Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [153]
Except he couldn’t see the floor. Everything was covered with water—it was an underground lake. The water was clear, beautiful. The pure white light was streaming from its depths.
Whoa.
The underground lake was shaped like a pentagon. Seen from above, the entire room would have looked like a giant gem, breathtaking in its beauty. The more he looked, the more Wataru felt like he would be sucked into its depths.
Finally, he managed to tear his eyes away and look at the walls for some other exit. Here and there he saw protrusions much like the one he was standing upon. If he jumped and picked his way over the rocks just right he thought he could make it to the edge of the water.
He moved carefully, measuring each jump. It took quite a while to finally reach the rocks at the lake’s edge. The tension he felt took his breath away. Standing at the edge of the water, the white light was more brilliant than ever, and his ears were filled with the sound of waves lapping at the stony shore. Odd that there should be waves. There isn’t any wind. Wataru thought there might be a spring of some sort toward the middle of the lake.
Returning his sword to the scabbard at his waist, Wataru got down on his knees and stuck his right hand out to the water’s surface. It was quite cold, and felt like silk. He stuck his hand in, and got the strong impression that he was touching something very holy.
The source of the white light was definitely coming from the bottom of the lake. Maybe he could find it if he dove in. But if he went into cold water like that without warming up first, he’d probably cramp up and sink to his watery grave.
As he sat pondering his next move, he realized something. He wasn’t just watching the clear, shining water. He was being watched.
By what?
Just beneath the surface of the water, a giant eyeball appeared—the size of a basketball—and it stared at Wataru, unblinking. The pupil was jet black. He could even see red veins running through the white of the eye.
Thus commenced a strange staring contest that went on for several seconds. Wataru was entranced and stood there motionless. Then, suddenly, he came to his senses and pulled his hand from the water.
Too late! Something came rushing out of the water and grabbed his wrist. It was the white arm, the one that had beckoned him into the chapel ruins. Water ran in rivulets down its fingers, and glimmering droplets sprayed as it broke the surface. From this close, Wataru could see that it was indeed a slender feminine arm, yet its strength was incredible. Wataru struggled to free himself from that pale grasp. All the while, the huge single eye continued to stare at him.
“Let me go!” he shouted, but the arm tugged even harder until it felt like his shoulder would pop. Suddenly, something grabbed onto his leg. Wataru twisted and looked down to see a black mummified arm coming out of the water.
The arm that took my lantern! Wataru noticed that this arm was a left arm. White and black, the two arms formed a pair. Together, they held Wataru firmly in place.
“I said let me go!” Wataru yelled. He tried kicking the black arm off his leg, but lost his balance and fell with a thump on his behind. The arms pulled even harder, dragging him into the water directly in view of the giant eye’s unblinking gaze.
“Help me!” Wataru’s scream echoed off the high vaulted ceiling of the cavern.
Help me…help me…help me. His words mocked him as they echoed off the walls.
As he struggled, Wataru reached for his sword with his left hand. Just as his fingers brushed against the hilt, the black hand yanked his leg with ferocious strength. In the same instant, the white hand released him. Wataru fell on his back and was dragged into the water all the way up to his waist.
Oh no!
The white hand appeared in the air above him. Fluttering above his face like some evil bird, it grabbed his shirt collar and dragged him down, deeper into the water.
His left hand found his sword, and he drew it from its scabbard. He swung without thinking, without bothering