Just before sunrise the next day, Nash took Kory’s advice and moved the ship with the greatest stealth to a bluff overlooking the southwestern edge of what they were calling a city. Surface flight was quiet enough. It was only when the thing needed to leave any given atmosphere that it got to be noticeably loud. She set the craft down behind the hill and wasted no time deploying the hydraulic stabilizers and exit ramp.

  The four emerged under a radiant red sky that bathed the whole rocky landscape in its glow. Together they rounded the bend to take a look at their target. It didn’t resemble much. In the light of the rising sun, it appeared as little more than piles of rubble in the distance. Maybe the stacks were a bit large to be random, but it was far from a proper city. Had it ever been?

  If they were judging on appearance alone, the prospects would seem bleak. But the unmistakable sensation of collective electric resonance on the wind let them know they were in the right place. It wasn’t the same feeling as standing near Kory or Zol when they were fully charged up and ready to fly. This presence was further away, and threateningly large, like the low and deadly rhythm of a power transformer. The Toravai felt it more strongly, more individually, but Nash and Greg were susceptible too. For some time, they stood there without speaking, meditating on the scope of the danger beyond.

  Kory was the first to break the silence regarding the fluctuating waves of power sending forth from the settlement. “They’re fighting in there,” she guessed. Zol made a sound of agreeance.

  “How can you tell?” Nash asked. She held a similar view, but didn’t want to be the first to jump to the ‘savage’ conclusion.

  “Something about the air,” said Greg. “Like the way it feels just before a storm.”

  “Precisely.” Kory agreed, her gaze still fixed on the unsettling ruins. By now the sun had climbed a little higher over the horizon, piercing their eyes while providing no warmth. If anything, there was a chill in the air. The ever-present dust in the atmosphere made sure of it.

  “Well…” Greg posited. Despite his Humanity, the energy was getting to him too. It reminded him of the excitement and tension and fear one feels just before a sporting event turns violent and the fans start breaking windows. “…should we go get ready to get ready?”

  He didn’t get an answer right away. In that moment a gust of wind overtook them, blowing more powder into their eyes and throwing them nearly off balance. The group ran for shelter just behind the hill where the ship was parked and waited for the air to settle. As they gathered their bearings a foul cry echoed forth from the direction of the city. It was more than the howling beasts Greg had heard on his first trip here, more than the roaring sea outside Zol’s old cave. This was sharper, more painful, and there was no mistaking the threat it carried. The chosen explorers knew now with absolute certainty that native or not, their chances of surviving the city were slim. These people killed their own.

  Zol sat there stone-faced, unwilling to communicate any trepidation he felt. Come what may he would always have the same hard, unyielding glare. Kory, on the other hand, was perfectly capable of expressing fear in this moment, despite her reputation for pride, or at the very least, indifference. She sank to the dirt in the shadow of the hill and gazed with longing at the safe little spaceship.

  “Is it worth it?” she asked.

  “It has to be,” replied Nash. Her confidence faltered under the weight of so many implications. It was a weight she could not share despite its great burden on her conscience. “We’re not even supposed to be here.” The thought shook her. The present danger, the pending galactic energy crisis, and the visions of the crumbling prison architecture surrounding this very planet all flooded her mind at once. “I’m not even supposed to be here.”

  “Isn’t there another way?” Kory implored. “I know sky-level imaging won’t pick this stuff up because the waves don’t… carry through the ground or something.”

  “Right,” said Nash, impressed her friend remembered anything about remote sensing.

  “But what about the drones?” Kory continued. “If they can map a whole planet, can’t they just go find the stuff for us?”

  “They might make it to the deposit, if it’s there, and if the residents of the city don’t get their hands on them,” Nash chose her words carefully. She didn’t want to risk any offense when discussing Kory’s people, not so much out of politeness, but fear. “But the… radiation isn’t the right word, the uhm… intrinsic quality of the Vercoden will prevent them from finding their way back. The stuff makes complex electronics disappear all the time, the smarter they are the worse it is. That’s why Vercoden mines can’t be automated like the ones for other minerals – “

  “No, I get it,” Kory sulked. She let out a heavy sigh and sank even further, resting her head on her knees. For a moment the wind quieted, and the dust began to settle around them. “If we hadn’t found any under that disgusting temple we wouldn’t even be here now.”

