Evan

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.

And just like that, he was alone.

Zarg shoved his nose into his side. “Okay Zargy, I know, I’m not alone. Wait, do you know what I’m thinking, too?”

Zarg didn’t say anything.

Evan let out an amused huff and brushed his hand over Zarg’s head, pausing to rub him right behind the ears. Zarg let out a small grunt.

“Okay, I’m not alone,” he repeated as if it were a pep talk. He gave Zarg’s neck a thorough scratching; having him this close was a comfort until he felt something slick on his fingers. The flashlight revealed blood.

“Oh no!” Evan examined every bit of Zarg’s neck and mouth. As he did his panic slowly dissipated. Zarg had eaten the cave rat.

“Ew okay...” At least Zarg had gotten a good meal. “I hope it doesn’t give you the runs.

Evan opened a bottle of water to rinse his fingers and stopped. No, that’d be stupid. He took a sip instead. As he did Zarg focused on the bottle.

“Yeah, here.” Evan cupped his hand and filled it with water. Zarg lapped it up splashing water everywhere. “Careful, you big galoot. We need to conserve our water.”

Zarg wagged his tail.

Evan pointed his light down the extra-large circular tunnel to his left. “Okay, here we go.”

They walked.

And walked some more.

After that, they walked even more.

As they progressed Evan scanned the tunnel for any markings or differences, but other than the occasional rock embedded into the hardened dirt walls, the tunnel remained the same. He also kept checking that the cable was still in the lower right of the tunnel on occasion.

“So, what do you think, Zarg? Why is this tunnel wider than the previous one? And what kind of machines dug these? You think it’s some kind of magical boring machine? That’d be cool right?”

Zarg again had no comment. Typical.

After even more walking, the immediate terror and adrenaline started to take its toll on him. Evan yawned. His legs were heavy. His whole body was heavy. Perhaps it was time to take a break. It’s not like he had to be anywhere by a certain time.

He sat down with his legs crossed. Zarg was on him in an instant, head in his lap. “I know boy, this is all so weird.”

He tried to pinch the dirt, but only the tiniest bit came up, like it had hardened in some way. Kind of amazing actually.

Evan yawned again. Might as well lay down. It was night after all, right? “I should turn the light off, right?”

Again, Zarg didn’t reply. Evan held his fingers over the off switch. What if it didn’t go back on? No. That was stupid

Zarg started to snore.

“Okay, you’re right.” Evan whispered. “Time for a nap.”

Evan laid back, using the purse as a makeshift and very uncomfortable pillow. Zarg didn’t move. Evan closed his eyes and then turned the light off. It was easier that way.

The ground was surprisingly comfortable, probably because he was exhausted. All in all, it wasn’t that bad, surprisingly. Zarg would hear anything that came along well before Evan would. Then again, Zarg could sleep through a lot if he chose to. No. He wasn’t at home. Zarg would be on alert. Right?

Evan adjusted his neck on his purse-pillow. “You’re going to wake up if anything comes along, right?”

Zarg huffed. “Yes. Now would you stop moving and go to sleep already?"

Evan jerked upright. “Did you just say something?” He flipped the light on.

Zarg’s eyes were closed. His legs wiggled. The sounds of muffled barks almost like he was blowing bubbles came from his closed snout.

“Okay...” Evan laid back down keeping an eye on Zarg for a few seconds before turning the light off. That was weird.

Zarg adjusted his head. “Tell me about it”

“Zarg, are you talking to me?”

Zarg didn’t respond.

Okay. I must be dreaming. Evan rubbed his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. This was as comfortable as he was going to get.

Evan woke to Zarg’s rough tongue being dragged across his lips and the pure black of the unlit tunnel. “Ugh!” He wiped his face with the back of his sleeve. “Why do you always go for the lips? That’s so disgusting.”

Zarg whimpered. He was filled with concern. He had heard something.

“What is it?” Evan felt around for the flashlight. It wasn’t there. No! His body tensed. He flailed both arms frantically searching the ground when his finger caught the corner of the light. He tried to grab it, but it slipped out of his hand. He fumbled with it until he was finally able to turn it on.

There was nothing, except for the large round tunnel and Zarg staring back at him. His watery eyes glistened in the light. Evan gave Zarg’s head a scratch. “Well, what did you hear?”

Zarg didn’t respond.

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“So not talking now?”

