"We're going underground?" Cadence clarified uncertainly in the main room the next morning.
"Yep. Grab a couple pickaxes, and a lot of food. We'll be down there a while." Alex busied herself with grabbing three pickaxes for herself, and tossing a couple in Cadence's direction. Cadence dodged a pickax that was headed straight for her face and turned back to face Alex.
"But what about holding fort here, or...taking care of the animals?" she searched her mind to find any sort of excuse to stay.
"The animals will be fine, and there isn't really a fort to hold down. It's not like anyone is going to show up and steal our base, right?" Alex closed the chest, a small smirk crossing her face.
Cadence huffed a sigh. "Fine. I hope you know what you're doing." Alex crossed over to her, giving her a light pat on the shoulder, and then continuing to one of the many food chests, pulling goodies from there. At that moment, Ace entered the premises, his eyes outlined with bags and drooping. He yawned, scratching his back and giving a tired smile to Cadence.
"I take it you didn't sleep that well," Cadence commented.
"On point, as usual." Ace managed a lopsided grin. "What's going on?" He had just noticed Alex, who was throwing meat and bread into neat piles.
"Someone thinks we need to go mining for materials, that's what. I don't get it, we're perfectly fine as we are now!" Cadence complained.631Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaozzms5BVa
Alex shot her a nasty look. "Don't take it for granted. You'll have a lot more to whine about when we're out of coal. No fuel means no fire. Let's head off." She thrust a pickax into Cadence's arms, heading out the door. Ace and Cadence exchanged glances before hurriedly following her out the door.
They didn't have to walk far, for Alex lead them only a brief walk away from the house where a hole in the ground could be seen. Cadence opened her mouth to criticize Alex about the hole, but before she could Alex had jumped down into the hole, seeming to disappear from existence. This undoubtedly came as a shock to the two confused adventurers.
"There's a ladder," she called up from below. Cadence and Ace let out a relieved sigh, sliding their way down the ladder one by one.
"Goodbye sunshine," Cadence said sadly as she paid the sun a last, fleeting glance.
"Come on, Candy, don't fall behind." Ace waited for her to catch up, walking alongside her as Alex lead the path. They had dropped into a cavern that Cadence found it hard to believe was within that small hole. It was definitely bigger on the inside, and the torches that already marked the path lead her to believe that Alex had been here before. They traveled along through the lengthy cave, and soon came to a section where the path branched into several different directions. Cadence began to count how many; one, two, ten...she lost count. There were so many different paths that it was all rather dizzying to the mind.
"Listen up," Alex started, turning to face them. "What we're going to do is something called branch mining. We're all going to split off into different paths and hammer our way through the blocks, collecting any material we can get, okay?"
"We're going to split up?" Cadence gasped. "Isn't that the wrong thing to do in any sort of situation?!"
"In a horror movie it is," Alex said flatly. "But here we're safe, okay? Just use your stone pickaxes to get through the stone. If you see an ore that's blueish, or really any ore that looks important at all, use the diamond pickax. The stone might damage a really rare ore if you're not careful. Got it?"
"I don't have a pickax," Ace gave a nervous laugh.
"Good thing I brought extra, then." She handed him two stone pickaxes and one diamond pickax, as well as some food. "Feel free to eat whenever you need to, there won't exactly be scheduled lunch breaks for this. If there's a problem, find me. I'll be in this mine, here." She marked it with a sign, writing her name on it. "You two go down those two." She pointed to the two paths opposite hers. They were adjacent to each other, which made Cadence feel a little more calm about mining. She could always burst into Ace's side of the mine if she panicked. Alex didn't say another word, and instead began her way down the long corridor.
"I'm just a couple blocks away, okay?" Ace gave her a reassuring smile. Cadence flashed him a grin.
"I got this in the bag!" she said gleefully, embarking down her own path.
