Found (#2 Flamestone Trilogy)

by Holly Hook

  “But we can use Jaden to lead us. He's been down there. He knows where they must have taken Antoine. We can tie him up and go down there and look for Antoine. And anyone who wants to come with us, can. He's our most valuable guy.”

  Weslie faces me. That's horror on her face.

  I've crossed the line.

  I just offered to go down there.

  What's happening to me? I'm not the same person I was when I emerged from the mines.

  Ned advances on me now. I don't dare flinch.

  “Are you just saying that because you want to escape right along with him?” he asks.

  “If you want,” I say, “Send one of your guards down with us so we can't. I don't care. We have to get Antoine out there. If the Flamestone Society went through all this to get him, then he must be important. He must hold some kind of key to ending all of this. Did you notice that the Dwellers didn't take anyone else?”

  “I did,” a man says from the back. “They were only after Antoine. They stormed his house. They knew right where to go.”

  Garrett doesn't consider me much of a threat now. Maybe he thinks I'll just adapt to life here like all the others and he'll just make up some story for my mother. He'll live with her heartbreak rather than bring me back home. He'll let her cry.

  I hate him more and more.

  "I...I will go, too," Weslie says. "Just let us take Jaden. He's our only hope of finding him."

  “I think I will,” Ned says. “Baxter! You are going to go down there with these three on the rescue attempt. Make sure they're not traitors after all. I think it's a suicide mission myself. No one has ever come back from the underground. No one.”

  Baxter's in the doorway of the cabin now, leaning against the edge. He looks up at Ned in horror. Weslie shifts and lets go of Jaden. He sighs in relief and sinks to his knees.

  “We all came back from the underground,” I say. “Most of us escaped from there. It's possible.” What am I doing? I'm offering to go down there with Weslie in tow where she's going to have uncontrollable panic attacks. But Weslie doesn't protest. Instead, she nods at me. It's Antoine down there. And I have Shawn and Talia and Travis to save. These tunnels must lead to them...eventually.

  Ned nods. “The four of you will leave at dawn,” he says. “It is obvious where the tunnel begins. It is too dark to send the four of you with torches now. And just to make sure that you don't back out, Baxter will guard the entrance to your cabin, Elaine. And I will keep Jaden under close watch.”

  “Don't hurt him,” I say. “We need him healthy so he can help us with this.”

  “I won't. Maybe,” Ned says, facing Jaden. Jaden's eye is beginning to swell. He'll have a black eye by morning. It must throb. I'm glad for that.

  We do need him, though.

  We'll never find Antoine or the others down there without him. Jaden must have been underground at some point if the Dwellers put that green spiral on him. I have no clue what it means, but it can't be good.

  Ned walks me over to my cabin. Parts the curtain back. I go in and surrender the axe to Ned's outstretched hand. I wait for him to swing, but he merely nods. It's somehow scarier. Baxter stands on the outside of the cabin, right under the overhang of the thatched roof and barely out of the rain. He's going to stay there the rest of the night. I almost feel sorry for him.

  And Ned vanishes.

  Baxter looks back at us. “Get your sleep,” he says. “You're going to need all the rest you can get. So will I.”

  Is that a glimmer of fear in his eyes?

  Have we doomed him?

  I fear yes. Tomorrow might be our last time seeing the sun.

  I lie down on the bed and look outside, to where the rain continues to fall as if it's crying for us.

  Chapter Seven

  Cave

  “Up!”

  Ned's shouts echo through the town. Footsteps shuffle past us. There's no chatter today. No conversation about chores, even though I'm sure Ned will be handing those out after the four of us set off down that tunnel.

  I wonder who will milk the cows from now on.

  I get out of the bed. My stomach's upset. What have I done?

  Weslie and I meet at the fire and shuffle out to our usual log and sit. The little girl passes out plates. She looks back and forth between the cabins as if searching for Dwellers. The rain has stopped, but it remains overcast. At least we'll be dry as we eat. And at least the rain gave us a shower and I don't have to worry about smelling bad.

