Chapter 17 Darkness From Above
SEVENTEEN
DARKNESS FROM ABOVE
Sabrina
I stare at the water.
There’s a way out.
Turning away, I go back to folding my freshly rinsed and dried clothes and stuffing them back in my bag.
Darolus left again this morning, saying something about there being clouds in the sky and wanting to collect kindling.
I tried to convince him to let me see these ‘strange’ clouds but he refused.
Rubbing my face, I leave my bag on the hide and pace the room, climbing up and down the crumbling stairs and checking out the technology he has stored above again before heading back down and then up again.
Using the cardio as a distraction to my boredom, I continue until I’m panting at the top of the stairs and staring at the white orbs collected in a pile on the ground in the back of the room.
Noticing something is different, I squint, realizing everything is darker than usual for this time of day. Stepping deeper into the room, I squint up at the cracks in the ceiling and the slivers of sky high above.
Less light is coming through than usual. I tilt my head to the side as I walk farther into the space, checking another crack and hoping for a better look.
Maybe it’s the clouds?
I don’t know what clouds are in the scope of Earth, but if they’re like the smoke clouds from ship fires, could they be blocking out the sun?
I try not to think about what could be causing the clouds to form or how big they would have to be to block out the sun when there is so much sky.
My only guess is that there is a large fire somewhere, creating them.
I sniff the air and smell nothing, not a hint of smoke or gas.
Staring at the few shafts of light still coming through, trying to wrap my head around it, my ears prick when I hear a distant noise.
Thinking it might be Darolus returning, I head to the stairs when I hear it again in the opposite direction.
Looking around, I freeze, trying not to make a sound, hoping to hear it once more.
Faint and coming from above, I realize the noise doesn’t sound like rocks and pebbles being displaced. It sounded like… a voice.
I listen intently, hoping to hear it again, but as the minutes pass and the noise doesn’t return, my shoulders drop. I sit down with a winded breath, pushing my boots underneath me, feeling like I’m losing my mind.
Even if I did hear something, what would it matter? I wouldn’t know what it is I heard, and I’d just end up pondering it all day long like I already am. I will have to wait and ask Darolus about it this evening.
Rubbing my brow, I know I need to convince him to let me out. He thinks I’m going to die or immediately run, which I won’t do either since I know exactly what’s up there and it’s nothing except a bunch of crumbling stone and debris.
I have no reason to run. I like Darolus. A lot.
I wish he were brave enough to trust me.
I still want to head to the forest eventually…
but I don’t plan on recklessly going straight there, not after everything I’ve learned about Darolus’s kind from him.
I’d rather take my time, learn the terrain and what to use and what to avoid first, before heading into who knows what knowing I may be completely out of my scope.
I’m not ready to say goodbye to him, nor am I ready to put myself in immediate danger.
Rubbing my brow harder, I drop my hands and rest my chin on them where I sit at the top of the stairs.
Pulling my lower lip into my mouth, I chew on it and lick my lip stain off as I try pushing the thoughts of what comes after this out of my head.
Will I grow old down here? Will I die? How long can I survive on partially cooked meat before I go crazy?
It seems unfathomable when I’m stuck down here with nothing to look forward to except him.
How my life has changed in the past month.
I went from wondering if I’ll get off The Dreadnaut alive to this.
To him. I’ve gone from fear, stress, and thoughts of possible imminent death, to long days lounging around, kicking dirt.
Although I could never spend another day on a colony ship and be perfectly happy, I miss the simple things, like showers and instant coffee.
Rising to my feet, I brush off my pants and start heading back down the stairs. When I take my first step, my ears prick again. Twisting toward the room and the ceiling, I freeze and listen.
“Sabrriiiina!”
I jerk then hesitate, immediately second-guessing what I heard.
My name?
“Sabrina!”
I wait and listen, my head reeling, my eyes dilating as my heart beats faster and my pulse races, excitement, stress, and confusion flooding me all at once.
“Hello?” I shout low, knowing my voice isn’t loud enough. I shout louder. “Hello! I’m down here!”
I chew on my lower lip and wait, second-guessing everything all over again as thoughts tumble into my head too quickly to keep up with. Was it my name? Did I actually hear it? Is my crew back to look for me?
