/*******/
This is something I wrote quite a bit of time ago. It has been sitting in my Patreon for a while and I kind of wanted to continue it. I''ve got a few chs more that'll be posted here soon. Let me know if this is something you'd like to see continued with more frequent updates.
/*******/
"Sebastian, you're the driver!"
When was I never the driver? Jeremy wrapped an arm around my shoulder and enthusiastically shook me. I might as well have been a tree caught in a storm with how much I was swaying in his hold. 'Damn you, Jeremy.' Him and his obnoxious exuberance.
But soon I realized that it was better this way. Not because I enjoyed being a chauffeur, but I wouldn't trust anyone else with the wheel.
Jeremy had ADHD. Oliver had yet to get his driving license. And poor Theo was always nervous when driving. This ragtag group of misfits couldn't be trusted with a bottle-opener, let alone a vehicle.
"Uh… Sebas, if you want we can switch halfway through…" Theo suggested, quickly avoiding eye-contact, not unlike a student would when a teacher looked for volunteers. Hah, I knew that he didn't really mean it.
"Oh, it's fine, Theo. It's only a 6 hour drive, after all. I'm sure that my generous three hour sleep and espresso shot will see all of us alive by the end of it."
"Ha… haha…" Theo laughed nervously, his blue eyes darting around like pinballs.
Oliver yawned and quietly made himself comfortable in the backseat. "Do I really have to go, guys?" He sounded disinterested, anguished, and lazy. A combination that wasn't possible.
That was Oliver for you.
"Oh coooome on!" Jeremy grinned and swung the backseat door open. Oliver was immediately on guard. "You're always in your room, you lazy fuck. It's time for you to see the world and nature!"
Oliver quietly growled under his breath, closed his eyes, crossed his arms and looked the other way, seemingly sulking. "I can see the world in my room..." He grumbled, trying to look intimidating. As intimidating as a drenched kitten. Oliver was very awkward when interacting with others, so you might have had trouble differentiating emotions on his deadpan expression—and not to mention his lack of enthusiasm.
But once you get to know him, it was quite easy to decipher his mood based on his speech.
Jeremy grabbed Oliver by his feet. "You can't feel it, though! Now come out and help us stuff your shit into the trunk." Oliver barely batted an eye as he was unceremoniously hauled out of his resting perch.
"Ugh…"
Theo hummed a cheerful tune as he stored his hiking equipment in the car's trunk.
"This is going to be a fun adventure, right, Sebas?"
"Well, I hope so… or I'll have to play lego with some of Jeremy's limbs." I said, as dry as the air. It was fucking hot, seriously. I was already sweating.
Oliver scoffed as he approached us, with Jeremy hanging off of his shoulders.
"Please, do so as soon as possible. He's insufferable."
"Jerk." Jeremy rolled his eyes.
"Asshole."
"Since I'm the driver, I have utmost authority when it comes to song choices." I said, self-righteously. Considering the slog I was about to go through, my playlist should be the one on loop for the entirety of the trip.
Theo beamed. "Oh, that's okay. I like your playlist."
'Good boy. As long as I'm here, you'll never have to drive again.' I nodded at him. Loyalty should be rewarded, after all.
"Wait… I'm the one who provided the vehicle." Oliver crossed his arms and stared up at me. We had a bit of a height gap, around five inches or so, though Oliver would claim it was only one. "Besides, your songs are too upbeat. I want to sleep."
"To be fair, yours is too depressing." Jeremy chimed in. "So you can't really judge, Mr. Slowed and Reverb."
Theo stifled a giggle.
I smirked at the slight, almost unnoticeable red coloration on Oliver's face. Still, I decided to extend an olive branch. Rich kid privileges and whatnot. "Let's do this. We'll listen to my songs for this trip, and yours for the return."
Oliver pondered the proposal for a while. Was he looking for an escape clause in my statement or something? Bastard.
"I have a counter proposal."
I motioned for him to go on.
"We'll listen to your garbage for as long as the sun is up, and mine when the cold, everlasting touch of the pale moonlight graces us with its beauty."
"Oh God, you read too much, Olly." Jeremy made a disgusted face.
