We Leapt Into the Sky

Chapter 10

The lights in the lab were off, save for the glow coming from the closed door of the computer room. Behind the door, an office chair squeaked. Fingers tapped against a keyboard.

Kendra crept back, quietly shutting the door to the lab. She entered the living area and flopped down onto the couch, brushing her dark hair off the collar of her pajamas.

"She's still in there?" Seph asked. He sat opposite her, wearing sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt. His knee jiggled and fingers tugged at a loose thread on his sleeve.

"Yep. Same as yesterday."

The tremors in the caves had continued. For two days, the group drove out to the ruins, only to pick up on vibrations on their sensors as they reached the plateau. Bria reacted to the brief interruption in their expedition by holing herself up in the computer room. She rarely spoke to anyone outside of their lab meetings.

Antony emerged, padding barefoot into the living area. His wavy brown hair partially obscured red-rimmed eyes, and he yawned. "God, three days of sleeping in, and I'm still exhausted." He sat near Kendra. "Let me guess. Bria's in the computer room, crawling the walls."

"Yeah. Do you want to try heading to the caves again today?"

"Why not? Hanging around here hasn't exactly been relaxing."

Quick footsteps echoed through the hall, and Bria appeared, as though summoned. She scanned the room, making eye contact with each of them. Kendra nodded to her.

"I would like to suit up and head out," Bria said. "I can be ready in half an hour."

A moment passed, and no one spoke.

"Yeah, that works for me," Kendra said.

Antony and Seph murmured agreement as well, and Bria inclined her head and left. Kendra exchanged glances with the other two and shrugged, heading to her room to change.

As she opened her dresser, the photo of her parents caught her eye. They smiled, arms wrapped around one another, in front of her childhood home. Kendra's gaze drifted to the laughter lines on their faces, to the wrinkles at the corners of their eyes, so like her own.

A rush of melancholy hit her, and her stomach flipped. It was like she was falling into that pit in the ruins again, dark glassy crystals rushing past her. She felt loneliness so intense it nearly buckled her knees, and she sat hard on the bed. She rubbed her thumb and forefinger over the place where her wedding band used to sit, reaching out for warm metal and forgetting it wasn't there.

Kendra stood, shaking herself. She needed to get ready.

* * *

 "I don't see any obvious damage," Bria said, surveying the main chamber of the ruins.

Seph glanced at the readings on his tablet. "Right, and it's quiet. I'm not picking up any seismic activity." His shoulders were stiff, his posture rigid. A low, persistent anxiety radiated off him, though he seemed to do his best to moderate it. He breathed in deeply, letting it out slowly, and Kendra could practically hear him counting the beats in his head.

They retraced their steps to the lower chamber where they had found the dilapidated set of ruins. The machines had not sealed off the tunnels again, and they descended, the drone lighting the path ahead of them.

Antony zoomed in on their location on the holographic map. Seph poked his head over Antony's shoulder, well into his personal space.

"The tunnel is still structurally sound. Seph?"

"Looks good to me," he said, still peering over Antony's shoulder.

"Do you want to lead the way?"

Seph did as they followed the path deeper underground. As they entered the larger chamber, he stopped. Antony walked into him.