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It wasn’t who I thought it was, but I’m glad you made it be Layson coming through the door because I’m starting to like him! And the flashback about him and Tauren in school was great!
He must increase, but I must decrease.
Glad you like him! Definitely not the last time you’ll see him.
May I ask out of curiosity who you thought it was? 🤔
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
I actually thought people might think that it was Keiryn! It’s pretty logical, I mean Layson is a very undeveloped character.
I hinted at it being Layson when Camella says “Your day job comes first” and he doesn’t respond. He’s not busy at his day job… but something else. XD
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
Yeah but it makes for a great way to get readers into Layson.
Oooo, good point! I love hints but didn’t notice that one.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
I haven’t been able to read this in a little bit, so now I get to read a few chapters at once!
The chibi Tauren is so good (and adorable)!
I loved the chapters! And I’m very curious about what Layson was up to…
Thanks!
Hmmm… what was he doing? 🤔
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
I love the kindness in Layson. He seems like such a protective big brother kind of character.
I also guessed it was Keiryn lol.
Great chapter and of course I’m super curious what Layson is up to. 😄
Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo
Thanks! He is.:)
I thought you guys would think it was Kieryn! Lol I like surprising people XD
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
- Rank: Wise Jester
- Total Posts: 76
Okay, I didn’t realize there was more!! Thank you so much for that!!
- Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
- Total Posts: 692
I would. This was so fun to read! I’m not great at critiquing and nothing stood out to me. 😉
@sarafini
Thanks! Glad you thought it was fun to read! 😊
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
@booksandbeakers
Yw! And thanks for reading! 😊
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
@arien @starofthenorth @theloonyone @loopylin @lightoverdarkness6 @felicity @esther-c @whalekeeper @orielle21 @booksandbeakers @freedomwriter76
Next chapter! It’s a long one! I should probobly break it into two. XD
***
Jonathan Ledger walks down the large circular tunnel. His boots create an echo against the metal flooring with each step. He nods at a couple rail workers briefly, who push a large crate of water filters towards a trapdoor entryway.
“Which one you are going in?” The railworker asks, looking up.
“West.”
Jonathan looks at the two doors, one for the east bunkers, the other for the west. He glances over at the east bunkers. A large wooden board, about 3 feet long, lays on the ground, dismantled. Nail holes pepper the trapdoors edge.
I’d call it a stupid decision. But if the kids got a heart for people, I’m not one to stop him.
They were getting in dire straits.
A bunker only survives 7 years locked up.
Jonathan pulls on the door to the west bunkers, smiling as it opens with ease.
Yup. Somebody broke the lock.
Layson for sure. I hope he understands the magnitude of what he did.
Jonathan shakes his head at the sight of the broken lock on the other side as he steps into the mines.
They won’t take that lightly.
He sighs, adjusting his bag full of mail, and heads off for the residential areas to make his rounds of deliveries.
What was that?
The ground shakes slightly, and a few harmless rocks fall from the wall.
Earthquake? Hopefully it’s a small one.
Jonathan keeps walking, unfazed by the small rumbles that shake the floor. The soft yellow glow of the mines lights illuminates his dark skin.
***
Keiryn leans back in his desk chair, watching the clock hands turn. He swipes the surface of his desk onto the floor, sending papers slowly curling to the ground like feathers.
Stupid homework. I have so much of it too.
Keiryn scoots his rolling chair back to survey his new mess.
Mom never would have let my room get like this.
It’s kinda nice though.
Keiryn bolts straight up in his chair as a small vibration radiates up his legs from the floor.
What… was that?
He grips the armrests of his chair expectantly, waiting for the next wave. An ink bottle rattles on the shelf above his desk. Keiryn slowly stands up, reaching out for the bottle.
I can’t let that fall. It’d cause such a mess!!
Keiryn plucks the bottle from the shelf gingerly, as if he expected it would shock him. He quickly opens his desk drawer, shoving the small bottle inside.
“Hello?!” he shouts into the house.
Keiryn waits.
I’m the only one home.
He shudders at the thought.
It’s so eerie.
Keiryn walks across the room and sits on his bed, back against the wall. He brings his knees up against his chest, waiting for the next wave. Taking a deep breath, he tries to push down the fear rising in his throat. Keiryn’s vision blurs, but he blinks back the tears. Closing his eyes tightly, he hugs his knees to his chest. The ground shakes again, and a small notebook rattles towards the edge of his desk shelf. Kieryn tries to focus on the light grey wall in front of him instead of his fear.
