Florescence

Chapter 6

Techno woke up early in the morning to see Tommy sitting against the wall, his knees curled up to his chest. He jumped when Techno sat up. Wilbur was still asleep.

"Techno, where are we?"

Tommy switched positions and he was now sitting on his knees. Techno could see from the redness around his eyes that Tommy had been crying. But he ignored this and instead answered his question.

"We're in the escape tunnel," Techno said, a bit more sternly than he had anticipated. "We'll be out soon."

"Did Phil make it?"

Techno flinched at the name. His heart started to ache again and his skin prickled. Tommy didn't notice the sudden change of expression on his brother's face but Techno looked away just the same.

"Yes."

Tommy stood up and started looking around the tunnel.

"I like it," Tommy finally said. "It's big."

Tommy's innocence hit Techno like a knife to the heart. He had no idea. He didn't know what he was going to go through now. He did not know that his father was gone. Forever.

Sitting in the dust while Tommy searched the tunnel, smiling was too unbearable for Techno. He stood up, swiftly and kneeled down beside Wilbur. His hat had fallen off during the night and his brown hair was matted against the earth.

"Wilbur, get up," Techno muttered. "We've got to keep going."

Wilbur opened his eyes, a bit too quickly for having been asleep. He still looked exhausted. Tommy was the only one who looked like he had actually slept. They packed up silently and continued walking.

Tommy couldn't deal with the silence with only the crunching of rocks beneath them as entertainment. But Techno and Wilbur were not up for answering his questions or playing games with him. Tommy paid no attention to this.

"Where's Phil?" Tommy asked, casually, grabbing Techno's hand. "Is he at home?"

"Yes," Wilbur replied, shortly.

"Can we go back with him?"

Techno shook his head and Tommy frowned.

"Why not?"

Neither Techno nor Wilbur responded.

"Why can't we, Wil?"

"We just can't, Tommy," Wilbur said, his voice shaking slightly.

They continued to walk in silence. Tommy had finally started to sense the tension between his brothers. He did not ask anymore questions.

They walked for about an hour until they found the end of the tunnel. There didn't appear to be an exit. Techno searched through the dirt, frantically. Wilbur picked up Tommy who watched Techno. Wilbur buried his face in his brother's golden curls. This could not be the end. They had to keep Tommy safe. They had to escape.

Then Wilbur heard a loud rumbling behind them and he looked up. "Er—Techno? What's that sound?"

Techno ignored him and continued to push his hands through the dirt, looking for some sort of door.

"Techno!"

"What? What is it now, Wilbur?"

Wilbur pointed down the tunnel and placed Tommy back on the ground. Hundreds of rocks were falling from the roof of the tunnel. It was caving in.

Fear spreaded through all of them faster than poison. Techno looked around and finally spotted a trapdoor above his head, mostly hidden behind the dirt. Techno pushed it open, hard and the dirt over it cracked and fell on his head. But it was open.