Where the Sidewalk Ends (the story) - Part 10

Einith checks the sewer entrance for the hundredth time. As soon as she’d gotten word that the chip had activated, she’d hopped on a bike and made her way here.

The past weeks had gone by at a snail's pace, and she had worried every day about Kayden. A part of her feels guilty about asking him to go back inside and she’d feared the worst as the days had dragged on.

Now, she paces the area outside the sewer. She doesn’t even know if Kayden will show up today. He could have been waylaid by a thousand different things. Or, he might have decided to stay in Pinnacle, though she highly doubted that.

No, she just needed to be patient. That was easier said than done as she makes another loop around the sewer hatch.

Maybe I should have let Bowden come. He wouldn’t hesitate to tell me to sit my ass down. But the camp didn’t need both of them gone for what could be hours yet.

As if her thoughts conjure him, her communicator goes off. She starts at the noise and eyes the camera hidden in the nearby trees, knowing he’s monitoring it. Holding down the ‘talk’ button, she mutters, “Bowden?”

“You’re going to start a grass fire with all that friction you're causing,” he grunts. “He’ll come when he comes.”

“Thanks for the sage advice, oh wise one.”

“Hey, I’m more than just a hunk of meat to look at, ya know. I’ve got substance.”

Einith laughs, hearing the smirk in his voice. Glad for the distraction, she’s about to joke back when a noise from the sewer has her whip her head around.

“Bowden, I’ll call you back. I think he’s here,”

Stowing the communicator in her jacket, Einith rushes over to the open hatch and peers down into the darkness. The sun had risen a half hour ago, but it didn’t help her see into the gloom.

“Hello?” she calls, hoping the noise she heard hadn’t been her imagination as she clicks on her flashlight and shines it down.

Two blue eyes squint back at her, the girl's slight form frozen on the ladder mid way up. “Um… hi? Are you… are you, Einith?” The kid sounds scared, but the shock of not seeing Kayden leaves Einith speechless and she just stares at the girl in confusion.

But when the girl reverses her climb, fear etched on her face, Einith shakes her head to clear it. “Hey, yeah, yes, I’m Einith.”

The child blinks up at her once more, fear warring with hope as she decides whether to trust Einith’s word.

“I’m Kayden’s friend. Do you know where he is?” Einith adds, hoping his name will sway the kid. Her hunch is correct and the girl all but flies up the ladder at her.

“Kayden! I left him and I shouldn’t have!” Her words tumble over each other as she takes Einith’s offered hand and clambers the rest of the way out of the sewer.

“Wait, slow down! First, tell me your name.” Einith desperately wants to know where Kayden is, but she needs the kid to calm down first.

“It’s Astra,” her voice trails off and her eyes widen as she takes in her surroundings. “Woah…”

“Astra. Is Kayden alright?” Einith asks, her heart dropping when Astra turns sad eyes her way.

“I… I don’t know.”

Einith spends the next several minutes listening in tense silence as Astra recounts what happened. When the girl gets to the part about the drones firing on them as they climbed through the rubble, her stomach clenches in despair.

“Rocks were falling everywhere, and the whole place was shaking. Kayden got stuck. He told me to go, that he would follow, but I don’t think he could.” Astra’s voice hitches as she stares at the city off in the distance. “Can you help him?” she asks, not meeting Einith’s gaze.

Einith swallows thickly, knowing the likely outcome was dire, but also knowing she needed to try to find Kayden. “I promise to try.” The words felt insignificant, but it was all she could offer the girl.

Astra nods, curling her knees under her and propping her chin on them as she studies the nearby wildflowers.

Grabbing her canteen of water, she hands it to Astra before turning on her communicator. “Bowden, I need you here.”

“Already on my way. I’ll see you thirty.”

Astra tilts her head at Einith. “Why are you waiting? I’ll be okay by myself.” But the scared look on her face as she glances around at her strange surrounding belie her words. “Or I could come with you,” Astra offers.

As much as Einith wants to leave immediately, she would not leave Astra in the wilds by herself. And the kid looked far too exhausted for another trek into the tunnel. Once Bowden arrives, he could take Astra back to camp while she goes to look for Kayden.

“Don’t worry. My friend, Bowden, will be here as fast as he can.”

She almost starts pacing again, but the pitiful look on Astra’s face stops her. The poor thing should be full of questions and curiosity about this new world around her. Instead, she’s feeling worried and guilty over something that isn’t her fault.

“Hey kiddo. You did everything exactly right. And from what you’ve told me, you’re a very brave person for helping Kayden.”

“That’s what he said. But If I was so brave, I would have stayed to help him.” Her voice is heavy with emotion.

Einith shakes her head. “No. Sometimes being brave is knowing when to run. If you stayed, you could have been trapped too.” She knows no words will help Astra feel better at this moment, but she offers them anyway.

The minutes drag out in tense silence, and Einith distracts herself by preparing a simple meal for Astra with the food she’d brought from camp.

It wasn't much, some bread, meat, and cheese, but Astra found it sufficiently intriguing that even her current mood didn't stop her from eating every crumb.

Nearly forty minutes later, Bowden finally appears, his simple cotton shirt plastered with sweat as he peddles another of the camp’s bicycles. Vigo, the camp’s healer, isn’t far behind him, his face red with exertion as well.

Their camp had several horses, but they were out with the hunters, so the bikes were the next best thing.

Bowden barely stops before he’s hopping off, letting the bike fall in a noisy clatter. “What happened! Where’s the kid?” He sucks in heavy breaths as he glances at Astra, then back to Einith. “The other kid.”

Einith quickly fills him and Vigo in as she moves to the sewer entrance. “I’m heading down there to look for him. You two take Astra back to camp.”

