The elevator takes us down to Floor 85, where the mines get dark and hot. I tried to get the proper boots for my friends to raise their defense against the heat, but having only one pair, they insisted I wear them. Everyone's sweating immediately, and I feel even more guilty for basically forcing them into this sauna.
As if she read my mind, Abigail slaps a hand on my shoulder and provides a reassuring nod. I swallow my fear as best I can. Like swallowing a cat toy… a big one.
The first floor goes by without much issue. Just a couple of slimes, which Sam was thrilled to take out. Few rocks. Zero geodes.
We trudge through a few more floors with some ups and downs. Sebastian secured our first solar essence from a ghost, which I did not see, and I'm grateful for that. I think Sam saw it, and he's walking slightly closer to me than before. I decide to give him some flak for it.
"Don't tell me you're afraid of ghosts," I whisper to him playfully.
"That's not funny. You didn't see it come through the fucking wall," he hisses back at me. I giggle.
Abigail and I are standing guard while Sebastian and Sam pick at some stones when I start feeling funny. Attempting to turn and face my fellow swordswoman sends a ripple of pain through my lower back. I can't help but gasp from the jolt.
"Violet," Sebastian spins around, whipping sweat off his forehead. "Was that you?"
He and Abigail look at me quickly. Sam is breaking up rocks fervently, as if he didn't hear. I hope he didn't. Arms resting against my torso, I let them know that I'm okay. Just some anxiety pains. When they turn away, I lift the end of my shirt above my midriff to reveal the torso of a statuette. Except for my healthy leg, I am stone from the ribs down.
Sam exhales loudly and announces that he has found two magma geodes. "Thank Yoba!" He exclaims, loading them into his backpack. He chomps on a field snack as a reward.
"Oh, and I found one of these," Sebastian adds, tossing Sam a colorful omni geode. "I almost forgot just now. No more scares, alright Violet?"
… I can't say anything. What could I say? At this rate, I won't be of any help. My throat gets a lump in it and my eyes sting with tears. I try so hard to blink them away, hoping that my position facing away from my friends will hide my fear and shame.
"Violet?" Abigail says slowly, moving to my front. At this point, I've dropped my shirt, but my hands are left suspended in the air. I don't want to move or speak at all. Like maybe if I stay still, the obsidian will stop spreading and I'll have more time. Abigail's fingers graze my belly as she fixes my shirt, nails on stone, and she locks misty eyes with me.
I've always admired Abigail's grace under pressure. She's been through a lot, especially during her training in the mines. Not a whole lot can freak her out or break her. She does not look broken as she looks at me now. For a moment, I see worry cross her face, but it quickly turns to hardened determination.
She begins rattling off orders to the guys. "New plan. Sebastian, you need to take the fishing rod and Violet and head for the 20th floor to work on the ghostfish. Just get to the mine entrance and take the elevator, it's faster. And Sam," she pauses, waiting for his attention.
He's standing now, staring at one of the geodes he earned. When she says his name, his gaze snaps up to meet hers. "Do you think this one will have the obsidian in it? Like, how do we know for sure?" Sam's voice wavers on the end of the sentence.
Abigail puts a hand on his shoulder and offers a command; "You'll be with me, pal. We're going to fight and mine at warp speed. Okay?"
Sam nods. I say his name softly, but he doesn't look at me. Sebastian supports me on top of his arm and leads me to the nearest ladder. We ascend in silence, and we hear nothing from the floor we leave behind.
The underground lake on the 20th floor is lovely. Quiet, clear, undisturbed. Sebastian disturbs the waters for a moment with his fishing line, but the ripples settle, and it is still again. I stand against a nearby wall, searching the waters for potential ghostfish. Though it's probably not called that because it's easily spotted. Sebastian sits with the fishing rod in front of him, right on the edge of the water.
"Any bites?" I ask after a while of silence. My voice cracks, breaking through the lump that formed when I found out my body has been turning to stone faster than I anticipated.
Sebastian sighs. "Nothing yet. I wonder if you can even feel a ghostfish bite." This makes me chuckle. A cute ghost joke.
Just then, he gets a tug and reels in something white. My excitement is deflated when he presents some algae, then tosses it back in the water.
More moments pass in silence.
"You wanna smoke?" He pulls a small box of cigarettes from his backpack. I could almost cry at the normalcy of this gesture. Here we are, literally fishing for my survival, and he offers me a piece of normal life that we share. I'm not as much of a smoker as he is, in fact I'd only take puffs from him at social functions. That's all I would really be able to do right now, anyway.
"Sure," I say with a shrug. He can't move away from his line, so I limp over and lay down beside him. He laughs lightly.
"What's your plan, here?"
"I'll lay here, and you just hand it to me when it's my turn."
Another laugh. "Alright, Vi. You want the first puff?" I nod. The first time I've ever gotten the first smoke, and it might be my last. I try to fight off that thought as I take a long drag, supported by my hands and Sebastian's lighter. "Woah there, cowgirl," he says, pulling the cig away from me. "Save some for me." I hold my breath for a few moments, and he asks me; "Hey, you wanna do that thing? Give me some of your smoke?"
I chuckle at his suggestion but agree. We'd done this once or twice before on a dare and mastered the art of sharing smoke without making it weird. Kind of a party trick. He leans over me, hair dangling on my forehead as I exhale. He doesn't move. Our eyes meet and I feel a rush of heat to my face. For a moment, I wonder how Sam and Abigail are doing, and what they would think of this.