“Don’t cry.” The other child looks down at 13-year-old Keiryn, sitting two desks down. Kieryn looks up from his worksheet but says nothing.
A tear leaks out of the corner of his eye. Keiryn quickly rubs it away against his shirt sleeve, but another quickly replaces it.
“We’re in the middle of school y’know.”
“I know.” Keiryn says quietly.
“What’s your issue?”
Keiryn pauses, looking down at the floor. The speckled carpet of the schoolroom turns to a sloppy blur in his vision.
“Nothing.” He sighs.
“Then why can’t you stop crying?” The boy scoffs. His words come out cold and harsh.
Keiryn doesn’t answer. He pulls his shoulders in around his work, trying to take his face out of view. He scribbles on his page, creating an angry mess of black ink in the corner of the page. Keiryn ends the school day with nearly the same amount of work to do, nothing but confusion filling his head.
“Keiryn what’s going on?” Keiryn’s mom lingers over him. He lifts his face off of the dining room table and wipes at a couple tears left sitting against the wood.
“I’m sad you a-“Keiryn’s breath catches. “-and Dad don’t like each other anymore.” He trails off in a sour attempt to inhale.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I know it’s hard. Keiryn, I want you to understand something.” Kieryn’s mom sits down in the chair next to him.
“This is Mom and Dad’s problem. You’re a strong kid and I don’t want you to let this trouble you too much, okay? I know your strong.”
“Thanks.”
She hands him a box of tissues and gives him a quick hug before returning to the kitchen.
If only things didn’t turn out this way. Maybe we could still turn it around?
Keiryn tries to breathe through sobbing, then returns to resting his head on the table.
“Just don’t do that around other people, ok honey?”
Keiryn sits up straight. “O-oh, what?”
“I’m just saying you don’t want to be like that in front of other people. It might give the impression you’re weak.” Keiryn’s mom says while tying up a trash bag, not glancing up. Her words sink deeper than she knows.
…weak?
Is that what that kid at school thinks of me now?
Keiryn blows his nose in a tissue. He walks back to his room, taking the box with him.
Weak.
I don’t want to look weak.
But every time I try to think over the events of the past year, I burst out crying.
Keiryn sits down on his bed.
It’s Mom and Dad’s problem. But how does that work? I’m their kid. So, it’s my problem too.
Keiryn furrows his brow.
I guess I shouldn’t think about it when I’m around other people, then I won’t cry in front of other people.
He wrangles his blankets into a pile on his lap as another tear rolls down his cheek. Keiryn shakes his head.
He turns at the sound of the front door opening. Shoes tap against the entryway tiles.
“Hello?” Somebody knocks on the door. Keiryn gets up to answer it, not before quickly checking his mirror to make sure he really hadn’t been crying.
“Oh!” Lesli stands in the doorframe. “We’re havin a little earthquake!” She laughs.
“Yeah.” Keiryn says.
“Ok! Just wanted to make sure you were alright.” She turns to walk down the hallway. “I know those scare some people.”
“Oh! I’m just fine thanks.” Keiryn says, edging the door shut.
…wanted to make sure I was, ‘alright’?
Keiryn kicks at the papers littering around his desk.
That’s gotta be a mistake of some kind. She knows what I’ve been like sometimes.
***
Tauren ducks under the doorway to his room. His eyes barely stay open, a stomach full of warm soup threatening to lull him to sleep. Sitting down in his desk chair, he takes up his fountain pen and opens his journal.
What to wright about today…
Tauren thinks over the events of last week, but nothing catches his mind. He furrows his brow.
I wonder what my future holds. It feels like two opposites-
Either a dull life of mining until I can afford my own place and move out, or a risky adventure into the unknown.
It’s obvious which is more satisfying. And dangerous.
Tauren smiles and jots down the date.
2/14
it would be a shame if anyone knew all my stupid guesses about what the outside is like. A part of me wishes I could talk about it, but we all know I can’t. So here’s my little dumb prediction if anyone finds this much later:
· Lettuce grows so tall you can find shade under it, how else to escape the scorching burning heat?
(But would the lettuce still taste good?)
· Chickens are actually nice, instead of pecking your feet.
· The ceiling is 5 times as tall, like the professions district but amplified. In that case, perhaps the miners of the professions district were feeling homesick, and tried to make it have a giant ceiling like where they came from?
