Tales from the Underground 1: The City
Chapter 1
It was stupid but
I did it anyway. I had no idea where it would lead. Well that is not entirely
true. I mean, I knew it would lead down into the top level of the city; we use
to do it as a dare when we were kids. Of course, there were very few of us but
maybe that was partly why we played it. The chute was a natural channel that
filled up with dry leaves, like a slide. It ended in the top level of the city
but it was easy to turn around and dash out. We were warned about the dangers
of the city but we were kids. The first time I did it, I was scared and trying
to prove I was not. Today, I was not trying to prove anything. I just wanted…
well I really do not know what made me decide to ride the chute.
It was as fun as I remembered it being as I kid. You pick up a bit of speed towards the end and land in a deep pile of dried leaves. As I landed, I looked up and saw him. I could tell he was from the city, most people are, but I could see that he must be a rebel down there. I stood up slowly, thinking I should run for the exit. Even if he were planning to leave the city, he wouldn’t know how to behave on the surface yet. He would still follow the rules of the city, which I understood to be… unkind.
So here I stand, wondering if I should run but somehow held by his eyes. He slowly steps toward me and I see by the look on his face that he has never met a natural before. I know I’m good-looking but not in that perfectly shaped and molded way of people from the city where perfection is the norm. Dark brown hair, dark green eyes with pale skin is an odd combination in the city. Down there they think the hair and eye combination looks better with dark olive coloured skin. I stand out to anyone from below. I smile; luckily, my teeth are naturally straight because people who do that kind of work are very rare on the surface.
He takes another step forward and a smile slowly spreads across his face, lighting up his eyes. Thick black hair, pale blue eyes with pale skin is rare in the city. His nose has that absolutely perfect shape that screams work but the rest of his face appears natural. With a jaw line that’s a little too firm, check bones that are a little too wide and a mouth that’s a little too hard to be considered fashionable in the city, his face is not one that anyone would set out to create but it’s very beautiful. And in the midst of all those hard angles and straight lines are two dimples when he smiles that suggest an impish personality.
“Hi,” he sounds a little startled.
I smile, “Hi.”
“What are you doing up here?” His voice is melodic, soft and raspy in a sexy sort of way.
I glance back up to the surface. I shouldn’t hang around here but I don’t want to walk away from him just yet and I don’t think I should invite him to go with me. I don’t know if he is safe to be around and I’m reluctant to put others in danger. What to do?
“I want to─” he breaks off suddenly and quickly spins around, his body tensing up.
My eyes jump to what he is looking at. A new guy creeps up behind Jonathon. Something stealthy and furtive about the new guy’s behaviour screams trouble to me. I glance back at the man I just met and then I sweep the huge open room with my eyes and ears. My hearing allows me to pinpoint the others immediately. One, two, three… I find seven men slowly closing in on our position. Their menacing behaviour making it clear that I have stayed too long.
It was as fun as I remembered it being as I kid. You pick up a bit of speed towards the end and land in a deep pile of dried leaves. As I landed, I looked up and saw him. I could tell he was from the city, most people are, but I could see that he must be a rebel down there. I stood up slowly, thinking I should run for the exit. Even if he were planning to leave the city, he wouldn’t know how to behave on the surface yet. He would still follow the rules of the city, which I understood to be… unkind.
So here I stand, wondering if I should run but somehow held by his eyes. He slowly steps toward me and I see by the look on his face that he has never met a natural before. I know I’m good-looking but not in that perfectly shaped and molded way of people from the city where perfection is the norm. Dark brown hair, dark green eyes with pale skin is an odd combination in the city. Down there they think the hair and eye combination looks better with dark olive coloured skin. I stand out to anyone from below. I smile; luckily, my teeth are naturally straight because people who do that kind of work are very rare on the surface.
He takes another step forward and a smile slowly spreads across his face, lighting up his eyes. Thick black hair, pale blue eyes with pale skin is rare in the city. His nose has that absolutely perfect shape that screams work but the rest of his face appears natural. With a jaw line that’s a little too firm, check bones that are a little too wide and a mouth that’s a little too hard to be considered fashionable in the city, his face is not one that anyone would set out to create but it’s very beautiful. And in the midst of all those hard angles and straight lines are two dimples when he smiles that suggest an impish personality.
“Hi,” he sounds a little startled.
I smile, “Hi.”
“What are you doing up here?” His voice is melodic, soft and raspy in a sexy sort of way.
I glance back up to the surface. I shouldn’t hang around here but I don’t want to walk away from him just yet and I don’t think I should invite him to go with me. I don’t know if he is safe to be around and I’m reluctant to put others in danger. What to do?