I was thinking along the same lines as Jeremy. Poetry aside, Oliver made it a point to make himself look like an edgelord, and for some reason we still accepted him despite it.
I took a quick look at the time. '1 PM. Not that bad.' While I would have preferred to haggle more, I was really impatient to hit the road.
"Alright, sounds reasonable."
He smiled.
"At least you have more brains than this ginger buffoon here—eughk!"
Jeremy promptly elbowed his side. Oliver shot a glare in his direction, but didn't raise hands in retaliation. He was smart enough to pick which fight he could win.
"In that case let's wrap this up and get going." I waved a hand as I helped them pack everything up into the trunk before getting in the car. Three clicks and thumps sounded out. The doors were firmly closed. Everyone was inside.
Jeremy slipped out of his shoes and slid the window all the way down. Oliver was already dozing off. Theo eagerly looked out of the window.
After taking a moment to connect my smartphone to the radio and selecting the first song, I switched to the first gear and began to drive off. Inwardly, I heaved a deep sigh. 'This is going to be a long trip…'
They say that it's not about the destination; it's all about the journey. Well, only if you're not the one driving.
To me, it was all about the destination. Fuck the journey. I secretly sympathized with Oliver, if only for a different reason.
xXx
Our first destination was the Pacific Crest Trail.
Oliver had raised a huge fuss about it. As a fervent, stay-home believer, hiking and camping were anathema to him. If it wasn't because of our collective effort, and Oliver's parents backing us up, it would've taken divine intervention for him to agree to come.
He wasn't this defiant to group outings usually, as long as there wasn't too much of a crowd. Maybe he just didn't like the idea of being too far from home. Who knows.
With the sun setting over the skyline, and Oliver's playlist taking over, I tried to enjoy the ride. Theo was absent-mindedly bobbing his head up and down to the faint tune coming from the radio. Much to my chagrin, I had to begrudgingly admit that Oliver's playlist was not that bad.
I'd never be caught saying it out loud.
"Even though we're going through it. ♪"
"And it makes you feel alone. ♪"
"Just know that I would die for you. ♪"
"Baby, I would die for you, yeah. ♪"
The nightly breeze was a refreshing touch to the atmosphere. Oliver squirmed in his seat before he leaned his head on Theo, whose shoulders looked as comfortable as a wooden log. "Gosh, Theo, you're so bony."
"I-I've tried to eat more!" Theo defended himself.
"You're a skeleton yourself, Olly." I reminded him with a playful smile.
"And you're no different." Oliver scoffed as he stirred, squirmed a little, and sighed.
Theo was really not comfortable.
I chuckled and looked through the mirror. Oliver always did have a tiny build, ever since grade school days. Theo was probably around his size. Jeremy and I were the tallest.
"At least you're filthy rich." Jeremy commented.
I smirked. "Spoiled too."
"Just watch me not provide a vehicle for the next trip." Oliver threatened, as if it actually did something. Fool.
"That's fine, actually. We can just walk." I said.
"And we're going to drag your ass with us. We have your parents' permission to use brute force if needed." Jeremy grinned at Oliver through the rear-view mirror.
Oliver hissed, his pasty pale face looking like a vampire flinching at the mention of garlic or holy water.
"Just trust us this time, Olly." I glanced at Oliver. "You're going to enjoy this."
"Ugh! Fine… but next time we're playing ranked at my place. No more trips for a while."
I hastily nodded. "Yes, please. Relinquish me from driving duty."
Oliver turned his nose up, sniffing. "I shall do so, peasant."
"How dramatic, you two. Such pussies." Jeremy glared at us both. "Especially you, Olly."
"M-Me?"
Oliver looked incredulous.
"Ignore him." I intervened. "Jeremy is struggling to deal with his inner femininity. He can't suppress it as he does his inner gayness anymore."
"Fuck you." Jeremy made a rude gesture with his hand.
Oliver snorted a laugh. "I think you're onto something there, Seb."
"I-If you really feel like that, Jeremy, I'll support you!" Theo cheered on.
I grinned. "You have our support. It's about time you come out. We can hold a party, like those gender reveal ones. With pink balloons, glitter, and fruity costumes for you to don on. You'd look lovely."