  Ned paces around the fire. “Morning!” I can hear the nerves in his voice. “Elaine, Weslie, and Jaden have kindly offered to go on a rescue mission for Antoine. We need him back. He has contributed so much to Wompitt and if he does not return, he will be badly missed.”

  Mutters. All eyes turn to face Weslie and I. Jaden's nowhere.

  There's nothing about us being badly missed. We're expendable after all. Maybe that's why Ned's OK with us going down there.

  “We will give them supplies to survive down there for some time,” he says. “We know where the tunnel is that the Dwellers took Antoine through. It was the one blocked off with stones. I'm sure they have been moved by Jaden here right before the Dwellers came through.” He glares to the other side of the fire.

  I see him between the flames. Jaden sits there, wrists bound with twine. Baxter stands next to him now. The man shifts leg to leg. He's going down in the dark soon. I wonder if he'll try to kill us so he can return to Ned and tell him the mission was a failure. He might try anything not to have to go down there. I'm glad we're surrounded by brave souls.

  “This will be the first attempted rescue mission since my brother Steven left us,” Ned continues. Is that crazy hope in his voice? Some vain hope that somehow, his brother might return? That we might find him? “I do not expect this to succeed, and if it does not, we will never again attempt any rescue mission of any kind. Our survival out here is too valuable.”

  “I'm glad he's confident,” I whisper to Weslie. But she sits there, hand in her chin, and swallows. She's in another world now, one with giant Megapedes and her brother's screams. “Look. You don't have to go down there with me. Really.”

  If there was only a way to make him go down and do this himself.

  “I'm going,” she says. “I'm not leaving you to go down there by yourself. You're my friend. And I'm not abandoning Antoine.”

  Jaden looks pale on the other side of the fire. He's sitting bent over. He squints. Is it from guilt? I hope so. Antoine could be dead right now for all we know. They're sure not going to throw him in one of the upper mines where he can escape again.

  The meat is deer again, which I devour. I need all the strength we can get. The little girl then brings Weslie and I a big plate of veggies, which I shovel down.

  Jaden, I notice, gets a plate with a thin layer of veggies on it. It'll be just enough to keep him going. He doesn't get any meat. I'm glad for that, too.

  He takes a bite and spits it out like it's poison.

  Ned motions for the two of us to stand. At the same time, Baxter pulls Jaden to his feet.

  Two guards lower the gate.

  It might be for the last time.

  And next to the gate lies my backpack. It's still dirty from the muddy tunnel, but it looks like someone tried to clean it. My axe lies next to it and the Megapede jaw is still in the pocket. The people of Wompitt have also provided us with a leather pack for Weslie and a fur sack for Baxter. There's no fourth pack. Jaden gets nothing.

  “There are torches and moss in the fur sack,” Ned explains. “The leather one contains food. There is lots of water underground, so you should be able to keep yourselves from getting too dehydrated down there. Unless, of course, you have to venture into the deepest regions. Let us pray that you do not have to go there.”

  “What are the--” I ask.

  “Later,” Weslie tells me. Maybe she's seen them before. I don't know.

  We take our packs. Jaden walks with his head down. He's sl
uggish. Baxter comes behind him. No one hands him a pack or any supplies. Ned makes sure his binds are tight. I'm not sure what we're going to do if he has to go to the bathroom. I'm glad to have Baxter with us for that.

  Baxter's the first to walk towards the hole in the field. Jaden might have been in the process of connecting the two tunnels when the Flamestone Society decided to do its raid. Antoine might have been on the verge of an anti-Dweller breakthrough and Jaden just let them know about it.

  The rope ladder's already there, ready for use. Ned stops next to it.

  “When you go down, you may have to move the blockage down there,” Ned instructs us. “Proceed down the tunnel and find him.”

  I take a breath. This is my chance to go after Shawn and Talia and Travis, too. Even if I can get them to Wompitt, that would be great. It's better than nothing.

