Chapter 8.1

The mines were on the forest edge, just before it got too dry for most things to survive. It started off as a hole in a cliff, the entrance had previously been blocked off by wooden planks but there were signs of it being moved recently so there was large enough gap for even Jay to fit through, who was the largest of men in our group. The entrance used to be larger, but it seemed like it had half collapsed quite some time ago, and the rubble was overgrown with small shrubs and moss. Inside, the passageway kept quite narrow for about five meters until it widened again into what would have been the normal width of the mine. The ceiling was low, and quite suddenly the floor sloped down, and it continued that way for a couple of miles, so it was impossible to tell how far below ground we were. The men carried torches, but I had to make do, stumbling after them in the dark, tripping over the uneven ground. The tracks for the carriages were fractured and rusted, and at times formed sharp knives protruding from the ground that were subject to numerous near impalements.

The air was cold, causing our breaths to appear as little white clouds against the torchlight. As I didn't have a light, I kept one hand on the wall for balance, which was slimy with damp, but better than falling and the possibility of not getting up again. Over half of the support beams had rotted away or were purposely destroyed, and several of the pipes running along the ceiling were only half attached or fallen down completely.

I was starting to think it was impossible for these tunnels to be used for smuggling, they were simply too fractured for the transport of goods, when Rickon, who was leading, found something in the rubble. With his back against the rest of us, he knelt, inspecting something at his feet. Over half of the squad were infront of me, so I don't see what he found until he raised it over his head and announced, "Seems like we were right. Be on guard." In the poor light I could just about make out what it was.

It was a paperback book. Not only was that unusual in Garlantia as most things were digital, but even through it was covered in soot, I could see it was also not written in Garlantian.

After several more metres the mine started to fill with water; we waded through icy water until it reached my knees and it got more difficult to walk without tripping on hidden obstacles. The passage continued ahead but the water seemed to get dangerously high that it was unlikely that smugglers would be able to pass goods through it, especially technology. When the light was shone ahead it seemed the passage sloped once again, and it was completely flooded.

We were forced to take a narrow walkway on our left, that was so slight that Jay's shoulders touched the sides, slowing his descent. There was little to see and little light escape through the gaps above his shoulders, so I navigated with my hand sliding over the slimy walls of the corridor.

"I think I hear something." One of the men behind me yell.

We stop moving and listen. In the distance, there's a faint rumbling and one of them shouted "The tunnels are caving in!"

We sped through the tunnel as fast as we could, the walls severing the skin on Jays arms, but as if he couldn't feel a thing, he drove through the corridor as tiny bits of rock caught on flesh. We burst out into a forked path, and sped down the nearest path, but the rumbling is on top of us now; debris litters down on us like rain; we desperately scatter in different directions, but nowhere is safe.

In the chaos, Shadow pulls me out of harms way, dancing round the falling boulders like he knew a second before they fell where they'd be. Its hard to see him in the darkness, but his form is darker than any darkness I've experienced, and even in pitch black, somehow his figure would seem darker. His hand circles around my wrist; it was a strange sensation being grabbed by Shadow. All the other times it seemed as formless as smoke, but his hand felt cold and liquid, though it wasn���t wet. Still, boulders passed through him, unharmed, like he was gas.

I'm jerked in different directions as I dodge rocks as large as dinner plates plummet to the floor. Dust fills the cavern, burning our lungs, making it difficult to breathe while dodging for our lives. For definite, without Shadows help, I would have died.

It almost complete darkness, as most of the others dropped their torches or simply too busy trying to stay alive to light the way. But somehow Shadow knows where to go, and we follow one of the forks down until the sounds of boulders falling are a distant rumbling.

Now we'd stopped, a pain in my side was more obvious. I felt my torso- there was a small patch of blood leaking from the bandage's underneath; it mixed with the dust in the air to produce a gross paste on top of the fabric.

It was too risky to try and change it- it was dark and dirty, and I didn't know what had happened to the rest of the squad. Then a new fear hit me- what if there was no way out? What if I was trapped in here, in darkness until I starved to death? Or suffocated?

My reeling thoughts are interrupted by the sounds of someone further up the end of the tunnel. With my heart hammering in my chest, I stood and peered down, although I knew I couldn't see a thing. I heard the sounds of two people, I cautiously crept closer. Through the little bit of light that escaped from one of their torches, I recognise the looming figures of Rickon and Jay.

They cautiously inspected the cave in and shouted to the other side- "How many causalities?"

I hear Quins voice the other side, "Leon has a minor injury, Arthur and Caelem are both dead."

"Try and find a way out. If you find the smugglers apprehend them and don't wait for us." Rickon ordered.

