Fading Into Darkness: The Under Series Book 2 (24 page)

“Good, now hold onto it and try to pull yourself up. Try lifting one leg up at the same time.”
“This is not how I expected I would be spending my day.” I said pulling my leg up.
I managed to hook it over on the second try. This fence was higher and wobblier which didn't help.
“You mean night. Not how you expected to be spending your night. Moon, stars and dark skies.” he
said pulling himself up next to me.
“Right night, cause it's not day time here.” I mumbled to myself as I watched him jump down and
land perfectly without even faulting.
“Did you say something?” he asked looking up at me.
“Nothing.” I replied, then I realised he had mentioned the moon.
I looked up at the sky and sure enough I could see the moon glowing and the stars glistening all
over the dark sky. Back at the manor there was no moon, no stars. Just clouds that always seemed to
cover the moon or sun, I'd never seen stars down there.
“Err Ruby, you coming down?”
“Sorry I was looking at the stars. I haven't seen them for months.”
“Why have you been living underground?” he joked.
But it was much more than a joke to me. It was the plain obvious truth. I had been living
underground. Underground in some other world, some underground world. The word
Hell
sprang to
mind, but that only reminded me of Jessie. Even the thought of his name bought a smile to my face.
Calling him Jessie felt right he looked like a Jessie.
“Yo! Ruby,”
“Sorry,”
“You okay to jump?”
“No I'll probably break a leg.”
“Lower yourself down and let go, I'll catch you.”
“Fine but if I somehow manage to elbow you in the face and break your nose don't say I didn't warn
you.”
I let go and Brandon's arms caught me around the waist lowering me safely to the ground.
“See that wasn't so hard.” he said letting go.
He nodded his head towards the trees and I followed him walking across the grass until I could see
the outline of long rectangular shapes in front.
“Where are we?” I asked catching up to him again, he was tall and his one step was equivalent to
two of mine.
“Home?”
As we got closer I could clearly see we were on a trailer park and the shapes were trailer homes.
I was so busy being nosey looking through windows amazed some people were still awake at this
hour, that I'd completely lost Brandon. I had only let my eyes wonder for a second and he had
vanished. I came to a stop and spun around looking for him both ways.
“Ruby,” Brandon called quietly.
I followed his voice and found him helping himself to a beer from a drinks cooler outside someone's
trailer.
“Want one?” he smirked.
“No that's stealing.”
“The guy owes me like a ton of money from goods I've sold to him and he's not paid up. So every
few nights on my way through I help myself to a beer. It's all cool, I consider this interest.”
He opened the lid with a bottle opener from his key ring and handed it to me. I took a few sips and
we walked along a dirt track between the trailers. He downed his bottle and placed it on the floor
next to a mailbox.
I finished mine and he took it from me and stuck it in a flower pot.
We walked down someone's little driveway and around the back and cut across the grass and
zigzagged around a few more trailers.
“This place is like a maze.”
“Don't worry I know where I'm going. I know this place like the back of my foot.”
“I thought the phrase was
'back of my hand'
?”
“It is but I'm not normal.” he said smiling over at me.
I felt something wet land on my nose which I quickly wiped away.
“Here comes the rain.” he said pulling me by the sleeve, hurrying me.
We jogged across another dirt track and Brandon ran over to a trailer numbered 69. He ran up the
steps and I hurried to catch up with him just as the heavens opened up and started to pour down.
“Sixty nine baby,” he said pulling out his keys. “My brothers probably still awake, but I warn you
he's a complete book nerd and history fanatic. So if he gets too much tell him you're anti history.
That's what I say when he starts with me.”
He opened the door and walked into a warm room where an electric heater was switched on heating
the room. The rain fell down loudly on the roof and sounded as though it was going to come
through the ceiling of the trailer. There was a small kitchen area on the left with a two seater table
and a corridor that led off to the bedrooms. To the right was a sitting area with an old retro TV, one
long couch and a small desk with a computer. There was someone asleep on the couch facing away
from us.
“Yo bitch! Wake up. You're hogging the seating area.” Brandon said loudly.
