Alysium

by Tiffany Pelletier

  “How're you feeling?” Ranelle asked quietly, “we weren’t sure you’d wake again.”

  “I'm alive,” said Abree.

  “I can see that,” Ranelle replied, noting the spite in Abree's voice. The injured girl held her tongue for a moment, as if debating on what to say next.

  “You didn't have to make that medicine,” Abree said finally, throwing Ranelle off guard.

  “I–know,” she sputtered, “but–you needed it.”

  “So?” Abree argued, “I attacked you...you could’ve left me behind, would have been easier.”

  Ranelle shrugged before securing the poultice fully back into place on Abree's foot. “We all have things that we’re good at. I just happen to be good at making medicines, so I did. And just because we've–,” Ranelle searched for the right word, “altercated, doesn't mean I won’t do what’s best for our team.”

  “I don't seem to be much help to the team in my current condition,” Abree said bitterly as she glared down at her incapacitated foot.

  “It’s temporary,” Ranelle shrugged, “we’ll all need to help if we hope to make it back.”

  “Back where?” said Abree with a weak laugh. She gazed over at Gideon as he slept on. Her eyes snapped back to Ranelle before retorting, “there's no one to miss me back there.”

  “Really?” said Ranelle provocatively, “no one at all?”

  “Well,” said Abree glancing down at her lap, “there's someone from my dorm that I talk to, but we aren't close.”

  “You aren't close yet,” said Ranelle with a smirk, “now you have a reason to make it back.”

  Abree shrugged, then stared off, undoubtedly thinking about that person back in her dorm.

  Ranelle rose, returning next to Gideon. Carefully, she sat and scooted in close, trying not to wake him. Still, when he felt her return, Gideon extended his arm, wrapping it around her. He pulled her in close, a look of contentment on his face. Ranelle smiled, laying her head on his chest and her hand gently on his thigh. As she leaned in close, feeling the same comfort as before, she closed her eyes to rest. She didn’t notice as Abree watched them–her eyes patiently taking in every detail as they relaxed, silently unaware.

  Chapter Eleven

  It took another day of rest for Abree to regain her former strength. While she healed, the miners took turns telling stories and scouting for food. It was surprisingly easy enough to find grubs or mushrooms in the damp mining tunnels; their water supply, however, was beginning to dwindle. They’d managed to find a trickle of water flowing down a wall of the station tunnel. Still, the flow wasn’t steady and took far too much time to gather up a single water bladder full.

  “We need to move on, today,” Lara whispered to Ranelle, trying not to alarm anyone else, “the water’s not going to hold out much longer.”

  “Alright,” said Ranelle, as she heard the gravity in Lara’s voice, “I’ll talk to Gideon.”

  Lara nodded with relief, then excused herself to pack up their supplies.

  Ranelle searched for Gideon who’d taken off to look for food. Walking out the station corridor, she heard sounds echoing down the main tunnel. When she reached the tunnel fork, she found Gideon chipping away at rocks.

  “What are you doing?” asked Ranelle curiously.

  “Trying to make a knifepoint,” he said as he stopped, holding out slivers of shale that he’d been trying to sharpen. Ranelle nodded, taking the pieces from him. One of the sharpened stones looked good enough for a spearhead or maybe a small knife. She smiled at his effort, then returned the rocks.

  “We need to move on today,” said Ranelle, glancing back toward the station tunnel.

  “Running out of water?” Gideon asked.

  She nodded, “It’s barely flowing right now and who knows when it’ll stop. I'd rather not be around to find out.”

  When the miners had realized the necessity of staying in the supply station until Abree was better, they agreed to take on duties to help spread out the workload. Gideon assigned Lara and Charlie to water collection and rationing, while he and Ranelle searched for food. Since Abree was incapacitated, her only task was to refill the lanterns with the pyrus they’d found in the abandoned station, and to rest.

  Gideon took up the blade he’d perfected and walked toward Ranelle. “Keep this safe for me, will you?” he asked.