I like to think about how people dealt with the heat a long time ago. If it wasn’t always so hot, was it too cold at the beginning?
To anyone who finds this book one day, was I close? I hope you now know.
Insert a couple handrawn and scribbled out smiley faces, I drew some in but they wouldn’t transfer to KP
Sorry I’m so bad at making smileys.
Literally anything could exi–
A loud bang sounds on Tauren’s bedroom door. He snaps his journal shut, not noticing how the fresh ink smudges on the opposing page.
“Yeah?”
“Hey uh-“Desman looks back towards the main area of the house, making eye contact with Aleshia. “We need you real quick at work.”
“Hm?” Tauren gives him a puzzled look.
I already worked today though.
“One of the miners is missing and we need to help them search.” Desman says, moving away from the door.
“Oh!” Tauren jumps up, frantically looking for his water canteen and keys before rushing out the door into the hallway.
“Good luck you two!” Aleshia calls behind them.
Tauren gives her a quick smile before running out after his dad. She shuts the door behind them.
Desman jogs over to the mine entrance, making his way to the row of other miners waiting for instructions in front of the mines manager. Tauren stands against the wall next to him.
“Ok, so as many of you have heard, we have a missing miner.” The manager says, blandly, gesturing with his hands.
“Layson Pembrick was last seen—” He flips through a roughly bound book with mismatched pages.
Tauren fidgets uneasily.
“Two days ago. Does that sound about right to everyone?”
I saw him just yesterday.
Tauren looks around at the other miners, who nod in agreement.
“Ok, so there’s a couple possibilities here.” The manager says. “Lost in the outer reaches, crushed by a large rock, exploded and unable to get help—” He drones on with a bored look on his face, as if he was giving the list for the hundredth time. “Or simply dead.” He looks around at the various faces in the group with little sympathy.
“Sorry. We could still find him.” Desman puts a hand on Tauren’s shoulder with a sigh.
“Yeah.”
“Ok! Remember your numbers.” He says, walking to the end of the row. “You’re on 205, 206, 207, and 208.”
Tauren shifts uneasily, waiting to be assigned a mine to search.
“304, 305, 306, 307. 308, 309, 310, 311.” He slowly makes his way down the line as miners leave behind him.
Tauren looks up as the mines manager reaches him at the end of the line.
“399, 400, 401, 402.” Tauren takes off after the other miners in a brisk jog.
Woah, ok. I might actually find him, seeing where he’s been hanging out lately.
Tauren stares at the ground, watching it flee underneath his feet as he runs. Glancing left, he turns down the hallway towards the edges of the mines. His headlight beams left and right as he walks along.
“Layson!” He yells, waiting silently for a response.
Nothing. He’s probably safely outsi—
He’s probably outside. And hopefully that means safe.
Tauren runs along the mine flashing his headlight down each off-shoot. Coming to the end, he edges around the corner, towards the trapdoor.
Just a peek perhaps? I want to see it again.
Tauren stares at the trapdoor, looking just as tempting and terrifying as it always has.
“Layson!” A shout echoes from a nearby portion of the mines.
Oh! Get busy. You don’t want to be seen doing that.
Tauren quickly runs off down the mines, turning at his next assigned number.
“Layson!” Tauren tries to shout loudly.
This doesn’t do any good. I know he isn’t here, but I don’t want to look like I have that information.
Where is he then?
Tauren runs down the hallway, returning to the main mine.
“Nothing?” Another miner asks as he passes.
“Nothing.” Tauren exclaims through rugged breathing.
Can’t wait to get home again.
“Nothing?” The mines manager asks in Tauren’s direction.
“Nope.”
“No.” A couple miners running behind him chime in. “Nothing.”
“Ok, you all have a good evening.”
“Thanks. You to.” Tauren jogs back towards the exit, glancing back momentarily to check for his dad.
Meh, I’ll just meet him at home. I’m too tired to wait.
He shoves his hard hat back into the correct cubby. A couple other miners do the same.
“Layson is 18, correct? I don’t know him.” A shorter miner walks in.
“Yeah, about.” Another miner responds.
“Hope they find him soon.”
“He’s likely dead.” The shorter miner says with a sigh. “Why else would he just go missing after work one day?”
Tauren walks over to the sink.
“Apparently, he’s been seen after work hours here before. He could have gotten injured when nobody was around.”
“Makes since. Why would anyone hang out here after work hours?” The taller miner says, taking off his hard hat to reveal a mess of brown hair chopped off just above his chin.
