Miriad

High Hopes and Low Ceilings

When the southern winds howl across the city’s outskirts, the human beings who prowl its outer fringes like vermin begin to huddle in their mud shelters—cavities carved into a dry, sterile earth—while the thick scent of burning waste relentlessly fills their lungs.

—Dammit... same as always —Agnes muttered, clumsily trying to shut the scrap-metal gate of their burrow.

She dislodged the entrance frame, a makeshift assembly of wood and refuse, and jammed it back into the hollows as best she could, trying not to breathe in the dust-choked air. Miriad was the third of five walled cities erected in the desert following the war that had left the entire world mired in a jumble of human flesh and rusted metal for many years.

The shelter was little more than a rathole excavated from the hard Miriensian soil, consisting of a small main room and a separate chamber. Behind a cloth serving as a door lay the second room, reached via a short, downward slope. Leo lit a few candles, revealing a hole bored directly into the floor of the subterranean chamber.

—Wow... is this what you told me about?

—Yeah, kid. Once we’re down there, it’s the beginning of our freedom —Leo said, looking at the opening in the center of the room with the self-satisfied gaze of an artist.

Agnes looked at him, arching her left eyebrow with suspicion. Her attention was fixed on the cavity; she wasn’t entirely sure anyone could actually fit through it. The hole was just wide enough for someone in light clothing to slide through, and the mere thought of being squeezed and swallowed by the earth made her palms sweat. First, they tossed down their packs. Then Leo climbed in, sitting on the edge and bracing his arms before reaching upward and letting his own weight do the work, sliding slowly into the subterranean dark. With a small thud, he landed below, looking up through the hole.

—Come on, it’ll only take a second. I’m waiting for you, everything’s fine —Leo’s voice seemed to echo from that black mouth in the ground.

She closed her eyes and let herself drop, bracing her feet against the sides. At that moment, Leo dodged a few pebbles that tumbled down the hole. He watched as Agnes emerged and caught her by the feet, eventually grabbing her by the waist to save her the jump.

—Well —Agnes said—. How cozy... I can barely see you —she tried to sound ironic, but the shadow of uncertainty and fear was written all over her face.

The tunnels weren’t very high, forcing them to be extremely cautious—especially for someone who was no longer a child. Even Agnes had to hunch forward, keeping a hand on the ceiling as a precaution to feel for any jagged outcroppings or dry roots that might startle them in the gloom.

—See that faint glow over there? That’s where we’re headed —Leo told her, moving with ease among the loose stones, forcing Agnes to quicken her pace.

The first few minutes of the journey passed in near-total darkness until they reached a break in the terrain where a crack in the surface cast a beam of light onto the path. Agnes stopped right there, panting, hands on her knees, staring at Leo without a word.

—Hey —Leo said—, don’t look at me like that. Move, or we won’t make it in time —he wiped the sweat from his forehead and brows with the tattered rags he wore.

—My back is killing me from crouching. Everything hurts already...

—We’re in the middle of nowhere. Five minutes and we keep going, no more —Leo said, trying to reassure her, though not so kindly that she would linger too long.

Then he thought he heard a murmur in the distance—footsteps, perhaps. A hare thumping through the tunnels? I wish, he thought, pressing his lips together and narrowing his eyes. Silence reclaimed the space. But Leo sharpened his senses, pressing an index finger to his lips to signal Agnes to be quiet.

—Shhh...

The noises returned, subtler this time. Drifting footsteps? I don’t like this, he told himself.

—Did you hear that?

—Hear what? —Leo lied—. Dammit... if those bastards find us...

As they moved forward, they passed a heap of frayed blankets and junk hanging from iron rods, forcing them to press against the opposite wall to get by.

—Who would live here? —she wondered to herself, guided slowly by the meager light filtering through the cracks.

—Let’s push on a bit more. I don’t think it’ll take more than an hour at a brisk pace —Leo said, trying to make his tone sound confident—. The last time I was inside the city, I had the best pork stew of my life. You’d love it, you’ll see. Let’s go...

Agnes sped up slightly, the thought of filling her belly with something solid and hot driving her; she could almost smell it as she closed her eyes and inhaled, trying to catch a scent of that delicacy. Meanwhile, in the surrounding darkness, a distant moan echoed again. Maybe some poor soul, some degenerate with nowhere else to die.

—Leo... —Agnes said—. Who lives here... if anyone even can? —She followed up with more unanswered questions—: And why do we always have to be like this? Running, hiding... won’t we find our place someday? I’m sick of the dirt, of shoes full of sand and filth...

—If that’s what you want, then focus on moving and stop asking so many questions, unless you want to sleep among rocks and roots tonight. We need to move, and it’s better if we do it in silence —Leo said, staring at her intently as he placed his finger over his lips.

Nervous on the inside, Leo snapped his fingers every now and then, as if preparing himself for whatever might happen... he didn’t want to think about the consequences of crossing paths with some madman down there, let alone what his companion’s future might be.

—Stop, stop, a moment. I have to stop. I’m thirsty —Agnes said, her breathing heavy and fast.

The water cascaded down Agnes’s throat while she stared at her brother, the canteen tipped back.

—Dammit, I can’t stop…

Leo watched her with bated breath, trying to restrain himself. To him, she sometimes seemed like a brat straight out of an old fairy tale about princesses.

