Kimber

by L K Hingey

  “Well, if humans have such a treacherous streak, then so do Auroreans. You sure they won’t want to start a new life up top?” Caleb asked with an eyebrow raised. He was not asking maliciously; he was simply fighting fire with fire.

  Kimber bit her lip and looked away. She was at a loss for words. She had not considered what she would do if the Auroras voted to transition to a life above the caves.

  Caleb’s eyes softened and he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “If it comes to a boycott, I think the council’s ban on interspecies mixing will be the least of our worries,” he said sadly.

  Kimber’s eyes flicked back to his. He could see the sadness, and he finally understood. “It’s why you came to see me isn’t it? To say goodbye.” Caleb’s voice was flat. It sounded like someone had just punched him in the stomach.

  Kimber hated to see him hurt but had no words to console him. She felt as if they were two leaves carried on the underground stream, swirling, pitching, and capsizing on the bumpy waters that were driving them apart. There was nothing Kimber could do except hug him. All they were guaranteed was this time… this moment that would forever be frozen in all its beauty and all its heartbreak. And so, she did. She clung to Caleb fiercely as if it would stop the drowning sensation of her leaf being swept under.

  Caleb did the same, holding the girl whom he had loved for years, trying to convince his heart to make peace with the fact that though this was the first time, it could also very well be the last time. They did not speak. They simply clung to each other as the world around them continued its orbit. The subterranean life of the caves carried on above their waterfall haven and, above that, the sun continued incinerating the surface world.

  Nothing had changed and yet everything had. All Kimber and Caleb knew, and were agreeing upon in their silent rapture, was that their time together had been worth the pain they would come to bear. Neither of them knew what the future would hold, but at least they had had today. Kimber’s eyes were open, staring out across the pool she had come to grow so fond of, as she fought the tide of panic rising in her soul.

  She forced her consciousness to become consumed by Caleb’s heartbeat, attempting to fully live in the moment. Caleb had his eyes shut and was holding her tightly, one hand pressing her head into his chest as if trying to shield her. Neither of them tried to speak. They stayed locked in each other’s arms until they lost track of time, both trying to relinquish the delusion of control that they, until recently, had managed to cling to regarding the direction of their lives.

  A quiet beeping in Caleb’s watch brought them back to the present. The noise indicated that it was 2:00 P.M. Kimber growled at the watch, but it had already done its damage. They were both aware that they should be starting to head back. “You sure this isn’t a dream and we can’t just stay down here forever?” Caleb asked softly, letting his hand fall from her head.

  “I wish,” she whispered.

  Kimber looked up at him and tried to smile. “We can make this our escape. No matter what happens, this can be our secret garden.” Caleb cupped her chin in his large hands returning her half-hearted smile.

  “Our secret garden,” he agreed quietly, caressing her cheekbone with a thumb. He bent down and kissed her delicately on the forehead before stepping away. As he did, he reached for her hand and squared them off towards the exit.

  Kimber had been getting more and more comfortable with his touch, but the heat from his lips still sent shivers down her body. She let Caleb lead her to the staircase, both glancing back at the beauty of the chamber one last time. The waterfall shimmering in the dancing lights, the glowing water bubbling in time to the wind chimes, and the greenery warmly illuminated by the fire bowls, still looked as peaceful and new as it had hours before.

  Kimber’s eyes did spot one thing that was out of place. The discarded piece of jerky lay abandoned near the cavern wall. She broke away from Caleb and hurried to scoop it up. Kimber had no idea what would happen if the council knew that citizens were frequenting this place, but the idea of losing their garden was too much to handle. Safely stowed in her pouch, she returned to Caleb who was nodding appreciatively.

  Without a word, she followed him up the staircase. She suddenly felt tired. As if she had aged considerably in these short couple of days. Caleb too, was moving slowly. They all but had to force themselves to pass through the narrow opening at the top. The act of leaving felt like crossing a physical barrier, as painful as it was unavoidable.

  They walked hand in hand, lost in thought. When they reached the turnoff for the shortcut back, Kimber stopped to dig in her sack for the flashlight. Gently, Caleb stopped her.

