Chapter 66: Ch. 66 – Open Sesame

The next day, all of us drove up to the cave, though I had to carve a path through the forest and terrain more than once. Raven, Echo, and Madi had not seen the location before and all three were impressed with the beauty of it. With the large pond to the left and the overlook of the valley behind us, it was truly an ideal location for a beautiful place to live and would provide everything that we would need.

Madi ended up picking out the model that looked like a multi-level treehouse and no one complained with how excited the young girl became. I spent the day working on the large building, listening to most of Madi's requests, to the amusement of Raven and Echo while Katye spent her time meditating. By sundown, the main structure and rooms were complete with only the decorative details and moving our furniture into the new place left to do.

The bottom structure, which hid the entrance to the cave and labyrinth, was the kitchen and dining area on the inside while I made a covered lounging area outside with far more room than the five of us needed. The 'trunk' of the tree for the treehouses concealed the chimney from the kitchen and hid the spiral staircase that went up to the different levels. While two of the suites connected directly to the trunk, there were two that used bridges to connect to it which belonged to the two sets of couples.

Right above and off to the left of the kitchen, attached to the trunk, was the smallest of the buildings which would become our game room and where I hoped to spend a lot of time. Before Katye decided to focus most of her attention on training with her Soul Realm, she had made the request that we keep the video games and televisions all in a centralized location, so that we all could enjoy them equally. I also made a small room into the mountain side itself which I would turn into a bathroom later once Raven and I came up with an idea of how to handle running water of sorts.

Katye's and Echo's private suite was built about fifteen feet above the roof of the kitchen and completely off to the right side, so that it was not over the kitchen at all. I left the inside for Katye to design since she had the ability, but I went ahead and placed her bathroom in case she just wanted to focus on her training. I really could not imagine Echo complaining even if they never moved their furniture in, but I did not want to strand her up in their room.

Madi's room was right above theirs but centered between the kitchen and their suite. She wanted her own balcony after seeing the others, but I insisted that the railing around it should be fenced in below with a crisscross pattern of stone that was four inches thick. She also got her own private bathroom attached to her large bedroom and a big, walk-in closet though she did not have enough stuff to fill it.

Raven's and my suite was on the left side of the kitchen and nearly seventy-five feet in the air. We decided to keep the inside space open, but I made a couple of workbenches for Raven and I and plenty of open shelving around our work area. We had a wide, wrap-around balcony big enough for lounge chairs that were nearly inviting enough to help me convince Raven to stay the night, but she insisted that we return with the others and help pack in the morning.

Thankfully, Katye did not spend the next day meditating and helped with the moving. We had the furniture in every room arranged by midday, which was nice. After a snack with everyone, Katye, Echo, and Madi headed to the pond while Raven and I came up with ideas on how to handle the running water situation. I was determined to figure out how to have a hot shower in the mornings, but even more so, I wanted a working toilet with how far we were off the ground.

Over the next few days, Raven and I set up the plumbing and electrical for the house. We installed the solar panels on the roof of our place since it was the highest then ran the wire in a shallow channel that I covered so that no one would shock themselves once the wires were hot. For plumbing, we decided to use a method similar to what they had done in Polis for the Commander's Tower by creating a large tank of water above and a second set of piping that carried away the wastewater to a septic tank that was buried as deeply as I could.

After the house was settled, I used Raven's ingenuity again to help me create some workout equipment for strength building. Katye was focused on training her Soul Realm and spent most of her time meditating. Although I knew that I should be doing the same to speed up opening the labyrinth, I did not have the patience to spend hours on end staring at my Soul Realm. Instead, I preferred to practice the actual application of my Soul Power and, with the crazy resistance machine that Raven designed, I had a way to train aside from spending my time inside the cave.

It had been three weeks since we moved into our mountainside house. Katye and I had made some progress with the giant gate, lifting six of the ten weights, but the last ones were practically taunting us. Echo and Raven had both come to the door with us once or twice, and they had been shocked to see what opening the door alone required of us.

