Freed

by Holly Hook

  “Come on!” Jaden tugs on my sleeve.

  The Dwellers thicken around Ned. He stumbles and Garrett manages to elbow him. His sleeve comes back and I catch a glimpse of another tattoo on his right forearm this time, something blue and glittering, and then it snaps down again. He's not going to get Dweller sick. I can.

  “Elaine!” Ned shouts. “Go!”

  I let Jaden tug me away from them. What am I doing? Ned's slumping to the ground. The Dwellers have got him. They're going to drag him away. And he has a kid. A little boy, back in Wompitt who's waiting for his father to come home.

  It was brave of him to come out here, knowing he might never see his child again.

  I close my eyes and tear away from Jaden. “I have to do this!”

  “You can't. There are too many Dwellers. You'll pass out!”

  I keep my eyes closed and let Jaden pull me. The whole world's heat and rushing little claws. Squeaks. The sound's deafening. My feet move and Pit's there, rubbing against my legs. Everyone's here. Everyone that Garrett wants to kill. He'll murder Ned for sure. My friends, too, after this. The Dwellers will cart them away as soon as I'm disposed of in that lake. But what can I do? I can't go through these Dwellers and not pass out. I'll see their disgusting green eyes and go down. There's no way I can kill Garrett.

  But he's growling again.

  “Come on!” Jaden shouts. “Run!”

  He's behind us. There's a shift in the Dwellers' sounds and I know Garrett’s coming through. He'll grab me around the neck again. The heat's fading. We must be above the Flamestone lake by now. He just has to make a good push and I'm going in.

  “Jaden, let go!”

  I shake my arm and break free of his grasp. Vapor from the waterfall falls on me. We're right above the Deadstone and the river. I struggle to stay upright in the sea of Dwellers. We have one chance. Pit lets go of my pant leg and growls. I reach for the Megapede jaw in my pack, but it's wedged down too far for me to get out.

  “You're not doing that again!” Garrett's hand seizes the back of my shirt and pulls. I keep my eyes closed. This is the first confrontation all over again.

  “Let go of her!” Jaden pushes past me. He seizes Garrett's hand and tries to pull him off, but Garrett's crazed. I dare to open my eyes just a bit. The whole place is moving. Greens, reds and oranges dance cover the walkways and scurry around us. We're in a sea of Dwellers with the lake of fire in the middle. I kick. Some fly into the lake. Flames spit up where they land and sink. There are too many of them. We'll never be able to fight them all.

  Garrett pulls me back. He grunts. He's going to shove me forward into the lake. I throw my elbow back and hit him in the ribs. His grip loosens and I break free. I won't get sick. I won't look down at the Dwellers and pass out. I stagger as far as I can from the edge of the trail. It's a death of agony down there. I'm sure.

  “You disgust me!” Garrett shouts.

  “Good,” I say. I glance at the trail across from us. Shawn and Talia still lie on the ground, surrounded by Dwellers who don't know what to do with them yet. They're waiting for Garrett's orders. Orders that I have to make sure never come.

  “Elaine. Get out of here!” Ned shouts from further down.

  He's there, staggering through the Dwellers. Garrett's eyes widen as Ned kicks them out of the way. Ned faces the ceiling. Seizes Garrett's arm and throws him against the wall. “Leave, Elaine. I'll finish him!”

  I'm not leaving.

  I have to end all of this and I think I understand how.

  “Garrett,” I say, walking towards him. He's breathing heavy. The Dwellers run across my shoes, but they don't grab at me. Don't try to trip me. There's only one explanation for that. “You said the Dwellers know I'm your stepdaughter?” There's no point in hiding it from Ned anymore. All the truths are out.

  Garrett’s eyes widen.

  And he nods.

  “And if I don't die, I destroy the Society?”

  Garrett looks down. Even Ned looks at me funny. Jaden yells at me to come on again.

  I face Jaden, keeping my gaze off the ground. I keep my eyes mostly shut to avoid seeing the seething mass around and behind him. “Get my friends out of here!” I shout. “Help them get out of this cave.”

