Worlds Between

by Heather Lee Dyer

  “Try this one,” I say, running to Masi and shoving it in his hands.

  I hold my breath as he places it carefully into the recessed altar and adjusts it until we hear an audible click.

  I take a step backwards as the thin lines of copper set into the dark stone panels flicker slowly with beads of light. It reminds me of a slumbering giant, blinking sleep out of its eyes. We hear a rumbling noise and turn to see the lid of the sarcophagus sliding open, slowly revealing the interior. But the entire room is shaking now. I try to keep my footing but a stronger vibration throws me to the floor. Masi manages to hold on to the edge of the crypt as we ride out what feels like giant waves, like we’re a ship at sea being tossed by a storm. Somewhere in the darkness, vases shatter against the stone floors, and in the distance I hear the girls screaming.

  When it finally stops, I scramble to get a handhold on the stone crypt to pull myself up. Masi helps me stand.

  “Think we did that?” he looks down at me.

  I shake my head as I cling to his arm, my ankle throbbing.

  “Felt more like explosions,” I say. “Big ones. I think the revolutionists are setting charges in the mine.” Anger rises as I remember Elan’s warning and the important data stick I have in my shoe. I silently curse him for planning a stupid attack, when this was so much more important. But I’m also afraid I just missed my only chance to escape. He warned me twice to be ready, and I was down here… exploring.

  Masi turns his helmet toward me.

  It’s flickering again, like a projection on the fritz.

  I frown. “Masi? Your helmet.”

  He turns and slowly reaches up to his neck. His helmet clears and looks normal again. The projection shows a cartoon bunny with buck teeth. It’s so out of place, I bite my lip to keep from laughing. Then we lean over to inspect the inside of the sarcophagus.

  It’s empty.

  “I don’t understand,” Masi says slowly. I frown as he climbs into the stone box, feeling the floor and walls with his gloved fingers. He opens his mouth to say something else, but we’re tossed by a single violent tremor that rips through the chamber. Several loud booms can be heard from deep in the mine, and soon more tremors roll through the ground.

  I fall at the feet of the sacrificial slab as dirt and large rocks tumble on top of me. I’ve lost track of where Masi is, so I curl up against the stone tomb for protection. I cover my head with my arms as I’m buried by pieces of stone and dirt. Then the floor gives way.

  ***

  I plunge through the sudden opening, and slam into the ground below, knocking the air from my lungs. A chunk of stone hits my hip, sending pain shooting through me. My heart pounds in my chest and I choke on dust. Several more tremors go through the cavern and the weight from the dirt and rock presses painfully against me. I’ve lost my glow stick and it’s so dark I can’t even tell if my eyes are open. I take forced breaths in the small space I’ve made with my arm around my head.

  I start shivering as the reality of my situation seems to awaken me from a dream. I calm my breathing to preserve my air. My ears ring from the absolute quietness of the dirt chamber. The stone floor is ice cold, but I press my cheek onto it anyway.

  A small part of me disconnects from reality, wondering where my brother is and if he’s all right. But most of me is panicking inside because I really don’t want to die. Not here. Not like this.

  My head pounds and my ears are still ringing slightly. I think I hear scratching noises that might be someone digging, but I wonder if it’s just insects, and then I start picturing them crawling over me in the darkness. I resign myself to the fact that it’ll take a long time before anyone comes to my rescue. If they do at all.

  I don’t know how far I fell, but I sense I’m even deeper in the earth than I was before. I blink the debris out of my eyelashes and realize I can still see a little. I’m in some kind of small stone chamber with a low ceiling. Bioluminescent fungi cling to the walls, emitting a dim glow. I’m surprised there’s any kind of life this deep. Scratches line the floor and walls, the same kind of writing like what I saw on the doors above, but rough, like they were scratched with a stick or… bare fingers. I squint at the subtle gleam of something a few feet away. Some kind of ribbed machinery, the silver giving off an almost palpable glow.

