“Everyone be quiet!” Monroe said as he leaned back closer to the opening. “I think I heard a scream.”
Derek was over Monroe’s back and into the abyss before Jacob could strike his flint to light the makeshift torch. We could all hear him yelling out Tanda’s name over and over, as his voice became harder to hear. Fala took off after Derek, then Jacob and Monroe followed with the light. The rest of us were down in the tunnel and about to head toward the glow when we heard Tanda’s cries. It was then that I left Tammy in the care of Garvin and Sydney and took off running. I knew by the sounds she was making that something was horribly wrong.
By the time I had caught up to Jacob and Monroe, Derek was walking back towards us with Tanda wrapped in his arms. She was covered in filth from head to toe and the only remotely clear area on her beautiful face was where her tears had cleared a path down her cheeks. “It just caved in. There was nothing I could do.” Her sobs were so violent that it was hard to understand what she was saying.
“Where’s Martin?”
“Renee,” Derek shook his head.
“Bullshit, Derek. Where is Martin?”
“Fala’s back trying to dig around to see if he’s still…”
I didn’t stick around to hear anything else. There was no way that my maker was dead and I was going to go get him myself. I heard Derek yell ‘turn right at the junction’ but it didn’t take long before I couldn’t see much more than arm’s length. Once I found the junction and turned right, the glow that Jacob’s torch lent was completely gone. But I never stopped. I heard something that sounded like stone hitting stone, followed by a moan. I took off running in the pitch black, colliding once again with a solid mass and ended up flat on my backside.
A hand touched me under my arm and I started swatting as if a hundred spiders were crawling on me. I wouldn’t describe the sound that I made as a ‘scream’ because it was more like a squeal, but whatever, or whoever, had touched me had scared the hell out me. Sparks flew into the dust filled air to the left of me, then the sound of flint hitting stone sounded again as sparks flew and flame came to life. Martin stood by Fala, both covered in earth. I spun around to see who had touched my arm and was shocked to see Monroe.
“You could have let me know that you were with me.”
“I only caught up when you fell down,” he smiled.
I turned my attention back to my maker and got to my feet, refusing any of their help. I had to swallow the lump in my throat and count to ten in my mind to help fight the tears, because had I opened my mouth at that very moment, my relief of seeing Martin standing there would have come out in bigger sobs than Tanda’s cry of panic. “Could you please hand Fala the torch, Martin?”
“Is that the only greeting that I get the second time that we…you run in to me in a dark tunnel?”
“This isn’t the time to be funny. Please, hand Fala the light.”
“As My Lady wishes.”
Fala gave me a strange look, but took the torch. I waved my hand for Fala to step to the side, then did something that shocked Martin so much that he actually let out his own type of yelp. I dove on him, knocking us both down on the heap of earth that he had just been pulled from and began kissing him all over his dirt covered face. I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to put anything between us again. Just the thought of him being truly dead had my mind wondering what the rest of my world would be without him, and I didn’t like anything that had rushed through my mind.
“I believe your other little one’s come this way,” Martin said, pushing the strands of hair out of my face.
“I don’t care. I love you, Martin and I am so sorry for being so stubborn. I can’t stop what I’m doing but I don’t have to keep putting those that I love in such compromising situations.”
Martin lowered his eyes as a small laughed escaped. “You are speaking the words that I was meaning to tell you before you spoke to me.” He rolled me over to where he lay looking down at me. “I surrender to your way and I join you in your fight to stop the madness that the elders have set in place. I adore you and I always will, my love.”
“No matter how bad that I’ve wanted to hear you say those words, all I care about is you and Tanda being okay,” I said, pulling him down so I could continue to kiss every part of his face that I could.
“Finally, now can we get the hell out of this God awful city? I’m ready to kick some elder ass,” Derek said, then let out a yell that caused more rubble to fall.
“I would hold that enthusiasm a bit longer if I were you, young Derek. And I think we should be making our way to the safe room, before the younger ones have to be carried. Dawn is close at hand,” Cates yawned and raised his nub, running it across the top of the tunnel ceiling. “Good thing those stones came down before the earth landed on you, old one. Good roots,” Cates grabbed a large tree root that hung free from the tree that kept its footing. “If this had been over even by one foot, you would have had more on you then just soil. You were very lucky this night.”
“Yes, I am very grateful for that old tree hanging on. And to our good friend here who pulled me free.” Martin stood and pulled me to my feet, then walked over to Fala and took his hand. “I owe you my life.”
“It was my honor.”
“A life for a life. If you are ever in need, I will be here for you, my friend.” They shook hands and Martin patted Fala on the back.
“I love you too, Fala, but can’t one of you lend him your shirt so he can wrap it around his waist. Nudity isn’t a big thing, but it can get a little odd having a man with his business just swinging away, walking wherever. So, I’m just saying,” Tammy said, leaning on the curve of the tunnel wall.
“She’s in a bad mood because Garvin whacked her with a branch thinking she was a flesher,” I explained to Martin when he gave me a sideways glance.
“I am not in a bad mood,” Tammy pushed herself off the wall, slapping Cates’ hand away. “It’s just been a very long night and I am tired. Breeders forbid I mention that the bone below my knee is pounding to match the beat of my heart, because my dear friend’s might crack another ha-ha at my expense.”
“Is my beautiful woman bothered with another man’s business?”
“No, you big baboon. It’s not fair, if you want me to be honest. Why should he get to be comfortable if we have to wear this? And now we can’t even get our good clothes to put back on.”
Cates lifted Tammy like a child as she protested, carrying her deeper in the tunnel, as we all followed. It was the very thing that she needed; a little attention from her man. But I, too, was wondering how we were going to get clothes, at least until we made it back to our floating home. Monroe took up the end of our parade as we made our way to that first room in the tunnels that we had gone in before Martin had taken us to his home. We didn’t see any scavengers or fleshers along the way and, had there been any, they would have quickly moved out of our way because we made no move to be quiet as we walked through the tunnels. I, of course, didn’t pay any attention to anything but the man whose arm I held as we followed close behind Jacob.
“Why do you smile at me every time you look at me?” Martin asked.
“I can’t help it. I’ve never seen you out of sorts before; well, other than when we found you at Angelica’s place, but you weren’t walking and talking like you are now. I’m sure I look like the wrong side of a cow, even more so since holding you,” I laughed, knowing with the smeared make-up and dirt, and with my hair going every which way with hairpins sticking out here and there that I had to look worse than Martin.