Friday, the 5th of July, May had woken up to the sound of crashing thunder. Her eyes shot open, and she glimpsed around her dark bedroom; the dark silhouette of her furniture surrounded her bed, but no sign of Smokey anywhere. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and let out a soft yawn, reaching under her pillow for her phone. It was nearly 6:50, the latest she had slept in since the spring; no new messages were sent in the dead of the night.
After turning on her lamp, she stood up, stretched, and grabbed a cigarette and lighter off of her bedside table. Grabbing her umbrella, which was hung up, near the door, she pulled on her boots and stepped outside. The rain poured heavily, slapping against the rubber fabric of her umbrella, the strong wind tossed her hair across her face as she slowly walked towards her mailbox, trying to light her cigarette. Once lit, she grabbed her mail, pinching her smoke between her lips, and opened the only parcel she received this morning, from Sebastian. A letter was taped to the top of it, which she read while she smoked; the wind tugged and pulled at her the note, which she tried to still.
May,
I hope this letter reaches you by the morning, it's suppose to rain. Grab us some coffee and come by the house right when you get this; lets head to the mines finally.
Sebastian
May smiled, seeing that he kept his word instead of having their adventure to the mines as a passing idea. Tucking the letter into the chest pocket of her nightgown, she opened the parcel; four brand new thermoses, black, grey, purple and white, were in the box, with a note taped to one; 'for the adventure'. While she smoked, she wandered to her keg, filling each thermos, and made her way back to the house, tossing her cigarette butt into the mostly-empty coffee can outside of her door.
She dressed quickly, pulling on jeans, a tank top, and her grey sweater, and pulled her hair out of her face, tying it into a tight bun at the back of her head. She grabbed her umbrella once more, and quickly picked her crops, tended to her hens, and returned inside. She glanced at her watch, 8:00. After eating a quick breakfast of maple bars, which Evelyn sent her the day before, and emptying most of the contents out of her backpack, save her pick-axe, wooden sword, cigarettes and lighter, she tried coaxed Smokey out from beneath her bed; the small black cat shivered, terrified. "Come on Smokey, it's okay, it's only thunder. Nothing's going to hurt you." Despite her attempts, the cat remained hidden. May moved her food and water beneath her bed, hoping the cat would eat at least, and she quickly made her way out to the rain.
She sprinted up the mountain trail, holding her umbrella tightly to her chest. The wind howled through the valley; each time she stepped through a puddle, it splashed against the back of her calves and thighs. Ignoring the wetness on her legs, she pushed herself further, feeling her legs burning and soaked. Finally, she could see the carpentry shop parting through the trees, she slowed to a walk and continued on, trying to catch her breath.
Closing the door behind her, she was greeted by Robin, who was still in her pajamas's, sitting at her front desk. "Oh, good morning May." She said, looking up from her drawings; blue prints scattered her counter, and a white pencil was tucked behind her ear. "What can I do for you today?"
May smiled at Robin, glancing over at her furniture for sale; a small shelf caught her eye, but she pushed the thought away, she would buy it another time. "I was looking for Sebastian. Is he awake?" She asked.
"Surprisingly yes." She said with a wide smile. "He's just in the kitchen, having breakfast. Go on in." As May wandered through the hall, she heard Robin shout "Oh no! Your pants are soaked!"
Stepping into the kitchen, Sebastian sat over a near-empty plate; all that was left was an omlette, which he picked at with his fork, cutting it into smaller and smaller pieces. Maru sat beside him, eating quickly, her plate nearly clear. Demeterius sat across from her; his back faced towards May. The two were laughing and talking about Demetrius's new project. Maru noticed her first.
"Good morning, May!" She said with a smile. "Are you joining us for breakfast? There's plenty left!"
Everyone at the table stared up at her. May glanced between the three of them, and shook her head, upon seeing Sebastian slowly start to rise. "No thank you, I already ate." She said politely.
"What did you have for breakfast? It's the most important meal of the day, you know." Said Demetrius, taking a bike of his omelette.
May couldn't think of a lie quick enough, and internal sighed, telling the truth. "I had like, two maple bars."
"That's not breakfast." Announced Maru, rising from her chair. "Grab a seat, I'll fix you a plate."
Feeling trapped, May took a seat across from Sebastian, setting her backpack on the floor beneath the table, and gave him a smile. He smiled in returned, and nodded, slowly taking a bite of his omelette.
