“Can I ask you something?” I say, reaching for his wrist again.
He nods, but doesn’t say anything.
“Do you feel anything when you run your hand over this spot on your cuff?” I ask, flipping his wrist over and guiding his other hand to the spot I noticed earlier.
Ammon struggles to sit up and I place a hand on his back to help him. With a shaky finger, he runs his pointer against the shackle.
“Yeah. Feels like there’s a hole or something here,” he says, nodding.
“That’s what I thought, too. Do you remember anything about being chained here? Did you see how they were locked?”
“Wish I did,” he says, “I don’t remember nothin’.”
“It’s okay. We’ll figure this out,” I say, determination seeping in, “Maybe there’s something in plain sight? Something we’re missing.”
Ammon props himself against the cavern wall while I stand up, walking around the space in front of us. Surely, if a key was hidden, it wouldn’t be within reach, but perhaps it’s somewhere nearby?
In the back of my mind, a voice tells me to try the golden key in my pocket. Who knows, right?
But it can’t be that easy, surely.
After a few minutes of searching, I sigh and return to his small frame.
“Let me try something,” I say, putting my hand in my pocket. I pull out the large skeleton key and turn it over in front of me.
Ammon’s tilts his head, “What are you doing? You’re not gonna cut my hands off, are ya?”
“No, of course not. I found this key in another part of the cavern. I just want to see if… ” I pick up Ammon’s wrist and bring the key to the invisible indent. When the two come in contact with each other, large sparks fly and screeching fills the air, like some sort of alarm.
Ammon immediately brings his bound hands up to his ears and covers them.
“Not good,” he hollers.
I stand up, turning circles and covering my own ears.
Guess it wasn’t the right key. How do we shut it off?
The obnoxious screech echoes off the walls, getting louder and louder. My foot kicks the now dry ripped piece of paper from the Caudex. It must have fallen out of my pocket when I stood up. There are markings on the page, so I drop to my knees and pick it up, quickly flattening it open.
There’s a pictograph of some circles. It’s a simple thing, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out what it means. There are three circles beside each other. The first circle is surrounded by two larger circles, like ripples of water. The second circle is alone, and the third has four rings around it.
I know enough about the Caudex to realize whatever it’s showing me is significant. This has meaning, I just need to figure out what.
“This is the key, I can feel it,” I say to myself, tapping my forehead. The squeal of the alarm makes it impossible to think properly.
“What did you say?” Ammon says, trying to talk over the alarm.
“Nothing, just give me a moment,” I say. Three circles, one circle, five circles…
Do I need to draw them somewhere? I look around and see nothing evident to draw with.
Maybe it’s a reference to the sundog? Do we need to view it a certain way? Or wait a number of days?
“Gah—that can’t be it. What am I thinking? We’re not going to sit here for days listening to this,” I say, frustrated with myself. “Come on Runa, think.”
Ammon hunches forward, bobbing his head up and down, trying to ignore the sound. I watch him for a minute before I have a brilliant idea.
Rushing back to him, I drop to my knees and pull his hands in front of his body.
“Hey—” he says, startled. His swollen eyes widen into partial slits, and his mouth drops open.
“Please, let me try something,” I say.
His eyes lock with mine, and he nods in agreement, “Go on, then.”
I find the groove on the cuff and place my pointer finger over the top. I tap on the groove first three times, then once, then five times.
Nothing happens.
“Damn,” I curse, sounding more like Trae than myself. “Maybe I should try laying my fingers in order?”
“What are you doing?” Ammon says, pulling his hands to his lap.
The squeal of the alarm has reached a deafening level—which means someone will be here soon to check on things.
“Gimme another try,” I say, reaching for his wrist again.
I place my fingertips in order, my middle finger sitting in the indent. Then I tap three times with my pointer finger, once with my middle finger, then five times with my ring finger. Instantly, the alarm cuts off and the cuffs vanish into thin air.
Ammon grins broadly and rubs his wrists.
“Nice work,” he says.
“Thanks. Now let’s see if we can get out of here before we’re spotted. Besides, we still need to find some food for both of us.”
I don’t want to worry him, but I’m on high alert. The alarm wasn’t there for the fun of it. His captors will be back.
Ammon licks his dry lips and says, “Best idea yet.”
I grin. Even sitting here, black and blue and emaciated, this little boy rolls with the punches so easily. It’s like we’ve been doing this for years, not hours.
“Even better than figuring out how to get you out of your restraints?” I ask, chuckling, wanting to keep the mood light. Ammon’s been through so much.
“Well, they’re equal, I s’pose.”
“Okay,” I laugh.
“How did you figure out what needed to be done?” Ammon asks, trying to stand up.
“I got the idea from a page I tore out of a book.”
Ammon’s face scrunches in like he’s eaten something sour, “You tore a page from a book? Are you insane?”
“What? You needed water and I improvised to bring it to you,” I say, sheepishly. “Besides, how do you even know what a book is?”
“None of your business,” he says, a little color flooding to his cheeks. It does him some good, and almost makes him look normal.
“Hey, kiddo, I just saved your life,” I remind him.
“I just like books,” he mumbles.
