SELFLESS by AViVA

Author:AViVA
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ink Wytch
Published: 2022-08-19T00:00:00+00:00

We keep walking deeper into the Underground, weaving through corridors. I’m glad Kit seems to know where she’s going. This is the third time we’ve left the clan’s central hub, and every time we do, the same creeping feeling crawls up my legs. At first I thought it was because of the lack of lights, and the sticky floor. The walls here are different, too, the green tiles replaced with . . . nothing. Just rock. I reach out and drag the tips of my fingers across the sandy surface. When I pull them away, they’re sticky. Gross. I wipe my fingers on my pants, then shove my hands up under my armpits.

‘What is with the lights out here?’ I ask.

‘What about them?’

‘There are less here,’ I say slowly, looking back the way we came, the warm glow of light beckoning for me to return.

‘Conserving power. It’s something Clan Lux put in place. These parts are used less frequently, and by fewer people, so why light them up like the living spaces and private quarters?’

Kit pulls out her torch and flicks it on, and I do the same, casting cool light along our path.

We’ve been meeting Mum and Mrs Lowry twice a week for the last two weeks since I became Clan Head, with extra communication going to them – care of Jamie, as I have now learnt. I take a deep breath of musty air. These meetings are my bi-weekly sanity check. An opportunity to pretend that things are – well, not normal, but still. The first meeting didn’t go smoothly. Mrs Lowry was still mad about what happened to her house, and no one could find any information on Maree. Pair that with Kit not being very . . . sympathetic . . . and the result was a short and explosive meeting. I didn’t get to exchange one word with Mum.

‘Kit,’ I say, stopping by one of the remaining yellow lights and reaching out for her arm. The light’s warm glow casts eerie shadows on the wall.

‘Yeaas?’ she asks slowly.

‘You did send Mrs Lowry the latest intel on the new guard routes, right?’

She nods curtly. I know I should trust her with my life, but I struggle to. I can’t stop thinking about her blind trust of Paula. It doesn’t speak well of her instincts. Plus, she’s too eager to keep things the way they’ve always been. Now Paula is gone, Kit thinks everything can go back to normal, but she doesn’t want to accept that normal was flawed. If Paula had been working with the guards, then I’m sure more members of the Council know about the existence of the Underground. And I haven’t said it out loud yet, but I can’t shake the feeling that we’re all living inside a ticking time bomb.

‘Yes! Teddy, she’s up to date,’ she says, crossing her tattooed arms. ‘And we have the new confirmed locations, and we’re running late! You know how irritable Mrs Lowry gets when we keep them waiting.

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