She definitely did not have this in the bag. The tedious work of smashing down stone after stone leading to only more stone and nothing interesting to occupy her attention otherwise was driving her mad. Cadence stopped again, crouching and leaning against the wall. She pulled out some bread and chewed on the end. Her senses had unfortunately become dull to the once fresh taste of the warm loaf. Now it was just crumbs and mush in her mouth that she struggled to swallow. Cadence took a small drink out of her water, conserving the little bit she had left. Her stomach somewhat full, she got up, cracked her back, and went away at her work.
She got through maybe four blocks, when much to her surprise an entire room appeared before her. She peered out the small window she had broken, her eyes widening. Her heart pounded as she broke her way into the room, stepping down from the small ledge her path had forged. Cadence gazed around at the astonishing sight before her. A wide corridor presented itself to her, a set of railroad tracks extending for what seemed like miles. She gingerly grazed her stub against it, pondering many questions at once. However, none of these questions were answered, for she followed her undying curiosity and followed the direction of the tracks, or at least the way she figured they were going.
Along her way, she marveled at how much care must have gone into creating such a track. Not only did it go on for a while, but there was a rise and fall, an upwards spiral, and even some sharp turns, as if it was all a rollercoaster. In fact, that's what Cadence ultimately deemed she had stumbled on. An abandoned rollercoaster that lead to an untold destination.
After what felt like hours of walking, the tracks came to an end, and only a small wall of stone blocked her from witnessing the treasures that may lay inside. Determined and prepared, she pulled out her pickax and struck the stone, and immediately screamed. What she expected to happen was the stone to break and allow her access to the next room. Instead, the so-called stone disappeared the moment she struck it, and in its place a small, silver bug with spikes along its body squirmed and writhed around, crawling its disgusting body towards Cadence. Following the first bug were several more, and Cadence found herself skittering away and hacking at all of them madly with her sword. The creatures died off one by one, and once Cadence had gathered most of her bearings, she glanced up. The wall was gone, and in its place an astonished-looking boy.
He had cherry-red hair that almost covered his eyes, and wide, hazel eyes that seemed to take in everything around him. The boy wore a baggy, dusty pair of jeans that had several unidentifiable stains on them, a simple white T-shirt with more stains along with some burnt holes in it, and a pair of golden goggles hung around his neck. His mouth was agape, and he seemed to be at a loss for words. He looked from the destroyed creatures to Cadence, easily piecing one and two together.
"My silverfish..." he muttered to himself. Cadence didn't hear this, and instead tried to make conversation.
"H-Hi," she said awkwardly. The boy's eyes instantly shot up from their place on the ground, lingering on Cadence for a second. Cadence opened her mouth to say something else, but the boy was quick; he had sprinted in the opposite direction.
"Hey!" Cadence cried, insulted. "Come back!" She scrambled up from her place on the floor and chased after him to the best of her ability.
He had to run. He knew he would have to run for real at some point, but never imagined it would be from another human being. The idea of more people existing alongside him made him skin crawl. He was quite fine on his own. He should never have inspected that awful scream. Here he was, enjoying himself in his own paradise, and by chance he heard a horrendous noise - barely able to recognize it as a scream. The situation he had walked in on was more...peculiar than he had imagined.
A pretty girl, a really pretty girl, was sitting on the ground, stabbing his silverfish trap mercilessly, yelling and screaming her head off. Needless to say, it was an easy decision to run from such an oddity. After all, he knew these corridors better than anyone else. There was no way she would catch - she was right behind him. Curse his frail legs! They couldn't break down on him now, of all times! He also cursed himself for glancing behind him at all, that was a horrible idea to begin with!
All he could really do was run, and hope to reach his next trap and trigger it to slow her down - he tripped. Over nothing. Fool! This had to be the most pathetic way he imagined himself going. Face flat against the cool stone of the cave, helpless to the impending doom that awaited him...it was about to come unto him and ruin his elaborate and masterpiece of a plan...anytime now...where was it?
He lifted his head, glancing over his shoulder. The girl was wheezing, catching her breath beside him. She seemed like she was trying to communicate.