Maru set a plate of fried yams and pumpkin, an omelette with baked fish chopped into it, and two berry muffins in front of May. She took a bite of her omelette first, which tasted fantastic. "Thank you." She said after swallowing the first bite. "Who made it?" She asked.
"Dad did." Replied Maru, smiling up at her father. Demetrius smiled back at his daughter. "He's a great cook."
"Thank you Maru." His attention turned towards May, his plate nearly empty. "So, how are the mushrooms in the cave growing thus far? Have you noticed any changes?"
May forgot about letting Demetrius use the cave near her home to grow mushrooms. After eating a bite from her fried yams, she replied. "They've been growing a lot faster now. I go in about once every two weeks and they're already full grown, ready to pick."
"That's fantastic! Those soil samples must be working well then. Let me know if you notice any changes." He grabbed his emptied plate, and turned on the water, rinsing his plate. "Maru, will you be joining me in the lab today?" He asked.
"Yep!" She replied, bringing her emptied plate as well. Her father rinsed their dishes, while Maru made her way out of the kitchen. Before she left, she turned back to Sebastian and May. "You two have fun whatever you're doing today." She said, and turned down the hallway. May could hear the distance sound of Maru's voice at the end of the hall. "Oh, hi mom!"
Demetrius left after the plates were rinsed, following Maru's footsteps. May glanced at Sebastian again, raising an eyebrow. "Something wrong with your food?" She asked, taking a bite out of her muffin.
Sebastian shook his head, and stood up with his plate. "I hate eggs; I think they're disgusting." He replied, scraping his plate into the garbage. "You almost ready to go into the mine?"
"Just one second." Said May, and began shoveling food into her mouth. Sebastian raised an eyebrow at her, watching her quickly eat; May glanced up at him, and asked "what?" with food still in her mouth.
"You can slow down." He said with a chuckle, though she continued to eat quickly. She ate most of her plate, save a muffin, which she wrapped in a napkin from the table. "Gross." Said Sebastian, with a grin on his face.
"Shush." Replied May, standing up. Sebastian grabbed her plate for her, and set it in the sink while May tucked the muffin in her backpack. "Also, I brought a coffee." She said, handing Sebastian a grey thermos. Taking it out of May's hands, he opened the top, and took a deep drink out of the thermos, smiling.
Robin peaked from the hallway, holding a folded pair of jeans in her hand. "May?" She asked; the two of them looked up towards Robin. "I bought these the other day, but they didn't fit right; you can have 'em if you want, and I can dry your pants tonight.
May took up Robin's offer, and excused herself to the washroom, Sebastian offering to rinse her plate. To her surprise, when the fabric was unfolded, they were a pair of overalls. She peeled off her wet jeans, and put them on instead, wearing her sweater over top of them.
One Sebastian grabbed his backpack from his room, the two wandered out of the house and into the rain; quickly, May opened her umbrella over top, Sebastian only pulling up his hood. They walked quickly along the side of the cliff, across the small, wooden bridge, and into the mouth of the mountain. May led him towards the rickety elevator while closing her umbrella, and entered, Sebastian following close. After pushing the lowest floor she could get too, floor 35, the machine groaned and whined, and slowly sank, deeper into the ground.
"What's with the elevator anyway?" Sebastian shouted, over the grinding gears in the elevator shaft. "Why does it only go so far?" An anxious look crossed his face each time the elevator screeched.
May shrugged, grabbing her wooden sword and pickaxe which peaked from her bag, and tucking away her umbrella. "I guess the monsters knock out something in the wiring? Every time I end up on a floor with an elevator door, I have to fiddle with the button before I can even call it. Half the time, there's slime guck in there."
Sebastian grinned, despite the worry in his eyes. "May Flowers, part time farmer, part time mechanic." May shouldered him, while fiddling with her sword, trying to fit it into her belt.
Once their slow descend came to a stop, the two climbed out into the darkness of the cave. Their vision was incredible limited, no burning torches or small oil lamps stood anywhere. May squinted to see Sebastian in the darkness.
"Hold out your hand." Sebastian said. May held out her hand, while he reached into his pocket, and dropped one of the two dimly glowing rings from his hand. "You can keep it, I found an extra one a couple days ago."
Sebastian wandered close by, checking around the cave, while May broke the large boulders she came across, collecting their ores and geodes that broke away from them. She shoved everything she could in her bag, and continuously re-shouldered it, ignoring the heaviness that came. She continuously glanced up, making sure she could see the soft glow of Sebastian's ring nearby. Beneath a bounder, she found a descending ladder, and gave a low whistle.
