Ringed Love

by Elizabeth Noble

  “It could be dangerous,” Nick added. “I haven’t felt anything in this immediate area. But a half mile down the tunnel could be another story entirely.” He looked at the ground and sighed. “We can’t back each other up that way, and we both know Trey won’t listen to me. Sal and Clara will, I think, but wasting time with them arguing who to listen to could be deadly.”

  “You know I did this for years alone before you joined me,” Todd reminded him. Nick tilted his head and arched an eyebrow. Chuckling, Todd admitted, “Okay, point taken, it’s better when we work as a team.”

  Nick glanced around. “There isn’t anything to worry about in this immediate area.” He shrugged. “But what about a quarter or half mile along?”

  “Let’s put up some wards and a few protection symbols, and hope while we’re gone, everyone will stay in this area.” Todd sighed. “If any of them believe those ‘stories’ sentries tell, they haven’t come forward.”

  “Maybe it’ll be a nonissue,” Nick said.

  Todd snorted. “Sure. We can go with that.”

  His whole body relaxed and Todd’s insides unclenched. Splitting up right now was wrong. The little voice inside him was always right. He climbed into the wagon where they’d stored the majority of their supplies and began rifling through one of the trunks. He tossed Nick a leather pouch filled with iron and silver shavings mixed with salt. Turning back, he shut that trunk and went to the one next to it and extracted a small book and some chalk.

  “Let’s be as discreet about this as possible. I don’t want to answer a lot of questions from these people,” Todd said and climbed out of the wagon.

  “Or get into a debate,” Nick added. He walked casually one way, toward the livestock. Todd watched him for a minute before heading off in the other direction.

  Using the book as a guide, Todd used the chalk to draw a few of the symbols on the walls. Many of the same ones were placed on their wagons in inconspicuous spots. Most people wouldn’t know they were anything but interesting and decorative designs. Todd moved down the tunnel wall closest to their wagons, nodding to a few people here and there and stopping to chat when necessary.

  He glanced every few minutes in Nick’s direction. He spent some time near the horses, then moved in the direction opposite the one Todd took. As he walked he held the pouch at his side and let the powder fall from it to form a thin line. It was likely some of it would be walked on and brushed away, but there wasn’t anything they could do about that. Sometimes they simply did the best they could and dealt with the outcome. Even a partial barrier was better than no protection at all.

  Once Todd completed his portion of their task, he made his way to Sal and Clara’s wagon. Holding up a hand in greeting, he said, “Morning.” Sal held out a mug of coffee Todd gratefully accepted. He took a few sips. “This is good, thanks.” Holding the mug in both hands, Todd said, “I’d like to scout as far ahead as possible and see if we can find these bullet trains Trey thinks we can use. We shouldn’t move everyone until we know the way is clear and we’ll have some lighting. I was hoping one or both of you would come along.”

  “I’d really like a crack at following the schematic. If we can get this tunnel operational, it can be incredibly useful for getting people out of New Colorado Protectorate now, and moving cargo and livestock in the future,” Clara said.

  Sal chuckled. “I guess that’s that.”

  Todd said, “Let’s plan on leaving in about an hour. I don’t think most of these people will want to stay in this one spot more than a day or two. We’re all going to need a bath soon, for one thing.”

  Next Todd went in search of Trey. He wasn’t difficult to find. Nick and Trey rubbed each other the wrong way, and normally Todd would have simply removed Trey from the equation. This time he couldn’t do that, however. This whole plan was Trey’s proposition. Cutting him out was wrong, and Todd wouldn’t do such a thing. Unless Trey decided to remain with the wagon train, Todd wouldn’t leave him behind. He’d do his best to insulate Nick against Trey’s abrasive attitude. Todd was reminded yet again how grateful he was Nick never seemed to get too upset by the attitudes others aimed at him.

  Wasn’t it just Todd’s luck Trey was very excited to participate on a scouting expedition.

  “We’ll meet by my wagons in an hour.” He started to walk away, stopped, and turned back to Trey. “One other thing. Nick’s a sentry, no different than I am. You’d better remember that. His sentry insignia might be a brand instead of a tattoo, but it carries the same weight as mine does.”

