Souls Below

Chapter Eleven

The tunnels that wound underneath the Lower city were intense and confusing, a maze like structure hidden underfoot for years. My eyes were glued to Krane's back, surprised at how well he was navigating these intricate tunnels, indicating this was not his first time passing through.

"I think these were used by the rebels at some point" Krane's voice traveled back to me, his words peeking my interest "before the last rebellion at least. I don't think they've been through since"

"So this is what you do when I'm not around?" Krane slowed, turning back to stare at me a moment, eyebrow raised

"Jealous I was adventuring without you?"

"and I felt bad for almost checking out the P.I.P door without you. I feel betrayed" he chuckled and kept walking "next time I know not to wait; you owe me an adventure" that caused a louder laugh to drift back

"I'll make it up to you" he promised. After about an hour the tunnels changed drastically the further we walked, the walls becoming darker and covered in grime, the lights either flickering or not working at all. My gut indicated we were coming close to the restricted sector - even the cleaning robots didn't venture this far, which explained the sludge. Occasionally the tunnel we were on branched out in different directions, Krane pausing a moment to look for a marker on the wall; this was how he knew where to go.

Whether it was my paranoia or the unfamiliar territory, when we passed a tunnel that seemed a little darker than the rest, the feeling of being watched caused the hairs on the back of my neck to raise. Krane stopped at a little dip in the wall, metal rungs in the concrete making some type of ladder than ended with a metal lid above

"This leads to the street outside the door with the P.I.P reader" he explained, beginning to climb. I was about to follow when the sound of scuttling caused my heart to jump to my throat, head whipping around to stare down a dark tunnel, eyes straining to see beyond the gloom. My eyes watered, wanting to blink, blood freezing as my eyes tried to focus on something sitting at the edge of the next bend...

"Are you seriously daydreaming again?" Krane's voice from above jolted me from my trance. I looked up to where he was leaning over the edge above "I can check this out without you if you prefer to think about the Uppers some more?" I flipped him off, taking one last glance down the dark tunnel, noticing it was empty - must have been my imagination and paranoia combined. I climbed the ladder, the sting of cold metal against my palms uncomfortable.

The wound on my arm throbbed, the cut now scabbed over, healing better than the one on my forearm. Krane had made sure to flush and wrap it enough to keep the sickness away, ignoring my hiss of agony when the liquid felt like fire in the cut itself - I wondered if he was glad it hurt, as it was my penance for my screw up.

I reached the top, Krane helping he over the edge as I glanced back down, expecting to see something lurking at the base. His eyes followed where mine were, a questioning look passing his face. I stood without looking at him - he would only think I was crazy. I dusted my hands on my pants, a jolt running through me when I realised we were a few feet from the entrance to the abandoned building I had stashed the Upper in.

Krane grunted as he pushed the metal lid back over the hotel to the tunnels, not noticing my wondering feet as my absent mind pulled me towards the store. It had bene nine days, my wound had healed but it wasn't nearly as bad as Calian's. Would he still be inside? Or had he left after I didn't come back? My stomach sank at the thought of him leaving without saying goodbye.

I glanced down at Krane, he was still crouched over the metal lid, arms resting on his knees as he gazed at the building that held the door with the P.I.P reader. A thought crossed my mind

"We should check the buildings" Krane looked at me strangely

"Why?" my mind reeled as it tried to come up with a reason

"I thought I heard someone inside" I said simply. Krane stood abruptly, eyes glued to the abandoned store front, those green eyes wide as he stood still and listened to the city around us. A moment passed, thinking he wasn't going to take the bait when he moved slowly forward

"Alright, but be careful, we don't know who still lives around here" I frowned

'Why would anyone live this close to the restricted sector?" Krane entered the building first - he shrugged

"Those that don't have much left? struggle to work so they lost their homes? Pa said there are many that stopped working and simply lived off the things they could find instead" that was interesting, Lowers being able to live without needing to provide to the Uppers above and not dying of starvation or cold?

