I held on to the rusty dashboard as the truck threw me back and forth. An especially large dune sent me to the side and I hit the passenger door. I groaned. That’d be another bruise tomorrow. The engine roared yet louder as the truck sped up and with that, a worrisome squeaking came.
”Status?” The indigo blue batpony next to me shouted as he twisted the wheel to avoid a set of cliffs. The low sun threw long shadows around it. I clung to the door and leaned out of the window. A plume of sand and dust followed behind us as we travelled across the Zarantian desert. Behind us, a group of three mismatched vehicles and equally mismatched crews followed.
They drove in an inverted triangle, as a pack of wolves herding a dying prey. The one to our left and slightly behind us, an outdated military jeep, closed in on us.
”Closest one is 100 metres away and closing in on us.”
”Shit,” Moonrift muttered. Someone stood up in the jeep and pulled up a long stick. I threw myself back in the cab and up against Moonrift.
”Caref-.”
A gunshot rang out and one of our rearview mirrors disappeared in a shower of metal and mirror splinters. We exchanged a pale-faced glance. Moonrift pressed on the gas even more, but it didn’t make any difference. A gunshot passed through the backrest and left a hole in the windshield.
”Let’s see if this works,” he said and swerved from side to side.
”I can try to scare them off,” I said.
I reached over the backrest and grabbed the rifle that rested in the storage compartment. It was some surplus stock after the war, but still in decent condition. Another bullet zipped across the desert and kicked up a dust plume in front of us.
”At least they shoot like bandits too,” Moonrift said. At least they knew how to shoot I thought as I prepared the rifle. Moonrift should have been the one doing this. Not for this first time I felt completely out of place as a seapony in the middle of the desert. Many days of unforgiving heat had already caused my skin to crack in several places. The worn mining uniforms we’d gotten our hands on barely protected us from the sun. It was quite the irony that my parents had named me Sunrise.
Despite my heart going like a jackhammer I closed my eyes and forced myself to take a deep breath as I tried to recall all Moonrift had taught me. Another shot and a clang as it hit something of metal inside the truck. I flicked off the safety, leaned out of the window and lined up a shot. How was I meant to do this when everything bumped this much? I managed to get a shot off in the general direction, but it only hit dust. The jeep steered away from us and put some more distance between us, so it had at least not been completely ineffective. They kept shooting.
In this situation, they’d likely hit me long before I hit them. I swallowed. Anything else we could do? Best would be if we found somewhere to hide or cover behind, but what’s that supposed to be in the desert? At best we found some rocks here and there. There was only one major thing blocking the view here.
”Hey, I got a plan!”
”What?” Moonrift said.
”Drive towards the sun.”
”You crazy? I’ll be blind.”
”Exactly! So will they when they try to shoot at us.”
”If we hit something?”
”There’s barely anything to hit. Let’s just hope our luck doesn’t run out today.”
A bullet bounced off the hood.
”I’m convinced,” Moonrift said and turned up against the sun. I squinted and laid a hand over my eyes. The gunshots didn’t seem to hit nearly as close as before.
”Location?”
I picked up a compass in one hoof and a clock in the other.
”We’ve been travelling about twenty minutes at the original course, but we’re about seventy degrees off right now. At full speed, we’ll reach Imazeeb territory in about fifteen minutes. Then we’ll have to readjust our course,” I said. With constantly changing dunes and endless sand, this was the only practical way to navigate between the handful of landmarks that were large enough to not get covered in sand.
”Good. Doubt those people have clearance for passing through.”
I leaned back and closed my eyes, trying to ignore the gunshots. Now there was nothing to do but wait. We crossed over a dune and drove over a wooden bridge over a river. Our pursuers came to a screeching halt. Few dared to pick a fight with the Imazeeb in their own desert.
”They’re losing us,” I said and covered my ears as rapid gunfire came from them.
”And they’re quite angry.”
”Good, I think we got this now. Let’s focus on navigation once they’re out of sight,” Moonrift said.
It took us a while to work out where we were, but soon enough we found our way back to the original course and drove towards our end location.
”At this speed, we should arrive at the mine at any moment then,” Moonrift said. I picked up the binoculars and peered in front of us. I couldn’t make it out much other than some red tips in the distance, likely the Red Ridge mountains, the place we searched for.
Not too many minutes later the tips in my binoculars had grown to massive, jagged, red mountains reaching for the skies. One of the few safe navigation spots that never disappeared in the sand.
”I’d love to try climbing those one day,” I said. It was a bit of a strange desire really. Most seaponies preferred the water and the sea, but I’d always found something mesmerizing about moving along the peaks of high mountains.
”If this succeeds, we can spend all the time we want doing just that.”
It took us an hour to reach the mountain, then one more driving around the foot of the mountain to find the right location. It was a maze made of massive boulders, ravines and the mountain itself, stretching out its rocky roots like fingers. It didn’t help that few creatures found more use of the mountains beyond a navigation point and out of those that did, almost no one bothered to map out the area. We’d gotten a map over the mountains from an Imazeeb and cartographer living in Tobuck, but it had been a bit of a guesswork in many places. However, we’d managed to find the right ravine, one about two trucks wide. Above us, a rotting sign hung.
