“We didn’t know we were trespassing,” I responded.
Suddenly the sounds of multiple bodies shuffling on the pavement filled the air. Crawlers were coming, attracted by our voices. Soon the entire street would be swarming with the undead.
“Take them to Mahin.” The woman commanded, turning away.
“Wait! We—” I started saying, but one of the women touched Victor’s neck and he dropped to the ground, caught at the very last moment by one of the males.
“Don’t touch him!” I shouted.
The sharp point of the spear pressed against my back.
“Drop your weapon!” The woman hissed behind me. She took my sword and the knife I had attached to my belt. She roughly pushed me forward and yelled, “Move!”
I watched two men drag Victor toward a high rise building with looted storefronts.
“Where are you taking him?” I clenched my teeth, following the others.
I kept my eyes locked on the strangers who wore jewelry on their ankles and wrists, flowy tunics and woven, straw colored sandals, so impractical and out of place in the wastelands.
It was my fault. I put both of us in danger because I lost the bag Alina gave me. If we had that bag, we would be on our way to Darragh right now. So stupid.
Suddenly, Victor disappeared from the view and I panicked.
“Don’t stop!” The same hateful woman raised her voice and I bared my teeth.
We entered one of the shops and crossed to the second room stepping over torn papers and chunks of dry wood. The sound of the crawlers being pushed back came from the street. The undead mob finally made its way to the opening and tried to get through the doors. I looked straight ahead, thinking about my sword and how unsafe I felt without its reassuring weight in the palm of my hand. None of the newcomers appeared threatened by the crawlers, as if they were used to their constant presence. Then we crossed a dark, narrow corridor. At last, we entered a tiny storage room that was probably emptied many years ago. There was nothing there, only bare shelves and an opening in the floor. The opening appeared to be attached to a heavy steel door with reinforced hinges.
“What is this?” I whispered, watching the newcomers disappearing below ground into the pitch black pit.
“Get in!” The familiar spear poked me between my shoulder blades.
I lowered myself to the ground and carefully searched for the stairs. Just as I expected, there were metal handles that stretched all the way down on one side. I could see nothingbelow where the light could not reach into the shaft. Just darkness.
“Where’s Victor?” I looked up.
“Move!” The spear appeared right in front of my face.
I looked past it, right into the face of the woman. Her dark eyes locked with mine. I could easily overpower her, but not all of them.
I sat on the edge, swinging my feet into the hole. The woman with the spear was still holding it close to my head when I stepped on the metal bar. I balanced on the ladder for a moment, then started making my way down. Some time later, the clang of metal on metal rang through the tunnel. Overhead, tiny bright dots flickered and quickly disappeared. I had not realized before that there are different depths of darkness.
After multiple hands handling the rungs, the metal was too slippery, so I overcompensated, gripping the bars as if my life depended on it. I could hear people climbing right below me, and several times when my foot slipped, I accidentally kicked someone.
As we descended lower, the scents of metal and sweat changed into something more aromatic. It smelled like herbs and flowers. When my foot finally touched solid ground, I bit my lip, fighting the numbness in my hands. I could finally see some faint light.
I moved with my hands outstretched in front of me. Suddenly I brushed someone’s back.
“Do not touch what is not yours!” A voice hissed in the darkness.
I had so many replies to that, but I forced my lips to stay shut.
I matched my steps with those around me as we continued down the near pitch black hole. Suddenly, a cool blue light brightened the space. My eyes landed on a small, glowing orb attached to the wall and I moved closer. Inside the round piece of glass were growing plants and several shimmering insects that produced enough light to illuminate the hall. The walls around me were made out of something that looked like clay, with soft, well polished edges that had to have been made by the water that flowed over the rock.
“What is this place?” I whispered, addressing no one.
The already familiar woman with the spear appeared in front of me. I gritted my teeth and followed the others.
After a long walk through multiple tunnels, we entered a spacious room full of people. I looked up, noticing strips of natural light shining down from an opening in the rocks. The space was filled with bright sunlight coming from the outside. Just below the ceiling were sturdy, woven nets that prevented entry from above. Were the nets meant to catch the crawlers?
