Ocean

Both Lance and the boy said no more that night. They lay down in silence, and sleep came quickly.

Morning light filtered through the trees. Before either Lance or Sunflower could speak, the boy rose, bowed gently, and said,

“I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting. Thank you for taking such good care of me.” He lifted his head and met their eyes. “My name is Ruby. I’m ready to talk if you have questions. I’m sorry I avoided this for so long.”

Relief softened both their faces. Seeing him take a step forward was like watching a crack of light in a dark room.

Before sitting down to talk, they prepared food. Sunflower had found grapes the day before while foraging for rabbits. As Ruby and Sunflower collected more fruit, Lance began packing their belongings for the journey ahead. His condition had improved with rest, but Sunflower still worried over him constantly.

When the two returned, they all sat together beneath the trees, a small pile of grapes between them.

“Where did you come from?” Sunflower asked. She already knew the terrain around here well; she’d been planning a detour to escort the boy back, away from the dangers of their main route.

Ruby hesitated, then began. “I don’t know exactly what the place was called. I’ve lived my whole life inside a huge cavern. We were forced to work all day and barely slept. The food was horrible. They didn’t cook for us—they’d just hand over raw ingredients and tell us to make it ourselves. We were only children. There were about fifty of us, and the oldest was just fourteen. We didn’t know how to cook.”

He took a grape, rolling it between his fingers as if savoring the memory. “We burned vegetables. We burned our hands. No matter what we tried, the food was awful. I only remember enjoying fruit, but they gave us so little that I used to stalk the storage and eat it whenever I felt at my lowest.”

“Who were the people who kept you there? What did they make you do?” Lance asked, his face darkening.

“They never told me directly, but some of the older children found out. They worked for a royal—a bigshot—who had acquired the mine and wanted its resources cheaply. So he gathered orphans, lost children from his kingdom, and sent them into the cave to work. We mined and hauled the resources out.”

Sunflower’s jaw tightened. “Then you must at least know the kingdom’s name. Or the royal’s.”

Ruby shook his head slowly.

“I wasn’t born in that kingdom, and I’ve never stepped foot in it. My mother was the one they abducted—she was nine years old. They’d estimated the mine would be exhausted in twenty years. It wasn’t. The cavern was so huge it would take fifty years to drain it dry.”

His voice trembled. “My mother lived there from childhood. She grew up, fell in love, and gave birth to me inside that cavern. She died at thirty-four from exhaustion. All the adults died the same way—malnutrition or beatings for refusing to work. I, like all the other children there, was born in the cave. No proper care. Every birth made the mothers weaker.”

Ruby’s eyes glassed over. “She once told me, thinking I was too young to remember: ‘I really want to die. I don’t want to work anymore. Yet whenever my mind drifts that way, it gives me a reason to hold back. That reason is you. I don’t want to leave you alone.’ Then she hugged me. She tried so hard to live for me, but her body gave out.”

A tear slid down his cheek. Lance moved closer and embraced him.

“Your mother would be proud you survived,” Lance said quietly.

Ruby broke down against his chest, sobbing into his shirt.

When he’d calmed a little, Sunflower chose her next question carefully.

“Do you know where the cave is? How did you escape?”

Ruby shook his head again.

“I don’t know. My escape was just luck. A disease started spreading in the cavern—maybe from being too close to the minerals. Many children caught it. The guards built walls at the entrance, kept their distance, but still threw us food and water. They killed anyone who stopped working. Out of fifty, only fourteen remained. I was one of them. No matter how close I got to the minerals, I never caught the disease.”

He took a breath. “While loading the cart with raw materials, I overheard two guards: ‘We should probably dispose of them. Progress is too slow. She can bring in a new batch.’ My body froze. I chose to tell the other children what I’d heard. I knew it would cause panic, but they deserved to know.”

“We didn’t know when they’d act, only that it wouldn’t be long. So we planned to break out. The guards no longer watched us as closely—they feared infection—so they’d walled us in and mostly left us alone, only checking in occasionally as long as quotas were met.”

“Our plan was risky. We’d split into teams of two and run in different directions. The guards wouldn’t want to touch us, and with so many scattering they wouldn’t know who to chase. We all knew some would die, some would be caught to buy the rest of us time.”

Ruby’s hands trembled as he spoke. “We started a fire and hid. When the doors opened and five guards came inside, we ran for the exit. We knew one would be stationed outside, and he was. Even with all of us together, we couldn’t stop him—we’d only waste time—so we ignored him and ran. But he didn’t ignore us. He lunged his blade at a boy named Weller. I remember his face twisted in pain as he shouted bravely, ‘Keep running!’”

“And we did. Our rule was simple: whatever happens, don’t look back. My partner was Ming. She was the most afflicted by the disease, coughing constantly, barely able to run. After a few seconds I could tell she’d collapse, so I carried her on my back. Behind me I heard screams, familiar voices begging ‘Please stop!’ and ‘Have mercy!’ I wanted to look back. I wanted to help. But every time the urge rose, Ming’s ragged breathing spurred me to run faster.”

“The guards fired arrows. A few struck my arms. But thank God they didn’t touch Ming. I ran for days. The guards didn’t pursue, but I still wanted to get as far away as possible. Until I blacked out.”

Ruby finished, brushing small tears from his eyes as he stood.

“Didn’t your friends arrange a meeting point?” Sunflower asked.

“No. That would be dangerous if anyone was caught and forced to talk,” Ruby replied.

Sunflower rose too. “What do you want to do now? If you have a destination, we’ll take you there.”

Ruby hesitated. “Ming and I promised to see the ocean for the first time. She’s gone… but I’d still love to see it.” His voice softened with the thought of a future that might still hold hope.