My helmet shifted as I hurriedly dumped the wheelbarrow. The black coal clunked loudly as it fell to the ground.

The effort wasn’t too strenuous. Nothing more than I had been doing back at the smithy… but it was still hard for some reason. I felt exhausted, even though I knew I could do this for hours more. Especially since the cause was so great.

Pushing the wheelbarrow back to the other side of the area, I watched for a tiny moment as Vim swung the pickaxe. It struck the wall of stone, causing tiny rocks to splatter all around.

He was digging into the wall several dozens of feet away from the caved in area, and had also done so away from the black coal. Even though every so often he ran into it, Vim didn’t seem to like digging that stuff out.

I put the wheelbarrow near one of the piles of rocks and dirt he had accumulated. It was actually two piles away from the one he was making now, but he didn’t want me near him as he actually dug. He had worried I’d get hurt by the chipped rocks that flew every time he swung.

Picking up one of the shovels I went to filling the wheelbarrow. It was monotonous, and probably the hundredth time I had done so, but it was all I could do to help.

Vim hadn’t wanted me to do any of the actual mining, just in case something happened.

He had almost convinced me to leave the mine entirely as he worked… If not for his friend being in danger, Vim would probably have never given in and allowed me to help. I paused a moment when I heard a strange thump.

The pick had gotten stuck in the wall.

With a heavy oomph he pulled his pickaxe free of the wall. A large boulder fell, following the tug free.

Quickly finishing with the wheelbarrow, I pulled it aside as Vim hefted the big rock and quickly tossed it away, over to the other wall. It landed with a heavy thump and rolled a few feet.

While I emptied the wheelbarrow I wondered if I would have been able to toss that rock aside as easily.

With a huff I returned, and once again filled the wheelbarrow up with the smaller rocks and dirt.

It was repetitive, and made me wonder how humans did it day in and day out. This wasn’t just hard, it was… annoying. Moving the dirt made a bunch of dust go into the air, making it hard to breathe. I had wrapped a part of my shirt up over my mouth and nose, but it didn’t seem to be helping much.

To think I had thought sweeping soot had been annoying. I’d never complain over that again.

“Hold on,” Vim mumbled as he dug deeper.

Seeing Vim so seriously focused made me forget about all my complaints, and I hurried to follow suit.

What seemed like hours went by, and at first what had seemed like little progress… quickly turned into results. Dumping the wheelbarrow once again onto a massive pile, now almost as tall as myself, I glanced over at where Vim was and found him a distance away.

He was now outside the little lantern’s reach. I had lit a few torches for him, but had only put two inside the little… hallway looking area he was creating. He no longer was swinging a pickaxe but was instead using a shovel. He was now more so digging than not.

It was actually rather surprising at how much earth he was moving. Dozens of massive boulders and rocks were scattered around the room, and there were three piles of smaller debris similar to the one I had made. Vim wasn’t just breaking the wall apart, he was moving it too.

There were also now three rows of timber supports hanging above Vim’s head. Although he was in a rush to save his friend… he was being smart about it. Methodical. I had helped him push one of those beams into a subsection of wall he had cut out, and was very surprised at how he had done it. He had put another piece of wood on top of it, and against it, to better support it in a way that didn’t need nails it seemed.

“Renn I’ll need another pickaxe in a second,” Vim said as he shoveled a pile aside and out of his way.

“Got it,” I left behind the wheelbarrow and hurried to find another. This would be the third he’s broken since he’s started…

Was it because of his strength, or was it normal? I had no idea.

Leaving the cave, I headed down the large shaft that led outward. I knew where a pile of tools was now, thanks to my earlier searching.

Taking a left, I entered the dark and small shaft that was now illuminated by a single torch. It flickered as I passed it and found the pile of tools right outside, at the other crossroads.

Picking up two pickaxes, another shovel, and another torch just in case I carried the bundle back to Vim.

