by Harper North
“Look at this one,” Bricks says, pointing at a charcoal woman standing with her hands on her head.
“Bricks, I said no touching!” Mason shouts.
“I’m not!” he says, turning. The back of his blaster hits the woman and she falls apart. This time though, instead of crumbling completely to dust, a few bones fall out and land at Bricks’ feet. He shrieks and cusses again, his words echoing in the room.
“What did we say?” Jase snarls. “Quit goofing around!”
I move closer to Elias in the back who’s scanning every inch of this area intently. “Hey,” I say softly. “What’s the deal with Jase? He’s not like the others. He’s on edge—always so serious.”
Elias lowers his weapon and looks at me. “He’s been with Mason the longest. He was a lead operative before joining us years back. He doesn’t take honor lightly. Leaving his post was hard for him. Even if it was the EHC. So, he doesn’t want everything he’s left to be for nothing. Duty is all he knows.”
I look ahead at him leaning in and grilling Bricks. He’s a big guy—intimidating. The streaks of gray hair lining the sides make him look older than he probably is.
“Check it out,” Oliver says, interrupting the commotion.
There’s a service tunnel bored into the exposed rock, about fifteen feet high and the same across. We illuminate it with our flashlights. Maybe that leads down into the habitat Sky was talking about.
“Let’s go,” Mason says, taking the lead and leaving Sky to pull up the rear with me and Elias now.
“I don’t know if I gave you an honest thank you for all of this,” Sky says to me in a whisper.
I smile at him. “A thank you?”
He looks up ahead to his sister, skipping along like we’re headed to a party. “For her,” he says. “She means the world to me, Fin. If you hadn’t decided to come, I would have gotten myself killed trying to save her. Then we’d both be gone.”
“Of course. She saved us. It was only right.”
I feel his hand stroke my arm. “I mean it, Finley. Thank you so much.”
“Easy there, big guy,” I say, playfully stretching my arm back. “Keep your head in the game.”
I catch Elias looking at me. He must think we are so immature.
“I’m trying,” Sky says, staring at me just a second too long.
Heat rises over my cheeks. Is Sky flirting with me? Here? I start to say something, not sure what yet, and I slam into Bricks. Yep. The man’s nickname is appropriate.
“Watch yourself, kid,” he says to me, and I fumble out an apology, a little glad for the distraction.
“Why’d we stop?” I ask, peering around Bricks.
Ahead is an enormous crevice. I walk up and peer over the edge, and although I know it can’t be, the abyss looks endless.
“How are we supposed to cross that?” Knuckles says. “This was a waste of time”
“Over there,” Sky says, pointing a good ways down the lengthy, narrow stretch of the never-ending cavern. “A bridge with tracks. Like old subway train tracks, but way sketchier.”
“No way,” Knuckles whines. “There is no way I’m walking on that!”
Mason waves us toward the bridge. “Let’s go check it out.”
As we walk, my stomach rolls over. In mind, I see nothing but crumbling tracks and our group falling to our deaths.
“The tracks were affected by nuclear blasts,” Olivia says as she checks her small device. “It could crumble.”
“You’re the blast expert,” Mason says to her. “Can we walk on it or not?”
She taps the screen, studies whatever it says, and then walks to the bridge, bending down. “There’s a lot of radiation in this cave,” she says, “but the bridge seems sturdy. We got to go at it slow and easy.”
Knuckles shakes her head. “That’s nearly a quarter-kilometer long walk across an old, rickety bridge!”
I gaze down into the cavern again and listen. Soft whooshing sounds from the blackness. “There’s water at the bottom of this. Rushing water.” Now I’m picturing death by drowning. Nice.
“The pre-Flip refugees probably planned on using the river for power. There’s likely a mill down here,” Mason says. “Okay, cross or don’t cross? Let’s leave it to a vote.”
I push away my negative thoughts. We’ve come this far, and I won’t let the dwellers die. We need to warn them. “Cross.”
“We should cross. You all know it’s the right choice,” Olivia says. Her brother and the rest agree.
“Form a line,” Mason says, taking the lead.
