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They arrive at another stairway, and it’s a circular stair this time, and all of them lean over the banister to look down. Below them, deep in the bowels of the Habitat, someone signals at them with a light source of an unknown type...
“Is that a light source or are those lights actually someone’s eyes?” Sam asks, then he glances at his companions for a moment to find out if he was the only with this thought.
Taylor looks up at Sam, and he shrugs his shoulders.
“Those lights are blinking like someone’s looking up at us,” Kaylee hisses. “I’m not going down there if it’s an alien...”
“Please don’t say that” Brianne whispers. “I’m already scared enough as it is...”
“We have to follow,” Taylor says. “We don’t have any other choice. Someone wants us to see something down there. If we encounter one alien, we’ll have to kill it.”
“Is this the only way down, Taylor?” Sam asks.
“I’ve never been in this part of the Habitat,” Taylor answers. “We’re forbidden to go to any part that’s below the fifth floor. Ma said it’s a rule the aliens enforced years ago. When she was younger than any of us.”
“And yet, I feel we’re going down there,” Addie says. “If we do this, there’s no coming back for any of us. We’ll have to find a way to the growing fields from the bowels of the hell hole... so to speak.”
“That’s why I told you to figure out the lay of the land earlier,” Taylor says. “I already knew this day would come. Whatever we’ll find down there, it’s going to change things for all of us.”
“Who wants to go first?” Joey asks.
“I’ll go first,” Addie says. “Maybe we need to find something to use as a rope so we can tie us all together, so we won’t lose anyone in the darkness down there.”
“Yes, boss,” Taylor grunts, grinning for a moment. Addie glares at him. It’s obvious he never asked for the responsibility of overseeing the group. “Yes, boss,” four others echo, repeating Taylor’s assertion of Addie being their boss.
“Okay, okay, if I’m going to be the boss then all of you need to do stuff my way, okay,” Addie grunts. “And stop with this boss nonsense...”
Silence.
“Okay, you can say something... just not say boss all the time,” Addie says.
“Okay, sir,” Joey says, grinning broadly for a moment.
“Stop it or we’re not going down there...” Addie snaps.
“I think the person blinking the light down there is disagreeing with you,” Brianne says, pointing down. “And I think they want us to hurry... I’ll go find some rope. I think I saw some as we walked towards here.”
Brianne rushes away before Addie can protest. They all glance down the stair while waiting for the girl to return. After five minutes she is back with a roll of white cloth that’s frayed on the edges but still functional for the idea Addie had suggested.
“We can tie this around our waists,” Brianne says between heaves of breathing loudly. “Then as we walk, then length between each person acts to stop us losing our way down there. When I was a child, I played a game with my brother. We’d fill our pockets with the brightest pebbles we could find and then place one every three steps on the ground then the idea was to find our way back using the pebbles. We can do the same here to get back to this stair if it’s dangerous down there...”
“That sound like a good idea,” Sam says. “Let’s find the pebbles first...”
“The walls to the right there are breaking apart, and the stone on the floor near them is white enough for this idea to work,” Brianne says. “I passed it as I looked around for this cloth.”
All six of them walk to the wall that Brianne had found. After only ten minutes, they have every pocket filled with small round white pebbles that glint whenever the nearby light source. The flicker of the lamp makes their surrounding more ominous and each time it dims they all jerk to a halt, and they all wait anxiously for the light to strengthen again in luminosity.
Fifteen minutes later Addie steps gingerly onto the first tread of the stair with the others holding onto the cloth bindings as much as possible. Until they’re certain the stair is safe, only Addie walks down it slowly. After a few minutes, Addie calls out. “I think the stair is safe at least,” he says softly. “I’m not going any further by myself...”
Of the other individuals, it’s Brianne who walks down the stair next. She stops two treads above Addie, then calls out, “Who’s coming next?”
Joey ties the cloth binding around his waist and follows the others down the stair. Kaylee comes next, then Sam and Taylor make up the rear of the group. He lingers at the top of the stair for a few minutes, then he uses a piece of stone and cuts the bindings and hurls the rest of it away from the stair so not to give anyone any indicators that someone was near the stair.
They take a half hour to reach the bottom of the stair, then Addie calls out, “Where do we go now, Taylor? I see no lights anywhere...”
Just moments after Addie had spoken, a part of the corridor, the furthest from their location, is lit up with a bright light source. Not the orange light usually used in the Habitats, but a pale blue light that gives off a soothing feeling. “I guess we’re being shown where to go,” Taylor says. “As of this point, I’m uncertain where go. I guess we go where they’re showing us to go...”
“It feels scary though,” Kaylee whispers. “How do we know they’re friendly? We could get there and end up walking into a room full of the aliens...”
“There’s that risk...” Taylor says. “But it was a man—a human—not any alien who told me to go down here. Ma never talks to them, so how would they even tell me she wants me to come down here. Or tell me to bring all of you with me...”
