by C. Cervi
Whispering
Looking around frantically, he saw an old wooden rocker near the front door, and quickly ducked behind it. It offered very little protection, but his back was against the wall and he could, at least, see anyone approaching. With his muscles cramped tight, and his heart pounding in his chest he waited, and waited and, after what seemed like an eternity slowly stood. He hadn’t heard anything in quite a while and he hesitated for just a few more minutes as his breathing returned to normal.
For a moment, he felt like a child again—a child afraid of the dark, and a small part of him desperately wanted to run for the safety of his room. But he wasn’t a child any longer and, stepping away from the wall, he took the last few deliberate steps to the door and quietly exited the house.
Outside, the air was cold and he rubbed his hands together as a chilling breeze tugged at his clothes. The gate was no more than a dozen yards or so from the front porch. Making his way across the yard, he winced as his feet hit against the cold, sharp rocks. Halfway there, he stopped and turned toward the house. There wasn’t a single light shining. If a stranger had happened to be passing that way, they might mistakenly believe the house was abandoned. He turned back and hurried toward the gate. As he approached, he thought he heard the crunching of gravel from behind him. He stopped and listened, again there were no further noises.
Careful, boy, you’re getting jumpy.
When he reached the gate, he gave it a push and stood back as it swung open freely. He now wished that he had taken Keith with him after all. The two could have worked together to get help and come back for the others, but there was no way he was going to leave his brother behind. He stepped beyond the gate and followed the path for a short distance. Dark clouds kept covering the moon, making it almost impossible to see. As far as he could tell, the path took many twists and turns, and he figured that if he followed it long enough, it would eventually lead him out of the canyon.
Armed with that knowledge, he quickly headed back toward the house. If he hurried, he and Keith might still have time to get out. As he stepped inside the yard and turned to close the gate behind him, his back suddenly stiffened and, somehow, without hearing a single sound, he knew he was not alone. He could feel the blood in his veins turn to ice as a hissing voice whispered his name.
Before he could turn around, he felt a sharp blow to the back of his neck, and as his body slumped to the ground, the last thing he saw was the spark of a match being lit.
Slowly, and painfully, Aaron woke the next morning. His head felt as if it had been used as target practice for an archer. He sat up stiffly, every muscle in his body screaming at him to lie back down. He forced himself up as the memory of his midnight run came drifting back to him. Dragging himself over to the water pitcher, he drank down what little it offered and then, on bruised and aching feet, left his room to check on his brother. He had no idea what time it was but Keith’s room was empty. He turned as quickly as his body would permit to the stairs. By the time he made it down to the first floor, he had worked out most of the kinks, and the gnawing pain coming from his empty stomach made him forget about his sore feet.
His first thought as he entered the dining hall was to make sure Keith was all right, but an exploding pain interrupted his mission as someone’s fist made contact with his right eye. Aaron slammed into the wall behind him as a fist, again, came out of nowhere, striking him hard on the jaw. Several things happened before he could even open his eyes. He could hear Keith yell out his name, and then a short scuffle as Keith tried to defend his brother. As his vision slowly cleared and the ringing in his ears subsided, he noted that Tom had stepped in between Keith and Grant.
“Come on, Grant,” Tom was yelling. “Cut him a break. He doesn’t understand how things work yet.”
Aaron tried to stand straight as he looked at Grant. He could taste blood in his mouth and his right eye was already swelling.
Grant took a moment to calm himself before approaching Aaron.
“What did you do last night?” he asked; his voice hard.
Aaron didn’t answer for a moment, as he glanced around the room full prisoners who appeared to be very angry—angry at him. Emily and Philip were the only ones whose eyes showed any sympathy. Suddenly, he realized the cause of the murderous looks. In front of each prisoner was an empty tin plate. There was no food.
“I went to check the gate,” he answered after a moment.
“Look, we didn’t know,” Keith spoke up for his brother.
He tensed, waiting as a murmur of angry voices erupted over his confession.
“Well, now you do,” said Grant, his fiery gaze unyielding. “And, thanks to you, we all get to learn the lesson again.”
Grant turned his back to Aaron and spoke to the other prisoners.
“Come on folks,” he said. “We may as well get started.”
The harsh scraping of chairs on the wooden floor seemed to drive home the words that weren’t being uttered out loud. No one would even look in Aaron’s direction as they exited the building.
“Thanks, Tom,” Keith said. “For sticking up for Aaron.”
“I didn’t do it for him,” he answered, sending an angry glance in Aaron’s direction. “They don’t like it when we fight, and I’d like today to be the only one we have to go without food.”
Philip jumped up and quickly joined his brother as he marched from the room.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Tom added, turning at the door. “You tell your little spy to keep his questions to himself. I’m not willing to put my brother at risk for yours.”
Aaron sighed and rubbed gingerly at his eye as Tom stalked out into the yard.
“I take it you didn’t get much information last night?” he asked Keith.
“I’m sorry,” Keith answered. “I tried.”
“It’s all right,” Aaron said. “I didn’t do so well either. Guess we better check our assignment.”
