Not long had passed since Alistar’s work group had been roused by the morning gongs. He found himself sitting at his sleeping space with his family, along with Kaila and Talon. The adults had all taken on sombre expressions. Kaila appeared confused, while Alistar looked drained from a night of sleepless dread.
Raidon began speaking a minute or two after everyone had settled, detailing what had transpired inside of the barracks the day before. Apparently, Laisha and Raidon had both been commissioned for release, but Alistar had not. He had only been mining his own share for the past several months, whereas one needed at least eight years of contributions to gain eligibility for release. His mother had argued that his father and his uncle, as well as herself, had been mining an additional share to make up the difference since their first days in the mines, but the guards had told her that all of that work amounted to nothing, as it had not been done by Alistar himself. An old captain of the guard had smiled after a moment, saying that he would be gracious and allow for them to substitute one of their releases in exchange for Alistar’s, if they chose to. Ultimately, somebody from their family would have to remain behind. That person would have to begin a fresh eight years of service before they could gain eligibility for release.
Talon was startled that they were selected out of all of the inhabitants of the mines, when many had been here for much longer than them. He narrowed his eyes, openly suspicious. “Why make such a proposal? They have the least reason to free you two, of all people.”
Kaila was silent throughout the explanation, her face draining of colour when she learned that Alistar would be leaving the mines, and that she would be staying. She understood that they would probably never meet again. Still, she didn’t complain. Alistar wondered what she was thinking.
“And so, Alistar and I shall be leaving tomorrow.”
“I see,” was all Talon said. His perceptive golden eyes seemed to pick up on more than what was spoken. As if he were aware of the conversation that had taken place between Laisha and Raidon, and the delicate decision-making that followed.
“Tomorrow?” cried Kaila. “That’s too soon!” She turned to stare at Alistar, and they shared a look of angst.
“Why can’t everyone come along?” Alistar asked, knowing full well that the guards would never allow it.
“Alie…” Kaila blinked tears away as she pulled him into a brittle hug. “Once you see the world outside, I’m sure you won’t regret leaving.”
“But I want to see it together with everybody. It’s bad enough that Father—that Papa can’t be there!”
“We’ll get out someday,” his mother said softly. “And at that time, we’ll enjoy the outside world together.”
The adults had a hard time placating the children. Both were reluctant to part from one another. Before that, Alistar’s worry for his mother reached past his fears of being separated from Kaila. His uncle’s words from the night before had never left him, and he was scared to believe that they might be true. He was scared that after leaving his mother here, she would die, just like his father, but alone and without the comfort of her family. He would grow up in a strange and alien world without all of his loved ones, without the companionship of Kaila, all the while tormented by the knowledge of the fates that he’d left them to in Crystellum.
This is wrong. We were supposed to see it together!
The conversation became too much for Alistar, who flew upright in a flurry. Without making eye contact with anybody, he turned and sprinted down the cramped line of sleeping spaces and away from the others. He didn’t look back at the voices that followed him, hurrying into the Long Tunnel and running towards the location where Servan had been leaving food all this time. As he ran, panicked, frustrated tears dribbled down his face.
“Alie!”
A winded voice caught his ear. Stopping, he turned to see Kaila trailing after him from the far end of the tunnel. Her small figure steadily approached amidst the dancing shadows cast by the surrounding torchlight. After almost a minute, she stumbled to a stop a few paces out of reach. She was leaking sweat and huffing terribly. She took a moment to catch her breath. Alistar used this time to wipe at his eyes and steady his breathing.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Neither spoke.
Both were unsure of what to say about the dramatic turn of events that their lives had taken overnight. They had always been friends, the best of friends, since before they could walk. Alistar considered Kaila his family, his easily frightened but reliable sister. To suddenly hear that they would no longer be able to see each other, he felt as if his chest were filled with molten lead.
He didn’t want to hang around the Long Tunnel, so he grabbed Kaila’s hand and led her to their breakfast spot. He had a hard time meeting her eyes once they stopped. He felt like a traitor.
