When he came back to his senses Tal had a panic attack. His body trembled even before he could realise how afraid he was. His lungs refused to let in fresh air. He was lying on the cold stones with his face down, gasping heavily and trying to calm himself. The cool touch against his forehead wasn’t enough this time. The fact that he didn’t know where he was or how he got there made it even worse.

He started to sob quietly. Tal wanted to scream instead but he was terrified that someone could hear him. He had the eerie feeling that he wasn’t alone. It was too dark to see and wherever he landed was cold and humid as well. No sign of the approaching summer down here. And Tal assumed he was somewhere down. Just where? He concentrated. His ears were trained to recognize even the slightest sounds but wherever he was, there weren’t any. He could hear nothing. No cars, no people, not even wind. He hated the silence but for now he tried to think of it as a good sign. He was alone. And as far as he could tell, not in danger.

Tal breathed in and held his breath for four seconds. Think, he told himself. How did he get here? His day started with nightmares, then he went to school. He talked to Scar, Mr. Hemlock, had detention and then, ah, Nik. He had met up with Nik and finally gotten his answers. Right before acting like a jerk and hurting him. Maybe he deserved being trapped in this place, which he began to believe might be a cave. Tal was more than ashamed. If he could, he would go back in time and punch himself before making such a stupid comment. How could he be so insensitive towards Nik? Good job, Tal, you ruined all the chances you never had.

Something clattered in the background. The shattering noise brought Tal back to reality. His eyes were slowly adjusting to the dark and he could already make out a faint light coming from his left. It illuminated the cave just enough for Tal to assess his surroundings. It seemed that he was surrounded by nothing but stones. “Great,” he muttered under his breath and sat up. Tal leaned against the big stone, which was probably more of a wall, for support and took deep breaths. His ankle was most likely broken. If he got into a dangerous situation, he wouldn’t be able to run away. Though, in this darkness, his broken ankle was the least of his problems. Tal’s ears were good but his sight was miserable.

He thought about teleporting himself home but thinking alone didn’t seem to trigger his ability. He was still stuck. He wondered how long he would survive without medical attention. How long had he been in the cave anyways? He passed out once. For seconds? Minutes? Maybe even hours? Surely not more than that, right? “Don’t panic, Tal.” He whispered again and remembered the sound from earlier. He glanced into the direction and squinted his eyes. Was it brighter there now? He couldn’t tell.

Tal crawled closer to the source of light. He was ruining the skin on his arms with the gravel but he couldn’t risk walking there. His ankle was throbbing with every pull. It was excruciating to move that way but Tal had no other choice. He dragged his body to the other end of what seemed to be a large tunnel. There was another noise. It sounded like chains rattling against each other and then a scream followed. Tal had to cover his ears to endure it. It was like nothing he ever heard before.

Tal had been to a hospital more than once in his life. During his stay at one particular foster family, he’d been there almost every week, for reasons he didn’t want to think about at the moment. The point was, he knew screams. He knew cries for help and the nearly deafening screeches of desperation and grief. Tal was sure that whatever had made this sound, was not human. It shattered his ears and raised his heartbeat to the point where he feared it bursting in his ribcage. The scream almost caused another panic attack but then two men appeared in Tal’s field of sight. He pressed himself against the stone wall and tried to blend in.

The men wore dark robes and masks. They covered enough of their faces to keep their identity hidden. Not that he’d been able to see that far in the dark anyway. “It worked,” the one on the left, who was wearing a beanie under his robe, said breathlessly. Tal wondered if it had anything to do with the scream from earlier. “I promised, didn’t I? Our lord will bring us back to old glory.” The other one responded. The man with the beanie seemed to be incoherent with joy. He looked up at his opposite and dug his hands into the robe. The other chuckled lightly at that.

“The Order will rise soon.” He whispered but the words echoed from the walls and reached Tal’s ears, nonetheless. He leaned down and cupped the man’s cheeks. He pulled him in for a kiss and Tal turned away immediately. He distracted himself by trying to analyse what they just said. Lord? Order? Nik’s Order? The protecting ones? But why would the ‘good’ Order meet in a cave and unleash something that sounded like a demon bursting through the gates of hell? Tal doubted that these men had good intentions. He also doubted that the knights would hold a meeting in dark robes and masks. It all seemed a little too suspicious.

