Free Like Veins of Red Rubies (Most Precious Book 1) by Nicolas Abel Page B

out a light. He felt along the wall for a cleft and perched it there. He
reached inside the bag and pulled out an old digger. He slid the bag under his
stomach and adjusted it to cover him from the hard floor. With both hands, he
aimed his digger above the thin vein of rubies. He activated the digger and it
shot a beam of heated light that shot into the rock. Carefully, he dragged the
beam all the way around the vein until it stuck out by itself.
    "There it is," he said.
He set the digger aside and grabbed a chisel and mallet. He placed the base of
the chisel closely by the ruby vein and gently tapped it with the mallet.
Little chunks of rocks fell away. He continued to pick at the rocks until the
vein fell out, and he dropped his chisel as he shifted to catch it.
    "You’re not getting
away," he said, clutching the rubies. He brought it close and observed it
for a moment before placing it on the cleft. He looked around for more veins,
but there were none, so he brought the digger out again. For a long while, he
dug. But when eleven long rings echoed from the town to the cavern and up the
tunnel, Stanley stopped. He returned his gaze to the end of the tunnel and saw
a glinting point. He lowered his digger and ran his finger along it.
    "What are you?" he
said. Without looking away, he reached down to the cleft to grab the light, but
his grip loosened and he dropped it. The light slid down the tunnel and
cracked, allowing the darkness to envelop him.
    "Damn my luck," he
said. He reached forward and ran his finger along the sharp point. "I can
feel you right there," he said. "It would be a shame to leave
you." He set the digger in front of him and aimed toward it. He released a
beam and using the small bit of light, noticed that the point was red compared
to the surrounding grey rocks. He carved out the basic shape of the point, and
it seemed to go on for a long way up.
    "I've hit the pot,"
Stanley said with a silly grin. He opened his mouth widely and chuckled.
"I've hit it, I've hit it." He dug farther up along the point when
the rocks around it cracked. The protruding tip fell to the tunnel floor and
slid down. It sliced Stanley's left arm as it went by and slid all the way down.
    "Gah!" Stanley wailed. He let go of his
digger and it slid down as well. He rolled to his back and brought his damaged
arm to his face, but he couldn't make anything out in the dark. Liquid dripped
onto his face and rolled down his cheeks. But he did not pay much attention to
it. He used his good arm to search for the cleft, and when he found it, he grasped the thin ruby vein and held it close to his
chest. Pushing with his damaged arm, he slid down, using his bag as a buffer.
His legs almost cracked when he abruptly crashed to the bottom. Frantic, he
patted the ground, but cringed when he felt the broken glass that was once the
light. He patted elsewhere, but not long after, he felt something sharp dig
into his skin, and he reached down to where it was less sharp. He grabbed it,
stood up, and waded clumsily through the water which fluttered violently,
dampening his clothes and washing over his face. He staggered out of the cavern
to the town and looked down to what he held. It was thin, long and red, with a
pointed head at the top. The arm that held it was covered in dirt, torn open
and bleeding.
    "Hey Stanley, what are you
doing out so late?" a voice called from down the street. "It's me,
your cousin Victor." But his greeting was interrupted when he gasped.
"What's happened to you?"
    Stanley looked up and uttered,
"Get my things. Please! I need medicine." He scurried over to the
vending machines and struggled to count his change. His trembling, bleeding
hands barely managed to fit the coins in, but he managed and received a pill
and a cup of water. He swallowed the pill and washed it down with the water. He
crushed the cup with a tightly clenched fist and released a long, raspy sigh.
He glanced at the gash on his arm which spouted the dirt and