They were scheduled for the mine and Aaron had a sinking feeling that the plus symbol next to his number was going to mean a lot of extra work.
Aaron and Keith collapsed in front of the buckets of water Emily delivered later that afternoon. His suspicions had been confirmed that morning when Grant handed them their equipment.
“Your quota’s been doubled for today,” the man said brusquely. “I’ll try to send a few men over later to help you.”
Aaron’s face registered his surprise.
“Whether we like it or not, we all have to pull together around here,” Grant continued. “As you’ve seen, being the one to commit the crime doesn’t mean you’ll be the only one punished.”
Aaron rubbed a hand over his face.
“Look,” he started. “I’m sorry you’re all suffering because of me, but you need to understand that I’m not going to just lie down and accept this.”
Aaron watched as a fire came into Grant’s eyes and the man raised his fist. Aaron tensed, waiting for him to strike and was surprised when, instead, Grant slowly lowered his arm and gave him a crooked sort of smile.
“You’ll change your mind,” he answered.
Aaron didn’t agree, but he knew it was time to walk away.
His stubborn nature began to kick in as he walked through the tunnels, and he determined before they reached the chamber that no one was going to have to come and help him do his work. Keith had picked up on his brother’s fierce pace and increased his own to match him. Aaron tried a few times to get him to slow down, but Keith wouldn’t hear of it.
“I’m not gonna give you the chance to say you can out work me,” Keith had scoffed.
The two brothers really put their backs into it, and by the time Emily carried in the water buckets, they were exhausted, but had already done double the amount of work from the day before.
Tom had hung back when the day started, but as the day progressed with Aaron and Keith continuing to throw themselves into their tasks, he had slowly loosened up again.
Keith ama
zed everyone, including his brother, with his ability to work hard and continue a steady stream of chatter at the same time. Every once in a while, Aaron would throw in some mild reprimand or sarcastic comment. Philip watched them in awe and Aaron was sure he even saw him smile once or twice. It was hard for anyone to stay mad with Keith around. Aaron had found that out early in life and had often used his little brother as a front man with their father whenever he thought they were going to be in trouble.
On top of having his quota doubled, their work team was two men short. Doyle and Cody had both been assigned elsewhere that day. Aaron wasn’t surprised when Tom told him their quota wouldn’t be any different regardless of the missing men.
After they had drained the water, they slowly stood to get back to work. Emily looked around hesitantly and quickly handed Aaron a small wrapped bundle. Before he could say anything, they heard a gruff voice from the entrance of the chamber.
Even in the soft candle light, Aaron could see the young girl’s face drain of color. He quickly stuffed the bundle into his shirt and bent to pick up his shovel.
Grant stood large and intimidating, hard eyes scanning the room.
“Doesn’t look like you’ll be needing any help,” he said gruffly and then turned to leave.
Aaron couldn’t be sure, but he thought that Grant had looked impressed. With the large man gone, Emily breathed a sigh of relief. Aaron handed her the buckets and thanked her for the water. She gave him a small smile before quickly hurrying down the long tunnel.
When Aaron un-wrapped the cloth, he had to restrain himself from letting out a whoop. Never before had he seen a more welcomed sight. Somehow, Emily had managed to get her hands on two raw potatoes and one very large carrot. He showed the food to Keith and quickly dividing it, they shared the bounty with Tom and Philip. It wasn’t nearly enough to fill the void in their angry stomachs, but it did wonders to renew their spirits.
As they went back to work, Aaron began to hum softly. Keith picked up the tune and joined in with the words. During the second chorus, Aaron turned in surprise when a strong soprano voice began to harmonize with the slow melody. Philip quickly stopped singing and gave him a shy smile.
“Don’t stop,” Aaron told him. “That was nice.”
“I . . .” the boy began and then looked cautiously at his brother.
Tom ignored him and kept working so the boy continued.
“I used to sing in a boys’ choir,” he said, “back . . . back at home. I haven’t sung in . . . in a long time.”
As the boy’s face fell, the mood in the room suddenly shifted to one of sadness. Aaron could see Tom’s shoulders hunch as he worked. They all continued on with their tasks, but no one felt like singing anymore.
With all the extra work Aaron and Keith had done that morning, the team managed to fulfill their quota even without any extra help. As they exited the mine, Aaron dreaded going back to the house. Tom had informed him that there would be no supper and Aaron worried about having to deal with the other prisoners.
Upon entrance, without a word, the prisoners passed the empty dining hall and headed straight for their rooms. Other than a few angry glances, which mostly came from Grant and his followers, the only other looks he received were ones of despair and hopelessness. Many of the prisoners with their gaunt, sunken cheeks looked as if they couldn’t afford to miss many more meals. Aaron’s own stomach was twisting and burning, partly from hunger and partly from guilt.
“No questions tonight, Keith,” he said quietly to his brother as they ascended the stairs.
Keith turned to him, his eyes large with concern.
“Aaron,” he whispered, “we’re not giving up are we?”
Aaron shook his head slightly.
“No, but I think we could both use a good night’s rest and some food in the morning, so let’s just lay low tonight.”
