Shymers

by Jen Naumann

  Arlandria’s shoulders fall in disappointment, as do my own.

  * * *

  Back in the safety of the forest, we all sit together and rest under the shade. My eyelids are heavy with exhaustion. I lean against a tree and shut my eyes when I hear Kiki’s small voice ask, “What dat?”

  My eyes snap open to find Kiki’s little finger pointing to a spot ahead. All I can see is grass. She has been walking on her own for the most part as it was too hot for her to be carried. Her little face is bright red, and her hair is kinked into frizzy curls around her head. The poor thing looks exhausted. Maybe she is hallucinating from the exposure to the heat.

  “There’s something in the grass,” Kendall agrees.

  I grip his arm excitedly. “What is it?”

  The events of the next few seconds pass by in a haze. A warm buzz zaps my hand where it touches Kendall’s arm. His eyes flash wide in surprise and he bolts to his feet, moving away from me. In my excitement, I forgot all about his no-touching rule. Did I just hurt him somehow?

  “What…?” I begin to ask.

  Kendall turns away from me, wiping his eyes with his hand. “I think it’s a sandal,” he mutters in a strained voice.

  My stomach drops. What just happened? Why is he crying?

  Kendall strides forward and then bends down to lift something off the ground. When he holds the sandal out, all at once I recognize it.

  “That’s Bree’s!” I yell out. Forgetting about the strange thing that just happened between us, I rush to him and grab the sandal to examine it. I know it belongs to my friend—there is even a string still tied around the strap to hold it together.

  Bree is in the Free Lands! But didn’t her parents take her away? Did she find Harrison and Tayrn, or is she all alone? I clutch the shoe to my chest and smile. Somehow, she made it. There is hope at least one of my friends is still alive and free.

  Near our feet is a large, deep hole somewhat concealed by the tall grasses. Bree must be down there. In this moment, the hope of finding my friend is greater than my fear of small spaces. I push the grass aside and prepare to climb in.

  “Olive, what are youdoing?” Kendall asks with a hard tone. “We don’t know what’s down there!”

  I smile up at him. “Hopefully, my friends.”

  With my feet dangling down inside the hole, I let go of the earth around me. For a moment, I’m falling. It feels as if the earth is swallowing me whole as I close my eyes and hold my arms tight to my sides. Then the tunnel shifts and my back skims against it a couple of times until I’m sliding instead of falling. Slowly, the tunnel levels off and I slither to a stop. I am unable to see what else may lie ahead in the darkness. My airway clenches tight, but I push through my fear and begin crawling deeper into the dark.

  “Bree!” I call out. “It’s Olive!” A faint noise comes from up ahead…maybe dripping water. “Can you hear me?”

  The tunnel darkens with every moment that passes. A new noise comes to me from the distance, quiet and muffled. When I reach out for the ground ahead, my arm and knee are met with air. I have taken another movement forward before I can register what this means, and my whole body is thrust downward.

  I yell out in surprise. Cool air whooshes against my face as I continue to drop. My body pings off a stone wall twice before I eventually hit the ground—hard. I yell out in pain when the air is ripped from my already bruised chest. If my ribs weren’t broken before, they certainly feel like they are now.

  “Olive!” Kendall’s voice calls out. “Are you okay?” He sounds so distant and removed, like he’s miles away. Just how far did I fall?

  Shutting my eyes and sucking in the damp air, I try to yell a warning for my brother through clenched teeth. “Be careful!” But the words come out as more of a whisper than anything.

  Kendall yells out in surprise above me. I roll to the side just in time for him to fall to the ground nearby with the same hard impact. He moans.

  When my eyes flicker open, I stop short.

  “Why didn’t you—” Kendall grumbles, but stops when he discovers what I’m seeing.