“I want to─” he breaks off suddenly and quickly spins around, his body tensing up.
My eyes jump to what he is looking at. A new guy creeps up behind Jonathon. Something stealthy and furtive about the new guy’s behaviour screams trouble to me. I glance back at the man I just met and then I sweep the huge open room with my eyes and ears. My hearing allows me to pinpoint the others immediately. One, two, three… I find seven men slowly closing in on our position. Their menacing behaviour making it clear that I have stayed too long.
Chapter 2
“Fuck,” he mutters the word without any heat. “I’m sorry.”
I shake my head. I have no idea what he is apologising for; he didn’t cause the situation. I point the way out, knowing we’ll never make it to the safety of the surface. “We can get out there.”
“I’m really sorry,” he repeats as he grabs my arm. I resist. “Don’t. We need to get out of here.” And I allow him to haul me by the arm to a huge window. Maybe he has a plan.
I glance around at the men closing in on us and wonder what he hopes to accomplish. The window is not made of glass. The thing is unbreakable; we’re trapped against it. My eyes quickly scan the area, searching for a way to run but a glint of metal as he pulls out something that looks like a knife yanks my eyes back to him. I start to pull away.
“Please stop. I need to do this quick.” He places the knife against the window and cuts a line through it. He quickly slashes out a door and then taps it with the hand that holds the knife. The entire chunk falls inward, away from us. He pulls me through his freshly made door and then stops to lift the slab back into place. Using the end of the handle, he runs the butt of the knife back over the edge of the slab, sealing it into place. He steps back beside me with a smile on his face.
“That should hold them for a while,” he says to me while he keeps his eyes on the gang running toward us.
“Hold them? How?”
“I doubt that any of them carry one of these,” he replies, flourishing the knife-like device in his hand before putting it away.
“Shouldn’t we get out of here?” I ask, staring into the angry faces of seven men. One of them hammers on the window and frustration replaces anger on his face.
“Yes, but it won’t be easy.” He continues to study the gang as if he’s waiting for something.
“Do you know them?”
“Yes,” he replies as he turns in a circle. “We need to find a phone line.” His eyes land on me. He smiles in a way that is meant to be reassuring and gestures for me to follow him. “Sorry, my name is Jonathon.”
“Rachael,” I respond and hold out a hand to shake. He just stares at it. “Sorry, I forgot that city people don’t shake hands.”
I look back at the seven men on the other side of the window. Each one of them is beautiful; uniform good looks, flawless faces, perfect bodies. I wonder if any of them are actually in shape or if they are just molded to look that way. It would be easier for me if it were the latter. One of them pounds on the window again. One of them says something to the others but only a muffled sound reaches us.
“City people.” Jonathon grabs my arm, turning me to face him. “You don’t live in the city?”
“No,” I answer but my mind is no longer on the conversation. With him so close to me, I suddenly become aware of his scent. I know what that smell means but there’s another scent layered on top of his. A woman’s scent.
“But…” confusion runs across his face.
“Maybe we should get out of here.” I gesture to the window. On the other side, one guy paces angrily while the rest huddle together, clearly in the midst of an intense argument.
Jonathon gives me a nod and glances over at the gang before walking away.
I follow him down a short hallway and into another open space. I watch him peer around, bobbing up on his toes to check over a short wall and then crouching low to check under an overhang. His body is well proportioned and in good shape just like the men pursuing us. I wonder if he’s actually in good shape or if it’s just the typical enhancements. It’s always easier to tell if someone has changed their face than it is to tell if they had their body sculpted. Jonathon appears normal but then city people strive for conformity. Of course, looking at me people would assume I’m normal but I’m not. Those of us born on the surface tend to have abilities although I’m almost certain the city people call them deformities.
He turns and catches me watching him. “Aren’t you going to help?” his voice is a touch annoyed and a little frightened.
I laugh, “I have no idea what you’re doing.”
“I am looking for a phone line.” He responds moving along the ledge and peering under it.
“I’m not from the city. I have never seen a… phone line.”
He straightens up and stares at me until I begin to feel a little uncomfortable. “I thought… I thought you were just from another city. You mean you were born on the surface?”
I nod.
“But… I thought… I was…” he pauses and takes a deep breath before continuing. “I was told that couldn’t happen or if it did the person would be…”
“Deformed?” I smile.
He nods slowly an embarrassed flush colouring his cheeks.
“Well, that’s not really true.”
“Not really?” He asks and then jumps when we hear a loud bang. “They’re trying to get in through the window.”
