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Tuesday, 16th of spring.
"Hurry up! It can't be that difficult." I shouted but got no response. I had left Sebastian a few levels higher to fight off some bugs he wanted to kill. Kicking over some loose rocks I tried again; "I found a way down, again"
There were a few faint thumps and the sound of crashing a layer higher.
The boy had been avoiding me for days. Most likely hunched in his room thinking I couldn't find him. But I knew his mother. So, unfortunately for him, I knew where he lived.
And so, there he stood. A bit one-sided and in pain but nevertheless. His hand hadn't quite had the time to fully heal yet and it seemed to be a bit shy to touch. He, though, made no comment of this. Dropping his backpack on the edge of the new hole I had dug he sighed and kneeled down.
"You know," He rechecked if the bag was fully sealed and then swung it over his shoulder. "I was *this* close to staying in bed today."
"Awh, regret it already?" I sneered. The question wasn't really necessary, it quite literally beamed off of his face. I guarded the upper layer as he went down to check the new level. It was the most efficient and safe way of entering, or at least so we thought.
"Kinda. Why'd you wanna come here anyway? Out of all places." His muttering echoed from beneath, but I could already imagine the little headshakes he'd be making.
"Dunno, I- Ouch!" Stumbling down the rest of the stairs I scratched my knees against the steps. The pain didn't strike out too bad, but it was hard enough to definitely leave some nasty marks for later.
Out of a sudden a hand pressed up my back and held onto my arm gently as I shakily stood up. The bewilderment had most likely come from the shock, but what I hadn't been expecting was Sebastian's face inches from mine.
"You okay?" He asked. His voice was so soft it took me off guard and I nearly fell again. His eyes held no hate, which was interesting because of how annoyed he had seemed before. They were neatly framed by the chaos of his hair. It was just him. Him and his warm hands against my skin.
"Hello?"
Oh, right.
"Yeah. I'm okay." I shook my head.
I stepped half a step away and he let me go. Picking up some of the fallen ore that had escaped me in the fall he pocketed some and then handed me the rest. Holding onto the pile like a fool I watched him disappear back into the shadows with a slight hint of a grin on his face.
I should've gathered the gems and followed, but my mind was running a marathon. Was that how he always acted? Maybe he was like that with everybody. Or it was just the moment. It was actually quite normal. I had fallen and he came to check up on me. Hadn't I too patched him up the first time we met?
If so, why was I so flushed all of a sudden.
"You coming?" A shout echoed through the chambers.
I guess somebody was in a rush all of a sudden. I pushed the rocks back into my backpack and jogged after him.
"Yeah, coming."
For a good ten floors down the caves became pitch black and cold. The temperatures only dropped the lower we reached. I grew to hate every second the longer I had to hold onto a flashlight and mine.
"Ugh. Will this stay like this forever? I can't even see my feet!" I was so close to giving up when I managed to walk straight into a wall.
"What'd you expect? It's not like the sun's gonna help you here." I couldn't see past my nose, but Sebastian's voice echoed somewhere from the right. "There should be- aha!"
A sudden burst of light was enough to blind the whole room. For a moment I thought I had actually lost my vision. Then I noticed Sebastian's hands pushing rocks over the entrance a small moment later and I sighed of relief.
He had found an icy wonderland just below our feet. I had been drawn by the light and now hovered curiously over his shoulder. "What's that?"
"You think I know?" Sebastian drew his sword back out and plopped down without another word. I waited impatiently by the entrance, because the darkness alone felt scarier than anything that could lie in the under.
"Seems safe." He shouted. I could see him try and kick a rock over, unsuccessfully.
His breath came out in steam. It hadn't been too good of an idea to pack as lightly as I had. It had left more space for minerals, but a thin long sleeve shirt wouldn't keep me warm for long no matter how good it looked.
The floors were a goldmine, literally. Even the walls were glistening with glass and shards. I gathered iron until I ran out of space and then made Sebastian carry the rest.
The most dangerous thing we met was an angry army of dust mites and even they were pretty weak together. The whole thing was a dream come true. I could've spent days if not weeks there just gathering and exploring.
Unfortunately, even Sebastian's carry on wasn't infinitely deep and I started to once again run out of space.
"How long till you've got enough?" Sebastian grumbled by the ladders.
"But there's so much-"
I was cut off by a yawn.
"Hey-!"
Sebastian just dramatically stretched his arms around and yawned again. "Can we go? There's still a long way up, so you don't have to miss me quite yet-"
"Oh, stop it!"
