Tinaree: Trial By Inferno (Shadows Of Peace Book 1)

by Nic Plume

  He realized two things the instant it was over: he was unharmed, and he crouched halfway across the cell from where he had been, facing in the opposite direction. Salayla gasped behind him. He spun around and, barely noticing the rubble on the floor, made his way back to her and Kaydeen. The dense cloud of dust hanging in the air scratched his throat and stung his eyes, but it did nothing to hide the pile of rubble filling the far corner of the cellblock, right where Taylor had lain.

  He inhaled sharply. Dust covered his mouth and throat instantly. He coughed, hard, but every new inhalation brought in more grit. He bowed over, then went to his knees, eyes tearing up. He tried to swallow, spit out the crud, but couldn’t find enough saliva to unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth.

  Damn, he didn’t survive this hellhole only to suffocate on the side effect of his escape route.

  A hand covered with a wet cloth landed on his face.

  "Slow down."

  Kaydeen knelt beside him and wiped his face, then repositioned the cloth and covered his nose and mouth with a clean section.

  The moist, dust-free air entering Tonee’s lungs was bliss. He inhaled deeply.

  "Better?"

  Tonee cleared his throat and spit out a gob of gunk before answering her. "Much."

  He looked up, first at her face, then her chest, then at the cloth in his hand, and finally back at her face.

  "Good."

  She grinned, grabbed her shirt from his grasp, and pulled it over her head.

  He got to his feet and scrutinized the pile of rubble. He couldn’t see any sign of Taylor. Maybe he’d gotten out. The hole the collapsed wall had left behind was big enough for him to fit through. But, wouldn’t he have said something? Told them where he was heading? No, not in the state of mind he’d been in. He probably panicked and ran. They needed to get out and catch up with him before he came across guards or Traverse and got himself killed.

  Tonee looked around for a way to escape. The bars were still solid, but the quake had opened a hole in the ceiling. It was too small for him or Kaydeen, but Salayla’s tiny frame might be able to squeeze through. He helped her climb onto his shoulders then steadied her to test the fit. Sharp metal edges pushed at her from all directions. She twisted and turned to get around the worst of them without cutting herself to pieces. He slowly lifted her higher, supporting her feet with his hands until she was able to pull herself through. She disappeared. A moment later, her face looked through the hole. He couldn’t believe she’d been able to fit herself through that.

  "I’m in a cavity between the ceiling and the roof. The roof is still solid, but I see light from below that might be outside the cellblock. Sit tight."

  "Actually, I was thinking of going to get a cup of coffee. Meet you over there."

  Her face had already disappeared, but it returned. "Very funny."

  He spread his hands and looked up at her. She shook her head with a smile and was gone again.

  "A coffee sounds like heaven," Kaydeen mumbled by his side.

  He looked down at her. "I’ll get right on it."

  "Don’t make any promises you can’t keep, big boy."

  It didn’t take long for Salayla to return. The door into the cellblock opened a crack, then a little more, and finally far enough for her to step through. She put her back against one side and her feet against the other and pushed it open until a large piece of rubble that had been leaning against the outside of the door fell in to block it from closing. She jumped out of the way and turned to the control panel. It was dead. She went through the smaller door into the control room and operated some levers. The hissing release of air pressure sounded and the bars retracted, not under power, but by gravity. They stopped at different heights, but multiple were low enough for Tonee and Kaydeen to squeeze through.

  They met Salayla by the door.

  "I came down in a hallway running behind the cellblock." She pointed at the hole in Taylor’s cell. "It seems to be running along a battery of cellblocks. Taylor was about halfway down. He acknowledged me and signaled for us to follow but didn’t stop to wait."

  At Kaydeen’s inquiring gaze, she added, "He seemed fine. At least, he was moving like his old self."

