by Arizona Tape
Heather suddenly stood still. “We’re here,” she whispered, the tone of her voice soft and hushed.
Confused, I looked around. There was nothing out of the ordinary or different than what we’d already seen. “Where is here?” I whispered back, matching my tone to hers for no specific reason. It was not like we could startle the forest.
“Here. This is one of our air vents. One of the ways to move between the world above and underground.”
“Everyone uses air vents to go up?”
“No, not everyone… Just me.”
“Oh… So, what means do the others use?”
“They don’t use any. It’s forbidden to come up.”
“It is? Then why—”
“Why do I go up?”
I tilted my head. “Yes?”
“Because the world up soothes me. The forest, the trees, the little leaves. The sound of the wind rustling through the branches, the snapping of little twigs when I walk over them. The calming way rain hits the ground, the smell of dirt in the wet season, the feel of a gentle breeze over your skin in the dry season… All of these things don’t exist in our world and I need it to keep myself calm, keep myself alive.”
“So you come up?”
“Yes. I discovered one of these air vents years back, when I was out exploring. When I realised this was a way up, I carefully examined everything and I’ve been using them to go up and down. I mapped all the vents out to see which ones were the most accessible, yet best hidden.”
“Clever,” I noted, having to admit that this rebellious side of Heather was completely new to me. When she was with me, she seemed rather accepting of everything. But maybe that was because she had no other choice.
“It is, if I do say so myself.”
“So… Where is the vent exactly? Cause I don’t see anything…” I muttered, staring down at the ground, trying to detect an anomaly in nature.
“Here,” she pointed to the tree we were standing next to. I looked down at my feet, trying to spot a handle or a lock, but she tapped me on my shoulder.
“Yes?”
She smiled and pointed up. “To get inside, you climb the tree.”
“Oh…” I muttered, feeling stupid for assuming it was going to be a latch in the ground.
“I’ll go first, you follow me,” she instructed, reaching out for a bulky part of the bark so she could place her foot on it. With ease, she pulled herself up. I stood immobile, not able to take my eyes off of her. She was swift and efficient, her muscles tensing when she moved her body up the tree. I admired her handiness, her speed, her use of muscles and of course, the excellent view I had of her butt—
I felt my cheeks blush up red at the inappropriate timing, given how thin the ice was between us, so I reverted my eyes back to the ground.
“Are you coming up?” Heather mused, holding herself with just one hand while she waved to get my attention.
“Be careful!” I hushed loudly, worried she’d fall and hurt herself. But she just shrugged and waved again. Maybe if I got up there, she’d grab the tree with both hands. I should just get up there and make her stop waving. Yes, that was a good idea. And the tree wasn’t too high, I could easily jump it. But Heather had something else in mind.
“Don’t jump, just climb up, will you?”
I cocked my head to the side. “Why?”
“Because climbing is much more fun. Come on, try it,” she grinned, flashing me a cheeky grin.
“Aah… Nah,” I disagreed, but only for the fun for it. I already knew I would climb the heck out of that tree. Especially if it made her smile like that.
“Oh come on, Ade. Humor me, don’t be a wuss!” she challenged, putting a grin on my face. Oh, she didn’t know who she was messing with. With the swiftness of a feline, I clawed my way up the tree until I was hovering right above her. I trapped her between my arms, grabbing onto the tree so she couldn’t fall. I pressed my body hard on hers, pushing her against the rough bark.
“Watch out who you’re calling a wuss,” I purred in her ear, sending vibrations from my chest to her.
“I… Errr… Won’t. I’m not. Ehmm… I take it back…” she stuttered, her face flushing red. A warmth spread through my chest and I grinned smugly. She was flustered, all kinds of flustered.
“Good,” I blew out, my breath chilly on her ear, giving her goosebumps. “So how do we get in your air vent?” I inquired, my mouth still dangerously close to her ear.
She shivered but quickly composed herself. Or at least, she tried. Her little whimper didn’t go unnoticed and I made a note to entice that sound from her again.
With a blush, she pulled on a latch and revealed a rectangle shaped opening. I held a chuckle back as I stared into the hollow pipe that went all through the tree deep into the ground. If it wasn’t for Heather, I’d never have even known it was here.
“Fuck, that’s a long tunnel.”
“Yes… You up for a glide?” she grinned, her eyes flickering joyfully.
“Why the hell not?”
“Pull the latch when you go down, otherwise the vent stays open and we don’t want that.”
“I… Okay,” I agreed, admiring how she swung herself into the hole. Her body curved with the pipe as she disappeared into the darkness and left me on my own. I peered down and shivered, not believing I was actually going to do this. Somewhere in the back of my head, I felt a little doubt arise. What if this was a trick? What if I got trapped down there with those humans? What if this was her revenge? What if this would backfire?
But then the image of Heather flashed through my head and I knew that whatever was waiting down there, was worth it. After all, she’d been at the same risk in my world and I hadn’t heard her complain. I took one deep breath, filling my lungs with the familiar air from the upper world for what could perhaps be the last time. But oh well, Heather was worth it. I catapulted myself behind her, pulling the latch firmly and definitively shut when I rocketed down.
