Where Light Dies

4. Mystery

"How's the girl doing?"

"She's out cold. Should come to in a few hours."

-- Dayton, base camp -- 2015 --

"She looks familiar," said Sarah, uneasy memories rising to the surface. A wave of goosebumps swept through her despite the warmth of her pale denim jacket. The temperature seemed to dip relentlessly with each day that passed.

"I can see why Carter took her in," Dr. Haines replied, pulling a lab coat over his shoulder. His fingers grazed over Reyna's pale skin, anxiously pressing against her artery for a pulse.

"Keep a check on that toy of yours."

A dreadful silence hung heavily in the damp tunnel air. Sarah's looks of concern had vanished in a moment's notice. All that remained was a piercing glare, a face unnerving enough to send most men running. Haines, however, stood unwavered.

"Not everyone has the same level of pain tolerance. He should know that, more than anyone else," said the doctor, eyeing Sarah with a sort of hostility in his crystal blue orbs, his voice as cold as ice. "For some reason, I can't bring myself to blame him."

You know nothing.

"I'll take care of it," she replied flatly, leaving the room without another word.

No one does.

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"They're going to the surface," said Carter as he pulled on his winter gear. His black leather jacket seemed to get tighter as the years passed, and so did the pants that came with it. Perhaps old age didn't agree with him after all.

"Again?" Reyna asked, shocked by the plain reactions of the people around her. Is this some kind of field trip to them? she thought as she watched them send off the next pack up for what could be plain slaughter. Constant visits to farmlands were bound to attract darks after all.

"We just came back a few days ago," she said, limping her way through the crowd to see the party off. The girl winced as she shuffled further, clutching the cotton gauze on her knee every now and then.

"It's Blake," Carter replied.

"What?" Reyna asked, shocked yet again.

"He said he'll go to the city. Says there's some armoury up there."

"There's a whole pack there with him!"

"They joined in because they had no choice. Weapons are hard to come by here. He can't lift all of them himself, can he?" said Carter, his expression slowly turning grave, "But if it were up to them, I think they'd rather die than go up there. More so with him by their side," Carter muttered as people started murmuring among themselves. The crowd was getting thicker by the minute, a bit too close for his comfort.

"Why do they - "

"Let's leave," he bellowed, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"I'm staying," Reyna replied, catching him off guard. There was an adamant glint in her eyes. It was clear that she wasn't going anywhere.

"Fine!" Carter snapped back, stomping his way out.

Reyna turned back to the crowd, slowly making her way to the front. The place was just as she remembered it.

The light of the blazing sun trickled in through a manhole above, its rich scarlet rays illuminating a wide circle on the tunnel floor. Eight campers stood along its arc, wielding a variety of weapons. The pack looked like gladiators ready to kill, each one of them veterans to the cold and unforgiving surface. They hugged their families and loved ones who stretched their hands from the darkness, wishing their warriors luck and good fortune.