The Ember Thief

Chapter Two - Plague Corpse Express

The passageway was narrow and had been dug with haste. Supporting wooden beams were placed at irregular intervals, many bowing under the weight from the ground above. Piles of dirt and rock had already collapsed in places making progress slow at best. Raide's eyes were adapting to the dark, but he was still stumbling in small pools of water that had filtered through the earth. He pushed further down the winding escape route, searching in the dark with an outstretched hand. 'Wisp, how long is this tunnel?'

'It's just a bit further,' she said as if she was peering into the dark.

Raide slipped and steadied himself against the muddy wall. 'Do you know or are you guessing?'

'Of course, I know,' she said with confidence.

Raide's foot found another pool of hidden water. 'Sorry, it's just that you sounded a little unsure,' he said, shaking out his sodden boot.

'Well, I may be guessing a little,' she conceded. 'But, if you don't like my escape plan, you're more than welcome to go back and find another way out.'

He ducked low underneath a wooden beam. 'No, I like your plan. I just wanted to know how long I was going to be digging around in the dark like a mole.'

'If it makes you feel any better, Bawbee will have to come down here to get out.'

Raide threw a worrying glance back down the narrow passage. 'How will he fit?'

'He will have to crawl his way out,' she said, with some amusement.

The prisoner scrunched up his face. 'That would be tight,' he said, sidestepping another puddle.

'Don't worry, he's quite happy with dark caves.'

Raide rounded a corner to where the tunnel began to incline over scree and natural rock. At the top, a small light illuminated the end of the rocky ascent. 'What's that?' he asked, his eyes turning to small slits.

'Daylight,' Wisp said, with some delight.

Raide began to scramble up the slope with the invigorated pace of a free man. At the top of the tunnel, a shaft of light revealed a crude rope ladder leading to the surface. Raide stopped at the foot of the ladder, basking in the sun streaming down the hole, feeling its warmth. The smell of grass brushed through his hair. He couldn't help but smile. 'Thank you, Wisp. I couldn't have done this without you and Bawbee,' he said, raising his face to the sun.

'You're welcome. Now, we just need to wait down here till dark.'

Disappointment washed through him. It was one feeling he hadn't missed. 'Why? We're so close to being free,' Raide said, thumping the side of the dirt wall. 'Can we just wait above ground?' he pleaded, looking up at the green foliage hanging from the mouth of the hole above.

'No, it's too dangerous for you up there at the moment.'

Raide tugged on the ladder testing the weight. 'But the guards aren't even looking for me here,' he protested.

'The guards are the least of your worries.'

Raide looked back down the craggy hole of the underground passage. 'Who should I be worried about then?'

'You,' she shot back. 'Remember what happened when I told you your name?'

A wave of nausea passed through him as he remembered the escape from his cell. 'Yes,' he grimaced.

'That was just one word. If you see something or talk to someone and you remember things too soon, you won't just feel sick. Your mind with eat itself from the inside until you are a gibbering mess,' she warned.