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He pats my shoulder and then helps me climb down a few more rocks while Tuoni quickly comes in after me.
“We need to move,” Tuoni says. “The faster I’m in Tuonela, the quicker they will die for good this time. And I don’t want them going through the portal with us.”
My father nods and hurries off. “This way.”
I follow quickly, Tuoni close behind me. The tunnel goes down for a bit, but then as it levels out, the walls start to get narrower, until my shoulders are brushing against them. The light from my father’s lantern shows nothing but black dirt walls, and even then, it seems to be swallowed up by the darkness.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Tuoni says from behind me. “I didn’t mean to get so violent.”
“Yes, you did,” I tell him. “You’re the God of Death. That’s what you do. And if I’m the Goddess of Death, I better get used to it.”
Not that I could ever get used tothat.
“Good girl,” he says under his breath. “I think you’re become more and more suited to me with each passing day.”
I smile faintly at that. As much as I love it when he calls me a good girl, though, I can’t let myself think about anything until we get out of this cave system. The longer I’m down here, the more I’m starting to panic. How much longer until we reach the sea? What if Noora and Eero go into zombie mode and run after us? How do we stop them from killing us down here if they themselves can’t be killed?
I suppose we might not be able to be killed either, but there’s no way I want to test that theory out, not here.
“How much longer?” I ask my father, trying to keep the fear out of my voice.
“Not much more,” he says. “I know it’s a long slog, but we should be?—”
He breaks off just as a low rumble starts to sound, the walls and ground shaking.
“What’s happening?” I cry out.
“A cave-in!” Tuoni yells.
“It’s them,” my father cries. “They’re making the tunnel collapse. Hanna, run! We’re almost there!”
My father reaches back and pulls me forward, pushing me past him. I start running, my father and Tuoni right behind me. The light from his lantern swings back and forth, my figure casting shadows on the rocks as we race along.
Dirt and rocks from the ceiling begin to fall, the ground still shaking, and yet, up ahead, I see it: a strange kind of glow.
“That’s the portal and the sea beyond! Keep going!” my father yells from behind me.
I run faster now, small rocks hitting my head as I go, and the portal gets closer and closer. It’s as if someone put a sheet of plexiglass at the end of the tunnel with an aquarium on the other side.
Tuonela.
Almost there.
Almost…home.
“Keep going!” my father yells again. “Run right through it; you’ll be fine!”
But then the rumble gets louder, the earth shaking so hard, I fall to the ground, and a large rock lands on my leg.
I cry out in pain and hear my father and Tuoni yelling.
The lantern light goes out.
I scream for them, but the rumble of the cave is too loud, and I know it’s going to bury us all.
“Keep going!” I hear Tuoni’s voice carry out. “Hanna, keep going!”
I get to my feet, limping along, and then run a few feet more until I’m pushing through the portal’s veil, the sensation like pushing through a bowl of jelly.
