The Secret Tunnels

Chapter 2

I wake up to find a rough hand dragging me out of the shallows of the riverbank.

"Ow!" I growl, "What are you doing?"

"Saving you from your pity," Silver grunts. As soon as I leave the water I realize that I'm shivering; my teeth chatter like a high-speed metronome. I also realize that it's not in my best interest to care.

"Come on, get up." He stares down at me, tapping his foot on the loose rocks by the bank. "Look at you, you're wallowing."

"And?" I squint at him.

"It's pathetic. We all lost someone the day she died. You're not the only victim. You think you and Thomas have some deeper connection to that day, because you were there? You think you're helping him by letting him become one of the ghosts he's so afraid of? That kid is surrounded by dead people, he doesn't need you to become one of them."

"I'm sor-"

"I know you are." He sighs. "Just. . .Try, okay? Don't let me be to be the only adult in this war. They need you, the recruits. They need someone who can feel how scared they are. Me? I'm all about duty. I let Maria go back that day without me. I didn't want to jeopardize the mission by following her. She felt that something was wrong, I thought it was superstition. So really, you're being selfish by hogging all the blame. Save me a little too, okay?"

"Alright." I smile at him. All is forgiven; he escorts me to the War Committee's makeshift headquarters. Kip and Clover found it for us, it's one of the more intact lean-to's that citizens of Base 004 lived in before the underground bunks were built.

When we get there, I see I'm the last to arrive. Even Thomas is curled up in a chair we "recommissioned" from one of BLI's top offices. A towel around his frail shoulders, and his damp curls arranged carelessly behind his ears, he looks much more like the kid Silver was describing. Guilt flashes through me. Even though he's just a couple months younger than me, I feel like I should be looking out for him.

As I slip in beside him, he whispers, "Want to go back to the riverbank after this?"

"You're going to catch hypothermia." I mean it as a joke, but my voice falls flat on the last note. Silver was right, he's worse than I remembered. Grocery bags hang from under his eyes, and his amber skin is a shade more grey than I remember.

"Alright, now that everyone is here, we've got some things to discuss." Kip addresses us. I wonder for a moment why it isn't Silver up there, but I figure he'll get around to explaining.

"Things that couldn't be said in front of everyone else?" Thomas raises his head. Weariness rests in his irises.

"I think it's time for the big mission." He takes a breath, surveying our reactions. "Silver, Sejahari, and I have been discussing this for a time, and you've all been informed that it's coming one day." I look around the room. Everyone except me looks sad, or a little bit frightened. This mission he's talking about is The Mission, the one we've been preparing for. They've all lived in Base 004 a lot longer than I have, and now they're going to have to leave their homes for months, maybe years. Some won't come back.

We're going to infiltrate all of BLI's major bases and take them down. This means we have to call together all citizens of Base 004 and give them a final choice: to join The War or stay here and watch as more of BLI's citizens are oppressed. I know many of these people have family back in the other world.

Of course, the six of us will go on an advanced scout mission first. We have to make sure the state of BLI's empire is not too volatile. I've thought of it as an old game my mother owned, where you stacked blocks and removed one at a time until it the entire tower toppled. We've been taking out blocks for months now, we hope we're enough to bring down BLI now.

"Are we all agreed?" Kip asks us, "You do have an option. But if you choose to opt out, you can't tell anyone what's going on just yet. Those who've been selected for the scouting mission are all present at the moment, and M, who will be watching out on this side. Does anyone want to leave?"

No one makes a sound.

"We're agreed then." He nods. "Myself, Clover, Silver, Sejahari, Lucky, and Thomas. Before you leave, we've got a couple things to discuss. Settle in."

Hey, hey, hey!! Feedback, please! Vote, comment, etc.