The Living condition

Part 16

The mines weren't that bad, once you got used to the smell of mildew. It was gross down there, no doubt about it, the place would rumble with movement here and there, knocking a few rocks down on top of your heads, but it wasn't that big of a concern. You held the light up for Uzi while she determined which way to go.

She wasn't that great with path-finding. Most of the old signs from JcJenson were rubbed away or too dark to see what they said, even with the light. It was aimless wandering, hoping to find the church, really.

"I'm not surprised that the people think of it like a demon," there was no better way to spend the time searching for the cathedral than through talking, so that's what you did. "My father used to tell me that they were sending up the brightest of the bright to copper-9. Can't remember what they were trying to get out of this planet. It's something, though. I guess they just sent the cheapest of the cheap. Whatever kept business liability down."

"Your folks were a part of this?"

"Oh, you don't–? Oh. I thought you would've seen it in his head." you cleared your throat. How to put it in a way that wouldn't be upsetting "my folks ran it. With hers. Tessa's."

"So V wasn't wrong?"

"I wouldn't go that far. I was...supposed to be sent up as a liaison. Year long cryo-trip, woken up when I got there. Supposed to be a supervisor or something. Another pair of eyes for my old man. Obviously, that didn't happen." you followed after the small drone as she stomped down another corridor. "I don't think at all that I was meant to survive the implosion and the cold. I still want to get past your dad and figure out why I survived."

"After this, then." The clipped manner of speaking worries you. Maybe there really isn't a way to say it in a way that didn't sound like you were cherry-picked to survive by a capitalist,self-centered rich old man. It was true enough, considering.

"It was a fluke,I think. Everyone else is dead." You're trying to ignore the fact, really. Last human alive. In theory. You don't know if your father shipped anyone off to other planets, let alone other countries having hands in interstellar labor work. Maybe you weren't the last in the universe, but the last on copper-9. It was still daunting enough.

Uzi was quiet for a little too long to be comfortable. You'd assumed that maybe she was just processing things, working them out in her head. Or, worse still, dealing with the fact that she was probably going to see her mother's corpse in that church. Either option was a bad one.

It wasn't until you'd seen the yellows reflecting on the ground that uzi was staring at that you'd frowned. You took a step back with the light, just a little concerned that she might accidentally cave in this section of the mines as well– when a hand shot out the grab your wrist in a vice you knew you were wrong. Yellow, hollowed eyes stared back at you as you tried to wring your hand out of her grip "Hey,Uzi– look– I promise I have nothing to do with–"

"Wrong." the words die in your throat with the voice that wasn't Uzi's. You swallowed dryly as you glanced down at your wrist again.

"Cyn?"

"Correct."

"Why– aren't you with N?"

"Two places at once." 'Uzi' frowns as she stares blankly at you. You swallow dryly as you try to pry your wrist out of her grip. "It is useful." she relents, releasing your wrist altogether as she turns around on the spot, squinting.

A fork in the road until it wasn't. With the symbol used, one side of the cave was caved in, rocks falling all around. Cyn doesn't so much as blink as a rock rolled by and hit Uzi's leg. You however, took a few steps back when she'd turned back around with the same hollowed out eyes. "To church. [smile]" She started walking, dragging her legs a little like they were solid, like she was getting used to it.