“Me too,” I concede.
“So how come you don’t have food on you?”
“I just don’t…” I say.
Ammon huffs.
“Okay, look, I was sorta teleported here. I have no idea why or even specifically where we are,” I admit, sounding utterly idiotic.
“No way—” Ammon says, his eyebrows high up into his hairline.
“Yeah, strange, right?”
“Are you kidding? That’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard. I was reading a book about that sorta stuff not long ago. How’d you do it?”
“Well, uh… You know, I’m not a hundred percent on the logistics of it. It sorta just happened.”
“C’mon. There’s gotta be a device or something? What’s the story behind it? My friend and I were talking about the physics behind…”
“Whoa, wait. Did you just say ‘the physics’?” I say, cutting him off.
“Yeah,” Ammon says, shrugging. His eyebrows pull in like it’s completely normal for a kid his age to be talking physics. Even in the Helix, that program doesn’t start until they’re fourteen.
“How old are you?”
“Ten,” he answers, standing up as straight as he can.
The thought of this frail, scantily clad ten-year-old talking physics with his friends blows my mind and I can’t keep my jaw from slacking open.
“What?” he asks defensively, tilting his head again trying to see me through his swollen eyes.
“N-nothing. I’m just kinda…wow. Impressive,” I whisper.
“Anyway, as I was saying…”
“So where did you learn about physics? I mean, how did that first start coming about?” I ask, again over the top of him, “Sorry.”
I grin sheepishly.
“I learned fro
m my dad. My gran tells me all the time that I’m just like him.”
“Must be nice,” I say, trying to squelch the blossom of jealously bubbling up unexpectedly. What I wouldn’t give to have a life with both of my parents together.
“Sure,” Ammon says, making a face. “Anyway, as I was saying, we were talking about the physics behind teleporting and the energy output necessary to make it happen. It’d need to be astronomical.”
“That’s amazing,” I whisper. In all honesty, it’s never occurred to me to think about the energy output, or how it’s been done. I’ve been too consumed with figuring out where in the world I was.
“So c’mon. How’d you do it?”
“Well, I was sorta…there was a…”
I don’t even know what to call her. Is Adrian human? Or something else entirely? I have no idea.
“You know, I’d rather not discuss this right now,” I say, my face growing hot.
“Awwww,” Ammon says, frowning. He sways slightly and leans against the wall for support.
“Easy there,” I say, reaching for him. “You need to get your strength back before you go bounding down the cavern.”
Ammon doesn’t say anything, but the color has faded from his face.
“Are you alright?” I ask, placing a hand on his forehead.
He whimpers again and backs up further down the rocky wall, “I hear something, movement.”
Hot breath from behind my left side makes the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. My back stiffens and I swallow hard.
“There’s something behind me, isn’t there?” I whisper to him.
A grunt behind me is the reply.
5
Traeton
WHERE IN THE HELL would Kani go?
“Kani?” I call out again, listening to my voice reverberate off the tunnel walls.
Scrambling to my knees, I feel around for the lamp we brought with us—anything to illuminate the space so I don’t feel so disoriented.
My fingers brush against a sleep sack and one of our packs. Listening to the sound of my ragged breath, I dig into the small pocket in front and pull out the microLight I packed for each of us.
I press the on button and ambient light floods the cavern tunnel.
Kani’s pack rests on the floor beside mine, along with both sleep sacks.
None of this makes any sense.
Where would she go?
I get up and walk further down the tunnel, toward the way out. I meander through a few twists and turns, but there doesn’t seem to be any fresh prints in the dirt floor, so I turn around and head back the way I came. As I make my way around the final corner to where I began, I run smack into Kani.
“Thank god. You’re awake,” she says, pushing me off her and taking a step back.
“Yeah, no thanks to you. Where’d you go?” I ask, relief flooding through my veins.
“While you were being sleeping beauty over here, I realized my necklace was missing, so I went back to look for it,” she says, fiddling with the chain at her neck.
I take a step forward, pointing at the bronze gear dangling from the chain.
“Fenton made this for you,” I say.
She nods slowly, her fingertip circling the round inner circle of the gear. I remember when Fenton gave it to her. He was trying to find a way to connect with her and he thought somehow an old gear found in the Archives would be the way to go. Of course, she laughed at him at first, telling him that was the dumbest thing she’d ever seen. Still, she accepted the gift and since Fenton’s death, she hasn’t taken it off.
I don’t know if he ever told her the reason he chose it. When he’d picked it out, he had to point out to me the way the gears interlock—working together as a unit. He felt somehow, that symbology would make its way back to her.
“So anyway, now that you’re back up and running, are you ready to get our asses to the Archives?” she asks, changing the subject. She kneels down to pick up her things and her black and green ponytail drops over her cream colored jacket shoulder.
“Yeah, I’m ready. But can you not wander off like that? Nearly went out of my mind when you weren’t here. With Videus and his cronies capable of being just about anywhere, we can’t be too careful,” I say, grabbing my supplies.
Kani sighs, “Sorry. I didn’t think you’d notice. I was only gone a couple of minutes. Turned out it wasn’t far.”