Sebastian's head peaked around a corner of the cave. "What's up?" He asked.
"We're going down." She replied, pointing at the hole beneath her feet.
Sebastian nodded, and started down the hole, into an even darker cavern; May followed him down. Sebastian pulled out his dagger from his bag, glancing around the darkness. "Do you hear that?" He whispered; May listened closely. The sound of light foot steps wandered around them in the darkness. She nodded, pulling her own sword from her bag. "What is it?"
"Duck!" Shouted May, seeing the movement of glowing eyes behind Sebastian. Sebastian dropped to his knees quickly, holding his head, while May dropped her pick-axe and swung her sword with both hands. The dark figured stumbled backwards, while May ran around Sebastian's crouching body, swinging once more, knocking the monster back further.
Fear struck her chest, while the glowing eyes stared at her. It's large, coal-coloured body stood tall and rigid; it stumbled about in the darkness, beginning to wander away. Suddenly, it turned, it's green eyes flashing brighter, and began to charge. May swung again, striking it's head this time; it collapsed, leaving only a rock in it's place.
"What the fuck was that?" Asked Sebastian, his eyes wide open, standing up finally.
May leaned down, grabbing the single stone that was left in it's place. "A stone golem. That's what the guys in the Adventurer's guild call 'em anyway." She replied, trying to steady her breathing. She chucked the stone into the cave, watching it dissolve into the darkness. "Keep your eyes peeled." She turned back to look at him.
Sebastian raked a hand through his hair, catching his breath. "Well that was fucking scary." He said, mostly to himself. His eyes were focused on the ladder, letting his glance wandered away and into the darkness. Finally, he stared at May, blinking. "Thank you." He said, and kicked a nearby stone. "You saved my ass."
May smiled a little, still shaken up from the golem. "Anytime."
Sebastian stuck closer to May's side now, his dagger in hand and his eyes alert while May mined the bounders nearby. More golems wandered in the darkness, the two of them ganged up on one at a time, May swinging at it's feet to knock it over, and Sebastian plunging his dagger into it's glowing green eyes. Once the boulders were cleared, the two descended once more.
It was slightly brighter now. May was able to see around the single room cavern; a few stone golems wandered about, a bug wandered back and forth between two boulders, caught in a loop, a bat slept by a large boulder, and a green slime bounced about, exploring the dark area. She saw an escape ladder in the distance, and tried to plan how to safely get there.
"We can take them one at a time." Said Sebastian, holding his dagger tight in his fist. May nodded back, and slowly, they crept towards the slime.
A small trail was left behind where the slime jumped about. It's body dripped about, though somehow stayed together, and a small antenna bounced on the top of it's head. Finally, it turned, noticing the two adventurers heading towards them; it's eyeballs stared angrily at Sebastian. It's mouth opened, slime dripping from the top, slinking into it's bottom lip, let out a loud, wet hiss, and it charged at him. He stabbed, and jumped back, a long trail of slimey goop pulled away from it, falling onto the floor.
"Ugh." Sebastian groaned, disgusted. He shook his dagger, trying to get the excessive slime off that covered the blade.
May swung at it next, her blade getting caught in the slimey beast. She tugged on it, unable to pull it out. "I'm stuck." She hissed towards Sebastian, pulling on the blade again. The slime let out another wet hiss, it's dripping goop flew from the opening of it's mouth, and landed on May's jeans, burning through the fabric and landing on her calf. She bit down on her lip, holding in her scream, letting go of the blade, while Sebastian lunged once more, stabbing the monster through the top, plunging his dagger as deep as it would go, until it hit the inner brain. It dissolved into the cave floor; May's sword clattered to the ground.
"You okay?" Asked Sebastian, looking back towards May.
May jumped around on one leg, muffling swears as she moved. "Son of a bitch! Yoba damn that fucking hurt!" Sebastian dug through his backpack quickly, grabbing a purple mushroom out. "Fucksakes, mother of Ohmad, Yoba and Dario!" She sat against a bolder, and rolled up her pant leg quickly, seeing the large glob that burned her skin. She pulled off her sweater quickly, used her sleeve wiped away the goop, and flung it on the ground with a splash.
