“I’m going out to The Caves during free time today with some friends. You could come with us if you like. We could help collect whatever specimens you need,” I blurt out while labeling the samples.
“Sounds like fun, but I’m kind of busy. It could work if I can reschedule some meetings. I’ll let you know,” Talia replies causally. She gives me a brief hug, and then heads off.
After my knees regain their stability, I leave my exam room to check in with Rana. She is busy with some medical charting in the other exam room. From the door, I give her a suspicious stare. Seeing this, she responds with an embellished expression of innocence.
Even though Talia and I were friends in the past, I have always known there could never be anything more. We are bound by an unspoken law prohibiting those in the highest positions in Leadership from mixing with someone from the worker class. Being the daughter of Mr. Vaden and having a ranking position in the developmental section of the Research Department has her on track to succeed her father. Still, that never stops the tingling sensation in my stomach every time she is near. I never spoke of this with Rana, but it is hard to hide anything from those penetrating eyes.
With the morning appointments finished, I motion that it is time for my lunch. We do not have the same scheduled lunch breaks because there always has to be someone present in case of emergency, so she waves me off and continues her work. Before leaving, a lingering thought in the back of my mind stops me.
“Oh, just out of curiosity, what happened to the confused guy this morning?” I ask Rana.
“He wasn’t that bad. I gave him some fluids and stapled his scalp lacs. There were no internal injuries. When I finished, some Guards came to get him. They said he had been hiding in The Caves, trying to avoid going the Detention Center. I’m sure that’s where he is now,” she says with a shrug.
The explanation does make sense. Even so, his warning to me felt real. What could he have meant? Could he somehow be connected to the odd closure of the upper tunnels? There are no creatures out there big enough to be mistaken for a man, so that could not be what he saw. Most likely the shadows he saw were from the Guards chasing him or some research workers checking new tunnels for safety. But how could he mistake them for anything else, or think they were a threat to Securus? Realistically, his words had to be either delirious rambling or him faking delirium in an attempt to stay in the infirmary instead of going to the Detention Center. I cannot blame him for that, simply hearing Rana say the name of that place makes me uneasy. Most people would make up any story to avoid going there. I force my mind away from the disheveled man, since given his current situation, we will likely never hear from him again.
I leave the infirmary while replaying the rest of the morning in my mind. The work was more pleasant than expected, and it was nice to see Talia again. Thinking of Talia and remembering Rana’s clever setup brings my smile back. With extra energy in my steps, I continue on to get my lunch.
As expected, my friends are already there when I reach the lunch hall. A tight schedule must be maintained in the various food halls in order to rotate enough people through so everyone gets their daily ration. Because of the time constraint, they cannot wait long for me or they will miss their meal. This particular lunch hall is larger than my breakfast area but otherwise looks quite similar to it. Like most of the larger areas, it also serves various functions. I walk over to the food dispersal station and scan my identification key to gain access to my allotted meal. Such strict rationing is needed to make sure we do not exhaust our food or purified water supply. This was an even more critical issue before the discovery of The Caves saved us with its added resources. I pick up my ration consisting of purified water, a potato-like vegetable, and a synthetic sliced meat. The warmth of the meal helps distract from its lack of taste.
“Hey Kagen, any unexplained foreign bodies at work today?” shouts a voice from across the hall. I hold in a laugh and hide my face while making my way to the table. There is only one person in Securus the voice can belong to. When I reach the table, a stalky man with spiked hair waits for me, grinning from ear to ear with satisfaction at my embarrassment. Despite our unnatural circumstances, Hadwin is always in a good mood. He often finds ways to entertain our group, usually at the expense of one of us.
“No Hadwin, you weren’t on my schedule,” I chide while sitting down. “But, I did have an interesting visitor today.”
Sitting at the table with Hadwin are the other regulars in our group, Merrick and Sayda.
“So, who was this interesting visitor?” Merrick asks.
“Talia Vaden,” I answer, masking any excitement from my voice.
