Souls Below

Chapter Three

Jerard stared at the items on the table, his emotions obviously trying to overwhelm the large man. The gloves Jerard owned had worn through months ago, but he didn't have the trade value to get new ones. I found out his birthday last year from Manes, the blacksmith down the road that was close with Jerard.

We sat in silence, Jerad's eyes welling with tears as he gripped the gloves and apple. Manes explained that he hadn't celebrated his birthday since his daughter had died.

Slowly he pulled out his knife and cut up the apple in silence, handing a piece to me. Joy shot through my body, I had never tried an apple. All fresh fruit had stopped being supplied years ago but no one knew why. Many Lowers just blamed the Uppers for being greedy and wanting it all to themselves. I accepted a piece, sniffing it slightly before popping it in my mouth.

An audible moan left my throat as the flavour and juice filled my mouth. It was like nothing I've had before, just the right amount of sweet and bitter, enough firmness to give a crunch, and yet it almost melted in my mouth. I looked hopefully at Jerard when I was finished. He handed over another portion with a chuckle, the biggest smile on his face as he enjoyed the moment.

"I didn't think I would taste another apple again. Growing trees down here is practically impossible, the technology to grow them in the dark lost to the decay and destruction of the agriculture sector. And they long since stopped sending them from above"

"Guess the Uppers really are greedy" I mumbled angrily. Jerard paused for a moment and regarded me

"Not all is as it seems Mira. We don't know what happens above, anymore then they might know what happens below" I scoffed at his statement "From what we under-" there was a loud pounding on the front door, interrupting Jerard. We both turned in the direction, a few moments passing with hope they would leave. No one visited Jerard while he was at home unless it was an emergency, all his meetings happened in the shop or Office down stairs.

Jerard gave me a sideways glance, about to speak when the pounding came again, this time a angry voice accompanied it

"Jerard Chainmaster, open at once to the Capital Guard" I supressed another scoff. The Capital guard. A fancy name the Uppers gave them to feel special, but that didn't mean they cared what we called them. My eyes widened in fear, Jerard turning back and motioning me to hide quietly. I stood and quickly made my way upstairs, Jerard walking down the hall towards the front door, shouting that he was coming.

I slipped into my room, grabbed my work suit and shoes, before grabbing out a pre-packed bag from the cupboard. Emergency supplies if I needed an escape. If I did need to get out, I was to head to the pipes and lay low for a while. I could hear Jerard talking to the men, I silently stood beside my bedroom door and opened it a c***k, hoping to hear the conversation

"...Commotion at the trade market" the guard was saying

"Yeah, there was apparently an Upper sighting trying to steal from one of the stall holders. Strange occurrence really, but not surprising if its an Upper" Jerard replied, his voice easier to hear "I do hope we can trust in the capital guard to apprehend the suspect before any further damage is caused, you lads are so good at your job" Jerard said smoothly. There was a long pause before a small amount of shuffling and then retreating footsteps

I heard the guard speak again, but could only make out snippets of the conversation

"Look Jerard, there ... rumours about a girl with ... ID tag in the makers district. Your dist....don't need anymore trouble ... stirred up, if you hear ... report to me, I know you have eyes and ears ... the city" there was another long pause. I held my breath, straining my ears to hear more

"last I heard of a girl with no tags was found almost four years ago, some lot of rebels got their hands on her"

"Do I need to remin-"

"Craigen, the only thing you need to remind me of is when you lot are doin' your rounds, that way I can keep my people in line, so you can keep your people in line" Jerard's stern voice seemed to silence the guard. I heard a goodbye before the front door was closed. My heart pounded against my chest; what did Jerard mean by that?

Heavy footfalls of the guards leaving pounded down the stairs and onto the street. I climbed onto my bed and peered out the window, catching a glimpse of the group as they turned a corner and left.

I slumped back, heart still pounding. They knew about me? No, they said rumours, which meant no one had indicated it was me. Not that many knew. And Jerard would probably murder the one that gave that information away

Jerard's heavy footsteps echoed up the hallway, pausing outside my room for a moment before he opened it. He just stood there, hand on the door handle. I knew that look, he was worried about the rumours that were still circulating

"Lay low. Work and home. Until the Upper is caught we can't afford you to be out in the open" I swallowed; this was serious. I had never seen the guards so intent on finding someone. He must have done something really terrible. I nodded in response and Jerard left.

I put my stuff away and lay on the bed, staring out the window to the city, lights blinking and constant steam rising from somewhere. I sighed. This was going to be a boring few weeks.

~*~

A few days passed and the guards didn't visit us again. However there were more present within the city then normal, some of them wearing newer and flashier uniforms and tech, meaning they still hadn't found the Upper. My dreams had also become more...turbulent. Strange cities filled with plants, tall beams holding up higher levels that teemed with people. Sometimes I felt like I was falling, or spinning, the two blending together I couldn't tell up from down. People shouting things I couldn't hear and a name being called I didn't understand.

