Olivia's Escape

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Olivia's Escape Page 9

by Cindy Matthews


  He scrambled down the ladder towards her with a tool. "Hang tight on the ropes while I loosen it."

  Hernando hooked one arm about the rope ladder and reached out with a long-handled wrench and began to loosen the nuts and bolts of the grasping end of the mechanical arm. Olivia knew Murnau wasn't going to let go of her that easy. The land engine jerked backward again, causing Hernando to flounder against its side.

  "Hey, stop it!" he yelled at the driver. "That's no way to treat a former honored guest."

  Cursing and screaming, Murnau pulled levers, hit switches and threw open valves in the cab, causing the contraption to shudder and shake violently.

  "I get a funny feeling he hasn't figured out how to work this thing at all," she shouted. "Please hurry before he does."

  "No time for subtleties." Hernando stretched out across the void and began to hammer on the restraining bolts with his wrench. After a few bone-jarring jolts, Olivia felt the mechanical arm loosen its grip on her ankle. She pulled it free and swung her legs then her hands over to the rope ladder, grasping it as the world spun around her. After a few moments the rotations slowed, and she climbed up after Hernando. She felt stiff and sore but alive.

  "Whew!" Olivia gratefully accepted help at the top of the ladder. She rolled over onto her back on top of the high plateau. "You guys came along at the right time. Thanks."

  "No time for thanks, young lady." A middle-aged man helped her to sit up. He reminded her of a leprechaun with his Irish accent and a scraggly white-streaked beard. His small blue eyes squinted in the light while he balanced a rather dusty derby hat atop a head full of fading carroty curls. "We've got to deal with this pesky Pure Blood once and for all or else he'll bring others back here to hunt us down."

  "Stay put and rest," Hernando told her with a pat on the shoulder. "We'll be back."

  Olivia watched the dozen or so former farm workers gather up their tools and long metal sticks—or were they crowbars? The ragtag group headed out along the ridge, paralleling Murnau's vehicle.

  "Get him to back up into the narrow canyon to the right," the leprechaun with the squint ordered the others. He must be their leader. "The loose rock up there will come in handy."

  She couldn't just sit there and do nothing. "Wait up!" She tried to stand up but found herself collapsing under the pain of her captured ankle. "Ow!" Was it broken?

  Hopping and limping, she followed the group heading toward the canyon. They loosened rocks using their long poles as levers, their red-headed leader out-matching them in energy.

  "Come on!" he gasped. "Put your backs into it!"

  Olivia watched, fascinated, as Hernando and the others pried the boulders loose from the cliff face. Peeking over the side, she spied Murnau's vehicle tightly wedged between a rock fall and the high sheer walls of the narrow canyon below.

  "All right! He's not going anywhere now."

  Just as she began to clap her hands in celebration, the mechanical arm reached up and snapped at the leprechaun and his gang. The collective jumped away from the edge.

  Olivia gasped, then shouted, "Watch out! That thing can grab and hold on tight!"

  The mechanical arm thrashed about, trying to scatter them, but the man in the derby kept his troops in line. "Now, now, it's just the death throes of a worthless steam vehicle. Keep loosening those stones. We'll crush him flat!"

  They continued digging, darting, and ducking to avoid the flailing mechanical arm. A boulder came loose and tumbled over the cliff, followed by another. The whole cliff edge began to move, and Olivia could feel the rumble of an avalanche building under her feet.

  "We've got him!" Hernando cried. He raced toward her and grabbed her just as the ground began to sway in earnest. "Lean on me and run!"

  They ran away from crumbling edge, back toward where Olivia had climbed the rope ladder. The crash of large boulders echoed as they soared over the edge and into the ravine where Murnau's vehicle was trapped. One massive boulder the size of a house dropped on top of his machine, buckling the plates as if they were no more than wet cardboard. White steam burst from inside and the air reverberated as the vehicle's boiler exploded. The earth rolled beneath their feet and Olivia and Hernando fell face down on the ground. They clung to each other, eyes squeezed shut until the roar of the avalanche and boiler explosion faded on the wind.

  "Good work," the redhead leader said from close by. Olivia opened her eyes as the leprechaun rose and solemnly dusted his backside off. "Let's make sure it's finished."

