BOOK 1: BEYOND THE ICE WALL - Chapter 5: The Tunnel Beneath the City (by Clive J. Welan)
Chapter 5 — The Tunnel Beneath the City
“Stop for a second,” Quianna finally said.
They halted at a dark bend in the tunnel. Eljireh placed a hand against the cold stone wall, trying to steady his breath. A few seconds passed in silence. No footsteps followed. But that didn’t mean they were safe. Quianna glanced back toward the tunnel they had just come from.
“Do you think Elias is okay?”
Eljireh didn’t answer. He knew that question had no easy answer. Elias had stayed behind in the map chamber. Alone. Facing the agents of the Global Council. And both of them knew the most realistic outcome. Quianna exhaled slowly.
“I didn’t even know him…”
“…and he just saved us.”
Eljireh stared down the corridor ahead.
“He did it because he believed in something.”
“What?”
Eljireh was silent for a moment.
Then he said quietly,
“That the truth is more important than his own life.”
Silence returned. Only the faint sound of water dripping from the stone ceiling echoed around them. Quianna looked at him.
“Do you actually believe all of this?”
Eljireh raised an eyebrow slightly.
“What do you mean?”
“The map.”
“The White Rim.”
“The world beyond that no one ever taught us about.”
She crossed her arms.
“Because if all of that is true…”
“…then the entire history of the world is a lie.”
Eljireh stared at the stone floor. He remembered the map. The massive ring of ice. And the world beyond it. Arkae Dominion. Pelagian Seas. Leviath Wildlands.
He spoke softly, “If it’s a lie…then it’s a very big one.”
Quianna let out a long breath.
“And now we’re right in the middle of it.”
They began walking again. The tunnel sloped upward now. The air shifted. It was no longer as cold. Which meant only one thing. They were getting closer to the surface. But Eljireh slowed. His thoughts were no longer focused only on escape. He remembered something. Something from his childhood. A gentle voice. His mother’s voice.
The wind moved softly across a field of wheat. A young Eljireh sat on the wooden steps of a small church. The building was simple. Old wood. Cracked glass windows. But to his family…it was home. His mother sat beside him.
Mrs. Valen Root.
She held two cups of warm tea.
“You’re still reading that book?” she asked.
The young boy nodded.
“I want to know more about the world.”
His mother smiled.
“Eljireh…”
“The world is very vast.”
The boy looked up at the blue sky.
“Father said EL created everything.”
“That’s right.”
“Then why do so many people not believe in Him?”
His mother was silent for a few seconds. Then she said softly,
“Because truth is often hidden behind great lies.”
Eljireh looked down at the book in his hands.
“Then I’ll find it.”
His mother looked at him gently. Then she said something he would never forget.
“If you seek the truth with an honest heart…”
“EL will not let you lose your way.”
“Eljireh!!”
Quianna’s voice pulled him back into the tunnel.
He blinked.
“What?”
“You stopped walking.”
Eljireh shook his head slightly.
“Sorry.”
They continued forward.
After a few minutes, the tunnel ended at a large iron door.
Old.
Rust-covered.
But still intact. Quianna stepped forward and tried the handle. It didn’t move.
“Locked.”
Eljireh scanned the walls. There—a small lever. He pulled it. A grinding mechanical sound echoed behind the stone.
Click.
The iron door slowly opened. Cold night air rushed into the tunnel. They stepped out. They found themselves in a narrow alley at the edge of the city. Yellow streetlights illuminated the damp pavement. It had just rained. Old buildings lined both sides of the street. A place few people ever passed through. Quianna looked around.
“At least we didn’t come out in the middle of the city.”
Eljireh nodded.But before he could respond, the sound of an engine echoed from the end of the street. A black vehicle rolled slowly to a stop at the intersection. Its headlights swept across the alley. Quianna immediately pulled Eljireh back into the shadows. The car stopped. Two men stepped out. Black uniforms. A small insignia on their shoulders. A circle. Three vertical lines. The Global Council.
“Great,” Quianna whispered.
“They’re even faster than we are.”
Eljireh scanned the opposite side of the alley. There—a fire escape ladder attached to an old building. He pointed upward.
“We climb.”
“Seriously?”
“Better than getting caught.”
They ran.
The metal ladder creaked as they climbed.
Below, one of the agents began walking toward the alley.
A flashlight beam swept across the walls.
“Check that area,” the man said.
Eljireh and Quianna reached the rooftop just as the light neared the ladder. They dropped low behind a large ventilation unit. From there, they could see the city.
Lights glowing in the night.
Towering buildings.
Busy streets.
A world that looked completely normal.
But now, Eljireh knew something almost no one in that city did. The world was far larger than they believed. Quianna sat beside him.
“I can’t believe this is actually happening.”
Eljireh looked up at the night sky. Faint stars flickered between the clouds. He spoke softly,
“When I was a kid…”
“…I always thought the world was huge.”
Quianna smiled slightly.
“Now you know it’s true.”
Eljireh shook his head.
“No.”
He remembered the map beneath the library. The massive ring of ice. And the world beyond it.
“Now I know…”
“…it’s even bigger than I ever imagined.”
Below them, the agents of the Global Council continued searching the alley.
But far to the south of the world… in the region known only as The Southern… the ice storms moved like a living wall of white. And beyond them… the White Rim stood like a gate separating two worlds. And something beyond that wall… was waiting.
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