darkness broken up by the occasional rotting
corpse.
Growing up in a
double-wide trailer with two parents, three older brothers, and a
younger sister, silence was a luxury Samantha didn’t often have.
But she revered it. She’d learned most humans – especially women –
were uncomfortable with silence. They felt obligated to fill it
with useless chatter. Like Geo, Samantha didn’t feel it necessary
to speak unless there was something worth saying.
A small smile formed on
her lips. Last night Geo had called her a darling. Under no
circumstances was darling an appropriate term to describe her but
it warmed her to her toes that he would say so, even if he was just
trying to be nice. When was the last time anyone had said something
nice about her? She couldn’t remember. Her brothers called her a
fuck-up. Other girls whispered “bitch” behind her back. She figured
she was just misunderstood, but no one seemed to care.
But being with Geo was
so easy. She was used to her father’s rages when he was drunk or
when he’d lost a bet. Yesterday they’d been eaten by a giant worm
because of her and he hadn’t even raised his voice. What would it
be like to have the unconditional love of a man like that?
She shook her head and
scolded herself. Focus! Her sister had been dragged away to some
hideous supernatural version of Fight Club and she was daydreaming
about the love of a demon. Someone ought to smack her.
“Ow!” She rubbed her
forehead where she’d just bumped it on a low hanging tree root.
“Stupid karma.”
Wait. Tree root?
“Aha!” Geo said,
stopping to stare ahead of them. “Smell that?”
She inhaled a deep
breath then sneezed. “Dust and death?”
“No.” He turned around
with a wide smile. “Fresh air. We’re almost out.”
Oh, thank the gods! She rushed
ahead, grabbed the torch from his hand and pushed by him. “I am so done with
this place.”
He laughed and followed
closely behind. Another fifteen minutes and she smelled it too.
Stale, muggy Underworld air. But fuck it all to hell, she’d take it
over that damn tunnel any day.
Light poured through a
gap between some boulders up ahead. Ah, blessed light!
She handed the torch to
Geo, who stomped it out on the ground. The tunnel opened to a wide
cavern like the one they’d spent the night in, only the ceiling was
at least fifty feet high. A tall pile of boulders and smaller rocks
made a steep incline that led straight to the gap and outside.
She moved toward it but
Geo snagged her arm and spun her around to face him.
“You didn’t scan,” he
scolded softly then pointed to the ceiling.
She followed his gaze
and squinted at the high cavern roof. It was darker in color than
the rest of the tunnel but –
Wait. It was moving.
Slow, subtle ripples spread across the surface.
“What –”
“Vampire bats.”
Oh yes. Now she saw
them – little black rodents packed tightly and hanging upside down
on the ceiling. She shuddered. Fucking hate this place .
“If we’re quiet we
–”
“Shouldn’t bother
them?” She rolled her eyes. “Right. Cause that worked out so well
last time.”
He arched a brow. “And
whose fault was that?” When she didn’t answer, he continued.
“Anyway, let’s just get the hell out of here as quickly and quietly
as we can.”
“Agreed.”
Samantha went first,
making her way up the incline, using her hands at the steepest
parts. Geo followed behind, giving her a push here and there. A few
small rocks were kicked loose and fell down the hill, pinging and
clinking as they went. Geo and Sam froze, waiting to see if it
disturbed the bats. Other than a few twitches, they slept
soundly.
They’d made it just
twenty or so feet from the top without incident.
Then Geo grunted and
Sam turned around just in time to see a large boulder shift under
his foot. He jumped to the next one before falling, but the boulder
rolled…and rolled…and rolled. Geo cringed as it fell down, rumbling
and banging as it
corpse.
Growing up in a
double-wide trailer with two parents, three older brothers, and a
younger sister, silence was a luxury Samantha didn’t often have.
But she revered it. She’d learned most humans – especially women –
were uncomfortable with silence. They felt obligated to fill it
with useless chatter. Like Geo, Samantha didn’t feel it necessary
to speak unless there was something worth saying.
A small smile formed on
her lips. Last night Geo had called her a darling. Under no
circumstances was darling an appropriate term to describe her but
it warmed her to her toes that he would say so, even if he was just
trying to be nice. When was the last time anyone had said something
nice about her? She couldn’t remember. Her brothers called her a
fuck-up. Other girls whispered “bitch” behind her back. She figured
she was just misunderstood, but no one seemed to care.
But being with Geo was
so easy. She was used to her father’s rages when he was drunk or
when he’d lost a bet. Yesterday they’d been eaten by a giant worm
because of her and he hadn’t even raised his voice. What would it
be like to have the unconditional love of a man like that?
She shook her head and
scolded herself. Focus! Her sister had been dragged away to some
hideous supernatural version of Fight Club and she was daydreaming
about the love of a demon. Someone ought to smack her.
“Ow!” She rubbed her
forehead where she’d just bumped it on a low hanging tree root.
“Stupid karma.”
Wait. Tree root?
“Aha!” Geo said,
stopping to stare ahead of them. “Smell that?”
She inhaled a deep
breath then sneezed. “Dust and death?”
“No.” He turned around
with a wide smile. “Fresh air. We’re almost out.”
Oh, thank the gods! She rushed
ahead, grabbed the torch from his hand and pushed by him. “I am so done with
this place.”
He laughed and followed
closely behind. Another fifteen minutes and she smelled it too.
Stale, muggy Underworld air. But fuck it all to hell, she’d take it
over that damn tunnel any day.
Light poured through a
gap between some boulders up ahead. Ah, blessed light!
She handed the torch to
Geo, who stomped it out on the ground. The tunnel opened to a wide
cavern like the one they’d spent the night in, only the ceiling was
at least fifty feet high. A tall pile of boulders and smaller rocks
made a steep incline that led straight to the gap and outside.
She moved toward it but
Geo snagged her arm and spun her around to face him.
“You didn’t scan,” he
scolded softly then pointed to the ceiling.
She followed his gaze
and squinted at the high cavern roof. It was darker in color than
the rest of the tunnel but –
Wait. It was moving.
Slow, subtle ripples spread across the surface.
“What –”
“Vampire bats.”
Oh yes. Now she saw
them – little black rodents packed tightly and hanging upside down
on the ceiling. She shuddered. Fucking hate this place .
“If we’re quiet we
–”
“Shouldn’t bother
them?” She rolled her eyes. “Right. Cause that worked out so well
last time.”
He arched a brow. “And
whose fault was that?” When she didn’t answer, he continued.
“Anyway, let’s just get the hell out of here as quickly and quietly
as we can.”
“Agreed.”
Samantha went first,
making her way up the incline, using her hands at the steepest
parts. Geo followed behind, giving her a push here and there. A few
small rocks were kicked loose and fell down the hill, pinging and
clinking as they went. Geo and Sam froze, waiting to see if it
disturbed the bats. Other than a few twitches, they slept
soundly.
They’d made it just
twenty or so feet from the top without incident.
Then Geo grunted and
Sam turned around just in time to see a large boulder shift under
his foot. He jumped to the next one before falling, but the boulder
rolled…and rolled…and rolled. Geo cringed as it fell down, rumbling
and banging as it
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