I fall in line behind him, the others at my back. The bridge and the tracks creak with each step. I wipe my filthy, sweaty hands on my pants.
“Slow and steady,” Bricks reminds us, his voice shaking slightly.
“You scared of heights, Bricks?” Knuckles teases.
“Shut up,” he says.
The bridge the tracks lay on is at least three or four shoulder lengths wide. It’s not like we’ll just fall over unless one of us gets ridiculously wobbly.
“Straight ahead, Bricks,” I call back to him. “Don’t look down or you’ll make yourself dizzy.”
Halfway across the bridge, a loud creaking followed by a crash and a splash echoes throughout the cave. That doesn’t sound good.
“Whoa, what was that?” Drape asks, his hands extended and knees bent.
The bridge starts to tremble. Our team freezes in place.
“Earthquake?” Jase suggests.
The rattle grows. We turn and realize what’s happening.
“The bridge is collapsing!” Elias screams from the rear. “Run!”
The popping and cracking send a jolt of panic up my spine. Bit by bit, pieces of the support beams start to tumble. Splinters in the cement below expand, forcing us into action. Mason nods.
“Run! Run!” Mason barks and bolts for safety. I’m right on his tail.
The bridge starts to sway. Mason’s boots hit the earth and he swings back my way, extending his hand. I catch it and he yanks me forward, my feet hitting solid ground. I look back and realize we left everyone else in the dust. The bridge and all the people I care about is going down.
“Hurry!” I scream.
Faster than I’ve seen Drape run in his life, he pounds over the crumbling bridge. Face white with fear, he crosses to safety and collapses. Knuckles pushes in behind him and right after her is Bricks and Jase. Sky yanks on Cia’s arm, pulling her as they cross and tumble down beside us. The bridge jolts and Lacy, Elias, and the twins all lose their footing. One by one, they drop to their knees, fighting to regain their balance.
“Get up!” Mason and I scream in unison.
“Get up! Get up!” Cia echoes us, tears welling in her eyes.
My brain tries to work out a solution, but there isn’t one. There’s just no time. Setting foot on the unstable path could make the bridge disintegrate faster. The four of them struggle to stay upright as the bridge continues to sway. Oliver and Olivia lean on one another, rising again. Elias is able to pull Lacy up and they all begin to bolt. Mason and I wait near the edge, our hands outstretched. Bricks grabs me to prevent me from falling if I do manage to grasp one of the twins. Knuckles and Jase do the same for Mason.
Oliver extends his hand to mine and I stretch for it.
Snap.
The bridge jolts and the four of them drop. Like an avalanche of rock, the bridge crumbles piece by piece.
“Lacy!” I scream.
Elias slams right into Lacy, pushing her along the rock face. As if in slow motion, Oliver and Olivia jump. In my mind, I will them forward, but instead of their feet meeting the dirt, they plummet.
The bridge snaps free from the ledge. I race to the edges. Olivia screams as she and her brother hang on to the broken, bent railing hanging below the side of the ledge. Elias has Lacy pinned against a rock a few feet down. He has a hand on the fragmented track, too. Lacy screams as she scrambles for something to hold, but there’s nothin
g there.
“Grab me!” Elias snaps.
Lacy wraps her arms around his waist to keep from sliding down the rocky wall.
“Get them up!” Mason roars, throwing himself to the edge, stretching for Elias.
“I can reach Oliver,” Bricks says, pushing past me. Knuckles and Jase each hook onto Bricks’ belt loop to keep him from tumbling as he reaches down for Oliver. Below, the bridge collides with the water and interior of the cavern. The debris thunders as it hits the bottom.
“I’m slipping–I’m slipping!” Olivia cries out.
Oliver grapples for her. “Give me your hand!” he yells.
“I can’t do it!” she cries and begins to slide. Olivia’s fingers slip from those of her twin. Her screams echo as she falls out of sight.
Oliver’s eyes go wide and he opens his mouth as if to scream, but there’s only silence. A horrible thud sounds from below, Olivia’s terrified scream goes quiet.
“Grab him!” Jase roars at Bricks.
Oliver is frozen, but Bricks grips him and snaps him out of it. He’s unwilling to move, but they drag him up.
