Beneath the Shadowlanders

Chapter Fifteen: Genevieve

I know Gabe is going to kill me for this. I can see it in his eyes. But he's coming, and that's all that really matters. This is our one chance to help fix things. I'm tired of living like a rat. If there's a chance – even a slim one – that we can bring the Underlanders back to the surface, I can't sit idly by and let them rot underground.

Orion takes us back down the street we met him on, past all the neighborhoods we've explored so far, until we reach an abandoned, boarded-off subway tunnel.

"Now what?" Gabriel is annoyed.

"Now, we go down," Orion responds, pulling aside a loose section of particle board with one hand, and gesturing down into the darkness with the other. "Who's first?"

"You have to be kidding," Gabe scoffs. "Are you suicidal? Or are you just trying to get us killed so you can have our shelter?" A look of realization crosses his face. "That's it, isn't it. You're not from Underland at all! You're nothing but a lousy orphan, like us! You figured out we have food and shelter and figured you'd just take it all for yourself. Live out your days in relative luxury! Well, we're not falling for it." He turns back toward home, gesturing for me to follow. When I hesitate, he gets angry. "Come on, Gin," he says through gritted teeth. It's obvious he doesn't intend to take no for an answer.

"No," I answer, just to spite him. "I still believe him."

"You do?" Gabriel spits, seething. "Have you lost your mind? Just because some golden boy tells you he has the key to the Underland doesn't mean you should follow him into the dark, abandoned subway tunnel, Genevieve. Don't be suicidal." He grabs me by the sleeve, trying again to pull me away and back toward the relative safety of our shelter.

The so-called "golden boy" scowls. "Look, I didn't want to bring you with, remember? If you don't want to come, then don't. No one is making you. You begged me to take you with." He steps into the tunnel, disappearing into the blackness.

"Wait!" I call behind him, yanking my arm out of Gabriel's grasp and turning to him with a scowl. "Look, I know you don't trust him, but I still think he means well, and I can't risk him putting the lives of an entire civilization in danger. If they come marching up out of the Underland expecting to just take over the Shadowlands, it will be a massacre. And if there's something I can do to prevent that, then..." I sigh heavily, "I have to do it, Gabe. You know I do." I turn around and follow Orion into the tunnel, daring my brother to follow me. After a moment, he does.

When our eyes adjust to the darkness of the subway platform, we see Orion, now with his own pack seemingly out of nowhere, standing on the edge of the tunnel. He gestures down the tracks. They're almost pitch-black. "This is the point of no return. If you want to go home, do it now, but if you come with, I don't want to hear any more whining, or accusations of betrayal. You're following me, at my risk, to my home, so you stay close, be careful, and shut. up. Is that understood?"

We nod acknowledgement.

"Fantastic." He leaps off the platform and into the tunnel.

I look at Gabe one last time for reassurance, then, "Here goes!" I land a few feet from Orion, and my brother follows suit.

It's even darker than expected. Orion pulls a small flashlight out of his backpack and directs it in front of us. "Stay close," he whispers, and we do.

The tracks are dead, probably have been for years, but we still try to avoid the third rail. Just in case. Orion scoffs at us. "It's perfectly safe," he reassures us, even going so far to walk down it like a balance beam for a few feet, but we stay to the side all the same.

After several minutes, he stops.

"Now what?" Gabe complains, eliciting a sneer from our guide.

"Now, we go down," he responds, gesturing toward the wall.

"What, we just sink through the wall like a ghost?" my brother scoffs, throwing his hands into the air.

"No, you idiot." He pulls the cover off a ventilation shaft, barely visible before in the darkness. "After you."

"Ha."

The boy shrugs and begins lowering himself into the opening. Once again, I'm in the middle, as I shimmy into the hole, finding that the lower wall is equipped with footholds. Convenient, I think to myself, as I watch my brother discover the same. I try to watch below me, to avoid landing on our guide, but I misstep a few times, treading on his fingers. He's surprisingly forgiving.

The narrow passage seems to stretch for miles, and my legs are sore by the time we finally reach the bottom. Orion steps off and crawls immediately into another opening. I can see light pouring in ahead of him, casting him in an almost angelic glow. I try to ignore the implications and duck into the tunnel just in time to see him peering through a grate. He holds a finger over his lips to silence us. After a long moment, he gently eases the grate off the end of the shaft, stepping out into the open. We follow, appreciating the ability to stretch out, at last.

He replaces the grate on the wall, and makes a sweeping gesture with both arms as he passes us, walking toward the end of the alley.

"Welcome to Underland."