I took a deep gulp of air when I got to the surface. Ren’s shift started right away, so he went one way and I went directly to the changeroom in the gymnasium. A few females milled around, chatting on the benches or heading to the shower area. Their conversation stopped, as it always did, when an overseer was present.
I found a quiet spot, took off the overseer uniform and hung it on a hook. Underneath, my tunic was damp with sweat. That came off too and I went to the showers. I wanted to sink to the floor when the warm mist hit my skin. The fog of water vapor made a cloud and I couldn’t see who stepped to the nozzle beside me until she spoke. “Sari?” It was Mika. “I was watching for you. You were gone a long time,” she said.
I went through the motions of washing myself, but all I could think about was what I’d seen and who was beneath my feet.
“We met someone,” I said. Through the steam I mouthed the word “Underlander” to Mika. Her eyes widened for a moment, then she concealed her surprise as two females took stations near us. The mist quietly died as my time ran out and I was left shivering in the humid air. “We talked to her,” I said quietly. I thought Mika was going to fall over.
We got changed quickly. Mika tucked the overseer uniform I’d worn into the bottom of her shopping basket. “Let’s go. We need to find a place to talk.”
“I have to get to the clinic. Walk with me?”
We stuck close to the stream and kept our voices low. Mika demanded I tell her everything. “Your theories are right. The MAP is accurate—or almost accurate. There’s a pit, and digging tunnels.”
“I knew it,” Mika muttered. “And the Underlander?”
“Her name’s Ama. She looked young, small too, but strong. We met her in a tunnel. She was lost. She knew about the City. She said they dig for us and that’s how they get food.” I broke off, shaking my head. “It’s like from Before when people were forced to work and treated terribly.”
How could the Council allow this to go on? “She’s going to tell the others about us. Ren and I are going back.”
“Why? We have the information we need.”
I shook my head. I didn’t think that was true. “She talked about a Prim named Jacob.”
“A Prim? How would an Underlander know a Prim?”
I explained what I’d learned from Sy and Mae about Kaia, and how Sy had told me to ‘go deeper’ to find the answers about why Kaia had left. “I need to figure out how it’s all connected. Maybe it’ll explain why Kaia left.”
Mika walked beside me quietly. Probably digesting everything I’d told her. “And the tremors? Did you ask her about those?”
“They think the tremors happen because the rocks are mad at them. It didn’t make sense to me. She panicked when Ren told her to stop digging.”
“You and Ren have to tell everything to Avi and Dex. And then, we’ll decide what to do next.”
We parted ways, me to start my shift at the clinic and Mika to go back into the Underland for her work. As I watched her leave, I got a twinge in my chest. She of all people knew how dangerous it was underground. She didn’t just have herself to worry about anymore.
¼
“I think we should go to the Council. Tell them what you saw.”
I looked at Avi. Something about him still bothered me. Was it his shifty eyes? Or the way he stared at me for a beat too long, as if he were trying to decide if I could be trusted. “Telling the Council could get us balanced.” I shot a look at Mika, who nodded in agreement. The five of us were eating dinner together again, our heads bent over plates of salad. The lettuce was bitter, but no one complained. I barely tasted it anyway. “The Council are the ones who have kept the Underland a secret. Who knows what they’re willing to do to keep it that way?”
“There might be a reason—” Avi started, but I cut him off.
“There’s no reason to let someone be treated like that. You didn’t see her. She was half-starved. Barely clothed.” I looked around the communal kitchen area. Everyone was wearing clean tunics, their plates full. They got to sleep in a warm, comfortable bed. What did Ama eat? Where did she sleep? What kind of a life was it for her in the Underland?
“It’s not just about the Underlanders,” I said. All eyes turned to me. “The tremors are getting stronger. Ama was scared. She knows they’re in danger.”
“If there’s a major cave-in, they’ll be trapped down there. They could all die.” Mika spoke with authority. “If other Citizens knew the truth—”
“They’d do nothing,” Ren interrupted.
“That’s not true,” I argued, shocked at his harsh words. “If people knew about the Underlanders they’d demand better treatment for them.”
“Better, but not equal. Think about it, Sari. Would you go into the pit to dig brine? Because you’d have to if you want our way of life to stay the same.” Ren dropped his voice, but the crease between his eyebrows remained. “I’ve thought about it all day. Even if the whole City knew about the Underlanders, they wouldn’t care.”
