by L K Hingey
It was Tristan who broke the stillness. He had been watching Kimber from his seat and had heard enough. Silently, he stood and raised his arms above his hazel head. Without a word, he crossed his wrists in front of his forehead as he dropped to one knee, his head bent in a slight bow. The Auroreans watched and one by one, stood and followed suit with Tristan. Kimber was the last to stand. A lump welled in her throat as she gazed out at the now slightly risen tide of color. She stood, turning her gaze out towards the humans of Inanna.
Kimber paused for half a heartbeat, searching frantically for Caleb’s face. When she spotted him, they locked eyes. For a moment, they were no longer two people in the same quiet underground room but were two souls on different ships, passing each other in the unexpected calm of the eye of a storm. Beyond their fleeting respite from the chaos and waves, the storm raged and howled, and the eye could not endure. Caleb did not stand, he took no knee, and he could make no sound. Kimber nodded and took a knee, crossing her arms above her head.
Chapter IX
The twenty-three Auroras were a stunning sight. Their colors seemed more vibrant than before as the firelight bounced off their shimmering scales. They looked fierce, humble, and united. A gasp echoed through the chamber. The Auroras looked up to see the Mothers also crossing their arms. They did not stand or kneel on one knee; they remained seated as they had been before, their heads now risen to gaze with pride over their sons and daughters.
The cavern stared at the Mothers, the Mothers’ children, and the council, dumfounded. Not even Dr. Quinn knew what to say. A murmur broke out in the throng of citizens rising into a steady hum of confusion. Above the buzz, a voice rang out from the center of the Mothers. It was Eve’s mother, Marisol. Her voice rose clear and true above the din, and the council did not have time to stop her before her brief message was delivered.
“The rakshasa’s real name is fear. His delight is to twist the well-intended mind of man and then to feast upon his exploited heart. Should the demon’s shadow fall, look to the messenger. At the point of severity, you will find help in the darkness.”
The cavern fell silent again. The seated council members shared a look of bewilderment with the crowd. None of the Auroras understood the message, except one. A timer started to tick deep in Kimber’s soul, and it was all she could do to not bolt out of the room. She knew it would not take long for others to decipher the message, but for a small window of time, it was hers and hers alone. She knew where she had to go and that she had to get there fast.
Kimber saw Tristan cock his head in her direction. She got the impression that he was looking for a sign if she had understood Marisol or not. Kimber nodded discretely. Dr. Quinn grasped at some semblance of control, wiping the annoyance off his face and replacing it with a grand smile. The Auroras turned to look up at him.
“Fellow citizens, fellow Auroreans, fellow friends...” Quinn bowed slightly towards the Auroras, and then the Mothers, before continuing. “What an eventful Inannian address! We do not need to be at odds with each other. We are seeking the same things. Happiness, unity, preservation-”
“Aaron, you can take it from here,” Tristan cut in abruptly and stood up. “Zaak, Jordan, Raquel, Eve, Kimber, come with me.” Tristan’s eyes remained on Dr. Quinn as he spoke, his calm voice never wavering nor rising. He smiled curtly at the councilman and bowed, clearly mocking the man on stage. Tristan turned and started towards the exit, without looking at Kimber or the others.
Kimber, Eve, and Raquel glanced at each other. They rose and followed Tristan, nodding as they passed Zaak and Jordan, who dropped in behind. None of them turned to look at the councilman. As they made their way towards the exit, Kimber could feel every eye in the cavern burning into their backs. Tristan waited for them at the exit and nodded Raquel and Eve forward.
He dropped into step next to Kimber and whispered, “Don’t look back and don’t slow down. Is there somewhere you need to go before we head to the surface?”
“Yes,” Kimber replied. Where she had to go was not where she wanted to go; what she wanted more than anything was to run straight to the chamber of the Mothers. In her heart though, Kimber knew she wouldn’t be able to protect her mother.
“Alright,” Tristan said. “Let me know when we turn off. I’m going with you.” Tristan dropped back to Zaak and Jordan. He spoke with them for a few seconds before rejoining Kimber.
