound of dripping water and footsteps. The dense, black fog was everywhere. It was miasma, common in the places infested with monsters in the parallel world. Ryan had read about the occurrence of miasma but did not know how to tackle it. It was getting increasingly difficult to breathe. Apart from physical discomfort, he was wary of the imminent danger in the long cave.

Soon his fears came true. Oliver, who was not paying attention to his surrounding tripped on some stalagmites and fell sideward. As he tried to get up, he slipped further down.

Ryan and Caroline ran after him. There was a hidden path in the side walls. When Oliver fell, he passed the passage. The trail was slippery. They had to be careful while getting down in that passage.

They soon got up to Oliver, only to find him stuck in some white silk. It was sticky and hard to get off. Oliver was struggling to get out of it. The more he grappled, the more tangled he got.

Caroline was quick on her feet and took out a knife and started cutting the silk. She was careful, not to get the silk on herself. The silk was hardening faster and getting difficult to cut. She had no other choice than to burn the silk. She had to be careful as this time, as she might burn her brother.

Ryan was on the lookout as the silk was a trap laid by some monster. He prepared his handgun, ready to fire at whatever came for their life. He was standing behind Caroline keeping watch on all sides.

As he assumed, a monster did come. It was an enormous black spider the size of an adult human, its mouth dripping silk. It looked very gross and sinister.

Ryan fired his shotgun just as he caught sight of the spider. The spider was caught off-guard and thrown off. His gun was the latest technology filled with explosive power. It was easier to handle and quite lethal.

Ryan didn't put his guard down. Oliver wasn't out of the trap yet, and Caroline was using her bug spray and lighter to burn the silk cautiously.

As he readied his next shot, the spider was already on its feet. He fired, but the spider whizzed past the bullet and got very near them. Ryan instinctively pressed on the badge on his chest. A blue shield enveloped him, rendering the attack from the spider ineffective.

The spider got annoyed from the shield, and viciously attacked the blue barrier again and again. Ryan was below the spider bearing its grunt.

Oliver was almost free from the silk. He pulled out his backpack and dug out a silver cube. It was the storage device that had their flying car. He operated it as fast as he could. The car flew out and started regaining its original shape and size. They got on the car and quickly enabled the AI of the car.

"IRIS get Ryan out of that place. Quick now." Oliver yelled the commands to the AI as the car floated in mid-air.

"Affirmative," A woman's voice came from the car's dashboard as it headed towards Ryan. As the car reached him, he disabled his shield and jumped into the driver's seat. He narrowly missed the sceptre of the spider. It could have claimed his head. Ryan touched his head to ensure he wasn't injured.

The car quickly flew out of the area. They were flying headless. They had no idea, which was the way out. Oliver was trying to find the way out. He was doing some calculation to figure out the layout of the cave, the density of miasma and, other complicated stuff.

Among them, Oliver was the brain and remaining acted on instincts. It wasn't that Caroline and Ryan were all brawn, just that Oliver was too good at what he does.

He figured the way out after some time.

"Good heavens, that was crazy. Oli, you better be careful next time," said Caroline sighing in relief and admonishing Oliver.

"Sorry. I was too focused on calculating. I did find the way, though," Oliver replied in low spirited voice.

"It's alright. We are safe and sound. That's what matters," Ryan cheered his siblings.

The cave was a very gloomy place and filled with danger in every nook and turn. They decided to travel in the car as it was enough space for them to navigate effortlessly, and also they did not want to risk again.

After a few minutes, they were in front of the mouth of the cave. Outside was bright, and the sounds of animals and birds were coming. There was likely a jungle outside. They got down from the car and stored it back in the cube. They were in the enemy territories. They had to be cautious.