  Trey simply nodded, and Todd hoped his warning would stick. He continued assembling a group of advance scouts, and little more than an hour later, Sal, Clara, Kells, and Trey were gathered along with a few others beside their wagons.

  “Faye has a few people lined up to keep watch. If they run into trouble and need us to come back, one of them will fire three shots,” Todd began. “Since there’re children in this group, we should avoid having anyone leave the main camp to come assist us. If it becomes absolutely necessary, fire one shot, count to twenty, then fire a second. Anything else and we’re on our own. We stick together, and if we have to split up, groups of three.” He looked around at the group. “Questions?”

  The others shook their heads. Like Todd and Nick, they all carried a backpack with food, water, and other supplies. He doubted any of them had the other equipment he and Nick were taking along, though.

  They set off down the tunnel and followed the tracks. There were two sets, and it was likely at some point they’d separate. According to Trey’s maps, there were side tunnels off the main drag that led to different destinations spanning fifty or sixty miles in either direction. The plan was to go until they had to stop and get more lights turned on.

  The first half hour passed quietly enough, and they were able to cover considerable ground.

  “I think there’ll be enough room on that side for the wagons. Pulling them over these tracks is going to be difficult.” Nick pointed to the right. There was a wide, flat area running parallel to the tracks.

  Todd nodded. “Those tracks will damage the wheels. I hope we can stay off of them while moving the whole train. It looks like this side is where the access panels are located.”

  “Cattle were moved through these tunnels, and sheep, too, I think. From what I’ve read, they weren’t always put on trains, but driven through on foot,” Trey said. He moved closer to Todd. Pointing to holes in the ground, he added, “See those? Fence posts.

  I think there might have been some sort of fencing to keep animals from the tracks.”

  “Which means we might have to take some of it down along the way,” Nick said.

  “Yeah,” Todd said. “How many bullet trains were usually inside these?”

  “I don’t know, I’m sorry,” Trey said. “If the maps I have are accurate, this is the main tunnel and the straightest shot through the mountains. Where we want to come out will dictate if we stick to this one or travel along one of the diverging tunnels.”

  Clara joined them, walking beside Nick. “According to these schematics, we should be coming up on a junction.” She pointed to small squares with numbers on them mounted near the top of the tunnel. “See those? They’re position markers for relays, bypasses, and things like that. We’re at marker sixteen. Marker eighteen has a huge convergence of wiring, another access room, and what I think is some kind of control panel.”

  “Can you tell how far ahead?” Todd asked.

  “These markers are evenly spaced, so we should be coming up on it in about another quarter mile,” Clara said.

  It was easy to tell when they were approaching that spot. Todd began seeing more and more lights that were dim or not functioning at all. Entire clusters were affected, giving the tunnel an eerie feel with long, distorted shadows crossing their paths.

  Nick closing his fingers around Todd’s wrist and gripping tightly sent all sorts of alarms blaring inside Todd’s head.

  “There it
is.” Clara pointed to a spot along the wall. The door to this room was broken in a few places. Here more lights were out than were working, and the ones that were on were flickering.

  “Maybe we can get that annoying flickering stopped first,” Sal grumbled and strode forward with one of the other men. Using axes, they cleared the remains of the door and a path into the room in a few minutes.

  Todd casually pulled his backpack around and dug through it. Glancing at Nick, he extracted a bag of buckshot specially mixed with iron shavings and salt. He quietly took the shotgun he carried in that pack and loaded it. Nick let go of Todd and nodded once.

  Out of the corner of an eye, Todd watched Nick readjust the knife pouch he carried strapped behind his back and then roll the sleeves of both arms up, exposing knife sheaths strapped to his arms. Silently Todd signaled for Nick to move farther down the tunnel, and they crossed the tracks so they were along the wall opposite the control room.