“I can’t get you!” Mason cries out to Elias. “Climb up higher!”
“I can’t pull myself up,” Elias calls back. Lacy sobs.
“Lose the girl!” Knuckles shouts down. “She’s weighing you down!”
I reach out and seize Knuckles by her shirt collar. “Why don’t we lose you!” I growl.
“Back off,” she warns.
“Don’t drop me! Don’t drop me!” Lacy sobs.
“I won’t drop you!” Elias shouts. “Climb up me!”
I stand over Mason and anchor him to keep him from slipping. Lacy slowly hauls herself up, using Elias’s body to get leverage to reach for Mason. Mason stretches to grab Lacy’s arms and lifts her to safety. Without Lacy weighing him down, Elias pulls himself up to Mason and clutches his hand. Several of us help Mason hoist Elias up and over the edge. Mason wraps his arms around his nephew, squeezing him.
Lacy’s entire body is shaking. “You saved me. Thank you,” She says, sounding more sincere than I have ever heard her be to anyone outside Drape and me in her life.
Mason steps back from Elias and swings his attention to Oliver, who’s sitting on the ground, his head hung.
“Oliver,” Mason says, “I’m so sorry.”
Oliver wrings his hands together. “I couldn’t grab her,” he sobs.
Mason gives him a moment, but only a moment. “I need you to pull yourself together, Ollie. Can you continue?”
“Yes, sir,” he says, but he doesn’t move.
“Olivia was a good soldier,” Mason says.
Sky draws Cia in and leans slowly to look over the ledge. He squeezes his sister and walks to Oliver, offering his hand. It takes Oliver a few seconds to respond, but he eventually allows Sky to help him up.
“Let’s just go,” Oliver says.
And so we press on, led by Sky. His memory of when he scouted this area out is impressive. There are homes surrounding us, untouched for probably forty years or so. There are trees lining the development. Confused, I walk up to one and touch its base, unsure of how it could survive down here. I study it closer and notice it’s made of synthetic material. Its natural appearance with abundant green decoration fluttering on its branches is pretty and something dwellers never see. It just reminds me of how little we have working in the mines.
We continue walking through the habitat, passing unfinished buildings and pathways. Eventually, we get to a tunnel near the far side.
“I don’t want to go in there,” Cia says, clasping onto Sky’s arm.
“It’s ok,” he insists. “It’s just an old maintenance tunnel. If I remember correctly, we’re getting near to the Slack. Just take my hand. I’ll be right here.”
She nods and he waves us forward. We enter the dark tunnel, sticking together. Our flashlights provide extra illumination, but the end is nowhere in sight. It takes us about an hour to complete the tunnel, but the path opens to an old abandoned mining shaft. A busted, rusty gate conceals it. Sky throws it back and it whacks back against the wall. The tunneling amplifies the sound, making me wince.
“This should lead us into the Slack,” Sky says. He looks to his sister. “Once we get there, we’ll find a safe place for you to stay, Cia.”
Cia grunts, unsatisfied.
“Let’s move,” Mason says. “But be quiet. We’re about to enter the home of the dwellers. There could be ops anywhere.”
The shaft’s air smells stale. There’s no circulation here like there is in the newer mines. They fixed this problem several years ago after the EHC was losing too many of their workers to asphyxiation. We stick close together as we make our way down the narrow tunnel, taking several breaks to avoid getting lightheaded. This must’ve been a test shaft that didn’t pay off. There are no signs of excavation beyond the one tunnel. Soon, through the dim mining shaft, brighter lights flicker above us. Mason exits the shaft and the click of weapons fills the air.
“Freeze!” a voice calls out from the dark corner.
Bricks curses again. The man has quite a mouth on him.
“I know that voice,” I mumble. “Yasay?”
The fat mining boss strolls toward us, about a dozen mining guards appearing to flank him. He chuckles when he sees us.
“Finley?” he questions. “Lacy… Drape…” He practically growls in our direction. “You three sure know how to cause a ruckus!”
CHAPTER 20
I lock on to Yasay. If looks could kill, I know he’d be dead. Too bad they can’t.