"Sounds like they know how to live better than we do" I mumbled, Krane scoffing at the comment

"Many, if not most, die for this way of living. They can't marry, or have kids, and if they do the babies die, either by being starved or a sickness gets them" it sounded very morbid, but not surprising. Krane sounded angry though

"You don't think it's a good idea?" he stopped and glanced back at me, eyes hard

"Bringing a kid into this world while struggling and working is one thing, but doing that while completely cut off from the things that you need to survive is another. It's not the babies fault who their parents are, it the people who don't do what's right by the baby" he sounded very passionate about this, and made me wonder what he might have seen growing up

"I don't want kids" I said softly, Krane jerking back slightly at that admittance "I don't want them to live a life full of..." I waived my hand around at the broken and empty building "...This. If I do, I want them to live without worrying where their next meal comes from" I stared at my friend, thinking he would have the same views however the look he was giving me was...strange

"Did you see anyone go in?" he said abruptly, turning away

"What?" the word tumbled from my mouth

"In here, did you see anyone in here?" his voice sounded frustrated. I pulled my thoughts back to the moment; I was meant to see if Calian was still here. But how would Krane respond if he was? I turned into one of the rooms that led to where Calian had been, my heart thumping hard against my chest, hope he was still here making my head swoon. But when I rounded the corner, eyes searching every inch of the abandoned room, there was no sign of the Upper, the blood stain on the ground the only indication he had been there at all. I glanced over in the corner, spying a few empty wrappers, and a used medic wrap covered in dark liquid underneath a few of the clear liquid vials.

Krane wondered in after me, his eyes drifting in the direction mine were staring. I felt him take a step back, grabbing my arm as he did.

"Mira, that stuff..." I glanced at my friend, seeing his wide eyes putting the pieces together "that's recent, which means..." his voice trailed off as he turned those wide eyes to me "The Upper the guards are looking for was here. That's why they couldn't find him" I felt my body relax, not realising I had tensed while waiting for Krane to realise I was involved. I shrugged

"Well...he's not here now, hopefully he got the hint and went home" my voice was more bitter than I intended. Krane's frown hinted at the unusual response. I faced Krane "the sooner he does, the sooner I can to. The guards are looking for me because they think I know where he is. Once they realise he's gone, I'll be forgotten" I strode out of the building, the debris on the floor crunching loudly.

I made my way over the the P.I.P reader, the small lights glowing faintly. Krane appeared behind me, the little card in his hand - I glanced at him, anticipation and excitement causing a burst of adrenaline and pushing away the disappointment of Calian leaving without saying goodbye.

"Did you want to do the honors?" he handed the card towards me, my eyes widening in excitement; we had both waited so long to get through this door. I practically snatched it from Krane's hands, turning greedily to the reader and sliding the little holographic strip through the centre of the device. A moment passed and nothing happened, disappointment creeping into the anticipation. Krane grabbed my shoulder gently

"Maybe this area had to little power suppl-" before he could finish his sentence, the reader gave a distorted beep, the door hissing and squealing as the unused rails rolled open for the first time in years. I bounced excitedly, looking between Krane and the door as it slowly slid open. The biggest smile spread over Krane's face, eyes glinting with mischief "just stay close, I don't need to become one of Jerard's targets if you get hurt while exploring a extremely prohibited area with me" I let out an laugh

"Good thing I have you to blame when things go bad then, yeah?" Krane glared at me, causing me to giggle further "also means I have something to use against you when you're being an ass" his mouth dropped at that

"You wouldn't" my smile grew bigger

"Oh I would" he closed his mouth and glared again

"One day Amira Chainmaster, I will make you eat those words" he mumbled

"Well for now, you can eat my dust while we go on an adventure" I brushed past Krane and entered the dimly light corridor beyond the door, unaware of the smile now plastered on my friend's face. At first the hall beyond looked the same as any other in the buildings between the different districts, but the once white walls now a grimy tone of gray, the lights that flickered above broken and the floor cracked and raised in areas. Normally after a few feet it would open to a large room area where a few guards would be posted, watching the Lowers like animals as they crossed over.

