I didn’t do or say much as everyone gathered in a small cavern that looked like an eating area. The walls were stone, but smooth, like John had done to the crystals. Someone must have a stone-shaping ability, or something like it. It would explain the tunnels and how nice everything seemed, even made out of rock. They were all miners after all. One wall had a taller table with baskets underneath, along with knives and cooking gear on top. In the corner was an area that looked like it normally had a fit pit. Dark streaks from smoke tinted the stones above, and there was what looked like a crack that must be a natural chimney.

A large wooden table sat in the center, with benches around all four sides. John, Mars, and Hawk spoke about what had happened at the compound, describing the meteorite shower, along with the shuttle going down. It ended with discussions about the flier, and if Mars knew of anyone who would want to go hunt it down.

“David should be able to get Jimmy back on his feet, with his leg mended,” said Mars. “I might have one guy who wants to level up, but we’ve been dealing with our own rush of beasts.”

“I thought everything was pretty secure?” asked Hawk, his eyes narrowing.

“One of my guys opened up a new tunnel,” he said, shaking his head. “That led to a deeper crack into the mountain. It’s not secured at all, but it’s loaded with crystals, which I know the colony will want.” He glanced at John, who nodded. “Well, we can’t even have people in it without a group guarding the end. Beasts show up regularly, sometimes a second wave comes at us even before we put down the first ones of the day. Even with putting gates and walls into place, they don’t usually hold for long.”

“That’s not the worst of it,” said a female voice entering the room. A woman with dark, long hair, tied back in a ponytail, and deep green eyes glanced over the group before sitting at the table. She was wearing worn overalls with lots of pockets, and she looked tired.

I couldn’t help but use Insight.

[Sang, Level 18, Crystal Singer.]

“The crystals can’t keep all of the beasts back.”

“I thought they worked on all beasts,” I said, finally joining the conversation.

She shook her head. “Only those from higher up in the mountain. These stronger ones, from deep below, must deal with grounded crystals all the time, since they don’t seem to care at all.”

What she said made sense, but it also made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I didn’t want to deal with monsters that ignored crystals. They were the one advantage we had that let us make safe spaces.

Mars picked up the conversation again. “Which means we have a constant watch, and my guys are getting tired.”

“Did you seal off the new tunnel?” asked Hawk.

“We tried, twice. It only holds them off for a night, if that. They know we’re here, and they want us.”

John raised his hand, drawing attention. “So, it's time to leave the mines then," he said, glancing between Mars and Sang as he lowered his hand back to the table.

“Now, listen here–” started Mars.

Sang cut in, “It might be.”

Mars turned toward her, a shocked look on his face.

“We can’t keep the tunnels safe, and we have a chance to evacuate right now.” She motioned to John. “Plus, with the additional Singer, we have the opportunity to snag a good number of crystals before we leave.” She then pointed at me. “You have the skills, right?”

“Just got them, and I need practice.”

Sang nodded at me with a frown. Her eyes searched my face, but I didn’t say anything else.

Mars let out a deep sigh and rubbed his eyes. “The guys don’t want to leave, but this mountain isn’t safe anymore. I’ll need to talk to them as they rotate shifts.” He stared at the table for several seconds. “Had you heard anything from the colony before you left the compound?”

Hawk shook his head. “My guess is they got hit with the meteor shower just like everyone else. Their communication crystal is probably shattered.” That was news to me, and hopefully it was the truth. Hopefully the situation wasn’t any worse than that.

“Yeah, they didn’t see the need to protect it,” said John. “It sits out there on the edge of the mountain. People only man it during the set windows of time.”

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Mars opened his mouth, then shut it, standing up from the bench. “We can talk more in the morning. Sang, can you show them to a sleeping place?”

She nodded and stood up as well. “Let’s get all of you settled, and we can talk more once it's a little safer. Somehow, the dang monsters from below know when the sun is up and back off a little.”

John and Hawk quickly got up and I followed. I couldn’t keep track of the twisting tunnels, but I noticed the two gates we went through that closed behind us. They were heavy metal set into the sides of the narrow tunnels.

Sang stopped by a hole in the tunnel that had a thick door. Hawk and John entered first. She held up a hand for me to wait.

“You’re a new Crystal Singer,” she said in a soft voice.

“I am.”

She let out a huff. “I didn’t think anyone would unlock it.”

“Being truthful about the Profession would have been a start.”