Thanks to Vim, and the torches, there were more noises in the mine. More echoes. More odd… strange sounds. Every so often I thought I heard a voice. One that cried out from somewhere behind me.

I hoped it was just the wind, or the fact that my ears were somewhat blocked by the padding and metal helmet… but I had heard them even with the hat off.

I'd wonder if it was Nebl, if not for the fact that it sounded… like a woman talking, not a man’s voice. It was unnerving.

Ignoring it to the best of my abilities, I returned to the oddly comforting sound of Vim digging. He huffed sometimes, even though he didn’t sound or look exhausted.

Putting the tools down near his hallway, I stepped back and wondered how much longer it’d take. He was far enough that he’d soon need to put another support timber in… at least by the looks of it.

The pile near him was not as large as the others had been. It seemed most of this section was large rocks instead of small clumps of dirt. He was working on getting a large white rock out right now, which kind of glistened in the torchlight.

“Funny,” Vim said as he put the shovel aside and went to grab the rock.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Hm?” I stepped aside since I knew he’d soon be carrying the massive rock out and tossing it to a corner.

“This is quartz,” he said, and then took a small breath as he pulled it out of the wall.

A few loud echoes filled the cavern as smaller rocks and clumps of dirt fell to the ground and onto other rocks. He shifted, and I watched as Vim carried a rock twice his size out of his little hallway.

He shuffled a little as he rounded me and with a grunt he dropped the thing a few feet away. It sunk into the ground, and didn’t roll away at all.

“Quartz…” I stared at the shiny rock, and noticed it had ripples and patterns in it.

“I think we’re almost there… I think I heard him earlier,” Vim said as he stared at his handiwork for a moment.

“Did you?” I asked, excited. Although Vim seemed very, very confident that it was Nebl… there hadn’t been any real verification yet. Someone was definitely knocking on the other side, but…

Though honestly, who else than one of us could survive for months in a sealed off cave?

No food. No water. Little air… maybe even none anymore.

It made me wonder how long I could last in such a condition. Days, sure. Weeks even, I could confidently say… but months?

Vim nodded as he entered the hallway and walked up to the section of wall he had just been working on. He scraped at it with his hands for a moment and then stopped as to listen.

Stepping into the hallway, I slowly lifted my helmet so I could also lift my ears upward. I got them at enough of an angle and focused on the sounds in front of me.

“I hear breathing,” I said. And not mine or Vim’s.

“Nebl?” Vim asked, raising his voice. I flinched at his voice, and blinked a few times. In this sealed off cave his voice was loud. Deep. It hurt a little.

For a long moment there was nothing. Nothing but Vim’s voice echoing throughout the mine… until we heard a cough.

A very distant and rough cough.

One from a man’s throat. One that sounded…

“Hit the wall if you can hear me Nebl!” Vim shouted.

It took less than a moment for a heavy fist to smack what sounded like dirt, just beyond the wall in front of us.

“He’s right there…” I whispered.

“Step back Renn. Out of the way,” Vim ordered.

I barely made it out of the hallway before Vim got the shovel back into his hand. He pierced the wall, and in a furry of movements Vim dug out another massive hole in the wall.

Staring at Vim’s face as he hurriedly dug out the rest of the wall, I watched as the protector grimly dug. His face was covered in soot and dirt, yet his eyes were focused. Clear. Steady.

Then he froze.

Mid swing of his shovel, Vim stared at something I couldn’t see. At this angle I could only see the blackness of the wall he was digging away.

Then I saw a hand, nearly just as stained as Vim’s face.

Vim dropped the shovel and grabbed the familiar hand. The one that was huge, with a strangely shaped thumb.

Hurrying into the hallway, I couldn’t believe my eyes as I watched Vim kneel in front of the hole he had dug. Nebl and Vim held hands as Vim smiled at his friend through the little bit of opening left between Nebl’s arm.

“How you been Nebl?” Vim asked his friend.

I couldn’t see Nebl, but I saw the way his arm and hand shivered. They began to tremble wildly, clenching tighter and tighter onto Vim’s hand.