  I shake my head, clearing my vision, and my stomach twists as the scene comes into focus. It’s a ribcage. It looks human, but it’s covered in powdered mercury like glitter. As I watch, it collapses into a pile of shiny flakes.

  I back away suddenly, kicking against the rocks that cover my legs, until my spine presses against the wall. Something sharp slices into my elbow, dragging a sharp cry from my lips. My arm feels warm and wet.

  My lips tremble, but I force myself to take deep breaths until the panic subsides. I imagine myself in my meadow, caring for my garden, planting neat, even rows of broccoli and green beans. One, I count the stems, Two, Three, Four, Five…

  Despite the throbbing pain in my hip and ankle, I’m shaken up but unscathed. I tell myself that nothing down here can hurt me, though I’m not sure I believe it. I stagger to my feet, brushing off the sand and dirt and testing my ankle. I take a few steps and it holds my weight. It’s hard to see in the dim light, but if I squint into the darkness I can just make out the depth of the chamber. The floor is uneven, unlike the vast hall above. At first I mistake the haphazard bumps for piles of dirt, but little scraps of metal and leather stick out and somehow I know they’re weaponry and armor. Some kind of battle took place here. I’m walking on a carpet of crushed bones and corpses. I reach for the handle of what must have been a sword, but it disintegrates in my grasp.

  There’s a coolness in the air that’s almost organic, and I swear I can smell dried herbs. Pigment clings to the walls, which must have once displayed some kind of mural. In one corner, the ceiling and walls are blackened with soot.

  I suck in a sharp breath as I realize this isn’t just a burial chamber.

  Someone had lived down here.

  I turn back to the silver skeleton I saw when I fell. It’s lying on some kind of raised slab. Most of it is just dust now, but I can see fragments of the skull and a scraps of metal that must have been jewelry—bracelets, necklaces and a crown. The remains are nearly flat, like they’d been fused with the rock below. But something is off about it, there are too many pieces, like it has more limbs than it should. There is more than one body here. The other is harder to make out, less preserved, but I can tell the position of its head and hands from the dark, bluish metal of its crown and the pair of long, curved swords.

  A shiver runs down my spine. Whatever happened here, it didn’t match the story Masi told me. I hear noises above, and they’re getting closer. The ceiling shudders, and a small opening reveals itself as a stone is pulled away. Relief spills through me. I find myself face to face with the dirt-smeared and scratched helmet of Masi.

  “Are you all right, Rya?”

  I brush the dirt away from my face and take deep breaths.

  “I think so. What happened?”

  “Looks like the explosions collapsed part of the floor,” he says darkly. “Give me your hand, I’ll get you out of there.”

  More tremors shake the ground and walls and we both freeze in place. These feel deeper, slower. Like the earth below is tearing apart.

  “We have to leave,” Masi says. “This whole place is coming down.”

  I’m about to reach for his hand when a golden light begins to glow from inside the secret burial chamber. It pulses like a beacon, growing brighter and brighter. I peer closer and notice the strange glow is coming from inside the wall.

  The tip of a blade emerges from a gap between two stones. This must be what sliced my elbow earlier. I pinch the edge carefully, and wiggle it out until the stone is loose enough for me to grab. The yelling and distant metal footfalls of the guards far above is muted by all the dirt surrounding me. Time seems to slow as I rea
ch my hand into the crack that is now lit up like the sun. I wrap my hand around the glowing object and pull out a radiant crystal dagger.

  Then I feel my hand begin to burn.

  Light snakes up my arm in thin lines, flickering like lightning along my skin. I cry out and try to drop it, but I can’t. The dagger is so hot, it’s literally burning into my hand. The golden light continues to pump through my veins. I can feel it warm up my whole body. Then the pain fades, leaving a deep calm.

  “What did you find?” Masi looks back down at me.

  The dagger is now dark and cool against my skin. It looks like it’s been forged from one piece of black metal. Pink gemstones sparkle from the handle and my blood stains the edge of its blade.