  Nick wandered a few yards down the tunnel. He stopped and peered at the side of the tunnel, turned back toward Todd, and motioned at that section. “Here’s another tunnel, but it’s blocked by rocks and bricks.” He ran his hand up and down the main tunnel wall.

  “This looks stable, no cracks.”

  Todd waggled a couple of fingers. “C’mon back, Nicky.”

  Nick turned so he faced the spot where the two tunnels converged. A cold, tingling shiver ran up and down Todd’s spine. Nick began to back away without taking his eyes off the rubble.

  “Nicky,” Todd hissed.

  Nick moved slowly, stumbled over a few bricks strewn on the ground, regained his footing, and stepped on the edge of one of the tracks, slipping sideways. Rock and brick burst out of the junction and up. Nick gasped and garbled, “Shit!”

  “Son of a bitch,” Todd snapped.

  Todd darted toward Nick and caught him under his arms just as he was flung backward. With an arm across Nick’s chest, Todd clutched his mate to him and scrambled toward the middle of the tunnel.

  “Get in the control room!” Nick shouted. “Iron, there’s lots of iron in there.”

  Nick got his feet under him and working the right way. He used Todd as a brace for a few more steps before shoving his mate ahead. They sprinted to the rest of the group.

  “What are you—?” Trey started coming at them. Todd grabbed his arm and spun him around.

  “Get in that room,” Nick growled.

  Bricks and bits of dirt began flying in a whirl in front of the side tunnel. Trey’s eyes widened and he pointed.

  “Yeah, yeah, we know.” Todd gave Trey another shove.

  “But there’s no wind,” Trey said. He was trying to stop and look back.

  “We know!” Todd and Nick shouted together.

  More bricks took flight and began piling up in front of the control room door. Nick charged Trey and snagged him around the waist, throwing him to the ground when a tornado of dirt and rock spun toward him. They hit the ground, and the debris dropped out of the air and on top of them. Nick pushed off the ground almost immediately, dragging Trey with him.

  Todd reached them in a few steps, and they each held on to one of Trey’s arms, forcing him to run faster.

  “What the hell is that?” Trey screeched.

  “Don’t worry. They’re just stories,” Nick muttered.

  Todd swerved, pulling Trey and Nick with him. They shoved Trey over the pile of rock and brick in front of the control room door. Todd grabbed Nick by the shoulders and pushed. “You next, get your ass in there.”

  Nick was halfway across when he turned, latched on to Todd, and yanked his mate after him. Together they landed in a heap on the hard floor.

  * * * *

  Nick groaned and tried to shove away from the ground, but something was weighing him down. It took a few seconds for it to register in his mind the object holding him in place was warm and breathing. Dirt and rubble fell from his hair and landed on the backs of his hands.

  There were voices all around him and a ringing in his ears. The weight above him moved and someone wound an arm around his chest, hefting him up.

  “C’mon, up you go.” Todd’s voice was raspy and slightly unsteady. Nick felt a slight tremor run through Todd, but doubted anyone watching would notice.

  The world spun and swirled around in disorienting waves before finally settling back to where it belonged. He gulped in a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and repeated his action before turning his head and squinting into the dimly lit room. Dust hung in the air, and something along the wall sparked a few times. Nick heard the whine of a crank being turned rapidly, and in the next instant, there was a light piercing the shadows and brightening the room even more. One of the men who’d come with them held a large Faraday lamp up. He found a place to hang it and suspended a second slightly smaller one a few feet from the first.

  “Are you both alright?” Sal asked.

  Nodding and using Todd as a brace for a few more seconds, Nick rasped out, “Yeah. I think so.” He turned and met Todd’s gaze.

  Todd patted Nick’s shoulder and cranked his mate’s head side to side, then rubbed his own shoulder. “Damn.”

  “What was that?” Trey pointed to the now partially blocked doorway. His voice rose with each word.

  “We have to go back, get out of this tunnel,” Clara said in a shaky voice. She was a pasty color and her hands trembled.

  “That’s not going to happen,” Todd said and sighed. “The soldiers made sure we got into this tunnel. I’m betting they knew what we’d have to deal with. We go back out and those soldiers will eventually pick us off. Besides, I want to go home, and that’s north, not back south.”

