The Ward Crucible: Even the strong will be broken

by Grayson Crew

  Orphans

  There’s a ladder going both ways. If we climb down, there’s only black. If we climb up, maybe we’ll break through to the surface. I test the first few rungs. They’re a little loose, but solid enough.

  Jael starts to climb. The rest follow. I take the back and keep the light shining ahead of everyone.

  Kettle has stopped climbing. I hear her crying.

  “It’s okay baby,” says Moira, “It’s okay. But we need to keep climbing.”

  We start moving again. Moira climbs up a rung, then another.

  I hear the clang of metal against concrete, then a scream.

  Someone falls past me.

  IV

  SHADOW

  The Eyes of a Shadow

  Violin is climbing over me, racing downward. A screaming Kettle follows.

  “It’s the wrong way!” I shout while chasing after them.

  “Mommy!” Kettle cries again.

  Looking up, I can see Jael is still climbing up.

  I’m descending faster, trying to reach the girls as they slide down the rungs into the endless blackness where Moira fell.

  Far above, a thin beam of light pierces into the shaft. Jael must have found the exit.

  Then I see a dark form above come into view at the edge of my flashlight beam. It’s in the shaft now, climbing down toward us.

  “Keep moving!” I yell down to the girls.

  I’m skipping rungs to catch up to them, dropping and sliding down the side bars of the ladder as fast as I can.

  It’s catching up.

  We’re at the base of the ladder but there’s still a long drop to a ledge below. I’ll have to drop first so I can catch the girls.

  I press my body against the ladder, then push off, launching myself over the girls and onto the ledge.

  My knees jolt as they slam onto the stone. I hear the sound of moving water around me.

  “Kettle, I need you to let go of the ladder. Don’t worry, I’m going to catch you.”

  “Where’s mommy!”

  “Mommy’s down here too. We don’t have time, Kettle. Please!”

  She screams as she falls into my arms.

  I put her down just in time to catch Violin.

  We’re on a small sloped ledge, surrounded by dark, moving water. Above us, the shadowy form stops at the bottom rung.

  Dark eyes lock onto mine. They pull me in as Whispers rise around us, paralyzing me.

  My axe drops to the ground. I’m frozen. Waiting.

  Its eyes close and the Whispers lessen. My head clears. I push the girls behind me while grabbing my axe.

  When I flash my light back at the creature, it’s halfway up the ladder, charging away from us and toward Jael.

  This isn’t Happening

  “Shut the door!” I scream over and over until my voice is cracking. I don’t know if Jael waited for us or not. Maybe she’s already in the jungle far from that thing.

  I look at the rushing water and feel a heaviness fill me. There’s no way Moira lived. But as quick as the realization hits, I push it away. Right now, we have to keep moving before that thing comes back.

  “Don’t move from this ledge,” I tell both of the girls. Violin nods and pulls Kettle close to her. I step into the shallow, fast-moving current. We’re in what looks like the drainage tunnels for whatever this place used to be.

  Downstream, it looks like the water deepens, but that’s where we need to go. If there’s going to be a way out, the water will take us to it.

  I press close to the wall and test every step as I work my way toward another ledge. There seems to be one every hundred feet or so--small alcoves cut into the tunnel sides. I reach the first one.

  There’s a ladder going up but the ground has caved over the exit. We’ll have to keep working our way down current until we find an exit that’s useable.

  I get back to Kettle and Violin.

  Kettle’s eyes are streaming as I take her hand in mine. She’s shaking. Then, like waters breaking a dam, She wails-- the ghostly sound exploding around us, spreading across the surface and racing into the dark hollows.

  She collapses against me and I hold her. Violin is next to me with her head buried under her arms.

  I don’t know what I’m supposed to do right now. Kettle’s sobs are sinking deeper into me. Vioin’s silence is getting louder.

  Moira’s screams that I’ve been trying to erase are looping in head. My eyes are streaming and my throat is closing. I have to gasp to breathe.

  Avoiding Kettle and Violin’s eyes I look back downstream to where I’m taking them.

  There’s no time to grieve, no time to think, just time to move. Kneeling down, I face Kettle and Violin.

  “This water is very dangerous, so I’m going to carry you through one at a time. Don’t get in the water. Do you understand?”

  “Yes,” says Kettle between sobs.

  “Kettle, I’ll take you first.”

  She gets on my shoulders and I trudge through the water to the first alcove. I carry Violin next.

  A Voice in My Head

  We make our way from one alcove to the next. The water is waist deep now, so I have to press myself against the wall to keep from losing my footing. I hear a splash.