  I shake my head and steady my breathing. It felt like I was being roasted alive, but I seem to still have all my fingers. Whatever it was, it’s gone for now. But I want out of this hole, filled with ancient dead aliens. I tuck the dagger carefully into my boot before approaching the small hole in the ceiling.

  “Nothing. Just cut myself on something sharp. Get me out of here.”

  Masi lowers his arm as far as he can, but I still need to take a running jump to reach him. His strong hands grab my wrist, and he drags me painfully up out of the dirt. I collapse on top of him, then roll onto the polished floor of the large hall. Its surface has been cracked by large boulders, and a few of the pillars have crumbled. A great tear rips through the wall behind the altar and the purple sarcophagus is split into jagged chunks of crystal.

  Masi stands first, and offers me a hand up. The glare against his helmet surrounds him like a green halo. The visor display must have been damaged by falling rocks, it’s glitching worse than usual.

  “Your helmet again, Masi,” I rasp. I cough dirt out of my lungs.

  He reaches up a hand to the back of his helmet, banging on it like a busted radio, and his face shield clears. Not completely. But enough to see the large, reptilian eyes and skin that looks like blue leather. Something tells me it’s not just another projection.

  SEVENTEEN

  I SCRAMBLE OUT OF HIS grasp, backing away from him slowly. But then a sound makes both of us turn. A huge slab of rock tumbles down the wide stairs, and a beam of light pierces the heart of the dark tomb.

  “We’re coming, Rya!” Claryce shouts into the darkness. “But some of the girls are injured.”

  My stomach sinks. They couldn’t figure out the door so they blasted their way in. My head is spinning, but there’s no time to think. “Get them all gathered together. Ask the guards for medical help. We’ll dig ourselves out. Go!”

  Desperate to preserve any small thing I can, I reach down and start grabbing some of the shiny trinkets around the sarcophagus and shoving them into my pockets.

  We hear noise and shouting outside in the tunnel. Masi and I scramble toward the doorway, as the ceiling begins to collapse. My elbow and hip is throbbing painfully, and I can feel something warm drip down my fingers.

  The floor bounces like a trampoline as it’s pummeled by heavy boulders. I look up to see Masi is already at the top of the stairs, silhouetted by the light of the exit, reaching a hand back toward me. The ancient objects rattle and crash on the stone floor around the crypt, like cymbals building towards a deafening crescendo, spurring my escape. I turn my head and see the walls and pillars buckling. Waves of dirt and rock fill the chamber from all sides. Something strikes me in the head and I’m on the ground again, my bloody fingers pressing against the cold marble floor.

  I can hear Masi yelling at me to get up, but I can’t move. I look down and stare at my arm as the light inside me dims, going from a bright golden to just a pale glow within my veins like a web. Soon the light is completely gone and I’m left in the dark and cold, and buried under dirt and debris.

  Then the floor feels like it’s tilting. Earth and stone rain down on me but I don’t feel it. I feel like I’m flying up the stairs. Gentle hands carry me into the light and set me lightly in a pile of dirt.

  “Rya!” Masi’s voice. Nearby. “I can’t carry you through, the opening is too narrow. You’ve got to do it yourself.”

  I nod my head, which feels woozy. I hurt all over now, but I stumble to my feet and crawl through the tight opening on my hands and knees. The doorway has been reduced to a narrow crevice, filled with dirt.

  “Are the girls all right?” I ask as soon as my body is free from the crypt. My head is pounding, and I can barely hear my own voice through the ringing in my ears. My heart races as I remember the screaming.

  “Not sure yet. I came back for you first.” Masi climbs over the dirt and chunks of rock for a better look. Some of the ceiling out here has fallen too, the packed dirt replaced by dangling roots that hang like tendrils. I blink against the sudden brightness.

  “Why is it so bright in here, Masi?” I look down at my body, afraid to find it glowing. It’s not me. I breathe out a sigh of relief.

  “Some of the miners brought lights to shine at the portal.”

  I nod, tears threatening to fall as I peer through the crowd of men for the girls. I clench my hands to my chest, feeling my heartbeat against my bruised ribs, as I watch for them. My girls.

