Salem swallowed the annoyed groan burbling in his throat in response to the man's words. He'd tried to be polite, to no effect. Well, these people didn't know who he was. They didn't know how angry his parents would be when they discovered him. He hitched the blanket up higher over his shoulders, trying desperately to warm himself up further so his teeth would quit chattering, and shuffled in front of the man, out the rough-hewn door. He had no idea where he was going. Why did he have to go first? It wasn't like he had any weapons on him. What was he going to do? Bite someone? The constable didn't know he could control fire, unless he was Gifted with the Sense, which was highly unlikely, considering what Ket had told him...or not told him...about the gifted in this place.
Before Salem could exit the door, Ket was in front of him, leading them out into the hall. Thank goodness, because once the pale boy stepped out into the brighter light, his eyes turned to slits. He could not see at all. He was highly sensitive to light anyway, his poor eyes, and it was such a sudden change from the darkness of the previous room. Of course, he didn't want to go back, he'd almost been squished by rocks in that room, but he did affect a scowl to show his displeasure. Ket fell into pace with him as they started walking, and electric blue eyes fixed on her. Was it a mistake to trust her? She was so small and innocent looking though, underneath the layer of grime and hard work that lingered on her figure. She was obviously from a poor home, but the constable looked similar. Was everyone down here just poor? Had he ended up in the wrong neighborhood? How had he even gotten here? So many questions.
It wasn't long before the boy could open his eyes a little more, and then he could study his surroundings. He was still confused about the glowing lights around him, these were more like sunlight, less like the fluorescent-bulb-esque rock Ket had held in her hand. If they had no Gifted, how did they get these lights? It didn't make a lick of sense. But obviously the constable was not in any mood to answer more questions, Salem could feel tension radiating from the man like heat from a stove coil, and he knew that asking any more questions would be futile.
But Ket...he felt a strange connection to her. Like he could trust her. Maybe that was just because she was the first thing he'd encountered down here, and she also wasn't holding a gun. That was certainly a plus. Salem struggled to pull the blanket even tighter to his form, it was tangled in his useless headphones, and began summoning questions from the vast pit of queries inside his mind.
"So...is everything here underground?" He asked tentatively, his hushed voice still feeling too loud in the tunnel. That actually wouldn't be too bad. At least it would be dimmer than broad daylight, even with these weird glowy-rocks. "And how far away exactly is this Captain?" He wasn't going to say it out loud, but it was obvious by the way he held himself slightly hunched over that he wasn't doing too hot. He hadn't eaten since he didn't know when, and his head still ached, and his body was sore for reasons he couldn't remember. Ahh, life was so unfair sometimes. Waking up in a strange place, having a gun pointed at oneself, being made to walk long distances. It was really not a good time.
Ketzubelle's gaze shifted to meet Salem's vibrant eyes as he began asking questions. She did not seem startled, but more like she had just been waiting for him to initiate conversation. In all honesty, she was curious what the first thing to come out of the stranger's mouth would be. She felt a vague sort of connection to him, as though she wanted to like him or felt as though they had known each other long ago, but could not totally explain the feeling. It made her curious. That, along with the fact that Salem was definitely a Stranger in the fullest sense of the word, as in not from Kuppel, made him quite the puzzle for her.
She smiled slightly at his question, looking up at the ceiling and considering how it must seem to one unaccustomed to Kuppel. She looked back at him, her head tilting slightly as she clasped her hands behind her back. "Well, it is not technically underground. At least for the most part." She bore a thoughtful look for a moment, as if considering what else she could possibly add, then shrugged. He asked about the how far the captain was, and Ket shot a look back to the constable still walking a pace behind them. "Excuse me, who is your commanding officer? Captain Tonkii, or Captain Norngren? Oh, and how rude of me, what may I call you? I am Ketzubelle. Ketzubelle Deepwalker." She turned, pausing, and extended her hand.
