Evan

Evan felt tension build in Zarg. He shined the flashlight to the right and found Zarg standing still, staring straight ahead. He moved the light ahead of Zarg hoping to find what he was looking at, but only saw more endless tunnel.

“Zarg senses something.”

Nina kept her pace. “Wait, how do you...oh yeah. Is he scared? Or just concerned?”

“I... uh, I don’t know, he’s not scared so, I guess worried maybe?”

“Then we keep going. Tell me when he gets scared or worse, until then we have to keep the pace. Those spaders said it was a few kilometers until the nearest wire and I’m not sure how much blood Kae’s lost.”

Evan caught up to Zarg and scratched him between the ears. “What is it?”

A frustration filled Zarg, like Evan’s voice was disturbing him. Zarg crept forward, low to the ground, outpacing them both.

“Hey, wait up. What is it?” Evan aimed the light ahead of Zarg but still saw nothing. Frustration filled Zarg. He put the light down and Zarg eased somewhat.

A pattern was forming, every time Evan spoke or pointed the light ahead of them, Zarg became more agitated, flustered even. What the hell?

“What is going—”

Zarg bolted. His paws pattered against the stiff dirt at a lightning quick pace. In a flash he was completely out of sight. Evan flicked the light ahead just barely catching the pink of his paw pads disappearing in the distance. Damn, he was fast now.

“Zarg?” Evan called out, hurrying after him, but not running. He couldn’t catch him before he had been exposed to the Root, there was no way he was going to now.

Nina hastened her pace. “What just happened?”

Then it clicked. Zarg was hunting. He could smell or hear something. Something small and most likely edible. Every time Evan flashed the light or spoke, Zarg became worried Evan was going to screw up his catch.

The sound of galloping feet grew louder. Zarg came back into view, beaming with pride.

“He caught something and he’s happy as hell.” Evan laughed. “Too bad Adelfried isn’t here. He always wondered why Zarg wasn’t used to hunt for food or something.” Evan looked up and yelled into the cave. “Zarg finally did some hunting for you.” A warm sadness squeezed him like an uncomfortable hug. Hopefully everyone was okay.

Zarg dropped a fat oversized rat at their feet, grinding their progress to a halt. It had an almost neon pink fur coat, wide floppy pink ears and shiny black button eyes. It was ridiculously cute, like a goddamn anime pet. Its eyes sparkled in the flashlight. Even its tail had dark pink stripes like a candy cane. A paw moved and Zarg snatched it back up and gave the poor thing another neck snapping shake.

“Aw Zarg.” Evan’s voice faded with revulsion, and Zarg’s pride rushed through him. “Thanks for that, yeah...”

Nina let out an amused huff. “Don’t let those sparkle eyes fool you. Those are extremely tasty. Like legit delicacy. And you see those claws? Those things will mess you up. So good boy, Zargy.” She patted him on the head.

Zargy? That was Evan’s nickname for him. Well, she’s part of the gang now, right? Maybe? Was she? If so, he should be able to trust her with what he had heard. She’d never given him any reason not to trust her, especially when she stood up to Mistress Kreeg and almost certain death.

Evan laughed hard. It was so ridiculous.

“What’s so funny?” Nina picked up the handles on the dolly and continued forward.

Zarg, taking his cue, picked up his dinner to bring it along as they continued their never-ending hike. Or was it breakfast? What time was it? It had to be early morning by now.

Evan let out a big gut cleansing sigh. “It’s just that the simple fact that you called him Zargy makes me believe I can rely on you. Trust you, even.”

Even in the dark light he could see Nina’s head jerk back, slightly offended. “I would hope so. I went up against the Wrecht order for all of you, you know. Mistress Kreeg even. Very few have done that and lived.”

“I know, I know it’s just that...she lied to us.”

Nina guffawed. “That’s all? Hell, she can’t say two words without one being a lie or hiding something. That comes with the job, I guess. I mean, you know what the Sovs can do, they can get anything they want from you. Well, present company excluded.”

“Yeah, but she lied to her dad. And it was whopper.”

“Don’t talk about food, I would murder a Whopper right now. Ah man, with cheese, side of fries and a big fat Dr. Pepper. Mmm, I can taste it now.”

Evan’ stomach grumbled. That did sound amazing. “I got a bag of chips we can split?”

“No, you keep it, you’re going to need all the calories you can get.”

Again, that ominous warning. “Okay, what are you not telling me? You keep almost saying it. What is it?”

Nina laughed. “No. Don’t turn this around on me. You can’t hint at a juicy secret like that and not tell me. That is some Sov level torture right there.”

