Page 49 of Dark's Savior

***

Aly's team suspected nothing, even though she was way more quiet than usual at their meeting, this time in a storeroom that Julian had somehow convinced Braxin to let them use. She listened to their conversations, mostly about trying to talk once again with the Xolis Council about letting them off Lethe Maws and their arguments about whether it was really worth it (which it wasn't), about Sarah who they still hadn't heard from, about the enforcers watching them, and what it all meant. Old news, but there was nothing more for them to talk about, or at least nothing they wanted to talk about. Briefly, Ethan mentioned about the bodies that were showing up at an alarming rate now, all pale and shredded, all seemingly drained of blood or so he heard a medical staff saying. No one wanted to talk about that, though, not even Aly. She had asked Ryziel and Nar about it when they were back in the lair after a shift, but, besides the talks about it on the forums and posts, they were uncertain either, only that they were watching carefully, both knowing that there were unknown dangers even they might not know about in the caves below.

So, they stuck to talking about something that didn't utterly terrify them, to something that would keep hope alive, no matter how small. Aly wished more than ever that she could tell them about the ship and what she was doing. At one point she was even close to considering the idea of asking Ryziel to allow the others to help, knowing that the work could be done even faster with eight humans instead of one. But she thought quickly against it because she had made a promise not to tell and couldn't be sure one of them wouldn't let something slip. Also, she couldn't ask Ryziel to try to protect eight humans when one was enough.

No, as much as it pained her, she had to wait, knowing that when the time did come to tell them, they would be more than relieved and wouldn't hesitate to take their place on the ship.

When she wasn't thinking of the ship, Aly's thoughts immediately went to Ryziel. Lately, she had been trying to decipher every expression or word or movement he made, as if he was a puzzle she needed to solve. She wished she could ask him more about his life, about his ways, but harvesting minerals in tight caves didn't make it easy to talk, especially when one needed to make sure nothing heard them while doing so. When it was just them alone as he brought her back to the mines, she did engage him in casual conversation but nothing more, suddenly feeling too shy to ask him to bring up his personal life or past.

Every night, it seemed, after she returned from the Keep, she would just sit in her unit, staring out the window or drawing in her sketchbook. Besides one new drawing of Xilya, it was filled now with nothing but him, and she shuddered to think of the utter embarrassment she would feel if the others ever found it and looked through it. They'd think she lost her mind.

And maybe she had.

She feared to grow distant with the others, but her mind just couldn't seem to focus unless she was down below. Before she knew it, the meeting had ended and she caught a few looking at her, probably wondering why she had nothing to say. She said nothing still, except for a short goodnight before turning away for her unit.

"Hey, Aly, wait up!"

Aly turned her head as she walked, to see Mark waving for her to wait for him. He caught up to keep step beside her. "Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to meet me after our shift sometime, just you and me?"

"Um, sure." She didn't look at him, her arms crossed, her mind still somewhere else.

"You okay? You seem pretty out of it lately."

She glanced at him and gave him a forced smile. "Just tired."

"Same," he said. They walked in silence until they came to their shared hub. Aly went to her door and Mark hesitated at his. "Whatever you’re going through," he said. "I'm here to talk, anytime."

Aly looked back and, this time, gave him an honest smile. He was a good guy, she knew it. And in that moment, she wished she could go to him and tell him everything, but she knew she couldn't. Instead, she said goodnight and slipped into her unit. She pressed herself against the door as it closed and sighed, suddenly feeling lonely. But it wasn't Mark's company she wanted.

Tomorrow. All she could think about was tomorrow.

***

When Aly returned to the lair, she was surprised to find that Xilya was not there per usual.

"Xilya has been asked to work in another part of the mines," Ryziel replied when Aly asked when she would be coming down. "Today, it is only you and me."

Aly couldn't help notice her heart beating a little faster. She put on her helmet and drew up her bags in silence. She caught Nar's gaze from over by the console, and he shook his head as if he were displeased but said nothing and turned away.

They made their way down, Aly holding onto Ryziel's belt as always, watching the darkness around her for any signs of trouble. Ryziel moved forward without hesitation, even though he seemed more quiet and on edge than usual.

"Something smells odd," Aly said softly, as they made their way past the fifth stair. It was a bitter smell, like vinegar.

Ryziel did slow then. He seemed to be sensing around for something then continued on. "A creature marked the area, but they aren't around now. Something might be hunting nearby."

Aly shivered but followed close, never slowing, even when Ryziel's pace quickened.

The closer they got to the mineral chamber, however, the more the scent seemed to die off. There was nothing she could see that was odd or out of place. As they slipped into the narrow passage, Ryziel did stop just before entering the other side but didn't wait long to pull her through.

Aly looked around at the few glowing Xs now illuminating the chamber from the holes she had gone through. One portion of a side was nearly finished, and she felt like she’d made good progress.

"Do you think we will have enough minerals soon to make all the materials for the ship?" she asked as she released his belt.

Ryziel dropped his bags by a nearby wall and began to unpack. "With the tython, almost. Byril, we still need more of."

Aly dropped her own bag and made for one end of the cave when her foot stepped into something cold. She jumped back with a yelp and cast her light down to see a pool of water forming on the ground.

Ryziel came up beside her and cast his light on it as well. Blops of water hit Aly's helmet and she looked up to see water trickling down.

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