Before even looking, I feel Sayda’s attention fixate on me. I turn to find her striking crystal blue eyes studying me with curiosity. She brushes back the few strands of golden blonde hair that has escaped her ponytail as she asks, “Really? What warranted a visit from the daughter of Mr. Vaden?”
“Nothing special, just routine stuff. I was filling in for Rana,” I respond. “I invited her to go with us to The Caves later, but she probably won’t be able to make it. Anyway, anything interesting going on with you guys?”
“I’m ready to get back into The Caves. Last time I was in there I found a new rock face we can climb. I haven’t tried it out yet, but I bet you’ll all be far behind me when I reach the top!” Merrick boasts with a confident smile.
“Can we make it there with the new closure?” I ask, intentionally not mentioning the words of the man in the infirmary. There is no point in bringing up his failed attempts to avoid the Detention Center.
“It’s not in the upper tunnels, although it’s close to them. I’m pretty sure Leadership doesn’t even know about it yet. So you can’t use that as an excuse to get out of losing to me,” he says.
We all have our own way of distracting ourselves from our circumstances. Merrick often consumes his time with activities created by his fierce competitiveness and stubborn determination. If Merrick thinks it is going to be challenging, we will definitely have an interesting time. We continue on with our banter while finishing our meal. Afterwards we all head our separate ways, returning to work for the afternoon shift.
*
That night, after my shift in the infirmary, I meet my mother and Arluin for diner. These halls are usually the same ones used for lunch, but the assigned location for individuals varies between the two depending on work and living locations. The hall is, as usual, lively with conversation. It is always filled to capacity since more people share the same time assignment. We are at a large table, surrounded by the other families that reside near our quarters. Dinner is typically the best meal of the day, and tonight is no exception. There are fish from some of The Caves’ vast pools of water as well as a mixture of mushrooms grown in some of the smaller side chambers. It is not often we get an entire meal without an artificial substitute, so we all consume it eagerly.
“Why are you in such a good mood?” Arluin asks me while finishing the last bits of his food.
“No particular reason. It was a decent day, and it’s almost free time,” I respond with a wide smile.
“Who’s going with you?” asks my mother.
I devour the last crumbs of my meal before answering. “Hadwin, Merrick and Sayda. I invited Talia, but she probably won’t be able to make it.”
Hearing my response, Arluin flashes a knowing smile.
“Why don’t you invite some of the girls from our sector like Lana or Abira?” my mother pleads. It takes a lot of effort not to roll my eyes. She is always trying to fix me up with someone. I pretend not to hear her question, and since my food is already finished, excuse myself from the table.
Anxious to get to The Caves, I rush down the stairs, descending further and further. Halfway down I pass the welded lines which mark the point where the original facility ended. Despite Leadership’s efforts to limit population growth, our numbers have climbed to the thousands. We have had to expand the facility further into
the depths to accommodate it. That is how The Caves were discovered in the first place.
I reach the bottom of the stairwell. Walking through the lower door and rounding the corner, I enter a lounge area that doubles as a staging center for the research workers. Eager to get into The Caves, I rush past the lingering research workers, all the way to the massive outer doors. After checking in my reservation with the stationed Leadership Guard, I finally make my way into the main chamber of The Caves. As soon as I am outside the rigid structure of Securus, it feels like a weight is lifted from my shoulders. No matter how many times I come here, the surroundings always evoke a sense of awe. Even in the largest halls Securus has to offer, nothing compares to the openness of this space.
High above me, rocks seem to be flowing down from the ceiling. Others reach upward from the floor, slowly extending their spires toward the ceiling. The random patterns and rounded shapes naturally arising throughout The Caves are a profound contrast to the linear and symmetrical structure of Securus. Out here, there are always new formations to discover in the many uncharted tunnels and chambers. That is why we love coming out here so much. It is our escape. Luckily, despite its enormous size, the system is an isolated one. No traces of The Agent have ever been found in any of the tunnels or chambers down here.