  “But when you were there, it only proved our theory didn’t it?” Nash pressed, reminding Kory of information whose origin needed no investigation. “Any major structure; anything that was built here, long ago, with some intent has the highest amounts under it. Doesn’t it?”

  “Obviously, yes.” Kory said, rising from the ground. She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and began rubbing her face very aggressively. “For some reason, anything that looks like anything at all is built on top of the biggest deposits. It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “In that case,” said Greg. “We’ll start sharpening a sword for Z too.” He brushed the dirt off his clothes and started walking back towards the ship.

  “It’s an epee,” Kory groaned, as she and the rest trudged behind him.

  #

  Later in the morning after ‘getting ready to get ready,’ Kory and Zol left the shelter of the hill and walked down the eroded slope to the pile of rubble that forgot it was a city. At their sides hung the makeshift weapons, hidden under heavy cloaks; both dark gray in color, but only because Kory didn’t have a red one yet. Earlier, at Greg’s urging, the jailbroken epees were taken far outside the ship and tested for conductivity. With any luck, they worked, and Kory briefly overcame her fear as she summoned forth lightning from her hand and watched it dance up the tip of the blade. But now, on the long walk over, all the temporary delight vanished like the sun behind the gathering clouds. “Maybe if the weather wasn’t so awful, they wouldn’t be either.” She thought, with all the disdain only an off-worlder could muster.

  They knew they’d reached the edge of their destination when scattered black rocks rose forth from the red sand. As they progressed, the stones became more numerous and organized, forming the remains of once-proud structures, now reduced to obscurity. The light took on that autumnal quality, rendering the darks too dark and the lights not light enough. In the periphery they both imagined movement within the shadows, little figures darting here and there. They weren’t the right size to be adults. Could they be animals, children even? They walked on, not bothering to investigate, and unwilling to face the consequences of doing so.

  Deeper into the rubble the stones began to define themselves further, until Kory and Zol walked along a sandy, but solid, slate floor. This floor was open to the sky, though it might not always have been. All around them stood heaps of thick, cylindrical rock reminiscent of columns. After a while, the floor gave way to a massive stone staircase descending before them, and from the top of it they beheld the entire ruined metropolis. It was hard to tell what anything was anymore, and yet the whole place looked almost grand in the ruby light which shone intermittently through the clouds. On the farthest edge of the city, just on the horizon, they caught a glimpse of a shimmering sea.

  “We never did go to the beach,” Kory mumbled. Zol didn’t quite process what she was saying, but he understood the sentiment all the same. Below them, among the ruined buildings, they saw their people; real, defined, unquestionable people, just milling about and living their lives. Aside from the people was the evidence of their presence. Like at the distant temple, a newer, simpler grade of construction surrounded the ancient stones, bridging the gap between the whispers of the past and the deafening cry of today.

  At various intervals below, Kory and Zol saw episodes of violence. There were a few minor altercations on the streets, and even some sort of organized fighting establishment in a small arena further downtown, but otherwise the overall level of hostility was far below what they’d estimated earlier. Perhaps that wild howl they heard earlier really was the wind after all. Emboldened by their observations, they turned to each other and shared a look of knowing, each set of void-dark eyes fixed upon the other. Wordlessly, they descended the great staircase and entered the city together.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “I don’t think we built any of this.”

  Zol shrugged in an attempt to adjust the heavy cloak as they walked down the stairs. He didn’t like the restriction of it. It was fine for protection from the wind, but the thought of maneuvering in it gave him pause. If things went bad down there, they would need to move quickly. Years of living in isolation had made him strong, but he knew he was not a trained fighter. He touched the handle of the epee at his side and remembered Kory’s brief instruction to lead with the point, let the rest of your body fall after it, and don’t worry about what you hit because it’s all target area. Whether she was right or not, he didn’t have the means to debate her.