Evan snickered. “Yeah, it is. So, let’s just walk in silence for another few minutes until we get distracted and not talk about our secrets. What do you say?”

“I say I’m going to put this dolly down and really see if my ESH blasts don’t work on you. That’s what I say. Spill the beans already.”

This was too good. Evan was enjoying drawing it out too much. She was cute and fun to be around. Butterflies flitted through his stomach. But was she really too old for him? Screw it, he had to know. “Fine, I’ll tell you, but first...tell me how old you are.” He immediately broke out in a sweat. Why did he say that? What was wrong with him?

“What? That’s what you want to know?”

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Evan’s face burned hot. He was being too obvious. Shit. She was going to figure it out.

Nina set the dolly down. “Come here.” She took the light from him and pointed it at her face. “I’m flattered. Really, I am. But I’m also old enough to be your mom.” She leaned in and kissed him square on the lips. It was heaven, her soft lips squishing up against his. Pure Magic. “Again, that’s for saving me and for just being an awesome kid. But you’re a kid and I know I almost look like a teenager, and... even sometimes act like one, but I’m pushing forty, okay? I’ll admit, I’m a little rebellious at times and that can make me seem juvenile.”

She laughed. “God when I say it out loud like that it sounds awful, but that’s who I am, I guess. Kind of like Kae.” She let out a big huff. “See, when you get your first big dose of ESH, it does stuff to you. Whatever state your life is in suddenly takes on way more importance. It’s like the ESH locks in the emotional state you’re focused on and brings it to the forefront. I can only guess Kae is rebelling against her parents, and so she probably was rebelling against that prick Meyers. I was teenager like Kae when I got my first ESH pendant and I’m still working that shit out. But you know, life goes on.”

She reached into her shirt and pulled out the end of a silver chain around her neck. On it a small uncut diamond glistened in the light from the flashlight. It wasn’t pretty, and if Evan didn’t know better it would look like any sad chunk of glass mounted on a silver base.

“It’s pretty,” he lied.

“No, it’s not, but it’s effective.”

She handed Evan the flashlight back and picked up the dolly to resume their trip. “Okay, I’ve told you my age, and I gave you a big smooch on the lips. Which I will say is officially the last one I am ever going to give you. Well...maybe look me up in twenty years and we’ll see.”

“Twenty years? I’m not a toddler, you know.” Evan continued forward trying not to feel offended.

“Fine, ten years. Okay?”

“Deal.” Evan puffed his chest out. Ten years, that wasn’t that long. In the grand scheme of things.

“Now if you don’t tell me—”

“Okay, okay. Harold, the warlock guy, he didn’t really kill Leyna.”

“And... who is Leyna?”

Evan let out a small grunt of frustration. “Adelfried’s wife? You know, Kreeg’s mom.”

“Oh...okay. Is that supposed to be some big deal?”

“Yeah, why do you think Adelfried wants to kill his brother so bad?”

Nina laughed. “Uh, because he’s like the evil Sov Numero Uno. He's literally brainwashed and killed probably thousands.”

“Well yeah but putting all that aside it was actually Mistress Kreeg who killed Leyna. It was an accident. See Harold first tried his mind control thing on Leyna like, I don’t know, a hundred years ago or something. Kreeg tried to stop him. They battled and, in the struggle, Minna killed her own mom.”

Nina slowed. “Damn...wait, how the hell would you know all this? And okay, it is a whopper. Fuck, now I’m hungry again.”

“Nope, you go next. I’ll tell you how, but first what’s with all this ominous talk about a wire and saving calories? Out with it.”

“Oh, you’re terrible and for what it's worth, I do wish you were twenty years older. Dating as a Wreckie is hard.”

Evan threw an arm around her as she dragged the dolly along. “Sounds like I still got a chance.”

They both cracked up laughing.

“Ten years Evan Harper, when you’re legal at least. Alright?”

“Yeah, yeah. Fine. Now your turn. What’s with this wire, calories, all this doom and gloom?”

Nina adjusted the grips in her hand. She had to be getting tired. Kae wasn’t that heavy, but a door, a dolly, and her body weight over such a long distance had to be draining her strength. “Most people, with ESH of course, travel medium distances via wire. It’s a skill most of us learn early on. With a large enough gauge of wire, you can go miles and miles in a flash. You can even bring people through who don’t know how to travel by wire, like Kae. So, when I get to that wire, I’m going to have to take her to find help. Which means...”

“Oh, you can’t take me.”

“Yep.”

“But the good news is I’ll go and get medical help for her, and then we can come back, you know?”