The guy grumbled and rolled over while Brandon continued to nudge him with his foot.
“What time is it?” the guy asked sitting up, pushing Brandon's foot away.
He looked different to Brandon but there was still a likeness to show they were brothers. He had
slightly longer brown hair that was an untamed mess of waves and was wearing a beige knitted
jumper that looked five sizes too big for him with jeans and nothing on his feet.
“Around three.” Brandon replied as he walked into the kitchen.
“Ruby this is James, James this is Ruby.” Brandon said opening the fridge, digging around inside.
“Hello Ruby.” James said standing up giving me the once over.
He walked over to the fridge and started whispering to Brandon. But I could still hear him.
“Mom said no more girls.”
“It's not like that, she needed a place to crash.”
“That's what you always say and I get stuck on the couch while you rock the bunk beds.”
“Don't be such a bitch about it, the couch is way comfier than your bed anyway.”
“Brandon we've talked about this. Drink, drugs and girls go hand in hand for you. It has to stop.”
Brandon rolled his eyes and looked over at me.
“Would you please tell my idiot brother that we didn't come back here to screw each other.”
“No. We're definitely not doing that.” I said shaking my head looking at James as he continued to
look me up and down.
“See the girl is completely repulsed by me.” Brandon said laughing. “Now chill would you.
Anyway where's mom I thought she'd be back by now.”
“Who knows?” James answered.
“Whatever. Ruby you hungry?” Brandon asked.
I hesitantly nodded. I was hungry but this whole situation felt awkward and the judging look James
was giving me wasn't helping. I was questioning whether I should leave or not.
“We're feeding her as well.” James said not thrilled by the idea.
“Would you shut up and stop being such a douche and make us some pancakes. Ruby you like
pancakes?”
“Erm....” I looked at Brandon then at James feeling extremely uncomfortable knowing he didn't
really want me here.
“Do you?” James asked giving into his brothers request, waiting for my answer.
“Well if you're making some I wouldn't mind one.”
“Cool pancakes. Yummy!” Brandon said putting his jacket on the back of the chair. “Sit, make
yourself comfortable.” Brandon said pushing me towards the couch.
“Would you like some help?” I called over to James.
“No he doesn't. James is the master chef here. You'd probably just get in his way.” Brandon said
sitting down kicking his sneakers off.
“No it's all good. I think I can handle it.” James called over.
I took off my hoodie and wedged it on the back of the couch and sat down next to Brandon. The TV
was on the selling channel. A lady wearing too much make up and long dangle earrings was selling
baking dishes.
“What is this shit?” Brandon muttered changing the channel.
I looked over at James to find him staring back at me. I sunk back into the couch trying to ignore his
obvious glaring. Brandon switched it over to the kids channel.
“Brandon not
Adventure Time
again, don't make her watch that.”
“It's epic. I don't get why you hate it so much?”
“For a start it's a cartoon aimed at children.”
“Oh yeah, I forget you're like really old.”
“I'm not really old. Twenty three is not really old.”
“Older than me.” Brandon called over to him.
“How old are you Ruby?” James asked mixing the mixture with a hand whisk.
“Eighteen at the moment but I should be nineteen soon, I think. I forget.”
Brandon looked sideways at me then back at the TV.
“Brandon's nineteen in three months did you go to HPH with Brandon?”
From what Jessie had told me I had gone to HPH. I was probably in the same year as Brandon, we
may have even had classes together. I doubt he'd remember me though, he looked like the type of
guy that didn't even know what day of the week it was.
“Yes it was a while ago. I sort of dropped out.” I said.
It wasn't like I could say I was kidnapped by this underground death tracker called Cam and he took
me back to Under because he was planning on marrying me and making me his queen.
“That must be what you have in common.” James said quietly.
I didn't think it was meant for our ears but I still heard it. I looked over at Brandon who was too
engrossed in his cartoon to notice anything.
We both sat in silence watching a programme about a boy and his best friend that was a dog with
magic powers. That's about all I got from it the rest was to bizarre to understand.
