by Rinelle Grey
“And if it’s waiting for us? Checking all the streets, watching to see where we emerge? It’s not like I can even run away.” Kerit sank onto the ledge beside the watercourse, leaning against the wall. He propped the torch upright next to him, shining off the roof, and in the shadowy light, the lines of exhaustion on his face stood out sharply.
Folly crouched down next to him. “I could go,” she said quietly. When he started to protest, she put up her hand. “Just hear me out. It’s my fault you got dragged into this. You never would have come into the city if I hadn’t lied to you. I need to do something to get us out of this.”
Kerit laid a hand on her arm, startling her. His hand was gentle and warm. “Can you imagine how much worse it would have been if we’d only discovered the existence of this alien after we settled this planet? Things happen for a reason, though sometimes we can’t see what it is until after it’s done. Stop beating yourself up over a little mistake.”
A little mistake? Couldn’t he see that this was a great big mistake?
Then the rest of his words sunk in. An image of the alien rushing through a settlement of innocent people, those claws… she shuddered. Much better that they found out now.
She sighed, and sat down next to him. It actually felt good to have a rest. She let her back touch the wall. Chicken’s head popped out of her pocket, and when she saw it was safe, she crawled out and onto Folly’s shoulder, scratching at her ear. Folly scratched her fur. “Well, what are we going to do? We can’t warn anyone while we’re stuck down here. One way or another, we have to get back to your ship so that you can warn your people.” Another thought occurred to her. “And I should warn mine too.”
Kerit crossed his arms. “Yes, we do need to warn everyone. But we can’t do that if that alien finds us again. There’s no cover up there. We need to stay down here until we’re sure he’s gone.”
“And what, keep walking around in circles? Or worse, getting further and further away from where we started. And we’re running out of water. Our best chance of avoiding that alien is to go up while we know where we are. That way, we can get back to your shuttle as quickly as possible. Delaying just increases our chance of the alien finding us.” Folly sat up from the wall and mirrored his stance, folding her arms and glaring at him.
Stubborn man, thinking he knew best. Probably he had some idea that he needed to protect her. Otherwise, surely he would realise that her suggestion was the most sensible one.
A rumble started, deep within the ground, growing in intensity, until the walls of the tunnel began to shake. Folly’s stomach dropped. Holding her breath, she hoped this was just a minor tremor. Chicken froze, her claws digging through Folly’s shirt, and into her skin.
The shaking intensified. In the wavering torchlight, she could see choppy waves forming on the water. The soft plopping sound of bits of debris hitting the water could just barely be heard above the rumble.
The ground seemed to have turned to jelly beneath her, and she was sure she was going to fall even though she was already sitting on the ground. Folly reached out her hands to try to help her balance, grasping for something, anything, that might be solid enough to hold on to. Her hands met Kerit’s, searching in the same manner.
He wrapped his arms around her, and she scrambled over closer to him, throwing her arms around him in return. Chicken jumped into the gap between them, trying to dig as firmly into the space as she could. A little of the panic retreated. Not much though. Folly held her breath as seconds seemed to stretch out into minutes. Surely it must end soon?
A large ripping, grating sound made the rumbles seem almost quiet. The ground tilted under her feet, and both of them slid towards the water, their feet kicking at the rubble. Rocks hailed down around them. The torch bounced on the ground and rolled. Only the ground suddenly tilting the other way saved it from falling in the water.
Folly and Kerit tumbled against the wall of the tunnel. Kerit’s arms tightened around her, and even though they squeezed the breath out of her, Folly was grateful for the contact. Grateful for anything soft and warm in the cold, wet, hard tunnel. Even if they did now both smell of skuttle acid.
Slowly, the rumbles died away, although it took several more moments before Folly could believe that the tunnel was no longer moving. She pushed herself away from Kerit’s body. His arms resisted for a moment, then released her. Chicken whimpered and elected to stay with the non-moving person. Traitor. Crouching down, Folly picked up the torch and shone it around.
