Underland(17)

“You don’t. Remus has never given up any of his slaves. Ever. Just the great kind of guy Remus is.” Den stepped toward the door. “Listen, I’m going to let you out of the cell, let you explore a little, since you don’t have long anyway. My advice? Stay low, don’t make a scene. Just try and stay alive. One day at a time.”

Her mind was spinning. “Let’s say, hypothetically, I could get him to release me. How do I earn freedom tokens?”

He rolled his eyes. “Like everyone else down here.” He looked at the white blinking light. “The ga—” He bit his lip. “Menial labor.” He’d definitely been about to say something else. “But don’t waste your time trying to escape. Save yourself the energy. You’re registered. Marked.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You belong to our world now. Underland. This is where you’ll die. Even if by some miracle you live, no one will ever allow you back to the surface world. No one would risk you exposing our secrets.”

With that, he left.

Kira sat forward, stunned. She really was trapped here. Granted, she now had more freedom to move about outside of the small cell, but it wasn’t much more than an illusion.

She couldn’t waste any more time in her room.

She looked at the doorway and the darkness beyond and debated what lay before her. She’d seen many slaves roaming freely when they pulled up in the boat to the compound; each of them had an arm brace as well. Soft padding footsteps alerted her to movement outside her door. Kira stiffened and cursed herself for not running out that door when she had the chance. She was now once again trapped in the cell. Her side wasn’t hurting badly at all, so that would help. What had the centaur used on her wounds anyway?

The footsteps got closer, and a body slowed and stopped in her doorway. It was the boy zeke.

He looked almost as surprised to see her in the room as she was to see him. Kira held her breath, waiting for the hungry zeke to rush in and attack her. She let her hands fall to her sides but kept them clenched and ready.

The boy gave her an impervious look and then kept walking, ignoring her, to continue on his journey down the hall. He looked right through her. She could have been a fly on the wall for all of the attention he just gave her.

Shocked and confused, Kira gingerly crept from the bed, careful to not make any loud creaks on the springs. She moved to the door just as carefully and put her back to it.

Time for a peek down the hall. A single bare bulb hung at the far left end, illuminating a set of metal stairs—stairs the zeke was currently navigating downwards. To the right was an endless array of doors, some opened, some closed—all numbered. Kira didn’t know what other monsters might be residing on the other side of those metal doors, and she didn’t want to find out. The safest route seemed to be following the zeke, which she did.

At a safe distance.

The young man stopped once and looked up through the grates above him. Kira pressed herself against the wall, in the shadows, and waited. Hoping he hadn’t heard her.

“It’s all right; I’m not going to eat you. I’ve got more important things to take care of.” His voice had a warm, almost husky, tone, which really could have made girls swoon. If he weren’t the cannibal type.

“Good to know, I guess. But what about later…” Kira let the words trail off and walked down the steps after him, still keeping a reasonable distance.

He shrugged and brushed the brown hair out of his eyes. “I guess later will depend on how much you annoy me and how hungry I get.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes. Kira inwardly cringed, but was careful to keep her emotions equally unreadable.

He waited as she approached, staring at her eye to eye, as if daring her to respond. When she didn’t, he frowned slightly.

She’d won the silent challenge.

Feeling braver, she passed him on the steps and walked through a set of double doors leading outside to an enclosed courtyard. Instead of grass, it was covered in moss, probably the only thing that would grow under the fluorescent lights. Over to one side, a large group of monsters lifted weights, wrestling and showing off. Smaller humanoid monsters ran after them carrying trays with drinks, snacks, and towels. Each of the smaller monsters had a length of tattoos and designs starting behind the ear and running down the side of the neck. Their hair had been either shaven or pulled into a braided design—apparently to keep the tattoos visible. These were obviously the slaves, meant to cater to the tougher looking monsters.

Throughout the commons area, benches and couches were positioned for gathering, some facing multiple screens that lined one wall. What channels could they possibly get deep underground? And what kind of segments did monsters like watching? A few tattered rugs were placed awkwardly around the encampment in an attempt to make everything look homier.

It didn’t work.

Kira almost let her fear freeze her in her tracks, but she held her head high, like she belonged with the monsters, and walked steadily towards a distant table with food. Every fiber of her being was telling her to get as far from them as possible, to run away, escape. But the hunter side of Kira knew that if she did, if she bolted and ran, it would cause even more notice—possibly ending in another chase and death.

The zeke boy also aimed for the table.

***

The girl tried to look like she didn’t care what was going on around her. He almost laughed out loud when she entered the courtyard and froze, face to face with some of the scariest monsters she’d probably ever seen. He watched her square her shoulders and march straight into their midst.