  He nods.

  Runs around me and back down towards Travis and Baxter.

  I grab Garrett's arm.

  He groans in horror. We have to do this. We have to end this now.

  At least now, I won't be the only one responsible.

  Ned nods at me. Garrett struggles. I almost lose my grip. But the Dwellers aren't trying to trip me. Ned's too big for them to overcome.

  We pull Garrett from the wall.

  Towards the edge.

  Garrett's sleeve rolls back again. It's the arm with the blue tattoo. It's a blue drop of water, tattooed on his forearm right where the flame is on the other.

  It's Waterstone.

  The stone that's supposed to make Flamestone dissolve.

  I think I know why he has it.

  “Why do you have this?” I ask.

  Garrett scowls at me.

  “Why?”

  “Because I'm the leader!” he shouts. He yells as loud as he can. “I'm the leader! You can't take that away from me!”

  “Yes, we can,” I say.

  “You worthless girl!” he shouts. “I should have never taken you in. I should have never even thought about--”

  Ned and I shove him forward. He lurches and tries to grab onto the stone with his shoes. It's no use. His shoes are too shiny. Too rich and too new. They can't grip. His feet slide off the edge and I let go.

  “Elaine!” Ned grabs my arm as he falls. Ned pulls me back. Garrett screams as he plunges down towards the lake of fire.

  There's a sucking sound and the Flamestone lake erupts in fury.

  Ned pulls me against the wall. I let him. Travis stands on the other side of the chamber, then staggers and falls into the stone. Flamestone surges up from the lake in a geyser, splattering many of the Dwellers and sending many of them running back towards the caves. Some fall into the waterfall to get swept into the river. Garrett's fallen in. He's gone. That Waterstone tattoo won't save him from an entire lake of Flamestone.

  And I feel nothing.

  Nothing at all.

  I've done what my father planned to do and there's no triumph to replace it.

  The geyser calms, leaving the Dwellers to squeal and squeak. Are they grieving? They might be. They all skitter around, lost, without direction. Globs of Flamestone drip off the sides of the trail and back into the lake to join the molten mass. I dare to take a step closer to the edge. My breath comes in gasps. I’m shaking. The Dwellers are all run from me now, away from Shawn and away from Talia. They're gathering near the edge of the lake, at the very bottom where Travis stands, trying to look up and keep out of their way. They’re all staring down into the lake, watching and waiting. Fire shoots up where the liquid laps against the shore. Travis faces me and scoots up the trail towards us, inching along the wall. He's got a smoking hole in the side of his jeans. The Flamestone geyser just missed his flesh. And Baxter still lies further up the trail, closer to us, trying to push himself up. His blindfold’s on his forehead.

  I hold down the sickness.

  “Elaine, are you okay?” Ned asks.

  “You...” I manage.

  “Baxter told me everything,” he says. “My brother is alive, correct?”

  “He is. You’ll see him.” I don't face him. I'm not sure how I feel about him yet. “He's in prison, though.”

  “You have more guts than I do, Elaine.”

  The Dwellers push around each other, standing at the shore below us. They squeak and squeal, calling for Garrett.

  And a hand surfaces.

  Flamestone slides off Garrett's hand. It's the most horrifying thing I've seen. His skin is gone. There's bone showing. He manages to claw the air one last time, and then his hand goes under again.

  The
Dwellers all let out one loud, high-pitched squeal that makes me cover my ears.

  He's dead.

  We’ve done it.

  “We need to go,” Ned shouts over the squealing. “Your friend Jaden here found us in the cave and led us down here. Something strange has happened to him. I would have killed him if he hadn't known where to go, but--”

  “I can see in the dark,” he reminds Ned. Jaden stands there, helping Baxter up, which is very brave of him. “I saw you a mile away. You need me to get you out of here. Remember that.”

  The Dwellers keep squealing below us, playing out some horrible funeral song. The head of the Flamestone Society is gone. They're so distracted, staring down at the Flamestone that they don't seem to notice us. Talia and Shawn manage to stand. Walk towards us, holding onto each other. The Dweller sickness is wearing off of them. Travis joins us. Even Pit rubs on my legs. We’re all together again.