She jerked at my words, but after a moment shook her head. “Some of us will do almost anything to avoid being under Xander’s rule.” She snorted. “Not like we have a choice anymore. We can’t hold off these monsters for long. Everything we built here is going to be wasted.”

“Maybe, maybe not. This might become a leveling location, where we bring people to dive for crystals and metals." I shrugged. "You never know…”

Sang tried to smile at my words. “Will you tell anyone?”

I knew what she meant, and I needed to talk to John about it before I made any promises. “I won’t tell Xander.”

The relief that came over her surprised me, and it made me wonder just what he had done to scare her. Plenty disliked and hated him, pretty much everyone outside the colony from what I’d learned, but Sang? She was scared.

“Thank you.” She gave me a nod. “Get some sleep, tomorrow we’ll have an intense crash course in Singing.” She started down the tunnel, then turned back with a look. “Can you actually Sing?”

I laughed but didn’t answer. Instead, I headed inside the room. Part of me really hoped humming and whistling worked. All my brothers swore I sounded like a cat when I sang.

John and Hawk had both claimed beds. Hawk’s was right next to the door, and his bow sat on the floor within reach.

“Make sure you lock that,” said Hawk.

“Worried about monsters?”

He nodded. “They have a constant watch, so things are worse here than at the compound. We’re getting out of here as soon as our people are healed.”

John rolled his eyes. “We will help them evacuate to the compound. Any that want to go. Just think, this’ll solve your problem with the flier. It’s gotta be easier than what they’re dealing with here, from the sound of it.”

“The compound can’t handle this many people,” growled Hawk. "They have thirteen people here."

“Maybe some will go to the colony,” I added.

Hawk laughed. “You still have much to learn," he said, turning over on his side.

I shut the door behind me and found a metal crossbar that set into solid rock on either side. “I wish I could shower.”

“They have some here, but given how tense it is, sleep is best.” John sat down on the bed near the far wall. “It feels like all of the settlements are falling apart. First, we crashed, then the compound was breached, and now the miners have dug too deep.”

I took a bed near John and sat down to remove my boots. It shouldn’t feel so good to take them off, but it’d been several days since I’d had the chance. My feet smelled a little, but all I could do was hope no one noticed.

Hawk grunted and pulled out a canteen from his bag. I hadn’t noticed him grabbing it from the shuttle. “At least we don’t need to worry about anyone stealing the shuttle.”

John sat up suddenly. “I didn’t think of that.”

“No one else can fly it, right?” asked Hawk.

John yanked on his boots. “Anyone who can attune could potentially fly it.”

“Ugh.” Hawk sat up and grabbed his bag and bow. “We better close it up then.”

“I usually leave it open so folks can unload the goods, but if we're leaving, it doesn’t make sense to unload it.”

Someone knocked lightly on the door and everyone froze. Hawk got up and removed the bar.

Sang stepped in. “I forgot to mention, I closed the ramp of the shuttle just in case anyone gets any ideas.” She gave John a nod. “I know some of the miners are jumpy and want to rabbit. Figured I’d let you know, so you didn’t worry.”

“I appreciate that,” replied John. “Do you think everyone will leave?”

“I think we don’t have a choice. If we had a full healer, we might be able to hold the tunnel, but even stone shaping can't keep it closed.”

“What beasts are we talking about?” I asked.

“Spiders, long bug creatures, things that eat stone.” She shook her head. “It varies. I didn’t want to say anything earlier, since Mars doesn’t agree, but it feels like these monsters are fleeing something even worse.”

“Then they aren’t going to stop,” said Hawk.

“No, they aren’t. The miners are at the breaking point. I bet tomorrow evening everyone will be on the shuttle, ready to go." She frowned, with a sad look in her eyes. "Sleep well. Food will be served in the gathering room.” Sang headed back out the door.

John nodded and Hawk locked back up.

“Tomorrow’s going to be tricky,” mumbled Hawk.

“Yep,” added John.

“What am I missing?”

“Mars doesn’t want to leave, and half the miners here were from the compound. They aren’t going to want to leave either.” Hawk headed back to his bed. “No matter what Sang says.”

I laid back on the bed, stretching my toes out. My knife I set on the floor, along with the new crystal ring.

John got up and turned down the crystal light that shone in the center of the room. It dimmed, but didn’t go out all the way.

“We can deal with that tomorrow. First, we need to rest.”