  A distance light unveils a cave below that opens up even farther into a giant pit, carved from stone and dirt. Hundreds of people move around in the space, carrying on in a buzz of conversations and activities. A smell mixes with the dankness of the cave—the smell of something wonderful anddelicious. Hundreds of round lights are strung from poles over the people’s heads. It looks like the pictures of festivals we had seen in Harrison’s book.

  “There are so many people,” I whisper to Kendall, my eyes still fixed on the activity below. “What is this place? What do you think they’re doing down here?”

  “Theylive down here, Olive. We’ve found the underground city.”

  22 – How Do I Know Society Didn’t Send You?

  Staring down on the cavern a bit longer, I realize my brother is right. There are paths in the dirt and little vendor stands set up everywhere. Although we are too far away to see what is being sold or traded at each of these stands, the people seem to be bargaining with each other for something.

  Beyond the little underground market lies a wall of abundant cavern holes, also carved from the gray stone. Their openings are so dark that my eyes nearly miss them. Young children sit at the edges of the holes, their legs hanging down. Some of them appear to be yelling out, either to each other or people down below. A group of little boys throw a ball around in the dirt nearby. They laugh and carry on like it’s the best day of their lives.

  “They’re happy,” I say to Kendall in awe. “Society must not know they’re here.”

  Kendall shakes his head. “They don’t. This city is one of the secrets our mother has been fighting so hard to keep.”

  I gasp. The woman I once called my mother has officially become a total stranger to me. She was living this other life I knew nothing about and didn’t share any of it with me. The vast mixture of feelings swirling through me makes my stomach uneasy. While I am happy these people have been able to live down here in peace, away from Society and all the labels and prejudices they have made, I am upset with my mother for not bringing us down here to live. Maybe I would have had the chance to have more than one friend growing up. Maybe we could have even lived happily, without fear of being discovered.

  Then it hits me. Maybe we don’t have to run any more. Maybe we don’t have to risk our lives to make it beyond the Free Lands. Maybe we could all be happy in this city for the remainder of our lives—however long that may be.

  Kendall swings his head back in the direction of our fall. “We need to get out of here before someone sees us.”

  Panic seizes me. “What? No! We can’t leave. We can bring the others down here. It could be a safe place to leave Kiki while we fight with the Rebels.”

  My brother shakes his head. “We can’tstay, Olive. These people live down here for good reason. They want to live in peace, and they don’t take too kindly to strangers.”

  “But that was my friend’s sandal. Shehas to be down here. We can’t just leave her!”

  “We can’t just leave Kiki and the others up there, exposed, while we look for your friend. The Free Lands are crawling with soldiers, Olive. We have to try to climb this wall so we can get back to them.”

  I glance at the gathering of people below. “If our parents knew about this place, why didn’t they just bring us here to live? Why did they make me hide in the forest and leave you all alone in Society?”

  Kendall sighs and presses his eyes closed for a moment. “Once people come down here, they can’t return to Society or the Free Lands. They forbid anyone to leave, unless they’re hunting. The chance that someone else would follow them back to their city and ruin everything they’ve accomplished is too great. Our mother met with Rebels on a daily basis. She couldn’t do that with the rules of this city.”

  “Then why didn’t she just send me here to live without her? I grew up alone, Kendall. I hadone friend, but she had to leave whe
n her father was taken away. At least the short time while I was in Society I actually made some new friends. It was better than being alone in the forest when our parents left me.” My eyes well up with tears of anger and pain. “Maybe they shouldn’t have been so selfish. They had two children to raise, but instead they chose to be part of something dangerous.”

  Kendall’s eyebrows draw together. “So you’re saying you would rather have lived down here and let Society continue treating Shymers the way they do? You would rather turn a blind eye to what the government is doing to all those children you met in the orphanage?”

  Everything becomes a big blur with the tears filling my eyes. Mylifefeels like it has become a big blur—nothing from what I knew as a little girl is real to me now. Nothing is as it seems. “Of course not. I just want a chance to behappy.”