I kept these to myself. I'd had strange dreams before, not long after Jerard found me, both thinking it was pieces of my memory coming back. But after a while they became less frequent and clear, until they stopped altogether. I didn't want to worry Jerard further, he seemed to have enough to deal with.

Some part of me felt like they were connected to the Upper though.

I did as Jerard had asked. Work and then home. For five boring, long days. No detours, no adventures, no wondering off. I just hoped Krane, my only friend in this grey city, would visit soon, having someone to keep me occupied was better than staring at the same four walls every day on my own.

I had just finished my shift in the water pipeline, a section had started to rust which meant paperwork. I headed to the office, dragging my feet thinking about being cooped up in the house for who knows how long. I let out an irritated sigh. Jerard had been getting a lot of visitors lately, and many meetings happening in his office, but despite my asking, and begging, he still refused to let me attend.

I approached the office building created for maintenance logs and issues throughout the city, the doors giving a small squealing hiss as they opened. Majority of my work didn't require any interactions with other people, but when an issue arose that could potentially cause a collapse, paperwork had to be submitted to request new materials from above.

Old woman Merla sat behind an old and worn desk, the cracked glasses that sat on her face slowly sliding down her nose. Great. Nobody liked Old woman Merla, and she didn't like anyone either. Of course it was my luck to get her now.

I walked up and stood in front of the desk, waiting patiently for her to acknowledge my existence. I watched as she slowly grabbed a document from the left, scan it with her beady eyes, slowly stamp the bottom before sliding it to the pile on her right. Those beady eyes flicked to my figure for a brief moment before grabbing another document, slowly scanning it again until slowly signing the bottom.

I was going to be here all night at this rate.

After the paper reached the pile to her right Old woman Merla clasped her wrinkly hands in front of her on the desk and stared at me over her cracked glasses, those beady eyes sitting in a face that looked as if it were melting

"Next" her high and dronie voice caused me to crib,ge. I stepped forward and handed the paperwork, watching as she painfully, and of course slowly, went over the report "New pipework?" I cringed again

"Yeah, the large rust spot that was sealed last year has rusted through the patch. It will need a new section to stop it spreading" I had been working on the pipes long enough now to know when to patch, and when to replace

"Just patch it like last year" she went to hand back the paperwork "next!" She screeched, I quickly glanced behind and saw there was no one else

"We can't, the area is to big for a another patch" I argued. I was not going to be responsible for a bust waterline

"we don't have the resources for a new section" I resisted the urge to roll my eyes

"That's why my paperwork is a request for a new section. From the Uppers" I replied through gritted teeth. Old women Merla frowned before quickly looking at the papers again "if you want to refuse it then fine, just sign and state it was your refusal. So when the pipe bursts, it is you they can question, not me" her eyes went wide, flicking to me as fear replaced the snooty attitude

"Oh...ahhh, yes, right. That would be a big disaster we don't need now, 'ey" the nervous laugh made me smile slightly. No one wanted to be blamed for a breakage that ultimately effected the Uppers exponentially.

She stamped and signed the documents before thrusting them back at me "just take them to the chute there in the corner, tuck it in the little cloth pounch and insert it into the metal tube. Once you close the door it will be sucked up for the Uppers office to review" the old women instructed. I gave a small smile and did as instructed, watching in awe as the little pouch went flying upwards and out of sight.

I briefly looked back at Old Woman Merla, how her pale and wrinkly skin hung on her thin frame hunched over the paperwork on her desk. She looked like many of the elders that lived down here, frail and sickly.

She burst into a coughing fit, body shaking from the effort as her glasses slipped from her face to clatter into the desk. A few moments passed before she righted herself, breathing heavily and hands shaking as she picked up her glasses and slid them back onto her nose.

This was the normal. To often the young die from starvation, and the old died from sickness. While the ones in the middle worked until they died of exhaustion, faulty machinery, or poor life decisions which usually involved dodgy drugs.

No one was safe down here.

I left the building to return home, pausing briefly to look upwards, something I did often when I felt slightly lost. The roof of the city was visible at this time of day. I wonder if we could ever open that roof, allow light and fresh air into this dying and decaying city? Would it save the lowers? Or descend it all into chaos?

I felt a slight brush on my arm, causing me to let out a small squeak and jump sideways. The laugh that followed was all to familiar and I turned my annoyed eyes to the young man, his almost white hair standing out against the dim city.

"Day dreaming again Amira?" I gave him the finger

"At least I have a brain to daydream Krane" the young man feigned shock

"Always so feisty" he nudged me with his elbow, falling into step beside me as we made our way back to mine

"you finished in the filtration plant? I thought you'd be gone another week?"

