The Higher Define (2018)

1

I don't know how long it is. I have not been able to check my contacts for the time, too afraid that the light it might conjure will put Spencer and I in danger.

We keep going down, the only sound that fills the tunnel being the sound of our breaths, tearing against our ribcages harshly. We don't say a word because it might attract attention but it's not like we can control the way our breaths create a noise that grows loud in this hollow tunnel. We're too focused on not falling.

I hear a slap and imagine that it is Spencer's shoes making contact with solid ground. He calls out to me softly, "You're nearly there. Be careful when you can't feel the next rung under your feet."

I nod before I remember that he can't see me. We're in total darkness.

When I lower my foot to the next rung and don't find the comfort of the metal fixture, I hold my breath and jump down.

My body is being jolted by the impact and I press my palms against what I think is the wall to steady myself.

"You alright?"

"Fine." I huff. Through the process of going down the ladder, I have been thinking a lot about why Spencer and Richard were in Richard's office together. I wonder how they met up, what they were discussing just before I arrived. It makes me pissed that Spencer has yet to explain why he knows about the tunnels and about the break in.

"You're angry at me, aren't you?"

"What do you think?" I reply sarcastically, ignoring the fact that we have to keep our volume done as to not risk getting caught.

"I think that you can be angry with me later. For now, we need to get out of the Hub." Down here, I can hear the soft noise of water droplets slowly dripping against the ground, seeping through the walls. It's probably from the river that lies on top of us, the one that looks so majestic in the Hub but speaks a different stoy down here.

"That sounds easy, especially since we're submerged in darkness."

I hear a soft sigh, followed by a glow that is being emitted by a tab that Spencer draws open.

"We'll use a tab to see. Now stop acting like the world is against you and follow my lead."

I think about the last time we talked. How we leaned against the wooden rails of the bridge and watched the stream of water course through its intended path as we talked. It feels like ages ago now.

The light gives the walls of the tunnels an eerie green tinge, the water that soaks up the curves of the tunnels reflecting the light. My shoes squish against the puddles that pool along the floor as I follow Spencer down. It feels like this journey will never end even though we have just started.

We don't talk at all. Spencer just walks and I trail after him. When the tunnels split into different directions, Spencer doesn't hesitate. He just pads over to one of them and goes on, almost instinctively. Maybe he has this entire tunnel system commited to memory. I make a note to ask him later before deciding against it. Maybe he'll never tell me.

We keep walking.

My muscles start to feel sore at some point but I ignore the ache. Stopping for a break is not an option when someone might still be after me.

I think about who might want to kill me, as the walls of the tunnels begin to fade into one. It can't be Friday. I try to make a list before it hits me that I don't know a lot of Higher Defines. I have only ever conversed with those who engaged me in conversation first. Maybe it's someone I don't know, angry that I don't mingle with him or her.

Or maybe it's someone like Ariel, who hates me because of all the things I can't control. I don't notice the tears that start to run down my cheek until I swipe at my face to brush a piece of hair that has fallen across aside.

"We made it."

I am being pulled away from my thoughts by Spencer's voice. The tab that he has opened shines a light against the end of the tunnel where there is a small door fixed against it. The door is old and made of wood that has mold growing along the corner. I shudder as Spencer draws his arm out to push the handle downwards. It creates a creaking noise as he yanks the door forward. The slit of sunlight grows bright as the door is being pulled farther back.

Spencer steps out but I don't follow instantly. I stay in the tunnel for a few more seconds- the last few moments that I know I will never get back.

I whisper a soft goodbye to the dark tunnel behind me before I step through the exit, feeling the bright rays of the sun trace my skin.

The world outside is bright and big. It feels like I have forgotten that there was even a world that existed out of the Hub.

"Where do we go from here?" I ask Spencer. He turns to face me, spreading his arms out to soak up the sunlight and his chest rising and falling in excitement as he takes in the fresh air.

"That's simple," Spencer says, his eyelids fluttering as he blinks the world around us in, "We take the train to the Outside."