“Can they get through without that knife thing?” I ask. I feel safe with him because of his scent but I doubt I will like the gang pounding on the window.
“I don’t know. There’s so many things they could… One of them might know a trick.” Jonathon peers around and then gestures. “Let’s go. I’ll keep looking for the phone line but we should put some distance between us and those guys out there.”
I shake my head. I have no idea what he is apologising for; he didn’t cause the situation. I point the way out, knowing we’ll never make it to the safety of the surface. “We can get out there.”
“I’m really sorry,” he repeats as he grabs my arm. I resist. “Don’t. We need to get out of here.” And I allow him to haul me by the arm to a huge window. Maybe he has a plan.
I glance around at the men closing in on us and wonder what he hopes to accomplish. The window is not made of glass. The thing is unbreakable; we’re trapped against it. My eyes quickly scan the area, searching for a way to run but a glint of metal as he pulls out something that looks like a knife yanks my eyes back to him. I start to pull away.
“Please stop. I need to do this quick.” He places the knife against the window and cuts a line through it. He quickly slashes out a door and then taps it with the hand that holds the knife. The entire chunk falls inward, away from us. He pulls me through his freshly made door and then stops to lift the slab back into place. Using the end of the handle, he runs the butt of the knife back over the edge of the slab, sealing it into place. He steps back beside me with a smile on his face.
“That should hold them for a while,” he says to me while he keeps his eyes on the gang running toward us.
“Hold them? How?”
“I doubt that any of them carry one of these,” he replies, flourishing the knife-like device in his hand before putting it away.
“Shouldn’t we get out of here?” I ask, staring into the angry faces of seven men. One of them hammers on the window and frustration replaces anger on his face.
“Yes, but it won’t be easy.” He continues to study the gang as if he’s waiting for something.
“Do you know them?”
“Yes,” he replies as he turns in a circle. “We need to find a phone line.” His eyes land on me. He smiles in a way that is meant to be reassuring and gestures for me to follow him. “Sorry, my name is Jonathon.”
“Rachael,” I respond and hold out a hand to shake. He just stares at it. “Sorry, I forgot that city people don’t shake hands.”
I look back at the seven men on the other side of the window. Each one of them is beautiful; uniform good looks, flawless faces, perfect bodies. I wonder if any of them are actually in shape or if they are just molded to look that way. It would be easier for me if it were the latter. One of them pounds on the window again. One of them says something to the others but only a muffled sound reaches us.
“City people.” Jonathon grabs my arm, turning me to face him. “You don’t live in the city?”
“No,” I answer but my mind is no longer on the conversation. With him so close to me, I suddenly become aware of his scent. I know what that smell means but there’s another scent layered on top of his. A woman’s scent.
“But…” confusion runs across his face.
“Maybe we should get out of here.” I gesture to the window. On the other side, one guy paces angrily while the rest huddle together, clearly in the midst of an intense argument.
Jonathon gives me a nod and glances over at the gang before walking away.
I follow him down a short hallway and into another open space. I watch him peer around, bobbing up on his toes to check over a short wall and then crouching low to check under an overhang. His body is well proportioned and in good shape just like the men pursuing us. I wonder if he’s actually in good shape or if it’s just the typical enhancements. It’s always easier to tell if someone has changed their face than it is to tell if they had their body sculpted. Jonathon appears normal but then city people strive for conformity. Of course, looking at me people would assume I’m normal but I’m not. Those of us born on the surface tend to have abilities although I’m almost certain the city people call them deformities.
He turns and catches me watching him. “Aren’t you going to help?” his voice is a touch annoyed and a little frightened.
I laugh, “I have no idea what you’re doing.”
“I am looking for a phone line.” He responds moving along the ledge and peering under it.
“I’m not from the city. I have never seen a… phone line.”
He straightens up and stares at me until I begin to feel a little uncomfortable. “I thought… I thought you were just from another city. You mean you were born on the surface?”
I nod.
“But… I thought… I was…” he pauses and takes a deep breath before continuing. “I was told that couldn’t happen or if it did the person would be…”
“Deformed?” I smile.
He nods slowly an embarrassed flush colouring his cheeks.
“Well, that’s not really true.”
“Not really?” He asks and then jumps when we hear a loud bang. “They’re trying to get in through the window.”
“Can they get through without that knife thing?” I ask. I feel safe with him because of his scent but I doubt I will like the gang pounding on the window.
“I don’t know. There’s so many things they could… One of them might know a trick.” Jonathon peers around and then gestures. “Let’s go. I’ll keep looking for the phone line but we should put some distance between us and those guys out there.”