"Har-har-har." Jeremy barked a fake laugh. "You make it sound like I would mind."
"You wouldn't?" I raised my eyebrows.
"I mean…" Jeremy turned around, in a way that he was staring at us all without using the rear-view mirror. "Think about it! Have you guys never wondered what it'd be like to be a woman?"
"Not in detail, no." I shook my head, exasperated by Jeremy's sudden interest in the topic. "I'm fine being a man."
Jeremy gave me a condescending stare. "That's because you're too narrow-minded, Seb. You're telling me you're not curious to see everything from a woman's perspective… for, like, a day or a month?"
"He's lost it…" Oliver mumbled under his breath.
Theo listened on eagerly, looking quite curious about Jeremy's research.
"It's not that I'm not curious, it's just that I'm not particularly interested. I'm sure you'd be tired of it after a day, once the novelty wears off." I explained. Since Jeremy was putting so much thought on it, I decided to at least offer a rebuttal with some logical and conclusive evidence. "Think about it. Would you really want to deal with cramps, mood swings, and bleeding every month? Spending an hour just to put on makeup, only for it to smudge the moment you sweat? Or, I don't know, childbirth—literally tearing yourself apart to push out a human? Doesn't sound like such a fun experiment anymore, does it?"
"Yeah, okay, that part sounds awful." Jeremy admitted with a shrug. "But come on… think about the perks."
"What perks?"
Jeremy smirked. "Dude, imagine how easy it would be to have guys wrapped around my finger. With everything I already know? I could have a dozen boyfriends without even trying."
"That's assuming you'd be a pretty girl."
"Oh, come on. Look at me!" He pointed at himself. "I'd be a gorgeous motherfucker."
I snorted a laugh.
Jeremy could look quite handsome in pictures, or under a certain lighting, but most of the time, he was your generic, nondescript male.
"Besides..." Jeremy continued, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Aren't you curious?"
That question made me wary. Thank God it was Theo who took the bullet for me on that one.
"Huh, about what?" Theo scooted closer.
"You know, what it feels like..." Jeremy made a vulgar jerking motion with two fingers. "Hm? Hm?"
The implication couldn't have been clearer.
"Ohhhh..."
"Disgusting." Oliver frowned.
That caught Jeremy's attention. "Are you telling me someone like you has never thought about it, huh?"
"Why are we talking about this again?" I asked, growing increasingly weirded out by where the conversation was headed.
I was pointedly ignored. Great.
"The thought… has crossed my mind, but that doesn't mean I'd like to be a woman."
"I wouldn't mind trying." Theo dropped the bomb.
"Huh… really?" Even Jeremy looked put off.
Oliver discreetly distanced himself.
"I mean… if it's for a day or two, why not?" Theo scratched his cheek, growing embarrassed the more he was stared at.
"See?!" Jeremy bellowed. "He gets it!"
'Focus on the road, Sebastian. Focus on the road.'
"You must've been dropped a lot when you were a baby." Oliver jibed.
Jeremy shrugged. "Just a couple of times."
"That explains why your face is so asymmetrical."
"Haah?" Jeremy made a shushing motion with his finger, then turned his head sideways, tracing a finger over his jawline. "See this? As sharp as a knife."
"Move that ugly mug away from me." Oliver was relentless.
"Anyway…" Jeremy returned back to his seat. "... if you think about it, life would definitely be easier as a woman… don't you think?"
I threw a glance at him. Everyone in the group was well-aware of the issues Jeremy had. Working a nine to five. Ex-girlfriend cheated on him. Dead parents. And for all his charisma, for all the parties where he was the center of attention, at the end of the day, we were the only ones who truly had his back.
Not that we hadn't our issues either.
Life has an uncanny way of bringing people together.
"Well… you're not wrong, I guess." Oliver concurred, staring out of the window.
"I agree…" Theo nodded thoughtfully.
Jeremy turned to me, waiting.