Sebastian quickly squeezed the mushroom, and rubbed it against her burning calf and into her wound, watching the mushroom bubble against the burn. May let out a muffled scream into her bunched-up sweater, biting into the fabric, catching the attention of the stone golems and the bat. Finally, she sighed, the acidic goop from the green slime stopped burning her flesh. "You okay?" He whispered.
"Yeah, I'm okay." May said, and stared towards the creatures that started making their way towards them. "Whoops." She said, quickly limping to the trail of slime and grabbing her sword off of the cave floor.
"No kidding." Sebastian replied, preparing his own dagger. "We're even now."
May gave a cocky grin. "Who's keeping score?"
Sebastian grinned back, awkwardly chuckling. "No one now." His grip tightened on the dagger. "What's the plan, May?"
After tying her sweater around her waist, she held her sword in her right hand, her left hand pointing towards the hole in the floor. "There." She said. "The golems won't reach us if we run."
"Can you run?"
She smirked. "It's only a burn." Despite her veil of confidence, she was nervous, and carefully adjusted her weight to her burnt leg. "Ready?" She whispered.
"Go."
The two ran, both keeping an eye on the stone golems which fumbled in the dark. The large beast ran into the boulders and searched blindly for openings that hey could charge the two adventurers through. Shortly after, they reached the ladder; May slipped down first, Sebastian followed close by, nearly stepping on her fingers are they climbed down once more.
"Uh, Sebastian?" She whispered.
"Yeah?" He replied.
May's feet hit the bottom floor; her ears were filled with the buzzing of cave flies, her eyes caught glimpses of the green glowing eyes of stone golems, more slimes bounced through the cave, the whole area covered in a coat of cold slime, which dissolved into the roof, floor and walls of the cave. "It's infested down here."
Sebastian jumped down beside her. "Do you want to head back?" He whispered, staring at May.
Her eyes fluttered back to Sebastian. "Do you?"
He gave a small, cheeky grin. "Not really, I'm sort of having fun."
"Then lets do this." Said May.
"Stab the slimes." Muttered Sebastian, slowly creeping towards a stone golem. "Don't slash."
"Noted."
The two battled their way through the floor; the stone golems were taken down easily, and after a short time, May got use to battling with the slimes. She swatted her sword at the cave flies, which quickly dived at the two of them, while Sebastian stabbed at the growing grubs that crawled along the cave floors.
"Hey!" Sebastian shouted as May killed the last of the flies. "There's a way out over here!"
May quickly ran to her friend, desperate to leave this terrifying floor; her shirt was spotted with blood and holes, the cave flies teeth biting through the fabric. Sebastian stood no better; his sweater was torn and eaten at the sleeves, the stone golems grabbing eagerly at the fabric to pull him closer. a thin layer of slime covered both of their shoes, making their descend into the next floor trickier.
"At least it's bright." Sebastian noted.
May reached into her backpack, grabbing one a thermos and chugged the lukewarm liquid. Sebastian followed her pattern, taking a deep drink out of his as well. "Got anymore?" He asked; May passed him the second thermos, and continued to chug hers. "Thirsty?" He asked, taking another deep drink of his coffee.
May took the empty thermos away from her lips and took a seat on a nearby boulder. "Just a little stressed." She said with a smile. "This is suppose to be the last floor until the elevator though, so we're almost done." She said, nervously smiling. Reaching into her backpack, she grabbed another thermos, and took a deep drink out of it. "When we get outta here, lets please go to the saloon."
"Sounds like a plan." He said, taking a seat beside May. He pulled off his heavy black sweater, and tied it around his waist, following May's pattern, and took a deep drink of his coffee. "Thanks for letting me follow you down, by the way. This might be the greatest day ever." He said with a smile.
"Thank you for coming." She said with a grin. "You saved my ass back there." She nudged him with her shoulder, and began to relax. "It's a lot less lonely down here now." Sebastian nodded in response. Sebastian's eyes remained on May, making her feel self-conscious. "What are you staring at?" She asked.
He grinned a little and stared at his shoes. "You're wearing overalls, you look like a farmer." He said, with a small chuckle.
"I am a farmer." She said, standing up to stretch.
"Yeah, sometimes I forget though. You don't act like a farmer, for the most part." He said, standing as well. "Ready to explore?"
May nodded, and tucked her near-empty thermos in her backpack. The two walked through the large cavern, exploring each crevice they passed. Sebastian opened the few barrels he passed, while May mined through the stones. "Need any ores?" He called.
