The Embers of Nethremis

Chapter Three: A Little bit of History

Dedicated to StanAndac and DutchFeminist

Navigating our way through the winding, serpentine tunnel with torchlights turned out to be quite a challenging task and I lost my footing quite a few times before Mama said it was time to rest and we made a makeshift campsite with supplies from our backpacks. I smiled sadly as I remembered Dad's habit of always thinking ahead and how even though he was no longer with us, his actions are still saving our necks. "Let's try and get a little bit of sleep like Dad said" Hafmal says breaking the silence in the damp, empty tunnel as his voice wavers. "Yes we should" Mama answers with the same tone. I lie down on the spread out blankets and stare into darkness. I am sure that both Mama and Hafmal are wide awake as I can hear their uneven breaths. I am not sure how long I listen to my pounding heart and our collective breathing before I fall asleep.

Jolted awake by being shaken wildly, I open my eyes to see my mother's fretful eyes flashing her torchlight directly at my face. "Sshh Nalia it's okay" she whispers soothingly. "What happened because I heard you whimpering?" "Did you have a nightmare?" "Do you need some water?" she continues to whisper worriedly. I shake my head in a bid to get the horrible images of my nightmare and accept the water bottle she hands me. After the first sip, I realize how parched my throat is and gulp down the bottle to soothe my burning thirst. "How much time has passed?" I ask still groggy while rubbing my eyes. "I don't know but maybe at least a few hours." She says unsurely. The awful nightmare I just had felt like an eternity and I try to push it to the furthest corner of my mind as I get ready for our walk while Mama wakes Hafmal up. "Did you get any sleep?" Hafmal asks Mama and she says to not worry about her.

After a long time of noiseless walking, we reach the end of the tunnel and a door made of bars of wrought iron obstruct our path. "What do we do now?" I ask no one in particular but my question is answered when more bars come crashing down from the tunnel ceiling behind us, encaging us like prisoners. I distantly hear the sound of sirens as heavy footsteps approach us. Simultaneously flashing our torchlights at the sound in front of us, a heavily built man with bushy hair and an equally unkempt bearded face, an upturned nose and thin lips is flooded by our collective light. An air of hostility surrounds his dark attire and overall countenance as he gruffly asks us to state our names.
"Kirstine Isleah Woods, wife of Keith Woods; Agent 616 and these are my children-" "We have been expecting you" he cuts her off rudely and presses a button to which the door in front of us opens. "Follow me" he says simply and I flash my torch around, taking in the plain, unfurnished room. Catching up with Mama and Hafmal, we once again climb a ladder up after the man.

Disappointment floods through me when I go up the ladder and see an identically plain room like the one before because I was honestly expecting something magnificent coming to the Upper State. "You will see real beauty in just a few minutes so keep up" The man guiding us who I just notice has stopped walking and is glaring at me says curtly to which Hafmal and I share amused looks. Guess I don't hide disappointment well.

Reaching a steel door at the end of the long room, the man enters a code I can't see and the door slides open. The first thing I notice is how much light the room has. It has so much bright light it feels like being outside. This light comes from the front wall of the room, made of glass and overlooking the most enchanting scenery I have ever seen in my life. Large trees made of wide, thick barks with branches swaddled by the most radiant of green leaves and carpeted by an assortment of diverse, lovely flowers by their bases take my breath away. I trail my eyes lower and see a small brook gushing peacefully with a few stones here and there peeking on its surface. A few birds resting in nests on tree branches chirp and sing energetically in soft, dulcet tones. The combined sounds of light breeze swaying the tree branches, twittering birds and gushing brook make the scenery seem even more magical.