Evan sat up, stretching the aches out of his back. “Great, I’m going insane.” Evan got to his feet, again stretching his arms and letting out a big yawn. “I guess we should keep going then.”

Zarg started down the tunnel.

“So are you going that way because you heard something or because we were headed that way or...”

Zarg said nothing.

“Okay, I admit, I do wish you could talk sometimes.”

Evan focused trying to feel which way the breeze was blowing. Zarg was right, and he followed. As Evan walked, he tried to hear anything other than Zarg or his own breathing and walking, but it was deathly silent.

Then there was a faint trickle of water. It was...close. Like very close. Evan scanned his light around until he found Zarg, his leg hiked up on the tiny skull of a what had to have been a cave rat long since decomposed. That wasn’t ominous at all.

Evan swallowed; his throat dry. He could probably spare another sip. As before when he took a sip Zarg was suddenly at his side. “Yeah, I gotcha.”

After Zarg lapped and splashed up his fill Evan checked the bottle. It was half empty already, which left him only a bottle and a half. Correction. It left him and Zarg a bottle and a half. Should he be letting Zarg drink the water?

That wasn’t a question.

Of course he’d be sharing it with Zarg. His chest heaved. The thought of doing this without Zarg... Not an option.

He pressed on. He wasn’t going to think like that. He couldn’t. He would find his way. He and Zarg would find their way.

Wait. Where was the wire?

He scanned the light, but the thick metal cable was nowhere to be found. How could he lose the cable? No, it had to be there. He went to the lower right portion of the tunnel where it usually was and kicked the dirt. No good, the hard packed soil didn’t shift under his feet. He pressed a finger into the dirt, but he couldn’t break the surface, like it had been super compressed into a form of sandstone. Amazing, but also, where the hell was the wire?

Should he go back and find it? What if Nina came back looking for him? If he wasn’t near the wire, she’d never find him.

He’d be lost forever.

Alone.

Underground.

Far from anyone.

He’d end up like that dead rat. No. No. No.

A jolt of excitement from Zarg rushed through Evan, temporarily freeing him from his panic. Zarg flopped over on his side. Evan panned the light until he found Zarg’s shoulder smushed up against the remains of a rat carcass.

“Zarg! Stop rolling in the dead rat!”

Zarg snapped his head towards Evan with crazy in his eyes. He barked in protest before snatching the carcass up and skedaddling away. “Really?”

Evan felt nothing but pure joy from Zarg as he pranced about ahead of him in the tunnel.

There was no sense in chasing him. There was nowhere to corner the bad dog. At least Evan couldn’t smell the decaying carcass, so hopefully when Zarg was done with it he wouldn't reek too badly.

Zarg’s joy dampened, and suddenly grew into concern as he stalked ahead. Evan hurried to catch up to him, but Zarg was too fast. After a minute of trying to catch up, Evan realized he couldn’t sense, see, or hear Zarg. He was completely gone.

Evan started to sprint down the tunnel hoping to sense him but there was nothing. He kicked something. It was the carcass. Zarg had dropped his newfound cologne. But why?

Calm down. He’s here, he’s just way faster than you. Evan slowed to a brisk walk. No sense rushing, he was in this tunnel ahead of him, somewhere. He would run into him eventually. He can’t get lost.

After a minute the tunnel ahead changed. When he got closer, he realized it was another junction, only this time he had four choices. No. No. No. He felt his chest clench. Which way had Zarg gone?

“Zarg?”

No response.

“Zarg!”

He’ll be back. He hasn’t run off. Just relax. Just have to wait.

Evan searched the intersection for any sign of the wire and found it, and then found another, and finally a third wire. All three wires wound around a metal stake submerged in the middle of the intersection. Crap. Which way had Nina and Kae gone?

“Zarg!” Evan shouted at the top of his lungs, frustration and fear knotting his chest. Where the hell was that damn dog? And why would he decide to leave now?

Evan fell to a sitting position. Terror and fear welled up within. But no, he wasn’t going to cry. He dropped the purse down beside him. He just needed to wait.

“Whenever you’re ready, Zarg!” Evan yelled. “What the hell? We got to stick together you know.”

“That’s smart out here in the afueras,” a gruff voice said from the darkness.

Tingles ran down Evan’s neck and spine. He jumped to his feet and panned the light around but found nothing. “Who said that?”

“Who wants to know?” the voice teased.