The slide was far longer than expected. Minutes and minutes of what felt like a free fall and the only thing on my mind was how she’d break the impact at the end of the pipe. I wouldn’t have any problem with it, I was used to such speeds. My body was made to withstand these kind of activities, but Heather’s bones were much more fragile. Well, not just her bones. Everything about her was more vulnerable.
Her body was shooting down the pipe with the same speed as mine, but I couldn’t ask her what was going on or where we were going. But with every minute we fell down, I got more and more worried about our slide. It was cramped, hot, and the smell of metal was overwhelming. And apparently, never ending. Where was this stupid shoot going? What was with the buzzing? We must be coming closer to her human world as the pipe grew warmer and unknown smells and noises penetrated my senses.
Before I could question it, the pipe curved up. I almost let out a yelp of surprise, but managed to muffle the sound before it got out. With an extreme speed for a human body, we shot out of the pipe, sudden light momentarily blinding me. I refocused my eyes, making note of Heather so I wouldn’t fly into her. But she was a sight to behold, running into the air as her body prepared for impact. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she curled up into a ball and rolled the last couple of metres. Dust fluttered up as Heather used the the remaining speed to let herself fly back up. Her muscles tensed as she caught her footing and with a grin, she turned around. Even mid-air, I couldn’t but admire how she went from full speed to complete standstill in practically no time.
My heart raced as I brought my own body to a halt inches before her. With a little bow and raised eyebrows, I held myself back from closing the gap. Amused, she shook her head and rolled her eyes.
“Show off,” she grinned, shoving my shoulder teasingly as she turned to walk off. I ignored the butterflies fluttering in my stomach and ran behind her. Funny, I always seemed to be trying to catch her.
With a sideway glance, I caught Heather’s eye. The grin stretching across my fa
ce probably revealed all the emotion I had stored away, but I didn’t care. I was down here, with Heather, in a world I’d been dreaming of exploring for as long as I could remember.
I stared at the metal grid under my feet and the earth ceiling and walls. There were roots running through all of them. How peculiar.
“So where are all the people?” I inquired, only detecting the humming of what I assumed were machines.
“Further down, we’re on the top level.”
“Okay?”
“We have a couple of layers and levels. This is the first layer of the mechanical level. This one isn’t used much, it’s just the assortment of pipes, electric lines, and cables. Not much maintenance. Then there is a second layer, where only engineers are allowed. Then underneath, the administrative level, where the organisation of our world happens. We call it P&P. Paper and People. One is for all the paperwork, the other one seats our leaders, managers and all other kinds of authorities. You get the drift.”
I frowned. “How deep is this place?”
“Pretty deep, we still have a couple of layers and levels further down.”
I hummed and inspected the area. It was dusty and dark, and not very technically advanced. I wondered what could be down here and how the people lived here. Would it be like the middle ages? Muddy huts and eating with sticks?
“So where do you live?” I smiled, crossing my fingers in the hope it was somewhat nice. If this is where Heather lived, I’d take her right back with me.
“Ground Zero, it’s the living area. I have to say, everything is communal… Public bathrooms, public toilets, public lunchrooms. We share it all. I’m part of SThree.”
“SThree?”
“Shift Three,” she said, as if that made things clearer.
“Meaning?”
“Well… To keep things going, we work and live in three shifts. Otherwise we’d need much more space and utensils. So the days are parted in three shifts… Hmmm… How to explain… Well, imagine a big clock, with twenty-four hours instead of twelve. Shift One is red and is spread out over the first sixteen hours. Shift Two, imagine it’s blue, starts at eight and goes all the way up to twenty four. Shift Three, let’s see… Yellow? Yes, yellow, starts when shift Two has already done eight hours and in its last eight hours, from twenty four to eight, Shift One wakes up, so eight hours of yellow with eight hours of red, give a orange part of eight hours, which is the overlap. Same goes for blue and red, making purple and then another overlap that is green for shift Two with Three… Do I make sense?” she rambled as she tried to explain.
I stared at her with a blank expression. “Errrrm… You lost me at ‘big clock’. Come again?”
“Ooops, sorry. Let’s just say that all the shifts have an overlap of eight hours in the beginning and at the end. This way, two shifts are awake, while another can sleep. And this way, all the shifts know each other, yet are never all awake at the same time.”
“Oh… I think I got it… So you work together with Shift Two in the beginning, then they go asleep and you’re on your own? And in the end, you work a little with Shift One and you go to sleep?” I rephrased.
Heather nodded happily. “Correct.”
“Couldn’t you just explain it like that instead of with clocks and colours and hours?” I grinned, nudging her gently.
“Well, not everyone has such a clear mind as you,” she smiled, teasing me back. I opened my mouth for a comeback, but Heather placed her fingers against her lips.
“Shhh.” She looked around and placed her hand on one of the metal doors in the earth structure. Instead of opening it, she turned and pointed at my face. “The rain. It washed away the mud and now you look again like a… Well… Perfect human being,” she blushed, her eyes averted to the ground.
“Perfect human being, huh?” I repeated smugly, a grin appearing on my face.
“Yes… Come here, I’ll try to make you look less pretty.”