It read ”Westover Mines Est. 953.” So 80 years old. The ravine opened up in a quarry. Along the mountain walls wood scaffolding was built, held together by rusty bolts. A constant creaking hung in the air. In some places, it had already collapsed. Down along it, a network of railroads went. At the bottom a pile of tipped-over minecarts laid with large boulders around them. At the end of the quarry, the railroads travelled into tunnels.
Moonrift parked the truck alongside a cliff wall and we climbed out. He went to the back of the truck and prepared our gear while I looked around a bit. Furthest away from the mining area the director's hut stood, still looking somewhat sturdy even if dry grass and tumbleweed grew along the walls. Outside a busted open safe laid. I suppose we both could have guessed that’d be the case but I’d always hoped we’d be able to do it the easy way.
”Seems like someone was here before,” I said.
”Right here? Of course, after so much time we can’t be the only ones to get this idea. That’s why we got this,” Moonrift said and handed me a large backpack. On it, a pickaxe and a lantern hung, together with a sleeping bag. The rest of it was just filled with a hotchpotch of survival equipment that we’d managed to scrape together. Some new, some of dubious quality. I’d hopefully be enough to take us down to the deeper levels. Moonrift’s theory was that common bandits wouldn’t think that it was worth the effort and risk to get so far down for something that may not even exist. Thus it was up to two street rats from Tobuck with nothing to lose to do it, a chance for us to make some money and build a proper life.
With how hastily the place had been evacuated when it flooded there was ample chance that valuables laid untouched down there. That's where my part as a seapony came in. Most creatures would only be able to go so far down, whereas I could search the flooded areas too. We’d even bought a waterproof flashlight for it. I gave the safe a last longing look, then we went over to the mine openings. In front of them, a few poles sat, each with a zebra skull on them.
”Well, this looks a bit violent for the Imazeeb. Maybe some of those bandits?”
”Whatever it is, I don’t like the look of it,” I said.
”It’s a new reason why people may have left this mine. Or are not coming back,” Moonrift said and passed the skulls nonchalantly.
”It’s a reason for us to reconsider.”
”With all we own invested in this?” he said and patted his backpack.
”I’d rather waste money than my life.” Going back now would hurt. We’d not even have money for the cheapest hotel. Maybe a place at a homeless shelter or some hostel, but most likely under a tarp on the streets. Months of saving, scrounging and preparation wasted. But this? Dying in some cave where the sun would never see us again, forgotten, alone. Even worse, one of us died and the other was forced to come home alone. Tobuck wasn’t such an awful place after all. It was a pain, but we got by. Here there wouldn’t be any doing that. If we ran out of resources or got injured down there, there'd be no one to help, we’d be done and over with.
”I see it like this: I’d rather die trying to get us a better life over waking up each day and seeing you in this miserable lifestyle. At least then I’m in charge of my fate instead of withering away on the streets in a mix of starvation, crime and drugs.” It warmed me a bit that he mentioned me, but it didn’t ease my feelings of fear or worry.
”What if we don’t come back? Or only one of us?”
”It’s no different than Tobuck. You could get stabbed by a gang tomorrow. I could be drafted into a warband this afternoon. It’s just other risks.”
”I’d rather live that life with you for as long as possible than risk this.”
”Do we even have a life? We merely exist, scrape by. If this succeeds we could enjoy things together.”
I suppose he had a point, but the thought of living without him was unbearable. However, the feeling of backing out and leaving him to this alone made me even more worried. That bat would run down there regardless of what I said or didn’t say. If so, I’d do it with him.
”Just promise to be careful. I don’t want us to get hurt.”
”I promise, I’ll try my best,” Moonrift said. I passed the skulls. Those batponies were made of something else, we’d never gotten this far without his resolution. He pulled out a map of the mining tunnels that we’d bought from the company that had abandoned this. Together we disappeared into the dark caves.
I huddled up against the cave wall and rested my feet on an old piece of rail with my backpack next to me. We’d made camp in a larger cave where several tunnels met, close to an underwater lake surrounded by a gravel beach and boulders. In the ceiling a set of salt crystals hung, shimmering in the light of my lantern and glowing mushroom that sat around it. Like all the other tunnels this deep down every surface was cold and damp, including me. I rubbed my palms against each other and blew on my fingers. 21 days and nothing so far. This had been a stupid idea. Why would we be capable of this if no one else was? The only thing that kept me company was my rusty lantern, chasing away the darkness of the tunnels and covering me in a soft light. Now and then scrabbling noises came from the tunnels. It was probably just harmless rodents, but the constant noise kept you on edge and one could just forget peaceful sleep.
Steps echoed through the tunnels. Out of a pitch-dark tunnel, Moonrift came. Batponies had little need for light. In his arms, he had a few fishing tackles and a grey fish that lacked eyes. On top of it, a few mushrooms that we’d learnt were edible. He laid the mushrooms in a kettle with fresh water from one of the many rivers that ran down here. I put it on top of some coal I’d collected and lit a fire. One neat thing with the mine was that no one had looted that large carts of coal that stood in different places, hadn’t it been the case, we’d already run out of our own. As long as I had warmth and light I could survive down here.
