The march halted.

Meladee heard Rooks’ com buzz. She scooted closer. From the com, came Eva’s voice, and Rooks engaged that voice in conversation.

“You’re sure Ul’thetos doesn’t know your whereabouts?” Rooks asked.

Eva answered, “Yes, our battle with automatons was far from here, and now, we’re hiding among ruins. Ul’thetos’ patrols haven’t found us yet. Ul’thetos might not know about the tunnels, though I doubt it. It’s more likely that Ul’thetos believes we can’t reach them. We’ve done our best to make this one look covered by debris.”

Rooks positioned her com for Meladee to join the conversation. The Commander nodded along with Eva’s suppositions.

Rooks continued, “How’s Camellia? I would have her contact the creature, but if you’re well hidden, that would be a bad move.”

“I think we’re hidden well.”

Sten’s voice came next. “Camellia is in better shape. Eating and walking around. Our medic thought she healed fast during the day, but her nighttime abilities are far more impressive. She briefly visited the tunnels and will be ready to travel with the rest of us. But, I don’t think contact with the creature is advised.”

Rooks sighed. “Contact with the creature is always ill advised. But, more so now.”

Meladee nodded. She pointed at the com.

Rooks allowed her to take it.

“So, you’re all better now?” Meladee asked. “Anyone else injured.” Meladee fiddled with the com’s case, as if trying to pull it open and expose the interior workings.

Rooks stopped Meladee from prying at the seam.

“Why...Meladee,” Eva’s voice purred. “Are you questioning our ability to function without a mage? Or, are you worried about us?”

“Just answer the damn question,” Meladee growled.

“We’re all fine. Camellia, myself, and Benham. Everyone else as well. And, we will not be mageless for much longer. Will we?” Eva asked.

Meladee basked in a strange mixture of relief and embarrassment. Turning red, she handed the com back to Rooks.

Rooks answered, “Reinforcements arrived a few hours ago – soon after Ul’thetos threw a ship at us. Assuming we don’t encounter another game of toss the ship, we will meet you in two to three days.”

Meladee listened to the pause. It stretched.

Eva said, “We’ll wait for you.”

“Is there anything more?” Rooks asked.

Eva didn’t hesitate. “Ul’thetos is fond of certain organics. A long time ago, Ul’thetos recruited scientists and artists – and the odd politician.”

It was a bit of a non sequitur, but Meladee played along. “Ah’nee’thit does that too. Only with historians and mages. These monsters...they’re people collectors.”

“Yes,” Eva agreed.

Rooks narrowed her eyes and held the com to her mouth. “Eva? Is there a point to this observation?”

“When there were hundreds of organic Lurriens, Ul’thetos lured the group as a whole. No one stood out. Now, it’s fond of Camellia, but just Camellia. It concerns me.”

Footsteps approached from behind, and Rooks paused the conversation. She turned, and Meladee turned too. Cernunnos approached. He leaned close to Rooks’ com.

“Eva, it’s Cernunnos.”

Rooks handed him the com, and he accepted.

Cernunnos continued, “I don’t think you should be that concerned. Camellia is the only one this creature has had a taste of. If we didn’t use our handkerchiefs – Adalhard, myself, Alim, our mages – we’d all be targets. Not to mention the scientists in the Commander’s crew. Of course, Ul’thetos is overly focused on Camellia. It knows only Camellia.”

Meladee knew that was the truth. The first time they visited Lurren, Camellia didn’t have a handkerchief.

“True.” Eva’s voice crackled over the com. “But, all that focus? Can she handle it?”

“She lived her with father,” Cernunnos answered. “She handled him, and we both know what he’s like.”

Meladee had a pretty good idea of what went on in Viorel’s home. Camellia never explicitly said, but little details pointed towards an utter lack of privacy and freedom.

Eva emitted something like a sigh. “We should finish up now. The archaeologists want to go into the tunnels.”

Rooks took her com back. “Alright, Eva. Go ahead. Plan out a route and we’ll get to you as soon as possible. Rooks out.” Rooks turned off her com and stowed it. She waved to her force and resumed their march.

A small army of men, women, mages, and healers followed. Meladee and Cernunnos walked by the Commander.

“So, I’m safe from Ul’thetos?” Rooks asked.

