by K M Lovold
“Of course.” Nikolina smiled. “Like always.” She lifted the cart up and pushed it hard and fast.
She reached the drop-off zone, which was about fifty yards away. The place was dry and rocky and mostly flatland except for the valley that dropped off not far from where she stood. There were several pathways carved out of the ground where one could push their cart up to the precipice and tip the memroth rocks into the ravine.
The ravine’s floor moved. A river could have been there at one time, but now, the floor was made of steel-belted rubber, powered from memroth, and it transported all of the rocks that were spilled into it every day to their next stop—the demolition site—where prisoners shattered the rocks. She’d heard that was the riskiest job here, reserved for the worst of the worst. She never saw those prisoners; they were completely separated from them
One of the keepers approached her, his radio on his hip crackling with static. “You done already?”
“Yeah.” Nikolina glanced down at the large memroths in her cart. “Found some especially good ones today.”
The keeper followed her gaze. “Yeah, you did.” He ran his hands along one of the largest ones. “Throw ’em in.” He stepped back, and she pushed her cart down one of the narrow footpaths to the edge and, keeping a tight grip to it, tipped it over. The large rocks poured out and dropped to the moving valley below. She returned her cart to where a slew of others sat and took off at a jog to where Ian was digging, her pick ax clutched in her hand.
“Hey,” she spoke out of breath when she reached him, pressing her hand to her chest. His cart was more than half full. “I’m done. I’ve come to help.”
“Thanks.” Ian paused from pounding the mountain, locking eyes with her momentarily, his face sweaty and smudged with dirt, his hair sticking up every which way. He stood much taller than her, probably six feet, his shoulders wide, his arms toned and thick with muscle. Definitely much bigger in physique than when he’d first arrived. He looked as if he wanted to say something to her, but held back, returning his efforts to pummeling the ground.
Nikolina followed suit.
“How are you doing?” She asked as quietly as she could against the sound of their axes striking the hard-packed mountain in front of them.
Ian shrugged, but a subtle smile appeared as he looked at her.
“Hmmm,” she muttered. “Glad to hear it.”
“If you ever want to pull yourself apart from your keeper-friend at mealtime”—Ian flicked his head toward David who stood off two-hundred feet away, overseeing other prisoners—“maybe you can sit at my table.” He stopped and pressed his lips together and stared at her, as if trying to communicate something.
Nikolina shrugged and nodded quickly, aiming her ax around a piece of memroth she’d uncovered. What was he trying to tell her? Just like David… what was it about mealtime that would change anything?
Ian dropped his ax and dug his fingers into the ground around the memroth she’d uncovered as if he had super powers, yanking it out with one tug.
She gaped at him, stunned he’d pulled it out before she’d been able to loosen it.
He held up the large rock. “I’m serious. What I said. Eat your meal with me.” He spoke firm, then threw the memroth into his cart as if it weighed nothing more than a small stone. “Only a few more, and my quota will be met.” He grabbed his ax. “Thanks for your help.”
“You’re welcome,” Nikolina whispered, her breath caught, stunned at his strength and quiet message to her.
He had to tell her something, and it was apparent she wouldn’t know what until they shared mealtime. How could she get away from David at mealtime and get to Ian?
She turned and stared at David, who paced slowly in front of a group of prisoners, his hands clasped behind his back.
She’d figure something out…
****
Ian drew near the cave. It’d been months since he’d been here, and right away memories resurfaced of that last time. He stopped where Jack had been killed and bowed his head for a moment, but then determination rose up within him. Being in this spot motivated him more than ever to accomplish Jack’s goal, and what he and Malaki had planned.
He clutched the leather band at his wrist. The wristband had been sitting on his bed when he’d returned to his cell that day, put there by some keeper, or maybe Klaus himself.
The night before at mealtime, Ian told Levi everything about his meeting with Klaus and that he’d be going back to the cave to work. He didn’t tell him anything else though, didn’t trust Levi enough to tell him who he was and all that he knew, but he told him he’d keep him informed of the basics. At this point, Levi was the only one he could vaguely talk to.
Except Nikolina. For whatever reason, he felt a connection with her. She seemed trustworthy. Reminded him of Jack. She’d helped him earlier that day, and he’d never seen a female prisoner work as hard and as fast as she did. Maybe he’d get the chance to speak freely to her about who he was. Then again, she seemed awfully close to that keeper who always watched over her, so he couldn’t trust her too quickly. The last thing he needed was to give a reason for Klaus to suspect him. He’d disappear from Reathran faster than a piece of meat tossed to a dog.
A weight lifted from his shoulders the moment he reached the cave. He took a deep breath and stepped through the entrance. Safe. Even though Jack had been killed just outside the cave, nothing was known about what they’d spoken about within these grungy walls, proving the cave was safe from prying ears.
And even talking to himself sounded nice about now.
He tipped his head back and smiled. “Good to be back here, cave.” He patted the knobby wall with the palm of his hand. “Good to be back.” He breathed in the scent of cold stone and stagnate air, a smile plastered to his face, then he jogged deeper inside, the sunlight at the cave’s entrance diminishing the farther in he went. He entered the familiar room and turned on the computer and the dim lights around the room, as well as down where the train sat.