“I’m down here!” I scream louder, hoping, praying for a response. Excitement fills me thinking it might be Mickie or Weston. “I’m here! I’m here!” I scream as loud as I can, hoping I’m heard.
“Sabrina?”
“I’m here!”
“I hear you! Weston, I hear her! Come Quick! I hear her!”
Turning in a circle, I look everywhere at once, realizing I just spoke to Mickie, another human I thought I might never see again.
“Sabrina, where are you!?” Mickie shouts down to me. “Answer me! Weston is coming!”
“I’m here. Down here. I’m beneath a stone and metal floor of some sort!” I move to each of the cracks, searching for sight of him but being unable to see him, I scan for something I can climb to the ceiling and break a hole big enough for me to climb through.
“Don’t move—we’re coming down for you!”
Finding nothing for me to climb, only a couple of partially broken plastic crates that won’t hold up my weight and a bunch of useless small pieces of tech like the orbs, I pace, wondering about Darolus.
I was just thinking about staying and about taking my time to be here with him while I learn how to survive in this world.
I was going to convince him to let me above ground, to teach me the area and how to survive here…
because that’s what survivors do, they keep learning and adapting to every new environment they’re thrown into.
I want to survive this and still be Darolus’s friend… My heart starts pounding for an entirely different reason.
“We’re going to try climbing down!” Mickie calls down. “Weston went back to the ship to grab the wrench and some rope. Hold on! It’s going to take some time!”
Knowing the day is darker than usual and darkening further now that it’s getting closer to the evening, another thought hits me.
What if Darolus comes across my crewmates and they attack him, or vice versa? What if he finds them down here or me climbing out?
“Fuck,” I curse under my breath. Running down the stairs, I quickly gather my things and head back up, except as I do, my gaze falters on the water.
There’s another way out.
I can swim and meet them outside, leave on the ship… and not be here when he returns.
My foot catches and I falter again, pushing out the emotions that want to rise up and stop me. But with so little time to decide and my crewmates already coming down, I don’t know what to do except react to the opportunity.
I climb the stairs two at a time, and stop under the biggest break in the ceiling. “Tell Weston to stop! There’s another way down in the building next door. It’s going to take too long this way and it’s dangerous!”
“Another way? Are you sure?”
I hesitate, wondering whether to tell them about Darolus and if I can brave the water or not.
I shudder and shake off my fear knowing it’s now or never.
If I don’t go now, I may never have a chance again.
Darolus could come back at any moment and if he does, he might block off the path through the water and my only option of escape.
If that happens, I may really be down here waiting for him forever.
Because there’s a real chance of that happening and I can’t take that risk, as much as I don’t want to say goodbye. I take in a deep, steadying breath, making a hard decision.
“Yes! I’ll meet you over there, and try to find me. I’ll have to swim to get to the other side, so you better be there to pull me out.”
“Copy that! Good luck. We’re heading over now.”
I hurry back down the stairs and make sure I have everything I need in my bag.
Looking around quickly, I avoid the nest completely, refusing to let myself focus on it, knowing I’ll pull one of Darolus’s hides to my nose and breathe him in.
As much as I yearn to do so, to take one last sniff and have that comfort brought with me for this next part, I don’t.
Instead, I reach up and find the necklace with the black rock he gave me and give it a squeeze.
If I linger too long, I might stay and take my chances. I know I can convince him to give me freedom eventually, right?
Grabbing one of the smaller hides anyway, I stuff it in my bag and throw it over my shoulder, heading to the edge of the pool.
The water is dark, shadowy, and hard to see to the bottom.
I glance behind me as a tremble courses through me, saying a final farewell and hoping for all the luck in the universe. Of course today is the day there would be clouds in the sky to block out the light source of the sun, right at the time I need it most.
Moving to the edge of the pool, I stare down into its gloomy depths.
I can do this.
Climbing into the water, I submerge my body slowly, gripping the side with my hand tightly. Taking a deep breath and not letting the cold dark water get to me, I close my eyes and count to three.
I push off from the side and head straight for the hole.
I’m going to survive this too.