by K M Lovold
“I’ll take your help. You’re the only one besides Jack who seems to… get me. I’m still doing some figuring out of things right now but, would you be willing to come to the train with me?”
“What?” Nikolina straightened. “I can’t. You have to be asked. Not just anyone can go in that cave. I don’t think—”
“I have a way.” Ian’s wide eyes stared at her, unblinking. “Trust me. I have a way you can get in. If we plan it out, and sneak away at the perfect time, we can both get in. So… will you?”
Nikolina closed her eyes briefly and then reopened them. “Yes. I will. Whatever I can do to help.”
“Let’s be in touch. If you meet your quota first tomorrow, come help me. If I get done first, I’ll help you. We’ll figure it out. In the meantime, come and sit with me whenever you can at mealtime.”
Nikolina lifted her chin. Her stomach tightened at the prospect of blatantly disobeying the orders of the keepers. David, Klaus… The trouble she could get into. She could get herself killed like Jack. A noble way to go.
“All right,” she said. “I will.”
CHAPTER Ten
After Ian decided to trust Nikolina, plans started to arrange themselves in his mind. He’d spent the next week thinking about the leather bands and their importance in the cave, and he’d come to a conclusion: he needed to go back and bring Nikolina with him. He knew he could get her inside and it would be helpful to have one extra person with him, as a lookout.
“Once the sun sets, I’ll meet you back here.” Ian guzzled his water, sitting across from Nikolina at their mealtime a couple weeks later. “By the way, how is it you keep coming over and eating with me? You have several times over the last couple weeks. Doesn’t your David have something to say about that?”
Nikolina grinned. “He’s not my David. And I told him I want to find out about you, to question you. I told him I suspect you know what Jack was up to, what got him killed. So, he thinks I’m investigating you in an effort to help him, and to help Klaus—to move myself up to keeper.”
“What?” Ian chuckled. “I wish I did know what Jack had been up to. I still don’t know why he was killed. I just know what I heard Klaus say right before he shot him, and that was he suspected him of something.”
“I do.” Nikolina bit down on her bottom lip. “David told me. I know why they suspected Jack.”
Ian shook his head. “Are you sure he wasn’t playing games with you, lying to you? I can’t imagine a keeper giving out information like that.”
“You wouldn’t think so.” She tilted her head to one side. “But he says all keepers have their favorites, and I’m his. He says he likes talking to me, that he’s rooting for me to be the first female keeper. He trusts me for some reason.” She tipped her head back and laughed. “He’s making a big mistake.”
“I’d say.” Ian sniggered, too, and glanced about. David sat with a different keeper and they looked over at Ian and Nikolina from time to time. “Tell me what he told you. Let me see what I think. I’ll tell you if I think it’s true or false.”
Nikolina lowered her voice and shared with him all that David had told her about Jack and poking his nose around the cave where he shouldn’t have, and about the off-limits room. “That, and then he started asking questions about the spacecraft, like how they work, how to drive them.” She cleared her throat. “That made Klaus suspect him of trying to plan some sort of escape or something.” She snickered. “Like he ever could… but once Klaus suspects you of something, that’s it. He eliminates you.”
Ian formed his hands into a steeple, bringing them to his lips. “He was telling the truth.”
“How would you know that? Have you also been to that room? Oh wait, never mind. If they knew about Jack going there, they’d certainly know if you did, and not only are they not suspicious of you, they’ve given you Jack’s job.”
“No, I’m telling you the truth. It all makes perfect sense. There is another room in that cave, and it’s an important room at that.” He inhaled deeply through his nose, then exhaled through his mouth. “Now I’m certain of what I can’t do when I’m in there,” Ian said the words as if speaking to himself.
“What are you talking about?” Nikolina rubbed her forehead. “How do you know? Did you actually go to that room with Jack? But they didn’t find out? David said it was a kind of communications room, to Earth.”
