Ascension (5 page)

Ξ

Even though I was
sure that, at this hour, everyone would be asleep, I still kept to
the less frequented, and consequentially less lit, tunnels. I
slowly made my way around the corner, my hand extended to feel for
anything in front, when it suddenly made contact with something
warm and soft. I screamed and dropped my bag, spilling its contents
across the floor. Hastily, I picked everything up before I even
looked up to see who had caught me, until I saw a small hand pick
up the knife. Raising my gaze from the floor, I was met by
Conor
’
s light
brown eyes.

“
What are you
doing up so late, Conor? You ought to be in bed!
”

“
What am I doing?
I think think the better question is what are you doing, skulking
around the tunnels in the middle of the night? I
’
m notorious for my
mischievousness. You
’
re notorious for, well, getting yourself into
trouble.
”
I glared at him and he just
shrugged.
“Fine. Don
’
t answer. It doesn
’
t matter. I already know what
you
’re doing.
” I felt my heart
skip a beat. “You
’
re
probably going to go explore the old mines. Or, are you going down
to the hot spring? Wait, I now, you're going to look for the body
of that guard who got lost a few months ago!
”
I let loose an internal sigh of relief, realizing he
didn
’
t have any
idea of what I was going to do. I decided to let him continue,
convincing himself of whatever it was he though I was doing.
“
Seriously, which one is it? I went to go
apologize for telling your mom about the guard, and you
weren
’
t there.
Your da asked me where you were,
”
he
stopped and looked more serious.
“He
’
s looking for you, you know.
Your parents are really worried about you.
”

I felt a rush of
annoyance, followed by a pang of guilt.
“
Conor, you can
’
t tell them where I am, and I can
’
t tell you where
I
’
m going,
either.
”
He opened his mouth in protest,
but I shook my head and held up my hand.
“You
’
re not coming, and I really
don
’
t have time
to talk. I have to go!
”
I reached for my
knife, but he stepped back, keeping it out of my
reach.

“
No. I
’
m not giving it to you until you
tell me where you
’
re going.”
When I didn't respond , he lowered himself into
a crouch, challenging,
“I
’
m faster than you. I could run
and tell your parents what you
’re
doing.
”
He and I glared at each other
until I groaned and rolled my eyes.

“
Fine! You
’
re so stubborn, you know
that?
”
He simply grinned and stuck out
his tongue.
“
But you really
can
’
t tell
anyone. At least not until I
’
m gone.
”
I took a breath and braced myself for his reaction.
“I
’
m going to Ahrenia.
I
’
m going to
the surface.
”

“
Oh.”
That was
definitely not the reaction I was expecting.

“
What do you
mean, oh? It
’
s
not like its everyday someone goes to the
surface.
”

“
Well, to be
honest, I
’
ve
been expecting it for a while. You aren
’
t allowed to do anything down
here anyways. You can
’
t be happy, even with me for company.
”
He looked up to me with a sad smile,
“
I just wish you didn
’
t have to abandon us like
this.
”

“
Conor, listen to
me. I
’
m not
abandoning you. I would never do something like that. I'd much
rather live down here than with those stupid, selfish surface
dwellers,
”
I justified. Never before had
anyone in Cethin volunteered themselves for inspection, but there
was an unspoken concensus that it was one of the worst possible
things someone could do. It would essentially be a renouncement of
our people, a way of saying that the surface and all that they have
done to us was justified, that their ways of living are correct. I
shuddered to think that this was what people would think of me
after today. But as much as I didn
’
t want everyone to think I
deserted them, I knew I couldn
’
t tell anyone what I was doing
for fear of them interfering. But still, the thought of being
labeled a traitor, a deserter, stung more than I would have
liked.

“
Then why are you
leaving? Did your parents force you out for what happened earlier?
I could talk to them, tell them it wasn
’
t your fault!
”

“
No, Conor, it
isn
’
t that.
They don
’
t know
I
’
m leaving,
and you can
’
t
tell them.
”
My heart broke when I saw
tears begin to form in his eyes.
“Oh, I
’
m gonna miss you,”
I said,
pulling him into a hug. When I released him, I hurriedly whispered
to him my plan, and I asked him to tell my parents my plan after
two weeks, so they wouldn
’
t think that
they
’
ve been
disgraced by their daughter, but also wouldn
’
t be able to follow me. We
hugged again, and he wished me luck, handing me back the
knife.

“
Keep yourself
out of trouble!
”
I told him as we split
apart. Walking separate ways, I gave him one last wave and
disappeared around the corner.