  As he approached her, he playfully put one hand around her back, hugging her to him gently as the other reached for her open satchel. When he found it, he dropped the blade into the bag. Ranelle felt the stone slide down through the bag against her leg from inside the satchel. She smiled, her eyes glinting in the pyrus lantern light as she gazed up at him.

  “Team leader?” came a voice from behind them. Ranelle and Gideon broke free from each other just as a lantern popped into view, followed by a timorous looking Charlie.

  “Yes?” Gideon hissed, exasperated from the constant interruptions by the others.

  “We've packed the supplies, and we’re ready to go,” Charlie reported, “but there are some herbs that Lara found in the way back of one of the cabinets that she doesn’t recognize.”

  “I'll have a look,” said Ranelle.

  “Yeah, we thought you would,” Charlie replied, referring to himself and Lara, “we also found some documents you might find interesting.”

  “What kind of documents?” asked Gideon skeptically.

  “Well,” Charlie hesitated, shaken by Gideon’s cross temperament.

  “Go on,” Ranelle urged.

  “They feel weird,” said Charlie, rubbing his fingertips together to illustrate.

  “They feel weird?” asked Gideon shortly.

  “That's right–,” Charlie began defensively, puffing up his chest slightly.

  “Just pack them away with everything else,” Gideon interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. Charlie looked put off and glared at them as he withdrew back to the supply room. “They feel weird?” the team leader repeated after they were alone again.

  “Well,” Ranelle shrugged as she grabbed Gideon’s satchel and handed it to him, “these walls feel weird.”

  Gideon opened his mouth to argue, then realized she was right. The walls did feel different–weird even. He sighed in defeat, following Ranelle back to the supply room. When they walked in, Lara was helping Abree to her feet.

  “Here,” said Ranelle, “let me help.” She ran over to the injured girl and grabbed her other side, putting Abree's arm over her shoulder to give her something to brace herself with.

  “Thanks,” grunted Lara, who was dwarfed by the female team leader's bulk.

  “How’s the foot today?” Ranelle inquired as she helped to steer Abree around the room.

  “Stiff,” Abree grunted, “but I think I could manage on my own if I had something to lean on.”

  Ranelle nodded and halted their progress. “Gideon!”

  “Yeah?” he called back.

  “A cane?”

  “Hmm...” he said, looking about the room. Spying something promising, he strolled over to a tall supply cupboard that held additional mining tools. He popped open the door and rummaged through it for a moment before finding what he was looking for. He pulled his arm from the cupboard clutching two broken pickaxes. Strolling over to the waiting girls, he held his hand out with a smile, “Pick one.”

  Abree gave Ranelle a hesitant look as Gideon presented each broken tool for inspection.

  “Whichever one you’d like,” he said patiently.

  She glanced down at each, immediately knowing which she wanted. Reaching out, she selected the one on the right. It was taller, and the top of the aged wooden handle, where the metal should have been fixed, stood bare and worn, still shaped into a notch that had been cut to fit into an ax head.

  “This should do,” she said timidly, “thanks.”

  “No problem!” said Gideon, sounding more cheerful than before, as he spun on his heel and offered his hand to Ranelle, “shall we move out?”

&n
bsp; Ranelle couldn’t help but grin at Gideon, her cheeks flushing. She stepped away from Abree, now that the girl had something else to support her, and reached out her hand, allowing him to interlace his fingers with hers.

  “Everyone else ready?” Ranelle asked the others.

  There were several lackluster calls of agreement, so they left the station with their satchels banging against their hips, Abree following along closely, limping as she made her way. She held tightly to the cane Gideon had found, grasping it as if it was precious to her. As she hobbled, her eyes fixed upon the back of Ranelle’s head as she walked, still holding Gideon's hand, excited and unaware. Charlie and Lara followed behind Abree, bringing up the rear of the group with the second lantern, forming a makeshift caravan, slowly working their way forward.

  When they reached the main tunnel, they paused, looking down the shaft that led back to Ashbourne.

  “What if they've cleared the cave-in?” asked Charlie with hesitation.

  “Then head right back there, miner,” said Ranelle, emphasizing the last word, “I’ve thought about it long and hard while we've rested, and I’d rather move forward than backward.”

