by Harper North
“Good,” I say, handing him my light. “But we should move ahead carefully.”
I turn back to face the Dwellers. With the light at their backs, filtering through the unsettled dust in the tunnel behind them, they’re hardly more than shadows. I clear my throat and look to Jase for input.
He leans into me and says, “We have to go first. Tell them if we don’t come back in a few hours, they need to go hide in the Slack with the others.”
I pause for a beat before stepping forward, positioning myself in front of the opening. Leading people is still difficult for me, but most of them are my people. My Dwellers. But in the low light, their faces are filled with doubt and uncertainty.
“I knew there would be dangers,” I say to the remaining few. “But I can’t ask you to follow until we know it’s safe.”
Knuckles steps forward. “Oliver and I will watch their backs.”
I nod and turn back to face Elias and Jase. I won’t make another mistake that will cost the Dwellers more lives.
“The leadership will scout out the path first. If it’s safe, then everyone can follow.”
CHAPTER 5
I push a lighting spike from my pack into the brittle wall to guide the way for the other Dwellers, sending a small crumble of debris to the ground. I calculate the optimal lighting dispersal will be no greater than one spike every fifteen feet.
Up ahead, Jase and Elias move uphill quickly, quiet and determined, heading further into the darkened chamber.
“Every ten feet or so,” I say to Sky, who helps with the spikes. I hand him another one. “That should give everyone else enough light to see their way uphill.”
“Got it.” Sky eases a spike carefully into the wall, eyes flicking up to the ceiling. “All we need is another cave-in.”
I shove in another light. “Don’t think about it,” I say, but my glance shifts to the spiraling crack that weaves its way up the wall to the cave’s ceiling. I instinctively duck a bit as I make sure the spike’s anchored, but nothing falls.
“Let’s get a move on!” Elias shouts back at us.
I sprint to catch up. Sky does the same. My lungs burn, and already the heat and radiation of the surface is bearing down on my body. The spikes rattle together as my bag bounces against my back. The climb isn’t as steep as before, but still it’s still hard for me to catch my breath.
“How much farther do you think?” I ask, coming to Jase’s side.
“Not much,” he says, scanning the walls. “The trails are thicker here. We must be getting closer to the vent where the lava poured out.”
“Good,” I say, rifling through my bag for another spike. “I don’t want the Dwellers to think we’ve abandoned them.”
Jase scoffs. “You’re only worried they’re never going to listen to you again after you got most of them blown up.”
“Stop,” Elias interrupts. “No more lighting spikes.”
“Why?” Sky asks, following the line of Elias’ arm as he points forward.
“We don’t need them.”
There’s a dim light at the chamber’s end, not more than twenty feet ahead. I race toward it. Sweat beads on my brow and trickles down my cheek. A breeze blows through the opening, ruffling my hair. Running footfalls echo behind my own, and Sky skids to a stop alongside me at the end of the vent.
“We’re out,” Elias says, his voice raised in relief. He reaches for his radio and turns a dial, the device letting out a crackle of static. “Knuckles, you there?”
The radio is silent. I bite my lip and glance back down the tunnel. “Are we too far away from them?”
“Try it again,” Jase says. “Those things are buggy sometimes.”
Elias turns the dial again. “Lacy? Oliver? Anyone? Pick up!”
Again, more silence.
My eyes flit from face to face. “We have to go back.”
Sky’s shoulders slump. “I’ll go. You should move ahead. I’ll bring the others—”
A female voice crackles over the radio. “Ten-four.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. Sky’s eyes light up and Jase laughs. It’s Knuckles.
Elias holds the radio to his mouth. “Tell everyone to start climbing. We found a way out.”
“Took you long enough,” Knuckles chides.
There’s another bit of static, then Elias tucks the radio back into his belt. “We should see what’s out there.”