  Violin is in the water rushing toward me. I sweep my arm around her and pull her behind me. My flashlight slides out of my hand and gets swept down-current. Its last beam flashes behind us before getting completely submerged.

  Violin is pounding my stomach.

  “Stay against the wall!” I yell.

  Violin keeps pounding.

  “She’s got something to say!” Kettle yells, echoes bouncing away from us. Then I hear something else. The static of Whispers.

  A headache builds as they get louder. I know Moira said not to listen, but the pain is getting sharper, like a spike driving into my skull.

  I listen just a little and the pain lessens, somewhere in the static I find a voice that sounds warm, familiar.

  Get out, the Whisper says. My pulse slows down as do my thoughts. I want to keep listening.

  It’s coming back.

  Holding Violin as close to me as I can, I pull her and Kettle to the next alcove.

  Climb.

  Violin squeezes my hand tightly. Kettle wraps her arms tighter around my neck.

  Climb. Now. The voice is getting clearer, making the darkness feel lighter each time I hear it.

  I feel along the wall. The rungs are slick and rusted, but climbable.

  “Violin, I need you to be above me. I’ll carry Kettle.” It feels like my voice is coming from someone else.

  Violin squeezes my hand, then I hear her climb the rungs.

  Closing In

  We climb up until the space around us gets smaller. I can feel sludge on all slides.

  We make it to a platform and pull ourselves onto it. I crawl forward with Kettle still on my back, feeling along the ground for some idea of where to go.

  Wrong way.

  I turn around.

  “Violin, hold onto my legs. Stay directly behind me.”

  She squeezes my ankle.

  Straight.

  In front of me I can feel a low ceiling. I have to get on my stomach.

  Keep going.

  “Kettle, I need you to stay right behind me with Violin. Can you do that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Don’t let go. No matter what, you don’t let go. Understand?”

  “Yes.”

  I stay in front, crawling forward slowly, feeling for any holes in the ground in front of us. Kettle’s gone quiet, but she’s still holding tight onto me.

  The ceiling slopes lower and the sides close in.

  Ahead, I see a pin tip of light.

  We keep moving through a mess of concrete, metal and slime. The tunnel is so tight now that my arms have to be straight out in front of me.

  The Whispers go silent.

  The voice--there’s no voice anymore. My pulse quickens. It�
��s hard for me to breathe. I want to stand up, stretch my arms as far as they can go, breathe in fresh air. I haven’t breathed fresh air in over a week.

  The point of light is just a little bigger now, but the tunnel is getting smaller. I’m struggling to pull myself forward. I want to scream, beat the walls back, blow the ceiling off.

  Then it gets too tight. My shoulders barely fit in the tunnel. I push them through a tight spot and feel the space open up after they get through. When I get to my waist, I’m stopped.

  I try to wiggle through, but can’t. I try to slide backward. Nothing.

  I yell out for help. Kettle is crying, trying to push me forward. Violin is pushing harder. I can’t breathe.

  The ceiling feels like it’s pressing down. Maybe a collapse. The tunnel’s collapsing. We’re going to die here. We’ll be crushed, trapped.

  I scream once, then I scream again and again, louder each time. Breathing. I can’t breathe. Why can’t I breathe.

  It’s okay

  The Whisper is back and more clear. It’s depth reaches through my skin, making it tingle. I Inhale and count. Slowly, the throbbing lessens behind my ears. I feel my toes press against the old leather of my soaking shoes. Just breathe. Just keep breathing. 1, 2, 3.

  Breathe.

  I feel Violin pushing my feet. I move.

  The space opens and I’m on my knees. I pull Kettle and Violin through.

  “I’m so sorry,” I say, as I grip their hands as tightly as I can. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I want out,” says Kettle. “Please get us out.”

  On our knees now, we continue forward. The light is getting larger. I should move forward slowly, but I can’t stop myself. There’s light, escape, something.

  The ceiling rises. Now we’re standing. I put Kettle on my back and take Violin by the hand.

  We run.

  Light

  The light is closer. It’s coming from a door with a window, shining with blue, brilliant light. Colors splotch across my vision as we get closer.

  At the door, I feel up and down for a handle. Nothing. Violin is pounding on it, kicking. I take her hand and pull her back.

  Break through.

  Feeling along my belt I find the axe, pull it back and beat it against the glass. It shatters into thousands of tiny shards.

  We climb through.

  On the other side, I have to hold my hand in front of my eyes to block the light. Slowly, I move it away as the space comes into focus.

  Big Brother

  As my vision clears I see a glimpse of cloudy sky far above. I can hear and smell the rain. It’s falling lightly, forming pools in the smooth rock beneath us. Rock walls covered in moss and vines with white blooms rise on all sides.