  Clara’s eyes widened. “So we’re trapped? We’re going to die in this tunnel.”

  “Again. What was that?” Trey shouted this time.

  “Those stories you don’t believe in,” Nick said quietly. “Spirits.”

  “We’re not dying in here. We’ve got a few days’ supplies, and Nick and I have ways to deal with ghosts. They won’t bother us in here,” Todd said. “But we can’t sit in here forever. Can you get the lights going?”

  Clara took a few deep breaths before moving closer to the wall. “I almost had it.”

  “They don’t like the iron in here, and electric current messes with them. So does any magnetized metal, really. They move things and cause havoc by manipulating the energy around them,” Nick explained. “I think those tracks have iron in them as well, which is why they came at me when I crossed to the other side of the tunnel.”

  “There is no such thing as ghosts!” Trey barked.

  “Tell that to the ghosts,” Todd grumbled. “Look, whether or not you believe what just attacked us exists, the simple fact is something did all this. It—”

  “They,” Nick said softly.

  Todd gave him a hard look and arched an eyebrow before continuing. “They will continue to attack unless we do something. Number one is getting the lights on so we’re not working in the dark.”

  “Will the lights keep them away from us?” Sal asked. He’d taken the schematics and Trey’s maps and had them spread side by side on the ground, comparing things. He ran his finger along one then looked at the other. Using a grease pencil, he made some marks on the schematics.

  “Not really, but they don’t like them. Actually, they don’t like the power that produces them. Ghosts are essentially energy. Lights suck up energy in the form of electricity. The flickering is because they try to draw off that power, but it’s an inefficient method. Solar paneling and wiring use iron. Iron is a decent conductor of electricity and a great one for heat. For some reason ghosts can’t tap into the energy conducted by iron and they end up being weakened.” Nick looked around at the stunned faces of the others. He shrugged and smirked. “Did you think we simply guess how to protect ourselves and fight these things?”

  “But having the lights on will increase our odds?” Sal asked.

  Nick nodded. “Usually it does, yes.�
��

  “Ghosts are also generally tied to a place. They’re not great travelers. If we can find what specifically they’re tied to, or find something like hair that came from the body, we can dispatch them. If not we’re simply going to have to fend them off long enough to get through to the other end of the tunnel,” Todd added. “And they may not be a problem all along the tunnel.”

  Trey glared at Todd then Nick. Nick had the definite impression Trey somehow blamed them for this turn of events.

  “Salt is absorbent and easily dissolved. When it is broken down it creates its own electric field. The electric current combines with the energy of a spirit and overloads it. That destabilizes the spirit’s energy, which isn’t electrically based,” Nick continued.

  “So the two forms of energy repel or destroy each other?” Clara asked.

  “That’s a simplified explanation, but yes, essentially,” Nick said and grinned. He loved it when people took the time to grasp the science and not focus on the religious or fantastical aspects of what a ghost really was. “They move objects…and people…by manipulating the energy fields around them.”

  “Wow,” Kells said softly.

  Nick nodded. “Yeah.” He shrugged. “I guess they’re nothing but a different life form that can be created under certain circumstances.”

  “This is all quite fascinating. I’m not sure I believe those are the spirits of dead people, but something is out there with the intention of hurting us,” Trey snarled. He paced back and forth.

  “Nothing bothered us or even became present until we came to this room and went inside,” Nick said. He wandered to the door and peered out, trying to make his thoughts coalesce. “Either they’re tied to this room specifically, or they don’t want us getting the power going.” Standing quietly, staring into the tunnel, the answer came to him. He turned around and focused on Todd, not caring if any of the others listened or thought what he said was valid. Todd always believed him. “It’s the power. Whether it was a factor in their deaths or a shield for us, I don’t know.”

  Todd strode toward Clara. “Doesn’t matter. The end result is the same. They’re going to attack. What do you need to get this up and fully functional?” He set his backpack on the ground and opened it, then asked Nick, “Is there anything in here with us?”