  Whatever the point of this excursion was, he knew the stakes were high. He could sense the unease among the group, and he wished there was a way to console them. Though he wouldn’t know how to use the words if he had them, because this was, by his honest assessment, out of his depth too. The only other place he’d been with any number of people was the shanty town by the temple. He was grateful no one there had recognized him this recent time. Maybe the haircut hadn’t been such a bad idea after all.

  Towards the end of their descent, he took one last look at Kory. Though the wind was calmer here, he wondered if she was cold. He certainly didn’t want any harm to befall her. This too, gave him pause. Zol would sooner die than let what happened to his parents and brother happen to someone else, especially if it was the kind of death he felt he could prevent. He still couldn’t forgive himself after these few silent years and loud weeks. Redemption eluded him, and he knew it wasn’t at the bottom of these stairs.

  The full scope of the city in its present form came into view. Just like at the last site, the inhabitants made do with the framework the ruins provided. Though here, the style was a little more refined. Sturdy wooden buildings, some as tall as two stories, lined the old, wide streets, making them narrower and denser. Down at this level, Kory and Zol determined the fabrics they saw from high above were not tents, like those at the temple, but overhangs shading market stalls and porticos. Even a few banners flew among them. The only shades of fabric available seemed to be a few iterations of brown, but it was more than Kory expected, given her assumptions about the place.

  As they entered the city proper, the people there stared and whispered to one other, keeping their distance the newcomers. The violence Kory and Zol assumed they would face was nowhere to be seen. Other than a single child slapping his playmate, not one spark flew. Even in their synthetic, space-age clothing they were dressed subtly enough to not attract any additional attention. Though, Kory did take notice of the marked difference in their hair. Zol’s of course was cropped closer to his head now, and hers fell no further than her chin. But here everyone, men and women alike, seemed to have longer hair, at least past their shoulders.

  They wandered further through the meandering streets, speaking not a word between them. Kory left it up to Zol to decide who to talk to, though the bits and pieces of strangers’ conversations she overheard led her to believe the dialect here was different than the one he spoke. She knew her sparse vocabulary would betray her as the most foreign of foreigners, but she wasn’t sure if the other people would know just how far she’d come.

  Kory no sooner finished her thought when Zol found a group to speak with. They found themselves in an old courtyard, with an empty fountain in the center. Affixed to the structure were the carved heads of strange and unknowable creatures from whose mouths water once flowed. Who could tell how long it had been since their throats ran dry. A few desiccated, gnarled vines clung to the fountain, as dead as their host. All along the edge of the square were a few stalls and booths, forming a type of market, or communal workspace perhaps. Whatever purpose this place served, the people here seemed docile enough to tolerate or even answer a few questions.

  The pair approached a group of six sitting under an awning. There were four women of varying age and two men who were borderline elderly. They appeared to be engaged in some sort of textile production, weaving and sewing the same rough cloth found throughout the city. All her life, and even up until this day, Kory envisioned her own people as bloodthirsty savages, obsessed only with war and killing. She was grateful for the civilizing effect of life on Celhesru, but now she started to wonder if there wasn’t more to the story. Here before her sat the reputed barbarians, living humbly, and making arts and crafts of all things. Another incongruity to add to the pile.

  Instead of looking Kory and Zol over with the same suspicion that others had done, the fabric makers acknowledged only their work. Zol stood before them and braced himself to utter the first few clunky words he could muster, but before he had the chance, he was thrown off balance and lurched forward. It was the same sensation of falling in a dream just before waking suddenly. The ground began to pulse all around them, faster and faster. The buildings, shades, banners, and market stalls all shook, raising little clouds of dust in their wake. Kory and Zol dropped to their knees, frozen in terror as they heard the same piercing cry from earlier in the morning. No living being could make this sound. It was deafening, maddening, and made their teeth vibrate in their skulls. Even worse, they couldn’t tell which direction it came from. Whatever incomprehensible thing made this noise was close, if not all around them.

  Kory pressed her palms to her ears to drown out the monstrous sound and that of her own screaming. She crouched in the dirt, face to the pavement, tasting the dust and the shame that followed. This wasn’t how she was supposed to die, head down without even a fight. Her only consolation was knowing Zol surely did the same, and in the face of this world-shattering power, he was as weak as she was. It was only after she’d accepted her fate that the noise died down. The ground stood still too. Just as quickly as it came, the thunderous echo faded away to a whisper on the wind, as if it had never been there. When she was sure the danger had passed, she rose to her hands and knees, saddened to see that her face was the only one with dirt on it. Apparently Zol at least had the fortitude to stare in terror at the sky the entire time like a frightened dog.