“What? I never said that.” Cernunnos shook his head. He trotted to keep pace after a short, shocked pause.

Rooks smirked. “Ul’thetos takes an interest in scientists, archaeologists, mages, healers...Did I miss anyone? Certainly not navy commanders.”

Cernunnos smiled back. “When I said that, I didn’t mean you were safe from Ul’thetos. I meant you weren’t its favorite kind of person, destined for life as a valued cultist. I’m sure you’re very much in danger of becoming an automaton.”

Meladee laughed, and Rooks did too.

“March at the center, you two.” Rooks gestured for them to head further back. “I don’t want my best mage and most experienced archaeologist at the front lines.”

Meladee and Cernunnos stopped and simply waited until the center of the force engulfed them. Then, they resumed their walk.

Meladee’s feet hurt. She decided to complain. “My feet ache.”

“Mine too,” Cernunnos agreed.

Meladee, finding her initial topic exhausted, announced an abrupt change of subject. “So, this is a new tactic?”

“I beg your pardon?” Cernunnos feigned innocence.

“This is a new tactic to get Rooks?” Meladee nodded after the Commander. “Playing hard to get?”

“Oh no. This is, indeed, a new tactic, but I’m not playing hard to get.” Cernunnos smiled and raised his eyebrows. “I’m being myself.”

Meladee crossed her arms. “Wow.”

Eva turned on a flashlight. Her companions did the same.

Eight beams of light aimed at the dark entrance. Steps led down and away into subway tunnels. Dust danced through the flashlights’ glow.

With an open palm, Eva gestured for Benham to lead the way.

He took the first step down the stairs. Eva took the second. The staircase beckoned them into darkness.

While Eva’s light focused on the steps down, other lights lit the walls and ceiling. The beams traveled over tiled murals of happy, smiling trains.

Eva had a faint memory of the artworks and the characters they depicted. She remembered each train had its own personality, a set of mascots for the Lurrien transit system.

Stolen story; please report.

The yellow train twisted in loop-de-loops, with wild eyes and a crazy smile. On the ceiling, a blue train grinned serenely with sleepy eyes, traveling in a straight line. On the opposite wall, a green train zigzagged, wearing a mean smile.

Eva felt sure the mascots starred in a TV commercial. No...a cartoon… She could remember no more.

Benham reached the bottom first. His shadowy form turned. “The decor is a little strange. I’m dying to know more about Loopy, Zaggy, and Sleepy.” Benham pointed at the walls.

Eva looked at the murals. Loopy, Zaggy, and Sleepy. Something felt off about the names.

“Are those their names?” Camellia asked.

“No idea.” Benham shrugged. “Eva doesn’t know a thing about them either.”

“I told you. I have very foggy memories of them.” Eva cast her light around the platform.

Then, she walked forward and sent the light down the train tunnel, ensuring they were alone. No automatons hobbled the tracks. Satisfied, Eva turned back to her friends.

Camellia pointed at the wall. “How many of these pictures are there.”

All around the platform, murals depicted each train in its preferred travel pattern. Loopy, the yellow train, twisted and turned from ceiling to wall and back again. Sleepy meandered, traveling over less tile, and Zaggy ventured everywhere, even on to the floor.

Zaggy...something was definitely off about the names.

The others ventured further into the tunnels, but Camellia took a seat near the platform’s edge. She didn’t dangle her legs over the side. Instead, she crossed them and leaned against a pillar.

Sten and Eva had already warned that the tracks below were live. Camellia doubted even a dhampir could survive a brush with such an abundance of electricity.

A feeling nagged at her, but she couldn’t place it. She put a hand to her head.

Adalhard came close and whispered, “Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

Foggy – Eva’s word. It described exactly what Camellia felt. Apparently, Eva felt the same. But, within the day, Camellia’s fogginess would fade, Eva’s would still be there.

“What do you want to see first?” Eva asked the anthropologists. She lowered her light and kept out of their eyes.

“The signs.” Adalhard pointed at route maps affixed to the tunnel walls.

Camellia kicked herself for wishing to examine the mascot murals first.

Adalhard placed a hand on Camellia’s shoulder. He held a pad of paper. “Should I sketch or work the camera? We have limited film, so we need to choose our subjects carefully. No offense, but I’m not sure you have enough wits about you to manage it.”