“I…don’t know. Maybe he’s just young and explorative.” He laughs.
Tauren turns on the water and takes off his glasses.
Are my glasses dirty? Definitely not, but I want to hear what these two are saying.
“Explorative? What’s there to see in the mines?”
“You know.”
The shorter miner looks at the other with narrowed eyes. “Well, if he wishes for death that’s one way to get it. Go shrivel up in the heat.” He laughs off the later half of his comment heartily.
“I know right? I’m not sure what’s wrong with the younger generation here, I heard from a shopping district employee the other day that some merchants kid wanted out.” He replies.
“Ungrateful, that’s what. Our parent’s and parent’s before made us a safe haven in the midst of a terrible war-torn world, and they want out?”
“Let them leave is what I say.”
“Yeah, but don’t let them back. They’d all want a taste of it, and before we know it, we’d be overwhelmed with the consequences of it.”
“Sure, I could see that happening.”
Tauren busies himself with drying his glasses, trying to draw out the task for as long as possible.
“Hey, you’re the same age as the missing kid, right?”
Tauren jolts. “U-uh yeah. I’m a year younger.”
“You know him personally?” The taller one asks, shouldering a backpack.
“Lil ’bit yeah.” Tauren says, putting his glasses back on.
Please don’t ask more. Please.
“Sorry. That must be hard.” The shorter one says sympathetically.
“Hm.” Tauren tries to sound neutral.
I mean I don’t want to lie, let’s be honest, Layson’s not dead, and I’m not mourning for him or anything.
The two miners look at each other. Tauren tenses, quickly pulling his satchel over his shoulder and heading for the door. Tauren waits just outside the exit to hear the end of the conversation.
“Weird.”
Tauren cringes.
“That kid knows something.”
No. no. This isn’t good!
Tauren grips his bag’s strap even tighter.
“Yeah. Likely. I’m not too concerned about it.”
“Dude, the kids missing. You’re not concerned?” The shorter miners says, his low voice ringing urgency.
Tauren holds his breath and listens.
“Right.” The other miner shifts his feet.
“You’re switching to the later shift?” A voice echoes from behind Tauren.
He whips around at the sound of another miner approaching.
Oh, my goodness. I look so suspicious right now.
Tauren breaks from his awkward eavesdropping stance by the doorway and resumes walking home.
Look natural. Look natural. Nothing happened.
A couple miners also walking home shoot him confused glances, but Tauren manages to remain calm.
So many bad things could come of this.
He shudders at the possibilities.
What if I get questioned?
Taking out his keys, Tauren unlocks the door.
Ugh, this is kinda nerve racking. I haven’t even left the bunker, yet I feel like I’m hiding so much.
My parent’s don’t even know.
I need Les right now. Wish I could just see her. Maybe she’d know what to do. And even if she didn’t, it would at least be reassurance enough that we’re on the same page and she knows what’s going on.
Tauren sighs, jurking the door open.
“No luck?” Tauren’s mom asks. Desman looks up from the table, having gotten back a couple minutes earlier.
“Didn’t see him.” Tauren responds, setting his satchel down by the door.
“Oh that’s unfortunate.” Aleshia comes out of the kitchen
“It was Layson.” Desman says somberly. “One of Tauren’s buddies.”
“Oh no!” Aleshia says, walking over to Tauren. ” I’m so sorry.” She reaches up to give Tauren a hug.
“Yeah.” Tauren excepts his mothers hug, but cringes at her mis-impression of the situation.
“That’s really hard. You’ve known him for a while, right?”
“Eh- yes. They could still find him though.” Tauren says confidently.
Desman and Aleshia share a glance, but neither contradict Tauren.
“We can hope.” Aleshia says. “I should go visit his mom sometime, make sure she’s alright.”
Tauren nods quickly before awkwardly breaking off to his room.
Wow, they’ve really got it in their heads he’s dead.
And there’s nothing I can say to show them he’s probably not, because it’s all information I shouldn’t have anyways.
Tauren sighs, shutting the door behind himself. He opens his journal back to where he left off, a whole host of new ideas filling his head.
To include later:
“What good does it do not knowing what your key opens, when you can just try all the locks.”
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
It’s really late, but I’m reading it anyway
Loved the chapter! It was cool seeing a little bit of all the characters and seeing more of Kieryn’s point of view. And now I really want to know what happened to Lawson! I like the quote at the end, too.
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