  Embarrassment aside, he helped to her feet, and they regained their bearings. She might have refused his hand under normal circumstances, but her ears were ringing too loudly to think of anything else, even pride. As they brushed off their clothes they began to survey the damage that surely surrounded them and were shocked to see there was none. Not a single thing was out of place. Even the people carried on exactly as they did before the tremor, with one exception, they were laughing. One of the old men weaving told them in his own language that he was certain they weren’t from here, and that their performance just now all but confirmed it. Zol grasped most of what he said, and Kory ascertained the gist at least. They deserved to be teased it seemed, for encountering the most terrifying experience of their lives so far.

  Zol said something back to the man, trying to figure out what had just happened. Instead, the least senior member of the group, a girl of no more than fourteen, answered. She told him the sound was the world breathing. He tried his best to translate for Kory, who certainly hadn’t picked up the young lady’s meaning, even if he was himself unsure of what he’d just heard. He knew good and well the world didn’t ‘breathe’ where he used to live. After more prying, he unraveled part of the mystery when one of the other women agreed to take him to the source of the sound. He wasn’t sure it was exactly what they needed to do in that moment, but this person appeared eager to take a break from her work and go for a walk with the two petrified and ridiculous looking out-of-towners.

  She led them just a few blocks away to a clearing, in which stood another grand stone building, partly in ruin, but not as far gone as the rest of them. Unlike others in the city, this one had no improvised dwellings attached to it. Kory and Zol half expected to see children playing or people cooking food under the massive arches, but for some reason, the locals avoided lingering here. Without hesitation, their guide led them through the outer walls of the massive structure. The scale of it was intimidating, even Kory couldn’t envision modern construction equipment assembling stones of this size. The smallest doors were as tall as five adults, and the further they went, the more confounding it became architecturally. Courtyards, terraces, and passageways appeared in places that didn’t make logical sense. If the roof hadn’t gone long ago, the whole place would have felt more like a tomb than a regular old labyrinth.

  Still the weaver woman led them through, silent and serene as if this was any afternoon walk for her. As they went deeper into the place, the spaces seemed to grow larger, playing tricks on the perception, as if the dimensions didn’t add up. At last, they reached what appeared to be the most important chamber of what Zol said the residents of the city called ‘the palace.’ In any traditional palace, the grandest room would have been some sort of hall where people could gather, but here instead was a giant hole in the ground. Kory and Zol wanted to stop to take in the magnitude of it all but had no time to do so as their guide descended quickly down a wide, spiraling staircase. Each step was nearly as tall as their legs, and awkwardly long. Every few yards they had to hop down each massive stair.

  The sun beams from above faded the further down they went, and in their place came another light from below. Beneath their feet, they heard the familiar rushing of waves. It was rhythmic, calming even. The unsettling implications of this place seemed small next to the gentle constant of the ocean’s song. When at last, the three reached the bottom of the staircase, they stopped on a ledge overlooking a large cave opening that gave way to the sea. Daylight shone in and the salt air bathed them in a sense of peace, if only for a moment.

  After the brief pause, the woman led them down a path to their left, trailing deeper into the ground. It wasn’t long before the water was all but forgotten. Kory felt her heart race and her neck tingle as a blue glow surrounded them. The light increased steadily along with the low frequency hum which accompanied it. She now knew exactly where they were.

  Abruptly, they stopped, and their guide turned to face them, her hard, black eyes as serious as theirs. She whispered with the utmost gravity that there would be no conducting of electricity down here at all. That’s how people went missing. When she was sure they understood, she turned and led them forward. Just ahead was a rise in the path, and beyond it lay a sight that inspired the good kind of fear for a change. The largest Vercoden deposit ever seen stretched before them. Solid blue crystals coated every inch of the cave floor, walls, and ceiling; like being inside of a geode.

  This was where the world breathed.