He turned into a doorway and went up some steps. I slowed, gazing into the dark. Over the years it had been ingrained into me; steps were bad. They led Topside.
“Come on,” he said impatiently.
Shaking, I swallowed my misgivings and began to climb. He stopped on a landing and followed a narrow hall around a couple of turns. It ended in a room swimming with dark shapes. To my amazement, Fade did something, and then we had light. We had scavenged lamps before, of course, but we didn’t have the power to make them work. This one contained a flickering flame at its heart.
“How did you do that?”
“It’s an old storm lantern. Runs on oil.”
I wished we had some of those in the enclave. The torches we used smoked a lot. Fade shut the door and turned something while I took stock. Full of relics from the old days, the room looked as though nobody had touched anything in years. A thick film of dust covered all the shelves, the desk, but it didn’t conceal the nature of the artifacts. There were four tall, slim books here, all colorful and full of pictures. I started to reach for one and stopped, casting a guilty look at him.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I won’t tell anyone if you look before taking them to the Wordkeeper.”
It didn’t count as hoarding, I reasoned, as long as I turned the stuff over as soon as we arrived. I picked one up and stared with disbelieving wonder. It showed a brightly lit tunnel and one of those cars, connected to a bunch more, zooming along the metal bars. And people sat inside it: cheerful, reading, talking.
“It used to be like that,” I said, surprised.
“Yeah. People just came down here for transportation. Then they went back up.”
I marveled at the weirdness of it. “You were born Topside?”
“It’s not like you’ll believe me if I say yes,” he muttered.
Well, I had that coming. I ignored the impulse to apologize and instead buried myself in the thin books. They had slick, glossy pages and lots of pictures. The blue skies and greenery enthralled me. I’d never seen anything grow but a mushroom.
Finally, I stowed them in my bag and searched the rest of the room. Anything I carried back would help restore my reputation with Silk and the rest of the Hunters. Nobody had stumbled on a treasure trove like this in a long time. I ransacked all the shelves and furniture; my bag bulged by the time I finished taking everything I thought might interest them back at the enclave. The desk held tons of interesting paper, smooth and fine, even if it had started yellowing with age.
“Are there more places like this? Full of artifacts?”
Fade shrugged. “Probably.”
For a moment I was tempted to look. But then Silk could claim we’d disobeyed our primary command. This room, I could state confidently we had found by chance. Regretfully, I ate a mouthful of dry meat and downed some water.
Now that the wonder had worn off, reaction set in. I remembered—and didn’t want to—the horror of Nassau. To contain the shakes, I pulled my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms about them. I tried to control my breathing. A Huntress didn’t crack under pressure. She might bend, but she could handle anything.
I felt Fade hovering beside me. “Is it your shoulder?”
“No. It’s that everyone at Nassau is dead.” I raised my head and looked at him.
“I don’t want to go to sleep,” he admitted.
He dropped down beside me, wrapped his blanket around my shoulders, and left his arm around my back. Hunched over, I felt the strength of him even more clearly.
I had enough resolve left to object. “That’s against the rules.”
“You’re cold and scared. Relax. It’s not like I’m trying to breed you.” His tone said that was the last thing he’d do.
Good enough. I’d take his hand off at the wrist if he tried anything. Honestly, it felt good to sit next to him. He was the only living soul who could understand how I felt right now, my head crowded with images I didn’t want and couldn’t banish.
“Have you ever seen anything like that before?”
“Never. The balance has shifted.”
“We have to be able to tell Silk why. Otherwise we haven’t completed our mission.”
“I know why,” he said.
“Tell me.”
“If they didn’t take what Nassau had, those Freaks would’ve starved to death.”
I recoiled. “You sound like you sympathize with them.”
“I’m sorry for the people who died. But I understand why it happened.”
“You think that’ll be enough for Silk?”
“It’ll have to be,” Fade said. “It’s the truth.”
Darkness
The next day, I lacked the strength to run. We set our pace accordingly. Fear gnawed at me with relentless teeth, and the darkness made it worse. First my mind conjured monsters and then I imagined I heard them creeping along behind us, worse than the Freaks, smarter and scarier too.
The dark didn’t seem to bother Fade. He led the way without faltering whereas I found myself living for those rare moments when we found a broken tunnel. Light fell in crossed threads, lightening the gloom for precious seconds before we passed through.
Gravel crunched underfoot, and I stumbled. My knees buckled. I almost went down, but Fade was there to steady me.
“Maybe we should take a break.”
“We just started.”
“It’s been two hours.”
That surprised me. In the dark, it became easy to lose track of time, along with sense of direction. With his hand on my arm, Fade guided me to the stone rim to the side of the tunnel. Maybe it was exhaustion, but things seemed darker this time around. I hadn’t noticed it as much going to Nassau. Now it closed in on me, threatening to choke me. My breath came in ragged gasps as I boosted up and rested. I fumbled in my bag for the water bottle; to my dismay, I downed the last few swallows. Dry meat would only increase my thirst, so I opted not to eat.
“That’s enough,” I said. “I can go on.”
Fade leaped down. “Would it make you feel better to lead?”
“Not really.” I hesitated, not wanting to admit weakness, even to my partner. “I might get us lost.”
“I have your back, Deuce.”
“All right.” Maybe I’d feel better in the lead. At least I wouldn’t think monsters lurked inches away, waiting to grab and eat me.