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The man was as graceful as a donkey, and it raised her ire.
“A little. But only on this level.” Gavin’s reassuring words made Snitch chuckle.
“There are more?” Terrell’s voice shook.
Snitch rolled her eyes as the conversation ensued.
“We don't know how many. Your eyes adjust, but it's not like moving through your home in the middle of the night with no lights. Your other senses kick in, but don't ask me. This is Snitch's environment.”
That was enough. Pausing her march, Snitch slid back to Terrell and Gavin.
“We don't talk,” Snitch whispered through gritted teeth. “Gavin isn't perfect, but at least he doesn’t stomp like a cow. You are way too noisy.”
Terrell froze, his mouth open.
Gavin shook his head with a smile.
Snitch squinted at him. He knew silent protocol. Was he trying to keep their new recruit from collapsing into panic? Hoping she’d made her point, Snitch resumed her course.
Stepping into the large, curving tunnel she’d nicknamed Round Loop, her pace slowed. Compared to the other tunnels, this stretch was notorious for echoing the slightest vibration.
In the hundreds of times she tunnel-walked this passage, Snitch never could move full pace.
Cough.
Snitch dropped to the floor without the slightest whisper, before realizing that was Terrell. Standing, she spun on the balls of her feet and gently slapped his shoulder.
His head drooped.
Again, moving forward, she completed Round Loop, descending the ladder at the end.
Terrell's feet scuffed along the same set of steps.
Snitch glided along in silence, almost without thinking about it. At this point, nothing was visible. Hints of motion entered her brain.
Terrell's clumsy feet caused echoes. These clues merged with the map in her mind, providing directions for her feet.
And then something else entered her consciousness. She wasn't sure what, but it was out of place. Stopping, she scraped her nail on the wall.
Scratch-scratch-scratch.
A couple moments later, Terrell bumped into her and stopped as well.
Clothes rustled as Gavin slipped past Terrell, his hand tapping Snitch’s shoulder.
Not a word from Terrell. Good. He had caught on to the silent protocol.
She touched Gavin’s shoulder and formed various gestures.
“Something is wrong,” her hand signals communicated. “Can't tell what it is. Continue as planned or regroup elsewhere?”
“How close are we?” he gestured on Snitch’s shoulder.
“Forty-five minutes, plus. Terrell is slow and loud. Makes me nervous.”
“He'll catch on. Let's go.”
Gavin moved back to the rear, stopping to whisper in Terrell's ear, “Keep following Snitch.”
Knowing Gavin was back in position, Snitch resumed course.
Hopefully, Terrell hadn’t collapsed due to an anxiety attack. But that wasn’t her biggest concern.
Chapter Five
An Ambush
Clarel stood at the main entrance, knots welling up in her stomach as she stared at the giant door and the darkness she was about to embrace. The flutters in her stomach began the moment Gavin gave the order to evacuate.
Rodrina stood next to her along with a handful of soldiers and civilians. The short woman squeezed Clarel’s arm. That helped. A little.
The watch officer glanced at his clipboard before looking up at everyone assembled. “We are heading out in waves. It’s faster than waiting for everyone. Sergeant, you will take the first group to Deep Haul. Remember the route?”
“Yes, sir.”
Clarel spotted a man fitted with the same type of pack toward the rear. Only, there was one key difference—he had sheathed weapons.
“Before you head out, double check everyone's gear.” The watch officer scribbled something on his notes and exited.
Stepping out from the back row, the sergeant walked the ranks. He motioned for each person to open their pack. Picking through their things, the sergeant pulled out various items.
Stepping up to Rodrina, he waved at her.
She stretched it open to let him sift through it all.
“You only need one pocket bulb.” He pointed inside her pack.
Rodrina fished it out and set it on the floor.
Pulling out a tiny book, he looked at her with raised eyebrows.
Rodrina scowled, a feature Clarel had seen often. “It's just one book. Or is that too much to consider?”
The sergeant squinted before relenting. He moved on to the enlisted men and pulled out several water flasks.
“Don't we need water?”
“We already have provisions waiting at the rendezvous.”
He continued with each person.
Sensing the anticipation, Clarel pulled out her spare flask and set it on the ground. An abrupt look from a soldier was something she’d rather avoid.
It reminded her of a military commander visiting their residence unannounced when she was thirteen: the sound of the soldier’s boots, the smell of sweat and leather. Most of all, her father’s swift words spoken in that military vernacular. Moments earlier he had shared with soft words that in one year’s time, she would marry the king. How naïve she had been.
Clarel shrugged off this woolgathering as the sergeant shifted his focus to her.
“You don’t have a darklight.” The sergeant pointed inside her pack.
“Do we need that in the lower tunnels?”
“It’s lightweight and standard procedure. If we surface elsewhere, we'll need them.” He turned to face the whole group. “We’re all set. Put your spare gear in the provisioning room.” He thumbed behind himself, then glanced at Clarel. “Should be a spare darklight in there.”
Clarel carried out her instructions before getting back in line with everyone else.