”Fish again! Think this one was edible.”
”Let me check,” I said and reached for my bag. I picked up a waterproof bag and out from it I took out a small book about food options underground. Originally it was written for Chiropterran explorers, but the flora and fauna seemed to be quite similar here. I skimmed through the section over edible fish.
”It’s here. Edible.”
”Edible is the word,” he said and laid it down and took out his knife to cut up the fish. Edible was certainly the word. With strange lukewarm fish for dinner every day my tastebuds were numb at this point. It was probably for the best. Moonrift always looked outright nauseous after we ate, but I suppose bats don’t have the same taste for fish as seaponies do. We had a lot of better meals packed with us but decided to save them for emergencies. With nothing else to do, I picked up the map we had over the cave system and crossed off the two paths we’d cleared today.
”Good news. I think we can start with the flooded areas tomorrow, or some of the unexplored paths,” I said. There were plenty of paths that lacked a map presence and had nothing built in them, but the chance to find values there was minimal.
”Well, I think you deserve a bath after all this hiking,” Moonrift said. I perked up.
”Won’t be a problem. I’d love one as soon as possible,” I said. While water wasn’t strictly necessary for my survival, it was like forbidding a pony from trotting or a gryphon from flying. Under the surface, everything would be familiar and calm. I’d have my time to shine in there. Moonrift laid out the pieces of fish on a flat stone close to the fire and sat back.
”So, if this succeeds, what do you want to do with the money?”
”I want a house, somewhere close to the shore so I can go down and swim whenever I want. Then I want to educate myself in some fun subjects. Maybe develop my interest in climbing and deep diving, if I find time.”
”That sounds pretty lovely. I’d also love to have a safe place for us. Then maybe travel more, and explore things. See other things than Tobuck. Maybe settle in Equestria? I’ve heard it’s quite peaceful there since they turned those changelings right.”
”Maybe in Manehattan. But won’t you miss Tobuck? It’s home.”
”Not one bit. Who do I know there? No creature. What do I own there? Nothing. All I have from it is reminders of the shit we’ve gone through, things I’d rather forget,” he said and touched a scar on his hand he’d gotten from a mugging attempt.
”I’d miss my parents, even if it’s just graves. I still want to have a place to leave flowers,” I said. If I left they’d remove the graves after a while. Even if they’d died before I was old enough to know them, they were still mine.
”It’s something we need to figure out. Maybe we can build a memorial grove where we settle.”
”I’m sure they’d love that. What about yours? Now when we have the funds, you could hire someone to search.”
”Already know what I need. If they bothered to leave me at an orphanage out of the country I’m something they wanted to be forgotten, most likely an illegitimate child. Thus, even if I find out the truth they won’t take me back if it means dishonouring their legion like that. If they miraculously do, how would I ever trust them again? I quite honestly, don’t care,” he said with a strained voice and cut the fish with more enthusiasm. I suppose we’d never see even about how we should view our parents.
”Well, regardless of our parents, there’s one thing I do care about.”
”What?”
”You,” I said and moved up to sit next to him. I hugged him and pecked me on the cheek. We wrapped the blanket around us and huddled up in front of the fire.
”Well, you are the light of my day for a reason,” Moonrift said and offered me some fish.
After eating we laid the blanket over us and curled up together in front of the now embers from the fire. This was as warm as it’d get, but it was enough. I put down the lantern and matches in front of me so it’d be easy to light it tomorrow, or when we felt like it, depending on how you defined tomorrow down here. Despite having a clock with us, we’d lost any sense of a normal sleeping habitat after a few days without sun.
I lifted my head and looked out into the darkness. Slow steps echoed through the caves. Moonrift rested his head against my back. I shook his arms and he opened his eyes.
”What?” he mumbled.
”Something is walking out there. Listen,” I said. He became silent.
”Think you’re right. It’s not a mole,” Moonrift said and grabbed the rifle. I swallowed. Other people? Treasure-hungry people like us? A large animal maybe. I took a match and lit the lantern. The echoing tunnels made the sound come from several cave openings at the time.
”Assuming whatever lives down here is as used to the darkness as me, that lantern is like a lighthouse on the open sea,” Moonrift said in a hushed voice.
”I’m dead without it.”
”Just… stay here and I’ll hide over there,” he said and ran towards a pile of boulders. I wanted to protest but he had a point. From there he could hopefully shoot anycreature that came close. I pulled up a large hunting knife from my belt.
Out from a tunnel two strange zebras came. Their bodies were covered in red tattoos, consisting of shapes and circles, almost as if they were on fire. Their eyes had a purple tone to them and their fur was so thin that I could see the skin underneath it. From decades without sun, it was pale white, as if they were frostbitten. I shivered. I tightened the grip around the knife as one with a sword lunged towards me. Before it reached me a deafening gunshot filled the cave. The zebra fell over and crashed into the floor. Another one came behind it with a spear. He twisted his muscular torso and threw it. I’d barely been able to react before it hit my lantern and sent me into complete darkness. It was as if someone had put a paper bag over my head.