I shrugged. "I don't know. We all face different problems, Jeremy. It's quite hasty to conclude that a gender has it easier than the other. Life is hard for everyone, it's how you tackle the obstacles that—"
"Blah, blah, blah. Here comes Mr. Diplomat with the wise words," Jeremy snorted. "That's why you're the driver."
I smirked. "I'm the driver because none of you idiots are fit for the job."
He grinned. "That's why… if I were a chick, I'd totally let you hit a couple of times."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh wow, what an honor. Look at me. I'm quaking with anticipation."
"Haha!" Jeremy playfully punched me in the shoulder. "You wish! Never gonna happen, fuckboy."
"I don't know how I'll be able to go on with life bearing such a loss." I deadpanned.
"This conversation is making me extremely uncomfortable." Oliver pointed out.
I sighed. "The only good news is that we're almost there."
"Finally."
I was about to say something when a rumbling, cracking sound lurched all of us forward. The car's nose sloped down. Through the shifting debris, I saw an expanding hole on the road. I immediately slammed on the brakes, but it was nowhere fast enough to escape the cave-in.
'No way…'
Amidst the overwhelming panic, the sinking dread of the unknown, Theo cried. Oliver yelled something indiscernible. Jeremy went into a profanity laced panic mode.
Time slowed down.
Like a sinking ship, we fell, deep down into the gorge. I didn't even have time to make a list of my regrets, or to process that I was about to die. I didn't know how long we fell, but at some point, amidst the chaos, I lost consciousness.
xXx
I've never been a firm believer in the afterlife. Hell. Heaven. Or whatever in between. It was beyond my control.
Maybe Jeremy would tell you that the universe was an intelligent design with a creator behind it. Oliver wouldn't really care either way. And Theo would simply listen and nod as long as whatever was being said made sense.
3 AM conversations.
Those were fun.
I opened my eyes and waited for my vision to adjust to the darkness. For a second, I thought that I was already six feet under, a new home for bugs and worms to dwell in.
I gasped for breath. My heart skipped a beat.
The darkness in my vision receded. I slowly felt myself regain control of my body. My hands scraped against the rugged surface of the ground. Dirt clung to my nails. With a shuddering breath, I pushed myself up.
I thought I'd be stuck in the wreckage of the car, but I seemed to be outside?
No—
I hastily looked right and left. Not outside, but not inside either.
Somewhere else entirely.
The air was slightly chilly. Rocky walls. A soaring ceiling with stalactites jutting out.
Then I remembered that I wasn't alone when the car went down.
Jeremy. Oliver. Theo.
I immediately found them lying next to… me?
I didn't remember Jeremy having long hair.
Or Theo.
Or Oliver.
Something inside me froze, a sharp chill crawling up my spine. My brain fought against the absurdity of what my eyes were telling me. The three bodies lying next to me—still unconscious, limbs sprawled awkwardly—looked familiar but… off.
Same messy red hair, same pale skin… but Jeremy was not supposed to have curves. And for all his cocky bravado, I was definitely sure he wasn't rocking a plump, round ass.
I swallowed hard. My pulse pounded in my ears as I turned to Theo, his frame smaller, more delicate, his features unnervingly soft. Oliver's usual sharp jawline? Gone. Replaced by something finer, smoother.
"What the…" My own voice sounded hoarse, like I had swallowed dust and disbelief at the same time. "The hell?"
Jeremy groaned, shifting slightly. A delicate, oddly high-pitched groan.
I blinked rapidly. Nope. Nope, nope, nope.
Then Oliver stirred, mumbling something under his breath. His voice—no, her voice—was unmistakably feminine.
My stomach dropped.
Oh… shit.
"Seb… what happened…?"
Jeremy, or whatever she was now, pushed up into a sitting position, and that's when I got a proper look at her face.
And immediately wished I hadn't.
Because for the first time in my life, I found myself staring at Jeremy, of all people, with something dangerously close to admiration. Not as my loudmouthed, pain-in-the-ass best friend, but as a woman. A stunning one.
Same red hair, but now deeper, richer, like freshly spilled wine. Same blue eyes, but sharper, a shade of cerulean so intense it almost glowed. The freckles dusting her nose were still there, but now they looked… delicate, charming. And that pale skin? Flawless.
And those things on his chest.