At the front of the group, the sergeant barked, “Jameson, take up the rear.”
A private slipped out and moved to the back.
The sergeant nodded to the watch officer.
He pushed on some levers, and metal gears squeaked as the main door unlocked.
Reaching into his pocket, a clicking was heard followed by the sergeant being engulfed in a cloud of pitch black.
“Move out!”
Clarel dragged her feet forward while the hairs on her neck rose. With a shaky stomach, she tried to focus on calm breathing.
After another twenty feet, the main door creaked as it closed.
Her feet sunk into her shoes.
Click.
The sergeant’s darklight was switched off, but Clarel’s eyes couldn’t tell. Something else inside her did.
Chasing away those awkward thoughts, she shifted her attention to following those around her and focused on not panicking. It took full concentration to not drag and stomp her feet.
She guessed that Rodrina was close by. They had been together ninety seconds ago. Biting her lip, Clarel resisted the desire to call for her. Silent running in the tunnels never made sense to her, but she trusted Snitch and the others.
A few minutes later, others bumped into her on the left, so she shifted her steps right. Further on, she felt people brushing into her from the other side, so she moved the other way. Those were her only cues to turn.
Tap-tap-tap.
She stopped and froze in place, her eyes wide. That was the signal to halt, she remembered. Clarel gritted her teeth as she clawed through her memories. Would she remember the next signal? Flapping clothing nearby prompted her to crouch and wait.
Clanging echoed all around. Creaks and scratching, she was familiar with. However, this new sound had a crisper ring, and it was getting louder.
She looked left and right before her cheeks warmed at the foolish thought of seeing anything in pitch black. Except—she could see those next to her.
Clarel stopped breathing. There were others.
Click!
The sergeant’s darklight.
Her breathing resumed albeit shallow. Yanking off her pack, she dug around until fingers wrapped around her darklight.
Multiple clicks surrounded her as she switched on her own device.
Booted feet scraped the floors, louder and louder. Shimmering glints of light crept around the corners, but none of it penetrated their barrier.
“What is this? A door? And a fine one at that. Wait . . . shh!” The boisterous man’s voice caused a lump to form in Clarel’s throat.
The voice dropped in volume, turning into muffled words. There was no need to grasp that the next wave was walking into an ambush.
Several teammates slid past her to the front.
Her eyes widened, and she started to tremble. Clarel strained to follow the soldiers as they exchanged hand signals.
“Soldiers. Base. Surprise.” Those were the only signs she picked up among the flurry of hand signals. Blast it, she should’ve paid more attention during training. “Civilians. Danger. Weapons.”
Not much, but it told her things were about to go south.
The third soldier scribbled on a darkpad. Those small, flat devices were quite useful when cloaked by a darklight and hand signals could not convey something complex like a path through a junction.
Unfortunately, from her angle there was nothing she could read. Two of them saluted the third and headed to the back. They slipped by, each holding up a finger signaling silence.
Whatever they planned, she lifted up a silent prayer that it would work.
The mechanical gears of Base’s main door unlocked.
Her head cocked to one side.
“Move out!” came a faint voice.
Clarel took in a short breath and stopped.
A company of soft feet padded across. One person would have been impossible to hear, but an entire wave was enough to pick up.
Her heart beat hard inside her chest as her body cried for air. A tear formed in the corner of her eye.
“It's an ambush!” screamed a couple voices.
Metal weapons scraped across scabbards. Voices screamed. Feat clamored.
Clarel clapped her hands to her ears. The flood of noise was deafening. She lost all focus and found herself taking in a deep breath.
The outcome was impossible to discern.
Clarel looked back to the front, and their leader waved them forward. Her mouth fell agape, as if they were leaving something behind. Biting her lip, she accepted the decision and pressed on.
Following her comrades, her feet bumped into a hatch. She shifted around and climbed down as fast as possible.
Silent running didn't make sense five minutes ago, but it was now the difference between life and death.
Captain Tor led his men through many twists and turns in the tunnels, the stale scent irritating his nostrils. Several hours had elapsed. Exactly how many, he wasn’t sure. Not having that yellow, stalwart companion hanging in the sky made it hard to guess the time.
Every now and then they hit a dead end.
The mapper checked the logs, doubled back, and picked another path.
After hitting the third dead end, they ended up at the same T-junction where they had started. The captain signaled for his men to switch directions.
Several more turns, and they happened upon a large door blocking the passage.
The captain stared closely. It was the first door he’d seen down here. Glancing at the wall, he spotted a keyhole. A grin spread across his face.
“What is this? A door? And a fine one at that.”
Scraping sounds and muffled voices emanated from the other side. The metallic sound of a key turning caused him to jump back.
“Wait . . . shh!” He waved his men back around the corner. “Extinguish the lanterns. Ready your arms!”
The opportunity to penetrate an enemy's hideout never came this easy. Staring at the door, Captain Tor waited for the first ray of light.
Nothing.
Yet the creaking of the door on its hinges filled his ears.
