The Boys

Christina would have struggled but she was much too fatigued. The laughter was somewhere near her right ear, and it sounded like a child's. Were there civilizations down here? With water? Good, sweet, cold and clear water running down a bone dry throat -

Warm, stale water was suddenly thrust into her mouth, but for all the world it could have been the freshest spring water she had ever tasted. She greedily moved her lips to keep it in, then opened them to catch more. The source seemed to be from nowhere, but when the flow abruptly stopped she turned her head slightly to see a hand moving away a flask.

"Let her down." said a voice, too deep to be that of the laughter. Someone fumbled with the ropes beneath her, and she dropped, but several hands caught her around the waist and eased her down.

"Slowly, now."

"That's it."

"You ok?"

Christina saw faces swimming hazily out of the dark. They seemed to be glinting in a faint, orange light that hurt her eyes. Her head swam and her head swung back and she vomited the water she had just drunk all over a floor she couldn't see. The people, however, seemed to expect nothing less and only made a couple of noises before someone gently tipped her head back and dribbled in a few more drops.

"Just let them sit and then swallow - not too hard or fast. You'll just puke again." said the voice. Someone was muttering in an amused voice behind her, and she felt a feeble flit of anger; how would they feel if they had been without water for a week! Or was it that long? It couldn't have been more than three days - there was a rule about that somewhere. Her head hurt.

"Listen, kid, we've got to keep moving." said the same voice that had told her how to drink. Christina didn't think anything had ever sounded less appealing, and she shook her head, still unable to speak.

"I know it's hell." he said quietly; she was sure it was a boy. "But it'll be worse if we don't move. We had to wait awhile for you."

He was making her head spin, so she just shut her eyes and let someone with strong arms pick her up and begin a jog that jolted her aching head and made her feel nauseated again. The sound of running feet followed; there seemed to be more than one person. Yes, of course there were. More than one person had spoken earlier. Why couldn't she think clearly? She wanted more water.

After what seemed an eternity of keeping her mouth firmly closed and trying not to think about her stomach, someone said "that's far enough, isn't it Rye?" and the painful moving stopped. She was put down with a "you're heavy" and she was given a few more precious drops.

"Don't swallow those" she was advised "We have longer to go."

Christina opened her cracked lips and croaked "What...where...who...me..."

"What happened is someone has a damn awful sense of humor. Where you are, you're on level one. Who are we, we're here to bring you up to level three." The answers weren't exactly helpful, but it was comforting to know that someone had understood her garble.

"Your vision should clear in a few seconds." said a young voice helpfully. To Christina's surprise, it did, and the blurry shapes around her solidified as if someone had erased the static outlines.

She was in a stone passage that glowed with an orange light that made the word volcano go off in her mind. The light came in through chinks and cracks in the stone, coloring the walls and floor a dull, musty red.

"Hi there."

She looked up. There were two boys above her, one who looked about sixteen and the other maybe a few years older. Both had oddly flawless, waxy looking skin except for three long scars that ran down the younger one's cheek which looked fake.

"Christina, right?"

"What?" she was surprised and struggled up. Her hair fell in silky lengths to her waste as she shook her head, and vaguely she wondered why it wasn't salt crusted and dirty. She felt her face. It was smooth and free of any kind of blemish.

"Christina Corentine."

"How do you know my name?"

"Right there." one of the boys pointed to her foot. In small, inky black letters was her first and surname tattooed on her heel.

"I don't get it." she said stupidly.

"Welcome to life in The Web." he laughed harshly and held out his hand. "I'm Reilly Derrik."

She shook it absentmindedly and then took the other boy's, the younger one. "Orion Rochester" he said, then pointed out "we need to get going."

"Let's go, then. Can you walk?" Reilly turned to Christina, who felt that she might faint if she even moved another finger.

"Didn't think so. I'll carry her now." Orion picked her up like a sack of meat. "You're pretty young to be stuck here, you know. The other girls are at least twenty."

"Yeah, all three of them. We're mostly boys here. Men, really." Reilly pulled out a cigarette and lit it from one of the cracks in the wall. Christina realized how hot it was and felt sicker.