  “Keep light with you at all times,” Ned says. “Those torches should last you for days. It will be enough to hold the Dwellers back. You should be able to get past them.” Is that doubt in his voice? I look at the hole and shudder. I'm going back down there. Down to where this nightmare started.

  But what if we find another way back to Earth?

  Garrett said something about gateways forming deep underground from radiation. If I find him, there could be one nearby.

  “Let me go first,” Jaden says. It sounds like he's in pain.

  “Why?” Weslie asks. “So you can run?” She makes a motion like she wants to kick him, but stops herself.

  He says nothing.

  “Come on,” I say to Weslie and Jaden and Baxter. “I'll go down first.”

  Ned shrinks away almost like he's ashamed. Maybe Jaden's right and he is nothing but a big coward. I'm going down there and he's not. I know what Ned will say to everyone once we're gone. I won't fit. That's his excuse.

  Ned extends the rope ladder. It falls into the pit.

  I'm less scared to go down this time. I climb down and the dirt hugs me. I drop my backpack and it lands below. The space opens up and I reach bottom. The dirt smell invades. I wonder how the air is deeper in the ground. I've read about toxic gases in abandoned mines killing people who didn't even go that far in. I don't know how it is on Selwyn. Different, I hope.

  “Come on down!” I shout.

  Weslie's next. She lands next to me and works on getting a torch going. After I hand her some Flamestone, she manages. “We should only use up one at a time,” she says. Her face looks skeletal in the light. “I'll try not to panic too much down here.”

  My eyes adjust to the new light. There are tiny little footprints all around us on the floor, thousands of them. They're like shrunken dinosaur prints. I take deep breaths to keep myself calmed. The Megapede is gone, at least. That's one less thing we have to worry about. I don't know if I could handle this if it was still lurking down here within a few miles. I'd be like Weslie, having panic attacks.

  But she's doing better. She even manages a smile at me. “I think I'll be okay,” she says. “For now. I guess exposure is the way to beat your fears after all.”

  Jaden lands next to us with a thump. His hands are still bound. He seethes and says nothing. He must have had to fall down like Antoine did.

  Weslie's expression hardens as she faces him. “Up,” she says. “And I'm not helping you.”

  Jaden says nothing. He looks almost sick, and almost relieved at the same time to be down here. Maybe he's just glad he's left Ned behind. He manages to stand right when Baxter appears from the ceiling and lands next to him.

  “We're all down!” he shouts.

  And the ladder retracts up into the world above. Ned's leaving us down here.

  “So,” Baxter says. “Where's this blocked tunnel?” His beard has crumbs of dirt in it. “I did not sign up for this.”

  “It's probably not blocked anymore,” I say. “Come on. There's only one way to go.”

  “I took some of the stones out the night after you guys fell in,” Jaden explains. He says it in the same tone he would if he'd taken out the trash or vacuumed the floor.

  “We know you did,” Weslie snarls at him. “And by the way, our chances of us ever being friends again are somewhere below zero.” She shoves him forward.

  “I know that.” Jaden staggers but keeps his footing by leaning on the wall. “I wasn't supposed to be here still.”

  Weslie calls him some pretty nasty names as we keep walking. Baxter follows close behind us, trying his best to stay out of this. The air's so thick with tension I could choke on it. Jaden had better take us to Antoine. We have no guarantee that this will even work.

  I lead the way and take the torch from Weslie. I hate being underground. She breathes next to me and I can tell she's working on taking long, deep breaths. I don't blame her. I have to do the same thing. I'm not fearless down here, either. If the Dwellers come back up this tunnel, we have only this moss torch to help us.

  We arrive at the pile of stones. They're toppled. Beyond it, there's an even deeper darkness that I don't want to venture into. There's a draft coming from here. It's cool and damp.

  “It looks like we have to go that way,” I say. “If the Dwellers survived going down there, they must not have died from any toxic fumes or anything.” I face Weslie. “Do those exist down in the mines?”

  “I was in one of the mid level mines. There were people who worked even lower than me. They're always the first to die and there are a lot of ways it can happen. Gas pockets are a problem down there sometimes.”