I cut the air in front of me with the knife, hoping that I’d hold him off long enough for Moonrift to shoot him. No gunshot came. As a fist whizzed past my face I stepped backwards, only to be punched in the gut. I stumbled over and dropped the lantern and the knife. A punch hit me in the face and I tasted blood. The only thing I saw was that crystal in the middle of the room, faintly glowing from the mushrooms. I ran towards it.
Cold water splashed up along my legs as I stepped out in the water. The water had looked deep enough to swim in earlier. I could try to swim away from him, but they could just wait me out on land if they wanted to. Leaving Moonrift to fend for himself was not an option. Loud splashing came from behind me and I forced up the pace even more. The water soaked into my clothes and made them heavy, as weights around my legs. By now the water reached my abdomen. A gunshot went off in the distance but my pursuer didn’t seem to be bothered. Fingers touch my back. I spun around and tackled my pursuer in the chest. He grunted and lost balance. The zebra sputtered out water, his colours painted the lake blood red. I threw myself over him and wrapped an arm around his neck, then swam out in the lake. I managed to get us somewhere close to the middle before his struggles and twisting forced me to let go. I received a smack across the face. Blood ran down my face. A fist hit me in the chest and I lost my breath for a moment. I tried to swim out of his reach but a hand grabbed my arm. This had been a gamble and now there would be an even bigger one.
I reached in against him and hugged his body. I inhaled as much air as possible and leaned forwards. For a moment he didn’t move, as if not quite understanding what was happening. I kicked with my legs and forced him down under me. Without any footing, his half-swimming-mostly-trashing around didn’t do much to keep him upright. His face sunk down under the surface, with me coming after soon. Chest against chest with me on top of him we floated there. With the bottom several meters down his body weight was now a liability. He trashed and kicked but his strength wasn’t enough to overcome my swimming skills. Suddenly he was the one struggling for his life.
I received a kick on the leg and flinched, almost losing my grip. He took the opportunity and struggled away, flipping us over. He reached up towards the surface and managed to take a single breath before I pulled him down. My grip around his chest tightened as I swam us towards the bottom. He struggled and waved around his limbs, accomplishing little more than losing valuable air and strength. For a moment we met face to face in the light of the crystals above. His eyes were wide and panicked. He knew that he’d never outlast a seapony in breath. I regretted ever seeing that face. My back touched the lakebed and kicked up a cloud of silt.
The zebra’s movements slowed down. He practically rested on top of me by now. He helplessly clawed at my face. His mouth opened and a stream of bubbles rose to the surface. He made a few more moments before becoming still. The water became silent again. I laid my head against the bottom of the seabed and pushed the corpse off of me. His fur swayed in the currents as he floated off in a dust of silt. I closed my eyes. What was I doing?
I opened my eyes. It was still silent. No gunshots, fighting or screaming. It meant that the fight was over and that someone had won. Was it safe for me to go up? I’d been here for at least fifteen minutes. The zebras had definitely figured out where I went by now. Breaking the surface and having a spear thrown at you wasn’t appealing. I did however need to breathe soon. I stayed close to the bottom and took a lap around the lake while trying to see anything. It was still pitch dark up there so they could easily be hiding somewhere.
Suddenly a bright light shone down on the lake. It was blinding compared to the darkness, but also a great relief to rely on something more than touch. I stayed out of the beam. It turned off and on again. That must be a flashlight. Did those cultists use them? Probably not, how’d they get batteries down here? Chances were spares that they’d managed to dig through our backpacks and found. It must be Moonrift.
I broke through the surface and took a good breath. At the edge of the lake, Moonrift stood with the rifle slung across his shoulders. I ran up from the water and met him in a tight hug, completely soaking him.
”You’re alive,” I said and pressed my cheek against his.
”Me? I had a rifle. You disappeared into some lake. I considered jumping in myself,” he said and kissed me.
”I… it’s not me I’m worried about,” I said and threw a glance at a zebra that laid shot a bit further away. We’d been in a few tight spots back in Tobuck, but never like this, not this many. This was not what I signed up for, not at all.
”We did what we had to survive and did so. I wouldn’t have wanted this either.”
”I… I suppose,” I said even if I felt like something could jump out of the shadows and kill me in an instant. If the dark had made me uncomfortable before, it was nothing compared to his.
”I’m cold,” I said and let go of Moonrift. The water down here never got heated up by the sun. I stumbled away from the water. Dripping from my clothes left a trail behind me. I tried to wrench out some of it but it didn’t make much difference, I needed to change clothes.
”I know it’s uncomfortable right now, but let’s fix that later, we need to move before they come back, and all these corpses doesn’t exactly make me comfortable.”
”That’s something we can agree on,” I said and forced out a single emotionless laugh.
Shivering and cold, I followed Moonrift a fair distance from the cave lake before finding a location we were comfortable with. It was close to a large storage site for the mine. The positive thing with it was the location where we’d planned the next exploration phase, so we’d be able to start whenever we preferred. We made a small camp and lit a fire. I changed clothes and tried to dry my old ones. I was too nauseous to eat something. Despite feeling dead tired I couldn’t sleep at all so eventually, I just ended up sitting and staring at the fire while Moonrift lay with his head in my lap.