I didn't want to go. Not really. Not yet at least. We hadn't reached the bottom; I was sure of it. There was still a lot to discover. But, I thought, my eyes had begun to wear heavy. And the bag wasn't the lightest to move around with, either.
But I guess I could always come back. Maybe I could drag Abigail with me next time, if Sebastian wasn't up for another try.
The backpack felt heavier every ladder I climbed. It must have gone on for hours, or so it felt like. The cold didn't bother me anymore, but the weight felt like it could snap my back in two at any moment.
"Hey, can we stop for a moment?" I grabbed onto Sebastian's hoodie sleeve as he was already running up. Completely winded, I had to take a moment to gather myself before I could concentrate on anything else.
"Think we should lighten the load a bit?" Sebastian chuckled but dropped his bag onto the cold floor.
"Absolutely not." I stated, doing the same. I had worked for everything that now laid in the bags and I would make sure to get the profit out of them, too.
He sat down and carefully opened the bag that was basically ripping off its seams. I kneeled by his side and watched him rummage through the iron all the way until he got to the bottom. He pulled out a bag of rolls and snack bars.
"Want some?" He offered the bread to me, and I took it without another thought.
"Sure."
Minutes ran past as we sat there, both too hungry to speak. We finished the bag in a flash, and I thought I had never tasted anything better.
Sebastian was calmly patting crumbs off the palms of his hands, when he suddenly turned to me. "You didn't answer my question earlier."
"What question?"
"Why'd you come here?" I didn't look, but I could hear him stretch his arms next to me. "I'd run away in a heartbeat if I had the money and yet you came here willingly."
"Hmm." I hummed, deep in thought. "I don't know. I mean, it doesn't feel like I'm much wanted here. Guess I wanted some change."
"Don't get me wrong, though." I had noticed the confusion in his eyes and felt the need to explain. "I'm getting on the next bus to the city. It's just gonna take a minute."
Feeling like I couldn't quite put all my thoughts into words, I ended up just staring at my hands. Why did it feel so difficult, it was miles easier to just swallow words and rub my palms together.
"Hmm."
A shuffling noise echoed through the walls as Sebastian once again changed his position. There was a small sniff before he could speak again.
"Think we can get going now? I could really use some coffee."
"Yeah, sure."
And there he went again. He had a clear pattern, and it was rather annoying, actually. Every once in a while I was able to drag him out of his shell. This time he even did it himself. Then he'd think of something or even say something and immediately retreat.
What was he running away from? Me? It felt like an endless game of tag where no one ever won. He'd managed to escape again, returned to the constant state of annoyance and agony. The constant frowning must do something to the face, I thought.
But maybe, I thought as he offered his hand to lift me up, he hadn't completely gone after all.
When we finally reached the top the evening sun's warm rays welcomed us back with open arms. It had been late in the afternoon when we left, so we must have spent an entire day cycle down there.
The moment I stepped out to the sun I dropped the bag and took a moment to stretch my arms. They were already stiff in place and probably bruised under the pressure.
"I'm not carrying that home." I thought out loud, pointing at the bag. "It'll stay here. I'll come get it tomorrow."
I was already ready to just leave and walk home, but unfortunately Sebastian quickly stopped me; "Think we should hide it a bit at least?"
"Why? It's not like somebody's gonna steal it or anything."
"I dunno. There's some weird dude covered in leaves who likes to poke around." Sebastian shrugged and lifted the bag inside the caves. It couldn't be seen from the outside. He then took off his bag and dropped it down next to it.
"We'll split it later." He said.
"You know," Turning to him I noticed he had come to face me. He kept shifting his weight around and often lifted his hand to brush off something on the top of his nose. "I'm mainly asking this for Abby."
His gaze didn't seem to want to settle down. It searched every inch of the lake next to us. "She's been planning this a lot for some reason, and I know she'd want you there. You know the old Community center?"
I shook my head.
"It's some wreck behind Abby's house. Yeah, just take the stairs up and everything... anyway." He stood silent for a moment. Not a long enough time for any awkwardness to creep into the air but enough for me to notice the hesitation.
"So," He began. His gaze flickered past me and only remained in place for a second or two. "You wanna come?"
"Sure."
The boy silently nodded and turned away. On his way out he did turn back to shout; "We're going on Thursday. Abby can show you where it is"
Hmm.
I let him go. He had nearly gotten over to the house and disappeared once again but shouted the thought after him.
"You're not too good at goodbyes, are you?"
It got no response.
***