"I should hook your machine up to a generator with how long you work out," Raven chuckled as she laid out in a lounge chair with a board game at her side.

"Ha, ha..." I retorted without pausing my exercise. "Give me my card."

Raven picked up an orange 'chance' card and glanced at it before handing it to me. With how she snickered, I already knew it was a bad card, but I read it anyways. I sighed and waved a hand, moving my metal game piece straight to jail.

"You really suck at these games... in fact, any game that involves dice. If anyone else rolled half as many ones as you did in Mario Party, I would think the game was glitched," she teased.

"Unlucky with dice, but lucky in love... I can't really complain."

She gave a dry chuckle as she rolled her eyes, but even if she pretended like she did not like me saying such things, I knew that she really did. We kept playing while I worked out until I felt the exhaustion that came from using too much Soul Power. As if on cue, Katye walked over a few minutes after I stopped and sat down next to Raven.

"Where's 'little bit'?" I asked.

"In the game room playing Animal Crossing," Katye replied.

"Ah, it's nice to know that we have infected her with our old hobby. Maybe we can go into the video game business when people move into the valley if Raven can figure out how to recreate them," I chuckled.

"Unless you are going to start making plastic, rubber, and a few other things like you do metal, you can forget that idea," Raven retorted, moving her game piece forward.

"Who knows how our powers will grow in the future."

Katye chuckled and started her workout. Raven and I played our game for a while longer, but when Madi appeared, I conceded my inevitable defeat. Although she ran up to us excitedly, she gave Katye a pouty face.

"You're always working or sleeping! You never play, Auntie K!" Madi complained.

"Yeah, Auntie K! You're no fun," I teased, imitating both Madi's expression and tone.

Katye shot me an annoyed look then turned to Madi and said, "I'm sorry, Madi, but it's important."

"But Auntie B takes time to play every day!"

I grabbed Madi by the waist, tickling her which made her squeal, then picked her up and placed her in my lap. "That's because I'm stronger than her which Auntie K doesn't like."

"Let's see who's faster," Katye retorted.

"You could take the evening off, and we could all play some games. One night isn't going to make that much of a difference," I said.

"Please," Madi begged while giving her puppy-dog eyes.

Katye let out a long sigh and let the weight drop slowly to the ground, agreeing, "Fine, I'll take the rest of the day off."

"Yay!" she cheered, jumping off my lap and running over to Katye to give her a hug. "Can we go swimming first?"

"Of course," Katye agreed again with a defeated expression on her face while she patted the young girl's head.

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Raven and I shared a chuckle at Katye's expense. We were pulled along to go swimming in the pond as well and even Echo when she returned from her usual hike. After dinner, everyone headed upstairs, and we played different Nintendo party games until Madi fell asleep. Katye carried her up to bed with Echo by her side while we continued up the stairs to go to our room.

The night had been good enough that it became a routine that we repeated every three days. Katye and I would spend two solid days training our Soul Power then the third would be a 'relax' day which we would spend spoiling Madi. On the days that we trained, Raven and Echo switched between each other to spend the day with Madi, teaching her how to track and hunt if she was with Echo or about machines and computers if she was with Raven. At this point, it was clear that Madi would be staying with us unless she really wanted to join the bunkers, but I did not think anyone would try to push her anymore.

Another couple of weeks passed, and I found myself at the entrance of the labyrinth again with Katye, Echo, and Raven. Katye and I had managed to barely move the fifth earlier this week, so we were all hopeful that tonight might be the night that we would finally open the door. I was hopeful, but at the same time, I was worried about what the next challenge would hold. Things had gotten to a great balance between training and relaxation, so I did not want that to end. I enjoyed the time we spent as a close-knit group and any change in our routine made me worry with how my life in 'the 100' had gone so far.

"You ready?" Katye asked as she took her position next to the chain.

