If I Had a Heart

Ainsley tensed, squinting into the dark. His hand darted to his bag and he pulled out his dagger, pointing it in the direction of the sound. "Who's there?" He asked, aware that whatever lurked in the shadows probably wasn't friendly. "Come out where I can see you."

A hunched figure in the darkness moved forward hesitantly. In one hand he held a broken pickaxe. The man was incredibly thin, and his faded red hair and beard had grown to his waist. His dark eyes had severely dilated pupils. He wore almost nothing except a pair of decaying gray trousers.
When he came into the dim light, it was obvious the man had been down here a very long time. He stared at Ainsley in frightened silence.

Ainsley lowered his weapon when he saw the man. He appeared too weak to pose a threat, and the pickaxe he held was broken. Besides, the man looked more frightened of Ainsley than he was of him. Ignoring his instincts, which told him to stay put, Ainsley took a careful step forward.
"Who are you?" He repeated.

The man licked his dry lips, stuttering out a few syllables. "I...I..." At the sound of his own voice his eyes widened and he jerked back slightly.
"Who...are you?" He coughed briefly. "I...am...I don't know." His dark eyes flickered about, and he smiled nervously. "Hello?"

"I'm Ainsley," the boy said, his voice level. He thought it strange that the man didn't know who he was. Had he been down here so long, alone, that he had forgotten his own name?

Ainsley tucked his dagger out of sight, convinced, at least for now, he was out of harm's way. He looked the man over again. His threadbare trousers appeared to cling to his thin frame and his beard was long and unkept. The man had obviously been here a long time.

"I'm sorry I frightened you. How long have you been here?"

He was silent for a moment, turning his head slightly to the left. "I...have been here...always. I think? I think always." The man took a few more steps forward. "Where did you come from?"

"Maine," he answered. "I don't know how I got here." Ainsley tried to wrap his head around the fact that the man only seemed to remember life in the caverns. He hadn't even been there a day; he could only imagine the horrors the man may have seen.

"Main...the main cavern? Migh'nur's Hall?" The man recoiled. "No." He gripped his pickaxe tighter, baring his rotting teeth at Ainsley. "Please, stay...stay away from me. Dangerous!" His entire body had begun to tremble with fear.

Ainsley frowned as he realized his mistake. "No, I misspoke! I'm not from the main hall. I'm from outside the caves. I hit my head, and when I woke up, I was here. In Migh'nur's Hall." The words were clumsy in his mouth. He took a step back, raising his hands to show the man they were empty of any weapons. "I'm not going to hurt you."

His eyes flickered around the tunnel again, and he clutched his own weapon to his chest. "What do you want? Why are you here? Are you with them?" He didn't seem to be looking directly at Ainsley at any given time.

Ainsley's brow furrowed. Who was the man talking about? What did they do that made the man fear them so much? He tried to meet the man's eyes, but he was making an effort to avoid his gaze.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he responded. "We're looking for the heart so we can get out of this place."

"The heart!" His eyes widened, and he paused. "The heart of Migh'nur! They don't want anyone to find it, you can't!" He approached further this time, reaching out a bony hand. Up close, Ainsley would be able to tell that though this man's face was worn and wrinkled, he couldn't be more than forty.

It had seemed that the duo had found some common ground. "The heart," Ainsley echoed. "Who doesn't want us to find it?"

He glanced down at the man's outstretched hand, which revealed he was younger than Ainsley had thought. Ainsley mirrored the man, taking a step forward. "Do you know what happens if we do?"

He shook his head fervently. "I stayed in the mines when they left...didn't ask, didn't want to know..." His hand groped for Ainsley's. "Your name...is Ainsley? Are....are you alone?"

***

As Raptor spoke, one of the rusted chains snapped. The beast on the left shot forward like a bullet, slavering jaws wide open and tongue flailing. The one still chained let out a jealous wail and scrabbled desperately at the ground. The old man screamed as he saw the beast pelting towards them and managed to get to his feet, stumbling a few steps before he fell hard. The creature had his sights set on Nikolai, though, and snapped at him first.

"Yes, it's Ainsley. There are three others at the fork of the tunnel. We all woke up in the main hall and decided finding the heart was our best bet at escape."

He watched as the man continued to reach towards him. Unsure of what else to do, he held out his hand, the red ribbon glinting softly.

"So, you're alone?" He clarified. "Who are 'they?' The people that left?"