“Move out.”
The voice was clear and no longer muffled.
Quirking an eyebrow, he brushed his thoughts aside. The captain tapped his men and led the charge. He hit someone in the pitch black.
“What?” Whomever the captain hit was startled.
Before the person could react, Tor ran his cross sword through him and pushed him aside.
“What was that?” said another, mere feet away.
The eruption of shouting filled his ears with glee.
Tucking his head, the captain lunged forward, knocking several more bodies down. He visited them with thrusts from his dagger.
“It's an ambush!”
A more distant voice.
As the captain regained his footing, someone punched him from behind. Not seeing your opponent didn’t matter in close quarters. He turned and swung his blade.
“Ahh!”
The captain stepped aside, letting the dead soldier fall.
The warning about their ambush was too late to stop Captain Tor from advancing past the doorway.
A sudden, blinding light surrounded him. Everything in front was visible including his men. Squinting, he glanced back at a giant field of darkness.
The soldiers in front stood wide-eyed. Others had turned and fled.
Captain Tor and his men fell into a diamond formation. “Take the door!”
The soldier closest to the operator finished off the person manning the door with one stroke. Then he closed the door and spun the wheel.
“Split into teams of two and comb the halls. Kill anyone that resists. Bring everyone else back here.” The captain gritted his teeth.
A couple Undergrounders lunged into the hallway.
Tor and his men finished them off with little effort while scuffling feet from the room ahead drew the captain's attention. He stomped into a room where two men reached for weapons, but were too late to match he and his escort.
Circling back to the main chamber, he tilted his head upon the sight of rounded up prisoners.
“This appears to be all of them.” The leader of the other pair gestured at the corridor they came from. “There was some resistance, but nothing we couldn’t handle. They were completely surprised.”
Captain Tor grinned before going back to the previous room. He had spotted some rope earlier and brought it back to restrain everyone.
Having secured the Undergrounders’ facility, he relaxed as he ordered one of his men to watch the prisoners. Now was the time to take a more detailed tour with his escort.
Scanning every room, he assessed if there was anything of value. They needed to find a path to the surface, but information about past or current operations was nothing to ignore.
In one room, a thick stack of papers next to a board with pinned notes caught his attention. His eyes locked onto the familiar map of the northern region.
Position reports on their troops confirmed the Undergrounders had an inside source. He snarled at the thought that one of their own people was a traitor.
Pawing through the stack of papers, the captain’s eyes widened. They were filled with strategic intelligence and addressed to the enemy. He shook his head.
“Sir!”
Tor spun around as his escort shrieked.
A rebel soldier crept out from behind a table with a dagger. He dove at the captain but crashed to the floor as the escort intervened.
The captain nodded, tipping the flat of his blade to his forehead.
“No tunnel maps. Let's finish checking out the other rooms before we interrogate the prisoners.”
“Sir, looks like the lieutenant has arrived.”
Tor stopped. He had found what appeared to be personal quarters but nothing of use. Hearing what the lieutenant had to say drew him back to the main chamber.
“Captain, good to see you.” The slender officer saluted as Tor entered.
He responded in kind. “Report.”
“It took us several hours, but we’re here.” He held up his arms in a fitting gesture. “Heard a fight break out, so we rushed to engage. Got caught in something that blinded us, despite our lanterns. It looks like your team did most of the work. We only found a few stragglers to finish off. And we found this.”
The lieutenant pulled a small box out of his pocket. He clicked a button and the whole room turned pitch black. Seconds later, the blackness disappeared.
The captain stood, mouth ajar. “Must be what they call a ‘darklight’. Saw that word a few times in some messages they sent. Impressive to say the least.”
“Sir, you have no idea. I grabbed one and chased a couple that got away. I extinguished my lantern and activated the device. Then I was able to sneak up and take them out. Apparently, no one outside this cabal has penetrated these darklights. They didn’t see me coming.” The lieutenant smiled.
“You’re not the only one to discover incredible things.” Captain Tor held out a tiny glass tube radiating light, no bigger than his thumb. “A ‘pocket bulb’.” He dropped it in the lieutenant’s hands.
Watching the lieutenant tremble at first, he laughed as his eyes widened. “It doesn’t burn yet fills the room with solid light? What other secrets are these marauders hoarding?” Tor stared at the main door before looking back at the lieutenant. “Organize patrols so we can map things out and try to find them. Make sure every one of our men is equipped.” The captain gestured at the pocket bulb and darklight.
The lieutenant sported a sly grin.
Chapter Six
A Maze
Clarel had been following her teammates on this level for at least an hour. This was the second level, right? It was hard to keep track of their position, given all the tunnels and hatches they passed. There was little to do but follow the group and trust them.
Not burdened with making snap decisions nor worrying about navigation freed her mind to replay that ambush over and over.
Tap-tap-tap!
She stopped and crouched. Clarel grinned at her faster reaction time. What was it this time? Another group of soldiers? Not waiting for the signal to switch on her darklight, she was already shielded.