"Pa said we needed to head home early. Just as we were leaving the slugs came in and set up a quarantine area" I glanced up at my friend. He called the guards slugs, mainly for the reaction it received when called to their faces. But the quarantine was alarming

"The sickness is in the mech section? Why are we only hearing of it now?" The sickness wiped out almost everyone in the old quarter, hence it being sealed and access prohibited. From bits I could gather, it was something similar that had destroyed the agriculture sector as well. Krane shrugged

"We had been there for three weeks working on the filtration pumps. It's become a real issue, many need replacing, they almost as bad if we didn't clean them at all. But we haven't been given clearance for new ones" an angry look crossed his face

"So how close did you come to getting a good beating?" I teased. A smile tugged at my friends mouth. With the way he tested the patience of the guards, I was surprised he came back without any marks at all

"Close enough to nick this" a small, thin, and rectangle object appeared in my vision, the little holographic strip catching the light from the buildings around us. I felt my jaw drop, a small gasp escaping as my fingers snatched the card from his

"You got one? How did they not realise?" Krane shrugged

"I'm guessing with the quarantine mess they were to preoccupied" I flipped it over, running my finger over the strange little symbols that seemed to be pressed into the card. It was what the guards called a P.I.P, Personal Identification Pass, it allowed all the elites to go wherever they pleased in the Lower City.

Krane and I had come across an area near the old quarter that was sealed. After many attempts at trying to break in we discovered it had a P.I.P reader, which meant the only way to get inside, was to get our hands on one of these. We had been trying for almost a year.

"Wanna check if it works?" excitement swirled in my chest as I looked at Krane, eyes fiery at the thought of an adventure. But then Jerard's promise drifted back to my ears and my stomach sank; if I went back on my word now, he wouldn't trust me on my own again. I let out a sigh

"Can't" I made a face "I promised no adventures or detours" Krane raised his eyebrows at that. I was never one to turn down discovering something new

"Jerard imposed a curfew? And you agreed?" I made another face at my friend

"He's on edge. Whole city is. While you've been on holiday lazing about..." Krane flipped me the middle finger "...an Upper was sighted at the trade market on ration day" Krane looked as if he had been slapped "As far as I know, he hasn't been caught. Guards have doubled and anyone caught out at night gets ID'd" my friend just stared at me, blinking as that information sunk in. Him and his dad were the only other two that knew about my missing ID, so they knew what it meant if I was caught.

"Why would an Upper come down here willingly? better yet, why would they stay?" I shrugged, not telling about what I had witnessed at the trade market

"Sometimes Uppers get kicked out from snooty town, we don't know why" I sniffed, staring at the ground as we walked

"Yeah, but they don't get the whole Lower City of Slugs looking for them. Whoever he is, he was not meant to be down here. Must be someone important" I shrugged again, the boys ice blue eyes coming to mind. They had been striking, standing out against his dark skin and lingering in my thoughts since that day. My eyes drifted upward again, thoughts of what the Upper City looked like drifted back.

I wonder what his home was like? Was is small like Jerard's? Or did he live in a house that was so large you could get lost? Were the angry rumours that circulated the city that were whispered harshly behind withered hands true?

"Hey, bubble brain, come back to the sad metal city" Krane waved his hand in front of my face, snapping me from my internal thoughts. I glared at him for the insult "You drift off to often thinking of up there" my friend shrugged

"I just wonder what we could do for this city if we had access to above" I mumbled, shoving my hands into my pockets as my cheeks burned with shame. I did think of the Uppers often, and although I knew wanting a better life was a fantasy that would never come true, I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like

"Nothing good comes from above, down here we rely on our own" Krane gave a small nudge with his shoulder "Besides, Uppers don't have jokes, you'd be bored within a week with all that proper talk" I glanced up at him, eyebrow raised

"It'd feel like paradise not being insulted on a daily basis. Even if they didn't have jokes, it'd still be funnier than you" I pranced away as Krane swatted in my direction, a laugh slipping from my mouth as we raced down the street together, wind whipping my hair about. It had been a long time since I had felt happy, let along laugh freely. I always felt such a heavy weight on my chest knowing any minute I could be discovered by the guards, Jerard would be punished and anyone who knew would be dragged away.

But with Krane, everything felt easy. He helped ease the anxiety of what could happen, and replaced it with making the most of the time I had now. He was my friend. My only friend. While Jerard was my father figure, Krane was my lifeline and anchor; without him I felt like I would drown.

Even though I didn't remember my life before, part of me believed we would have ended up as friends regardless, drawn together in a way we couldn't explain. As long as I had him by my side, I felt like I could conquer the world.