“Kaila, I—I don’t want to go. Mama’s so sick that, without me and Uncle Raidon, I’m scared that it’ll be just like my father.”
“I wanna go with you, Alie,” she sniffled. “Why can’t we all go together? Why do the guards have to be so mean?”
“I don’t want this, Kaila,” he cried. “I don’t want to go….”
Kaila had been holding back her tears ever since she’d learned of his inevitable departure, but finally let them spill after she saw streams running freely down his face. The two cried in each other’s arms for a time, and would have continued to do so had Alistar not heard the sound of someone’s stifled approach. Almost immediately after noticing a difference in the rhythm of the footsteps, he tuned out the shouts and the distant clanking that rang throughout Crystellum, and began to listen fervently. There were several pairs of feet, the multiple voices that mumbled back and forth confirming his assumption.
“Shush, Kaila. Stop crying.” Alistar rushed to clear his eyes.
“But,” she whined, “but Alie—”
“Someone’s coming,” he whispered, “and I don’t think it’s Servan.”
After hearing that a stranger was approaching, Kaila managed to smother her sobs down to an occasional sniffle. Soon, the voices were easy to hear. They weren’t making much of an effort to hide their presence, as the back and forth of light conversation carried cleanly through the still, silent air.
There was a good chance that there were more than three people. Alistar and Kaila generally avoided others while wandering through the upper tunnels that made up their underground world. Guards or slaves, whoever was approaching was bad news.
Alistar was only familiar with those who worked in his family’s tunnel, and there were even some among that group that he’d always known to avoid. According to his family, most of the other slaves had been criminals before winding up in Crystellum.
Alistar tried to lead Kaila away from the oncoming men, but fear stopped him in his tracks. This tunnel led to a dead end not far away from where they stood. Thinking quickly, he decided that if an encounter was unavoidable, then it would be best to close some distance before the men made it past the turn up ahead. This way, at least they wouldn’t notice the compartment that Servan had created along the tunnel wall. Even if they noticed it later, there wouldn’t be any reason to associate it with Alistar and Kaila.
Fending off his troubled thoughts, Alistar grabbed hold of Kaila’s hand and hurried toward the bend up ahead. The two of them would duck their heads and rush past whoever was approaching.
Alistar’s palms began to sweat as the two of them neared the upcoming turn, his grip moist and uncomfortably warm against Kaila’s dainty hand. He was much more uneasy than he felt was necessary. They were just wandering through the mines, like always. It wasn’t like this was the first time they had encountered others in the past. This was a busy place, after all, with thousands of workers and hundreds of guards.
Chest heavy with fiery apprehension, Alistar slowed down and trained his ears on the travelling echoes. Based upon the conversation, he gleaned that they were guards. Apparently, they were looking for someone.
I didn’t see anyone else enter this tunnel. Is it possible that someone’s been here since we arrived?
“You sure this is a standalone tunnel?”
“Sure am. The whole lot in this area ’re standalones.”
“But the one across from—”
“You saw ‘em head down here with your own eyes, din’cha?”
“That don’t mean it’s a standalone.”
The bickering was cut off by a nasty, deadpan tone.
“Will you shut your mouths? I didn’t come along to hear the two of you arguing like a couple of pissy brats. I came to make a few silvers. I thought we were all of the same opinion when we abandoned our jerky and bread to those vulturous shits back at the barracks.”
When the arguing ceased, a fourth voice echoed in their place. The words came out as rough as rock. “You thought right, you did. ‘Ts a shame we weren’t around to play with Sim before he kicked it. Opportunities like that only come once ‘n a lifetime.”
“Well, we’ve still got ‘is boy,” the deadpan voice croaked. “Be it father or son, the blood’s just as blue.”
“Yeah, for another day,” said one of the bickerers. “What’s all this crap about releasing them, anyhow? I’d been thinking they stopped that years ago. And why them?”
“They did stop years ago,” said a fifth man, disapproval in his tone. His accented voice was steady and low. A small pause after each word made him sound as devious as venom.