“I wish I could trust the ComLinks. We coulda stayed in contact that way. But it doesn’t feel safe anymore,” I say, grabbing my pack and sliding it over my shoulders.
“I know what you mean,” Kani says, “I promise, I won’t run off again without letting you know.”
“Good,” I say, putting my sleep sack under my left arm.
With our ambient lighting, Kani collects the rest of her things and we walk the tunnel for a few minutes in silence. Both of us have walked this cavern enough to do it sleepwalking. Anytime we had questions, or just wanted to dig around for cool new stuff, the Archives was the place to go. It’s like our own secret world, since very few people are even aware of it. Hell, I’m not sure many people even want to make the trip if they did know. Even Landry’s like that. More engaged with what’s new, than to look back at what once was. It’s about the only difference between him and Fenton. Fenton at least could look both directions and be amazed.
“Did you remember to bring the handheld to open the wall when we get there?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“Yep,” Kani says, nodding.
“Good,” I say.
“Well, it woulda kinda sucked if we went this whole way only to find out we had to go all the way back. Don’t you think?” she says, making a knowing face.
Fenton was always the one who handled grabbing the device. It was sorta an unspoken rule. I’m not sure when it started—maybe always.
“Very true,” I say, my memory jabbing at my gut.
I hate that he’s gone. I hate how much I miss him. I hate how it comes and goes at such odd moments. Fine one minute, hurting the next. I hate how remembering him leads me to worry about Runa; which brings me back to feeling guilty that I’m worried about Runa after thinking about him. It’s a horrible, vicious cycle.
“How’s that headache of yours? Feeling any better?”
The medic in Kani has surfaced.
“Yeah, it’s okay. Still hanging out in the background, but otherwise alright,” I lie.
It’s technically still there thumping just as bad, but I hadn’t given it a second thought. It’s sorta becoming the norm. Plus, I don’t overly want her to worry. She’ll start getting all involved and fussy. There’s nothing she can do anyway.
“Keep an eye on it and let me know if it gets worse again. I can do some more research at the Archives to see what I can do.”
“Sure,” I say, shrugging.
A blast of fresh, arctic air permeates the tunnel, announcing the eventual end of the cavern. We turn the last corner and I kneel down so Kani can use my leg as a platform to pull herself up to the ledge that leads out. Once she’s made it, her head pokes inside and she holds out an arm.
“Hand me your stuff,” she says.
I remove the sleep sack and toss it up to her. Then, I take off my backpack and lift it to where she can grab it.
“Thanks,” I say, grabbing the rough edges of stone, and pulling myself up and out.
“Don’t mention it,” she says, handing it back.
We’ve got less than a hundred yards to go and we’re outside the safety of the cavern walls. The freshness of the breeze sends shivers down my spine. The last time I was out in the open was…
The first time is always the hardest, I remind myself.
The first time I had to face my mother and my sister Cecilina after turning Ava in…that was hard. In fact, so hard I’ve been too scared to go back. They didn’t say I was the reason Dad was gone, they didn’t have to. Their eyes did all the talking.
Yay, more guilt.
I breathe d
eep, trying to ignore my inner struggles. As I do, I see Kani is dealing with her own. Her back is rigid and she stands with one hand resting on the knife clinging to her hip. The same knife she used on Fenton.
“You okay?” I ask, resting a hand on her shoulder.
“Nope.”
We stand in silence for a moment, letting the situation rest with us as we both work to move past our memories.
“C’mon, Kani. We’ll get through this,” I whisper. “We need to get moving. Standing here freezing to death won’t change the past.”
I grab hold of her elbow, dragging her down the remainder of the tunnel and out into the blinding white light. The snow glistens and sparkles. Fresh snow has fallen since we were last out here, decorating the ground and tree branches with its paint of renewal. The low sun shoots rays of colorful light through the branches, offering in a weird way, some kinda hope. The halo is brilliant in the crisp air, and I stand in awe for a moment. You don’t realize how depressing being in the darkness of the caverns can be until the darkness is all you have.
We trudge our way through knee deep snow, watching for any signs of movement. Everything is our enemy, even the birds in the trees. We know that now.
The breeze blows softly and the trip is relatively silent, with only the crunch of our feet in unison. When we reach the entrance to the Archive’s hidden tunnel, I take a final glance through the trees. Their branches look inviting and cheerful, but I know better. I always knew there was something not right with those damn birds, though.
Too freakin’ happy.
Kani dusts off the hidden doorway, pushing the new snow aside with her foot, and together we lift up the large lid. It groans loudly, clearly not impressed to be moved. I know the feeling.
“You go ahead first. I’ll be right behind you,” I say, nodding to the black hole at our feet.
With a tip of her head, Kani drops into the darkness, climbing downward rung after rung.
I take one more glance through the trees and drop inside. With my left hand on the ladder, I use my right to slam the door shut behind me. Instantly, we’re plunged into darkness until Kani’s feet hit the bottom, triggering the motion sensor lighting system leading to the Archives door.
The Complete Pendomus Chronicles Trilogy: Books 1-3 of the Pendomus Chronicles Dystopian Scifi Boxed Set Series Page 28