"Please...stop," she panted. "I just want...to talk." Well, he didn't exactly have any other option at this point than to accept his punishment of defeat. He rolled over and got to his feet, tempted to run all over again. No! It was a part of his code to admit defeat fairly. He wondered briefly where he had written down such an odd code, it seemed rather useless in this world. For now he supposed he would follow them more like guidelines.
"Let's start this again," the girl said, dusting herself off a bit and extending her stub of a hand. "I'm Cadence." He stared at her stub for a moment, and before he could even plan out an effective response, his mouth did the talking for him.
"A handshake in this situation would be an absolutely horrendous way of greeting someone," he said. Instantly he regretted his words, for they seemed to have no immediate effect on the girl. She seemed more confused than anything.
"Er...right. How about a fist bump? We can kind of do that." Cadence, yes, that was her name, continued to hold out her stub. Reluctantly, he obliged and fist-bumped her. Her skin was unnaturally soft. He couldn't help but stare at her - it had been ages since he had seen another person. Her blonde curls bobbed beside her head, seeming to have a universal force of their own, her eyes shimmered a soft blue, and her lips were pink and smooth-looking. The white, lacy tank top she wore was slightly revealing, and the ivory leggings accented her figure like a goddess. She was the most stunning, alluring, elegant woman he had ever seen.
"Are you okay?" she asked, unnerved. He realized he had been staring and snapped himself back into it.
"Yes, perfectly so." Was all he said. He wasn't sure if Cadence had expected more, because she tucked a silky strand of hair behind her ear and continued on.
"What's your name?" she insisted.
"I'm Lucas," he said, extending his stub and instantly regretting it. "And...we've already fist-bumped. That's awkward." She giggled at that. Lucas smiled.
"So, um, what are you doing down here?" she asked curiously.
"I thought it was obvious," Lucas said without thinking. "I live here."
Cadence seemed taken back. "You live here?! That's amazing! So, so, does that mean you were the one that built those tracks over there?"
"Yes," Lucas answered slowly, unsure of how to understand the situation. This wasn't exactly something he had planned for. Beasts, sure, no problem. An entire herd of moss-monsters couldn't penetrate his fortress, but one girl? His plan was K.O'd, as some would put it. Cadence began to squeal. And it was so annoying. Lucas wasn't as sure about this girl as he was twenty seconds ago.
"Wow! I didn't think...I mean, I didn't even know there was someone else down here so it was a big surprise anyway that you made all of this, and..." she blabbered on and on about how she was so fascinated by the 'underground rollercoaster,' she called it. Lucas didn't know how to understand this girl. She was surely something, that much could be said. The words seemed to pour out of her mouth like an endless fountain of nonsense, and yet Lucas enjoyed every second she kept on babbling. Eventually she did tire out, most likely from the fact that she had ran out of air. As she took a deep breath in, Lucas seized his chance.
"Would you like to see the rest?" he suggested. Cadence's eyes lit up.
"There's more?"
Cadence couldn't believe that there was even more to this place than there already was. The company wasn't overly to her tastes, but everything else was spectacular. Lucas lead her through more passageways, showing her all the different creations he had manifested. There were other coasters that lead to various places (though Lucas insisted that they were mineshafts and he had simply rearranged their path) and Cadence couldn't help but be blown away. They came to what appeared to be a small bunker, which was completely sparse aside from a teensy bed, chest, crafting table and furnace.
"And this is where I live," Lucas said proudly. Cadence blinked, confused.
"It's really...bare." She shot him a look. "Compared to everything else, I mean."
Lucas shrugged. "Well, I don't need a mansion. As long as I have the essentials then there's no reason to expand anything more, is there?"
"Maybe to show off?"
"To who? It's not like I have regular visitors. It's a comfortable space, even if it's not glorious. Besides, everything I need is right close to me."
"How so?" Cadence persisted.
"Well," Lucas began, scratching his chin. "There's food, supplies, and my journal. Not much else a guy really needs."
