Vylnn led Eollx out of the tent down towards the incline. The fire had been put out and all of the Aphrodites had nestled in their tents asleep. The lingering smoke still remained above the stones. He stepped in front, kicking away the small rocks as they headed down. The clay shifted and churned under his boots as they made their way to the pond. Eollx coughed, scratching at her wounds. The small itchy feeling she’d had since the steam made her feel like she wanted to tear off her wrapping and itch deep into her cartilage. Vylnn stood at the base of the pond. He knelt down at the shore and picked up two smooth stones. Fishing into his belt, he produced a small vial of green powder. The dark staining of the bottle and the cloudy residue layering the powder made its greenish color look like a dreary brown. Vylnn poured a slight bit of the powder on each rock, layering them perfectly even with each other. In one quick motion he clapped the two rocks together, sparking the powder in an eerie green mist. Eollx shifted back, remembering that clacking sound she heard when she first woke in the quarry. Quickly rubbing the rocks together, he ignited the mist in a flaring green-yellow fire. The mist burned away, and the ash fell to the sand in large yellow glowing flakes. Vylnn dug his fingers into the mud, turning it over with the water and the glowing ash flakes. Once he had layered the sediment the flakes now formed a log of sand, dirt, and ash. He broke the log apart, churning it in his palm like cookie dough. Once he had an almost creamy consistency, he rubbed the paste on his wrists, ankles, and neck. He extended his hands to Eollx.

“Please give your hands.”

Eollx was reluctant. He wrists were still itchy, and she didn’t know if that paste would agitate them. She gulped and extended her hands, hoping not to be stung. She didn’t want to think about it, but even the thought of being stung brought her back to the room. Vylnn took her hands, gingerly applying the paste with a quick gracious hand. He moved on to her feet, slowly dragging his fingers over her bare skin. The feeling was foreign to her. She wanted to run away, but the touch in his fingers was like a soothing song, making her bones and joints go numb. Without hesitation, he rubbed a slight bit on her neck, running his hand down her collarbone. She winced. His surprise movement startled her, and she felt the same flighty urge course over her, but she could not move. He pulled his hands away, rinsing them off in the clear water of the pond. Eollx shifted away from him, feeling an overwhelming sensation of embarrassment and nausea. Vylnn stood up and dipped his heel in the water. After a minute he kicked the excess drops off his boot and extended his hand to Eollx.

“The way is under the water for you and I,” he said softly and kind.

“The whole way?” She asked, shifting uneasily from on foot to the other.

“No, it is only at the first part.”

Ellox nodded and took his hand, feeling the same level of nausea as before. Vylnn stepped into the water with her, wading in until the cold blue water was up to their necks which were glowing green with yellow light of the phosphorus paste that Vylnn had made. He gripped her hand tight and submerged them under the water. With the yellow glow of the paste Ellox felt she could almost see through Vylnn’s mask, catching a glimpse of what appeared to be green eyes lighting up like emeralds. They dove deep to the bottom of the pond where, save for small holes that water seeped in and out, was devoid of any form of opening. Vylnn dove towards a cluster of rocks settled in pile at the base of the pond. Taking both his feet, he drove them into the largest and smoothest of the rocks. The rock tipped to the right, breaking a small opening. Ellox could feel the water begin to rise as more flooded into the small pond, rising the water up the incline. Vylnn moved the rock away, flooding the pond even more. Pinching Eollx’s wrist in a tight vice, he yanked her through the opening, sealing the rock behind him as he did. Eollx looked down. Vylnn had pulled her into a dark well stretching nearly a mile deep. Fear overtook her and she began to kick uncontrollably, sloshing and whipping at the Vylnn’s arm. He wrapped her around him, kicking his feet upward through the water. Eollx could feel her lungs starting to swell and she needed to breathe again. Vylnn’s quick kicking lifted them up out of the water to the large stone shore of an under-ground lake. He carried her out of the water, placing her on a series of jagged cracked stones. She spit and snorted water out her mouth as she glared ferociously at Vylnn.

“I nearly drown!” She growled.

Vylnn nodded.

“We all did. First time we came through. Some us still do not return because of the water. I sorry if I worry you.”