"Go ahead and faint." Orion said cheerfully. "We'll give you a little more water when you come to. Just rest."

When the black veil had cleared from her vision again, Christina realized how far they must have traveled while she was knocked out. The tunnel was much wider and the light was somehow cleaner and paler. She saw bunches of crystals formed on the rocky walls, and cavernous spaces yawned before her on several sides.

"Morning." Reilly said, handing her the water bottle. "We're almost on level two. Once we're there, just follow our lead. Don't try to do anything stupid. Just let Orion and I handle it."

"Handle what?" Christina let the water drip from her mouth onto the dusty floor, just enjoying the feel of it dribbling around her lips.

"The obstacles." he answered evasively. "We passed three while you were asleep, but it was mostly just following the trail. Level two gets harder."

"What do you mean by levels?" Christina eased herself into sitting position and lay with her head against the wall. Orion came and sat beside her, and gave her a small piece of bread.

"Like a large building, you know? Just different levels. We travel up, and the scenery changes so we call them levels."

"Who's we? How many people are here?"

"A lot. At least twenty, you know, I've never really bothered to count." Orion took a sip from his water bottle. "But there are only three girls, four counting you."

"That's not a lot." Christina's mind flew to sexual violations and inched slightly away from him.

"It's because you need to be tough to survive here, I guess."

"Are they all kids like us?"

"Hey, I'm twenty one." Reilly said coolly, but with a hint of a smile. "But no, not most of them. The age range is from - how old are you?"

"Seventeen. Almost eighteen."

"Sixteen then, sixteen to about fifty three."

"What is this place?"

"The Web, we call it. It was Kyle's idea. Because we're all like flies and somewhere there's a spider watching us and waiting to strike when we pull on the right thread."

Despite the heat, Christina felt cold, frustrated and utterly confused. She noticed that both the boys were wearing a similar outfit to herself. Cream - colored and very light and fine. Almost lacy, like wedding garments, though they both seem to have torn of pieces in efforts to make them more masculine, or perhaps to bear the temperatures more easily.

"Let's get going." Orion said, and got up, crossing to the opposite wall to put his hand on a symbol carved there that looked like a handgun getting eaten by branches. There was a weird ringing noise and a short staircase began to emerge from a long crack in the floor.

"Skip the fourth stair." warned Reilly as he started up. "Max and Alpha both almost died there."

Orion helped her skip the step, and they approached a door in the ceiling that she hadn't noticed before.

"Duck." Reilly said in an almost bored tone, and Orion pushed her down just as a blade came ringing out of nowhere and buried itself in the doorknob where Reilly's head had been an instant before. The door swung open and Reilly pulled himself into the darkness, then reached down a hand to help her up.

The drastic change in temperature made her gasp a little. There was an odd ringing in her head, similar to the one that had opened the door, and when Orion came up he and Reilly quickly dragged her along against the wall.

They were in a wood paneled room with a table and a bed. A candle was lit in the center of the floor, and chill wind swept through cracks in the walls, making the flame shiver but not go out.

"Hurry." Orion ripped open a panel and pulled out two brand new suits of clothes. He and Reilly stripped off their shirts and put on the leather jackets and pants that the new clothes provided. "We'll get you some as soon as we get out of here. Ten, nine, eight..." he began to count down, pulled Christina over to a corner and said "stay there and be quiet."

"Three, two, one." Reilly finished, and the moment he had stopped the candle went out.

The darkness was thick, but there was a crack of light from beneath the door and Christina could see both of the boys' heads nodding in rhythm as if they were counting in their minds. Someone stepped outside the door and seemed to pause, and Christina held her breath. Then the boys each grabbed one of her hands and went for the door.

"Left." hissed Reilly, and they went down a hall of what looked like a medieval hotel. The, without warning, Orion ran into the next room and came dashing back out, clutching a purse. "Got it" he said "let's move."

They went down a set of stairs and reached a long tavern room where people were drinking and making merry. "Act casual." Reilly said and sauntered in, pulling her behind him.

"'ello there, miss." a man said, grinning. "Need a draught?"