He was going to be alone. In the dark. By himself. Deep underground, lost in a maze of tunnels. Would he ever see anyone again? Anyone who didn’t want him dead?

“Hey!” Nina bumped into him.

“Yeah. You’ll come find me, right?”

“Exactly. And don’t worry. You’ve got Zarg with you and you’re armed and don’t forget that bag of chips.”

Evan tried to sound cheerful. “Don’t forget the expired lasagna noodles.”

“I’m sure that’s just a best by date. Pasta doesn’t go bad, right?”

“Yeah.” Evan’s stomach turned at the thought of being alone. Why? Why couldn’t she stay? Why couldn’t she... no. He was being stupid. Of course she had to take Kae.

“In all seriousness, you have water, and you are just as likely to find water down here. The Earth is porous and the Spaders always build their tunnels around water sources. Remember, their world runs on steam. And you have a light, a flashlight, and two phones worth. And hey, Zarg can catch you food. See? You have everything you need. It’s like one big camping trip.”

“Yeah. Great.”

“Look, I’ll get to civilization. Get Kae all fixed up and come back and get you. They have Wi-Fi and everything. This whole trip is going to be like one big underground vacation, you watch.”

“Yeah, I’ll let you know when it starts feeling like a vacation.”

Nina didn’t say anything for a while but finally broke the silence. “Hey, you never told me how you know all this about Mistress Kreeg.”

“Oh, yeah, well she did this thought projecting thing, but it wasn’t aimed at me. It was aimed at my mom. See right when she told Adelfried that Harold killed his wife, she threatened my mom to keep her mouth shut. I’m not sure my mom really understood it because you know, she didn't say anything or really act on it. But Mistress Kreeg kept going on and on about it was an accident. Almost like she was trying to convince or forgive herself. It was really kind of messed up. The way I figure it, Mom has all kinds of knowledge and juicy gossip on Minna, but you know, after all that brain control stuff, it's probably all coming back to her in random chunks. So, when Minna starts threatening her, she’s probably like, what the hell is this crazy lady going on about? But I don’t know if Mom never responded with any of her own brain project crap, or if she did, I never heard it.”

Nina nodded. “Okay. Okay. So, you draw ESH into you, which means any secret thought talking you’re going to hear. Interesting...don’t share that with anyone. That is somewhat common down here, less so above ground. But that could be useful.”

“If I learned anything over the last few days it’s not to trust anyone, present company excluded.”

Nina gave Evan a friendly shoulder bump and they continued to walk quietly for while without speaking. But all this did was make Evan start to feel alone. Nina panted as she continued to drag Kae along and the odd trio continued through the darkness for what felt like forever until they came to a T-intersection. The crossing tunnel was bigger, almost twice the size of the tunnel they were in.

Still no light. No life. Only darkness and silence.

As expected, a wire ran along the length of the tunnel floor. Shit. Evan had hoped and feared that the cable would be there. But now that it was, it meant he was going to be alone. No, it was a good thing. He had to be positive about this. He had to. This being positive thing sucked.

Nina set the dolly down next to the wire. Kae’s arm had swollen even further, the skin purple and blue. Evan put a hand on her forehead, cold and clammy with sweat. Poor Kae.

“Remember,” Nina said. “Water is always your most important resource. If you come across anyone, just say you got lost from your group hunting tunnel rats.” Nina tilted her head. “That’ll at least explain why you have Zarg with you.”

Evan rubbed his hands together. They were sweaty. “Okay, uh, take care of Kae, okay? And uh so what do I just wait here or what?”

“No keep heading...” She glanced in both directions and pointed to the left. “That way.”

“Why that way?”

“Well, that’s the way I am heading on the wire, but also because there is a slight breeze coming from that way. Which usually means that is the way to civilization. Each town has air pumps pushing air about, it’s a whole ecosystem thing. Don’t worry I’ll explain it all to you sometime.”

“You...you promise?” Evan’s voice wavered. Fear started to grab his neck and shoulders with its cold fingers.

She grabbed Evan in a big hug. His heart started to pound. This was it. He was going to be alone. All alone. It was terrifying. “I promise. You’re going to be okay. We are all going to get through this.”

“Okay. Okay” Evan pulled back from the hug. “You’re right. Go get her some help.” Evan swallowed; his throat dry. “I’ll be just fine. I’m not afraid,” he lied.

Nina’s sweet smile cut into him. “You’re a terrible liar, but you know what? Being afraid and pushing forward? That is bravery.” She kissed him on the cheek. “And bravery is hot as fuck. Ten years.”

She grabbed Kae and the wire and disappeared in a flash.