Chapter
6

I hoped that I
wasn
’
t too
late. Or too early, for that matter. Honestly, I had no idea when
the sun would rise. I figured that I was right on time when I
walked back into the sunroom and there were more guards awake than
before, getting ready for duty. Some guards had just finished their
watch shift, which they still call
“
night
duty
”
, partly because they sill wished to
maintain their routines from the surface, and partly because when
everyone is in their den, we turn off most of the lanterns to save
fuel. As I walked to the messenger
’
s room, I passed under the slit
and saw that the sky was darker that it had been before. I was
disoriented, thinking that I had been mistaken, and that I still
had more time before we would leave. Standing with my head tilted
towards the crack, I was startled when the guard from the day
before, Gethro, said from behind me,
“It
’
s always darkest before the
dawn.
”

Confused, I spun
around and asked,
“
What
is?
”

“
The sky,
”
he replied, and then left the room. I pondered
this as I made my way towards the messengers
’
room, and with a deep breath,
stepped in through the curtain.

The messenger was
standing in front of the desk, assembling the papers in his pack,
when I entered the room. He looked up at me and greeted,
“
So you actually made it. Well,
it
’
s good that
you did, because I was about to leave without you.
”
He closed his bag and swung a cloak over his
shoulders as he walked towards the entrance. Wen he reached me, I
shied back a bit, not wanting to get in his way and have a repeat
of last time. He just raised an eyebrow and walked through the
entrance, the curtain swinging behind him. I stood there, not
knowing what to do, until he stuck his head back in the
room.
“
Why are you just standing there?
Come on, the horse is waiting.
”

Upon hearing the
word
“horse”
, my heart leapt. Did I hear
him right? I had heard stories about the tall, elegant beasts that
we had once ridden on the surface, and the tight bonds we formed
with each animal, trusting them to get us where we needed to be,
safely. Down here, we had no use for horses. The only livestock
down here were sheep, hens, goats, and the occasional pig. Our cats
were able to fend for themselves, staving off the rats and mice
that occupy the tunnels with us. We didn
’
t have the resources to spare
for dogs, and anything else would impractical.

“
Are you just
gonna stand there and stare at me like an imbecile? I swear, you
Nethers have the mental capacity of a shrew.
”
Still stunned by the idea of seeing a horse, it took me a
few moments to realize that he was insulting me, but it
didn
’
t make a
difference. I was still going to see an actual
horse!

“
I
’
m sorry, did you say we would
ride a horse?
”
I had to make sure I heard
correctly before I let my excitement get the best of
me.

“
Just when I
thought you couldn
’
t surprise me with your idiocy. Are you daft?
I
’
m not letting
you on my horse. You can ride the baggage mule.
”
With that, he pulled his head back out of the room. Having
little other choice, I followed him through the sunroom and out a
tunnel I hadn
’
t
noticed before. I turned around to give the sunroom one last
glance, and noticed that the crack in the wall seemed to be faintly
glowing, the dark blue color from before having changed to a
lighter grey. Wondering what was ahead, I jogged to catch back up
with the King
’
s
messenger and stuck close to his heels, my footsteps in time with
my racing heart.

Ξ

The tunnels
leading to the exit twisted and turned, weaving around in a puzzle
used by the King to keep us from escaping our underground prison.
Anyone who tried to flee the tunnels would end up getting lost in
the maze. As children, the adults told us tales of people going
insane, finding themselves at dead ends that all seemed to be the
same until eventually they would collapse from exhaustion. There
was no water in this part of the cave, and I was glad that I had
brought my water skin along with me. Not knowing how much longer we
had to go, I tried to ration it wisely. I was walking behind the
messenger from a safe distance, having learned my lesson from when
we had first set off. Upon entering the darkness of the tunnel,
before he had lit his torch, I extended my hand out to find him,
when, without warning, he pulled me into his chest, pressing me
against him, his hands squeezing my rear. With a shout, I shoved
him off, and he simply smirked and told me to mind myself. In these
dark tunnels lit by only his lamplight, I had no choice. So I
trailed behind at a distance, barely close enough so that I
didn
’
t loose
him in the darkness, but far away enough to assure he
wouldn
’
t be
able to lay his hand on me again. I couldn
’
t help but wonder how the he
didn
’
t get
lost, that is until I saw the small map he held in his hand which
he would consult every few turns. Curious, I tried to look over his
shoulder to see where the map was taking us, but he very quickly
caught on and hid his map from my sight.

And so we traveled on, in what
seemed like an endless circle. I kept thinking back to the stories
about the men and women loosing their mind in these tunnels, now
beginning to understand how maddening it was when you had
absolutely no idea where you were headed. After what seemed like an
eternity, the messenger finally spoke up.

“
Are you just
going to creep behind me this entire time? Don
’
t get me wrong, I
wasn
’
t planning
on you being an interesting companion. I mean, you probably
wouldn
’
t be
able to sustain a conversation for very long what with all that
dirt stuck in your ears and all, but I figured you would at least
know how to talk.
”
He glanced over his
shoulder at me, and I stared down at the path. He laughed and kept
walking, talking all the while.

“
Fine. No matter
if you won
’
t
speak with me, I can still talk to you. I
’
ve got plenty to say.
”
He proceeded to tell me, in vulgar detail, about
his collection of lovers. He especially enjoyed explaining the
lovemaking, and by the middle of the third story, this one taking
place in the bed of an unknowing duke, I was seriously considering
taking a wrong turn and getting myself lost just to escape his
ramblings.