Bowden grabs her arm as she turns to descend the ladder, stopping her. He leans in close so Astra can’t hear what he says next. “You know as well as me that the entrance, and most likely the sewer tunnel, will be buried by now. The chance that you’ll find… anything is practically null.”

Einith stills, her gaze holding Bowden’s. “You know I gotta try. We owe it to the kid… to Kayden, to try. He’s spent his entire life in near darkness behind stone and steel, if there’s any chance I can bring him out into the sun… the air, I’m going to.”

Bowden’s face is unreadable, but he nods. “I’m coming with you. Vigo can take the girl back to camp.”

Einith agrees, not wanting to take up anymore precious time. But when they try to send Astra with Vigo, she refuses to budge. “No! I need to be here when you bring him out! Please!”

There’s no time for arguments and Einith feels her frustration rising, but Vigo waves her and Bowden away. “Go! I’ll stay with Astra. We’ll be waiting for your return.”

Blowing out a breath, Einith turns to leave, knowing it wasn’t a great idea to have the girl there, depending on what they found, but they needed to get going.

Bowden is first down the ladder and he clicks on his flashlight as Einith joins him in the gloom. It’s not the first time they’ve been down here, but it’s been a few years. Neither speak as they set off.

As the minutes tick by, the realization of what they are probably going to find, or not find, guts her. She’d only known Kayden for a short time, but it’d been enough to see how special he was. Guilt grips her, but she pushes it away. She’ll process those feelings later.

“We have nothing to dig with,” Bowden gripes, the edge in his voice making Einith glance at him.

Einith knew he had a soft side, despite his grumpiness. Bowden was always first to check on the newest litter of puppies, paying extra attention to the runts of the litter.

“We’ll do what we can,” Einith whispers knowing shovels wouldn’t be enough to move large chunks of stone anyway.

“He doesn’t deserve to be buried alive.” Bowden’s gruff voice chokes off on the last word.

Einith doesn’t reply as they plod on, her own throat closing at his words.

“Hey. I thought you two would never come.” A weak voice sounds off to the side in the pitch blackness.

Einith gasps and Bowden swings his light around, illuminating a wounded and weary Kayden propped against the sewer’s wall.

“Oh my god, Kayden!” Einith is the first to his side, with Bowden close behind.

He’s coated in dust, and a long gash on his leg oozes blood, but he smiles when Einith kneels in front of him.

“I’m okay. Mostly.” He assures her as she looks him over for further injuries.

“Damn, kid! You scared the hell out of us! The girl said you were buried alive!” Bowden’s angry rant doesn’t fool Einith, because the look of relief on his face matches her own.

“Astra? She’s okay? She found you?” Kayden leans forward, wincing when he tries to put weight on his leg. Einith has no idea how he made it this far.

“She’s fine. Waiting for you, actually,” Einith says, putting her hand on his shoulder and easing him back against the wall. “You shouldn’t be putting weight on that leg.”

Kayden glances down at the jagged wound. “I was almost through when the tunnel collapsed. Got my leg pinned between two boulders.” He pauses, taking a deep breath before continuing. “After Astra left, I figured the next blast from the drone would be it for me. I counted seven more shots, and each time I held my breath. I wasn’t even scared. Well, not much, anyway. The last blast shook the whole place so badly it should have buried me. But I felt the rock that was pinning me shift just enough that I could pull myself out. I’m not sure how I made it this far cause it feels like my leg is on fire now.”

“Adrenaline, kid. And luck. You must have someone on the other side looking out for you,” Bowden grumbles, handing Einith the flashlight before bending to scoop up Kayden. “Come on, let's get you home so we can bake you that cake I mentioned before you left.”

“Just promise you’re not the one who’s going to make it. We want Kayden to actually enjoy it,” Einith chuckles, making Bowden snort.

Kayden doesn’t object about his mode of transportation in Bowden’s arms, which tells Einith how hurt and tired he truly is. She watches him carefully as they walk, eager to get the doc to look him over. It was still hard to believe they found him alive at all, so they could deal with anything else.

Getting up the ladder is tricky, but Kayden musters his strength and holds on to Bowden’s back while the man climbs. Einith follows behind, bracing her hand on Kayden’s back to help keep him in place.

Astra’s wide eyes are the first to greet them and when she sees Kayden, new tears streak her face, and a grin stretches her lips. “Kayden!” she squeals.

“Hey, Astra.” A wide grin of his own contradicts his sombre response.

Astra babbles while Vigo cleans and bandages the wound on Kayden’s leg, her attention now able to focus on her surroundings. Kayden nods at her words, but his gaze remains fixed on the walled city in the distance.

“So… what do we do next?” he asks, nodding towards Pinnacle when there’s a lull in Astra’s mostly one-sided conversation.

“You? Nothing. You did your part so now you get to relax and enjoy being a kid for once,” Bowden says.

Kayden gives Bowden a funny look, as if he doesn’t know what that means. “I’d like to do something. There’ll be lots of scared kids that’ll need help when they get out.”

Einith stops Bowden’s next words with a hand on his arm. “It might be awhile until that happens. I’m certain Verdant will reach some sort of accord with Pinnacle before long, but until then your work is done. Use this time to heal, discover and just enjoy being. I’ll let our leaders in Verdant know how you feel.”

Kayden considers her words before nodding. “I might need some help being a kid,” he chuckles.

“Oh, I know a feisty girl back at camp that’ll have no problems showing you and Astra a thing or two about that,” Einith warns, making Kayden laugh again. Her heart warms at that sound. He deserved to laugh, to have fun. And she prayed more laughter than not would fill this next part of his life.

“Come on. Let's get you two back to camp,” she says as the wagon she radioed in for arrives.

Kayden gives Pinnacle a last look before turning away, his face serene. “Yup. I’m ready.”

Author's notes: Please see below for the Epilogue.