The main path is easily navigated with use of the lights from the outer structure of Securus. Not far from the entrance, lies one of the natural standing pools. This is only one pool of a larger system that interconnects with various others. Water flows freely through tunnels deep within the pools as well as cracks in the cave walls. I have always found the sound of the flowing water and constant trickle from above much more soothing than the mechanical groans of our facility.
Further in the chamber, I stop to marvel at some water bound creatures who, like the people of Securus, have adapted themselves to this unique environment. From the pictures I have seen on the computer, the fish in The Caves look very different than the ones on the surface. Evolving in the darkness has drained them of all color, shrinking their eyes to functionless beads. In place of sight, they have developed sensory organs near their numerous short whiskers to help them navigate the waters. As if to remind me not all of the creatures here have such a bland outer appearance, a few of the shrimp-like creatures we call Glow-runts, swim by. They emit a natural glowing light easily visible in the dark waters, creating shooting swirls of dramatic color as they move about.
The Leadership Guard at the secondary station watches me closely while I walk by the water. We harvest the various pools on a rotating schedule to collect these creatures for our nutritional needs. Like most other things in Securus, fishing is tightly controlled by Leadership to prevent depletion of the pools’ resources. The Guard and a few security cameras keep watch to enforce the restriction, but that is not really needed. Our people understand we cannot afford to jeopardize this fragile ecosystem that is so vital to our own survival.
There are some manufactured sitting areas near the entrance to The Caves, but I prefer to wander farther in. Rounding the path, past the water and some massive stalagmites, I find a raised formation that has been broken in half. The exposed, flat surface serves well as a bench. Waiting for the others to arrive, I spend the time admiring the intricate rings making up layer after layer inside the formation.
After a while, my mind starts to wonder. It drifts back to this morning, replaying the warning from the man in the infirmary, “The shadow-men in The Caves. They’ll be the end of Securus.’’ I look all around. Off to the right, far behind the secondary Guard, is the closed entrance to the upper tunnels. Other than that, nothing appears out of the ordinary. No diabolical figures lurk in the shadows. I take a deep breath and expel the thoughts from my mind. Even considering the possibility of the shadow-men makes me feel a little foolish. Not long after I turn back to the formations around me, my solitude is interrupted by the sound of voices growing near.
“Do you ever do anything other than complain?” Even from a distance, the annoyance in Merrick’s voice is obvious.
“I’m not complaining, just pointing out the truth.” The man’s voice is familiar, but I cannot place it.
“And you guys say I’m cynical,” laughs Sayda.
“Ok, guys, take it easy. No need to argue. Let’s relax and have some fun.” My heart skips a beat when hearing her voice. Talia has been able to escape her evening plans after all.
They come into view with Hadwin and Sayda walking next to Talia. They all wear their work uniforms which look like bland, well-fitted jumpsuits of different colors. Hadwin’s is a deep blue, Sayda’s black, and Talia’s is the standard Leadership grey. On the opposite side of them are Merrick and the person he was arguing with. The unexpected addition is a thinly built man with dark eyes and carefully styled hair. His appearance is a stark contrast next to Merrick with his dark complexion, short, tightly curled hair, and strong build.
A scowl briefly creeps across my face when I finally recognize who the extra man is. His name is Aamon. It was his Leadership uniform that gave him away. It is made of the same mineral grey base as the others, but has a burnt orange trim indicating a medium level rank. I have only had minimal interaction with him in the past, but even so, something about him makes me leery. If there are any shadow-men out here, he would be it. His name is not on my permit, but Leadership members do not have the same restrictions as the workers.
“Hey, Kagen. At least you’re not waiting for us naked again!” Hadwin exclaims, pretending to wipe his forehead in relief. I can only shake my head. Where he comes up with these things I will never know. If nothing else, he is always good for a laugh. I greet my friends and Talia with brief hugs before shaking hands with Aamon, using enough force to cause a slight wince.
