Free The Hekamon by Leo T Aire Page B

white sack over
one shoulder.
    He was heading downhill, with his back to him, while
looking around furtively. From the direction of his travel and
Gregario's description, there could be no doubt, it was Tansley.

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    "No, you first," Aegis replied.
    "I'm holding the door."
    "I'll hold it." Aegis took the weight of the
door from him and pushed it a little higher.
    Gregario sighed apprehensively, removed his cloak,
looped it on his belt and climbed into the hole. He descended the
wooden steps and once satisfied he could pull himself out again,
turned, knelt down and started to crawl along on his elbows and
knees.
    His initial progress was helped by the light coming
through the hatchway, but that light was diminishing rapidly. Aegis
had joined him in the tunnel and as the door closed behind them, they
were submerged in total darkness.
    He stopped.
    "What's wrong?" Aegis asked softly, sensing that any loud noise would bring down a hail of dirt from the
roof above them.
    "Nothing," he gasped, almost inaudibly.
    "Move then."
    Gregario could tell from Aegis's tone that they shared
the same feeling. Neither of them wanted to be in this hole in the
ground any longer than necessary, but he couldn't move.
    "Are you stuck?" Aegis asked, a hint of panic
in his voice.
    "No," he lied, before realizing he couldn't
leave it at that. "Not exactly," he then had an idea, "If
the door, or whatever is at the other end, is locked or can't be
forced, we're going to have a hell of a time coming back again."
    "Yes, but do we have any choice?"
    "Maybe we can do it a better way. You stay at the
trapdoor, keep it open so I have some light. If I can get though at
the other end, I'll call you."
    "Good idea, let's do that."
    In the darkness, he heard Aegis scramble back and start
up the wooden steps built into the end of the tunnel.
    As the door
above them opened, the light and fresh air that streamed in, caused
him to untense. The feeling of being buried alive didn't
completely disappear but it faded enough that he could get moving
again.
    Keeping his head down, Gregario inched along, keeping a
steady pace.
    The illumination the open trapdoor provided was helpful,
to begin with anyway, but as he crawled further along, all too
quickly he found himself immersed in darkness again. Unable to see
clearly, he began to weave erratically from side to side, like a
beetle, startled by the sudden lifting of its protective stone
shelter. His shoulders inadvertently bumped into the wooden support
posts either side as he went. They moved with each impact, disturbing
the earth, which crumbled around him.
    The thought that the roof may cave in on him took hold
more strongly. The sensation of his chest being crushed, along with the dusty
air he was breathing, caused him to wheeze and cough. In the confined
space, the sound of his retching stayed with him.
    He'd heard such sounds before, or something very much
like it, in the aftermath of particularly fierce battle. The death
throes of mortally wounded men, their bodies writhing in agony, their
eyes pleading for help. Not for him to save them, but to end their
suffering.
    The recollection brought back memories, images that did
not help his state of mind at all. The end of the tunnel could not
come quickly enough, but the fact he wasn't there already, meant his
progress must be painfully slow. He crawled on.
    From what he had seen above ground he could guess how
long the tunnel was going to be, assuming it didn't go far under the
hut. If that was the case then he must be close, yet the tunnel
continued, and so he struggled on, until eventually, blessedly, he
made it to the end.
    The gentle bump of his head against something wooden a
welcome relief. An obstruction that he assumed must give entry to the
trading post. Gregario took a few deep breaths to compose himself,
coughed a little more, and set about breaking in.
    He searched around what he hoped was a door. The amount
of light this far in was so little as to be no help,