His kindness and apology left her unhappy at her anger towards him. She was grateful he was taking her home, but she still felt as if they did not have to through water to do so. She thought of Theodore and the trials he had put her through since the room, feeling sympathy for both. She stood up and scratched her wounds. The same itchy sensation she had been feeling for the last several hours had returned. The scratching at her wounds began tearing away at the tape on them, letting little droplets of blood fall to the ground. Vylnn set his hands on her wrists.

“Where I take you has more wraps and we can clean again and wrap you again. But we head through rocks and dirt. So please leave for now.”

Eollx nodded, taking Vylnn’s hand again as he led her through the cavern. It was a low hanging ceiling with stalactites protruding downward like a set of large teeth. The lake itself did not seem very large, only stretching half a mile but it did feel deep. Eollx couldn’t place how, but she knew the lake was deeper than it appeared. She thought perhaps the heaviness of the water or her recent swim, but it was still unclear. The phosphorus paste lit their way through the slippery rocky ledge. Her feet slipped through the crags, twisting her already torn and battered toes, pinching at her unhealed scabs. After bit of travel she sunk to her knees, fighting back tears. Vylnn sat with her at the base of the water.

“I’m sorry. My feet can’t make it through the rocks,” she said, again itching at her wraps.

Vylnn stroked her arm.

“It is alright. I can carry you for the short way we have left. Please let me carry onto my back.”

He slid a little way off the side of the rock, letting his boots be submerged under the tide. She nodded, reluctant to travel. Taking her fingers and wrapping them around his shoulders as he hoisted her on his back. As she steadied herself on his waist, her hand slipped. As she started to fall off him, she quickly hooked her fingers under his mask, pulling it slightly from his skin. Without warning, Vylnn fell his knees, dripping fluid from the corner of his mask. Eollx fell to the rock ledge, adding another cut to her legs as Vylnn was sucked back under the water. Regaining his balance, he swam back to the surface. He pinned himself to the rock, loosening a lever on his mask, letting the water and what Eollx thought looked a lot like the greenish powder from the bottle, drain out of the mesh. His breathing seemed to return to normal as he pulled himself next to her. The two laid in silence. Eollx curled her knees to her face, refusing to look at him, her silky hair slowly falling in front of her face. Vylnn stroked her arm.

“I did not want to tell Chuhloh, but I know about the room. Our caravan was bigger in past years. We trade with the towns and villages we would visit. Several of the caravan member were truthful with terrestrials and would stay in the wasteland longer. Soon we lost a few to the men in dark clothes. Since then we hide our faces. I suggest you and your caravan do the same.”

“I don’t have a caravan.”

“Surely…”

He trailed off as the water slowly crashed at their feet. Vylnn turned back to her.

“Did the men in dark clothes do that to you?”

“I don’t know, he wore a helmet, another mask, another secret.”

“I hope you do not think I am keeping a secret from you?”

“If I am to return to the stars, how does taking me further into this planet help me achieve that?”

“Same way we got here. Come showing is better.”

He stood up again, steading his feet on the wet stones, outstretching his arms as if he was asking for a hug.

“Please, I carry you like this?”

Eollx stood up, wanting more than ever to get off the jagged surface. She stepped in his arms and he carried her, tenderly wrapping his arms firmly under her, gingerly stepping from one rock to the other. He carried her around the corner of the wall. Sliding his foot a little onto the ledge to steady his turn. As they turned down the cavern, the ceiling rose up to a more open area of the cave. The ceiling here reached upwards of twenty feet. In the weak glow of the phosphorus light, Eollx though she spotted something hanging out of the rock walls, drooping down the wall before sinking under the water. The things were oddly shaped, cylindrical but ridged. Like a coil wrapped in leather and drenched in shoe polish. As they passed the coils, Eollx felt another fit of itching beginning to infest her wounds. She did her best not to squirm in his arms, but the rising heat of the pain on her wraps was becoming unbearable. He carried her to the back of the cave, slowly setting her down on the cold floor. He ran his hands over the wall as she began to dig into her wounds, itching through the wraps, letting bits of skin and blood litter the floor. Tapping the wall with more force, his hand came a large metal bar.

“Here,” he whispered softly.

