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Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Rachel moved through the dark passageway by feel, having spent over a hundred years exploring and traversing the passages between caverns in this cave. Technically, as long as she never left the system of caverns in this mountain, she would continue to live indefinitely. It was all part of being the Primary Guardian of Gruesome Gully.
She went through mental and physical cycles where she thought maybe it wasn’t worth it to continue on below–ground, many more when the thought of leaving was inconceivable. But now she was so used to this life – a life among the worst of the worst who had ever plagued mankind – but she couldn’t really imagine living among normal people, much less remember what life had even been like before she had been consigned to the Gully.
There was a narrow staircase just around the next bend that she had used a pickax to carve out herself after the sloped mineral path had become too slippery to walk down after decades of use. Her feet knew exactly where the edges of each jagged step were, and where the rivulets of water ran down on either side to make tiny waterfalls. She didn’t have a light, and didn’t need one. Much like animals that evolved and mutated to live underground where they didn’t need eyes, her eyes had grown weak and she wasn’t sure she would even be able to see if she left the confines of dark caverns. But she knew all of the passageways, all the dead ends, and all the hidden boundaries within her domain.
And she was also very good at sensing when another warm body was near.
She paused on the stairway, next to a small channel in the rock to her left that she knew was a dead-end.
“You won’t get out that way,” she said, her voice low and matter-of-fact. “It’s a dead end. And you probably won’t find your way back either. Would you like me to show you how to get back to the Gully?”
There was a rustling in the channel, and she could almost feel whoever was there trying to make up their minds. After a long pause, she heard the rustling again, and then finally, a familiar voice.
“It doesn’t really matter. I did the math, and I know that I’m up next. One in, one out. That’s the rule, right?”
“That’s correct, Mr. Wentworth.” Rachel said. “I was just coming to get you actually, and prepare you for what happens next. Come out, and we will talk.”
She felt his presence move closer, the warmth of his body as it moved out onto the stairway next to hers. The fear enveloping him was nearly palpable.
“Come with me. There’s no need to go back down now, unless there’s something you need to get.”
At his grunt of denial, she started walking down the stairs and felt him follow her as requested. She led him away from the channel that went back to the Gully, and down a small passage to the right that led to a small open cavern she used for just this purpose.
The Discharge Chamber was lit by the same orange red glow that diffused through the main Gruesome Gully cavern. It came in through a large rectangular window that had been hewn into the wall overlooking the Gully. Rachel moved to the opposite wall, where a grid of creches had been chipped out. They were used to store the personal effects of Gully occupants until they were released.
Mr. Wentworth’s items were in the top right corner, one space over from the first. She stood on a step-stool to retrieve his things, and then placed them on the table in the center of the room.
“These are the items you had with you when you first came in. I’ll give you a moment to change, and then we’ll go over what happens next.
She walked back to the doorway and stood in the center with her back to the room. She could hear him shuffling around behind her for a few quick minutes, and then he spoke.
“I’m ready.”
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