  A moment of silence followed until Gideon cleared his throat, startling them.

  “If I thought there was a safe way back, we would’ve been there by now,” Gideon explained, the light of the lantern flickering in his eyes.

  Charlie shrugged then nodded, trusting Gideon's judgment.

  “Let's move on then?” asked Ranelle, “see where the tunnel leads?” The others offered quiet murmurs of agreement.

  Gideon peered down the main tunnel with trepidation. Ranelle could feel his nervousness, but desperately wished to be anywhere but back at home. She nudged him playfully with her shoulder, giving him an encouraging wink.

  Gideon returned the gesture with a lackluster smile as he sighed, stepping out into the main tunnel, the rest of the group following behind.

  As they walked, Charlie ran his free hand along the abnormally smooth shaft wall.

  “How do you suppose?” asked Charlie, nearly running the wall’s glassy surface while trying to inspect it.

  “Come on now, let's keep moving,” said Gideon with irritation, his mood suffering further at the hands of the inept boy.

  “You can't tell me that you're not the least bit curious how they did it?” asked Lara in defiance.

  “Of course, I am, but we don't need to add a broken nose to our list of injuries just because Charlie can't stop ogling,” snapped Gideon.

  He was uneasy, Ranelle could tell.

  He’s worried about what’s ahead.

  Feeling the need to reassure him again, she squeezed the hand that was still clamped firmly within hers. He glanced at her, his mood immediately lightening as he squeezed Ranelle’s hand in return, holding it a bit tighter than he had been before.

  Walking on for what felt like hours, they paused every now and then, lighting each pedestal they came across. Each column held an identical bowl of pyrus. As Ranelle bent and struck the strike stones together, lighting the next lamp, she couldn’t help but wonder who’d taken the time to install the pedestals.

  What were they doing down here?

  “How long do you think these bowls will stay lit?” asked Abree as she limped along, interrupting Ranelle’s thoughts as she struggled to keep up.

  “I'm not sure,” Gideon replied earnestly, “but at least our rescuers will know we survived if anyone makes it past the cave-in.”

  Gideon's comment made Ranelle frown.

  Would they try to find us?

  She knew the answer immediately.

  Obadiah Warren would never stop looking for his son. As she let the thought linger in her mind, she knew one thing for sure; she was not going back. Ranelle was tired of the rules and didn't want to be a miner. She couldn’t go back, and she wouldn’t let them find her either.

  “I'm not sure that I'd want to go back, myself,” Lara chimed up, speaking the words that Ranelle lacked the courage to say herself.

  “Yeah, what's so wonderful about a miner’s life anyway?” Charlie added, always an eager follower.

  “Listen here,” said Gideon, stopping abruptly. The others nearly ran into each other as he turned toward them, “If our people try to rescue us, we will go back. Each of us is desperately needed in Ashbourne.”

  There it was. Ranelle's stomach lurched uncomfortably. Gideon was planning on going back.

  I will not follow.

  Ranelle took the distraction as the perfect time to release Gideon's hand, switching the lantern over to make it seem less apparent.

  The motion, however, wasn’t overlooked. Abree's eyes glinted brightly in the lantern light. Realizing the intentions of their leader and his girl were different, gave Abree immense pleasure.

  “Enough!” Gideon snapped as Lara and Charlie began commenting on the negatives of Ashbournian living. “It would be different if there was another tunnel that came this far down, but there isn’t. There’s no point focusing on the possibility of rescue when the chances are so slim. We should move on, gather resources, and concentrate on staying alive.”

  “Agreed,” Ranelle nodded, using the opportunity to change the subject, “do any of the maps you’ve seen show what lies ahead?”

  “Yes,” Gideon replied. “A schematic I saw on my father’s desk showed a second supply station. I’m not sure what's in it or if it’s survived all the groundshakes we’ve had.”

  “How far away from the second station, do you suppose we are?” Ranelle inquired.

  “Not far,” said Gideon with a smirk, looking at something over Ranelle’s shoulder.

