He started shaking all over and breathing very heavily as he shook his head full of denial. Wh-why is it here..? Wh-what do I do? He dug through many thoughts about how to handle finding something forbidden. If I say something, they’ll accuse me of placing it there and kill me! But if I don’t say anything, they’ll look for evidence and see me walking out of here and STILL blame me… what do I do?! He took deep breaths to calm himself down.

“Think, Scott, think.” He whispered to himself while clasping his cheeks and quickly glancing around himself. He started quietly pacing around the tunnel. He didn’t see the tools he set down when he discovered the mark and, without warning, carelessly tripped over them. He fell on the solid concrete with a loud thud, all the tools in the box spilling out in a symphony of clanks and bangs. He sat up quickly in silent alarm, his heart pounding harder than before. He looked behind himself, in fear of a group of Inner City guards coming to kick the truth out of him before setting the barrel of a gun between his teeth for being an accused traitor. He sat there in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Nothing. Silence. No footsteps could be heard outside of the throbbing of his heart ready to jump out his throat. He didn’t realize he was holding his breath in until he exhaled, a wave of dizziness coming over him. He slumped up from his position on the ground and started slowly and quietly picking up the tools on the ground, careful not to make any more noise. As he picked up the last tool, a hammer, an idea sparked inside of him. He glanced wearily at the mark. He turned around and dug inside of the toolbox and pulled out a screwdriver. He marched over to the mark and positioned the edge of the screwdriver just above the edge of the paint and started vigorously chipping away at the concrete. The only noises echoing through the tunnel was the small tapping noise the hammer made against the screwdriver, the sharp breathing of Scott, and the small clinks of concrete falling to the floor. As he slowly etched away at the mark, his nerves started to ease off and his heartbeat slowed. He realized what he was doing was working! As chips started piling up into a red and black shape, he kicked them to the side so they would scatter and be unrecognizable. He was removing any trace of it even existing. When he was done, the wall was fairly smooth like it wasn’t even there. No one would even notice it unless they studied it intently, and even then they wouldn’t know what was originally there. As he finished up and put the tools away, he thought about what he was gonna do next. A thought struck him. The guards will be suspicious of me taking forever to get back..! I have to think of an excuse so they don’t accuse me of foul play. He started pacing around again wondering what his alibi would be.

“‘I uhh accidentally fell asleep!’ No no that wouldn’t work at all. ‘Oh, sorry! I got lost in the tunnels’. No no no there is only one path here, they wouldn’t fall for it. ‘I couldn’t find the tools and got lost looking for them’ Oh that’s a good one it might work. Okay, okay breathe. Hopefully, they’ll take it..”

Scott grabbed his tools with a swift move of his arm and swung around. Suddenly before him, a man was standing and watching him. He stood there in silence, staring curiously at Scott. The light of the tunnel made him seem like a big, scary silhouette. Scott stood there, frozen, like a deer caught in headlights. His legs started shaking as he opened and closed his mouth like a stuck fish, trying to find the words to speak. He was too focused on disposing of the evidence, he never realized this man behind him the whole time. Seconds passed until the man broke the silence.

“What’chu doin’ friend? You look so shaken, like you saw some ghost.” Scott shook his head vigorously, the only thing he could communicate.

The man let out a hearty laugh. “Don’t worry son, I don’t snitch. Yeah there have been quite a few marks around like ‘at. We just paint over them and move on. No one says shit to them dumbass guards, they’d just kill us anyhow.” He winked at Scott, which in turn calmed Scott’s nerves and allowed his muscles to relax some.

“We deal with this shit everyday. The only way we can live is not sayin’ shit to anyone. We all need to be on the same side. Now come on, we need to head back before them asses realize we’re gone” The man turned around while swinging his arm around in a welcoming gesture. Scott watched him for a bit, then cautiously walked along behind the man. As the sunlight washed over them as they exited, the guards approached them with malice intent.

“Why were you two taking forever in there. Doesn’t take that long to pick up tools..” The guard spat in their direction

As Scott was about to speak, the man interrupted him.

“It’s very dark in there and I was the last one to put the tools back. This sap wouldn’ know where I put ‘em so I figure I’d help ‘em.” He gestured crudely to Scott. Scott nodded to the guards nervously, sweat breaking on his forehead.