Evan scanned the floor and ceiling down every tunnel, but there was no one. “Uh...I do. Show yourself.”

“I don’t know. There are some strange things going on out here. Lots of traffic and some random kid shows up. What’s your name?”

“You first,” Evan replied, still desperately looking for the voice.

“Hmm...I don’t think so. You’re the one with the pulse pistol.”

The voice was right; Evan was armed. He reached for the pistol and pulled it. “Yeah,” Evan said, trying to sound menacing. “That’s right, I am armed.”

“So how did some topsider punk kid like you end up here with a pulse pistol?”

“I... hey, I’m not a topsider. I was...” What was the story again? Hunting? “I...er we were hunting for cave rats, and I got separated from my group, yes, my hunting party.” Evan cringed. That sounded as believable as Kae trying to duck chores.

“So, you admit then you’re not Cuāuhtli?”

“Are you?” Evan snapped back. Time to take the offensive in this conversation.

“So is Zarg the name of your dog?”

Evan swallowed. “I’m not telling you anything until I can see you.” Guess he shouldn’t have been yelling so loud. But then again, he had found someone.

“You’re no fun. So, tell me, what do you feed Zarg. Does he eat mushrooms?” The voice lost some of its gruffness.

They were very interested in Zarg and had already made the connection to the name, not that it was that difficult, but still. “Oh, he eats a very specific diet, or it will make him sick.”

“So, no mushrooms? Not even morels?”

Crap. They had Zarg. Why else would they be so interested? Evan flipped his light off. If he can’t see them, then they shouldn’t be able to see him. Hopefully this meant Zarg was nearby. He closed his eyes, not that it mattered in the pitch black and focused trying to sense Zarg. A sense of curiosity came from his right. That had to be him. Thankfully he wasn’t afraid, so whoever it was, they were not hurting him. Then again, anyone who tried to hurt Zarg would regret it.

Evan cleared his throat. He had to play this right. “Morels are toxic to dogs. Most mushrooms are. I keep a very specific antidote just in case he gets into any.” He patted his purse.

“Oh no!” All the gruffness in the voice faded away. It was female, a girl. “He’s...he’s eaten some morels; can you help him? He’s panting.”

Evan flipped the light on to the right where he had sensed Zarg. “Where is he? Show yourself?”

An oval patch of dirt in the side of the tunnel disintegrated to the ground. Zarg burst out in a mad sprint to Evan and almost tackled him.

Evan kneeled down and rubbed his head as Zarg slathered Evan’s neck in licks. “Why did you go wandering off, ya big dummy?”

Zarg grunted in relief.

“Yeah, I missed you too. Don’t do that.”

A teenaged girl wearing a flowing white tunic with intricate red patterns around the upper chest peaked from the oval. Her black hair was tied up in a bun. “Hurry! Give him the medicine. He was eating some of my morels.”

Evan holstered his pulse pistol. “He’s fine. I just told you that, so you’d let him go.”

Her eyebrows creased. “You lied to me!”

She had a lot of nerve. “You were holding my dog.”

“But he’s so cute.” She frowned. “I swear I just wanted to play with him and pet him. I wasn’t going to keep him...” She slowly walked out of her hole and approached Zarg. Her voice pitched high in excitement. “So, what does he eat?” she plopped down next to Zarg, apparently not afraid at all. She started to scratch him like Evan had. Zarg leaned in for more. “So, he likes this?”

“Hey, who said you can pet my dog?”

She glanced up at Evan with a sheepish smile and focused on Zarg. “Oh, he really likes this.”

“Yeah, he does. He—”

She held a hand up to Evan. Zarg’s head snapped to the right. He grew anxious. He had heard something too.

She jumped to her feet. “Hurry. This way.”

“What?”

“Trust me.” She ran into the oval.

Evan didn’t follow. “Trust you? You just tried to steal my dog, and you won’t even tell me your name.”

“Please hurry,” her voice was desperate. “I don’t want them to take Zarg. And it’s Tozi. Now hurry.”

Evan looked around but didn’t see or hear anything. Zarg was tense. A low grumble started to build in his chest. Evan didn’t trust her, but then again, if something was spooking Zarg it probably wasn’t good. “Come on, Zargy.” Evan tugged on his collar towards the oval opening. After another tug Zarg let out a muffled grunt but acquiesced and went into the oval with Evan right behind him.