"Oh," Cadence pondered to herself for a moment, finding it hard to believe that someone who could invent such extravagant displays lived such a simplistic lifestyle. Lucas seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, admiring the minimalist style that was his room. After a beat, he went over to the one chest he had, rummaging through it and pulling out a messy book that had paper sticking out of it in every which way. He opened the book, flipping to a page and scribbling down something with a smile on his face.
"Er..." Cadence tried to make conversation. "What are you doing?" Lucas didn't look up from his work as he spoke, writing the entire time, "Writing down an idea. I'll forget it if I don't write it down. Ooh, I'm definitely expanding on this later..." His left hand scribbled fast, and before Cadence knew it, he snapped the book shut and turned his attention back on her as if this was a casual occurrence. She took this as an opportunity.
"Well, this has been...nice," she smiled. "but I think it's time I headed back. I should tell Ace and Alex about this place, too, for the future."
"Wait, there are more of you?" His smile faded.
"Of course! Not all of us are supergeniuses. You could come with us, someone with ideas like these shouldn't rot away in a cave."
"Uh...I'll have to pass." Lucas edged away from her, backing himself into the wall. "Maybe next time."
"Why?" Cadence questioned. "Can you at least try? It's not like they're going to hurt you." She reached out to him, he smacked her hand away, an exhilarated look upon his face. Not missing a beat, Lucas dashed out the door, disappearing down the path they had come. Cadence sighed irritably, angry that things seemed to be repeating themselves as she chased after him.
Alex came out from her mine, having exhausted the resources available, which wasn't overly much to begin with, aside from a bunch of coal. She counted thirty-nine in total. It would last them a little bit, but hoped that Ace and Cadence were able to find more than she ended up with. Otherwise she would have to do this all over again, and that was something she wanted to avoid entirely.
Ace came out of his mine, his entire body coated in a fine layer of dirt. He dragged his pickax on the ground, evidently drained of any energy.
"I take it you had quite the adventure," she commented.
"No, I just, ah, fell." Ace replied, embarrassed.
"Fell?"
"I accidentally dug into a mineshaft and fell into it. Not my proudest moment."
"Oh. Find anything interesting?"
"There was this railroad track, as if a cart or something could fit on it. Do you know anything about that kind of thing?"
"Not at all," Alex said, surprised. She had heard of abandoned mineshafts, but those never had any sort of tracks.
"They seemed to have a path, too. Like someone had intentionally built them. I followed them for a bit, but didn't find anything interesting. Just kind of a dead end." Ace sounded a little disappointed.
"No chests?"
"Nah." The two finished that conversation rather quickly, entering a period of silence where Alex avoided eye contact as best she could by staring at a particularly boring piece of stone, trying to make it seem interesting. It wasn't working all that well. Luckily, she heard a fast-paced set of footsteps approaching, assuming it must be Cadence. Instead, a surprise to both of them, was a bit of a shorter boy with a shock of ginger hair, and a terrified expression. He halted in his run as soon as he saw her, his eyes looking from Alex to Ace repeatedly. It was a few seconds of stunned silence before any moves were made. Another set of footsteps, probably Cadence this time, pattered along, and the boy snapped into action, dashing down the corridor.
"Who was that?" Ace asked, still recovering from the initial shock.
"...No idea," Alex was rattled about the entire scenario herself. Just then, Cadence appeared, panting heavily. She had enough strength to point to the boy, and spoke with a wheeze.
"Him...genius! Run...catch! Friend!" Her speech was difficult to understand, in the very least, but she took a deep breath and ran after him anyways.
"Do you think we should follow her?" Alex turned to Ace.
"Probably," he replied with a heavy sigh.
Stupid legs! He had a cramp! Lucas never dreamed that he would have to deal with this kind of situation. The people. Not the legs. His legs were something that were never dependable enough to rely on. All the running he was doing made him exhausted. Perhaps he should add exercise to his to-do list. But now wasn't the time to think of adding such things, as he pounded his feet against the cool stone of the caves. He could feel himself getting closer to the surface, it couldn't be far now.