"I -" Christina looked at Reilly, who turned to the man. "No, and I'll tell the Maker is you bother us again."

The man paled, and spat. "I don't believe yew know the maker." he sneered.

"Try me." Reilly said softly, and the man stalked off.

"Have to be careful with him. We fought him six times before we figured out what would make him back off." They walked out of the inn, Orion shadowing them closely like a hunter, glancing this way and that at the riotous guests in the room.

"What's going on?" Christina looked around. The garb of the people in the wet cobblestone streets was much like what the boys were wearing, and she felt thin and out of place.

"We have to find Dorcas, she makes the clothes here. She'll get you an outfit."

"She's over here, remember?" Orion pulled out his purse and approached and old woman who was bent over her cart. "Hello, Dorcas." he smiled. "Remember me?"

"No, I don't believe so, young master." she scrutinized him closely. "Are you a nephew?"

"No, ma'am." he seemed a bit crestfallen and glanced at Riley. "A suit of clothes for the girl, please."

"That's four coppers, sir."

"So cheap." he murmured, counting out the coins.

"I don't do the work for money, sir." Dorcas smiled sweetly and pulled out a jacket and pants for Christina. "You can change over there, miss, to preserve your modesty."

Blushing, Christina thanked her and went into the abandoned building that the woman had indicated. She stripped off the dress and felt it's folds between her fingers before she pulled on the jacket and pants. They were warm and felt heavy-duty, almost as if they were bullet proof. Stripping off a piece of her dress, she tied up her hair in a ponytail since the wind kept beating it into her face.

Reilly and Orion were talking right outside the door.

"So, you've been here before?" she asked as way of letting them know that she was there. They turned to look at her.

"I've been here twelve times, actually. Reilly's been here eight." Orion looked her up and down. "Good. Just leave the dress, I doubt you'll be a scout. Come on, then."

"Why doesn't Dorcas recognize you?"

"I don't know." he said shortly. "I talk to he nearly every time, so it makes no sense. Everyone here, everyone we talk to, they always say the same thing and have the same reactions to everything we say. It's like we're in a movie or something. There are horses in here." he rapped on a stable door. A thin, reedy voice called out "password?"

"The Spangled Bandit send us." he recited dully. The window opened.

"Who's there?"

"Orion Rochester with Reilly Derrik and Christina Corentine. We need three horses."

"I can't ride." Christina murmured, but Reilly waved that aside and took her wrist. The door opened and a weedy man leered at them. "Anything for those sent from the Spangled Bandit." he smiled. "Come along and choose any nag you want."

"Get the three black ones, they blend in best." Reilly helped Christina mount. "If you see an apple on a tree, grab it. Don't worry about the bats, Orion will take care of them. We'll stop by the river in a few minutes. Don't worry" he smiled slightly "I think you'll find out riding is pretty easy. Everyone seems to know how to do it here."

And to her shock, he was right. It was as if she had known all her life.

"Can I name him?" she called to Reilly as they went over the wet countryside, stars rising in the sky.

"No." he shouted back.

"Why?"

"Trust me, just don't."

But in her mind, she named her black stallion Vulcan.

The ride must have been far but it didn't feel like it. They seemed to go inhumanely fast over the hills, and it wasn't long before Reilly called for a stop beside a ribbon that rushed like a ribbon of darkness itself through the night. Orion was far ahead, circling back and going forward again like a bird of prey.

"Everything's clear." he called when he came back and dismounted, an armload of bats. "I got bitten by one, but nothing a couple drops of nectar won't heal." he pulled out a small vial of golden liquid from his pouch and dripped it onto his arm. Steam billowed up and he winced, but when the smoke cleared his face, which had been drawn with pain, was relaxed. "You and Christina sleep, Rye. I'll watch."

"You always watch."

"There's a reason I've been doing this for longer than you." he smiled slightly. "Get some sleep. Azazel will be here soon."

Christina did not know nor care who Azazel was. Black spots had begun to dance before her eyes, and she she drank and ate a bit of the bat meat that Orion cooked, her exhaustion overcame her.