"I'm not bloody leaving this bloody tunnel until you treat your bloody wounds." Robyn's voice resonated in my ears, awakening me from slumber, stabbing my exhausted demeanour with sassy, threatening knifes.
"Alright, alright!" Jay replied. I shifted my position so I was standing, practically feeling my bones creak at the sudden strain. I could see the boy holding up his hands in a mocking way, though his eyes were soft, soft like clouds that drifted across the sky, looking on in sibling affection for the sun that warmed their skin. Lowering his arms again, he picked up the healing salve; I could see it was rather empty. Slowly, he undid the lid and scooped out some of the sticky residue, layering it thinly on his visible wounds. Until he was done, Robyn glared at him, yet her eyes conveyed the same softness.
I wanted to intervene and point out the amount of medication he had applied was excessively sparse, definitely not enough to cure quickly, yet I kept my tongue at bay, not wanting to heat Robyn's wrath when we were about to depart.
Hastily, Jay packed it back. As if on cue, Chris arrived, already sporting his bulging backpack. "Is everyone ready?"
"Not yet..." I murmured in reply, and set to work quickly packing away the bed I had been sleeping in. The assumptions I had made the day before were correct - I had been appropriately healed in two days, so we were going to disembark how. After I had done ( and an irritable glance was sent my way ) we left that particular tunnel and carried on to the next one.
It felt satisfying, leaving behind that place, as if shedding a horrifying skin and feeling it being replaced with another one, a more comfortable, yet still terrified, one. The candle illuminated our progress yet again, throwing silhouettes across the walls. I walked beside Chris this time, at the front of the group, listening to the rhythmic pattering of our footsteps.
"Was it normal for the rats to be there?" I asked, inwardly cringing at how loud my voice was in the comparative silence, my words splintering the air in the most inappropriate manner, even though I kept my voice to a dull whisper.
For some reason, he seemed nervous of the question. "Well, kind of. We're nearing the main city complex. Where we were originally was just the outskirts; the abandoned. A few people roam about the streets up there, a few solitary shops sell merchandise and promote the newest technology... It's possible they introduced the rats to the Sewers to try and stop any trespassers."
"If it's so dangerous, why are we going closer? Surely it would be more sensible to go the other way... Out of danger?" I continued, my eyes narrowing in turbulent speculation of what his reply would be.
"I'm pretty sure I explained this in the briefing. I think we should be quiet now, we need to be alert."
Annoyed, I sighed, yet obliged to his demand. I knew any more pestering would get me nowhere. However, I definitely knew they were hiding something. I could almost feel the tension thicken in the air as I started to speak, and the shifty shadiness of his words could only imply a hidden intention. It agitated me, knowing I was kept in the dark, and I still wasn't trusted.
I was shaken from my thoughts, however, by an odd noise. It fractured the serenity with a strange, hollow ring, staying in one's ears with persistent intent. After each ring it seemed to get louder, and louder, and louder...
"It's a train." I heard my voice say, my action seemingly disembodied and detached. Lights appeared from around the corner, the noise becoming more prominent with each passing second.
"Get to the sides! Move! Move!" Chris shouted, and we all scurried to the walls of the tunnel, pressing ourselves against the cold sides like sardines in a tin. I heard Robyn swear; Jay gulp. There was no way we could possibly survive. We were going to be caught up in the trains mighty clutches, thrown about and splattered, our corpses forgotten, never to be found. But surely the trains weren't functioning anymore? The need for them had become extinct... Why was there one now? There could only be one possibility: they knew we were here. And they were going to kill us.
"Jay, give me a boost up." Robyn said demandingly, and I saw Jay hold out his hands, interlocking his fingers to provide a small platform. Robyn moved onto the step her brother provided, reaching up her hands and feeling along the wall. Helpfully, Chris moved closer to them, holding up the candle so Robyn could see. "Nope. Nothing. No hatch, so grate, no escape." Wanting to confirm this, Chris moved along the length of the wall, using the candle. Yet it was true, we were truly trapped.
"Alright, we'll have to do the coward's method: run." Jay sighed.
"Out run a train? What are we, light particles?"
"More importantly, how are we going to outrun a train that's not even meant to be running?" I piped in. The others turned to me, expectant. "These tube tunnels have been abandoned for years, right? I've been thinking: this train has either been specially sent here to run us over, all it's not there at all." Chris snorted, so I carried out. "What is the threat making us do? Wanting to run. What best way to scare people off: make them run away. It's merely a hologram."
"Or it's real, and we're all gonna die." Robyn interjected, rolling her eyes. "If they wanted to scare us off, why haven't guns popped out and shot us?"
"Because they can't get down here. That's why we - you - started down here, right? Rats could've been just thrown down a hole or something, or breeded on their own. This; they could use a computer to project it." I was thinking out loud. Yes, my theory was flawed, as no one knew why they couldn't physically get down here, but it seemed legitimate. The train - if it was that - kept approaching, the situation dawning in a more scary fashion. "So we can either run, or stand here and watch a hologram go through us."
Chris fiddled with his lip ring, before nodding. "Tempest could be correct. If not, we're screwed, but it's not like we're going to survive for much longer either way." With that, he ventured into the middle of the tunnel. The twins stayed by the side, whilst I joined Chris.
The train veered round the corner. It definitely didn't look fake, I could even see its chiselled nose, the one-way window, impending on us... But there was no bang, no splat. I was right.
---------------------
I was still chuffed by my correction assumptions hours later, when we were travelling down another tunnel. Chris and Jay seemed to be in awe of my logic, whilst Robyn was just annoyed. My heart still hammered from the experience, though it did help boost my confidence. I had done something significant - once again, it seemed. Maybe they would trust me soon? Hopefully. Being kept in the dark was horrible, and my companions were yet to provide an enlightening insight.
"Wait. Are those people?" Jay whispered, making our steps falter. I squinted in the darkness, and Chris held the candle out further. Jay was correct, there were three figures outlined in the gloom.
"Hey! You!" Jay called, striding forward and making his presence known. It was odd, him being so assertive in this decision, rushing forward without thinking. This wasn't Jay's normal behaviour...
"Jay, wait. We don't know who they are!" Robyn hissed at him.
But it was too late. There was a few bangs, and a thump. Jay's body had fallen to the floor.
"Cease fire! We mean no harm!" Chris bellowed, but it made no impact on the motionless lump that was Jay.
I felt a grieved haze collect around my head.
Robyn screamed.
And screamed.
It felt like she would never stop screaming.
YOU ARE READING
Monotone | ✔️
Action"If we were so riveted in the spectrum of nature, why did we stand, petrified, as we became corrupted by idle technology, stupefied by glowing screens, stolen from life as we know it from enemies right under our noses? Why did we relent to this obvi...