  Our tunnel is busier than I’ve ever seen it, full of mech guards and anti-grav carts moving in supplies. The standing spotlights focused on the entrance are so bright, it almost feels like I’m above ground again.

  I’m about to get up and go searching when I hear Claryce’s small voice calling my name. Her little face pushes through the crowd, and her eyes go wide when she finds me. She darts between the remaining bystanders, and climbs the dirt pile to tackle me. We roll to the side with Claryce squeezing my hurting ribs. I just grunt and take it, glad to see she’s all right.

  I sit up and pull her onto my lap, pushing her dark curls away from her face.

  “Where are the others?” I ask.

  Through tears she tells me how they were walking toward the doorway when the ‘earthquake’ hit. A few of the girls were struck by falling rocks, but most of them managed to take cover under one of the anti-grav carts.

  “Janice is really hurt,” she says as she starts sobbing.

  “Rya.” The deep voice makes my body go cold. Elan.

  I twist my neck to look at him and pain shoots down my spine. He’s bending over me, his eyes wide with concern. I can imagine what I look like. I’m covered in blood and sweat and dirt. But I’m too angry to care. Deep down I’m relieved at seeing a familiar face, and I hate him for it. It’s a reminder of the home I can never have.

  “You,” I growl. “Was this you?”

  “I can explain.” He looks nervously around. “Later.”

  I’m scared and exhausted and in pain. Part of me wants to hug him so tight he can’t breathe. Instead I push Claryce to the side and punch Elan as hard as I can.

  ***

  It probably hurts me more than it does him. He rubs his jaw, then runs a hand through his messy hair.

  “I just wanted to make sure you’re all right.”

  He looks away, making sure no one is nearby. Dirt and days of stubble darken his sharp jawline, but his eyes are still the same greenish-brown.

  “But why this?” I hiss back, over Claryce’s head. “Why now?”

  “We’ve opened up an escape tunnel. After things settle down, when the extra guards are busy with this structure you’ve discovered,” he nods at the doorway, “we can sneak out.”

  “At what cost?” Rage seethes through my body as I point over his head to where the mech guards are loading Janice’s tiny body onto a stretcher. She’s got her head facing me and I can see she’s crying and reaching toward me with bloody fingers.

  “You could’ve killed us all. There had to have been a better way.”

  He crosses his arms, rolling back on the balls of his feet.

  “There wasn’t,” he frowns.

  I try to get up, but Masi places a soft hand on my shoulder.
“They’re taking her to medical. Nothing you can do right now for her,” he says sadly.

  I look up into his chrome helmet. I can’t forget what I saw in tomb, but it seems like a bad dream now. It was dark down there, and I was injured. Maybe it was just another glitch. I don’t really believe it, but the alternative makes my blood run cold. That Masi isn’t human, that he never has been. Between him and Elan, I’m not sure who I trust less.

  Claryce shakes in my arms as she cries. I tell Masi to find her some water, and I watch as he leads her away, the tiny girl’s hand in the gloved palm of this massive brute. I blink back the tears and turn to Elan. All of this is too much to handle. I’ve never felt this many conflicting emotions in my life. But I can’t break down right now. I finally have a moment alone with Ewan, and there are things we need to discuss.

  “You need to get all the miners out. Including the girls.”

  He kneels down so his face is inches away. With all the noise and commotion around us, nobody will overhear our conversation.

  “I’m sorry about the girl. But if you join us, we’ll save as many as we can.”

  I look back up into Elan’s stormy eyes.

  “So that’s the only way you’ll save the rest of us? If I swear to join your little rebellion? Is that why you’re down here, or is it just because you need the data stick?” I whisper, leaning up into his ear. I need to make sure Elan knows how disgusted I am that he would sacrifice other humans just because they don’t want to play his game.

  His eyes widen.

  “You still have it?” he breathes. I hesitate, then nod.

  He stares at me as we hear footsteps approach, holding my gaze until they pass.