Keith nodded slowly in agreement, but there was a look in his eyes that gave Aaron cause for concern. He grabbed his brother’s arm gently.
“Promise me you’ll do as I say,” he said, staring straight into Keith’s eyes.
Keith’s hesitation confirmed his fears.
“Promise me,” he said again, tightening his grip on brother’s arm.
Finally, Keith sighed. “I promise.”
Before heading for his room, Aaron turned to Tom.
“Tomorrow?” he asked.
“The same,” Tom answered.
Aaron closed his door softly behind him and went straight for his bed. He felt something odd as his head hit the pillow and lifting it, he smiled as he felt, more than saw, the small lump that turned out to be a raw turnip.
Bless you Emily.
Part of him immediately wanted to take half to Keith, in case Emily hadn’t been able to get to his room. But, he didn’t want to risk getting caught or the consequences of no food the next day. The turnip was old and wrinkled yet, as he slowly ate the limp vegetable, he wondered how it could possibly taste so good. Moments later, as his stomach gurgled around the small meal he fell fast asleep.
C
hapter 5
Aaron rolled over and tried to ignore the steady beating of rain against the roof. He had no idea what time it was, but he had heard a few doors opening and shutting and figured it must be time to get up. There were no little flecks of sunlight filtering through the cracks in the walls to greet him that morning, and he clumsily fumbled around in the dark. He took a few moments to stretch before using what little water there was in his pitcher to wash his face. The swelling had gone down in his eye, but his face was still bruised and tender.
Shutting his door behind him, he started toward the stairs, and was surprised to hear Keith calling from his doorway.
When he got close, Keith grabbed his arm and pulled him into the room.
“What’s wrong,” he asked, glancing around. “Where are Tom and Philip?”
“I told them I would be down in a minute,” he answered breathlessly. Arron winced as his brother unconsciously rubbed at his stomach. “Tom left last night. I had some trouble getting to sleep and after a while, I heard Tom get up and leave.”
Aaron’s eyes went from confusion to alarm as he stared at his brother.
“Did you follow him?” he asked.
“I wanted to,” Keith answered, “but I promised you I wouldn’t do anything. Last night.”
Aaron decided to ignore Keith’s last statement for now.
“I didn’t ask him about it,” Keith continued. “I wanted to tell you first.”
Aaron nodded his head as he considered what Keith had told him.
“Well, let’s get down to the dining hall and see what we can find out,” he said finally.
As they entered the dining hall, the smell of food was both a relief and a puzzlement for Aaron. When he had left his room the night before, the consequence had been no food the next day. That meant that either Tom had not been caught, or that for some reason, he was allowed out of his room. A quick glance around showed him that things appeared to be normal.
He almost laughed out loud at thinking that anything about this whole situation could be considered normal. When they sat at their table, Emily and Philip greeted them with a small smile, Tom only nodded in their direction. Breakfast consisted of some sort of mixture that was a cross between cornmeal mush and oatmeal. It was lumpy and tasteless, but it was also warm and blessedly filling.
With food in his stomach, Aaron turned his attention to the mystery Keith had presented. His first thought was to start demanding that Tom answer some questions, but something was telling him it would be better to wait. Waiting was something he was good at. Being an older brother had taught him patience. It was a skill he had honed to perfection, and he had been rewarded in life many times for this ability. His brother however, like in so many other areas, was completely the opposite, and he cringed as Keith spoke.
“So, where were you last night?” the young man asked suddenly.
Aaron watched as T
om’s posture stiffened and he narrowed his eyes. He also didn’t miss the puzzled expression on Philip’s face, nor the look of alarm that appeared in Emily’s eyes.
“Keep your voice down,” Tom whispered harshly. “I don’t owe you any explanations, and you’d do well to mind your own business.”
Aaron could see Keith’s temper building, and he quickly kicked him under the table to keep him from saying anything more.
Emily glanced nervously between the men at her table. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but then something from across the room caught her eye and, instead, she looked down at her plate. Aaron didn’t have to turn to know that Grant had been the one to cause her silence.
A moment later, the room started to stir and, Aaron and Keith joined in the shuffle as people began their day. He glanced at the board and was relieved to see that the plus sign had been removed, next to his name. That feeling of relief also started a fire burning inside him. The fact that he might feel grateful in any way to his invisible guards angered him. He took a moment to reign in his emotions and then he and Keith headed out.
Once outside, Aaron slowed his pace, allowing the heavy rain to wash over him. Nature at least, was going to allow him a chance to get rid of some of the dirt and grime, and he relished the opportunity.
The day was long and Aaron wondered at the continued absence of Cody and Doyle. It seemed all their hard work had done was earn them the privilege, or penalty, of becoming a four man team. Without his extra quota, the work was a little lighter that day and Aaron determined that he would talk to Tom that evening. At the end of the day, he and Keith were in the back of the line to file out of the mine.
Aaron was lost in thought, mulling over the best way to approach Tom when, suddenly, he heard a scuffling sound from behind him. He wasn’t the only one to hear it, and as he and Keith turned around, they caught a flash of someone ducking into one of the tunnels. Before Aaron had a chance to react, Keith was off like a shot.