  Kendall smiles. He is so attractive with his bright blue eyes and smooth, tanned face that I wonder how we can truly have the same set of parents. “That’s exactly what our mother wants, Olive. She wants everyone to quit living in fear of Society. She wants people to be happy, no matter how long they have to live. She wants you to be free to do what you want. Living down here in ignorance wouldn’t accomplish that. All these people are doing is hiding, just like you and our parents were doing in the forest.”

  Again, he’s right. As inviting as this city looks from high above, it’s no different than living in the Free Lands. If I were to stay, my mother—the mother I once knew anyway—would see it as an act of cowardice.

  I gingerly wipe away my tears with the back of my hand, knowing too much movement will cause more pain. Looking up at the hole from which we fell, I frown. “I don’t think I can climb back up.”

  Kendall also looks to the wall. “It won’t be hard. There are lots of places to get your footing. It’s that first drop—”

  “It’s not the actual climb I’m worried about,” I cut in, although the thought of hiking back through the dark tunnel makes my stomach roll. “I think I may have really hurt myself this time.”

  Kendall spins around to face me. “Is it your ribs again?”

  I nod. “I hit the rock when I fell.”

  Kendall surveys the wide ledge underneath our feet and runs a hand through his hair. “Then we’ll have to find another way out. We have to get out of here before we’re discovered.”

  I grit my teeth as the pain flares up. “You said some of the people leave here to hunt, right? Maybe there are more openings that aren’t as steep. You should go back to Kiki and the others to make sure they’re okay and then find me another way out.”

  He frowns. “And leave you down here alone until then?”

  “I’m not alone,” I say, gesturing to the people below with my finger. “You forget about the whole party going on in here.”

  Kendall’s face darkens. “Just because they’re not part of Society doesn’t make them friendly. Like I told you, these people don’t want to be bothered. They’re afraid of outsiders. There are too many dangers involved if they were to be discovered.”

  “What kind of dangers? Why was our mother helping to keep them hidden?”

  “Someday, Olive, I hope to explain everything to you. But not until I know we’re safe.”

  I bring a hand up to my chest with the fresh surge of pain passing through it. “Well I can’t climb, and you can’t leave Kiki out there in the sun. Where does that leave us, Kendall?”

  Covering his face with his hands, my brother sighs.

  * * *

  Watching the underground city filled with strangers all alone is not as fun as I had guessed it would be. Kendall left me a very small supply of water from his pack. As much as my throat burns, I know I can’t drink it all in one sitting. I may be stuck here by myself for hours.

  A sound drifts through the air from below that I recognize as music. It’s not harsh and angry like the music that the Rebels had been playing the night I met Chance and Arlandria. It’s slow and hypnotic—even beautiful, reminding me of the melodies my father used to sing to me as a little girl. The sounds play in different pitches and beats from what I know to be instruments.

  Kendall told me to stay put until he could find another way to get me out of here. Still, I can’t help myself—the music is so warm and inviting I want to see where it is coming from. Rising to my feet, I follow a small path that winds through more carved openings. I cross over to the edge of the cliffs, closer to the source of the music.

  Down below, people have gathered to the center of the underground city where a man perches on a stool, playing a guitar made of wood. The man has dark, wild hair that brushes the tops of his shoulders and colorful tattoos covering his arms. His voice is low and clear—it’s one of the most exquisite sounds I ever remembering hearing.

  Before long, the man stops singing. The audience claps and hollers until he begins to play again—this time at a much faster pace. The people jump around and sing along, their voices loud and joyful. Seeing a musical festival is one of the things on my own playlist. My spirits swell when I realize it is actually happening.

  I settle behind a wall of rock to watch them, straining to hear the man’s words. The cavern fills with the music to a louder degree, causing the people below to become even more excited. The tune is happy and light, making me want to move my head along with it. If only Harrison were here with me, the moment would be perfect.