“We turn here,” Kimber said when they came upon the tributary snaking towards the records room.
“We’ll meet you up there. Zaak, Jordan, watch Eve closely. No one gets near her. You guys know where the rendezvous point is.” Tristan spoke tersely, but when he touched Kimber’s elbow to steer her towards the smaller passageway, his touch was feather light. Kimber watched the squad of four continue upwards.
She looked at Tristan questioningly. Had Eve been breaking the rules to go see the Mothers too? Or was there something else that Kimber did not know about? Maybe Tristan and Eve were in love, and he just wanted her to be protected. Kimber’s head was splitting with too many questions to invest the energy into figuring it out. Instead, she simply gestured towards the room at the end of the tunnel and broke into a jog.
Tristan easily kept up with Kimber. Their strong legs covered the cold ground quickly and silently. Before long, they arrived at the mouth of the well-lit room and walked in. The library looked as cozy and glorious as ever. The books greeted them from the many rows of shelves and the fire bowls illuminated the murals merrily. Kimber went straight into the center of the space and laid down.
“What in Inanna are you doing?” Tristan asked, slightly dismayed.
“The demon,” Kimber replied shortly, patting the ground next to her.
Still a little unsure, Tristan laid down next to Kimber and looked up. He had seen the murals before, and he respected the artist for the time spent creating such unique artwork, but he was not in the mindset to appreciate the colors and intricacies right now.
Kimber first pointed upwards at Mushikasura, the Hindu rakshasa, “Should his shadow fall look to the messenger.” Her finger shifted to the angel Gabriel. “Gabriel was God’s messenger.”
Tristan nodded, impressed.
“Gabriel is looking up, straight towards the star of David. Can you read the star’s halo?” Kimber asked eagerly.
“Kindness, severity, harmony, perseverance, splendor, foundation, and royalty,” Tristan replied, getting excited.
“Yes! At the point of severity, which is the second point on David’s Star, you will find help in the darkness.” Their eyes followed the direction of the point and ran straight into the cross on the top of the mosque in the moon at the far right-hand side of the murals.
“Help in the darkness...” Tristan murmured, searching the glittering skies above them for the answer.
Kimber was quiet as she searched the mosque for clues. “Maybe... mmm... maybe the cross is an arrow?” Kimber rolled onto her stomach and followed an imaginary line shooting out from the top of the cross. The line led all the way down to near the floor where someone had chalked onto the wall a mouse wearing a golden collar.
“Genius!” Kimber cried out, scrambling to get up.
“What is?” Tristan jolted up and followed her awkward sprint to the wall.
“The mouse! He is the vehicle of Ganesha. Um... he is kind of like her personal helper. He is pointing out the darkness! Check this little alcove out!”
“Yeah, genius, in a crazy-person sort of way...” Tristan smiled. He knelt beside her and watched as she reached into the dark cavity. He was fascinated as she began to pull out handfuls of items. “Maybe I should have spent more of my time reading...”
Kimber smiled at him over her shoulder and felt around to make sure she had found everything. “Let’s see what all this is and then get out of here.”
Tristan nodded and helped her scoop the pile up. They brought the small armfuls to a table nearby. The tables in the room were wood and had been lacquered with so man
y coats of polyurethane over the years that they shone like plastic. The firelight reflected in the glassy surface as Kimber and Tristan evaluated their loot.
The first thing Kimber picked up to inspect was a clear plastic sleeve holding a plastic card. The card had a photo, a barcode, and the printed words Kimberly Thatcher, MD, Genetic Engineering, SL4. From the photo, her mother gazed back at Kimber from thirty years in the past, blue eyes and chestnut hair shining, wearing a confident smile that said that Dr. Thatcher would change the world. The lump returned in Kimber’s throat as she passed the access card to Tristan, who took it gently and studied it.