“Do you work?” I asked Brandon.
James started laughing. “Brandon doesn't know the meaning of work.”
“You can talk you work at the public library.” Brandon snapped back at him.
“There's nothing wrong with working at the library, at least I have a job. The only experience you
have with customers is selling weed behind the bike shed at school and you weren't even good at it
considering you got caught.”
“Whatever. I'm in-between jobs currently.” Brandon stood up. “Here you pick something, I need to
take a leak.” he said handing me the remote. I went to take it from him but he quickly grabbed my
hand and pulled it towards himself.
“Nice tat,” he said looking at the back of my left hand where my tattoo was.
“My dad has the exact same one.”
I looked at my hand then put two and two together.
“What's your dad's name?” I asked.
“Err it's...oh hang on,” His cell started ringing. “Yo Dean! What's up man?” Brandon answered his
cell and walked off down the corridor, I looked over at James who was shaking his head.
“Would you mind setting the table? Grab the other chair over by the computer table.”
I picked up the chair and carried it over to the table. Then I cleared off the large stack of women's
magazines and ashtray full of cigarette ends.
“Cutlery is in the drawer next to the sink and plates are whatever you can find in the sink.”
I laid the table and washed up three plates. The whole time we could hear Brandon down the
corridor having a conversion about the best way to brake into the scrap yard.
“Please excuse my brother and ignore everything you can hear right now.” he said stacking another
pancake onto the pile.
“He told me he was in a twelve-step programme is that true?” I asked quietly.
“Yes he is but I don't know how long it will last with friends like that?” he said referring to whoever
Brandon was on the phone to.
“You know you look so familiar, do you live close by?” he asked.
“Um no, well I did used to live with my brother here in Heaven's Point but I've been gone for about
a year now.”
“Are you just passing through town?”
“Sort of.”
“So you did go to HPH before you moved away.” he asked.
I nodded wondering why he was so interested?
“That must be it. You look so familiar I must have seen you when I used to drop Bran off at school.”
“Probably.” I replied. But there was no good asking me, I couldn't remember a thing.
“I don't suppose you know anyone called Micah Greenwood?” I asked.
“No can't say I've ever heard of that name before.”
Brandon walked back into the kitchen and James served the pancakes. I chose to butter my
pancakes with a sprinkle of sugar, James helped himself to lemon juice and sugar and Brandon
covered his in chocolate spread.
“Thanks for the pancakes.” I said to James as I handed him the last plate to dry.
“It's no problem.” he said smiling.
Over pancakes and washing up James had become more accepting of me. We had gone from him
telling me all the jokes he knew about pancakes to the fishing boats at Copeland Harbour and how
much he liked fishing. Brandon had taken himself off to bed and left me with James. Thankfully I
didn't mind, James was friendly enough and seemed to like talking to me. He offered me his bottom
bunk bed to sleep in but I politely refused I wasn't going to turn him out of his own bed plus I could
hear Brandon snoring from the kitchen.
James found me an extra blanket and left me alone on the couch. They were very trusting seeing as
they didn't know me and had left me alone to do what I want. I could be anyone, I could have stolen
anything, not that there was much to steal. They didn't have many things and nothing looked new or
modern even the computer looked ancient. I pulled the blanket over myself and snuggled down into
the couch. Thinking only I could end up in such a weird situation. Why couldn't I have had a normal
life like other teenagers my age? Instead I was sleeping on a strangers couch, passing time before I
could get back into the underworld trying not to get caught at the same time. It was crazy I had
spent months trying to figure out where I was or a way out of there and now I was trying to sneak
back in. The pitter-patter sound of rain on the roof soon soothed me to sleep.

“It's her. It's definitely her.” James said in a hushed voice.
“No the hairs all wrong.” Brandon replied.
I blinked my eyes open to see the room was lighter. The sun was up. I turned over to see James and
Brandon standing in the corridor whispering to one another.
“Look her name's Ruby Summers.” James added pointing at something.
“Will you shut up, she'll hear yooooou. Too late you woke her up with your newspaper rustling.”