Suddenly, there's torchlight in my face and I shield away from it as it burns my eyes. "Still alive then boy?" he scoffs.

When I look back behind me, Shadow is gone again. We continue down the corridor in silnece, with Jay's sole torch lighting the way. Eventually, the passage get a bit lighter, as if there was light escaping in from somewhere else. Then we hear distant voices. Further down, the wall is crumbled, but the damage is old and stable. Through the holes in the wall, I catch glimpses of movement and light. Once close enough they kneel and peer through larger holes to the open cavern the other side.

"That girl. Look at what she's wearing. She's one of Dr Johnson's experiments." Through a small gap in the rock at their feet I saw a little girl huddled between stacks boxes. Her hair was in disarray; She looked a bit different, more sick, but I recognised her as the girl I saw at the experimental institution we took the body of the boy months ago. She still wore the white night gown like the first time I saw her, only dirtier. As if to confirm this, the little black bird limped out from somewhere on her lap and peered round the boxes. But its movements were awkward and slow as if the bird was sick too.

"How the hell did she get all the way out here?" Rickon hissed with annoyance.

"maybe what they're smuggling isn't technology at all." Jay mused.

"But we haven't received word of another break out," he grunted with annoyance, "This complicates things."

"Maybe they haven't- look at her, she looks half dead. Maybe someone was ordered to get rid of her and they didn't. instead they decided to earn a bit more by selling her on."

"Dr. Johnson must have realised her body was missing at least, when we went through all that trouble just to bring back the body of that failure that escaped."

"We should bring her back with us." Jay mused.

Rickon thought for a moment, "It's a bother, but we can't afford another fuck up."

They continue their discussion, but my attention is elsewhere. I was watching her little bird limp circles around her; her tired eyes follow it and she gently nudge it upright when it trips and falls on its front. I was curious- if I could see her little bird, could she see Shadow?

Abruptly, Shadow emerges next to me, he appears to be peering through another hole next to mine. I wonder if he's curious too?

"What do you think?" I muttered.

He places his hand on the cave wall and slowly sinks through it until I could see him appear the other side. He slowly approaches the girl, and when he's within a couple of feet, she looks up, right where his face would have been, and her eyes widen with surprise and confusion. She scans the cave then settled back on Shadow. "Who are you?" she rasped, like it was difficult to talk. The little bird stopped circling her and seemed to be regarding Shadow curiously.

The exchange was interrupted by a commotion at the end of the cavern. I noticed both Rickon and Jay had disappeared either side of me. though I couldn't see, I presumed they'd found a way out and were fighting the smugglers. The girl's eyes go wide with fear, she struggles to a stand, knocking over the boxes, their contents smashing.

"Get her!" Rickon yells.

She scrambles away, half limping half running. "Wait!" I shout, but its consumed by the sounds of the fight and she doesn't hear me.

"Shadow follow her! I'll find you!" I yell, tripping over in the darkness as I scramble to find the entrance in the cavern. At the end of the passage it collapses into a pile of rubble; boxes are piled high almost up to the ceiling, leaving just enough room for a person to squeeze through. I catch a glimpse of Shadow disappearing at the end of the cavern as I break through.

There were three men already on the floor, probably dead, and both Rickon and Jay were fighting with the last two in the chamber. I dodged their fights, and fragments of flying boxes and goods discarded in the exchange. I chased them through a labyrinth of passages, falling several times in the darkness but using my connection to Shadow as a compass, I kept catching just a glance before they disappeared again until I followed them into a second cavern with no clear exit.

When she realised she was cornered, she turned and screamed at me "You want to take me back to that place! I won't go back!" she dropped her torch at her feet. It rolled towards me, lighting the cavern. She stood at the edge of a drop with unknown depths. Stalactites jutted from the ceiling, like teeth, some of them almost within reach.

"No! I'm not going to hurt you! I'm like you! You see Shaodw don't you? And yours is a bird, right?"

"You're just like the others! He'll hurt me until I'm working like you!" dirty tears ran rivers down her face.

"What do you mean!?"

"I won't go back!" she screamed.

"I won't make you!" I didn't know what Rickon wanted with her, but I felt bad possibly lying to her. But I had to know what Shaodw was, and she had her little bird, she must have the answers.

"You're lying! They always lie!" she looked behind her at the massive drop, her breath was coming in short sharp bursts, like she was fighting back tears. She looked back at me and her hysteria settled, her mind made up. Just when I thought she was going to step towards me, she took a step back into thin air.

There was a moment where I swear, I saw shock and regret flash across her face before gravity ripped her from view.

She didn't scream. But I heard several thuds and cracks as her body knocked against several rocks on the way down. On the second thud, the little broken bird vanished.