It was a good thing Vim had grabbed his hand and not me. Such an intense grip would have probably…

Vim quickly went to digging out the rest of the wall with his other hand. He scraped massive chunks of dirt and black stone away with each swipe, hurriedly doing what he could to get to Nebl.

My eyes filled with tears as Vim dug his friend free from his tomb. Without letting go of his hand, Vim pulled Nebl out of the hole that hadn’t even been big enough for him yet, and was wrapped in a hug.

Nebl clung to Vim’s waist, and heaved a great sob. The sound had been so deep, so pure; it made me sob alongside him.

Vim ignored his friends cry, and my own, as he finished pulling Nebl out of the dirt. He stepped back away from the wall and a few steps closer to me—closer to the nearest torch.

While Vim knelt and allowed Nebl to fall to his knees, I quickly went and grabbed the lantern. The one that lit up the area much better than the natural fire of the torch.

Returning to Vim and Nebl, I noticed something very shocking thanks to the light.

He was filthy, but that was to be expected. Vim and I were too. No… what was surprising was how small Nebl was. He seemed about my size in height, although broad shouldered and thick of arm.

He was shirtless, and his right pant leg was torn… revealing a dried injury… but otherwise…

Vim studied his friend as Nebl quickly got control over his sudden relief. His deep chest heaved as he nodded and patted Vim on the shoulder. “Thank you,” a scraggly voice said. One that sounded… faded, broken.

Nebl turned his head, and flinched at the lantern. I was about to step away, and try to cover the light, but Vim stopped me with a wave. He wanted me to get closer.

I brought the lantern closer but felt bad for doing so. Nebl flinched and shut his eyes, as if the light burned him. A glance to the hole he had just been pulled from, and I saw the reason as to why.

It was pure darkness in there.

Vim reached out for the lantern and I gave it to him. He used it to check his friend for injuries. Other than a lot of scrapes and cuts, the only real one seemed to be his right leg. It looked…

“Broke it. I put it back,” Nebl said with clenched teeth as Vim touched his leg.

Ah… so the bone had stuck out from the damage. Was that why he had gotten stuck? Something told me he would have been able to dig himself out, as Vim had just done… even with the leg in that condition.

In fact…

Staring at Nebl’s hands, I saw the lack of fingernails and the blood. Most of it was fresh.

He had been clawing on the other side, digging with his bare hands.

I gulped as Vim took a small, sharp breath. He studied his friend with patient, yet knowing eyes… and…

Nebl was pale. And I could see more bone than not, thanks to how thin he was. Even his thick shoulders and chest looked… sunken in. Somehow the thick layer of dirt and soot on him made it more apparent.

His hair was long too, but it almost looked as if his hair continued down his neck and to his back… maybe one of his non-human traits?

“My family,” Nebl then said, as he tried to peer out of his eyes. Was he looking for them?

As he glanced around, I realized he might have heard them. Not recently of course… but… Surely they had come here. To see if he could have been saved. Or at least he had to have heard Lellip, when she had brought that little plate… Knowing her she had sat there for hours talking to her grandfather. Crying even.

My emotions welled up again, and I hurriedly tried to push them down. I didn’t do very well at it. “Should I go get some water?” I asked Vim, and hoped neither he nor Nebl noticed my shaking voice.

“Hurry to the house for me. I’ll have to carry him slowly,” Vim said as he put the lantern down.

I nodded quickly and turned to go, to run. “Renn!” Vim stopped me.

He gestured to the lantern, and I realized he was right. I had only lit torches around here, and not anywhere else.

Taking the lantern, I spared one last glance at Nebl as Vim slowly stood up, hefting his friend in his arms.

“Thank you,” Nebl whispered weakly.

“Let’s go,” Vim said, stepping forward.

Walking in front of Vim, I anxiously stayed near them until we left the mine… and then broke out into a full on sprint for the smithy.