  “I’ll follow you,” he murmured. Kimber nodded in understanding and squeezed his hand.

  They disappeared into the black hole of the passageway, the darkness embodying their thoughts on the looming Inannian Address. As the pair traveled farther from the light of the opening, the blackness of the underground engulfed them. Caleb’s heart rate skyrocketed, but he said nothing. Kimber could sense his panic but knew better than to hurt him further by illuminating his discomfort. She swallowed the throbbing lump in her throat and silently pressed on, feeling Caleb’s agony sevenfold.

  The absence of light in the caves had been known to drive men mad, the poor souls claiming in unnervingly similar crazed raves, that absolute blackness possesses a tangible, crushing weight. Caleb himself felt as if some phantom leviathan of the shadows had slithered in and wound itself around his neck, constricting his lungs and heart. The pain was strangely welcome, and Caleb made no request for the flashlight. Deep down, he knew that no amount of artificial light could brighten the sadness that was eclipsing his heart.

  Chapter VII

  When Kimber got back to the female Aurorean den, she was greeted by a buzz of chatter and tension. All the Auroras knew that today could be a turning point in their lives and the talk was heavy on everyone’s lips. Some of the girls were more vocal than others and were loudly voicing their opinions. The whole chamber was a flurry of color: reds, blues, greens, oranges, yellows, and even purples danced about anxiously.

  Kimber tried not to engage anyone. She was too drained to attempt to be social. All she wanted to do was to curl up and recharge until the address. She kept her head down and tried to weave as quietly as she could through the maze of beds. She had almost managed to get to her bunk without anyone noticing her, when she heard a familiar voice call her name. Kimber groaned with exhaustion but could not help but smile. She always had time for Naomi.

  Kimber turned around to see the Aurorean girl hurrying towards her. She was an incredibly vibrant teal color and had serious dark blue eyes with shiny brunette hair. She was the most curvaceous of the Auroras and had a quick-witted sarcastic side, which matched her ample curves, that only surfaced once you got to know her. Until you did, she was a sweet and reserved girl who preferred the intimacy of quiet conversation over rowdy groups.

  “Naomi!” Kimber said happily as her friend drew closer.

  “What in the world have you been up to? You look terrible!” Naomi was evaluating Kimber up and down clucking like a mother. “Must be your shed. Rough one huh?”

  Kimber rolled her eyes. “Hello to you too.”

  “Uh-huh,” Naomi continued preening over Kimber, “I can hardly even see a trace of shed on you. Means you skipped out on today on purpose, you little minx. You missed a good lesson too. Susanne went into depth about alternative ways to purify water.”

  “Oh, very exciting,” Kimber said sarcastically, turning back around towards her bunk. She knew Naomi would follow and would keep chattering as she did.

  “It was exciting. If your nose wasn’t stuck in a book at the time...” Naomi puffed. She was slightly out of breath from trying to talk and go uphill at the same time. Kimber cut her off by casting a shy smile over her shoulder.

  “Ooo!” Naomi squeaked. “You were up to something other than the library?” Under her breath she added, “About time.
” With a sideways grin, she continued her trek up the steep incline towards Kimber’s catacomb.

  “Shhh! Before all of Inanna hears you,” Kimber hissed backwards.

  “Hears what?” came another female voice.

  Kimber wanted to bury her head in her blankets and pretend like this was not happening. “Hi Raquel,” Kimber greeted a purplish-blue Aurora who was striding towards them.

  “Hears what?” Raquel asked again with a hand on her hip. Kimber groaned even deeper and massaged her temples. All she wanted was a few minutes of quiet. Raquel, ever more bossy than Naomi, was sure to not let that happen.

  Raquel was a beautiful Aurora with an athletic build, similar to Kimber. Although she was only slightly taller than Kimber, her personality made her feel like she occupied much more space than she did. She loved to laugh, loved to gossip, and loved to be at the center of attention. But Raquel also loved her sisters, fiercely, and so had claimed a spot in Kimber’s heart long ago. Raquel linked arms with Naomi and pulled her up into Kimber’s area.

  “Girls, I’m-” Kimber started to speak but was hushed by the sound of two additional pairs of footsteps approaching from the path that led down to the water basins.