I blink a few times, eyes readjusting to the bright light as Elias and Jase move forward. I inch along the wall, careful to keep my bearings, but even as I step to the end of the chamber, it’s nearly impossible to see what’s beyond the opening. The air around us drops slightly in temperature. I have no idea why, but it’s a welcome relief.
Sky pauses beside me, his breath steady as he reaches out for my hand. “Be careful,” he whispers.
“Of what?” I ask, letting him take it.
“It’s a long way down.”
“Can you see?” I ask, blinking again.
He squeezes my hand. “Barely, but do you feel the cool wind? It’s coming from below, pushing up, like we’re standing on the edge of a cliff.”
My chest tightens. I pull my hand away and grope for the wall. “I just need a minute.”
The shadowy outlines of Jase and Elias edge forward a few feet ahead of me.
“It’s a steep drop,” Jase is the first to say. “We’re pretty high up a mountain.”
Elias sighs. “I thought we would be. Down is not an option here. We’ll need to climb up to find a path that’ll lead us down off the mountain.”
“We’re going now?” I ask, startled. “I thought we would wait for the others.”
“No time for that,” Jase says. “They aren’t going anywhere yet.”
“We have to wait right at the top,” I insist. “I don’t want to get separated. Most of them have never been to the surface.”
Jase groans. “Fine.”
My eyes begin to adjust. I can make out the edge as Jase moves confidently through the opening. “It’s a vent,” he says.
“Lava vent,” Elias agrees, running his hand along the opening’s edge as he follows Jase out. “It’s soft. We’ll have to be careful when we climb. Could lose our grip, or worse.”
“The whole side could give way,” Sky says, standing beside them at the edge. “Or we could break through.”
Jase readjusts the strap of his bag across his chest and checks his holstered pistol. “The mountain will hold us, don’t you worry.”
I gulp and brush a wispy hair away from my cheek, saying, “I’ll go first.”
I ease my way to the edge. The light is bright and pulses against my skin. There’s a landing not too far away from the vent’s opening, maybe five feet. I wedge my foot into a rock and reach out, grabbing hold of another grey rock, hoping what I’m holding isn’t former lava flow.
Sky eases himself out behind me.
“I’ve got it,” I say, pulling myself to the ledge just outside the vent opening.
Jase and Elias do the same. Soon, all four of us are working our way across the side of the mountain. We slowly move up until we spot our opportunity. There’s a short drop to the next landing, and as I get closer, I can see the ledge leads to a wider area just beyond, an opening where we’ll be able to climb down the mountain and not up.
My clenched jaw relaxes. Only a few more feet. I get to a place right above the landing, look down, count to three, then drop, falling onto a bed of soft ash.
When I stand up, I laugh. I’m covered in black soot, but thankfully the mountain held me. I dust myself off and turn back. My eyes are stronger now. I scan above and below, seeing nothing but grey mountain until I get nearer to the peak. Up there it’s much greener, and a few trees jut out from ledges farther down. There are some brown, weathered plants tucked into crevices, too, but not much else. I shield my brow and gaze farther out. The horizon is just as I remembered from the last time I made it to the surface: barren. Not much out there but h
ot, dry land.
“Fin?”
Sky’s voice pulls my gaze up. He dangles a few feet above me.
“Just drop down,” I say. “It’s safe.”
Sky lets go. He lands crouched on his feet, but the ash puffs up and covers his cheeks. I shield my mouth and nose from the flakes that float around. A few minutes later Jase and Elias make it to the landing.
“Let’s move around the ledge,” Jase says.
Elias leads the way and I quickly follow. The area is wider and levels off, and Elias throws down his knapsack.
“This is a good place to take a break.” He dusts off his pants and clears his throat. “Wait here.”
I rest myself back against a rock and take a deep breath. Just as I’m slipping into a doze, there’s a click beside my ear. My eyes snap open and I bolt upright, flailing for my gun.
“You sure are jumpy.”
I look up to see Lacy, smiling, and silhouetted by the sun.