Pulling the end of the bar, he clicked it into place, sending a loud hum throughout the cave, echoing off the walls in a shattering screech. Eollx stopped her itching and covered her ears, feeling the sensor on her head flare and pop. The coils lit up with an orange-red light, spinning down into the water, mixing up the waves sending splashes of water upon them. The screeching stopped and the sensor ceased its flare. Eollx released her head from her hand, staring out over the water. As the coils spun up and down, a low white light began to shine out of the bottom of the lake, slowly getting brighter and brighter. She cowered back from the light as the waves splashed her face. Vylnn took her hand, showing her a metal spiral staircase that reached up into the ceiling of the cave.

“Come we can watch together.”

The two of them hurried up the stairs. The metal shook and clattered with every churn of the coils, making Eollx lose her balance with every third step. Vylnn steadied her as they made it through the ceiling. As Eollx climbed through the chamber, the stone melded into a smooth metal. They entered a small metal room. The far end was filled with a large panel with dials and knobs. The walls were filled with charts and maps of the sky. In the center of the room was a small table covered in papers and stationery. Vylnn walked to the far end of the room where a large canvas tarp was laid on top of the floor. Flipping a switch, the small room was filled with a slow click of dimly lit bulbs hanging on rope above them. Vylnn moved the tarp, revealing a glass window in the floor of the room overlooking the cave. Eollx was astonished as the water was fully lit by a ring of white light lining the entire cave. Her eyes couldn’t leave the sight. The white ring fluttered as each wave moved against the wall in an almost harmonic fashion.

“Beautiful no?” Vylnn said, noticing the awe in her eyes.

“Yes…” she replied, still trying to take it in.

“I told you was better if I showed you. This how we get off the rock.”

Her itching began to act up again and she started scratching hard, nearly completely removing the wraps. Vylnn stood up and covered her hands.

“Wait here I have something for that. Hold on.”

He stood up and made his way to the table. He opened a small drawer on the side, fumbling through the various things setting them on the top of the table. Eollx returned her gaze to the glowing ring, still taking it all in. Vylnn returned holding a small jar of salve. He unwound her wraps and slowly applied the salve to her wounds. She bit her lip as the initial application stung, yet as he applied more the pain lessened and the itching stopped. She looked back at the room. The dim bulbs on the rope had lit enough to show the maps had been drawn on with different stars circled and written on in the Aphrodite language. As the salve sank in, she felt more relaxed.

“This was your ship?”

“A what?”

“Ship like a machine to travel through the stars.”

“In our langue we call it metaf but when we use the Gaeic words, we call it “carriage” as that sounds the closest to what they would call it.”

“I heard some of them, the terrestrials refer to these as ships. Whatever that may be.”

“Ship then.”

Eollx stood up and moved around the room, looking at the different maps. She pulled up a chair and stared at the writing on the table. Each piece of paper seemed like a plan that was scrapped and crossed out.

“How come you are still here?”

“Sorry?”

“You have a ship…carriage to travel through the stars why haven’t you?”

“We can only send one single beacon. Most of Aphrodite won’t come for us but with you with us we should have assistant from the Ariesians.”

“I don’t understand,” Eollx asked.

Vylnn sighed.

“Please do me the courtesy of helping my people. We wrap your wounds, carry you, wait on you, do what we can to make you happy in our little spot of the terrestrials’ world. I wrapped your wounds, cared for you, fed you, carried you through the rocks. Please Eollx help my people.”

“I can’t see how I can,” she responded, beginning to feel lightheaded.

Vylnn stared at her, his emerald eyes peeking through the mask.

“We may not have anything of value to you, but can you try and help us please.”

“I don’t understand.”

Vylnn stuck the table shaking the whole room.

“The rest believe you. Believe your story but I know your type. A Lekos above all. Leave those of us smaller than you to die! No more! Bon da Aphrodites!”

Eollx tried to calm him down but was unable to open her mouth. Her arms and legs went limp, and she laid back in the chair unable to move. Vylnn began typing at the large control center mumbling to himself.

“If Eollx arr Areis will not help my people. Then she will be my barraging chip.”

Finished typing into the command center, he turned the knobs all the way to the right. The screeching noise returned as the coils turned faster, shaking the rocks and the sides of the cave. The ring became brighter until it burst forth a ray of light that shattered the ceiling of the cavern, stretching out into the stars.