Camellia nodded slowly. “I can sketch.” She took the offered sketch pad.

Adalhard pulled the camera from his bag and got to work. First, he photographed a route map, and then, he snapped a picture of a sign detailing the sights at their current stop. The camera spit both pictures from its interior, and Adalhard shook them. In a few moments, they developed, and he handed them to Eva to help translate. Eva could read Lurrien fluently. Adalhard had yet to learn.

Camellia sketched the platform first. She walked the room to get a rough measurement and then sat back down. Unwilling to stand for long, Camellia sat against her pillar and worked. Every few minutes, she scooted around the pillar to change her view, and as much as it shamed her, she concentrated on the train murals. She found a special one. It depicted a race between the three trains. Camellia made a detailed sketch. Each train’s expression displayed its personality, and Camellia could not agree more with Benham’s names for the characters.

Sleepy will never win this race. Not when Loopy and Zaggy look so…alert.

Benham sidled over. “Good, get a good picture of those things. They’re nightmare fuel, and I don’t want Meladee to miss them.” He sighed. “I miss her.”

Camellia paused. It took a few moments, but she realized that Benham referred to Meladee and not one of the trains.

She blinked rapidly. “I miss her too. We’ll see her soon.”

Benham got to his feet and dusted himself off. “Well, I might scout the tunnels some more.”

“We aren’t supposed to travel too much farther without Commander Rooks,” Camellia whispered. “There’s plenty here to occupy us. You could help.”

“This is very tedious.” Benham shook his head. He put his backpack on and grabbed his flashlight.

“I’m sorry, but tedious defines this kind of work. Be glad we don’t have to dig anything up.”

Benham nodded. “Right, I’m not cut out for it, so I’ll see you later.” He left and hopped down, careful to avoid the tracks. He waved to Rooks’ men and went on his way.

Camellia sighed and finished her sketch. She committed herself to color the strange mascots later, labeling the colors in light pencil. Then, she crept back to the stairs to draw the first murals. She sat down, feigning a need for rest, and set to work. Not a moment passed before Sten joined her.

He took a look at her sketchbook. “Try not to stay near the entrance for too long. We don’t want to be caught by automatons.”

Camellia hadn’t thought of that. She nodded. “I’ll finish quickly.” She worked faster, making a very rough representation of the trains.

“How are you doing?” Sten asked.

“Much better, thank you.”

“Your ability to self-repair is something I wish I could effect.” Sten held out his hands and considered them. “Girandolan synthetics do not have subconscious self-repair. It’s the same for Lurriens. Though, I understand that Eva functions differently.”

Camellia pondered Sten’s assertion and tried to recall Eva’s difference. When they’d first met, Eva had injected herself with nanites from a scuffy metal cylinder.

Camellia said, “Eva has a tube of nanites. I think she uses them to heal.”

Sten regarded Camellia with surprise. “Yes, she was grown with nanites, almost like an organic. And, now that her construction is complete, the nanites repair her. I’ve never seen this tube you speak of.”

So, Sten knew about the nanites, but at least, Camellia could offer some new information.

Camellia held her hands about eight inches apart. “It’s gold, cylindrical, and about this big. Very worn. There’s a small circular membrane on the top, and Eva jabs a needle into it.”

Sten stroked his chin. “I was under the impression she needed to bathe in nanites after a period of time.” For several quiet moments, he watched Eva.

Eva glinted gold in the flashlight. She examined photographs with Adalhard. Sometimes, it seemed Eva wanted to appear Tagtrumian, like just another vibrant inhabitant of those islands, a person who could blend. Yet, Eva also didn’t like to be regarded as organic. She didn’t want to be either: organic or synthetic. Camellia felt the room begin to spin.

Sten leaned back on the steps. “Do you think she would let me recreate her schematic?”

Camellia’s eyes widened, and she stared at Sten. “You mean...draw her…”

“Like you would see in an anatomy book regarding your own body.” Sten gestured to Camellia.

Camellia put a hand on her cheek and stuttered, “We...Well…”

Eva signaled for Sten to join her.

“Another time.” Sten rose from his seat.