  Ranelle turned to follow his gaze. In the tunnel, several paces in front of them, she could just make out the heading on a wooden sign overhead:

  STATION 2

  The new station tunnel was also set inside an adjoining shaft like the first had been. Calls of excitement rang out from the group as Gideon led the others down the newly discovered tunnel, walking under the wooden doorframe with the sign carved above. After a short stroll, a darkened door unexpectedly appeared in front of them.

  Staring at the closed door, the group stood in silence, the mood somewhat deflated.

  “Station one didn’t have a door, just a doorway,” Charlie muttered.

  Lara and Abree nodded in agreement.

  “This far down, they probably added a door to keep pests from damaging the supplies,” Gideon suggested, although his voice lacked confidence. As he reached out and lifted the metal latch, nothing happened. The door wouldn’t open.

  Ranelle then noticed a small hole in the door as it was illuminated by their lanterns.

  “Is this–a keyhole?” she looked questioningly to Gideon.

  “What’s a keyhole?” asked Lara, her eyebrows raised.

  “It’s a hole that allows a metal instrument, called a key, to be inserted. The key turns mechanisms inside the door, locking it closed so that it can’t be opened again without the key,” Ranelle explained.

  “Why would anyone lock a door?” Charlie asked stupidly as if the sheer thought was ludicrous.

  “To keep some people out!” remarked Abree with distaste.

  “Hmm,” said Ranelle as she bit down on her index finger. “I don’t think there are many doors in Ashbourne, I guess there would be reasons why someone would want to lock one.”

  “I didn't know there were any doors in Ashbourne,” Charlie murmured quietly.

  “There's only one,” Gideon replied plainly.

  Ranelle glanced at him–she’d seen the one he was referring to. She’d pushed it open and closed the night she left the Regent’s Manor. “It's at your house, isn't it?”

  Gideon nodded slowly as everyone’s eyes snapped in his direction.

  “Does your door have a key?” Ranelle asked softly.

  He stared blankly at her for a moment before gradually reaching a hand inside his tunic. He pulled a small leather cord from around his neck.
It had been, until now, hidden out-of-sight under his clothing. Hanging from the rope was a delicate silver key. Oddly shaped with silver vines twisting up the shank to form the bow, the overlapping silver tendrils swirled ornately around a shimmering pearlescent stone.

  “It's beautiful,” breathed Ranelle; she’d never seen anything so intricately designed before. Gideon slid the key from the leather throng and laid it gently into the palm of Ranelle’s hand.

  “Try it,” Gideon offered softly. Ranelle lifted her brow but did as he asked. Slowly, she lowered her hand to the keyhole, which was circular in the center with a small, squared projection on the bottom. Ranelle gently inserted the silver key into the keyhole, turning it slowly to the right. Each teenager held their breath for what seemed like forever; the snapping and crackling of the pyrus in their lanterns, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Then, there was a soft click as the lock released, and the door swung open on squeaky hinges.

  Each of them exhaled with relief as Ranelle reached forward, pulling the key back out of the keyhole. The others stepped around them excitedly, entering the supply room while Ranelle and Gideon hung back.

  “Your key,” said Ranelle softly as she held it out, her hand steady.

  Gideon considered it for a moment before looking up at her. He reached out with his hands, folding them around hers, the key at the center. “Keep it for me?”

  “Are–are you’re sure?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Ranelle raised her eyebrow as Gideon restrung the key onto its leather throng and held it out so that she could slip it over her head. Since the necklace was fitted for Gideon’s neck, it hung low on Ranelle's chest. Gently, Gideon took the delicate silver key into his hand, stepping in closer to inspect it.

  As he gazed at it, then up at Ranelle, he was close enough that she could feel the heat of his breath on her face. Ranelle felt her heart flutter, and she swallowed hard; he always made her feel that way, ever since the first time she’d met him. Her heart had beat so loudly that day; she thought for sure he must’ve heard it. Her feelings toward him always made her head swim. Her physical reactions; sweaty palms, shaking hands, bright red cheeks–they always betrayed her, and left her feeling weak. It frightened and angered Ranelle to feel so powerless. It was one of the reasons why she had always tried to avoid Gideon in the past.