Sunset Rising

The guard watched as I raised my hand to try again. My hand was trembling ever so slightly, and I focused on getting it under control. I passed my hand over the sca

It took all of my energy to walk on my weakened legs. I hung onto my cart tightly in case they gave out on me. Then I was through the steel doors and out into the lobby and the entrance to the Pit. The other people with carts were well ahead of me, but I knew my way to the kitchen. This was familiar territory. I walked down the hall and joined the line for the kitchen. I looked behind me and Jack was there. I gave him a worried look. Someone was bound to recognize me in the kitchen. In fact, I was sure I heard Supervisor Bailey instructing people on where to put their carts. She would know me for sure.

A few more carts pulled up behind Jack. I shuffled ahead as the queue moved, and my panic rose with each step. I cast Jack another look.

“Hey, buddy,” Jack said to the guy behind him in line. “Can you do us a favour and take these carts in? We were told to get back ASAP to start tearing down that altar. I guess it’s offending the president.”

The guy rolled his eyes. “Can’t imagine why. Although you can’t blame Ke

“Su

I couldn’t believe how brazen Jack was being. He was going to get us both killed.

“Su

“Thanks.” Jack turned and walked away.

He didn’t wait for me, so I walked quickly to catch up. The hall we needed to go down was coming up on the right, and I pulled Jack into it when we came upon it. We hurried down the hall and turned left, toward the old mine shaft. No one was back there, so I broke into a run. I could see the small door to the shaft. When I reached it, I took a deep breath and pulled it open. I was relieved. They usually forgot to lock the shaft doors when they did a lockdown, and I was glad this time was no different. We went in, and I shut the door. It was dark.

“Just give your eyes a minute to adjust,” I said.

“It’s pitch black in here. My eyes aren’t going to adjust.”

“They will. What about cameras? I assume there aren’t any in the shafts?”

My eyes had already adjusted, but I was comfortable in the dark. I searched for the rope I knew was here. Years ago, the shafts were used to transport coal and mining debris up to the Dome. But the system was prone to breaking down, so they built a new one, closer to the place where debris was dumped.

“There aren’t many cameras in the Pit—only in the common rooms. It was going to be a lot of work to put them in, and there didn’t seem to be much need.”

“We were always told that there were cameras everywhere. That the walls have ears.”

“That’s exactly why we didn’t bother putting cameras in. Rumour seems to be working just as well. That, and there are armed guards everywhere. Any of you get out of line, and they can just shoot you,” he said, in a joking tone.

“Oh, Jack. You’ll soon find out that was no joke.”

I found the rope and gave it a good tug to make sure it was secure. “Here. Use this to rappel down. I’ll go first and guide you along as best I can.” I scrambled over the side and began my descent.

“Wait! Aren’t you going to use the rope too?” He sounded terrified.

“I don’t need it. I’ve been doing this since I was five. And besides, I don’t think that old rope is going to hold two of us.”

I climbed down about ten feet and waited for him to start. I heard him double- checking the rope. “Come on,” I said.

“I can’t even see!”

He finally lowered himself over the side. Hanging onto the rope, he tentatively lowered one foot. I descended another ten feet and looked up. Jack hadn’t made any progress. “Jack, you’re taking too long. Trust the rope.”

“You mean this old rope? Easy for you to say. You don’t even need it. I can’t see anything. How can you do this?!”

“Just lean out away from the rock, hang onto the rope, and start walking backwards. You have the rope—you don’t need to find footholds.” I heard him take a deep breath and watched him lean out. He lowered one foot, then the other, and again.

“Hey, I’m doing it!” he said excitedly.

He continued to rappel in a slow and steady rhythm. I descended another ten feet. I probably shouldn’t be this close. If he fell, he would take us both down.

“How far do we have to go?” he asked.

“About a mile.”

“Please tell me you’re kidding.”

“Nope. But we’re almost there,” I lied.

Down we went, me staying ten feet below Jack and encouraging him along. He was painfully slow, but I tried not to get frustrated. I remembered it was hard the first time I did it, too. Of course, I was only five.

Finally, I arrived at the sixth level. I reached over and pulled myself onto the landing.

“Almost there, Jack,” I called up.

When his feet dangled just above my head, I gave them a little tug to help him along.

“Stop!” Jack’s voice was edged with panic. “I’ll do it myself.”

I let go of him. I didn’t need him screaming and bringing the guards in here. He lowered himself far enough to reach over to the landing. I grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him in. He hugged the side of the shaft, testing to make sure his feet were firmly on the ground.

“That was the scariest thing I’ve ever done in my life.” His face was covered in a sheen of sweat.

I left him alone to collect himself and walked over to the door. I pressed my ear against it but didn’t hear anything. There was usually traffic in the halls, but everything was quiet. Again, I had to remind myself that the Pit was on lockdown. Everyone would be in their homes.

“I keep forgetting about the lockdown. The only people in the halls right now are the guards.”

“We can pretend we got lost or something. Took a wrong turn and we’re trying to get back to our home. Make something up.”

His naïveté surprised me. “The guards will shoot us on sight—they’re not going to stop and ask us anything.”

“They don’t fool around down here, do they?”

“Nope.”

Jack walked toward the shaft. “What if we climb back up and…”

“Stop!” I yelled.

He froze. He’d been about to walk over the edge. I went to him and gripped his arm. The toe of one of his shoes hung over the edge. “Back up,” I said, pulling him back with me.

The door opened and a dim stream of light fell on us. We turned around slowly. The only escape was back into the shaft, and we would be nothing but target practice for the guard in there.

“Su

I squinted at the guard. “Bron?”

“It’s me.” She came in and shut the door. “Mr. Ke

“Are you going to turn us in?” I asked. I needed to know. I had come so close to getting home.

“I could get in a lot of trouble if I don’t.”

“I know. Which is why I won’t ask you to help. I just wanted to get home and see my dad before… you know…”

“That was quite a wedding. Everyone is talking about it. Everyone’s talking about you, Su

“The whole thing was an accident, Bron. Leisel betrayed us. It’s a long story.”

“Then keep your story to yourself. Right now you’re a hero down here. You were sent upstairs to be a plaything at a bachelor party, but instead you married the groom and made the president’s daughter a laughingstock. Don’t tell them it was an accident.”