“You three have really screwed things up, haven’t you?” Yasay snarls at me. “Where have you three moles been?”
“Listen, we can work this out,” Mason says.
“Not talking to you, whoever you are,” Yasay warns Mason, then directs a finger at me. His men shift with him, their guns directed at us, our blasters trained on them. “Finley A298—speak!”
Tension inside me twists uncomfortably. “Just Finley,” I warn. The number system suddenly makes me want to vomit. Amazing at what a little splash of perspective can do for a girl.
“You think you’re a big shot now,” Yasay says. “Do you realize what you all have done?”
“No,” I say. “Why don’t you tell us?”
“The EHC have tightened restrictions everywhere below ground. The ops have been crawling over the place the past few days. They executed one of my miners this morning—just a kid! Shot her in the head.” He says this with actual conviction. And here I thought Yasay had no soul. The ugly beast of a man shakes his head. “And I know it has to do with you three!” He points a finger at me, then Lacy, and then Drape. “You stole my mod kit!”
I almost laugh, but I hold it in. “Your mod kit? Yasay, you and I both know that you stole that mod kit. This is on your head, too.”
He scowls. “They’re not giving us any breathing room down here anymore. We were slaves, but at least we were oblivious to it. That kid they shot was twelve years old, and it was only because she looked like her!” He points in Cia’s direction. “The ops are on edge, and that’s putting us on edge, too.”
“Yasay.” I say his name with caution. We have a history. He's smacked Lacy around countless times, but we are still fellow dwellers. “I know you don’t care for me, but I need you to listen to me. We uncovered something big. The dwellers are mutating naturally to resist the effects of the Flip, and the EHC are trying to cover it up. They’ve been for a while, but now they know the information has been leaked to a surface world resistance.”
Yasay waves his hand Mason’s way and laughs. “And is this the resistance, or whatever you call it?”
“A small part,” Mason assures him.
“We’re… mutating?” Yasay asks as though I’m insane.
“They’ve been destroying fetuses that show the genetic markers of a naturally enhanced dweller. Now that the information is leaked, life will get a lot worse down here,”
I say. “They’ll start slaughtering people to make sure the enhanced genes don’t spread.”
Yasay’s face goes slightly pale. The man has always been a slimy opportunist, but, as it turns out, he still has a speck of humanity. Or at least I hope he does. He lowers his gun, motioning for his men to follow suit.
“Weapons down,” Mason orders.
“Why are you here, so far from home, Yasay?” I ask as the tension lightens with the lowering of our weapons.
“We had to get out,” Yasay says. “The EHC has been pushing hard on all of us. I wasn’t going to stick around for that crap. We’ve heard of shafts that lead out. Seems like you kids found it, too.”
“Getting pushed doesn’t feel too good, does it?” Lacy mumbles.
“I had a business to manage, don’t get all sensitive A292. But the EHC are hounding me now. Ordering me to double production.” He gestures to one of his men. “Show them, Grant.”
A man with a graying beard and soot covering his skin steps up and removes his glove, revealing two missing fingers. “They reviewed my yearly numbers yesterday,” Grant says, staring at his hand. “It was a bit lower than they expected, so they decided to show what the proper response to not meeting their goals should be.”
“That’s how they want us running things now,” Yasay says. “And I don’t want any part of it.”
“You beat people all the time for the simplest reasons!” I snarl. “Now you’re just afraid for your own life. Don’t give us that crap.”
“I’ve had a change of heart,” he says, forcing a sheepish grin.
“Whatever. It’s simple; you need us, and we need you, Yasay,” I say, not liking the taste it leaves on my tongue.
Lacy grabs me by the elbow. “Are you crazy?” she whispers.
I yank my arm away, maintaining eye contact with Yasay. “You know I’m right.”
Yasay exhales deeply, then he nods. “I know,” he says, turning his attention to Mason. “Are you in charge of this pathetic… group?”
“He’s in charge of the entire rebellion,” Elias snaps.
Yasay raises his eyebrow. “Nero Kyoto got here several hours ago. The man’s out of his mind. Furious. Apparently there was an attack on an operative base—” Yasay pauses, seemingly judging our reactions. “Did you attack an operative base?”