"Sebastian?"
His voice… didn't he notice it?
"I don't know… how to explain this to you, Jeremy." I was surprised by how calm I was.
It took Jeremy a full minute of groaning and rubbing his head to finally take in the changes of his body. Her body.
"W-What… What the fuck are these massive melons on my chest?!"
I immediately scanned myself to see if I had gone through the same tortuous fate as my mates, but thank God I was still a man. No suspicious add-ons. And no removal of organs that shouldn't be removed.
Jeremy was in full panic mode. "Sebastian… what is this?! Sebastian, what happened to me?!" He continued to grope his chest, as if that would help in any way.
His almost hysteric freak-out woke up Oliver and Theo.
I decided to be a silent observer to the screaming that would ensue.
Oliver had his perpetual frown etched on his—her, face. Theo seemed more content to be alive, though it all changed when they drank in their surroundings, and, inevitably, their own selves.
I expected more confusion, maybe some anger, but Theo was a step beyond that. He—She didn't seem angry in particular. Rather, she just had too many questions, and her inquisitiveness eventually overpowered everything else.
"W-What happened to me? Are we dead?" Theo arched both eyebrows, fingering her now long, butter-yellow hair. It was such a light color that, under the right lighting, it may have appeared silver.
Oliver stilled like a statue, staring at her smaller, daintier hands. Honestly, it wasn't that big of a change from her previous ones. "No… what…"
Her voice was incredibly soft and breathy. Her former gruffness was gone.
"I don't think we're dead." I said. Theo looked happier. I sighed—why wasn't she more, I don't know, concerned? Flustered? Then again, perhaps she was. Theo was more strong-willed than anyone gave him—her, credit for.
"I'm… I'm a chick!" Jeremy bit out. Ah, she had come to that conclusion by taking a look at what was inside her underwear. "It's gone! Sebastian, it's fucking gone!"
That was a valid reason for freaking out. I sympathized with him.
"This is all your fault!" Oliver yelled, crawling like some possessed demon towards Jeremy, and roughly grabbing her by the collar. "It's all because of your stupid chattering earlier! Look at me! Look at me!"
I got in between them. "Okay, okay. Back off, Olly." I separated them. "I understand how you—"
"No, you don't!" She was ready to throw hands. "I'm… I'm… a girl… is this temporary? Is this a lucid dream? Are we actually dead? Why are you not a girl, Sebastian?"
It was odd to see Oliver on the verge of tears.
Jeremy looked partially guilty, if only because she believed her stupid mouth was the perpetrator somehow.
"I don't know, Olly. But getting at each other's throat isn't going to fix it."
Oliver gnashed her teeth, glaring at Jeremy, me, and then at Theo. She was too volatile at the moment. I chose my words carefully. "Listen, we need to figure out where we are first—"
"You figure it out."
Oliver stalked off in some corner to stew in silence.
Jeremy looked at me apologetically.
"Don't sweat it, it's not your fault…"
To be honest, the coincidence was too suspicious for me not to think Jeremy didn't have a small part in it. But coincidences happen, and without further evidence, I had no intention of throwing one of my best friends under the bus.
Besides, how could have she even achieved something like this? A wishing star, perhaps? I wanted to laugh, but with how touchy Oliver was, it was better not to let even a puff of air in her direction.
"Thank you…" Jeremy seemed grateful, though it didn't do much to elevate her spirits.
I checked my back pockets. No phone. No wallet. Everything was emptied out. Did someone do this to us?
The cave was dimly lit. I was thankful for that.
There was some luminous moss growing on stalagmites that provided an ethereal blue light. It was beautiful if it wasn't so creepy. My head spun with theories. Endless possibilities and variables. We were in a different place from the crash site. Unscathed. Completely ransacked. And my friends' genders were swapped.
I was fine, though. Wasn't I? Unless there were changes I wasn't aware of, it was puzzling how I was left out of whatever happened to them.
Theo quietly approached me. I was thrown off with how beautiful my timid friend had become. "Sebas, are you alright?"
She looked me up and down, as if trying to see if I really was still a man.
"Yes… how about you? How are you… coping?"
