Beneath Unknown Skies Ch 74

You may have noticed the title change. Yes, it was time for a change. As many of you know this started as a one- off, an idea. I had no idea there would be 74 chapters. The story has morphed, and so has the title, a couple times. I can't guarantee it won't change again! Obviously if I was putting these on Royal Road or Wattpad you can't just change titles frequently, but I'm confident my readers here will understand and be patient with me while I work out the kinks! And let me know what you think of the title- honestly. Love it, hate it, whatever. And, oh, enjoy chapter 74. 

 

"Who are you?" the woman asked. 

They'd been sloshing through tunnels, almost to the end of their rope. Exhausted. And then a group of people had stepped out of a tunnel and surrounded them. 

They could hear the hunter drones not far away. 

"We're trying... to escape the Scholars," said Joon, hoping that was the right answer. 

The woman, apparently the leader, noted their bloody, ripped clothes and looked around, then apparently came to a decision. 

"Follow me," she said, and she ducked back into the tunnel she'd appeared from. Her followers parted to let them pass, and they followed her into the dark, dripping tunnel. They had to hunch over to pass, and they could hear the squeaking of rats. 

Joon stumbled and Hillier supported him for a moment until he regained himself. They went from tunnel to tunnel, quickly, unerringly, and it was obvious this woman knew where she was going. She was of medium height, with a plait of auburn hair and a spear in her hand. She poked ahead with it at intervals, more than once they avoided a sinkhole or pit from that. Joon considered that they could easily have broken an ankle or fallen headlong into an abyss otherwise. 

After a time the sounds of pursuit lessened, and they came to an intersection where several tunnels came together. There they stopped, and again found themselves surrounded. 

"Who are you?" the woman asked again. 

"I'm Joon, and this is Hiller," Joon answered. 

"I'm Trish," the woman answered, and one of the men with her swore. 

"Don't tell them your name," he said. 

"What's the difference?" Trish replied. "They've seen me."

He swore again and turned away, and she gestured to another man, who relieved Hillier of the energy weapon she'd taken off a guard. She was going to resist but Joon nodded no. She relinquished it scowling. 

"Why are you running?" asked Trish. 

"I don't know how much you know, but we got on the bad side of the Scholars. Someone tried to kill me. We ran."

"Your accent is different," she said. "Are you one of those from the Gate?"

He nodded, surprised. 

"Well, you know Jack, then," she said. 

"You know Jack?" he asked. 

"I should. I came here with him." 

*******

Stella was down in the tadpole chamber again. It was bigger, if she wasn't mistaken. Sometimes she came down here and barely looked at it, lost in her reflections. But tonight she examined it through the frosty glass. 

She felt a weird fluttering in her mind, like a spider on her skin. 

What was this?

She had been digging, poring over reports, trying to learn more about this mystery she'd inherited. It came from a world they'd only visited once- the Gate was funny that way. Places like Poseidon, Horus... they had those on a permanent sequence, but some of the worlds they visited were one- offs. In their wisdom (or folly) the previous administrator here had authorized the collection of this specimen. 

How can you take something when you don't even know what it is?

Of course, she'd done the same. 

Grant had become aware of Joon's trip through time. He wasn't very happy about it, not having been consulted. Maia was upset, climbing the walls, anxious to get after Joon, who now had been gone several weeks. Was he alive? The Faction had settled down, suffering setbacks. But where had Jack and Yvette gone? Were they still alive?

The news from the outside world wasn't encouraging either. 

The thing in the tank thrashed. 

Was it aware?

Where were the personnel that were supposed to be monitoring it? 

*******

Trish brought Joon to an area much larger than he'd seen, a vast open area where the people of the refuge dwelt. He was shocked to see the conditions they lived in. It smelled terrible, the common areas were largely flooded, and at one end of the space was an open sewer, a vast pipe depositing waste into a pool. The lighting was dim- there was some spotty electricity, supplemented by torches. The ceiling was lost in the gloom. 

There were people about, looking suspiciously at them as they emerged from the tunnels. Several brandished weapons or remonstrated them for bringing strangers here. Trish led them to a living area, which were basically cubicles, little more than alcoves set into the wall. Room for a cot or bed and not much more. And there were children. 

"And your people call me savage," Hillier murmured. 

"We can't stay long," Trish remarked. "There are too many people here who will kill you, or are frightened. We'll take you elsewhere where you can hide. Is Jack after you as well, or only the Scholars?"

"Jack wanted us to join them," Joon replied. 

She nodded. "What about his other Joon?"

"Oh, so you know about that."

"I hear things. And don't forget, I'm a time traveler too."

"Why are you down here?"

"I spoke up. I couldn't abide what they were doing to these people. Yvette and the others decided to make a home here, but it's not right."

"Does Jack know you're here?"

"He suspects, I imagine. Where else could I have gone?"

"How long?"

"I've been here six months. Here and... elsewhere."

"Where else?"

"We'll get to that."