Brandon said smacking the newspaper James was holding.
“What time is it?” I mumbled as I looked at my watch. It was 8.40pm according to my watch which
meant it was 8.40am here. I didn't feel tired which was no surprise, realistically I would have only
finished dinner just over an hour ago.
I wonder if anyone's missed me yet? What am I thinking of
course they would have missed me. When have I not turned up to dinner?
Cam probably had the
whole manor under lock down searching for me.
“What are you doing?” I asked looking over at them. “Well, what is it?” I stood up and took a step
towards them and James folded the newspaper in half. “What's that?” I asked walking over to them.
“Nothing.” James said.
“You didn't say that a minute ago when you dragged me out of bed.” Brandon said moaning.
“What are you talking about?” I asked trying to get a look at the newspaper.
“Well ask her, so we can all go back to bed.” Brandon said knocking James with his shoulder.
I looked at James waiting for an explanation.
“Is this you?” he asked unfolding the newspaper and holding it open for me to see.
There was a small picture of a girl with the word
'MISSING'
above it and the name Ruby Summers
underneath. The girl looked identical to me only with blonde hair.
“How old is this?” I asked searching for a date. Not that I even knew what the date was today as we
only went by days of the week back at the manor.
“It's last years just over ten months ago. I dug it out of the neighbours shed. He likes to collect
things. I thought I recognised you. I laid in bed thinking about it for ages about where I'd seen you.
Then I remembered seeing posters of your face all over town when you disappeared.”
“So she's a run away. Now can we all go back to bed.” Brandon whined.
“Have you...” James started to speak but Brandon cut him off.
“Wait is that why you wouldn't go back into that house last night because your rents still think
you're missing?” Brandon asked patting his pockets down.
“No. I never said that was my parents house. You just assumed it was.”
Brandon lit up a cigarette watching me carefully.
“Have you notified the police you're back? Does your family know?” James asked waving the
newspaper in front of my face to get me attention.
“No. No and no. Look can we just keep this low key for now and I definitely don't want to speak to
any police.”
“That is you then?” Brandon asked curiously.
I nodded. I wanted to find my brother and let him know I was okay. The thought of him worrying
about me and not knowing what had happened to me made me feel sad. It was strange I had no
memory of Seth but I felt strangely sad when I thoughtful about what he must have gone through
not knowing where I was for so long. But I had no idea where he even was and I didn't have very
long left before I had to go back, I would never find him. The only number listed under the picture
was for the local police station.
“So is it true, did you run off with your boyfriend?” Brandon asked.
“What are you talking about?” James said looking back at the picture. “There's no mention of any
boyfriend on here.”
“Nothing. Forget about it I'm going back to bed it's too damn early” Brandon said brushing it off
and walking back to his room.
“Speaking of early I don't want to be late I have to start work soon. So are you going to go to the
police or let someone know you're safe? Where was this house? Even if you don't want to go home
yet I think I should speak to your parents and let them know you're safe and not lying in a ditch
somewhere.” James said bending down to tie his laces.
“I don't have any parents living here. There's my brother but I wouldn't know where to find him and
I'm not talking to any police.”
“What's your brothers name?”
“Seth Summers.”
“So you don't have an address for him?”
“No I don't. Oh wait a minute,” I said digging in my pocket. “I have this though, do you recognise
it?” I asked holding up the address. Now I knew I was in Heaven's Point I wondered who's address
it was.
“104 Green Oak Park, Ridge Road, Heaven's Point.” James read the address out loud and looked at
me curiously. “Who's is this?” he asked.
“I'm not sure. Do you know where it is?”
“Well yes we're on Green Oak Park. It's the name of the trailer park. 104 is on the other side
somewhere.”
“Huh,” I said.
Seeing as I'm so close it couldn't hurt to take a quick look.
“Will you be here when I get back from work? I finish at five. I really think we need to notify
someone that you're safe and well.”
“Sure.” I replied. But it was a lie.