“David’s right. But he doesn’t know the half of it. And no, I haven’t been to that room yet. But that’s my goal. I’m afraid there might be keepers in there during the day, so I can’t take a chance. I’m surprised Jack attempted it during daytime hours. But that’s where I wanna go at night, and you’re coming with me.”
“Ian.” Nikolina scanned the area around them quickly, her brows pulling in. “What are you talking about? How do you know about this room when you’ve never been there before? And how in God’s name am I gonna get in there?”
“This mealtime room is a safe room, true. But I’m not talking to you about any of this here. Not now. When the time and place is right, I will. All right?” Ian lifted his chin. “Do you still trust me?”
Nikolina’s hands tightened into fists atop the table. “Of course, I trust you. You’re the only one I can trust. You’re… you’re innocent.” Her last words were barely audible. “I’m still scared though. I can’t help that.”
“I get it, but like I said, let’s meet back here once the sun sets. Once the prisoners are in their cells for the night, the keepers go to their own cells, too. Haven’t you noticed they’re never out and about when we’re in our cells at night? If we’re quiet and swift, I think we can make it to the cave unnoticed. There’s no cameras here, so it’s not like they can spy on us in our cells, see if we’re there or not, and I know the way, so we’ll make it.”
Nikolina had a blank look on her face, a slack expression. “What’s cameras?”
“We’ll talk later.” Ian stood. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
Nikolina nodded, glancing around as if searching for answers to her questions. “I’ll-I’ll go and talk to David. I’ll tell him you and I are getting on just great, and maybe soon I’ll have some information for him. All right?”
“Sounds brilliant.” Ian smiled. “See you later.”
Nikolina marched over to where David sat. She lifted her chin and pushed her shoulders back as she approached him, then sat across from him. They were still speaking to each other when Ian left.
He returned to his cell and lay on his bed. He ignored Levi when he arrived, told him he was tired. He just wanted to close his eyes and think back to his and Malaki’s plan. It was soon to be set in motion. He’d get some sleep before getting up again and meeting Nikolina. He had a plan, and he was pretty certain it would work.
At this point, it had to.
****
A couple hours later, Ian’s eyes flew open. Amazingly, he’d dozed off. The cell was dark, and Levi’s loud, erratic snoring told Ian all he needed to know—he could move around.
When Ian first arrived, he’d been under the impression there were cameras at this prison, but he now remembered Malaki told him there weren’t. They didn’t have the technology for it. Ian had to laugh because as far as they’d come technologically-wise on Earth, down to the memroth they used to power homes and vehicles, up here on Reathran, it was as if they’d gone back in time a hundred years. It was old-school here. No cameras, no smart phones, no smart-anything.
The spacecraft were a different story. Extremely high-tech, bypassing even Earth’s standard technology. There was no car or vehicle on Earth that compared to the spacecraft that brought prisoners to Reathran.
And the world didn’t know about the spacecraft either. Only those in The Circle knew. And the prisoners who were transported on them.
So ironic. Ian slowly got out of bed. How backwards things are up here compared to back home. He kept his eyes glued to Levi, who continued to snore evenly.
He tiptoed out the do
or and paused to survey for movement, and after seeing no sign of another human being, he took slow, quiet steps through the narrow, concrete hallway, passing by other prison cells along the way, making sure to move swift as he passed each doorway. There were no doors on these rooms, so he had to be extremely cautious. He stopped a few times to close his eyes and take a calming breath. Finally, he reached the common room, which also didn’t have a door. He turned into the safe room and breathed a sigh of relief.
He scanned the vacant room. Nikolina wasn’t here yet, so he strolled to the doorway at the other end of the room. Here it was, barely noticeable, but there was a staircase on the other side of that door, and Ian knew where those steps led. He’d get there eventually, but first things first. He looked behind him. Still no Nikolina.