  And Jaden's right. We need to go.

  “What's the Society going to do now?” Baxter asks. He keeps his spear close. “What are they going to do without--”

  I have a feeling I know.

  “Let's not find out,” Ned says. “We need every one of these bodies out of here. And I would like an explanation as to where Weslie and Antoine are.”

  “Later,” I say. I can't have Ned crashing in on the Disgraced. That won't go well. “They’re safe.”

  Ned seizes my arm. Jaden waves him along. “This way!”

  Shawn and Talia join us. Talia lets go of Shawn’s shoulder. Ned lets me go and I take Shawn's hand. “What happened?” he asks. “Who are these guys?”

  “Later,” I say. I have to trust Jaden here. He's going to get us out of here.

  Garrett's gone.

  My nightmare is gone.

  How will I explain this to my mother?

  What if she figures out the truth—that I helped to do this?

  The Dwellers' horrible wails grow louder. They loved Garrett. I never realized they could feel grief. I tighten my grip on Shawn's hand. Jaden leads us up the walkway, towards a narrow cave that's dark and comes out right above the place where Talia was lying before. We're all here. All alive. I can't believe how lucky we are.

  “In here,” Jaden says. “Light another torch. Just don't shine it in my face.”

  Baxter drops his spear and steals a torch from Shawn's pack. He finds the matches and stares at them, amazed. “How did you get these?” he asks, striking one. He lights the torch and light fills the tiny cavern.

  The Dwellers' cries fade now.

  The distraction we had might be gone very soon.

  I enter the cavern, right behind Baxter. This tunnel’s cracked like the others, with Flamestone underneath. Jaden leads. He's a figure in the dark and he plows ahead, not afraid to run into anything and not afraid to run off any surprise drop offs. We're heading upwards. This There's another vein of Flamestone right above us, yearning for the world above.

  “This goes up to the mines!” Jaden shouts. “We have a long way, but we can do it if you keep that light going!”

  “And then?” I ask.

  “And then to the Wompitt cave,” he says. “I found another way around that cave in. We'll have to pass the entrance to the Processing Office again, but we can make it.”

  “What is going on here?” Talia asks. She's coming up right behind me. Our footfalls echo off the stone.

  “You won't believe it,” I say. I'm so elated, so glad that we're getting out of here and that we have someone who knows the way. That the workers from the worm burrow are getting out of here, too. “I'll catch you up as soon as we're back on Earth. Or at least on the surface.” We still don't know where there's a gateway. Or what's going to happen.

  “Earth?” Talia asks. “You mean we’re on another freaking planet?” And then she squeals. “This is so cool!”

  I wish I could join her.

  I don't even know where I'll be even an hour from now.

  The Dwellers' wails and squeals fade all the way. They're done mourning.

  And then there's the thunder of tiny feet. Headed right for us.

  “Go,” Travis shouts. “They’re after us again.”

  I glance back. Talia's thin frame and Ned's huge form block the view of the lake. He's running up in the very back, trying to shield us from what's coming behind. We don't have that much light. The lantern's still in the Heart chamber. I can't go back for it.

  “They want revenge!” Travis shouts.

  My sides burn with the effort of running uphill. Jaden still leads. Ned shoves me forward. “Go!” he yells. “Don't let them get you.”

  Baxter curses. “We've got miles.”

  “I know,” Jaden says.

  The thunder of little feet gets even louder. It echoes. They’re entering our tunnel. They're on our heels. The cavern goes upward and the cracks of Flamestone underfoot get smaller. We're coming out of this layer. Is there going to be more gas? The walls are getting streaked with red again and the wind blasts against us, urging us forward. Red vapor wisps past us. There’s no time to put on gas masks. If we can't get through here okay, then we're done.

  “Keep going!” Jaden shouts. “Try to hold your breath.” This is a different cave than what we're used to. Demon Cave was another way.