“Hrmph, I don’t know,” Kaylee grunts. “I guess I’m just scared enough to imagine things if that’s what you’re telling me.”
“I’m scared too, Kaylee,” Taylor says. “I think we all are...”
Kaylee gives Taylor a grateful smile. “Shall we press on?” Addie asks. “Remember that as a group, we may be strong enough to fight back. Even against any humans who wish us ill...”
“Yes, but let’s go slowly so we have caution as our ally,” Sam suggests. “If we go slowly and they have ill intentions towards us, we can get away from here still. Keep your eyes peeled for anything dangerous.”
They walk in a row forward towards the lit-up part of the building, and after a time they’re all holding hands to give each person there the feeling of feeling secure. A few meters from the doorway they stop, behind which the bluish light is almost a dazzling white colour. They wait and all listen while glancing at one another.
“Come inside here before anyone sees you’re here...” a voice says from within the room. Whoever is speaking obviously wants to stay out of sight. “It’s safer in here than in any part of the rest of this Habitat,” another voice says, and this voice surprises Taylor. His mother is waiting for him in the room.
“Let’s go inside,” Kaylee whispers. “I can see on your face you recognise one of them...”
“It’s my Ma in there,” Taylor whispers.
“And she doesn’t sound like she’s in any danger or in distress,” Brianne now whispers. “I agree with Kay... let’s go in before anyone comes down the stair that we descended...”
“Okay, let’s go,” Addie interjects, now obviously wanting to assert his authority as the leader of the group. He gets five nods in response. They step forward then just moments later are staring in shock at the difference in appearance compared to where they just came from...
~~~
“MA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING down here?” Taylor asks, sounding genuinely surprised when he spots his mother across the room standing alongside a man in strange looking garb.
“We had to get you down here differently because of what the aliens are currently doing in all the Habitats,” the man beside Taylor’s mother answers in her place. “She knew it wasn’t safe anymore, so asked me to warn you. When I saw you up there, I knew I had only minutes before they would arrive. I’m sorry if I scared you earlier...”
“It didn’t scare me,” Taylor grunts. “Just annoyed... What’s she doing here?” He points at his mother. “Do you know him, Ma?” he asks.
“Yes, I do,” she answers. “He is a friend. I cannot tell you where he comes from, but he came here weeks ago with news that will help in our situation. He’s here for all of you. He’s going back there later tonight. And tomorrow all of you will go to the same place. You remember what I told you a few days ago, son, about the cave?”
Taylor glances sidelong at his friends, then silently nods.
“You cannot tell them about the cave just yet,” his mother continues. “But once you’re away from here, you can tell them. You have one week to traverse the eastern growing fields. You showed them to Addie, right?”
“I did this afternoon,” Taylor answers.
“I know of a route through them that will be safe for us,” Addie says without even asking why Taylor’s mother wants to know the information, and as soon as he has given this answer the man beside Taylor’s mother nods his head then turns and walks out of the room.
“He’s going to tell the others you’ll be arriving in a week,” Taylor’s mother continues. “I cannot explain much more. If I say too much, you’re in danger. If I say too little, you’re not prepared for what lies ahead. Please, Taylor, come with me for a moment and—” She stops speaking and wipes over her face. Taylor feels a hand touch his, and glances sideways. Kaylee stares up at him, “Go with her, Taylor,” she says. “She’s obviously worried about something. We’ll wait here until you’ve finished speaking with her. You can tell us what she said when we’re at the cave that she just mentioned.”
Taylor nods and unties the cloth they’d used to guide them through bowels of the Habitat. He walks to his mother and embraces her for a moment, then follows her to the corner of the room. In the corner they stand side by side next to a window that overlooks a small courtyard with a door beside it.
“You can leave through this door, then at the end of the courtyard you’ll find another door,” his mother explains in a flat voice, “and beyond it is the first growing field. Traverse it during the night before the sun rises in the morning.”
“And then?” Taylor asks. “But what about you, Ma? Are you going as well?”
“I cannot go...” she answers. “The mission is for us to get enough young people together to get—” She stops speaking abruptly and wipes over her face again before she adds, “... you already know what to do and where to go. You remember all our talks?”
“I do, but I wish I wasn’t leaving you here,” Taylor whispers. “I don’t want to be alone...”
“I don’t think you will be,” his mother says. “The girl who spoke with you... What’s her name?”
“Kaylee...”
“She seems to care about you,” she continues, “so make certain you look after her during the journey and afterwards. Promise me you do that. Make sure you look after all of them...”
“I will, Ma,” Taylor says softly, “It’s a promise...”
They hug then walk back to the others waiting. When Taylor rejoins them, he silently motions them, and they walk with him to the door he’d been told about moments before.
A few minutes later and a mother stands alone in an empty room crying loudly...