“Don’t see you in The Caves much,” I say, watching him shake the feeling back into his hand.
“When Talia told me she was coming to The Caves, I thought it would be a good opportunity to do some investigating of my own. Maybe I can help with the logistical aspects of harvesting The Caves’ assets.” Aamon examines the surrounding area while replying. The extra attention he pays to his outward appearance combines with his rigid posture to make him look completely out of place. I doubt he really wants to research The Caves. He must have another reason for coming along. In the end, his motives do not matter. We will not let his presence ruin our trip.
“Alright, let’s head in.” I motion for the others to follow me.
We continue around the path to the end of the main chamber. At the back wall, a tunnel leads to the other chambers deeper within The Caves. The light from Securus does not penetrate this far into The Caves, so we affix our illuminators and turn them on high. They look and feel like a simple headband, except they have a row of lights engrained into the lining. Their combined light floods the tunnel, making it easy to navigate.
As we walk, the lights reveal small signs placed on the walls of the passage, helping to guide us to the different sections, and also warning of potential dangers. Only the initial parts of these connected tunnels are marked like this. Deeper in, beyond the last pools, the passages have not been fully mapped or secured. Out there we will need to rely on our own markings and memory to return safely.
“There’s a specific chamber close by I wanted to visit, if you guys are okay with it?” Talia asks as we walk.
“Sure, we have more than enough time. Just point us in the right direction,” I tell her.
With the tunnel walls narrowing, we form a line to continue on. We go through the unmarked passages, following Talia. Eventually, the group manages to traverse a particularly low and narrow shaft leading to a small cavern. After wriggling myself out of the tunnel, I stand up and survey the surroundings. My eyes adjust enough to see a faint glow in the chamber not coming from our illuminators. As each member of our excursion emerges into the chamber I have them turn down their lights. When all the lights are out, the glow intensifies. The cavern fills with a vibrant, sparklin
g teal light emanating from the walls. The many crystals jutting from the rocks above reflect the light in brilliant patterns all around us. It is easy to see why this cavern is of particular interest to Talia.
“Like some of the creatures in The Caves, the microbes in this chamber have evolved to emit a biological fluorescence. The mechanism of their light is different from that of the fish and may have promise as a supplemental light source. This could help diminish our energy needs significantly,” Talia says in her usual formal tone.
She turns her light back on and moves to the side of the chamber to collect her samples. Aamon, who had been slowed while crawling through the passage, finally catches up to the rest of us. He enters the chamber with an annoyed grimace while dusting himself off.
“Took you long enough,” Merrick laughs.
Aamon looks as though he wants to respond, but thinks better of it. Sayda and I go over to join Talia while the others scatter to explore the rest of this area.
“This bioluminescence is beautiful, but it’ll be difficult to convert for our use,” Sayda states bluntly as she moves away to study an area with a more intense glow, leaving Talia and I alone.
“I thought you were too busy, Talia,” I say with a gentle nudge.
“Well, sometimes I have to just do what I want,” she replies with a sly smile.
After a few minutes, Aamon wanders over to inspect an unimportant appearing rock formation immediately next to Talia. He is obviously attempting to listen to our conversation. I get the feeling he is more interested in Talia than anything else in The Caves. From the look on her face when she sees his snooping, that feeling is not mutual. After a few minutes, Talia finishes her collection. We leave the chamber, finally heading to Merrick’s new climbing area.
Chapter 3
We walk, crawl, and climb our way through a seemingly endless maze of passages. The entrance to Merrick’s cavern is well hidden, so it is not surprising the chamber has gone undiscovered until now. Upon entering the cavern, we all turn our lights to the highest dispersal setting to illuminate the area. My jaw immediately drops. Merrick has not let us down. Before us lies an expansive cavern with an amazing natural beauty. Everyone stands in awe-struck silence while absorbing the view.
The Death Detail (The Securus Trilogy Book 1) Page 2