I cringed at the poor word choice.
"Oh, I'm fine. Maybe it's reversible?" Theo was optimistic.
"Yes. Maybe." I didn't dare to dash his hopes.
"I'm going to go deeper into the cave to see if there's an exit." I pointed at the bowels of the cave. A throat that led who knows where. It might be dangerous, I wasn't exactly an expert. But someone had to do the exploring.
"C-Can I come with you?"
I shook my head. "Stay here. Make sure Oliver doesn't murder Jeremy."
Theo nodded hesitantly, but I wasn't sure how much she could actually do if Oliver snapped.
Oliver had plopped herself against the rocky wall, arms crossed, eyes burning with barely contained rage. If looks could kill, Jeremy would've been six feet under. And knowing Jeremy, he was definitely going to make things worse before they got better.
"I mean, technically—" Jeremy started, flashing that cocky smirk that had gotten him/her into countless fights before.
"Finish that sentence." Oliver cut in, voice low, dangerous. "I dare you."
Jeremy, for once in her life, hesitated.
I took that as my cue to leave before I got dragged into whatever disaster was brewing. I made my way into the deepest parts of the cave. I was glad that I wasn't stopped by forked paths, as it would have made it more challenging to find my way back.
As I walked, I noticed writing and illustrations on the wall.
Depictions of men hunting a creature.
Arrows were fired. Lances thrown.
All towards a lone creature. More of a monster than any sort of animal I knew of. It was hunched and misshapen. Its body was a nightmarish amalgamation of deformities, a hulking mass of contorted limbs and haphazardly arranged appendages.
The creature's maw was wide open, lined with rows of serrated teeth that protruded at irregular angles. A grotesque, elongated tongue, was wrapped around one of the men.
The next illustration was the same as the previous one, except for one detail.
There were no men. Only the eldritch creature stood there, its eyes transcending the two-dimension world it lived in to pierce right at me. A shiver ran through my spine. I walked faster.
'Maybe it was a bad idea to go alone.'
I just needed to get out of that atmosphere.
At some point, I was forced to come to a halt. I reached a dead end.
"No way…"
I didn't take any turns since it was a straight path. Except that the area we woke up in was also a closed off cul-de-sac. This place was no different. It was as if we were stuck in an hourglass, with only a winding path connecting the two.
'There's no fucking way we're stuck here.'
The thought filled me with dread. Worse than waking up in a different place was actually not being able to leave that place.
Still…
As I approached the wall, I noticed some writing.
I shouldn't have been able to understand it. But I did. It was an odd script—a different alphabet. Not kanji or hangul. Definitely not English either.
'The stairway to Heaven lies shattered and torn,
The Gods now weep, the world forlorn.
The lost shall wander, the strong shall fall,
With none to lead, death claims them all.'
"This is sketchy as fuck."
"Sebas…?"
I turned around. Theo, Oliver, and Jeremy were a few paces behind and slowly catching up. "Guys? What are you doing here?"
Jeremy rubbed the back of her head. "It didn't feel right to let you explore this place all alone."
Theo hastily agreed. "Y-Yeah… besides, it was kind of scary to stay there without y—humpff!" Oliver's elbow mysteriously found itself lodged into Theo's side.
I smiled. "Well… I'm glad you're feeling better, but there doesn't seem to be a way out here." I hated being the bearer of bad news.
"There must be an exit somewhere. How else could we have gotten in?" Oliver frowned.
"Just look at us, Olly. Is it really that impossible?" Jeremy sighed.
"..."
I looked around, deep in thought. "No, I'm sure there is. This must've been calculated, somehow."
You just don't pick four random dudes, gender-swap three of them, and shove them in a cave like some sort of lab rats. There must've been an ulterior motive.
"Won't we die?" Oliver fidgeted. "We don't have any food or water… and—"
I largely ignored Oliver's ramblings. Theo walked behind her and began to soothingly run her hand over her back. I continued to pace around, taking in as much as I could with the poor lighting.
My instincts were telling me that there was a way out, even if at a surface glance, it didn't seem to be the case.
"You reckon we died and this is hell?"
I turned around, only to see Jeremy standing behind me, hands behind her back.