He reached out and touched the doorway, the rough feel of the door. There was no handle on it, so Ian slid his hand across the line that revealed the partition. He slipped his fingers into the crack and with a quiet “pop” the door opened. He looked behind him. Still no one. He opened the door slightly and gazed at the worn wooden steps descending into the darkness. Once again, he was reminded how old-school things were on this planet.
He stepped into the narrow hallway and stared down the staircase but saw only a dim light down below. He listened but heard nothing. Were there keepers down there? He looked for another light but couldn’t find it. They didn’t have the normal, old-fashioned electricity up here on Reathran. The only high-tech thing about this planet was the memroth they used to power their existence: computers, train, and lighting.
Where is it? Ian surveyed the area, looking for the pod that would bring the lights to power. He took a few steps downward, his hand clutching the railing, but he couldn’t find the light. Where could it be?
“Who’s there?” a voice sounded from the room below.
Ian turned and crept back up the few steps to the common room and silently closed the door, holding his hand on the door and taking a shaky breath.
“Ian?” Nikolina asked.
Ian darted around. “Oh, hey, you made it.”
“Are you OK?” Nikolina’s eyes gaped at him. “Is there another room there? I’ve never noticed that door before.”
Ian put his fingers to his lips. “Shhh. Later. Let’s get out of here.”
He marched away from the hidden doorway, grabbing Nikolina’s arm.
She pulled her arm back and pointed to the barely noticeable door now that it was closed. “What room is there?”
Ian grabbed her arm again and led them out of the room. “I’ll tell you in a bit, come on.” He checked the hallway and seeing no one, moved through them, turning this way and that, until they stepped out of the building altogether.
The warm breeze that seemed to continuously blow gusted around them when they got outside. The half-moon shone brightly above them.
“We made it out.” Ian smiled. “We did it. There’s no keepers around at this time. Why is that?”
Nikolina shrugged, the gentle wind blowing some of her stray hairs around her face. “How would I know? I’ve never come out at night.”
Ian pointed his finger at her. “And I think that’s why. Nobody ever leaves their cells after dark.” He stopped and stared off into space momentarily. “Why is that? Is there something in the chemical that makes us drop into a deep sleep every night?” He tapped his finger to his lip. “I have to try to remember that.”
“Hey, why the hell are you talking?” Nikolina’s words hit him like a slap in the face.
“You’re right. Big mistake. Come on, let’s go.” He grabbed her hand again, and they ran until they reached the pathway that lead to the cave, then slowed to a fast walk, not speaking.
Nikolina gasped quietly and put her hand to her mouth when she spotted the waterfall. Only those allowed to work with the train saw the sights along the way.
He and Nikolina remained silent until they reached the cave. Once they stood in front of the entrance, Ian unbuckled his leather wristband and slipped it off, handing it to Nikolina.
“Put this on,” he whispered
She took it and shook her head. “What about you?” She spoke softly.
Ian shook his head. “I don’t need it.” He motioned for her to put it on.
Nikolina put the band on her wrist, then looked up at Ian, her eyes wide and shimmering with what looked like the beginning of tears, which softened his heart. In her mind, he might die if he stepped through the entrance of the cave without it.
Maybe she was a true friend.
Ian squeezed Nikolina’s hand in his. “We’re safe to speak here. That door you saw in the dining hall room, that leads to a safe room underneath it. There’s stuff that goes on down there that interferes with our listening devices, so they are deactivated when we enter that room. But we had to get out of there just now because I was afraid a keeper might be coming up the steps.”
“But how do you know that? How did Jack know that?” Nikolina shook her head repeatedly.
“I’ll tell you when we get inside, let’s go.” Ian held their clutched hands up in a victory gesture, and the two of them stepped into the cave.
****
“Ian!” Nikolina turned and grasped Ian’s arms the moment they stepped into the cave. “Are you all right? Why did you give me your wristband?”