  The Whispers stop. The voice disappears. I’m left dizzy.

  Recessed into the walls are doors like the one we crawled through. We’re in some sort of a wheel and the doors lead to the spokes.

  Kettle plops down and opens her mouth to the sky, letting the rain fall in. Violin moves forward to a deep pool of clear water. Cupping her hands, she drinks handful after handful.

  Looking into the pool I see my face. Mud and small cuts smear around red eyes. I drink, but it makes my stomach hurt so I have to stop. My body wants to stop, shutdown, sleep. We need rest.

  I look back at the white flowers on the walls and listen to the silence. This is as safe a place as we’ll get.

  “You girls need to rest,” I say, then begin gathering dry leaves and petals to make them as good a bed as can be made.

  Violin starts helping me even though I tell her to sit and rest.

  Under the overgrowth, I notice some of the plants Moira used for meals. We rinse off the roots and eat what we can.

  I help Kettle and Violin situate their bed. The only thing I have for a sheet is my jacket so I drape it over them.

  “I can’t sleep,” says Kettle after laying down.

  “I know. But I need you to try.”

  “Mr. Puffins usually sleeps with me.”

  “What about the Misses?” I ask.

  “Oh no, they don’t share a bed yet. . . What if that thing comes again?”

  “We’re safe here. It won’t come back.”

  “I’m not so sure,” she says in an exaggerated tone.

  “I’m keeping watch. It’ll be okay.” I hope I don’t sound as unconvincing as I feel.

  Sunlight starts to fade as we sit. Soon Violin and Kettle are sleeping.

  Violin starts talking in her sleep, her fists are clenched. I slowly open them trying not to wake her.

  The stars shine through the stormy sky until finally, my eyes shut too.

  Life Without Death

  When I fall asleep I dream that I’m back in the Estate and we’re all in the tea room. Cliff is polishing his shoes while Moira plays with Violin and Kettle. Jael is at the window looking somewhere far, far away.

  Don’t Talk to Strangers

  I wake up to a clear morning sky; the sunlight is just reaching over the cliffs encircling us. Violin is awake. Kettle comes over with muddy fingers and a muddy face. They’ve been digging up roots for breakfast.

  “You fell asleep Mister,” says Kettle.

  I have no defense for that one.

  While they eat their breakfast, I look around to see our options for escape. We can’t go back the way we came and we can’t stay. Our only choice is to go through one of these other doors.

  Each door in the wheel has a small window, like the one we smashed through. But behind them, there’s only darkness. Except for one.

  I see something quick, a flash of light, then it disappears. I rush back to the girls

  “Something’s coming,” I whisper. We slide farther under the ledge until we’re sure we’re covered in shadow. Then I see it again.

  I ready my axe. Violin grabs some stones. There’s a loud bang against the door. Then, gunshots.

  Bullets fly through and pierce into the pool of water. The door flies open. A man in a khaki uniform comes through with a flashlight strapped to his shoulder and a gun in hand.

  He sweeps it from side to side as he slowly steps into the open area, finally stopping near the pool. The gun fires again, its bullet shooting just past my face. I jump back and yell before I can stop myself.

  “Come out!” the man orders. I push the girls back and put my finger to my lips, then step into the open.

  “Drop the axe,” he commands.

  I drop it.

  He moves in and looks intently at my eyes. His own are weathered and bloodshot.

  “How about those two rats you’re hiding?”

  Kettle peeps her head out.

  “Don’t worry, I ain’t gonna shoot you,” he holsters his gun “Just had to make sure you were clean.”

  What does that mean?

  He chuckles. “So what are you kids doing down here? Stroll in the park?”

  My glare answers for him.

  “There I go, being all insensitive again. Anna’s always telling me to shut my trap before I open it. Well, it doesn’t matter. We ain’t got much time. One of those things is hunting around in there. Won’t be long before it comes this way."

  I pick up my axe. “We’ll be fine.”

  “The whole settlements on fire, my buddies are dead, and you’re gonna be fine? You ain’t gotta be a bright guy to see you can’t get outta here alone. You even got a light?”

  I keep his eyes locked on mine, but don’t answer.

  “Thought so,” he tosses me a small flashlight from his pocket. “I’ll take the front, you take the rear. Keep the girl’s in between. We’ve gotta move. Now.”

  He’s right. We don’t have a choice. Without light we’re dead and we can’t stay trapped in this hole.

  Violin comes beside me and squeezes my hand. She agrees.

  “So which door?” He asks.