  "Stay put," Hernando told her for a second time that day, and, for the second time, she did not obey.

  Olivia limped slowly toward the others. They stood at the raw new edge of the cliff leading down to the canyon, gazing on the destruction their excavation of boulders had caused. Dust and a lingering trace of steam filled the air within the canyon, drifting up to where the steady breeze carried it away.

  "I don't see any way he could have survived," the leader said. "The rocks will cover both the trail he left and the engine's carcass from above, so I don't believe their aerial patrols will be able to spot him. They still have those airships in the city don't they?"

  "They do, but they've not used them in some time," Hernando informed him. "The special air to fill their balloons is difficult to come by, we've heard."

  Olivia gulped as she took in the destruction below. Large boulders and smaller stones had collapsed directly on top of Murnau's vehicle. The leprechaun was right. Murnau must have been crushed to death under the weight of rock—if he hadn't been scalded to death by steam. She knew she should feel some small pity for Murnau and his clan who would mourn his loss, but she felt nothing but relief.

  "Any others chasing you?" the leader asked. Hernando shook his head. "Then let's go to the cave—and get some water in you two. We're all curious what news you have of the rest of the world."

  Chapter Nine

  The welcoming darkness of the Shadow Spires Caverns filled Olivia with awe. She'd never visited a large cave before, but no doubt these caverns would have made a beautiful national park back home. The cool and damp air raised goose-bumps on her exposed flesh. She gladly accepted a metal cup of cold spring water as they entered. Hernando greedily lapped his from the ladle even before their rescuer could pour it into a drinking vessel. After a momentary rest, the group continued deeper into the cave.

  "Stay on the footpaths, please. We're preserving the stalagmites from wear and tear." The man with the squint and the derby hat had yet to introduce himself. "The dripping minerals indicate there is plentiful water in this desert deep underground. We of human descent and our Quadsang brethren will be able to use it to irrigate the dry lands on this lighted side and create a planet of gardens."

  An optimist and a visionary. Olivia smiled. No doubt Mr. Derby was this Resistance cell's leader. She found it odd that these rebels seemed to know who they were before they'd even introduced themselves.

  "You haven't told us your names," Olivia blurted out. Their new friends all turned and looked askance at her. "Oh, sorry."

  "And you haven't told us yours." Their leader came to a stop and sat down on a boulder. He chuckled. "I guess we both are afraid to share too much information. We were expecting someone from one of the farms to come soon and join us on our assault of the city. We assume you're advance scouts from that party?"

  "We are the party," Hernando informed them. "I'm Hernando and this is Olivia. She's a newcomer to BloodDark, but she shows great promise in becoming a Resistance fighter."

  "Does she now?" The man smiled and winked. "My name is Charlie, but you can call me Caveman. Everybody around these parts calls me Caveman because I know all the ways in and out of these tunnels and passages."

  Hernando grinned and shook hands. "Caveman, you're exactly who we've come to see. We've got an idea to help you infiltrate the city."

  Olivia patted her full stomach and sighed. Their filling dinner consisted of some wild-animal-or-another stew with plenty of cave-grown mushrooms
and wild desert herbs added for taste. When one of the female Resistance members told her about their bathing facilities with a small hot spring in an adjacent cavern, she almost jumped for joy.

  "Can I borrow some soap and shampoo?" she asked.

  The handful of leaves and herbs her new friends provided weren't exactly what she expected, but she gratefully accepted them and followed the other women into what they called the bathing room while the men sat around the fire in the large meeting area discussing the pros and cons of Hernando's plan to take over BloodDark City.

  The steam rising rapidly from the water's surface surprised her. Olivia took a step back. "I've never taken a bath in a hot spring before. Is it scalding hot?"

  "It is when it first bubbles up," a young fighter who had introduced herself earlier as Annara said. With short, dark hair and olive complexion, she appeared to be of Mediterranean origin, possibly Greek or Italian? "We let the water flow into another pond we dug ourselves and cool down first so it's not quite so hot." She pointed to where a narrow channel had been cut into the bare rock of the cavern floor. "The water drains from our bathing pool into a tunnel that way, so the stuff in the pool stays fresh."