”Hey Sunrise?” Moonrift began as if he’d planned to say something longer.
”Mh?”
”You know, I’m sorry for what happened at the lake. Things happened so quickly. For a while I thought I’d gotten you killed there,” Moonrift said.
”I nearly did. Where were you?” I said. It came out more accusatory than I intended to. Moonrift shifted around in my lap.
”Got jumped from behind. I didn’t have control over it! When I’d fought him off you were just gone. The only thing I saw was the colour of the water. I thought you laid bleeding on the bottom.”
”Honestly, I believed the same thing about you. I was afraid I’d left you to get killed by them, that I’d come up to your corpse,” I said and reached down to bury my nose in the fur on his neck. He laid his arms around mine. He muffled a sob.
”This is my idea. If something happens to me, don’t blame yourself.”
”You know I’ll always do it. Would you be able to leave me behind?”
Moonrift sighed and caressed my cheek.
”If you’d never come up from that lake, I would have stayed there until I starved.”
”See,” I said.
”I’m beginning to think about what you said at the entrance. Maybe we would have been better off with just each other in a messed up world after all.”
”Maybe. But now we are where we are,”
”Yeah, let’s get this done as quickly as possible,” Moonrift said. For yet another night we cuddled up together, both of us waking up to the faintest of noises and movements.
The next day I took on my gear to prepare for the first dive. It was an insulated wetsuit with a tool belt. On my back, I had a waterproof bag to store valuables in. I walked down to the water's edge and gave Moonrift a thumbs up, then I dove under the surface. The waterproof flashlight did a good job of guiding me. I’d enjoyed this trip far more if we’d begun like this. While I couldn’t bring any of our maps, I followed the rusty rails left on the ground and relied on what I’d memorised. About two hundred metres into the tunnel it opened up into a large storage area. For as long as the turbid water allowed me to see, massive rusty cargo containers stood on a large concrete platform. Between them, rails went with carts of similar size. Some of the containers were locked, others open. I swam down to the closest one and peeked inside. Inside there were tons of mining helmets, covered by a thick layer of algae. Useless to us. But there was bound to lie something around here. I took a lap around to survey the entire area. At the other end of it the rails continued even deeper, but going there would be dangerous without more preparation. There were also the remains of some buildings, one looking like a rest station where the roof had collapsed in. Going in there would be dangerous too, better wait with that if there were easier ways to find valuables. It was easier to check the containers first, they should have some place designated for valuables.
The open ones were easy to check. Then there were a good amount of ones locked or with their sliding doors rusted shut. I tried a few open ones and deducted that one side contained different types of ores going up and the other equipment going down. While the ores were valuable we’d never be able to haul enough to the surface or refine it to get something out of that. Maybe at best sell the information to someone else. However, smaller stuff like the diamonds they broke here would be perfect loot.
After another lap, I ran into a container that had a much thicker hull than any other. It had a door on each side, one of them blocked by a crossbar and a large lock, the other was already open. I swam down to it. Inside there was a collection of filing cabinets. The drawers had been pulled out and laid on the floor. Clearly, this had been worth protecting, but someone else had already figured that out. I picked up one of the drawers and brushed off some seaweed. It was rusty but intact. This must have been done soon after the flooding, or even before, otherwise, the drawer should have rusted shut inside the cabinet and made it impossible to pull it out the normal way. Maybe the company sent down their own people to do it. Had all this been a big waste of time?
In the best case, they’d forgotten something small. I turned up the strength of the flashlight and I swam down along the floor, searching it metre by metre. There, something shimmered on the bottom, behind a layer of aquatic plants just where I’d removed the drawer. I dug away the vegetation and picked up a white stone. My heart skipped a beat. It could be a refined diamond! I squeezed it in my palm and stuffed it into one of the bags so I didn’t lose the tiny thing. I had a lingering doubt that it could be a piece of glass, but for now, I rode on that happiness. If there was one, there was more. I continued the search but with no results. They could be buried under the drawers like the first one. I lifted a drawer and swam outside with it, it was easier to search without so much junk in the way.
When I put down the drawer next to the side of the container I noticed a strange overgrown lump right. I reeled back when I took a closer look. The shape, the white texture under the algae and the mining helmet close by. It was a dead zebra that’d presumably been left here for decades. But why? So far we’d not found any bodies, even if people left in a rush. This one had stayed for a reason. I held down nausea and searched around his body. His clothes had rotted away long ago, but there was a belt buckle and a few buttons left of it. Next to him laid a leather bag that dissolved as soon as I touched it. Inside was a pickaxe and a heavy steel box. I laid my ear against it and shook it gently. It rattled. I stuffed it into a bag. This could be our haul. If he was the one looting the trailer he must have stuffed it full of gemstones. We’d just haul it out of here and be home. I was soon out of air anyways.
I kicked off from the ground and turned to swim towards the entry. A shiver went along my spine and I slowed down. Something sent vibrations through the water. Way larger than anything we’d seen so far.
