Mirror

Chapter 13: Rumor

This is for @HiddenBookCase, because I am now feeling guilty.

Sweetly sings the light of dawn,
Every day, every day,
But then you wake and it is gone,
Every day, every day.

-Anon

Kyli crept along the side of the silent tunnel, heart beating viciously in her ears.

The rumors she'd heard were unbelievable. Nothing existed outside The Home. It was a barren wasteland, devoid of technology. They had been warned to never seek The Outside.

And yet, the whispers of the Onlies echoed in her ears, like the sound of a whirring machine in the distance that does not stop.

...Is it true?...

...understand that the Old Ones are growing faint...

...and they say this 'sun' is bright - bright as a Glow...

...Clamps?...

...There?...

...No, gone....

She shivered at the idea of Clamps, gone. How vulnerable they would all be! Without an instant healing ready for them the moment blood is spilled.

So why was she there, crawling through this tunnel?

The smell of the cold, rusty metal invaded her, a cool, untraceable wind brushed past her hair, lifting a lock of her hair.

It was not The Wind. Odd.

And she continued.

_POV_

Re'Jel balanced a piece delicately on the side of the board, watching the smirk on FfeKi's face turn to horror.

"I don't even know how you did that." FfeKi admitted as he gazed at his own carefully arranged pieces, scattered across the board.

"Simple. Deduction. Calculation. Improvisation."

"Improvisation has nothing to do with it."

"And you would know that how?"

The older boy rolled his eyes and stood, eyes on Re'Jel's face.

"Have you heard the rumors?"

Re'Jel glanced around, wincing, but no one seemed to have been listening.

"Of course I have." He pauses and looked down, searching for words. "Hey, have you seen Kyli around?"

"Don't change the subject. I hear they're planning an escape. To the sun."

Re'Jel's head snapped up. "I don't want to talk about The Outside."

He might've been a pain-weakling, he might've been a coward, but he was loyal to the Old Ones - as FfeKi should have been. He wanted to say so, but instead found himself mumbling about going to his room.

But as he walked through the hall, he realized with a jolt -

He did want to see the sun.

So...beautiful or gorgeous? JK, tell me what you really think.