Camellia hoped Sten wouldn’t ask Eva for a schematic. She didn’t know how her friend might respond. And, come to think of it, Camellia didn’t know how Eva really saw herself. Did Eva consider herself somewhere between synthetic and organic? Like Camellia considered herself halfway between monster and woman? Camellia would have to ask.

She hurriedly finished her sketch, got up, and returned to her pillar, glad to be away from the entrance. She sat down and copied the train mural on the far wall.

Eva and Sten’s conversation wafted over, and Camellia learned a great deal about how the magnetic trains worked. She sighed, glad to see that Sten did not press Eva for her schematic.

After an hour, Camellia needed a break. She’d sketched all of the murals and some faded advertisements that sat behind glass cases. She erased the last stray line and closed her book.

“Do you want to sit on the bench instead?” Adalhard asked.

Camellia jumped. She looked at the metal seat. “No, I’m fine.”

Adalhard frowned. “Eva and I have determined the route we’re going to take as well as an alternate. I just sent Benham to scout. He was wandering around. Do you want to rest before we review it?”

“No, no. Show me now.” She tried to take the photograph of the map.

Adalhard pulled it away. “You don’t seem very well. You’ve been sitting here a long time.”

“I’ve been drawing mascot murals,” Camellia confessed. “I’m fine.”

Adalhard paused. “Okay then.” He handed her the photograph. “Here we are. Station 23. There are 67 stations in all. One of the northern stations is number 35. It’s a long walk. If we can ride a train, we’d be much better off. I hope Benham can find one.”

Camellia considered riding one of the strange trains. Would they even work? More importantly, would they work just like the murals suggested?

As she dreaded a ride on Loopy, she put her hand to her head. “What will we find at station 35?”

“Not Ul’thetos’ prison. They wouldn’t be likely to connect that to the rest of the continent. But, I think station 35 will get us close.” Adalhard shifted. “Now, what we can find at station 35 is the animatronic jungle.” He produced a photograph.

This photograph was of an ad on the platform, one Camellia had not seen to copy. The text beckoned visitors to the animatronic jungle.

“I remember Eva said something about the jungle when she helped me make the map.” Camellia rummaged in her bag and found the rough Lurrien map. She spotted the animatronic jungle, placed vaguely in the southern center.

“Seems you had the placement backwards.” Adalhard pointed at the lower part of Camellia’s Lurren. “It’s actually in the central north.” Adalhard moved his finger up. “The important thing is that the jungle is unlikely to be under flesh. It’s tall, and, Eva says it’s sealed within a shell of concrete. It seems we can reach the jungle through the tunnels. Traveling like that, Ul’thetos would never know our whereabouts.”

“But, if Ul’thetos finds out we’re in these tunnels, won’t it just assume we’ll go to that location?” Camellia asked.

“No. Because station 35 is not the best exit choice.”

“I thought you said it was.” Camellia frowned and rubbed her temple.

Adalhard nodded once. “It’s very close to where we want to be, but there are two better stations: 32 and 34. Ul’thetos won’t expect this move, and if it guards the other stations, we’ll have a clear area to search for the containment facility.”

Camellia studied the ad and the map. Her hopes rose. Then, they fell. “The jungle is under concrete. We can get in through the tunnels, but how will we get out?”

“Sten and Eva think they can dig us out.”

“I guess we’re going to this jungle.” Camellia looked again at the advertisement.

A mythical phoenix spread its wings. Tropical parrots perched around the poster’s edges, and a unicorn and goat ran along the bottom. One black wolf stared back from the page, with intense red eyes.

“How many of these did you copy?” Adalhard flipped through her sketchbook.

The three trains smiled back at him.

Camellia gaped. When did he take the sketchbook? It didn’t matter. She needed to defend her poor choices.

“They’re a fascinating and unusual artistic display. I’ve only seen things like these on the Girandolan cruise ship.” Camellia took her sketchbook back. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to see what else I can dig up about them. My head hurts, and you have our path forward. I think I can devote some time to these unsettling characters.” She stood up, tottering momentarily before she caught her balance.

Adalhard rose to his steady feet and grabbed her arm. “I can predict your next paper now. Cartoon Mascots from Old Lurren: Loopy, Sleepy, and Zaggy.”

Camellia shot him an unappreciative look and found him smiling. She tried not to smile but failed.