I raised the flashlight and swept it around me. Circling, at the edge of the flashlight’s reach was a shark-like creature, large as a small car. It was so pale that the cartilage skeleton and veins were visible through the skin. In its mouth, it had double rows of triangular teeth. I kept my eyes on it as it continued in its slow circle as if it hadn’t seen me. Was I food for that thing? Probably. It made a sharp turn and rapidly approached me. Its strong movements made the water vibrate around me. I dove towards the bottom and zipped in between two containers. It tilted sideways and followed me, sending up whirls of silt and bubbles. I took a tight turn and swam into an open container and out on the other side. With a terrifying show of force and control, it followed me in the turn. The shark crashed into a container, sending up a cloud of rust and metal pieces with an ear-deafening noise. The sliding doors fell off their hinges and it picked up the pace again. I couldn’t outrun it. Maybe hide somewhere. I swam in under a train cart to buy some time. As it searched for me I doubled back. It caught my scent and so the hunt began again. Soon we were back where it had started. I turned a corner and the container I’d looted became visible. It would suffice.
I dove into the container and slipped through the door opening with ease, albeit with a heartbeat that was rapidly getting out of control. The shark slammed against it. The metal shook and bent under its force. Silt and rust were thrown up, creating a grey-red cloud that made it hard to see my own hands. I clung to the wall to keep myself still. Another slam, this time for the opposite side, against the other door. The container tilted with a screech and slid off the rail cart it stood on. Several of the cabinets tumbled across the floor and piled up on the other side. I swam up closer to the ceiling to not get hit. Several more attacks followed, causing the container to look more like a tin can someone had stepped on, but it remained intact. Soon enough the outside became silent. I looked out through a tiny crack. Not a movement. It could be laying in wait but I couldn’t afford to wait here for too long, my air was becoming worryingly low. By now I was living on what I’d planned for the swim back. The original entry point was blocked off by cabinets. I grabbed one and managed to pull it away somewhat, but to move enough of them to get out would let me run out of air long before that pile was gone. I swam up to the little hole that was left but to no avail. I slammed my fists against the metal but it didn’t budge. Panic was building up inside me.
The first lesson in situations like this was: stay still. Movement means energy, energy means oxygen. I held onto the wall and rested my forehead against it with closed eyes. Resting here was comfortable enough. Second step: a plan. What next? I needed a way out. The original was gone. The other doors were too rusted shut to open. I surveyed the room as if a new door would appear. Perhaps I could make a door? The door on the other side of the room had been seriously damaged by the hits. Several cracks had appeared on it. I swam over and pulled a hammer from my belt. I hit it a few times. A few dents appeared but not much more. There was one even more extreme method. I took the blowtorch I had attached to my belt and turn on the flame. A hot stream of bubbles came from it as it boiled the water around it. I laid against the door and melted away the gaps between the holes. It wasn’t fast, but the quickest option yet. If I’d get done before I ran out of air was anyone’s guess.
I finished the last stretch. I grabbed ahold of the door and kicked. The area I’d cut out flew out, leaving a hole I could squeeze through. As I came out into the cave I got the urge to swim a victory lap, only to remember that I was on my last fin when it came to air. I’d need to go straight for the entrance. I prayed that the shark didn’t lay in wait as I swam. My vision became blurry and my movements sloppy. Everything felt hazy. As if I’d just been woken up in the middle of the night, drowsy. A pain grew inside my lungs. I just wanted to open my mouth and inhale, leaving myself dead here. That was not an option, not when I’d come this far. I propelled myself forward. Soon I’d be there.
My fingertips hit a wall. I must have reached the shaft we came from right? Otherwise, I was doomed. I relaxed and let my natural bouncy lift me upwards, focusing on trying to stay awake, yet not consume any air. My vision darkened.
I broke the surface and took a greedy breath, swallowing down some water as well. I coughed it up and swam towards the shore. Would have been ridiculous to drown above the surface. I crawled up on the shore and rolled over on my back and closed my eyes.
I woke up with a jolt. Something was touching my feet.
”Moonrift?” I mumbled and looked down at them. A fish was nibbling on them. I pulled them up from the water with the shark in keen mind. I was really working on that list of stupid ways to die. I yawned. For how long had I been asleep? No idea. I needed to find that clock. I reached around for the flashlight only to realise that it was laying a fair bit out in the water, turned on. Damn, we needed that battery. I retrieved it and turned it off. Our backpacks were left where I recalled. He’d begun preparing a fire but there were no signs of fish. He was probably out hunting. I did however need something to eat now. I dug through my backpack for an emergency meal and ate some stew from a tin can.
Maybe I should take a look at the haul, I hadn’t gone through this for nothing. I opened the leather bag and took out the metal box. With my knife, I pried it open. On the bottom laid an assortment of gemstones. I didn’t know how valuable they were, but more than anything I’d ever held in my hands before. A white diamond, especially large, stood out. I wonder how much it’d sell for. More than anything else I owned.