Tristan exchanged the card for what he had been holding, a Mammoth Cave National Park Conservation map. On the back side of the park map was a regional map that ranged from Nashville, Tennessee in the south to Louisville, Kentucky in the north. It had been carefully stowed in a plastic bag to keep moisture out and though it was worn, it was in great condition. After examining the map, Kimber and Tristan shared a knowing glance. She could tell that he was starting to suspect she would be taking a trip.
Kimber opened the map as big as it could go and then began to re-fold it, putting the regional map in the front. She followed the folds down until the map could fit back in the bag with the area from Mammoth Cave National Park to Fort Knox displayed on the top. She slid the map into the watertight bag and handed it back to Tristan. As he looked at it, gaining an idea of her intended direction, she reached down to inspect more of the items.
She picked up a multipurpose knife. It was well kept and looked like someone had recently dabbed a bit of kerosene on the hinges. Leave it to mother to think of everything, Kimber thought with a smile. In addition to a sharp main blade, the knife came equipped with pliers, scissors, two different screwdriver heads, a file, a can opener, and a saw blade. It also had a hardy clip attached. Kimber passed the knife to Tristan, making a mental note to attach a leather tether to it so she could clip it to her body without worrying about it getting lost on the surface.
Next, Kimber picked up a necklace. She held it up to the firelight and looked into a delicate glass tube. Two tiny teeth and a few tiny orange scales were encapsulated inside. Tristan leaned over, squinting into the glass tube and commented, “Yup. Genius in a crazy-person sort of way.” Kimber could not help but smile. He was teasing her, and she would have done the exact same if he had been the one to hold up a vile with his baby teeth inside.
“What can I say? I must have been a cute baby,” Kimber said, laughing quietly. “And on the functional side, I can use the necklace itself to tether the knife. Hand it over, Clyde.” Tristan passed the knife back to Kimber grinning at her reference to the old western tale. In a way, they really did feel like the bandits they used to play as children, racing around the caverns pretending they were on giant animals called horses.
As Kimber untied the worn leather loop, Tristan picked up a leather fold on the table. “Rabbit jerky. And lots of it.” Kimber peered over as she removed the glass tube from the necklace, tying the strap to the knife and then around her belt.
“Nice,” she said as she continued to work, untying a short leather hair tie from her wrist. She strung it through the glass capsule’s eyelet and onto one of the small rings on her soft leather top. The Auroras never wore loose clothing, or much clothing at all for that matter, as they were never cold and were covered in scales. The females usually wore small vests made of leather on their upper half paired with leather shorts that had a built-in skirt on the bottom.
The male Auroras dressed similarly, wearing either vests or nothing at all, paired with slightly more masculine shorts that also had leather flaps. Both sexes decorated their clothes with beads and trinkets to mark them as their own and to add some color to the dull wardrobes. Tristan gave Kimber a funny look and raised an eyebrow. “Remember the warlords we used to learn about? You know they used to... uh adorn, their clothes with human teeth too...”
Kimber looked at him in surprise. Here they were, hiding in this secret place, getting ready to run away from the only home they had ever known, and he was making jokes in his pointed dry humor.
“Well then, good thing these aren’t human teeth...” Kimber responded with a smirk and a sideways glare.
“Mm. Good point. Not my fault if I steal your knife in the night though, if you go all primal on me,” Tristan shot back, lifting his hands up in surrender. He watched her as she smiled and reached for the last item.
Wrapped in a tattered flap of leather was a handheld water purifier. It was only half a foot in length and was screwed into a plastic bottle. “This will be handy. Looks like we just fill the water bottle up and squeeze water through the nozzle,” Kimber said turning the purifier around in her hands. She passed it to Tristan to check out, and she started to gather everything up putting it all into her leather shoulder bag.
“From Kimberly?” Tristan asked as he tucked the purifier into the knapsack.
“Yes,” Kimber answered and bit her lip. She had no idea how her mother was, or if she would ever see her again.
“I know you are worried about her. I am too. Maybe once we make our way back, and we find our place in all of this, we can find her,” Tristan said gently.