“‘Aight well, get back to work. I don’t need to be babysitting grown ass men.” The guard scoffed and walked away, the other guard following closely behind. Scott turned to the strange man with a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much… I-I really appreciate it.” The man gave a warm smile and lifted up a hand to bring it upon Scott’s back. He realized he never looked very close at the man’s details. He was dressed in a pair of dark green overalls with dirt smeared all over it, yet there was a pleasant smell encasing him. He had a rugged and somewhat wrinkly face, that of an overworked middle-aged man. He had a small scar leading down his right cheek that barely touched the corner of his mouth. He had rugged brown hair and bright golden eyes that were filled with a sort of familiarism. His smile was very warm and welcoming. Scott felt at ease just glancing at the man.

“Don’t worry son, I’ll stick up for you whenever you need it! I believe in teamwork. Also I don’t think I recognize you. Are you new here?”

Scott paused for a second. “Y-yeah I’m new, heh. I’ve only been here for about a week. Sorry if I don’t know who you are, we aren’t supposed to talk while we work...”

The man moved his hand to Scott’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze. “That’s alright! I try to get to know everyone here on this job. It’s the least I can do to keep our sanity.” He chuckled to himself. “So son, what’s your name?”

“Scott Mitchell.” He replied with a hushed tone and a quick side glance in the guards’ direction. “Well Scott, it’s nice to meet you! The name’s Elijah! Lost my last name a long time ago. Lost it by not remembering it haha!” He let out a hearty laugh.

The corner of Scott’s mouth went up with amusement. “Well I best see ya’ later! Gotta git’ back to work y’know?” Elijah gave one last reassuring squeeze on Scott’s shoulder before turning around and heading back to the hole he was digging. Scott stared at him for a bit before turning around to his spot and started digging up his part of the dirt for the rest of the day, still having a small smile plastered on his face.

. . .

The day was already ending as the sky turned a rich violet color. The bright, white stars shone through like diamonds in the sunlight. Scott stood up from his spot and wiped sweat from his brow. He had been working for the remainder of the day and the hole he started had grown 4 feet deep. He walked over to the water pump and started cleansing his hands from the dirt. Wish they’d lend us some gloves.. Scott thought while examining his burnt hands. The palms of his hands started to peel off a bit and became tender and sore. Scott rubbed them with a grimace. He approached the guard and received his pay. It was cut in half because of the time he spent in the tunnel, the guard spit. He was disappointed, but didn’t argue for obvious reasons. As he walked through his front door, sore and exhausted, he noticed his wife lying on the couch in their living room. Her face lit up when she saw him.

“Hey honey, how was work? Oh you look so exhausted!” She audibly gasped. “Here let me get you some water.” She got up and walked over to the sink and carefully poured a glass of water. He took it gently, wincing as the cold glass touched his wounds.

“Aw thanks so much dear,” He sighed. “Some things happened at work. It kind of prevented me from uhm.. getting max pay” He sheepishly looked down.

She gave him a sympathetic look. “That’s okay dear, don’t feel bad. you worked hard and that’s all that matters! I will always appreciate all the hard work you do.” She gave him a small peck on his cheek. “Now what was it that happened?”

He looked up slowly, glanced around himself to see if there was anyone listening in unto him, even though him and his wife were safe in the privacy of their own home.

“There was this… mark,” As he whispered this, he leaned in close where she could feel his breath on his lips. His eyes kept darting in the direction of the front door.

“M-mark…?” She repeated in awe. “Yes, a mark. The mark of the rebellion… it was deep in the pipes, painted onto the concrete wall. I panicked and chipped it off with a screwdriver. It took me a while to destroy the evidence, and as a result, I lost some of my pay..” His voice trailed off at the end. “B-but there was this voice.. This.. this noise I heard. It’s like it was teasing me to follow it. It led to the mark. The voice…” He looked down in concentration and confusion.

Willow caressed his face. “Just.. be careful next time dear. I don’t want you getting hurt okay? Avoid everything dangerous as much as you can. Also... I don’t know what to make of the voice. Maybe you were just hearing echoes? Maybe you thought it was the noise from the city above?” She gave him a reassuring hug.

He looked up at her with a grin. “Maybe I’m just going mad from being away from you.” He hugged her fiercely and started giggling madly. She started laughing as a huge smile formed across her face. He picked her up gently and placed her on the couch while still hugging her. They both started giggling and laughing while hugging each other very close.

“You’re the only one I need in this fuck up of a world.” Scott said between laughs while hugging her tightly. She laughed even harder and hugged him tightly.

It soon ended with both of them falling fast asleep with each other in their arms. Nothing to worry about; Just enjoying each other as if the world were ending... as in this moment, they were the only human beings on earth…

. . .

(author's note) *tapas only lets you put 15,000 characters so I have to split it up sorry!*