“What are you doing?” I growl. “I could have shot you.”
She laughs. “You weren’t going to shoot me.”
The rest of the group stands behind Lacy, safe and sound. I lever myself to my feet and shake my head, walking away from her. From a shadow, a gun clicks again.
Anger burns in my chest and I swing around. “Lacy—"
But it’s not Lacy. A man with dark hair holds a gun on me. Behind him are more men and women with weapons. I count twelve people, and my pulse speeds up as the man steps to my side.
“Who are you?” he demands, pressing the gun against my cheek.
CHAPTER 6
The cold metal against my skin sends my thoughts reeling, flashing over all that’s at stake.
“We don’t want any problems,” Elias says, his voice firm. “We’re just passing through.”
“That’s right,” Jase chimes in. “If you’ll just let us pass, we’ll be on our way. No problem.”
Oliver and Knuckles are right behind the two of them, their guns firmly in their hands, ready to use them at a second’s notice.
After a long pause, the man shifts even closer, so that the tip of his gun digs into my cheek. “No one gets through,” he growls.
“Please,” I whisper.
Elias and Jase back up, giving the man space.
“Don’t do anything you’re going to regret,” Elias says calmly.
The man ignores him and leans closer to me. His flinty eyes glare into mine. “Where are you headed?”
Elias eases his way to the man, keeping his hands level. “Somewhere safe. That’s all.”
My jaw aches from the pressure of the gun, and my chest tightens. The man’s not going for it.
“Where’s somewhere safe?” a female voice calls down from the slope above us.
I want to turn, but I don’t dare look away from the man.
“Step away,” the voice orders, and in a split second the man pulls his gun from my cheek and steps back.
I release the breath I hadn’t been aware I’d been holding and steady myself, turning my attention to the speaker.
The voice was nothing more than an echo bouncing off the side of the mountain, but then the shape of a woman comes closer, her silhouette set against the sun. I squint to get a better look as her slender frame comes closer.
“Is there anywhere safe these days?” she asks. Her voice is raspy, but there’s a soothing quality to it. The tension in my chest starts to ease. As she steps closer to our group, I study the creases around her mouth. Her frayed, dark brown hair falls to her shoulders. She’s a bit older, maybe in her fifties. Her darker skin matches the hue of her brown, casual outfit.
“We’re trying to change that,” Sky explains to her. “Make some place safe for people like us.”
“And who are you?” the woman questions.
She circles our group, eyeballing each of us. First, she goes to the Dwellers and touches their grey, torn shirts and pants. Then she works her way around to Sky, Drape, and Lacy, examining their faces, and finally to Elias, Jase, Knuckles, and Oliver, examining their guns.
“What is she doing?” Lacy whispers. I don't answer.
Finally, the woman comes to a stop next to me. “Who are you?”
“We’re Dwellers,” I choke out.
The woman’s green eyes flash with recognition. “Dwellers?”
“From inside the mountain,” I say. “We came up through a lava vent.”
The woman nods. “Smart. Not many know of that exit.” She steps closer to me and touches the crown of my head.
I resist the urge to shift, uncomfortable with her hand on me. “We’ve spent our lives underground.”
She leans back. “You are workers.” Her eyes go around the group again. “Owned by the EHC.”
The words send a jolt up my spine.
“Not anymore,” I tell her firmly. “We’re the resistance.”
“Ahh.” The corners of the woman’s lips turn up. “I see.” She begins to walk around us again. “And what makes you think your small group of fifteen could ever stand a chance against the well-equipped and well-trained EHC?”
I take a deep breath, unsure whether to tell her the truth or not. Elias’ eyes widen as if he wants me to.
“We’ve been modified,” I say at last.
The woman closes her eyes and presses a hand to her forehead. “That makes sense, since otherwise you’d be dead. But you think just because you are modified you stand a chance?”
“We’ll win!” Knuckles shouts.