"All of them, if that's alright." Replied May, her forehead breaking into a sweat, despite the coolness of the cave. "I need a better pick-axe."
"May! Check this out!" Shouted Sebastian. May wandered towards the glowing figure of Sebastian, and a wide grin pressed against her lips. Nearly fifteen wooden barrels were placed together, all except one were opened. Sebastian pulled a cutlass from the barrel, and turned it in his hands. "This'll probably do better than your wooden sword." He said with a smile.
May tucked her old sword in her backpack, and eagerly grabbed the handle from Sebastian's hand. She turned her back to him, swinging the sword, getting use to the weight of the handle and blade. "I love it." She said with a wide smile, and turned back to her friend. "But don't you-"
Sebastian cut her words short. "I'm not great with swords; you and Abigail are better, and she already has her own." He said with a smile.
The two dug through the barrels, collecting the gems within them, Sebastian saving the ores for May. May tossed a pair of combat boots to Sebastian. "These fit?" She asked. He placed the boot against his shoe, and nodded. "I think so."
Once the ladder was found, the two descended once more; May felt a chill along her spine the further she climbed down. When her feet hit the floor, she glanced over, seeing a large chest, and the elevator, then she looked around the small cavern; ice and frost stuck around the ceiling and walls, the floor was covered in a thin layer of ice that cracked beneath her feet. "Get the chest, I'm gonna mess with the elevator button." She said to Sebastian, making her way to the elevator.
Sebastian grabbed a slingshot out of the chest, and while May carefully fiddled with the wires, pulled out the blue gem that was lodged into the elevator door, and pushed the elevator button back into place. May called the elevator, and glanced back Sebastian, who was pulling on his sweater again. They stepped inside, and made their way to the top floor, listening to the whining and creaking of the elevator.
Stepping out of the cave and into the pouring rain, May took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air. "That was fun." She stated, dropping her backpack into the wet grass, and stretched her back. She pulled on her dirty sweater once more, pulled out her umbrella, and opened it above her head, Sebastian joining her beneath it. In her pocket, she could feel her phone buzzing.
"Yeah, it was." Sebastian replied, lighting two cigarettes and passing one to May. She took a deep drag, and watched the smoke filter out of her mouth. "We should do that again." He said with a grin. "Ready to go to the saloon?" May nodded and the two slowly made their way down the mountain. She pulled her phone out, reading the missed-messages from Alex, and one from Michael. "Lover boy texting you?" Sebastian asked, taking a deep drag from his cigarette.
May nodded once more, skimming through the 5 messages:
Hey May, want to hang out today?
Where are you?
Text me back when you get these
Are you mad at me?
Michael: May! Call me when you get this! :D
She sighed quietly, and responded to her messages quickly. Sorry about that, I was in the mines today. Some other time? Finally, May looked up at Sebastian, his eyes staring off into the rain. "Yeah, I don't really want to talk to him right now though."
"Oh?" Replied Sebastian, flicking the end of his cigarette. "How come?"
May stared at her shoes. "I'm kind of annoyed. He said something about you, and it just, I don't know, frustrates me."
"What'd he say?" Ask Sebastian, his full attention on May. A knot began to develop in her stomach, wishing she hadn't said anything. Reluctantly, she told him what Alex said, calling him a 'weirdo'. To her surprise, Sebastian started to chuckle, and shake his head. "That's all he said?"
"Yeah." Sebastian's grin stayed on his face, his cigarette was pinched between his lips. "What's so funny?" May asked, taking a drag off of her smoke.
"May, you're sweet." He said with a grin. "I'm not mad, I know I'm a weirdo, so does Sam, and Abby." He wrapped an arm around May's shoulder. "You kind of are too. That's why we like you."
May smiled a little. "Think I'm dumb for getting mad?"
Sebastian shook his head. "Naw." He said with a grin. "So, what kind of stuff did you find down there?"
"A bunch of ores, some amethyst, a couple of earth crystals to make a mayonnaise machine, and just some gems to sell. What about you?"
Sebastian shrugged, and took another drag off of his smoke. "About the same. You got Abby's favourite gem though."
"Really?"
"She loves Amethysts. Sam likes the earth crystals too, he has a collection of them in a box under his dresser. I was thinking about giving him the slingshot, just so he didn't have to keep carrying Vincent's around."
May made a small mental note to hand Abigail and Sam a gift when they reached the saloon. The two walked in silence through the town, listening to the crashing lightning and rumbling thunder, and entered the saloon.