  “Who are you?” a voice asks unexpectedly, frightening me so badly I think I will teeter off the ledge. Once I regain my balance and the ability to breathe normally, I turn to the source of the voice.

  A remarkably pretty girl, probably close to my own age, stares back with her bright green eyes wide. She is wearing a dark, button-down top with faded blue pants and bare feet. Her raven-like hair is braided off to one side and nearly reaches her waist. The hue of her skin is so white it almost appears translucent. Was she perched beside me in the darkness this whole time?

  “Why are you here?” she asks before I can answer her first question. She takes a few delicate steps in my direction. “I don’t know you.”

  “I’m trying to find my friends. Have any new people come down here recently? I am looking for a girl name Bree and a boy—”

  “You’re not supposed to be here.”

  Her tone is neither threatening nor curious. It’s more matter-of-fact. She is strange enough to the point of being eerie as she continues moving my way. I step back in the other direction, fearful of what she wants. Looking behind me, I wonder how I am going to find a way out of this. If I run, I may frighten her and cause her to yell out.

  “Why are you here?” she asks again, moving closer. Has this girl ever been out of this city before? She doesn’t seem to know how to interact with strangers.

  “Itold you, I am looking for friends. Are your parents or anyone else around who could maybe help me…”

  Her hand darts out to grab my arm. A warm buzz passes between us, identical to the one I felt when touching Kendall. Her eyes darken. “You aren’t supposed to be here, Olive.”

  Pulling my arm away from her, I gasp. How did she know my name?

  Suddenly a large, dirty hand comes from behind me to clamp over my mouth. My heart skipping wildly in my chest, I scream and yank at the cold hand that smells terribly bitter.

  “You’re not supposed to be here,” a deep voice says. “I will remove my hand if you promise not to scream anymore.”

  Willing myself to calm down, I nod and the hand drops. A large, pale-skinned man with no hair on either his eyebrows or head appears in front of me and forces me to walk farther down the rocky path. His large hand grips tightly to my arm and the uneven ground jostles my ribs, bringing even more pain. I didn’t see whether or not the strange girl stayed behind or if she is following us. I am too frightened to care.

  The winding path continues until we are on the bottom level of the city. The crowd doesn’t seem to notice me when we pass around the back side of their gathering. Up close, the different goods a
vailable in the market come into view. There are a variety of foods, handmade clothing, and children’s crudely made toys. Jewelry for necks and wrists lay in neat piles, as well as artificial flowers and bands for hair. Colorful blankets like mine are stacked next to square pillows made with stitched material.

  Could this be the market my mother always came to? Kendall said no one was allowed to come and go from this city. What if he was wrong?

  My eyes skip over to a booth where differently shaped electronics are on display, as well as other items from the old world that I recognize from Harrison’s book. The man sitting behind the booth is fairly young with colorful tattoos running up his arm, similar to those of the man playing the guitar. His eyes are dark and he looks to be nearly as wide as he is tall. Like Kai and most of the Rebels I’ve met, metal piercings stick out from his face. He catches my eye and his yellow, crooked teeth flash behind a wide smile.

  My hairless capturer continues to guide me straight forward into an arched entrance in the wall. Up close, the openings where the children sit are much larger than they appeared from up above. I glance into some of them to find makeshift beds on the floor, some surrounded by mounds of clothing among other things.

  I am shoved through the entrance. The hairless man is so large that he has to duck once we’re inside the cavern. His arms sticking out from his sleeveless gray shirt are each closer to the size of my torso. Although he looks as if he could crush me with the mere flick of his wrist, there is a surprising gentleness to his gray eyes.

  “I foundanother one,” he announces gruffly.

  The cavern is lit with artificial lights. Electronic items from the old world are scattered about—things I have never seen but heard stories of. A flat device with moving people displayed across it rests against the wall that I am sure is a movie projector. Two boys sit with their legs crossed on the ground, holding little book-shaped items. They yell excitedly, moving their thumbs across little buttons.