Empty as my Heart

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The shelter didn't take long to reach.  At first, I'd only seen trees.  It was perfectly concealed, a metal door protruding from the side of the moundish hill.  Forming a sort of passageway.

Richard opened it, after a series of knocks.  A signal, maybe?  I didn't know, or care enough to ask.  My mind was clouded from sleepiness, about to shut off completely if I didn't get rest.  Hardly any ever invited me anyways, so why bother sleeping at all?  Bad plan, trust me.

I followed them into darkness.  They turned off their lantern, guiding me by feeling the walls.  I didn't understand this, weren't we supposed to be secure?

"Why--?"  I began, but was shhhsed as quickly as the words left my lips.

"Don't speak, lassie," Nim whispered, voice barely audible, but ringing in the silence.  She explain no further, hustling me ever so quickly along.  Then we stopped.

A single torch lit up the tiny, earthen chamber.  The walls were roughly dirt and mud, all packed into each other hard.  The ceiling was the same.

I looked ahead, face illuminated by the flickering light.

A wide hole, black and deep, with a ladder held up only by its mouth, dug in the center of the hollow.  I didn't bother to look down, only greeted with more darkness.

"Are we--?"

Richard shushhed me, setting down the useless lantern.  He grasped the wooden ladder, holding it in place.  He motioned with his finger, telling me to come.

I did as he wished.  I'd never been afraid of heights, or the dark.  But..something about this place gave me a red flag, telling me no-nonsense.  The hands propping me up were shaking.

I slowly proceeded to crawl down, letting the torchlight to dim out, leaving my senses out of wack and unbalanced.  All I could hear was the sound of insects digging.

Fear threatened to coarse through me, but I beat it down.  My feet longed for earth.

And..finally, they found it.

I touched down, hard and loud.  The area was barely lit, a couple torches and lanterns lighting the dark tunnels, leading away from me.  Gosh, what is this place?

My body tensed, hearing movement, but it was only Nim.  She crawled down after me, smiling in a wistful kind of way.  She hardly waited for Richard, grabbing the cuff of my sleeve and gently pulling me in some random direction.

I wanted to pull away, to find my way back to the surface.  I could hardly breathe here.

Tunnels, they were like giant mole-holes.  Like a death-trap waiting for me.  I followed, though, willingly.  Determined to see where she was taking me.

My arm lost feeling by the time she gave the same series of knocking sounds on a small, wooden door off to the side.  It was hardly even a door..just similar to the closet they forced me into.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Nim went before me, hand still in place on my wrist.  I had no choice but to enter aswell.  The room was surprisingly open, wide and long.  Old, wooden tables stretched far, seating about twenty people.  It was too dim a light to see their faces.

They seemed to be eating, looking up in surprise as I entered, Nim and Richard close behind.

Just my luck, having stares reach me from menacing people.  They could kill me at any moments notice.  The Feast did not prevail for us, and Hunters were not officially the only bloodthirsty people in the group.  There were no rules to play along here.

My back stiffened, and I knew this was a bad idea.  Why had I let them bring me?

The chills sent fear rolling off my thin shoulders, but I left my expression blank, hoping nobody could recognize it anyways.  I was never really good at hiding my emotions.

The cavern was stone, or atleast part way.  I could see torches, gold-flecks dancing along the freezing contures of the hollow cave.  Someone stood, almost fast enough to fall backwards, and came forwards.  He had a limp, I could tell, and his left hand carried a long staff-like branch for balance.

My words silenced in my throat.

"Mae.." he whispered, a disbelieving smirk painted his face.  I couldn't tell if he was happy to see me, or shocked.  Probably both.

"James," I answered him, not smiling.  This whole situation set me on edge, and all I wanted was to snatch his hand and make a run for the ladder.  But..what good would any of that do?

Nim grinned, enthusiastically.  "So this is the girl!  I knew it the moment I layed eyes on her!  Poor child was sleeping in the snow."  Her face lit up, almost frighteningly, and she grabbed my palm tightly.  "Come, sweet child, we must find you a meal to eat."

James followed close, limps subtle and quiet.  My aprehensions never faltered, even after I sat down, next to James.  Alone.

Nim scurried off someplace else, bringing Richard along with her.  I breathed somewhat easier.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered.  James set his cane down, frowning.  I followed his gaze, swiftly watching his face.  He looked the same, handsome as ever.  Nothing like the starving peasents scuttling around, searching for empty morsels, eyes darting rapidly.

"I had to see if you were safe..but found that you weren't," he told me, voice barely audible.  My eyes found his, staring into them, confused.

"I was fine.."

"No," he said, almost forcefully.  "You don't understand.  There's no water, edible meat, plants or shelter out there, Mae."

I looked down, into my lap.  He was probably right, I couldn't find a drinking source at all earlier, but the food?

"What do you mean, no meat or plants?"  I asked. 

James's face was serious, hands gripping the table.  "Nothing is like we've seen, Mae. Nothing."

Nothing.

Breathing came gruffly, food splintering my throat.  I only looked at him, forcing my face blank.  Keeping back my own tears.

"How do you know this?" I asked, finally.  The area was quiet, keeping my edge set.  I couldn't find myself able to trust anyone.  Not anymore. 

He looked at me, a sense of distress lingering in his eyes. 

"They told me."

A glare flickered up, directed at our darkened shadows.  The man sneered at us, slowly letting his chair scuff across the worn floor.  His face was dark, but I could see his outline almost definately.  Burly muscles protruded, thickening his arms, chest, and legs.  He came forwards, almost as if not moving at all.  The footsteps alone told me he was.

Maybe his anger wasn't directed at us.

But that statement alone, was close to impossible.