If I Had a Heart

Suddenly Elias was asking Mel all these questions, and she found herself not prepared. They were simple questions, really, but they were almost too simple.

"We have healers and doctors, so..." she began, but then trailed off.

She tried to think of what it was like in the 1800s. She could barely remember.

"So, uh, people didn't randomly die young?" she finished, glancing over at him as they continued to walk through the musty tunnel. "And I don't know, everyone's normal like me. How is it that you live so far in the past?"

What a strange question. "Well, I just do. It's a wonderous age, really. So forward thinking yet so set in its ways. I see new things every day even as the old remains steadily the same."

"My parents grew up on the back end of the 19th century," Ainsley added on. "I was born just after that." He was glad he was able find some familiarity in the conversation, even if his and Elias's homes were thousands of miles away.

He glanced at the map. They were nearing the opening pictured on it. "What's Sector Two like, Mel?" Ainsley asked, hoping to learn more about the place she called home and what it was like in the future.

It was odd, hearing others talk about living in a time period that predated Mel's for hundreds and hundreds of years. She wished she knew more about what it was like back then, but it all kind of meshed together into one archaic time period. That was when rats killed millions of people, everyone fought with swords, and it was common to be a barbarian who ate animal meat, right? It seemed like a good thing that advancements in genetic technology developed when it did.

She looked up at Ainsley, tilting her head in thought over his question.

"It's nice," she said with a nod. "It's home, you know? It might be underground, but at least it's not like this." She gestured around her. "Funky smelling and dark. At least we have a sun, and there are plants and animals and lots of space. So, yeah, it's peaceful, but, ehh, I gotta admit, it's not as exciting as this."

Nikolai was elated at the revelation that the old man knew how to get out of the tunnel system. Raptor wished he could feel the same way. His gaze kept returning to the drawing of the heart - and of the grotesque statue that they had left behind. He had felt like they were playing it safe when they decided to look for an exit instead of the heart, but there was only one conclusion he could make.

He glanced at Nikolai.

He felt almost...guilty for what he was about to say. He wished he could share the same naive excitement. But things were never that easy, especially for a magician.

"Nikolai," he softly said, "I think he's saying we need to find the heart to escape."

"What do you mean by a sun?" Aumrauth inquired.

Nikolai's face fell. Not all at once, but slowly. First, his excited look faded into mild confusion. He was frowning slightly. Then a moment later it sunk in, and his shoulders slumped as his expression turned disappointed.

"Oh," he said quietly.

It made sense. It really did. Maybe he'd known all along that they would need the heart in order to leave, but just didn't want to believe it. He'd tried to accept the possibility of there being another way out, one that seemed less risky to them.

What if it was true? What if Raptor was right and the other group had made the right call?

Were they just wandering around pointlessly in circles, clinging to a foolish, empty hope?

Sighing, Nikolai shook his head as he looked away, down at the drawings on the cave floor. It felt like they'd all been presented with two options, but maybe there had never been a choice in the first place. He doubted they'd find the other group now. The whole tunnel system seemed so huge, and both of them were probably lost. Maybe they could find their way back to the statue by memory, but that would be difficult, and he wasn't sure what exit the others had taken. It would take a lot of luck— and wandering— to meet up with them.

He glanced back at the old man, hoping for a different answer. Silently begging for one, even. He didn't want this to be for nothing.

The man seemed confused by their disappointment and tapped the sun again. He asked them something in his language that included the word "Chakna" again.

Mel looked back at Aumrauth with confusion and doubt washed upon her face. Did he really not live in a world without a sun? How depressing.

"You know, a sun. Like big bright orb in the sky, shining down on you? That we don't have right now? A sun."

Aumrauth scoffed. "I know what a sun is," he said in annoyance."You said it like your sun was different or something."

"To be fair, we haven't seen the sun in this world," Elias pointed out. "If it is a different world, of course. We do seem to be underground, so there's no way of knowing unless we pop our heads out." Which seemed increasingly unlikely. They'd already encountered several unpleasant entities bent on bringing about their end. Who was to say they'd survive at all?

Mel scrunched her nose and opened her mouth to answer Aumrauth, but Elias beat her to it.

"Yeah, exactly," Mel said in agreement. "We haven't seen any sun here. It makes the caves look real sad."

“Sad,” Ainsley chuckled dryly. “More like terrifying.”

Being in an unfamiliar place with people you don’t know was daunting in and of itself, but the darkness that imposed over the scene certainly did nothing to cheer up the place.

Aumrauth understood why everyone was afraid of no sun and death, but really, he was more tired of them complaining than he was of their current situation.

He was happy when he saw the larger opening approaching ahead.

"Ainsley, to your right," he said.

Frowning a little deeper, Nikolai got on his knees to be closer to the drawings. He was still a little nervous about being near the old man... but he hadn’t coughed in a while. Hopefully that meant it was safe. Still, the thought of sickness made him very worried for some reason, and he still wasn’t sure why.

“Let’s find out, at least,” he told Raptor before turning back towards the drawings.

He wasn’t holding any chalk, so Nikolai pointed at the drawing of the heart, the tip of his index finger just barely brushing the chalk lines. “So, do we need to get the heart before we—”

The tingling feeling was back, and much stronger than the past few times. It felt like the drawing had... amplified it somehow, and all it had taken was touching it. Nikolai, who had stopped speaking in the middle of his sentence, stared down at his hands in shock. He could tell something was clearly happening, so why couldn’t he see anything?

Uh, no thanks. I’d like it if something weird doesn’t happen right now. No doubt the others had already noticed his strange behavior.

He pulled his hand back suddenly.

“Um, sorry,” Nikolai muttered, feeling his cheeks heat up a bit. “Where was I... right.”

He gestured at the heart again, but didn’t get too close. He wasn’t sure what the feeling meant, but he didn’t want to find out right now.

“Do we need to get the heart...” He then pointed to the statue drawing, like he was drawing an arrow in the air. “...and take it to the statue...” Now he was pointing at the sun. “...before we’re able to escape?” Nikolai spoke calmly and slowly, trying to make his question as clear as he could.