Ian smiled, a gleam in his eyes. “I’m totally fine. The magnetism that affects the Tetracaphoxin in our bodies doesn’t affect me, because I’m innocent. Tetracaphoxin hasn’t attached to my brain receptors as it’s attached to yours and every other prisoner’s here who’s actually guilty of their crime.”
Nikolina dropped her arms to her sides, her jaw dropping somewhat. “What do you mean? How do you know this stuff?”
“Come on.” Ian nudged her arm and took off at a fast walk. “Let’s get farther inside, and I’ll fill you in. But you’ll be shocked, and I hope I can trust you.”
Nikolina followed him deeper inside. She’d heard so much about this place but had never set eyes on it. Her heartbeat raced, and a fluttery feeling dropped in her belly. The air was stale, and the walls looked bumpy and wet and slimy with condensation. She couldn’t believe she was here. She followed Ian until he slowed and they entered a room with a large window and a computer on the other end.
“Down there.” Ian strode to the window and pointed. “That’s where the train enters, where I check things over and get it ready to go, and then it departs. And this”—he marched to the thickset, blue rubber type suits hanging on the wall near a door—“is what we have to wear when we go near to the train, because of all of the dangerous material on it. And this computer”—Ian turned toward it—“is what turns the train on and such, and where you program all of the weights and quadrants of the train so it knows how long the drop-offs will be. It’s all connected to the train.” He turned and stared at her. “So, this was Jack’s job, his place. He trained me on all of it.”
“Wow.” Nikolina approached the window. “But how come you knew you could step into this cave without wearing the wristband?” She turned and faced him. “I mean, I get that you’re innocent, that it doesn’t affect you the same, but how do you know that? From what I’ve heard, you die if you attempt to enter without this.” She clutched the wristband Ian had given to her.
Ian sat on the stool near the computer and folded his arms across his chest. “What I’m about to tell you is risky and classified information.”
“You can tell me. I want what you want. I want to find a way off this godforsaken planet, out of this prison! I want my memories to come back, something other than my horrible crime!” Emotions bubbled up from out of nowhere, and she buried her face in her hands. Maybe it was because she was here, in a safe place, and it was just the two of them, and maybe it was because Ian was so confident; he knew things. Whatever the reason, she could feel. Tears unexpectedly spilled down her cheeks, and Ian remained silent, his face softening.
“I’m sorry.” She wiped the
tears away, but more flowed down her cheeks.
“It’s all right. It must be nice to be able to speak about anything you want for a change.” His voice was calm, soothing.
She nodded. “I killed someone, you know? I killed my boyfriend. His name was Evan. I remember it more than anything else. I see his face all the time, and I see him lying there dead on the ground, blood gushing around him.”
Ian said nothing but listened intently.
“He had broken up with me, and I didn’t want him to be with anyone but me. I had a g-gun, and I wanted to show him, to get back at him.” More sobs burst forth. “I wasn’t sure if I could actually go through with it, but I did. I shot him in cold blood. I killed him, Ian. I can still see the look in his eyes before I pulled the trigger.” She put her hands to her face again, unable to stop the weeping.
Ian approached her and put his hands on her shoulder, pulling her to him. His kind gesture caused her to cry harder than she had in the almost twenty-three years she’d been here.
“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” her voice trembled.
“There’s nothing you can do about it now.” Ian massaged her back, then stepped away from her and with his thumb he wiped the wetness from her cheeks. “The fact you feel remorse, that you feel grief over what you did, that’s a good thing.”
“I deserve to be here. I deserve what I got.” She sniffled and sucked in a deep, shaky breath. “But I still sometimes wish I would’ve just died when they said they were putting me to death.”
Ian stroked her forearm. “You can’t focus on what you did. Up here on this planet, you can do something good. You’ve paid for your crime. Hold on to that and never let go of it. But now, let’s you and I try to do something good while we’re here.”
“This place is a dead end, Ian, there’s no way out. What can I possibly do that could be good in this place?” Nikolina squeezed her eyes shut, more tears leaking out, which she swiped away with the back of her hand.