Ava's POV
We fell mercilessly, hitting the rough edges, getting bruises all over. I landed on the ground with my head in an awkward position before straightening up and looking at Jace, who was sprawled on the ground, breathing hard, as he looked up at the sky.
I looked around. Apparently, we had fallen in some kind of hole. Due to taking quick, hasty breaths, the dust managed to get into my nose, and I sneezed hard.
We heard the strange buzzing sound, and I covered my mouth, only for another sneeze to come through.
I sneezed again, and Jace scrambled to his fist to cover my mouth.
I held his hand there, trying my best not to sneeze. Eventually, I let out a tiny one, and with my eyes watering, I looked around, taking Jace's hands off my mouth.
Everywhere was dusty. It was probably because we had fallen through it. All the dust seemed to be settling.
“What do we do now?” I whispered, giving a little cough, as I tried to swipe the dust away from settling on my face.
“I think we should stay here for a while. Just until the ant monster leaves. It's way too fast for us to outrun. We have to wait.” He said, and I heard the strange buzzing sound. I moved closer to Jace and hugged my knees to my chest. I hated the feeling of fear. It was merciless.
“I'm sorry.” I breathed out, feeling my throat burn, as tears filled my eyes.
“For what?” Jace asked, brushing my hair behind my ear so he could see me better.
“For everything.” I sniffed and shuddered. “I don't seem to be of much help. Not as strong as the other guys could be. Maybe we could have been done with this adventure and all.” I said, as the hot tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. “I'm sorry.” I added, when I noticed he kept staring at me through my side-eye.
Then I turned to him and discovered he was smiling.
“Why?” I asked him.
“It's so nice to hear you apologize. You look like a pretty boy while apologizing. You're also beautiful while crying, but you crying makes my heart ache. Don't cry, Ava.”
Although it was weird that he said all that despite that he still saw me as a boy, and while his words were getting to me, I had to look for a way to shake them off my head.
“Are you actually joking in the midst of all this?” I asked, with my tears filling up again.
“I’m not, actually. We'll get what we came here for. We'll pass our test, and Professor Harley would deem us worthy. Don't beat yourself up over it.” He assured me, and I sniffled again, still feeling a little guilty about not being of much help.
After a few minutes, he got to his feet and looked around. I followed suit. We had fallen quite deep, but climbing out wouldn't be that much of a big deal since it had rough edges and built-in stones we could use to hoist ourselves up.
“I think we should be able to leave now.” He said, and I nodded, but as we began to climb, we had the unmistakable roar of the ant monster.
“It's still out there. I think it knows we're somewhere here.” I said, holding onto Jace, so he wouldn't bother climbing.
“When is it going to leave?” He asked, looking upwards.
“I have no idea.” I replied.
“Let's lay low then.” He said, and we regained our positions on the ground.
I spread out my palms and closed my eyes, trying to feel the crackle of magic between my fingers. Reading some books seemed to help.
When I saw I was yet to feel it, I began to whisper spell words to make us invisible. Maybe if we were invisible, then we could make it out safely. I didn't think the ant would be able to see through my spells.
Unfortunately, no matter how much I whispered, I didn't feel the magic burn through my fingers. It was lost somewhere, like I couldn't withdraw it from me. Like it was stuck. A closed door.
“Just like we lost our speed, I think anything like powers won't work out here. Temporarily, I mean. Nothing really seems to work well here.” Jace said, and after trying a few more times, I gave up with a grunt.
We lapsed into silence, listening to the occasional buzz of the ant monster.
Whether we stayed there for an hour, more or less, I couldn't tell, but I knew waiting in silence was agony.
It was only after a long time that we finally stopped hearing the buzz.
“I think it's gone.” Jace whispered, and we got to our feet.
We began to climb up the hole slowly but steadily.
“Watch your step.” Jace cautioned, and I continued climbing steadily.
“Thanks. I got this.” I said, scratching dust just to make myself steady. I didn't want to slip and fall.
“Be careful, Ava. I got your back, though.” He replied, and I tried hard to climb, even though it was hard. I wasn't much of a climber.
Unfortunately, just as I was about to pull myself to the top, something dark covered the hole, and I screamed.
“Are you okay?” Jace asked immediately.
“Back down, back down.” I said hastily, moving back, and Jace did the same too.
We got down, and just then, something white seemed to emerge from the middle of the black stuff that covered the hole. We heard the unmistakable buzz of the ant monster, and I bit my lip.
“Damn. This thing lays eggs?” Jace asked, and just then, an egg dropped into the hole.
More eggs began to drop, filling up the space, and Jace and I had to stick together.
We knew its plan immediately. It was planning to fill up the hole with eggs, so we'd die of suffocation.