“You don’t stand a chance against the EHC,” the woman says emotionlessly. “Even if you are modified and have all these guns and knives, you’ll only get so far. The EHC’s reach goes far beyond this area. They control most of the world.”
I knew the EHC controlled the surface, but I guess I didn’t think about how big the world might be beyond my little hole in the ground.
“You don’t know what we’re capable of,” Jase says. “Maybe we have something they don’t.”
“We have years of oppression,” I tell her, “and we’re willing to risk our lives.”
She smiles and turns to head back toward the slope, sending my heart thumping quicker in my chest.
“We may not win,” I call after her. “We may not get very far, but we’re not giving up. We can’t go back.”
“We came to the surface to get help,” Elias says.
“We didn’t have a choice,” I add. “The EHC was breaking through. If we stayed underground, all of us would have been killed or enslaved again.”
The woman stops and turns back to me. “You were very brave to come this far.”
Elias steps forward. “We came to the surface to fight back.”
She sighs. “Then you should.”
Relief washes over me at her words. She turns her back and calls out to her guards.
“They are not a threat to us.” She pauses, then adds, “They’re too stupid.”
The men and women lower their guns and break their formation. Anger burns in me again, but it would be stupid to make any moves. Lacy’s eyes are on fire and she dashes up to join me. The woman waves to one of her soldiers.
“Scan them,” she orders. “Let’s see how modified each of you are.”
The soldier pulls out a device and grabs Lacy’s arm.
“Hey,” she protests, trying to twist away.
“Hold still,” the guard orders, gripping her forearm tighter and holding the device to her wrist. The device clicks and flashes. “Recently modified,” the guard says to the woman. He lets Lacy go and moves on to Drape and Sky. “Not EHC,” he says after testing them. “Modified Century class.’
Elias’ eyes flash to mine. There’s one thing that could derail our chances here. I take a deep breath as the guard scans each Dweller and calls out their modifications to the woman. Elias bites his lip.
‘Tell her,’ I mouth to him, but before Elias can say anything, the guard grabs ahold of his wrist and turns it. The scanner device flashes EHC,
and in a split second there’s a gun aimed at Elias’ chest.
I gulp back panic, quickly blurting out, “He’s not with them.”
The woman steps closer to Elias, raising an eyebrow. “If you’re not with the EHC, then why are you with this group?”
“I left all of that behind,” he says.
“He’s helping us,” I tell her. “Elias is on our side.”
She purses her lips in disbelief and Elias grits his teeth. “They killed my father,” he says. “And my uncle. I’ll never be one of them.”
The woman takes a second. Her gaze shifts. She seems to be sensing something about Elias and what he’s telling her.
“Very well,” she says at length. “I, too, believe in helping others. But we will be watching you.”
My shoulders relax. We’re all ordered to follow. Everyone picks up their guns and bags and hustles to keep up.
Halfway up the slope, I come alongside the woman. “Who are you?”
“Emma,” she says, stopping and turning to face me. “I’m the caretaker for this settlement. If you would like to stay with us, we will keep you safe, but you’ll need to hand over your weapons.”
Our group stops and exchanges glances between each other. I palm the pistol on my hip and look back at Elias, making sure he heard before I return my attention to Emma. “And then you’ll help us?”
She nods.
I nudge Elias to give the order. He does, but Jase grips his gun and Lacy’s eyes flare wide and angry.
“If we don’t let them take our weapons,” Elias says, “there’s no way we’ll get out of this alive.”
No one moves.
“Do it,” Elias demands.
Reluctantly, everyone hands over what they carry. Lacy is the last to give up her gun, and not without a struggle. Finally, she slams the weapon into one of the guard’s hands.
“I’ll want that back,” she growls at them.
Emma waves the group to follow her and we continue up the mountain’s side. Every few feet there’s another green tree or granite boulder.
“What is this place?” I ask, scanning up and down cliffs and down into the deep crevices of the mountain.