“Good luck with that,” I muttered softly under my breath, earning a punch against my upper arm. “Hey?!” I yelped, only pretending I was hurt.
“Don’t be so cocky,” she grinned, rolling her eyes amused.
“But I am perfect,” I replied teasingly, waggling my eyebrows.
“Okay, I take it back. Anyway, come here and I’ll wipe some mud on your cheeks. At least it’ll look like you’ve been in our world for a while.”
“Alright,” I nodded, letting her wipe dirt on my face. Secretly, I enjoyed how she touched my face so very carefully.
“There… Better,” she whispered, a strange look in her eyes. Before I could ask what that was about, she turned and pushed the heavy door open. It shrieked, like it wasn’t often used and judging from the dust, it wasn’t.
Heather pulled me into a dark room and my eyes adjusted to the pitch black. But to Heather, this must’ve stayed as obscure as ever. Yet, she confidently walked into the darkness, not looking back at me, just assuming I would follow. Which I did.
After a couple of steps, she stood still, bowed down, and pulled another latch. A dull light shone through from underneath and the humming got significantly louder.
“After you,” she instructed, her voice low and breathy. “When you hit the ground, roll to the wall.”
Confidently, I jumped down and moved to the earthy wall. Only seconds later, Heather followed. She grabbed the latch on her way down and pushed it back up in the middle of flight. She definitely had done this before.
To break her fall, she curled up in a ball and rolled forward to the wall where I stood. I held still, letting her roll right in front of me, suddenly dangerously close to me. Her lips only inches from mine. I didn’t move and let out a slow, controlled breath, careful not to cross any boundaries. She awkwardly smiled and stepped away from me, breaking the tension. I held the disappointment back and looked around.
We were in a dimly lit area, with endless cables all stretched out in orderly patterns and structures with so many blinking lights it could induce a seizure. There were so many you could hear the electricity humming, and I couldn’t but wonder how this world had gone unnoticed for so long.
She placed a finger on her lips and we walked alongside the wall towards another steel door. She checked our surroundings, before pushing the heavy door open and revealing what looked like an elevator. Heather swiped a key card in the slot and with a low hum, the black doors opened.
I swallowed a lump and entered the dark cabin. With a click, the doors shut close and the elevator descended. Flashes of light flickered past us as the different layers of Heather’s world past us by. Just when I thought this elevator went on forever, we hit the ground.
And what I saw, was beyond my wildest imagination. Ground Zero was unbelievable. It had… People… Just people. Old men sitting on benches with walking canes in their hands as they watched people passing by. Young men running around, like they had no time in the world, yet always finding the time to leer at the sexy women. Children running around laughing and playing, chasing each other and playing hide and seek. Babies in strollers crying out loud and gentle mothers soothing their little ones.
Amazing. I could never have imagined this world would be a real world. Somehow, I thought it would be disorganised, with all the people living in chaos. But no, this was a well oiled system, leaving me to question what Heather’s part was in all of this.
“You ready?” Heather asked, stress straining her voice. This must be something quite extraordinary for her as well. Was I the first vampire down here?
“I… Yes, I am,” I breathed, gathering my courage and preparing myself for the experience of my life.
“Then let’s go,” she said, slipping her hand into mine and gripping it tightly. She turned her head and we exchanged a look. Just a look, but it was clear. No matter what happened, we were sticking together.
“Showtime,” I whispered, squeezing her hand reassuringly. And with those words, we exited the lift and I set the first foot on human ground. The lift doors s
lowly closed with a soft huff, and with that, the possibility to leave Heather’s world closed as well. And I hoped with all my heart I made the right decision. Would I be able to keep Heather safe? What if this was a set-up? Could I easily escape this underground hole? What if Father and the council went looking for me? What if this…
And then Heather smiled at me, her dark blue eyes sparkling when she caught my gaze and my last doubts melted away like snow in the morning sun.
Everything was going to be okay.
Chapter 5: Grass
I stared at the ceiling, surprised by how light it was down here, given we were so deep underground. There was no way the sunlight could reach down, so how did they manage to get such natural lightening here?
“What are you staring up at, Ade?”
“Just confused, it looks like there’s sunlight down here, but that’s impossible.”
“It’s one of our finest inventions. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to survive down here.”
I crinkled my nose in confusion. “Tell me?”
“Well, you know how a tree actually lives from the sunlight? Our settlement runs very close to the core of the tree. We do something with wires and machines, reversing what’s it called… Photosynthesis. That. I’m not sure how it works exactly, but we use the tree for natural light.”
I hummed. “That’s impressive.”
“Yes. But there is something else great about living here.”
“Oh?”
“I’ll show you, it’s right around the corner.”
And with that, she slipped her soft hand in mine and pulled me closer to her. She skipped excitedly, a big smile playing on her lips. She seemed very pleased with herself and so much more at ease than when she was up with me. Just seeing her like this, calm and relaxed, made me ease up. I trusted her.
“Look at that,” she pointed. I followed her direction and my mouth fell open.
“Erghll…” I gurgled, lost for words.
“You should articulate,” Heather grinned, mischief twinkling in her eyes.