  “Fantastic,” I say. “I wish we had a way to know if we're running into something bad.”

  “This cave ahead is safe,” Jaden says. “It's ventilated.”

  “It had better be,” I snap.

  I begin to climb over the rocks, holding my torch best I can with one hand and grasping my axe with the other. Ned could have given us something to dig out rocks with, but at least I have all of my stuff back, including the Megapede jaw. I'm not going without that. I almost want Garrett to see it again. He deserves it, even if I don't kill him. I want him to stand before my mother, truth exposed. I want that tattoo to start burning and hurting him. He's destroyed so many lives. He didn't have to continue this tradition of selling people to the Dwellers.

  He deserves to have to work in the mines himself.

  I get over the rocks. Before me, the tunnel widens and slopes down into stone. It's more like a cave than an old mine, but it must lead to the Dwellers. The air here is more damp. I sniff and make sure I don't feel funny. Maybe we won't collapse from toxic gas after all.

  “Come on,” I say. “I don't know what we're getting into.”

  * * * * *

  We walk down, down, down for what feels like hours. The tunnel’s smooth for the most part. I don't even bother to count my footsteps. Time becomes meaningless. So does distance. It's all darkness and brownish, ribbed walls. Shadows falling over crevices. At least the ground stays even.

  “Keep going,” Jaden says every once in a while. He doesn't speak much. Weslie shoves him every time he dares. “There won't be any turns for maybe another half hour or so.”

  The walls get farther apart. Stalactites hang down now.

  We're in a large cave, all right, and it keeps sloping deeper. I spot a patch of gray stone with the green swirls. Jaden manages to lift his bound hands and touches one of the swirls. He's lost in his thoughts. That's the same stuff he has tattooed under his arm. I wonder if the stuff does anything to traitors who spill their secrets, or if it's just there to keep him from falling to the Dwellers.

  “Why does Ned have a tunnel under his house?” Weslie asks. She’s breathing fast again. She needs to keep talking to keep down her panic.

  Baxter sighs. “He has a private life, you know.”

  “What private life?” Weslie takes a deep breath.

  Baxter’s quiet for a long time, like he’s debating. “Ned has a girlfriend,” he says at last. “And a young son. He doesn’t want everyone to know in case someone turns again
st him. His tunnel leads to her house, in case you’re wondering.”

  The woman with the little boy.

  No wonder Ned listened to her.

  And he must have been in her house when we knocked on his door. That’s how he appeared again after I climbed down into his secret chamber.

  I know why Baxter’s told us this. He doesn’t expect us to get back to Wompitt. I listen to Weslie’s breathing and decide to keep that thought to myself.

  The world opens up.

  We stop. We're in a chamber with more of the stalactites hanging down. They drip with moisture. It's about the size of my bedroom, and there are three tunnels leading downward. I hold up my torch, but I can’t see where they go. There's no skittering, however. The Dwellers must be even farther down than this and they used this natural cave as a bridge to Wompitt.

  But at least it's clean. I don't even see any bats.

  “Which one?” I ask.

  “We need to take the one on the left,” Jaden says. “I've been through here a lot of times. These caves go to the mines, but we have to walk for several miles to get there. The Dwellers used to carry me around, so the trip was much faster before. I'm not sure how long it'll take us to get there.”

  My heart races at the thought of Dwellers using this as a road. “Does anything else live in this cave?” Miles. The word grows larger in my head.

  “I don't like this.” Weslie's voice sounds like a squeak.

  “Neither do I,” Baxter says.

  “Just small animals. Maybe a lizard or two with no eyes. I haven't seen a lot of them. But I doubt there's anything big this high in the ground. At least, I've never seen that.”

  “You had better be right,” I tell him.

  “And you had better not be lying,” Baxter adds. He looks behind him like he wants to turn, abandon us, and head back to Wompitt. I don't blame him. He didn't ask to come down here.

  “I'm not. Why would I lie when I'm tied up and outnumbered? And not to mention, one of you has an axe?” Jaden winces in the torch light and steps towards the left tunnel.