The Color of Knowledge

Chapter Fourteen (pt. 4)

"No," she whispered. She crumpled to her knees, one hand still on him as if she would hoist herself up at any moment. "No!" A scream this time. "Why! None of this was your fault!"

Zari gasped as she came closer to see what was wrong. She knelt down to Ivy's level, unsure of what to do. Not good enough friends for a warm embrace but not cold enough to do nothing, what resulted was one arm across Ivy's back as she heaved wet sobs, growing slower and less heavy.

"No." This time a definite answer. Ivy rose to her feet looking at nothing specific. "Let's go," she said. She wiped her half-dried tears and began to climb.

"Who is he?" Keegan asked Zari who was still kneeling next to Alex's body.

"A friend of ours," said Zari, standing. She had not yet taken her eyes off of Alex.

"Let's go!" Ivy yelled down to the others. She was nearing the top.

In that moment, she smelled it. Different from the mountain of dead she stood on, a much stronger stench of death reached her nose. She looked down at her peers whose faces were contorted and knew they smelled it too. An air creature flew in front of the sun, casting a large shadow over them, providing immediate cold. Another joined the first and they began to swoop lower and lower towards the collection of bodies. Zari screamed as she ducked, lying amongst the bodies as if she herself were dead.

There was no time.

"This is our only chance! We have to go!" Ivy yelled.

Milo and Keegan's muscles strained as they worked to make Zari climb.

She relented and began her conquest, letting her tears cloud her eyesight. "We're going to die," she repeated over and over again.

The ground shook when the air creatures landed. Ivy could hear her heart in her ears. It beat to an abnormal drum that was fast and indecisive. While Ivy was almost to the top, Zari and the rest were only halfway there. Sweat collected at the base of Ivy's neck as she lay still, waiting.

"Move up slowly when they are on the other side. Stop when they are on this side," Ivy whispered harshly, just loud enough for the others to hear.

The others nodded as the air creatures seemed to dance around their meal. They hopped around in search of the perfect first bite, landing with a ground-shaking thud each time. The others followed Ivy's instructions and were soon at her level near the top.

"What now?" Keegan asked.

Under different circumstances, Ivy would have been happy to hear these words. Happy he finally didn't have an answer.

"Once we stand up the air creatures will notice us," said Zari, her hysterics calmed to somber whimpers.

"We have to move fast then," said Ivy. She looked up to the clear, plastic tube. A soft wind was blowing on her she hadn't noticed before. It made the looser strands of her hair stand up as if a balloon had been rubbed on her head, creating static. "I think it's on reversed suction. Once we stand, jump straight up into the tube."

Trust greeted her when she looked at their faces. What other choice did they have but to trust her?

"On three. One. Two. Three!"

The group stood up to the surprised shrieks of the air creatures. The sound resembled the emergency alert system that had gone off right before chaos erupted seven years ago, mixed with the scratching sound of her third grade teacher's nails on the chalkboard in an attempt to quiet the class.

They jumped right before the air creatures attacked. A great gush of air enveloped them as they flew skyward within the tube. Ivy's ears popped as she rose, they felt as though they were filling with water. Within seconds she was standing in a dark room.

"Is everyone okay?" Ivy asked

"Fine," said Zari next to her.

"Alive," said Keegan.

The room allowed no light so there was nothing for Ivy's eyes to adjust to. They waited for Milo to say something.

"Milo?" said Zari. "You're here, right?"

No answer.

"Milo!" said Keegan. "This is no time for jokes. Grow up!"

Silence.

"Do you think he's still down there?" Zari asked.

There did not have to be an answer.

"I'm going back to get him," said Keegan. "Where did we come from? The floor? Where's the door?" He moved around, looking for an exit.

"You can't go back down there," said Ivy, reaching out into the dark to grab him.

"Get off of me," said Zari.

"Sorry," said Ivy.

"I have to go back for him. He's my brother!" Keegan's voice was blue with emotion. His ragged breath echoing off the walls in the pitch-black room painted a picture of utter turmoil.

"If he's down there with those creatures, he's probably—"

"Don't you dare say it," Keegan spat. "He's not like your stupid boyfriend, lying among a pile of bodies. He's not like your grandmother. He hasn't chosen to die. And I'm not just going to stand here and do nothing when I can do something!"

A stutter within Ivy's heart made her catch her breath. "How—how could you say that?"

"I—I didn't mean—"

Following Keegan's voice was an intense wind as a large circular hole opened up in the floor and Milo shot up to land on the closing. Within that brief moment of clarity from below, the room filled with light. Only for a moment was Ivy able to see Keegan standing on the other side of the room with reflective tears in his eyes.

"Holy hell," said Milo. "I'm alive."

"What happened?" Zari asked.

Milo took a moment to catch his breath. "When Ivy told us to jump, I did, but I guess I didn't jump high enough. I landed back on the bodies and the air creatures attacked. I tried my best to fight back but one of them got my leg. The next chance I got, I jumped and now I'm here."

"You're hurt?"

"Just my leg." Movement followed by a thump meant Milo had taken a seat on the floor.

"Let me help you," said Zari. More movement bounced off the walls of the room.

Keegan had not said a word since Milo's arrival.

"Ouch!" said Milo.

"Sorry," said Zari.

"How long are we supposed to be here?" Keegan asked, almost angry.

"Until they come get us," said Ivy quietly. "The Sanitation Unit closes down at six, so we have a while."

They were silent for hours, besides the occasional unnecessary statement from Zari about Milo's injury. A soft knock came seemingly from nowhere and everywhere at once. A door on the far side of the room swung open and light took the place of darkness. A figure was silhouetted in the doorway. One could tell it was male and most unusually short.