  Olivia rubbed her sore ankle and bumps and bruises. "Hmm, I'd love a good long soak."

  The women retired to a small alcove and hung out their clothing. The bathing room was furnished with handmade benches and racks made out of small branches of a particularly sturdy desert bush. Shyness overcame Olivia. She hated undressing in front of others. She had avoided taking PE whenever possible, so locker room talk didn't come easily to her.

  "Here's a towel—catch!" Annara shouted.

  Olivia grabbed the thin piece of cloth and quickly wrapped it around herself. She watched the group head toward the pool and splash into the water.

  "Jump in. The water's great." The wiry brunette sank lower into the water, frowning as Olivia stood clutching the towel about her middle. "You're not afraid of drowning, are you? I promise it only goes to just above my waist in the deepest area."

  "Oh, no. It's not that. I can sort of tread water." Olivia grinned. "It's just that I've never taken a bath with lots of people before."

  "I've never taken a bath without," the young fighter replied, laughing. "We'll promise to close our eyes if it helps."

  Olivia snorted as Annara sank her head beneath the surface. Realizing how silly she was acting, Olivia stuck her toe into the warm water then tossed her towel away and stepped in, sinking up to her shoulders. "Whoa! That feels great. I'm in hot water all right."

  The brunette popped up beside her. "From what I hear, that's true. Not many girls fresh out of the Portal are put on the menu at a Pure Blood festival."

  Olivia blinked. "You heard about my being the guest of honor? I don't believe Hernando mentioned those exact details while explaining his plan to infiltrate the city."

  "I guessed. You had Murnau chasing after you." She shuddered. "No one can ever forget Murnau." Annara began to rub the leaves hard against her skin, working up lather.

  "So he... he sniffed you, too?" Olivia remembered that first day in the cell with the other young women. How many hundreds of others did that demon traumatize?

  Annara nodded and looked away. "I was lucky. There were two of us who met with his approval. I...I was passed over but my friend... She was chosen."

  "You don't have to go on." Olivia patted her new friend's arm to keep Annara from scrubbing her skin off. "We're going to stop him and all others like him."

  Annara smiled. "You can count on me and all the girls here to help." Suddenly the whole cavern rang with cheers and clapping. Olivia's heart soared. It felt almost as good as being home.

  "Did you have a nice soak?" Hernando teased her an hour later as she passed him in the main chamber as the men readied themselves for their daily bathing ritual.

  "Don't worry. We left more than enough warm water for you." She flashed a grin and gave him a flick of her towel.

  He raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying I need a bath?"

  "Bath?" Olivia laughed. "A car wash would do you a world of good!"

  His puzzled look was worth it. "A car what?"

  "Never mind. Just be sure to wash behind your ears. Anyone could smell you a mile off. Remember, stealth is part of our plan."

  Hernando drew closer and sniffed her freshly cleaned hair. Lowering his voice, he murmured, "Hmmm... Thing is, will the Pure Bloods be able to smell you?"

  Olivia tingled all over. His lips were close enough to kiss. She felt herself falling into Hernando's deep brown eyes. She knew that if they were left alone she wouldn't be able to help herself. She'd no longer work as bait to set their trap, but she couldn't help her feelings. "I don't care about the Pure Bloods," she whispered. "I care about you."

  He smiled and brought his lips closer yet. She closed her eyes and allowed him to pull her toward his strong chest. As she melted in his embrace, a gruff voice forced them apart.

  "There you two are," Caveman bellowed, patting them both on the shoulder, forcing them to spring apart. "Hernando, let's clean up first and then we can discuss with Olivia how we're going to go about infiltrating the city."

  "Sounds good." Hernando backed away toward the bathing room.

  "Catch you two later." Olivia waved, trying hard to hide her disappointment.

  She followed the other women to the sleeping area and gladly accepted the use of a hand-whittled hair pick to untangle her frizzy hair. Sitting down on the corner of a cot, she sighed. We both feel the attraction, but is this the time to start a relationship? I've got to get home!

  "You thinking of how to get the Pure Bloods less interested in you by taking a lover?" Annara plopped on the bunk next to Olivia's. "I'm not sure Caveman will let you do that."