Kerit gasped as the light shone on a crack in the wall, almost a hands breadth wide. It stretched up one wall, and half way across the roof before petering out.
He swallowed. “Does that happen often?”
“More often than I’d like,” Folly admitted. “Maybe half a dozen times a year? Not counting the aftershocks. The popular theory is that the asteroid impact increased seismic activity.”
“Aftershocks?” Kerit repeated, his voice faint. “You mean there could be more of them?”
Folly shrugged. “Maybe. It’s hard to say for sure, but always best to be prepared.” She glanced at the crack in the wall, and her skin crawled. “The aftershocks are smaller, but I’m not sure what even a small shock would do to that wall.”
Kerit stared at her, his eyes wide. He cleared his throat. “Right. Well, as you were saying, we need to get up there anyway, so we can warn everyone. Now seems like as good a time as any.”
Folly stared at him. How could he just backpedal like that? Then she looked back at the wall. Now wasn’t the time to argue. She wanted to be out of here as much as he did. She glanced back up the tunnel. The last ladder was closer than the next one. “Let’s go then.”
He nodded, and stared down at Chicken in his lap. “Uh…”
Folly grinned, and scooped up the furry creature. “Looks like she likes you after all. You should feel honoured.”
Kerit gave her a small smile. “I do. And I’m looking forward to getting to know her better. As soon as we’re somewhere safe.” He pulled himself to his feet. “Let’s go.”
She should protest. Should insist on going alone. But one look at the vulnerable expression on his face, and she shut her mouth. Perhaps he needed to do this as much as she did. She tucked Chicken into her pocket. “I’m going first,” she insisted. “No point in you climbing the ladder if that thing is waiting at the top.”
Kerit looked at her for a moment, then nodded. “Be careful.”
“I will.”
He shone the torch as Folly climbed up the metal handholds built into the wall. When she reached the top, she put her hand up to the heavy manhole cover and pushed. But it wouldn’t budge.
Panic swelled in her chest. She took a deep breath and forced the feeling back down. “It’s stuck.”
Kerit frowned up at her, his face white in the torchlight. “Come down and I’ll have a go.”
Of course. Just because she was a girl, he thought he was stronger than she was. Folly ignored his comment and pushed again. Nothing. She climbed up a step or two higher and put her shoulder against the metal, pushing with all her strength.
But it wasn’t moving anywhere.
Not wanting to admit defeat, she pulled a screwdriver out of her back pocket and tried to jam it into the crack between the manhole cover and its frame. But she couldn’t even get it in.
“Can I have a go?” Kerit asked again.
“Fine, but it won’t budge. Something’s probably fallen on top of it. Maybe in the quake, maybe before.” Folly climbed down and took the torch from Kerit.
When he had no success at moving the cover either, it was an effort to keep the smug grin off her face. Helped by the look of pain on his face as he struggled back down the ladder. He wasn’t trying to show her up, just to do what had to be done.
“Sit down for a minute, then we’ll try the next one,” Folly said.
“I’m fine. Let’s keep going.”
There was no stopping him apparently. She shrugged and fo
llowed him fifty metres back to the ladder before that one. He didn’t object this time, when she climbed the ladder and put her shoulder to the manhole cover. “This one is stuck too.”
Kerit frowned. “What happened up there?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Well, I guess we keep trying them until we find one that opens.”
“Which direction should we go in?”
After looking down both directions of the tunnel, Kerit waved ahead of them. “Best go back the way we came. At least we know one of them opens back that way.”
Or it had opened. But Folly didn’t say the words, even though she almost groaned at the thought of walking back all that way. But the logic was sound, so she trudged towards the next ladder.
Her panic grew with each cover she struggled to open. The air that had seemed pleasantly cool earlier, now seemed hot and stifling. What if the quake had been bigger than she thought? All the buildings were so old and precarious, what if they had fallen and covered all the manhole covers?