—Enough, enough... you selfish brat! —he barked, snatching the dented aluminum bottle away. She tried to dodge him, and the little water that remained splashed onto the sandy floor.

He glared at her, and she glared back in defiance. He clenched a fist and let out a heavy sigh.

—Let’s go.

As long as the sun remained high, they could make it to Miriad. According to Leo, they could already sense the end of the underground gallery that would lead them straight to the center of the walled city. If they failed, they faced a night of shivers, huddled on the ground in grey dirt and pebbles, with the fine sand stirred up by the drafts sure to find its way into every crevice of their bodies. But to Leo, that was the least of their worries.

At times he looked at her as they trekked on, wondering what the hell had possessed him to adopt this spoiled girl—long-limbed, with dark hair and eyes black as night—who could drive anyone mad with her fastidiousness and ill-timed demands.

Suddenly: Clink, clink!

—What was that?

—Shhh, keep your voice down.

They didn’t know what it was, but it was coming toward them. Suddenly, a scream. Shadows shifted toward them in the dim light of the earthen corridor.

—Who’s there?! Hey, wait a second, you two! —a raspy voice bellowed from the dark.

—Please, don’t go! Wait a moment, we need you! —another voice called out, higher-pitched this time.

—Shit, grab your stuff, now! Move! —Leo hissed—. Go! Run for your life! —he snatched both their packs in one swift motion.

The sound of footsteps closing in grew louder, their intentions becoming clear. Adrenaline spiked. They bolted forward, hearts hammering in their chests, fists clenched. Leo gripped a sharpened metal rod like a punch-dagger. Two figures were tailing them, closing the gap fast. Agnes thought she saw them running close together, but there was no time for anything but looking ahead and praying she didn’t trip over a root.

—They’re right on u—! —She didn’t have time to finish.

Agnes lunged to the side to avoid a violent collision. Leo braced for the impact as best he could, pivoting at the last second to face the unknown. He held the metal point forward, gripping it with both hands at stomach level. He closed his eyes, and upon impact, felt the cold metal sink up to his fist into the vitals of the savage leading the charge—who had likely banked on them being unarmed.

The narrowness of the tunnel worked in his favor. Immediately, hands slick with blood, he tried to slash at the throat of the second man—a pale, hulking brute right behind the first assailant. The blow landed on the man’s shoulder instead. Leo’s hands were sweaty, his muscles locked, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The brute shoved him back with massive force. Both stumbled and fell violently to the ground. The fall knocked the wind out of Leo, but he kept the sharpened iron glued to his palm. He drove it into the brute’s back with everything he had, making sure to finish the job.

He was so wound up he couldn’t even speak. He scrambled up and saw Agnes on the ground being dragged, kicking frantically. A third assailant with greasy hair, who had hung back while his cronies charged, was gripping her ankle tightly. In his other hand, he held a stone the size of a fist. With a final burst of strength, Leo lunged at the stranger.

It happened in a flash. The stone flew toward Leo’s face before he could tackle the man. The impact caught him square on the nose. He instantly tasted the metallic tang of blood in his mouth, and his septum gave a sickening crack... a sensation he knew all too well. He saw the stone roll away as he instinctively covered his face, and a second later, the air was punched out of him.

A heavy blow to the gut left Leo gasping. All he could do was wrap his arms around the savage’s neck in a desperate clinch before they hit the ground.

The man began to wheeze, choked by Leo’s desperate grip, while simultaneously trying to bite Leo’s battered face. They hit the floor in a messy tumble that kicked up a cloud of dust, leaving Leo pinned flat on his back beneath the brute’s weight, his ribs compressing. The man’s spit and foul breath splashed across his face. Leo used what little strength remained to try and hook the man’s thrashing legs with his own, while his arm remained locked around the man’s neck in a failing struggle to neutralize the robust attacker.

The animal strength of the man was overwhelming. Leo thought about letting go to try another way, though he had no idea where his metal spike had gone. He decided to release the neck and try to roll away. He wrenched his hips violently from the ground, shouting in desperation as he clawed for an escape. He slipped out from under the man more easily than he expected.

Suddenly, he was crouching beside a slumped, motionless body. How? he asked himself.

Agnes was screaming. Three heavy thuds. Then another. Buff... He looked up. There she stood, a rock clutched in her hand.

—I get it... dammit... —he closed his eyes for a moment, unable to even keep them open.

—Are you okay?! Leo?! —Agnes cried. There was no answer, only a sigh of relief.

The savage lay on the ground, twitching in convulsions. Leo sat there, dazed and exhausted. Pain began to flare in his face—a stabbing ache radiating from his nose to his temples. His dark skin and slanted eyes were marked by grime and wounds, but his new acquisition, courtesy of the stone, would surely take center stage on his face.

—That one’s not getting back up, is he?

—I don’t think so. But as far as I’m concerned, he can stay there shaking —Leo panted, barely able to find his breath.

—And you? How are you?

—I’ve had better days, I guess —Agnes managed a half-smile, her lower lip split and bleeding. Her hands were shaking, her hair was a mess, and her clothes were torn. A small lump was already forming on her forehead—nothing serious, likely from hitting the ground; just something a few days would heal.