Kimber looked up into his hazel eyes. He seemed so guarded and sharp, but Kimber could sense a genuine tenderness. She couldn’t believe that beyond the occasional greeting or training fight, they had never spent time together. He threw her off guard, but she decided she liked his company. She did not respond; she just nodded and tore her gaze away, looking up one last time at the murals.
“They served us well today, didn’t they?” Kimber said.
“This may be the first time in history they all worked together,” Tristan replied taking in the entire glittering scene. The four archangels, the Jewish star, the Hindu goddess, the Islamic mosque, along with the demon and the ever-encouraging Buddha, shone down over them.
“Don’t forget Musika,” Kimber smiled fondly at the painted mouse crawling out of the hole in the wall.
“Brainiacs.” Tristan smiled and shook his head at Kimber. “I really should have spent more time in here.”
“My mother and I used to lay in here for hours, and she would tell me the histories and stories of all the religions. And not just these...” Kimber said quietly, waving her hand upwards. “But of the Vikings and their fierce Norse gods, the exciting tales of Ra and the pharaohs, the Roman and the Greek mythologies, and even ancient Chinese and African lore... to include the warlords with their bones and teeth,” Kimber added smartly as she eyed Tristan.
“I guess that’s what you get for having a secret doctor for a mother. I think you’ve got the blood to make a very good outlaw. Lead the way, Bonnie.” Tristan swept his arm towards the door. They had been taking up too much time, and he was getting antsy. Kimber felt it too and knew they had better get to the surface before the council blockaded the exit. With a nod, Kimber broke into a jog, and the two fugitives raced down the passageway towards the main corridor.
Once the pair arrived at the corridor, they slowed down and soundlessly peeked out from behind the wall. They did not hear or see anyone, so they swung out into the large tunnel which sloped upwards. There were retreats and unmarked passageways all over the cavern should the main exit be blocked, but they both knew finding the ones that linked up to the surface would be time consuming and tricky. They were grateful the space was clear, and Kimber and Tristan broke into a nervous sprint all the way to the cavern’s exit. They knew as soon as they saw sunlight, they would be untouchable.
Part II
The surface
Chapter X
Kimber and Tristan were both very fit, even amongst the Auroras, and it took quite a bit of exertion for them to be winded. The fear of what lay behind them though, propelled them towards the surface like nothing had before. They had no way of knowing what the rest of the Auroras had done after the team of six walked out of the address. They also had no way of knowing if Eve,
Raquel, Zaak, and Jordan had made it to the surface yet. They sprinted as hard as their lungs would allow them, and as they approached the cavern’s exit, they were very, very winded.
Kimber had always enjoyed the ascent to the surface. When the dark of the cave system finally gave way to natural sunlight, a pang of belonging always washed over her. The surface was bright, too bright for the humans, and it was here in this dangerous brilliance that the Auroreans were designed to be. Kimber felt her slit-shaped pupils contract and her core temperature start to rise as soon as they reached the cavern’s mouth and stepped into the blinding light.
“That wasn’t so bad was it?” Tristan joked through heaving breaths.
Elated to be free of the cave and high on endorphins, Kimber giggled, “Not bad at all!” She sucked in a few breaths of air. “Shoot, we should make that a standard workout in training.”
They laughed together for a few moments as their lungs and legs stabilized. Kimber could not read the Auroras heart rates as well as she could read the humans, but she didn’t need special Aurorean senses to know that Tristan was exhausted too. As they started to calm down, Kimber checked her shoulder bag to make sure she had not dropped anything and then, squinting, she looked around at the familiar scene.
Her eyes always had a hard time adjusting to the brightness of the sun, but she knew after a few minutes, the sensitivity would wear off. The earth around them was scorched and crusted, and it always seemed to reflect the intense solar rays back towards the sky. The sky seemed to soak up the refracted sunlight and project the extra energy in an amazing light show. The borealis, which danced above day and night, made its debut today in a blue so deep it melted into purple.