What if they couldn’t find a way back out? Her chest tightened.
On the fifth cover, she pushed as hard as she could, only for it to lift so quickly, she almost lost her footing on the ladder. Hot, dusty air rushed in. The metal fell back with a loud clang as she struggled not to fall.
“Did that move?” Kerit’s eager voice was strained. He hadn’t complained, but his ankle must be hurting with all this walking, so Folly forgave him asking the obvious.
“Yes. I didn’t expect it.” She moved to open the cover again, impatient to see what was outside, when Kerit’s voice stopped her.
“That noise could have alerted the alien.”
Folly swore and slumped back against the wall of the shaft. “What should we do?”
There was a long silence, then Kerit sighed. “We should wait a little while, just in case. Give it half an hour, and then we’ll look out.”
Half an hour! That was ages. What if there was an aftershock, and this one was blocked as well? “Can’t we just take a little peek? I mean, we could be spending that time checking the next exit if there’s nothing out there.”
“And if the alien is out there, you let him know we’re right here. If he hears the noise and comes and checks but finds nothing, he might think it was something falling, and give up.”
“I’m sure there’s been a lot of noise up there after that quake. He probably wouldn’t notice,” Folly argued. She just wanted to be above ground. “What if we have an aftershock and it blocks this exit? We should get out now, while we can.”
“What if the alien comes back, and there’s nowhere to hide? No manhole covers to go down this time, because they’re all blocked?
She hated it when logic went against what she wanted to do. Folly climbed back down the ladder with a sigh.
By the time she’d reached the bottom, Kerit was already sitting down, leaning against the wall of the tunnel, rubbing his ankle.
“How is it feeling?” Folly asked, feeling guilty. She’d been so focused on getting out of the sewer, that she’d forgotten his injury. He was probably desperate to sit down and not have to walk for half an hour.
“A little better,” Kerit said. “I’m not sure if it’s just the painkillers, or that it’s improving. Hard to tell.”
Folly nodded. “Well, a rest will probably help it either way.”
There was a long pause, then both of them started to say something at once.
“Do you…”
“Are you…”
Kerit laughed. “You first.”
“Do you think it will be able to hear us if we’re talking?”
The smile on Kerit’s face disappeared. He nodded slowly. “We probably should stay quiet,” he whispered.
The silence stretched out. She’d never heard silence quite like this. The lack of sound was thick and oppressing. Until now, they’d been constantly moving, and the splashing, footsteps, talking and echoes had filled the tunnel.
Now there was nothing.
Not even a breeze. Folly strained her ears. So far, there had been no aftershocks, but if one came now and blocked the one exit they’d found…
Kerit switched the torch off. She had no idea if he’d done it to save batteries, or in case any of the light escaped around the edges of the manhole cover, but Folly wished he had left it on. The darkness was absolute, even darker than night. Even Chicken didn’t move.
Folly had always thought she liked being alone. She’d found a home as far from the other’s as she could, and spent hours exploring the ruins of Prioris by herself. But that was different. Darkness and silence pressed in around her, and her heart began to beat unnaturally fast.
She felt her way over to the wall and sat down, Kerit’s warm presence comforting her more than she cared to admit. When his hand groped for hers and squeezed it, the fear melted away. Somehow, being stuck down here with the double threats of the alien and any aftershocks, didn’t seem so bad. She didn’t feel alone anymore. She let out a long sigh of relief, and squeezed back.
Without the reference of light or sound, the time seemed to stretch out endlessly. Folly’s ears strained for any sound from above that might indicate the monster’s presence, but either she couldn’t hear through the thick concrete, or he didn’t come to investigate the loud sound.
That possibility was even more concerning. Where else had he gone? Had he gone looking for more humans? What if he’d found the cave and all the people there. Her mind conjured up horrible images of her family fleeing as he chased them around the cave, Issy screaming.
“I think we’re safe.” Kerit’s whisper was loud in the silence, making her jump.
