the uneven floor. She reached towards her belt for a drink and realized her canteen had fallen off at some point, probably during the unexpected descent down the hill. She sighed. What more could go wrong today?
Suddenly very thirsty, Leah hurried through the caves. She was following a series of complex symbols she’d scratched in the rock—directions written in a language only she understood. Each junction was marked with a sequence of symbols that told her which direction the tunnel led, how many exits there were and their proximity to police patrols.
In her haste, Leah missed a couple of turns and had to backtrack, but eventually she reached the shaft that led up from the caves to the drainage system. This was the hardest part of the journey and was probably the reason why no one else used the tunnels. The shaft was narrow, and the walls were slick with what Leah hoped was just water. But the bricks were uneven, and there were enough cracks and crevices that Leah could climb up to the remains of a ladder still attached to the wall at the top of the shaft.
Checking behind her one last time, Leah began clambering up the wall. Her legs were tired after the chase, and soon they were shaking from the effort of holding her weight as she felt out the handholds in the wall. Something made a noise in the tunnel above her, the skittering of some subterranean creature. As Leah grabbed the ladder, a drop of something wet and cold landed on her neck. She shivered.
The rusting ladder creaked as she pulled herself up the last couple of feet and into the tunnel. She stood as quickly as she could, then clapped her hands twice to try to scare off any nearby creatures.
Leah paused, listening for sounds of pursuit. Once she was satisfied no one had followed her, she began picking her way through the muck and dirt towards the hidden room she liked to think of as her secret lair. As far as Leah knew, no one came down into the drainage system anymore, but they had once, and Leah had found the storage room the first time she’d come here. It had been sealed behind a brick wall, but time and poor workmanship had taken their toll, and the wall had cracked. With a bit of help from Leah, some of the bricks had fallen away, creating a narrow gap just wide enough for her to squeeze through.
Whoever had sealed the room had left a stack of broken chairs and some wood leaning against the wall inside. Over the course of a couple of weeks, Leah had managed to assemble the various broken chairs into two moderately intact ones and found enough discarded bricks nearby to create a makeshift desk from the wood. After a weekend of industrious cleaning, she had a top-secret lair for her top-secret society, The Salvage Squad. So far, she was the only member.
Leah slipped into her lair and sat down. She’d left a backup canteen on the table, and she took a drink from it. The water was a bit gritty, but it was better than nothing.
A muffled thump came from somewhere overhead, and Leah ducked instinctively. She recognized it as an explosion. The City had been under attack by a terrorist group called TRACE for months now. They claimed they were fighting for the people of the City. All Leah knew was that they did a lot of damage and killed a lot of people.
As Leah sat there, the adrenaline finally began to wear off, and the full impact of what she’d just gone through hit her. Her legs started shaking. Fingers of dread, cold and hard, seized her gut and twisted. If she’d been too slow or she hadn’t caught that tree or the Wild Ones had found her hiding place… she’d be dead. And she’d lost the salvage and her canteen. She’d been greedy, and now she had nothing her father could trade. She’d let him down.
All she did have left were a couple of old coins she’d found inside the remains of a ceramic pig. Leah pulled them out of her pockets and peered at them. They were silver, but they were small, which meant they weren’t worth very much. Metal
Suddenly very thirsty, Leah hurried through the caves. She was following a series of complex symbols she’d scratched in the rock—directions written in a language only she understood. Each junction was marked with a sequence of symbols that told her which direction the tunnel led, how many exits there were and their proximity to police patrols.
In her haste, Leah missed a couple of turns and had to backtrack, but eventually she reached the shaft that led up from the caves to the drainage system. This was the hardest part of the journey and was probably the reason why no one else used the tunnels. The shaft was narrow, and the walls were slick with what Leah hoped was just water. But the bricks were uneven, and there were enough cracks and crevices that Leah could climb up to the remains of a ladder still attached to the wall at the top of the shaft.
Checking behind her one last time, Leah began clambering up the wall. Her legs were tired after the chase, and soon they were shaking from the effort of holding her weight as she felt out the handholds in the wall. Something made a noise in the tunnel above her, the skittering of some subterranean creature. As Leah grabbed the ladder, a drop of something wet and cold landed on her neck. She shivered.
The rusting ladder creaked as she pulled herself up the last couple of feet and into the tunnel. She stood as quickly as she could, then clapped her hands twice to try to scare off any nearby creatures.
Leah paused, listening for sounds of pursuit. Once she was satisfied no one had followed her, she began picking her way through the muck and dirt towards the hidden room she liked to think of as her secret lair. As far as Leah knew, no one came down into the drainage system anymore, but they had once, and Leah had found the storage room the first time she’d come here. It had been sealed behind a brick wall, but time and poor workmanship had taken their toll, and the wall had cracked. With a bit of help from Leah, some of the bricks had fallen away, creating a narrow gap just wide enough for her to squeeze through.
Whoever had sealed the room had left a stack of broken chairs and some wood leaning against the wall inside. Over the course of a couple of weeks, Leah had managed to assemble the various broken chairs into two moderately intact ones and found enough discarded bricks nearby to create a makeshift desk from the wood. After a weekend of industrious cleaning, she had a top-secret lair for her top-secret society, The Salvage Squad. So far, she was the only member.
Leah slipped into her lair and sat down. She’d left a backup canteen on the table, and she took a drink from it. The water was a bit gritty, but it was better than nothing.
A muffled thump came from somewhere overhead, and Leah ducked instinctively. She recognized it as an explosion. The City had been under attack by a terrorist group called TRACE for months now. They claimed they were fighting for the people of the City. All Leah knew was that they did a lot of damage and killed a lot of people.
As Leah sat there, the adrenaline finally began to wear off, and the full impact of what she’d just gone through hit her. Her legs started shaking. Fingers of dread, cold and hard, seized her gut and twisted. If she’d been too slow or she hadn’t caught that tree or the Wild Ones had found her hiding place… she’d be dead. And she’d lost the salvage and her canteen. She’d been greedy, and now she had nothing her father could trade. She’d let him down.
All she did have left were a couple of old coins she’d found inside the remains of a ceramic pig. Leah pulled them out of her pockets and peered at them. They were silver, but they were small, which meant they weren’t worth very much. Metal
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