The last thing I wanted was to be questioned by police, how would I possibly explain where I'd
been for the past year. They would have me committed to the loony bin. James was only trying to
help but I could see he was going to become a nuisance more than a help, but I would be gone by
the time he retuned. I had planned to spend the day scoping out Rose Cottage and trying to figure
out who lived there. Did they know they had a gateway to Hell in their basement? I was still
imagining what Cam would do if he found out. Most likely he'd lock me up and never let me leave
my room again. Just thinking about my room made me feel homesick, I actually missed my bed.
The couch was nice but it wasn't my bed. As much as I felt like I'd been living in a prison back at
the manor I still considered it the closest thing I had to home.
“If my mother comes home just tell her you're a friend of mine and she won't question it or she'll
still be too hung over to even notice you. She normally spends the day sleeping it off when she's had
a night on the town and Brandon will probably be in bed until I get back and wake him up. He's
becoming nocturnal.” he joked.
James left me sitting in front of the TV. I helped myself to a juice box and sat watching a
programme about different ways to slice a pineapple, it became so boring I eventually turned the
channel back to the kids channel Brandon had it on before. I soon became restless and decided it
was time to go.
Outside the sun was trying to shine through the gaps in the clouds. Last nights downpour had left
behind large puddles and a really muddy floor. I put my hood up and quietly pulled the trailer door
shut behind me.
I tread carefully down the muddy driveway trying my best not to slip over. I walked along the main
track passing a variety of trailers. Some were painted bright colours and others had plants and
flowers hanging from baskets. Then there were the plain beige and brown trailers with rubbish
littering the ground and rusted old cars sat in the drives. Loud music pumped through the walls of
one of the trailers, I felt sorry for the neighbours it sounded as though the walls were made out of
paper it was so loud. I followed the numbers looking for 104 but some of the trailers didn't even
have numbers and the others weren't in number order. The whole park was a jumbled mess of
trailers and numbers. I finally found a stretch of trailers that started from 92, so I was getting closer.
I walked passed 92 where a loud mouthed woman was shouting at her child, the young boy jumped
over the railing and ran off barefoot across the track in front of me. I quickly looked away from the
woman eyeing me up and kept walking. The trailers along this section all had mailboxes which
were all clearly marked with a number. I was just coming up to 96 when a bird flew down in front
of me and landed on the mailbox. I stopped and edged closer for a better look, to double check I
wasn't seeing things.
“Merlin,” I whispered.
The bird squawked and flew over to the porch railings. I knew it was Merlin from the tag. There
were six ravens at the manor and each one had their own number. Cam's bird Rocky had 4/6 printed
on his tag and Kenzie's bird Merlin had 6/6 printed on his. The bird sitting on the railing had 6/6 on
his tag, without the tag he'd look like a regular raven he had no distinct markings. Only Rocky
Cam's bird looked different with his white splodge. I looked around, how had Merlin even got here?
A car was coming towards me on this side, I stepped back but obviously not far enough as the car
drove straight through a puddle covering me. I looked back at the car to see a group of teenagers
laughing at me through the back window as it drove off.
“Hilarious!” I said to myself shaking off the water.
I turned back towards the bird but instead found Kenzie looking back at me leaning against the
mailbox.
“Where did you come from?” I asked jumping in my own skin. I panicked and looked around for
Cam.
“Relax he's not here,” he said reaching into his pocket and checking his cell.
Today he had his usual skinny jeans on with a pair of red sneakers that matched his oversized red
hoodie finished off with a black cap on backwards.
“I think all Hell would break loose if he knew you were here.” he said lightly.
“What?” I replied hoping he was joking.
“No if Hell was about to break open I don't think I'd have time to spend all day looking for you.”
“How did you find me?”
“The bird he seemed to have a good idea. Good job too I was looking in all the wrong places.”
“How did you know?”
“You weren't at dinner. You're always at dinner.”
“Does Cam know?”
“No he wasn't at dinner either. Everyone thought you were upstairs and didn't want to come down. I
found Senka and he said you weren't up there. You've been acting really strange and distant the last
few days and then it finally dawned on me what you were doing camped out on that bench outside
your room. You'd been watching the elevator. So I checked everywhere for you, even Senka went
off looking for you. In the end I had to make something up so I told him you'd probably found a
hiding place to read and wanted to be left alone. I don't know whether he believed me or not.”