  Olivia blushed. She tried to act indifferent by turning away from her new friend and working on a particularly difficult tangle. "I don't know what you mean."

  Annara smiled. "I was near your age when I was taken from the clan's farm and brought to the city as a servant. When I realized what Murnau was interested in, I found a lover. He was eager and gentle enough."

  Olivia's face grew warmer. "You don't have to tell me the details."

  "It was a brief affair," Annara continued with a shrug, "but it made the Pure Bloods change their minds about inviting me to their feasts. I angered them, and they punished me. They always act harsher to those servants they deem uncooperative, especially those who spoil their feasting."

  Olivia could sense the hatred in the young fighter's words. She stole a quick glance and spied tears streaming down Annara's face—but only for a second. Annara brushed them aside and her determined look returned.

  "You were sent to the farm we escaped from?" Olivia asked.

  "Eventually. They used me as they saw fit until they grew tired of my... How do I say it? My uncooperativeness."

  Olivia shuddered at the implications behind the word used. "That's wrong in so many ways!"

  Annara's smile showed a hint of bitterness. "What choice did I have? The strong dominate here as they do everywhere. All I could do was keep my brain intact and figure out a way to escape."

  "What do you mean by escape?" Olivia's curiosity got the better of her. "Were you trying to reach the Portal?"

  Annara nodded. "I got as far as the plaza before those Overseer thugs captured me and threw me into the dungeons before sending me out here."

  "Wow! You must really know your way around town."

  The two shared their respective insights into the lay-out of the Pure Bloods' city for several minutes. Olivia's hopes grew as Annara imparted her knowledge of shortcuts and secret entrances into various public buildings.

  "You'll definitely have to lead us into the city, Annara," Olivia said. Caveman and Hernando appeared at the entrance to the women's sleeping area just then as if on cue.

  "Olivia, come with us. Let's discuss our plans," Caveman called out.

  She gave Annara a wink and stood to follow them. "Y
ou two weren't gone long. Did you guys even take a bath?" Olivia wondered aloud.

  The barracks erupted with laughter, whistling, and hooting. Hernando looked uncomfortable, but Caveman only shrugged. His dripping, uncombed curly hair and scraggly beard gave testimony that Charlie the Caveman paid little heed to his appearance.

  "You girls used up all the soap leaves and hot water—as usual." Caveman flashed the crowd a crooked grin. "Get along now. We haven't got all night."

  Olivia approached their leader and lowered her voice. "Annara should be in on the discussion. She's been as far as the plaza in an escape attempt. She's very knowledgeable about getting around the city without the Pure Bloods catching on to us."

  "It's true. She led them on one merry chase." Caveman stroked his chin thoughtfully. "All right, bring her along. We might as well get our teams assembled tonight rather than tomorrow."

  "Great!" Olivia gestured for Annara to join them. They proceeded to the gathering chamber where several others were examining what appeared to be a long hand drawn map painted on a piece of thin tanned leather.

  "Thanks, Pablo, for breaking out the cave trails guide." Caveman indicated everyone should gather around the graphic. "Now, I realize most of us are familiar with the caves and tunnels leading toward the farms and the transport station, but I want to show you another way. Pablo, flip the map over and study the trails I've sketched showing the other side of the world."

  "Very funny, Caveman. You almost had us there." A beefy, sandy-blond-haired fighter whom Olivia assumed was Pablo gave a throaty chuckle. "You know very well no one knows of any trails beyond those on this side of the map." Several of the others concurred.

  Caveman's eyes twinkled. "Humor me and turn it over anyway."

  Pablo did as he was told. Instead of hundreds of well-marked cave trails, Olivia spied a smaller system with what looked like regular spaced lines and one lone wriggly red line.

  Pablo smug grin faded as he stared at the map. "What's this?"

  "It's where I earned my nickname." Caveman's face grew somber as he ran a finger over the map. "Way back when, I worked in a mine the Pure Bloods had about a day's travel by foot out from the BloodDark City." He glared at his team members. "The work was far harder than anything you've encountered at the farm. Frankly, those sent to that mine were sentenced to die."

 

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