  “You all throw a party up here and don’t invite us, eh?” accused the shorter of the two girls as she climbed onto Kimber’s bed. Her name was Renee, and she had sparkling brown eyes and brown hair. Her scales were a deep emerald green, and she had a distinctive smile, one that was in perpetual speculation. Renee was good-natured until her temper got the better of her. Had she been born with even a hint of red in her hair, Kimber would have been certain she had descended from the Irish.

  The taller of the two girls who had walked up did not say anything. Instead she just ran up to Kimber and hugged her. She wasn’t taller than just Kimber; she towered above most of the female Auroras. She had long blonde hair, an incredibly silly sense of humor, and dark blue eyes magnified by a pair of glasses which matched her dark blue body. Kimber’s heart melted with Katherine’s hug and with a sigh, she gave up on the hope of getting any time to herself.

  “How was the surface today, Kat?” Kimber asked Katherine as the tall girl peeled away and dove into the bed, climbing in behind Renee. Kimber plopped down on the ground and leaned against the bed. As if on cue, Renee reached down and started playing with Kimber’s hair.

  “Kind of pointless. We went up there and did exactly what we are doing now... we sat around gossiping about the council,” Kat said with a shrug.

  Raquel, who was standing up leaning against the catacomb’s spidery outlines, pursed her lips matter-of-factly and retorted, “We didn’t do nothing all day. We made some plans of action. You know... in case.”

  “In case what? In case we vote you off the island?” Naomi countered quickly. She had been standing next to Raquel and earned herself a jab to the rib cage.

  Raquel smiled. “You’ll see. We needed a plan, and now at least we have something.”

  “Plans are good,” Kimber said dreamily. Renee’s nails felt exceptionally good on her scalp after the day’s events. “So, what did you all come up with?” Kimber leaned her head back and shut her eyes, grabbing one of Renee’s hands and giving a quick squeeze. She could feel Renee smile and Kimber went quiet, letting her sisters continue the conversation, hoping to tune them out.

  “Well, first,” started Raquel, “we need to present a unified front. It’s important that the council take us seriously, as one entity. And second, we need to start putting a foot down against all the new demands they keep adding every year. And third... we want a spot on the council.” Kimber’s eyes fluttered open briefly, and she closed them again.

  “Sounds like you plan to drive a hard bargain,” Kimber said distantly. She doubted the council would even consider this demand.

  “We’re not going to request it goes into effect right away, obviously. But maybe we can agree on a coming-of-age or something. I don’t know. Thirty might be good…” Raquel was speaking loftily, caught up like usual in her own views of what was right and wrong.

  The other girls looked at each other with less hope. Kimber lazily added a “Hmm,” to the mix which only incited Raquel.

  “What does ‘hmm’ even mean?” Raquel demanded.

  “It means, that Kimber spent the day with a boy,” Naomi said with a giggle.

  “Naomiiii,” Kimber whined, still refusing to open her eyes. She heard Kat and Renee perk up. Not only did they all know and share most everything about their lives, but they were, like Kimber, over-saturated with the drama and stress of the coming address. Any bit of fun was welcome news and the air was suddenly thick with anticipation.

  Kimber felt all eight eyes on her, and she squinted one eye open. She could see them all waiting on pins and needles and she sighed, rolling her crystal blue eyes with a smile. “Fine. Yes. I spent the day with a male.”

  “Oooh,” Kat cut in. “He’s not even a boy. He must be a man,” she said in a mockingly deep voice. They all laughed and waited impatiently for more details to be divulged.

  “None of the surface males were missing,” Raquel interjected smartly, beginning the group’s quest to find out which Aurora Kimber had been spending secret time with.

  “None of the boys from class were missing either...” Renee said slowly, a crooked smile playing on her lips. Their eyes went wide in unison.

  “This is way juicier than I thought,” Naomi exclaimed. “You were with that human boy Caleb, and don’t even try to say you weren’t!”

  “NA-OMI!” Kimber groaned, laughing and covering her face with her hands. “And he’s not a ‘human boy.’ He is a man. A smart, strong, good man.” Kimber was speaking upwards to the group earnestly.