  They made their way through the door into the intersecting antechamber. The door across led to an interior courtyard and the lift tube they’d been taking to the mine tunnels. The door to the right was locked. They went through the left door into a crossing hallway. To the right, the passage went straight for some distance and then turned right. No other turnoffs or doors were visible. Salayla led them left. Following it around their cellblock, they came to the breached wall of Taylor’s cell. Salayla pointed down the continuing hallway. Intersections branched off at regular intervals and the dust on the floor indicated it hadn’t been used in quite some time. A single track of boot prints led to an open door at the end, presumably where Taylor had gone. They made their way down the hall, slowing at each intersection to verify the connecting passages were clear of threats. The doors at the end of each were locked. The place was deserted.

  The open door led to another, smaller hallway, not as industrial—more like an office building than a warehouse. No dust here. Tonee checked the hinged door. It had no signs of tampering, so it had been unlocked. This seemed too easy, as if somebody was leading them along. He looked at Salayla and Kaydeen. Kaydeen cocked her head at him.

  ‘Too easy?’ he signed.

  They both agreed.

  They proceeded with caution, checking every door and clearing every room. It slowed their progress significantly, but it had the advantage that they would flush Taylor out if he had gone to ground.

  The first few rooms were quarters—three rooms with three double bunks each, a community bathroom, and a kitchen lounge combo. Then came three more rooms with two bunks each. The rooms were empty of people and personal gear but had clearly been lived in. They moved on. They passed a couple of quarters set up as apartments, with a kitchen-and-lounge combo branching off into a bedroom and a bathroom. It looked like they were moving up in rank. These were also abandoned. Next came storage rooms and, as the hallway wound around some corners, offices. The door to the second office was open with noises floating out.

  Tonee pushed himself against the wall and glanced around the doorframe. Shelves lined the walls to the right and left and a large desk took up the far half of the room, with slightly taller cabinets on each side. A large chair was pushed back behind it and two smaller chairs were neatly lined up in front of it. Taylor’s head popped up from behind the desk.

  "About time." He jumped to his feet, grinning broadly. "You ready to get rid of your neck jewelry?" He displayed a remote in his hand as he bounced around the cabinet beside the desk. Salayla and Kaydeen slipped past Tonee through the door. Tonee stopped three steps into the room.

  "What the hell, Taylor?" Tonee stared as Taylor bounced from Kaydeen to Salayla, removing their collars.

  Taylor seemed fine, other than acting like a toddler on three energy bars who’d just found candy land. Taylor dropped Salayla's collar and bounded toward Tonee.

  Tonee backed up, raising his hands. "What happened to you?"

  Taylor sidestepped and tried to skirt him, but Tonee turned with him. After a full rotation of Taylor dancing around him, Tonee finally had enough and grabbed him by the shoulders.

  "Stop."

  He wanted to shake him to get some sense back into him, but that would probably encourage his fidgeting. Instead, he held him in place.

  Taylor finally paused and looked at him, the energy draining from his body as if washing away dirt. He lowered his gaze and handed the remote to Kaydeen, who proceeded to remove his collar and then moved behind Tonee to do the same. When Taylor looked back up, Tonee could nearly taste the exhaustion in his friend’s eyes. Taylor looked like he was standing through sheer willpower. Tonee’s angry flare up over what Taylor’s behavior and refusal to communicate had done to them evaporated.

  Tonee cr
ushed him against his chest. "I thought we lost you."

  Taylor stood stiffly, mumbling something about protecting the team.

  Kaydeen slipped the collar off Tonee’s neck and thumped the back of his head. Tonee looked up at Salayla’s moving hands.

  ‘Cease and desist,’ she signaled. ‘Later.’

  Tonee's chest tightened. This wasn’t the time or place to get emotional. And this definitely wasn’t the time to throw Taylor for another loop.

  Taylor's behavior was out of character. So what? If that’s what it took to function, then they would work with it.

  Tonee pushed Taylor to arms’ length, but before he could say anything, footsteps sounded from the hallway.

  Taylor slipped out of Tonee’s grasp and past him to the door. Back to business—calm and collected, without an inkling of exhaustion showing—he signaled them to hide and be ready. It was scary how quickly he snapped back and forth, but this wasn’t the time to ponder the implications of Taylor’s behavior.