Somehow, she didn’t feel safe. “What if it is out there, waiting? Trying to trick us?” she whispered back.
“Then you come back down and we run like hell.” Kerit said in a matter of fact voice. His hand squeezed hers in the darkness again. “But we can’t sit here forever. Tyris is going to be wondering where we are before too much longer. We need to get back to the shuttle.”
Folly took a deep breath and nodded, even though he couldn’t see her. She let go of his hand, surprised at how reluctant she felt, and used the wall to help her balance as she pulled herself up. Strange how much she relied on sight to help her keep her balance.
Kerit flicked on the torch, and the yellow light was a welcome sight. As was his face, smiling at her. “Are you okay to check, or do you want me to?”
“I’m fine,” Folly said, the light making her feel far more confident than she had a moment earlier. “But switch the light off before I open the cover, just in case.”
“Sure, just give me a nod.”
Folly climbed up the ladder yet again, then turned to nod to Kerit. She heard the click of the torch going off, and the tunnel was plunged into darkness again. She waited a few moments, her breathing sounding loud in the darkness, the pushed up the edge of the manhole cover just a crack, and peered out.
The hot, dry air dried the perspiration on her face instantly. While they were in the sewers, the dust storm had passed, and she had a clear view of the street. Well, as clear as it could be, peeping out the tiny crack. She could see rubble from damaged houses in piles down the street—that must have been what blocked the other manholes—and most importantly, no sign of movement. The harsh sunlight contrasted with the shadows behind piles of rubbles. Could something be hiding in one of them?
She took the risk, and pushed the cover open a little more, so she could get a decent look, expecting to hear the swishing of wings any moment. But the silence was almost as complete up here. Nothing moved in the harsh UV daylight.
Just to be sure, Folly lowered the cover, and lifted it again on all four sides, but the view was the same. Piles of rubble and nothing living at all. They were lucky that this manhole had been clear.
Lowering the cover, she climbed back down, as Kerit clicked on the torch again. He waited patiently, not saying anything, until she was sitting beside him again.
“Wha
t’s it like up there?”
“Well, no alien, which is a bonus. It’s a mess though, we’re obviously out of the protection of the ship building yards, and all the buildings are totally destroyed. The rubble must have been blocking the other exits. I think we’re safe to go up, but there won’t be anywhere to hide if that thing comes back.”
Kerit frowned. “That’s not good, since I can’t really run right now.”
Folly nodded agreement, and both of them said nothing for a few moments. What was there to say? They had to go back out eventually, but neither of them wanted to. “We could stay down here for a while longer, find a better place to come back up. What if we go back to where we came in? At least there are more places to hide there,” she said.
“I’d rather not go up at the exact spot. What if it’s still there, waiting for us to come back up? Maybe it doesn’t understand how sewers work and thinks that’s the only way in and out.”
“Well, not the exact same spot then. What if we head back that way, looking for a better spot to go out? One with more cover, and maybe an idea of which direction to head in?”
Kerit didn’t have any better suggestions and since neither of them were keen on remaining in the sewers indefinitely, that’s what they did.
Folly climbed up and down a dozen more ladders, but the scenery (when the covers would open) didn’t change much—ruined buildings, the occasional skeleton of a half-buried car, and lots of dust. She didn’t hold out much hope for anything different as she lifted the next manhole cover, so she wasn’t surprised to see more ruined buildings. She was just about to quietly close the cover and move on, when one of the buildings caught her eye.
Up until now, they’d been skirting the edge of the city, and most of the buildings had been single or double story homes. But this street was higher density and had several multi story apartment buildings. The higher buildings must have been built a little more robustly, because although they were damaged, they were still mostly standing.
“Can you see the ship building yards yet?” Kerit whispered loudly from below.
Taking one last look at the buildings, Folly quietly closed the lid and climbed back down. “No, no sign yet. I think we need to get a look from up a little higher.”