There was a forced smile on her face, her head slightly tilted to the side. Leave it to her to actually try to find humor in such a situation.
"Who's to say? Doesn't seem very hellish to me."
"Right?" Jeremy chortled.
"Besides, we're together. Honestly, there aren't any other people I'd rather face this shit with."
A more genuine smile blossomed on her face. Still a bit strained, sure, but at least some sort of vitality was returning to her eyes.
"Damn right, Seb. Damn right. Even if we're trapped here for all eternity, at least we got the whole crew with us. Ain't nothing stopping us."
I nodded, feeling decisively more spirited. 'Jeremy is not wrong. We got four heads here. We'll either find a way out, or die trying.'
She kicked a pebble around as she walked up to me.
"Hmm~" I felt her eyes lingering on me, studying me a little too intently. "Seb…"
I glanced at her. "What?"
"Don't take this the wrong way… but now that I look at you better…" There was a weird, conflicted look on Jeremy's face, and for a moment it seemed she debated whether to say it at all. It made me halt for a moment. "Well, you're very handsome. I'm kind of surprised you don't have a girlfriend or something."
I rolled my eyes. "I don't think this is the perfect time to be discussing my lack of love life."
"Haha…" She slapped me on the back. "If we're stuck here, you'll never have one, isn't that depressing?"
"It'd be more depressing putting up with your talkative ass for the rest of my days, but at least you're more cute now, so it balances it out, doesn't it?"
"..."
Jeremy went oddly quiet.
Whatever.
My eyes fell upon something on the ground—a concentric circle with the very same script-based writing I had seen on the wall.
'Step into the flame, and let the past turn to ash. Shed your name, your form, your fate. Power awaits those who cross—but the fire does not give without taking.'
"That's ominous…" Jeremy said.
"It is." I nodded, grimacing. "Who wrote this?"
She shrugged as I stepped inside the circle. And the moment I did, a crimson flame lit up along the line of the first circle.
"Sebastian!"
The flame drew Oliver and Theo's attention. They came running, concern etched on their faces.
"I'm fine!" I raised a hand, stopping them both from approaching any further. "Stay back!"
"B-But…" Theo hesitated. Oliver wisely held her hand back. "A-Are you okay?"
After a moment of self-inspection, I nodded, as relieved as she was. "Seems like it…" Tentatively, I hopped out of the circle, and the flame, like magic, disappeared.
"There are four circles." Jeremy pointed out in a low voice.
"And four of us." Oliver supplied with a sigh. "I don't have a good feeling about this."
I turned around, staring at the concentric circle. It wasn't drawn by chalk, but more as if it was carved in the ground. 'The fact that it lights up if I step in means…'
"Jeremy… come with me." I said, walking right back in the circle. Jeremy didn't hesitate to follow me. In a way, I appreciated her trust, or maybe she was simply the type to throw herself in a fire for her friends. After all, the situation wasn't deemed one hundred percent safe yet.
As soon as we set foot inside it, a flame lit up along the line of the first two circles.
"Fuck…" Oliver knew what it meant, as did Theo. "This looks like some satanic ritual, I don't trust it."
He—she had a point, of course. We didn't know what it entailed. Whether it would magically get us out of there, or swallow us and spit us straight into hell. But I had faith that there was a purpose to it.
"Stop whining and get your ass in the damn circle." Jeremy crossed her arms. "Unless you can think of a better way to get out of here."
Oliver mumbled something as Theo, gingerly, hopped over our side.
Another flame lit up.
"I swear… if we die…" Oliver trailed off, staring at Jeremy.
"If anything happens, I'll take responsibility." I intervened, and that somehow lessened the burden of her decision. "Maybe whatever this is will restore what happened to you and the others. It's worth a shot, don't you think?"
Oliver shifted her gaze towards me before she heaved a deep sigh. "Damn it."
I smiled slightly.
She petulantly joined us, glaring at me.
The innermost circle lit up.
"Seb, if this makes things any worse, I will—"
The flame swelled and surged forth like the maw of a fiery beast, swallowing us. The cave, shortly after our disappearance, began to collapse.