"I guess so. Give it everything that you got," I replied, dropping my jacket to the side.

We both placed our hands on the chain and started to pull. I did not bother using my Soul Power at the very beginning as I had learned that it was better to slowly infuse it through my body as I needed more strength. The first set raised then the second, third, and fourth.

I had no idea how much weight was on the end of this chain, but despite the incredible power flowing through my body, we were still struggling. Katye's whole body was shaking under the strain, so I knew she was about to drop. I channeled everything that I had left throughout my body just as Katye collapsed to her knees, panting.

In that moment, all of that weight was being supported by my legs, arms, and back. It felt like my fingers were being pulled out of their sockets, but I held on stubbornly. At the time, I did not understand why I was so determined, but I was being influenced by my True Soul. I could feel something bubbling deep within me, which I had felt before in my times of need, so I reached out to it. An inhuman roar erupted from my throat, and I twisted my body, pulling the chain with me.

The fifth set of weights moved upwards and, when it crossed the midline, a loud, metallic clink rang out. The chain moved on its own, pulling the weights, while I fell to the ground with my entire body tingling. Raven and Echo ran towards me, but Katye got to me first, looking at me with concern. She grabbed my wrist and twisted my arm, but I pulled out of her grip.

"I'm fine," I assured.

"Rebecca, look at your arms!" Raven said, kneeling down next to me.

I lifted my arm and found stormy gray markings running across my skin. It looked similar to Celtic Knot tribal tattoos which stretched from the palms of my hands to my shoulders and disappeared under my shirt. With a sigh, I let my hand fall to the side, but before anyone else could comment, the sound of the stone doors opening echoed through the chamber while the pulley system lowered underground then sealed over. Raven helped me sit up since I had spent most of my strength and energy, and I looked at the open doorway that led to stairs which descended into the darkness. It was looming and foreboding, but I was too tired to care at the moment.

Seeing the conflicted look on Katye face as she looked between me and the doorway, I chuckled weakly and said, "Go, I'm fine. I'll still be here when you hit the next challenge."

"Thanks, Becca," Katye said then stood up, touching Echo on the shoulder.

Echo gave me a nod as she stood up and she followed Katye. I sat up properly since I was not hurt, just tired. Although I wanted to explore the labyrinth, I did not have it in me tonight and I did not care enough to push myself any further. While the other two walked away, Raven traced her fingers along the new markings on my arms.

"Do you hate them?" I asked with a teasing smile since I knew what she would say.

"No... but I don't like strange markings appearing on your body either," Raven replied.

I chuckled and placed a finger under her chin, guiding her lips to mine. She did not fight me at all, and I practically pulled her on top of me. I may have had no energy for exploring the labyrinth, but I found new strength with Raven on top of me. Things might have progressed further, but Katye and Echo ran into a unique problem.

"Becca! Can you come over here?" Katye called out.

I sighed, slightly annoyed, with Raven looking down at me flushed and practically growled, "You're mine tonight."

"I'm yours every night," she replied, seductively.

As much as I wanted to rip her clothes off then and there, I also knew that Katye needed me for something. Raven stood up then helped me to my feet since I was still tired. We walked over to where Katye and Echo were. Katye was inside the line of the doorway while Echo was on the other side with us.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Both of you, step forward," Katye replied.

Although I was confused, Raven and I did as she said then the piece fell into place. I could cross the line of the doorway, but Raven was held back by an invisible membrane. We could hold hands and push through to a certain point, but she would always be pulled back and could not cross more than a few inches past the line.

"This was meant for us, and only us," I sighed after trying several times to draw Raven in.

"Alright... Tomorrow night, can we go down?" Katye asked.

"Sure, but don't expect Raven or I to get out of bed until the evening."

"Fine; we'll watch Madi, but mind your volume," she retorted.

Raven blushed, but I just chuckled and taunted, "Why else do you think I placed our place so far from you? I can only stop sound with my Wind Domain if I can focus."

 

 

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