  “Told you,” Kat giggled.

  “Help me out Renee, what do you think?” Kimber pleaded, looking upside down at Renee.

  “I think it sounds wonderful, darling. A little risky maybe. But I’m sure he is a perfect gentleman,” Renee replied in her slow speculative way.

  “Risky is right. Sneaking off with a human!” Raquel interrupted. “And today of all days. What were you thinking?” Then she paused and added with a sparkle of mischief in her eye, “Was it at least a good date?”

  Kimber laughed. “Yes. It was a good date. And yes, I’m sure to your majesties’ disappointments, he was a perfect gentleman.” Kimber bowed in her seat.

  “Bor-ing,” said Katherine. “Come on, tell us some of the good parts!” she insisted.

  Kimber grinned as she started to launch into how luxuriously warm his human skin was. But just as she did, the chimes started to ring. Four loud clear notes echoed throughout the upper caves telling everyone to start shuffling into the Rotunda. The five girls pouted in unison; the world was always cutting them short.

  Renee and Katherine crawled off the bed and out of the catacomb. Renee stooped down quickly to hug Kimber, whispering into her ear, “Hope he didn’t catch a cold in the pools!” Kimber’s eyes went wide. “Your hair dear,” Renee grinned impishly. Kimber laughed and grabbed the pillow off the bed and swung it at Renee. She was right; the roots of Kimber’s hair were still damp. Renee caught the pillow and tossed it back up on the bed.

  The emerald Aurora and the dark blue Aurora sighed and sulked down the path to wait at the entrance. Raquel waved a quick goodbye and dashed down to the basins to check herself in the mirrors. Suddenly it was quiet again. Naomi walked over to Kimber and extended her hand, heaving her tired friend onto her feet.

  “You are still on the hook to tell me the details after this shindig is over, you know that, right?” she told Kimber.

  Kimber’s eyes twinkled. “I don’t think I have much of a choice, do I?” she said looking at her plump teal friend.

  “Not even a little,” Naomi replied with her sweet smile.

  They walked together to join the group at the mouth of the chamber. The twelve female Auroras were gathering like they had when the day began, only now the mood had changed, and their chatte
r was shrouded in apprehension. Mariam, Tegan, and Brie were talking in hushed voices to Kat and Renee, and they all turned to greet Kimber and Naomi with anxious smiles. Adelaide, Tauren, and Hanna ran up together, and behind them came Eve and Raquel.

  The group of male Auroras walked down the path towards the female chamber. A distinct weight hovered on their shoulders as the two groups merged and little more than nods were exchanged. There were eleven male Auroras in total, and they looked as fierce, unique, and frankly as beautiful, as the females. Even though Kimber knew how patient and kind they were, she couldn’t help but to think that if she were human, she would not want to anger the group... male or female.

  Zaak, with his characteristic barrel chest, stood tallest of the group at roughly 6’5”. He was yellow in color with a spotted black pattern. Most of the males sported patterns, stripes, or color blotches, which differed from the girls’ more uniform, but also more vibrant, colorations. As the two groups melded into one, the blues, greens, teals, purples, yellows, reds, and fiery oranges mixed with the intricate patterns of black, brown, and grey.

  Zaak may have been the strongest of the males, but he was not the spokesman of their group. Aaron, one of Zaak’s closest friends, always seemed to drive the conversation. He was an intelligent and outspoken young man, who was as quick to temper as he was quick to be in the spotlight. His body was dark green with a light-brown speckled pattern accented by a lighter green chest. Kimber liked both Aaron and Zaak, but she was way too drained to compete with their energy right now, and she steered clear of the pair.

  Two of the males were talking softly apart from the group, leaning against the wall of the passageway. Jameson and Hunter smiled as she walked up, and she greeted them like brothers. Jameson was a gentle soul with big sparkling brown eyes. He was tall and solidly built, brown in color with bands of bright yellow. Hunter, on the other hand, was a slender male of medium green with dark green stripes traveling vertically up and down his skin, instead of the more common horizontal pattern. He spoke with an endearing lisp so faint one may think they were imagining it and had one of the biggest smiles Kimber had ever seen.