Who had been taking care of the train and doing this job since he and Jack stopped? It had been months. Whoever it was clearly wasn’t doing a good job of it.
He plopped onto the stool and tapped on the computer for a few minutes, getting everything connected to the train, doing what he always did in preparation for its next trip to the disposal site. As smooth as if he’d never left. After half an hour, the train hummed to life below, so he put on the rubber suit and trudged down the steep, narrow staircase to do the final inspection—inside and outside the train.
The void left by Jack was strongest during this part. He had always inspected the outside while Ian did the inside. The ache in his chest grew. What had Jack done that had gotten him killed? He obviously was up to something that had nothing to do with Ian. If only he knew what it was.
He shoved those thoughts out of his head and did Jack’s normal inspection of the outside of the train, and then jumped inside and did what he’d always done. He turned on all the switches and checked the train’s communication with the computer upstairs. Everything was connected, on and running like it ought to. It wasn’t as if the job was difficult, but for some reason, it went better when Ian did it, and he couldn’t figure why that was now.
After he gave himself a thumbs up on all aspects of the train, he hiked back up the staircase, got out of his rubber suit, and clicked a few buttons on the computer. The train’s engine grew louder and then began creeping forward, picking up speed until it moved swiftly out of the cave, the few freight cars behind it carrying hundreds of thousands of pieces of the most dangerous memroth on this planet.
Ian stood at the window above and watched until the last car disappeared, on its way to the disposal site.
The disposal site.
How was he going to get what he needed from that place? He rubbed the middle of his forehead. He couldn’t think of that right now either. Only one thing at a time.
Now that the train with its dangerous material
had left, he didn’t need the rubber suit any longer. He opened the door and trotted down the staircase without it. He strode deeper into the tunnel where the train had disappeared. A low rumble sounded around him. The train was still in the cave up ahead, but it soon would depart this dark place.
That’s when he spotted it. Another narrow tunnel veering off to the right. The room Ian needed to get to was there. But did he dare go now? He twisted and looked behind him. It would be a huge risk his first time back here. Something inside him urged him to stop. He subconsciously rubbed his wrist where the leather band was, then lifted his arm up, staring at it. The wristband. Did these things record where he went? He pounded his fist to his forehead… think, think. Did they? He couldn’t remember if they did or not, but for now, he couldn’t take a chance. He took slow steps backwards, then turned around and headed towards the staircase.
“I have to remember how vital these wristbands are. I know they’re needed to enter this cave, because of what’s been implanted at the entrance of it, but do they need to remain on my wrist while I’m in here?” Ian remembered there were motion detectors at any of the cave’s entrances, so if any prisoner entered or exited it without this wristband, the magnetics around them would turn up full strength, causing the Tetracaphoxin attached to their brain receptors to peak so high they’d become helpless. Worse than keeper control. Much worse. They’d be incapacitated, collapsing on the spot like dead. Ian couldn’t remember if it was something a prisoner survived or not.
Something in the wristband deactivated that reaction, but Ian was innocent. The Tetracaphoxin didn’t affect his brain like the others, so he wasn’t sure if he needed this wristband to begin with.
He entered the computer room again, staring at the leather band. Could he take it off once he was inside the cave? Again, he wondered—how vital was this thing once he was within these walls?
He’d have to remember the importance of them before he made his way into that room. There were so many memories and things he knew about Reathran, he had to make sure.
He dropped onto the stool in front of the computer, his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands, concentrating, and thought back to a conversation…
“This here.” Malaki sat on Ian’s deck, pointing to a spot on the map laid out on the table before them. “This is the room you’re going to need to get to. According to this, it has everything you need. You might just have to search around to find the wires, but according to your grandfather, he set it up in such a way that it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“Will it be easy to get to that room, though?” Ian stared at the map.
“Well, nothing’s going to be easy up there, but once you’re in the cave, I believe it shouldn’t be difficult to get in. If you can’t ever get to this room, the plan is dead. The next step won’t be set in motion.” Malaki looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“That’s if I make it into the cave… That’s the chance we’re taking. Not just anyone can go in.”
“I know. But that’s why we’re banking on your memories coming back to you, because that alone will make you stand out. Nobody else up there remembers much of anything, so you will stand out, and you’ll know how to do things because you’ll remember how to do things.” Malaki pointed at him. “Something the other prisoners won’t have. It could be months, or unfortunately it could be years, but eventually you’ll be going to that cave. We’ll make sure to keep reporting to the guards that only those types of prisoners should be allowed at the cave, working with the train—the ones that stand out. It’ll happen.”
“And if all else fails, I’ll just sneak into the cave and make my way to the room.”
Malaki nodded. “That’s true. You won’t need the special equipment to move around like the other prisoners because the chemical will not hold to your brain receptors. That alone will give you a ton more freedom, so if you never get assigned to that cave, you should be able to slip in at some point…”
Ian’s head shot up. He should be able to take this wristband off and get into that room without trouble.
A smile grew on his face as thoughts of Grandfather filled his mind. He’d been a brilliant chemist like Ian and Malaki. Except he was brilliant in countless other ways. He’d delivered the flag here and set it up the way he did.
