In this episode of “Secrets in Sulsut”, Malric inches closer to the ocean and escape.

Happy Reading!

_____________________________________

The Scavenger moved past his position in its unnatural gait, and then paused, as if warned by some inner voice.

But it was too late. In a fluid dance of violence Malric had removed himself from the fissure, maneuvered behind the Scavenger, cupped its stretched-out mouth, and pulled Sliver through the gill-like folds of its neck.

Malric released his hold, and the lifeless form slumped to the floor. Malric’s forearm was covered in syrupy, black blood. The musky scent invaded Malric’s lungs, and Sol’s words came back to him: Remember, Malric, they can smell their dead . . .

With frantic haste Malric dragged the corpse over to the fissure and stuffed it inside. He knew that the scent of the dead Scavenger’s blood was wafting through the dark passageways, and it chilled him to think of Scavengers rising out of their watery beds to greet him, their glossy, dead eyes concealing their malicious intentions.

A salty wind swept through the niche as Malric worked furiously to hide the carcass. The source of the breeze was not from the corridor but somewhere behind the fissure itself. Malric abandoned his task and slid with his back against the jagged walls deeper into the rock. It was extremely tight, sometimes only six inches between sides, and completely impassable for a normal-sized man. But Malric, with his slight frame, found it negotiable.

Malric filled his lungs with the salty air that flowed through the fissure, relieved to move away from the fishy stench of the tunnels. He knew the sea was very close, and the promise of escape quickened his passage through the cleft in the rock.

If not for the luminous flora that illuminated the floor of the pools below, Malric surely would have walked out into open space and plunged to the bottom.

But it was not the pool, despite the prismatic display at its bottom, that captured his attention.

To be continued…