  Tonee took a position behind Taylor.

  Somebody approached the room carefully but carelessly loud. It sounded like only one person or, whoever was accompanying them was much better at concealing their presence.

  Taylor shot out the door. A surprised yelp, a tumble of bodies and a figure with hiking boots, dark trousers, and a white shirt landed in the middle of the room. Tonee slipped into the hallway, going right. Kaydeen, right behind him, split off in the opposite direction.

  "No, no, no, I'm here to help!" The Tinareean-speaking voice coming from the room cracked, slipping multiple octaves.

  Finding the hallway clear, Tonee returned to the room. Kaydeen met him at the door, signaling ‘all clear.’

  A boy lay on his back in the middle of the room, blond shoulder-length hair in disarray and fear written over his dirt-streaked face. Taylor crouched next to him, studying him with a tilted head. Salayla stood off to the side, allowing Taylor to handle it but ready to jump in if needed. The boy couldn’t have been older than fourteen or fifteen. He had pushed himself into a half-sitting position, leaning on one hand while warding Taylor off with the other.

  "I’m a friend," he stuttered, "not your enemy." Seeing no further aggressive moves, he relaxed. "I was looking for you, trying to get you out." He talked slow, forming the words carefully as if he wasn’t sure they understood him.

  "Trying to get us out?" Kaydeen repeated.

  "Yeah." He perked up at Kaydeen’s accent-free reply. "After they left yesterday, I figured it was safe to go looking for you. I couldn’t get in until now."

  "They?"

  "The miners, and the Traverse." He clarified. "They all left yesterday."

  "So, how did you know we were in here?" Salayla asked, also in perfect Tinareean, perking up the boy even further and speeding up his speech.

  "I didn’t see you come out when they loaded everybody in the transports."

  "And you knew to look for us, why?" Tonee asked. His accent was heavier, but he had enough time in the mines to become fluent enough to hold a conversation.

  "You were in the transport when they brought us here." Taylor interrupted the questioning. His accent wasn’t quite as heavy as Tonee’s but he wasn’t as fluent. Tonee wondered where and with whom he had the opportunity to practice.

  The boy looked at him. "Yeah." He dropped his head. "I couldn’t help you, though…"

  "We noticed," Tonee commented.

  Salayla shot him a look. Tonee shrugged.

  Taylor grabbed the boy’s wrist and pulled him to his feet.

  "What’s your name?"

  "Mica."

  "So, how do we get out, Mica?"

  "The way I came in." His face lit up. "And we need to hurry, before they level this place." He started for the door.

  "Who?" Taylor called after him.

  Mica stopped and turned around. "Intergal, of course. They’re leveling all Traverse strongholds before setting down this time." He waved them on impatiently. "And this place is on that list."

  Tonee and Taylor exchanged glances. The boy obviously had more information than he had divulged so far.

  Taylor motioned for Mica to show the way and then nodded at Kaydeen and Salayla. Tonee was about to follow them out the door when he realized Taylor had turned back to the desk. He stopped.

  "You’re going the wrong way," Tonee said, switching back to Trade. Since he was addressing Taylor alone, there was no reason to continue speaking a language neither of them had fully mastered yet.

  "I’ll be right there. Go ahead."

  "I’m not leaving you behind."

  Taylor stopped rummaging through the drawers and looked up. "I’ll catch up."

  Kaydeen stuck her head back through the door. "What are you waiting for?"

  Taylor stood triumphantly, brandishing a pistol and two extra power clips. He hurried to the door and handed the weapon to Kaydeen, their best shot.

  "You have the lead. I’ll bring up the rear."

  Kaydeen nodded and sprinted to where Salayla was waiting with Mica.

  "Sal and Tonee, take center."

  The lineup surprised Tonee. He usually brought up the rear while Taylor took the lead, but he didn’t argue. He could already see that Mica would need some extra guidance—he kept trying to get in front of Kaydeen. The boy had no tactical training or intuition.