“I don’t think that’s true. We care.” I looked at the four other faces staring back at me. Mika nodded in agreement, so did Dex. I turned to Avi. “Don’t we?”
“Ren is right. I wouldn’t go down there. I worked hard to get where I am. Why should I give it up? The Underlanders are down there for a reason. Maybe they’re not fit for anything other than digging. I mean, we’re here because of our genetics. Just like the Prims are on the Mountain because of theirs.”
As Avi spoke, I realized what it was about him that set me on edge. He thought he was better than the rest of us. Sure, his job required more schooling than mine. He’d probably scored higher on his intellectual aptitude tests, but that didn’t make him an expert on the Underland, or its people. He wasn’t the one who’d gone down there, I was. That had to count for something.
“Let’s just say the Underlanders stopped digging. Where would they live? In the dwelling next to you? Or would we make them go outside? It’s a lose-lose situation for everyone. It’s better if they stay down there. They’ve never known a different life anyway. They won’t know what they’re missing. After so long, genetically, they’re more efficient at digging than you or I would be.” Avi spoke as if his word was the final say on the subject.
“What about their safety? You heard what Mika said,” I whispered urgently. “If there’s a cave-in, they’ll be trapped.”
“Which means we lose our energy source anyway,” Dex finished. He gave Avi a pointed look.
Avi surveyed us coolly and motioned with his chin to the figures behind me. “Keep your voice down,” he said. Two overseers had stationed themselves at the entrance to the kitchen.
“Are they here for us?” I asked.
Dex shook his head. “No. Your pulse points were scrambled. There’s no way they know where you were.”
I glanced at Ren. He looked as worried as I was. But there was no denying the more than occasional glances they threw our way. Or was it my imagination? Were they scrutinizing every table?
Avi stood up abruptly. “You’re on your own.”
“Avi,” Ren said warningly. “You know the deal. We’re in this together.”
Dex put a hand on Avi’s arm and squeezed until Avi winced and sat down. “Ren’s right. You can’t back out now.”
Avi shot a look at the overseers. “You can’t tell me what I can do. This started with questions, that’s it. I just wanted to know where the extra energy came from. Now I know. I never wanted to change the way the City runs. You think the four of you are strong enough to go against the Council?” he shook his head. “You’re fighting a losing battle.”
This time, when he stood up, no one stopped him. “This isn’t a game anymore.”
“It never was,” Ren hissed.
“Don’t contact me again.”
“What if he goes to an overseer?” I asked as he left the kitchen. He walked past the overseers at the entrance and I held my breath. “If he tells them what we did…” I let my voice trail off. We’d all be implicated. Ren and I for going into the Underland, Dex for scrambling the pulse points, and Mika for knowing all of it and doing nothing.
Dex shook his head. “I’ve known Avi since we were in school. He wouldn’t do that to us. He’s scared, that’s all.”
“So am I,” Mika said. “We all are. Knowing the truth is a burden,” she said ruefully. She looked at the Citizens still in the kitchen. At the table next to us two birth elders were eating dinner with their toddler. They grinned at the child who was happily chomping on a carrot. Mika sighed and glanced at Dex.
“Now that we do, we have to take action.” Ren met my eyes. “We need a plan.”
I tapped my fingers on the table, thinking.
“I think Avi’s right, people won’t care unless they know how it affects them,” I said.
“The dome caving in will affect everyone,” Mika said.
“But no one on the surface can feel the tremors yet,” Ren said. “I’ve only felt small vibrations in the Underland. Nothing that’s made me think the dome could come down.”
“Just wait,” Mika said, ominously. “A big one’s coming.”
It was hard to believe the people who were supposed to lead us would risk the City to protect a secret. Did they have a plan? Or were they turning a blind eye to the truth because they didn’t like it. Maybe they didn’t understand just how much danger we were in. Or maybe the change to our way of life wasn’t worth it. I hated to think that our leaders would be so foolish, but I knew it had happened Before. That was why we were living in a dome now—no one had taken the warnings about the environment and disease seriously back then either.
“What if we could show Citizens what the tremors are like in the Underland?” I asked. “Ama was definitely scared of them. We could go to the pit, wait until one hit and store the footage in our memory.” I looked at Dex. “Could you upload it onto the newsfeed?”
Dex frowned. “That’s not my department. I’d have to figure out a way into the system.”
“But you could do it?”
“I could try.”