  “Is there an elevator?” Talia asks. She runs next to me. “One back up to the surface?” All her delight is gone now. This is serious.

  “I don't know. We have a lot of catching up to do.” I have to shout over the Dwellers. They stay as loud as ever.

  “They’re here!” Ned shouts.

  Something scrapes the back of my shoe. Pit snaps at something. We can't run very fast up this hill. All the caverns are going upwards at this point. I'm expending way too much energy doing this and I'm dizzy from the heat and lack of water. The Dwellers want us. They want me. Garrett's gone. Those thoughts spin through my head and I link my hand with Shawn's. The other, with Talia's. We have to make it out of here.

  “This opens up ahead!” Jaden shouts.

  He's right. Baxter holds up the torch like he expects it.

  We all scramble forward, into the ring of light. We don’t have to run single file here. The Dwellers all squeal in pain. We're inside a large dome chamber again. There's Brainstone vapor on the floor, but it only rises to our ankles. I feel fine. The Dwellers behind us skitter. They're only feet away. We can't look back at them or we're done.

  “There's a walkway up this chamber,” Jaden explains, pointing into the dark. “This leads back up to the mines. From there we can get back to the Wompitt cave and get out.”

  And he runs into the dark.

  Baxter follows. “Another climb. Great!” Shawn yells.

  We all run behind the moving, bobbing torch. We don't have time to stop and light another one. They're all in Shawn's pack. My breath comes in gasps now. My sides split. I need to drop the weight off my back. I let go of Shawn and Talia and shuffle off the backpack. It lands with a thud. I sense a bunch of little shapes swarming over it. It might distract them for a few minutes.

  The Dwellers know you're my stepdaughter.

  Garrett's there all over again. Maybe there's enough gas in this chamber to mess with me. We reach the trail in the edge of the wall. It's another worm burrow that spirals up towards the levels above. Shawn sucks in a breath and grabs my hand. We climb, staying as close together as we can and within the tiny bubble of light. We pass another Flamestone vein, a curvy one that's not the same one we passed before. These caves really are all connected. I hope it was the same worm that made these burrows, or we might be doomed.

  “Come on!” Shawn shouts.

  They know.

  If you live, you destroy the Society.

  God, I think. I think I understand. God.

  Talia pants next to me. “We're never going to make it out of here,” she says. She's wheezing. Her asthma's kicking in. Talia could never make it in sports, let alone this. One of the Dwellers claws at my shoe again. Sh
awn runs beside me, ignoring them.

  “Shawn,” I breathe. “I have to let them take me.”

  He faces me. “What?”

  “You guys will never make it out of here on one torch. Go. I'll catch up with you later. Just get to the surface for now. Find that river. I'll find you again!”

  It pains me to leave him again. I slow. All this rushing will kill everyone. I have to do something before the Dwellers exhaust my friends to death.

  “We just...” Talia manages. “We just found each other again!”

  “This isn't permanent,” I tell her.

  “Elaine!” Shawn shouts.

  “Trust me on this!”

  We'll never get out of here unless I can learn where there's a gateway, and there's only one way to do that.

  I turn around.

  Face the Dwellers.

  Ned and Baxter and Jaden keep running, unaware of what I'm doing. I have to leave them all for now. Face something more terrifying than killing Garrett. It's the only way. The only way I'm going to be able to set this right.

  Shawn shouts my name again, but I run forward, right into the seething mass.

  Their yellow and red points are everywhere. Their huge, green sickening eyes. Illness washes over me and my ears ring. I'm going to pass out. Shawn keeps screaming my name, and Ned's yelling something, too. I wish I could explain this to them. I wish I could tell them that maybe, just maybe, everything will turn out to be all right. But there's no time.

  I have to do this on my own.

  The strength drains from my legs and I stagger. Fall. I'm passing out. The Dwellers have stopped. They're ready to catch me. I slump to the ground and hundreds of tiny little hands catch me. I'm landing on a cushion of tiny forms. They were ready. Maybe I'm all they wanted after all.

  Go, I think with my last conscious thought.