Now to the more important matters, where was Moonrift? He should have gotten back now. I could go search for him, but that’d be a risk if he wasn’t actually lost, just away doing something. Our maps were left, so he wouldn’t have walked far. I grabbed the one over our local area. It couldn’t hurt to just check the closest things.
After two hours I found something that my stomach churn. On the ground, there were some blood stains and Moonrift’s knife. A piece of ripped clothing. Was it those zebras again? They could have taken him, or some strange animal that lay in wait for us. Further away the rifle laid, scratched but loaded. He’d gotten in trouble. I picked up the rifle. If he was gone, I’d save him. He could still be alive. But what if not? Few things down here had any mercy to show. We may have finally dared this place on time too much and gotten our punishment. No matter how hard we’d prepared and tried to protect each other it hadn’t helped.
With tears in my eyes, I followed the blood trail through the caves, clutching the rifle in my hoofs. Within an hour I’d gotten out on some trail. Sometimes the trail went off the map and led me to untouched tunnels. It slowed me down a lot since I couldn't afford to get lost. Other times the trail led me back to the mines where I needed to figure out where I was on the maps. The shortcuts let me cover much more distance than we’d done earlier. I travelled through the cave system for at least two hours before noise became apparent.
The tunnel I was in had some decommissioned rails and carts standing inside it, with several sheds with tool sheds along one side of it. The tunnel then opened up into a large cave with a steep slope. I crawled up to a cliff above the steep descent and lay down flat on the rock. Fifty metres down the rails where the slope did. Beyond it, moss grew, similar to grass on the ground. The same glowing mushrooms I’d seen earlier grew here, but they covered much larger portions of the walls, keeping the cave lit in a quite natural way. Vines, as thick as trees, hung from the ceiling with various flowers in them. Holes had been carved out in the cave walls as living quarters. In one place some of the strange zebras we’d been attacked by dried fish over a fire, in another place sharpening spears and sabres.
Towards the furthest wall, a smooth stone pill stood, raised up on a platform. To it, Moonrift was tied. He was slumped over and had some blood on his pants. I needed to get him out of there before they did something worse. Considering the people they’d lost at the dam, they could not be happy with us.
My rifle would barely be any help against this many. Visibly I could count to maybe thirty, likely even more in the caves and in adjacent tunnels. I could shoot a few from this vantage point, but they’d eventually make it over to me,if not just flank me from any other tunnel, they likely knew the surrounding area without any maps.
If I was lucky I could distract or scare away a few of them, but they weren’t likely to leave Moonrift alone if whatever distracted them wasn't dangerous enough or urgent enough. So then, I needed to create that threat. I went over to the tool sheds and investigated them. I’d hoped for some explosives but most of it was rusty tools. One did however have interesting content. It contained several barrels of lamp oil. I lifted the lid of one of the barrels and dipped a piece of cloth in it. It had a nasty smell to it. I took it out outside of the shed and held a match underneath it, it went up in flames so fast that I burnt my fingers before dropping it. At least it still burns and that’s what mattered. I could work with this.
I grabbed two of the barrels that looked reasonably intact and rolled them as quietly as I could towards a minecart. I placed them inside, loosened the lids and then took a large piece of cloth and laid on top of it all. I poured some lamp fuel on the cloth, then prepared a match. When I lit it I’d need to push or I’d get cooked and killed by this plan. Not to mention that I’d need to go down after this cart and not get myself killed. Or Moonrift. It was stupid and dangerous, but it was what I could come up with.
I lit a match and dropped it on the cloth. It blazed up. I laid my back against the cart and pushed with my legs. It creaked as I moved it towards the slope. The heat from the fire was already burning against the back of my head. I licked my lips and pushed on harder, but it was heavy. A burst of flames almost hit my head and I held down a bit more as I continued pushing. Sweat ran down my back. The smell and smoke made tears run down my cheeks and I coughed. The weight of the cart lightened somewhat as the slope downwards started. Someone shouted down below. I gave the minecart a last shove. With a loud screech, it rolled down the slope. I ran over to the cave and threw myself down on it to stare at the minecart. It picked up speed and launched itself off the end of the rails and into the cave. It crashed over and the fuel came into contact with the burning cloth. A fireball rose to the ceiling of the cave and I covered my face due to the heat. For the first time in a month, everything was lit as if the sun was right here, in the cave. It was a short relief for me, I had light. The zebras screamed down below. Some made futile attempts to stop the fire with buckets of water, and others ran. The fire climbed from vine to vine and along the floor.
Fire smoke filled my nose and it became hard to breathe. Damn, I hadn’t thought of that. As the plants burn grey smoke billowed upwards, making it hard to see. Right, fire in an enclosed area. As most people seemed to have left the cave I decided that it was my part in this plan. The more I waited the more dangerous the cave would be and the more at risk Moonrift would be. I threw myself over the cliff ledge and out on the slope, running down. It was a bit easier to breathe down here, so I took a deep one. Being able to hold one's breath for long apparently had more uses than when swimming, maybe I’d done well as a firefighter?
