Subterra Heart

Chapter 28: Connor Rocha

They reached the small iron door at the edge of the forest in almost no time at all. Connor was starting to feel less queasy already, and his headache was beginning to lift. He reached for the door, and then looked over at Marina. She was looking pale, and he still hadn't told her about Tess's encounter with bloodrot. Sending Marina down to the tunnels to help Tess was starting to feel like a bad idea. She needed to know what had happened to her sister. He let his hand rest on the heavy metal bolt that held the door shut, and then cleared his throat.

"Tess didn't just get burned," he said, slowly. "She also had a run-in with bloodrot. She's doing ok right now, but you need to know that if you're gonna head down there. I should've told you earlier – wasn't thinking straight. Sorry." He clamped his mouth shut and waited for a few seconds before glancing back at Marina. Her white-knuckled hands gripped the box at her hip too tightly, but her mouth was set in a firm line, and her dark eyes flashed at him.

"Let's go, Connor," she said in a tight voice. When he hesitated again, she raised an eyebrow. Fair enough. She knew all the important stuff now. Connor yanked back the bolt and tugged the door open. It squeaked on unoiled hinges. Marina brushed past him, down into the dark, wire-laced tunnel.

They walked in silence until they came upon the bare, circular room where Connor had found himself not all that long ago. The well was still there, as was the rope secured to the floor. There was a quiet thump as Marina set down the box she'd been carrying. She grabbed her filter mask and fastened it over her nose so that all Connor could see of her face were her eyes. She gestured to the box.

"How do we plan to get all of this down to Tess?" she asked. There was a short pause while Connor frowned at the rope.

"I think I've got an idea," he said.

A short bit later, Connor and Marina had finished pulling the rope back up through the well. At first, Connor had tried tying the box to the end of the rope, but he eventually settled for instructing Marina on how to do the knots. His shoulder still hurt.

"That should do it," he said when she'd finished. "Give it a tug to see if the knot's solid."

Marina did as he said and nodded. "It seems tight enough," she said. The rope had been wrapped around all four sides of the box and tied at the top with a very large series of knots, just like wrapping a gift with ribbon. Their plan was to lower the box through the well and then climb down after it. Marina had balked at the thought of Connor attempting to climb down with only one working arm. He reminded her that he'd already managed the trip once, and he could do it again. Marina didn't make any more of a fuss after that, which was odd. Normally, Connor would expect her to be more firm with putting her foot down, but she was nervous. He could see that clearly enough.  

"Alright," he said, grabbing the knot with his good hand. It felt solid, and the box wasn't slipping through the rope that surrounding it. "Let's let it down now." Marina nodded as he brought the box over to the well. She remained crouching at the spot where she had done the knots and started chewing on her fingernails. Her eyes were fixated on the well. Connor was about to start dropping the box through the well when he paused. Marina wasn't a particularly athletic woman. He hadn't really asked if she could make the climb down.

"How good are you with heights and climbing?" he asked.

"Not very," was Marina's reply. She took a deep breath. "But I can do this for Tess." That wasn't the reassurance that Connor wanted. Marina had very little muscle mass, and her hands were soft from spending her days behind the pharmacy counter.

"I'll lower you down with the box," said Connor. He wrapped the rope around his good arm a few times and let the box slip partway through the well before bracing himself against the bar on the ground. One foot could be used to brace himself while the other could be an extra clamp on the loose end of the rope in case it started slipping through his hand too quickly. "That knot should be large enough to support you," he added.

To Marina's credit, she did not insist on climbing down on her own. Nor did she try to backpedal and refuse to leave Heart. Connor wouldn't have blamed her if she had. Instead, she stood up, walked over to the well, and lowered herself through it until she found her footing on the knot. Her hands were shaking when she wrapped them around the rope.

"Do not drop me," she said.

"Wouldn't dream of it," said Connor, and he slowly began to lower her down.