  A few minutes and multiple piles of rubble later, they finally saw the opening Mica had entered through. A floor collapse had cut a hole in the wall, separating the hallway from the enclosed driveway into the compound. All they had to do was jump the two-meter abyss and avoid the metal girders sticking out of the remains of the wall. Taylor waved them on, his attention on the open door beside him.

  Kaydeen jumped across, verified the area was clear, and waved Salayla across. When Mica was across, Tonee turned back. Taylor had disappeared. Tonee went back to the door that had drawn Taylor’s attention and found him inside an office. He recognized it as the office where Juvak had sold them to the miner. Taylor was rummaging in the desk drawers.

  "Not the time for treasure hunts."

  Taylor looked up. "Looking for intel."

  "Really? Now? You have noticed that the explosions are closing again, right?"

  The rumble had been in the background ever since the compound had first been hit. Most of them had been distant, more like an echo of a dream, but every so often it had gotten close enough to reverberate through the compound. In the last few minutes, it had built in cacophony again, as it had when it foreshadowed the last hit on the compound. Tonee wanted to be as far away from this place as possible when the gunners upstairs finally decided to realize Mica’s prediction.

  "Go. I’ll be right behind you."

  Tonee shook his head. Taylor huffed in exasperation, but left off his search.

  They jogged down the hall to the exit. Salayla stood past the gap in the wall, waving them on.

  "Time to go." She looked to her right with a worried glance.

  "Go. Get to cover." Taylor waved her on. "We’re right behind you," and then motioned Tonee ahead.

  Tonee jumped the gap and landed easily. Taylor backed up to get a running start. Tonee scanned the compound. The tunnel he stood in opened into a large courtyard. In its center stood a low building surrounded by a half wall—a magazine, a common way to store mining explosives. The half wall directed accidental detonations upward to protect the surrounding area.

  Over the roof of the building on the courtyard’s far side, he could see treetops and mountains, and the incoming strikes of a capital ship rail gun. Either the gunner was manually zeroing in his shots on this target or he was walking his shots over multiple targets. Either way, they were coming this way.

  Taylor was just starting his run when the ground shook violently. Another section of the floor crumbled, widening the hole to two-and-a-half meters. He caught himself on an exposed girder and slid to a stop.

  "They’re hitting the mineshaft." Tonee looked back to the magazi
ne and shook his head. As long as the half-walls stayed intact, the force of the exploding magazine would be directed up, but if the walls were damaged first, the design and safety features of the magazine would be compromised and all bets would be off. They didn’t want to be anywhere near that thing when it lit up. And this tunnel might funnel the blast like the barrel on a rifle.

  "Go," Taylor told him as he backed up again. "You’re no use to me here, and will only slow me down once I get across."

  Tonee hesitated. Their gazes met. Taylor wasn’t ready to die, that was clear. Tonee nodded, turned, and ran.

  The tunnel dumped him into an open area separating the compound from a settlement of high-rises. Ahead of him he saw Salayla cut into an alley behind the first of them. She stopped and looked back, waving him on. He was between the buildings when he turned to glance back. Taylor was only now coming out of the compound. Behind him, the compound was backlit with explosions. Tonee wondered what was back there for the gunner to walk his gun back and forth like that. The strikes reached the compound, shooting debris into the air. Tonee stopped by the alley and turned around. Kaydeen pulled him behind the building. He shook her off and leaned around the corner. Taylor reached the building. Tonee thought he would make it, and then the magazine exploded.

  14

  Rest

  Tonee pressed his back against the wall, then pushed off again. Taylor. The thought had barely surfaced when a shadow appeared next to him. He didn’t think, only reached out. He felt cloth, closed his fist around it and pulled. Taylor swung around him like a pendulum and landed flat on the ground. Kaydeen was on top of him instantly. At first, Tonee thought she was putting out fire, but realizing there were no flames, he finally registered that she was checking him for wounds. She ran her hands up his legs and under his shirt. Coming out clean, she checked the back of his neck and then pulled him to his feet.