I looked around the table, the plan solidifying in my mind. “The Council won’t be able to lie if we have proof. Even if Citizens don’t care about the way the Underlanders are being treated, they can’t ignore the tremors.”
It was strange to look at Mika, Dex and Ren and know they were listening to me, willing to take direction from me. How had I ended up in this position? Kaia would never have believed it. “We’ll go tomorrow. Right after my shift at the clinic.”
“And if there aren’t any tremors?” Mika asked.
“Then we keep going, night after night until we’re there for one. What choice do we have?” Until that moment, I hadn’t understood why Kaia had willingly risked her safety to find her birth elder. It was clear to me now. The truth had changed her. She couldn’t go on living a lie in the City. And neither could I.
The two overseers wandered closer to our table. “Meet me in the square at six o’clock tomorrow,” I said to Ren and stood to go.
“Where are you going?” he asked. “You didn’t touch your dinner.”
“I’m not hungry. You can have it.” He opened his mouth to say something more, but I turned away. The overseers were watching me. The faster I could get away from the table, the better.
I walked aimlessly along the stream, following the meandering path until I ended up in the orchard. The smell of citrus and freshly turned soil greeted me. Brightly coloured fruit dotted the foliage. The trees stood in even rows, their branches carefully pruned so they made a canopy. It was strange to be here by myself. The orchard was the unofficial place for young couples, both matched and unmatched, to meet.
The last time I’d been here had been with Lev. I flushed with embarrassment at the memory of it. Kaia had been reeling from Mae’s balancing and I’d been thinking about myself. I couldn’t fix what I’d done. I found an empty bench and sat down. I needed space to think.
Now that I knew the truth about Kaia, I didn’t want her to come back. I knew why Tar wanted her and it turned my stomach. Tar’s moral ambiguity might have allowed her to trade the life of one person to save many, but mine didn’t.
I loved Kaia. If it came down to saving her, or all the Citizens, I’d choose her. I’d been selfish when Mae had been taken. When she’d needed me most, I’d failed her. More than anything, I wished I could go back and prove to Kaia I could be a good friend. If I’d been the person she needed, she wouldn’t have left, Lev wouldn’t have been sent after her and Mae wouldn’t still be trapped in a cell.
My eyes flew open. I knew what Kaia would want me to do. She couldn’t help Mae, but I could.
“Great minds think alike.” I jumped at the voice and looked up to see Ren smiling down at me. “Mind if I join you?” he asked.
As distracted as I was by thoughts of Mae and Kaia, I didn’t say no. Ren settled in beside me, close enough that I could sense his warmth, but far enough away to be appropriate. I still had a mate, after all. A few couples strolled along the path between the trees. We were tucked far enough away not to draw attention. “I was worried about you. You seemed upset when you left. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t with me.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Of course not.”
He sighed with relief. “Good. Are you nervous about going back?”
“That’s part of it,” I admitted. “I was wishing I could go back in time and do things differently.”
“You mean your match with Lev?” he asked.
I nodded. “Other things too. Things I should have said or done. Maybe Kaia would have stayed.”
“I know you regret that she left, but that was Kaia’s choice, not yours. If she hadn’t gone, you wouldn’t be part of the CORE. We wouldn’t be talking about saving the City, or the Underlanders. There’s some good that’s come of it.”
We sat in comfortable silence for a few moments. But thoughts of the Underland and what would happen tomorrow were never far from my mind. “We should have a plan in case we get separated in the Underland. Or if one of us gets hurt.” I’d seen the fear on Ama’s face when we’d mentioned the tremors. I wondered what they felt like so deep underground. “Nothing should compromise our goal. We need that footage otherwise things won’t change. All our work will be for nothing.”
“Okay,” he agreed. “We keep going. No matter what.”
We sat together for a while longer, then I stood to go. “You’re leaving?” he asked.
I was feeling the effects of missing dinner. My stomach grumbled for food. If I left now, I’d make it to the market before it closed. “See you tomorrow,” I said wiping the dirt off my tunic.
“I should go too,” he said and stretched. He looked at his pulse point and rolled his eyes. “There’s a running mat with my name on it.”
I glanced back at Ren as he went towards the gymnasium. If Kaia hadn’t left, I wouldn’t have found Ren. Could we have a future together? Lev had to be declared dead for that to happen. I wasn’t ready to give up yet. There was still a chance, a small sliver of hope, that he and Kaia were out there.