“That’s right,” The man agreed after catching his breath from the kiss and adjusting his beanie. Tal couldn’t see but he assumed his cheeks were glowing in a bright red colour. “The gods will regret underestimating us.” “And the knights will fall like pawns upon a board, one after another.” Tal pressed his hand against his lips to stifle the surprised gasp that escaped him. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Everything they said seemed to be a part of a bigger evil scheme but hadn’t Nik told him that the Contrarius Order was gone for good? Their leader was killed. Tal closed his eyes for a moment and used these thoughts to calm him down. Whatever this was, it had nothing to do with him or Nik. It was completely unrelated.

This must be a misunderstanding. Yes, Tal thought. I walked into a DnD game. The cave is just the location for a totally safe game night between friends. Every second now the dungeon master will appear and narrate how the story goes on. The scream was obviously recorded. Tal was desperate enough to believe this was just a game but it helped calm his nerves a lot. Until, of course, one of the men had to ruin it.

“What about the descendant? How is our lord going to find them?” His boyfriend hummed carefully while considering the other’s words. “I don’t know about his methods but I think we should trust him. He will find a way.” “But since he became the Leader he hasn’t found a single lead. What if he never does?” Tal’s heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t pretend it was a game anymore. This was real. They were talking about him. They were searching for him. He faintly remembered what Nik told him about the ritual. Tears streamed down his face and he dug his nails into his palm. He had to stay quiet now.

“Come on now, love. Don’t doubt the abilities of our lord. He already proved himself today, didn’t he? Only a real leader can summon those creatures. You saw them, didn’t you?” The man hesitated and Tal risked a glance. They were standing close to each other. His fingers were running through his boyfriend’s hair as he considered his reply. “I saw.” “And it was our lord, too, who found the descendant’s parents all those years ago.” Tal wished he could black out again but at the mention of his parents a whine escaped his lips. He failed to hold back his sobs. The men stood in silence for a moment but he noticed their gazes shifting.

“Did you hear that?” One asked. He sounded scared for some reason. They were the villains hiding in a cave to summon evil creatures and make shady plans. He had no right to be scared at the sound of a sob. “I heard it.” The other replied. Tal glanced around. He had to find a way out and seeing how there was no exit nearby, it meant begging and praying for his own ability to work. “Hello? Who’s there!” The man’s voice echoed from the walls and was followed by a soft laugh. “Love, I don’t think they’d answer. It’s adorable you tried though.” “Ah… I’m sorry. Shall we go take a look?”

Tal’s blood froze. Please, please, please. Take me home, Fuck, fuck, fuck. PLEASE. Tal begged and cried internally. He couldn’t crawl away now. Once they picked up on the shuffling noise they’d know where he was and then it’ll all be over. He had to trust in his teleportation ability. “I wonder,” one of them mumbled, his voice suddenly a lot closer than before. “How they got in here.” “You’re right. The only entrance is heavily guarded. Is it an insider?” “No.” They were going to catch up with Tal soon. Come on, I don’t want to die. Please don’t let me die.

Tal was about to give up. He was still inside the cave, trapped between cold stones and his approaching enemies. This was the second time this month where he thought he was going to die. He hated how these events seemed to be repeating themselves. Just like last time his brain shut down and stopped thinking about rational plans. Instead, he made another list: Regrets and things he never got to do. Luckily, he could still reuse the list from last time since he hadn’t managed to get anything done from it until this moment. His mind, however, had other ideas. It didn’t let Tal make another list but showed him the moment at the manor over and over again. The moment he had seen Nik’s face fall and his expression falter. The moment Tal had ruined everything.

His heart ached and his stomach turned. He was feeling nauseous. If he died now, how would he apologise to Nik? How would he make up with him? No, Tal thought and took a deep breath. I can’t die yet. Maybe it was the heat of the moment or the adrenaline rushing through his veins but in that exact moment Tal made an oath with himself. Next time I’m about to die, there will be no more lists. I will live my life to the fullest and I will confess to Nik. I have to.

Later he couldn’t remember how he made it out of the cave alive. Tal woke up the next morning on the floor in front of his bed. His head was hurting and his ankle was red and swollen. He had no idea when he got home or how he fell out of his bed. He especially couldn’t explain how he had managed to get those wounds. He sighed and sat up. His whole body ached in response to the movement. “What the hell?” He mumbled to himself and picked up his phone from the nightstand. 11:30 AM. With a loud groan he pushed himself up. He would be late to class.