“Are you mad?”
“No. Why would I be mad with you? I'm surprised it took you this long. How did you figure it out,
the elevator?”
I thought of Alex but I wasn't going to bring his name into this.
“I finally realised looking up from the gardens that there was no forth level.”
Kenzie nodded. “I was waiting for you to get it.”
“I don't know what I was expecting to find when I took the elevator, I definitely wasn't prepared for
this. Is it true I've been living down there?” I looked down at the muddy floor and back at Kenzie.
“Have I been living in Hell?”
Kenzie quickly shushed me and took my arm walking me back the way I had just come.
“No stop,” I said digging my heels in. “You still haven't answered me.”
“No. Yes. Sort of.” he said thinking about his answer.
“What? That makes no sense. It's an easy question Kenzie. Yes or No?”
“The part where you have been living is just general underground. We call it Under, there's not
really any other name for it. It's huge like a whole underground world.”
“Okay so is there a Hell?”
“Yes it's lower,”
“Lower than Under, how far down does it go?”
“It's hard to explain to someone who's never seen it. There's layers. Under, then Hell is under Under
if you get what I'm trying to say?”
“Not really but I'll take your word for it. What's with the weird time zone? I left the manor in the
afternoon then I ended up here in the middle of the night.”
“Twelve hours difference it doesn't matter which way you look at it. There's no time line in Under.”
“Under. Underground,” I said still figuring it out. “Is that why I've never seen the stars or moon
down there. And the sun never comes out from behind the clouds.”
“Cause they don't exist down there it's all an image, like a decoration but it's not the real thing.
Don't ask me for specifics, I didn't create it. Where did you find these clothes?” he asked changing
the direction of the conversation as he playfully tugged on the zip of my hoodie.
“In the sewing room. Are they mine?”
“Well they fit don't they.” he said looking around. “Ruby I need to take you back.”
“No not yet. If no one knows I'm missing we're okay for a little longer.”
“But if Cam comes looking for you....”
“Um you just told me he didn't turn up for dinner so he's out. So stop panicking. I'm the one that
should be panicking not you. Jeez! You're sweating everywhere.”
“I'm currently imagining all the things Cam is going to do to me if he finds out about this. I need...,”
he said digging in his pocket flustered. “Smoke.” he said fumbling with his lighter.
We sat down on a picnic bench outside one of the trailers, it didn't look as though anyone was
home.
“So these are my clothes?” I asked hoping he would give me a proper answer.
“Yes. I remember you wearing them when Cam bought you down that night.” his eyes flickered up
to mine.
“It's okay I already know about Cam kidnapping me, it's no secret.”
“Did you get your memory back?”
“No. I didn't. But I also know there was no accident, I didn't fall out of any tree. He did something
to me when he bought me down he wasn't supposed to.”
“No. He wasn't. He faded with you. He should have known better.”
“Fading is for demons and souls.” I said quietly remembering the conversation I'd heard between
Senka and Cam.
“Seriously who have you been talking to? If you didn't get your memory back then who told you?
Did Senka tell you all that?”
“No so don't even go there. He doesn't know I know anything.”
“Then who does? You've obviously been talking to someone.”
I remained tight lipped and watched as Merlin pecked at the floor.
“Wait does this have something to do with those dreams you've been having?”
I looked up at him. “Yes.”
“Who?” Kenzie asked watching me carefully.
I closed my eyes and took a few moments considering whether to tell Kenzie or not. I wanted to.
“Ruby who? You can trust me.”
“Can I? You've told me before you wouldn't risk getting into trouble. If I tell you, you'll tell Cam.”
“Maybe before yes. But I've been thinking a lot about all this and you're the only thing worth
getting into trouble for. Ruby I know we haven't known each other that long but you're my only real
friend in Under. I don't get along with anyone else the way I get along with you. I want you to be
able to tell me anything you want, I hated lying to you.”