Ian stared toward the window. Down there, in that tunnel, in that room, Grandfather set up Ian’s connection to Malaki.
He shook his head. He couldn’t take that chance yet, but he would. Soon.
****
Nikolina sat at her usual table already halfway finished with her meal of rubbery corn on the cob and thick slabs of turkey with wedged potatoes and gel-like gravy. She hoped if she finished her meal fast, she and David could part ways quicker than normal, and she could get to Ian. She’d been aching to speak to him again. Obviously, he had something to tell her, and she needed to know what.
“Hey, you’re almost done.” David dropped his tray on the table. “Why in such a hurry? That hungry?” He sat opposite her, a smile on his face. His dark hair stuck up as if a fan had blown it down the middle and frozen it there, then fell down to the sides of his face. His lips were thin, his eyes a dark blue, and a few age lines creased his forehead.
“Yeah, I guess I was.” She shrugged, hoping she could get away from him soon.
David grabbed his fork and started shoveling food into his mouth. “I saw you helping that prisoner earlier, the one Jack trained.”
Nikolina nodded.
“Was it all you’d hoped it’d be? Did it help you get out of the same ole same ole you’ve found yourself in?” David chuckled.
“Yeah. Actually, it did.” She stole a peek of Ian, who sat at his table alone, staring at her. “Hey, um, speaking of which, I think I’m gonna go and sit with him. Um, that guy Jack was training.” An idea, a scheme, sprung into her mind. “I’d like to talk to him,” she continued. “Especially if I’m in line to be the first female keeper. I think he might know some things about Jack. I got this feeling earlier.” Nikolina pushed her sleeves up. “I think it would be good to find out anything I can. If possible. Don’t you think?”
David looked to Ian, then back to Nikolina. “What do you mean? What kind of feeling did you get?”
“Like, maybe he knew what Jack was up to. Don’t you think it would be helpful if I could find out some information? I’m just as fired up as you that Jack was sticking his nose where it didn’t belong and… I’d like to know why. If I can find out, wouldn’t you want me to?” She stared at David. “It might help persuade Klaus to let me be keeper. Huh?”
David reclined in his chair. “That’s not a bad idea.” Then he leaned forward and pounded his finger on the table. “But you have to tell me everything. Everything you learn from him. All right?”
“Yeah, sure, all right.” Nikolina looked downward, avoiding his gaze.
“We can hear you, you know?” David’s voice was firm.
She peered into his eyes, her jaw set. “You think I don’t know that? We all know that.” She picked up her tray and stormed away from him, anger brewing inside. She swore silently under her breath as she tossed her empty tray with the rest, and marched over to Ian’s table, not looking at David once.
“Oh, hey.” Ian’s head shot up the moment she fell into the chair across from him. “You actually peeled yourself away from… um, what’s-his-name.”
“His name’s David.” Nikolina folded her arms across her chest. “For your information, I’d much rather sit here with you.” She rolled her eyes and let out a deep breath, then looked about nervously.
Ian slid a piece of turkey along the bottom of his tray. “Don’t worry. They can’t hear you.”
She rubbed her eyebrow. “What?”
Ian seemed to carefully avoid her gaze but kept cutting turkey and scooping potatoes into his mouth. “You can’t be heard in this room. This is a safe room. You can say anything you want, and so can I, and nobody will hear us.”
S
he shook her head. “What? How—”
“Jack.” Ian stopped eating and stared at her. “He told me. They can’t hear you here in this room. I promise.” He pushed his tray away from him. “So, speak freely.”
Nikolina’s jaw dropped, unsure if she could trust him, believe him.
“I went back to the train today.” Ian clasped his hands together on the table. “First time I’d been there since Jack died. Can’t tell you how good it was to be back. They’ve given me Jack’s job there, you know. I had a visit from Klaus. He said the train departures hadn’t gone better since I’d been there with Jack, and he asked if I could take over that job. Of course, I said I could, and I would. Today was my first day back. It was great.”
Nikolina stared at Ian, who spoke so openly and honestly. She scanned the area, but no one seemed to notice them, except David, who always seemed to have his eyes on her.
It was as if Ian was actually speaking… unfettered.
“Yeah, it brought back a lot of memories.” Ian fixed his eyes on her. “I have a lot of memories. But not one memory of my crime. I can’t—”
“Because you didn’t commit a crime.” Nikolina’s mouth moved before she had a chance to think twice. “You’re innocent, aren’t you?” she spoke in barely a whisper.
“Yes. I am and—”
“I knew it.” Nikolina put her fingers to her lips.
“And I remember everything. Well, pretty much everything. Except my non-existent crime.” Ian leaned forward, his elbows on the table, lowering his voice. “Can I trust you?”
Nikolina pulled her chair in and set her arms on the table, too. “Yes, you can.”
“Even though I always see you with that keeper over there?” Ian nodded his head toward David.
“Yeah. I hate him. But he says I’m in line to be the first female keeper. So”—she glanced around, still questioning if they could hear them or not—“I’d like to move forward with that, ’cause maybe I can help you. I want to help.”