Although he had to admit that breaching the surface and facing the outside world was a horrid thought. The very idea sent a chill down his spine. One of the reasons he spent so much time down in the caves was that he was less likely to find monsters there since he had uncovered so much territory. He had made sure that light shone in every corner so that nothing could hide.
But he didn't have much of a choice. Face the surface or communicate with the other people. They had already found his hideout, he couldn't return there. Where could he go? All of his options looked grim, there was no easy way about it. Lucas bit his lip, running blindly.
Unfortunately, this blindness lead him to run face-first into a wall. He recoiled, rubbing his nose gingerly and gazing at the rude wall that had hurt him so. It wasn't so much a wall as it was an exit. A ladder leading straight up, most likely to the surface. Had he really traveled that far? He hadn't had much time to rationally consider his options. The echo of footsteps began to get louder. He didn't exactly have much time to reconsider. He grabbed the ladder, his arms shaking, and pulled himself up, exiting out of a small hole in the ground.
It was dark outside, which made things worse. Yet the night had an eerie peacefulness to it as he briefly gazed upwards. The sky gleamed with tiny fires, and the tranquil silence was breathtaking. Lucas had forgotten what it felt like to be on the surface. It was nice, he had to admit, and he made a mental note to build his own way of seeing the sky. A giant hole didn't seem to be the best idea...what was he doing? Oh, right. Lucas didn't have anywhere to go, so he simply went straight. Where straight ahead was was another question, but it seemed like a good path to him.
It wasn't.
It was mere moments before he had encountered a zombie, and then a spider, and a creeper, and more zombies, until there were too many for him to fend them all off. Lucas didn't pride him self on his fighting skills in the first place, but had no choice in the matter. Seeing as he didn't have anything overly useful as a weapon on him, he instead brandished his trusty pickax, which would have to serve as a miracle at this point. He braced himself, preparing to strike.
Alex pulled herself up and on the ground, getting to her feet and cracking her neck. It was dark. Not good. She saw Ace and Cadence already running ahead; they must have spotted the kid. As she ran to catch up, things seemed to had taken a rough turn for the guy. He was surrounded by all sorts of monsters, and yet seemed to be handling himself fairly well. He was pretty banged up, though Alex wasn't sure if that was because of his initial filth. Regardless, she jumped in with the rest to take care of the ruckus.
A couple minutes later and most of the monsters were obliterated, but more still came.
"Follow me! The house isn't too far from here - it'll be safe!" Alex called, leading the way. Ace and Cadence followed, as expected, and the boy hesitated before running after them. The house came into view once they had passed the hill, and all four of them quickly piled into it, relieved and worn out. Cadence collapsed to her knees, gasping in air. Ace dusted himself off while the boy stood awkwardly in the room, appearing to reconsider his choice.
"Okay. Now that we're all alive, I'd like some things cleared up. Who are you?" Alex addressed the red-haired boy. He seemed to be lost for words, struggling to speak at all. He opened his mouth to speak several times, but eventually closed it for good.
"His name's Lucas," Cadence answered. "He's an inventor." Alex nodded, thinking to herself for a moment.
"Well, you should stay here for the night, at least." She moved over to a chest, already unloading. Lucas seemed like he was about to object, but then shook his head and just sighed.
"Thanks," was all he said for the rest of the night. Alex didn't push it. He would talk when he was ready. Probably. If she ended up getting impatient she considered making him talk, but the inner angel within her urged her otherwise.
Lucas was already asleep in bed by the time she entered the bedroom, his notebook and pen sprawled on the floor. Alex rolled her eyes, picking up the book, falling onto a random page. The page contained an immensely complex drawing of a machine Alex couldn't identify. She wondered if he was really an inventor like Cadence claimed. Looking again at the sketch, she smiled to herself, placing the book on the chest beside his bed. Perhaps this kid was more than she thought after all.
(Whoa ho ho! This has to be one of the longest chapters I've written...ever! A lot happened. And a lot more will happen. Stay tuned for the next!)
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