The man eyed her for a moment, glancing at Salem as though to make sure he would not run off. He gruffly responded, "Captain Norngren. And its Pern. Constable Pern." He took her hand for just a moment before releasing and waving her forward. "Let's get going. We've got a lot of ground to cover." Ket nodded her thanks and turned back to Salem. She spoke as they started off again. "To answer your question, since Captain Norngren is one of the Market District captains.... Hmmm. It is about half a day from here to the Mining District," she said, glancing around at the markings on the walls. She was quite familiar with this particular tunnel, so it was not difficult to approximate where she was. "And it is a bit less than a day's walk to the Market District." She nodded to herself, then turned her attention back to Salem. "Anything else?"
She seemed to consider his question, but her answer was completely unhelpful. What did that even mean? Salem had to bite his tongue to keep himself from arguing with her and demanding that she elaborate. He had too many questions to linger too long on just one of them. Then she paused to make nice with the constable, while Salem stood awkwardly. He didn't mind being ignored in this situation, though he was eyed suspiciously by the man, because he had no desire to introduce himself. Unless of course introducing himself would mean that he could go home. His stomach felt hollow, and his head spun. This was not fun whatsoever.
The names the two spoke raced between his ears, not sticking whatsoever, but when they started walking again and Ket let him know exactly how long they would have to walk, Salem tipped his head back and groaned very loudly. He couldn't help it. He didn't want to walk that far. Especially not with a gash in his forehead and nothing in his stomach. He didn't want to tell Ket that he didn't think he could make it that far, but he also didn't want to just collapse again. Although...if he did pass out, then he wouldn't have to walk anymore, right?
...no, it wasn't worth it. At least, not yet.
Salem rubbed at his eyes with the pads of his fingers, wishing that this was all a dream, and that he'd wake up any second back at home, where there were no rocks falling from the sky and men pointing guns at him randomly. But no, this was very real. He could tell, mostly by the water sloshing uncomfortably in his belly, and the constant throbbing in his skull. His knees were shaking slightly as he walked, and keeping himself upright was a bit of a chore. Knowing just how much longer they had to walk was not making the journey any easier for him. But he didn't want to get turned into swiss cheese by they ancient looking gun, so he kept trudging along.
Anything else? Which question would be good to use next? "Districts? How many people live here?" He asked, wrapping his arms around his middle so his stomach wouldn't growl, and holding the sides of his makeshift cape under his arms. "And how come there aren't many visitors?" Then he mumbled, slightly under his breath but still loud enough that Ket could hear him, "And how on earth did I get here?"
Those were all very good questions, but Salem already had a feeling that Ket wouldn't do much for answering his questions, judging by the look on her face when she answered the previous one. But oh well. It was a welcome distraction from how entirely crummy he felt, at any length.
Ket watched Salem's face from the corner of her eye. He seemed to be struggling, both with the idea of this place and with physical discomfort. Unless he mentioned it, though, there would be little point in bringing it up. Ket doubted very much that Constable Pern would be willing to stop just yet. Besides, there was nothing worse for misery than focusing on it. She was pleased when he continued on with his questions after a short pause. It was a good way to scope him out a bit and learn more about him.
"I would say at least a few thousand per district, though it would obviously vary, of course. Don't know that there's been an official census, or at least I haven't seen it. I suppose I don't exactly know how many...." She placed her finger on her lower lip as she pondered the problem, but Salem continued before she thought up any more of a concrete answer. His next two questions came in a quicker succession, and just as she opened her mouth to answer the first one, the second murmuring caught her off guard. Ket fell silent for a moment. She wanted to reassure him, to assuage his worries and doubts, but she saw no solid solution to do so.'
She considered for a time, their footsteps making a staccato beat on the dusty floor. All other sound seemed muted."Well," she started out, quickly trailing off. She took a deep breath and tried again, her voice lower this time, though still easy to understand. "I don't really understand how you got here, or where from. Perhaps there breach somewhere in the walls.... You don't remember?" Her face searched his for a moment, though she did not know what she was looking for. Before he could respond, she continued. "In my memory, there has never been someone from outside the Domes who came here. When I was little, I thought the Domes were all there was, and the Kupelli were the only people in the world. Grandmother told me that long ago, there were other ancient civilizations, but even she seemed uncertain whether there were many still out there. I always thought that was why no strangers came to Kuppel." She kept her voice quiet,as though not sure if she wanted the constable to hear, and uncertainty ran through her words.
Suddenly, she burst out with a new question. "What is it like where you come from? Are there many of your people?"
RPG