But it wasn't that easy, you needed a reason to enter another district, extra papers consisting of work job requests that showed you were needed, personal invitations from someone living there, or on the rare occasion job change which mean relocation. Otherwise you were tossed back into the district you came from, like the trash the Uppers saw us as.

After walking a few more feet however, this hallway didn't open up at all. Instead it branched off in different directions occasionally, rooms with large windows lining the walls with benches, tables or glass looking boxes within.

We tried each of the handles we passed, hoping one would be unlocked, the glass that separated the room too the hallway was like the concrete it was imbedded in as Krane tried to break one; basically indestructible unless you had something strong enough to break metal.

Krane marked the halls we passed with a rock, in case we were turned around and became lost, finding the exit would be easy. We passed another room and my brain seemed to stop, footsteps faltering as my dream of the strange garden came to mind. If you were born in the Lower city, the chances of seeing any other colour not on a sign apart from gray, black or brown were slim. Knowing about plants and animals came from the few classes that were available for children to learn the basic's of reading and writing. But no one had seen green life down here in years.

I pressed myself against the glass, a gasp leaving my mouth to fog up the window. I heard Krane curse as his eyes locked onto what had peeked my interest. The room was covered in plants, vines weaving their way around the room, looking for a way out, pretty little flowers budding near the floor while root looking plants crept along the ground.

"Krane...is that...?" my voice was quiet, afraid that the scene before us might disappear if we disturbed the air around us "But...how?" he shrugged in response, still not speaking. I glanced up at noticed he had tears in his eyes "Krane?" I reached out, gently touching his hand with my fingers. He turned and gripped my hand in his, the sudden motion causing a squeak to escape my throat

"Mira, do you realise what this place is?" I looked around again, eyes lingering on the plants while I shook my head "it's the agriculture sector!" my head whipped back to his, a frown pulling at my brows

"But...wasn't this place sealed off before we were born?" Krane nodded

"But no one knew why"

"it was because of the sickness" I muttered, Krane's sudden shift in attitude unsettling

"Do you see any sickness?" I looked at the greenery again

"I mean...it doesn't look sick"

"Not the plants Mira, the people?" I was so confused, looking around the cold, dark and very empty hallway

"There are no people here Krane" he let out a bark of laughter, letting my hand go

"exactly! How can there be a sickness if there are no people?" he was starting to scare me. Krane had always been curious as to why this district had been quarantined and closed off, but the thriving plants weren't a detailed explanation either

"It's been a long time Krane, with no access to food and water, don't you think they would have died?" I know I sounded a little dumb, but what he was saying didn't add up to what I was seeing. He frowned in frustration.

"No I get that, but don't you think there would be bodies in this building if they had died from being sick? We were told it was fast, killing people instantly in some cases, so wouldn't there be evidence where we stand right now if that were true?" his words kind of made sense, but I didn't remember anything past four years ago, in my case it made even less sense. I opened my mouth to reply when a scuttle sound came from the dark hallway behind me.

I spun around, Krane stepping closer and gripping my arm out of protection. We both strained our eyes, trying to see past the gloom while the little hairs on the back of my neck started to stand on end again. Another scuttle sounded from the hallway to my right in the direction we had been heading, both of us spinning around and taking a step backwards towards the room full of green.

My heart was thumping wildly against my chest, ears ringing as I strained to hear any other noises apart from the blood pounding in my ears. I felt Krane shift so he was slightly in front of me, as if trying to shield me. I was about to speak when another sound drifted down the hallway, chilling me to the bone and causing fear to freeze the blood in my veins. It was an unearthly scream, twisted between a human, an animal and metal squealing. I felt the blood drain from my face, not knowing what to do

I let out a scream as something gripped my arm, tugging me back the way we came. When my eyes spun around, locking with his unusually bright blue ones my heart skipped a beat and started back up again. Krane pulled me back behind him, face a mixture of rage and protectiveness, but Calian didn't let my arm go.

I would have smiled at seeing Calian again, but the horror and dread that covered his face made my gut twist in the worst way possible. His eyes flicked from me to Krane, his single word causing my panic to rise as more of those unearthly screams filled the air

"Run!"