It did much less to protect me from the heat. I held a hand over my forehead and squinted as the burning heat covered me like a heavy blanket. The fire came from everywhere. Smouldering in the moss underneath me, raging across the vines above me and right in front of me as burning vines laid on the ground. I took the paths with the least fire but now and then I felt stings of pain as I got too close to something that burned, even if I didn’t touch it, the radiating heat was enough. In the distance, I saw Moonrift through the smoke. He was moving now, struggling against his restraints. He’d not have much time left. I ran the last bit with little regard for my safety. I sat down next to him and undid his restraints with my knife. He smiled when he noticed me and stopped moving. I could see a bloody patch under his trousers. Assessing that or learning him to walk again would get us killed. With great effort, I heaved him up on my shoulder. It could walk like this, but not fast, not for long. The other end of the cave was a wall of fire now. That was a death sentence. So much for this plan. With the smoke causing tears in my eyes, I barely saw where I was going anyways. There existed a few other tunnels there. I picked the closest and hoped that none of those zebras were hiding in it. It turned out to be a decent choice of a tunnel, it sloped downwards so there was less heat and smoke down here, even if it still made sweat run down my back.
I laid down Moonrift against the cave wall. He seemed to be breathing but wasn’t able to speak. I took a bottle of water and gave him some then laid a band-aid around the injury on his leg. It was sufficient enough for the time being. Now to find a way hom for us. None of the maps would help in areas like these, but we were pretty close to a mapped area, so if I found my way back there I’d be able to find my way back. I could just guess my way through the caves here, but it could also get us hopelessly lost. The other problem was that I’d likely run into company in this direction. Maybe they’d just ran deeper down or to another camp, but I didn’t want to figure that out. I laid down Moonrift to let him sleep while I sat guard, clutching our rifle. After a few hours the crackling of fire had decreased. It was time to move, before anyone else came back. I shook Moonrift awake and he coughed.
”You okay?”
He nodded. It wasn’t exactly reassuring to see him this low, but I couldn’t say or do more. I hoisted him up and began the ascent. It took a while and tremors went through my legs as we reached the large cave again, but we did get there. A layer of embers and ash covered the ground while remains of broken wines laid spread out over the place. I doubt I’d be able to do it again after seeing the destruction. My shoes protected well enough against the heat but the air made Moonrift cough. I rushed over as fast as I managed and up the slope, away from this all. It took a few hours of hobbling with Moonrift on my shoulder before I collapsed. I just prayed that we were clear from danger when I set up camp there, almost as worn as Moonrift. The last thing I forced myself to do before sleep was checking his wound. It was long, but not deep. I patched it up as best as I could.
The next day he could hobble reasonably well with my support. It didn’t go fast, but much better than if I’d been carrying him. I tried to start up conversations at several points, but he just gave me one word responses. I sincerely hoped it was due to exhaustion and nothing else.
Within two days we made our way back to our original campsite. I’d been a pain, but we’d survived. I laid down Moonrift under a blanket, collected our gear and began mapping out the easiest way up. Moonrift shuffled around a bit and coughed.
”Hey Sunrise?” he said and I looked over at him. My heart jumped as he spoke. I rushed over to him.
”I honestly thought I wouldn’t make it out from there.”
”I thought I’d never get you out from there.”
”Knowing that there was a chance that you never figured out where I went was the scariest part.”
”I won’t let us get split up anymore. Let’s get out of here as quickly as possible,” I said. It wasn’t particularly comforting but at this point I was just numb from all the emotions I’d gone through so handling potential scenarios where one of us died would lead to me collapsing too. It was better to focus on the practical aspects of this journey, Moonrift needed me there. Moonrift sighed.
”I just wanted to say that I love you. I don’t want you to go.”
”I would never have left you behind,” I said and kissed his forehead. That night we fell asleep tightly hugging each other.
After a few days of walking upwards light became visible in the end of a tunnel. Actual honest sunlight. I ran towards it. I was done with those damn caves forever. Moonrift chuckled behind me, trying to keep up the pace.
”I thought the desert was too dry for you?”
”Not anymore!” I shouted back and ran out in the sunlight. Finally, beautiful light. The sun stood high and covered the area in soft light. No more blindness or cold! I blinked a few times to get my eyes used to it. I’d gotten so used to the dim light down there that being outside felt like somecreature held a flashlight right up against my face. I closed my eyes and lay down on the sand. It was warm and cosy, almost like a bed. Much better than sleeping on rocks. Moonrift lay down in the sand next to me, like a starfish.
”Well, it seems like we made it after all.”
”I’m just happy that I’m alive and won’t need to go back.”
”Fair. We had a few close calls.”
”Close calls? We nearly got killed several times over! Twice I thought I’d go home on this journey alone. This is the last time we do something as crazy as this,” I said and playfully shoved him.
”Won’t need to either,” Moonrift said and pulled out the gem box from my backpack. He opened it and surveyed its contents.
”This will cover a neat little lifestyle for a long time.”
”Once we sell them, yes.”
Moonrift shook his head.
”What?”
”I plan to keep this one,” Moonrift said and picked out the largest and brightest diamond.
”Why?”
”I want this one in a ring for you.”
Author's Note
Someting I did this for fun. First MLP work. Appreciate feedback.