My eyes are still open when his lips meet mine. It's a gentle, drawn-out kiss, comfortable enough for me to close my eyes and enjoy it. We try to kiss more and fail to find a rhythm. No tongue, no rush, just simple smooches that don't match up. I can feel the warmth from his cheeks when he pulls away. My chest is warmer than Floor 85 was.
"Woah there, cowboy," I say with a smile I can't stop. "What was that for?"
He clears his throat and stutters an explanation; "Sorry, Vi. I just. Y'know, we never tried that. Not that we needed to, but, uh. I just figured, maybe –"
"Maybe I won't make it out of this." My gut drops.
"No, not at all, Vi. You're going to make it out of this."
More silence.
"Look, Violet, that was dumb of me. I'm sorry. I know you and Sam have a thing, and I don't want to get in the way of that. I don't even feel that way about you, I guess I was just overcome with uncertainty, and I –"
I interrupt him again, this time by swiping the cig from him. I take another long drag and exhale quickly. "I don't feel that way about you either. You're like a brother to me." We exchange glances and scrunch up our faces. "That was gross, I'm sorry," I chortle.
"No, but it was weird. I think, just looking at you from that angle, my mind said what if, and for some reason I took that seriously. I didn't feel anything. Did you?" He raises his eyebrows.
"Haha, no." I pause. "I… I like Sam. I was going to oppose you on that, but… there's a non-zero chance that I don't make it out of here. I might as well speak the truth. I like that weirdo."
At that moment, Sebastian's fishing line tugs down. A catch? He struggles for a moment, but succeeds in reeling it in. It's our ghostfish. We high-five and cheer. A sense of hope rises in my chest, taking the place of the bundle of anxiety and embarrassment from kissing my friend.
"We got it! We got the fish," he exclaims, storing it in the small cooler in my backpack. Our assignment is completed. We have geodes, we have a solar essence, and we have the fish. Maybe we're doing better than I gave us credit for.
Sebastian pulls out his phone to text Abigail and Sam the good news while my body gives me more bad news. A sharp pain splits across my good knee and the small of my back. I let out a yelp. That was the worst one yet. He glances between me and his phone and hastily sends more text messages.
"Hey. We're almost done here. Just hang on until they come up with the rest of the stuff," he says, looking me over. "How can I help?"
I ask him to walk me back to the wall, where I can stand up straight. Any bending is impossible now. He moves our bags to the wall after assisting me and slouches next to me with one last pull from his cigarette. He stomps the last bit into the dirt.
After a couple of minutes, I need to ask; "So we're never mentioning that to anyone, right?"
"Oh, Yoba, no. What happens at Ghost Fish Lake stays at Ghost Fish Lake." He winks at me. "And Sam would probably shave my head. He's liked you for a long time."
I want to respond with wit, but my stomach starts to feel heavy. Another twinge of pain shoots through me, up into my shoulders. I wince against the wall. Sebastian steadies me and offers to grab me a bottle of water, which I don't refuse. Water won't cure this curse, but it's cool and calming.
Not long after I finish the water, Sam and Abigail arrive in the elevator. They see me and rush over.
"Violet! Are you okay?" Abigail asks, taking one of my hands.
Sam chimes in; "We got a few more geodes and all the solar essences. I think we're good to go." He caps his sentence off with suspicious looks between Sebastian and me. Does he know? Can he tell? Moments pass before he inquires, "Did you guys smoke?"
Sebastian laughs, which includes some coughs. "Yeah man, we got stressed waiting for the fish and I packed a couple cigs. You want one?"
"Absolutely! Why did you not tell me this before?" Sam is eager to cool his nerves, too. Sebastian hands him a cigarette and we make for the elevator. Somehow, I still have a knee that works, though I can feel those joints stiffening too.
We escape the mine and it's dark outside. My friends lay me down on a nearby bench and get to work on the materials. Abigail is smashing geodes, Sam locates the ghostfish, and Sebastian considers how to summon Rasmodius. Just considering seems to do the trick, because he appears across the bridge, sauntering in our direction.
The wizard starts talking softly but is interrupted by a shout. All eyes turn to me. Was it me? Did I shout? I try to apologize, but I can't find my voice. I feel for my throat. It's cold and solid.
"Oh my Yoba, her neck," Abigail starts; "Vi, can you still talk to us?"
I try. Hope and reassurance buzz in my mind but are blown to bits when I can only make squeaking sounds. I'm certain there would be another lump forming in my throat if it weren't made of stone.
"Rasmodius," Sam snaps back to the wizard, who hastily makes his way towards me.
He looks me over, his purple beard almost too dark to see against the night sky. He speaks to me, but his words are muffled. A gentle light is shined near my ears and eyes. His expression does not change, but he assembles the materials my friends collected in a… Jar? Is that a jar? Or a bowl? Everything is blurring. I try to rub my eyes, but my arms, too, are frozen solid.
More figures appear over me. I can't tell how many. There are shouts, cries, deep voices. So, this is it. I don't feel like I'm dying. It's kind of like being underwater at night. Like I'm up in the mountains having an evening bath. I think of all the times I've been there with my friends. Sebastian pushing Sam into the water. Abigail and I lounging, soaking up the steam. The rejuvenating warmth and slight mildewy scent of the place. I go there in my mind as my surroundings fade to dark and quiet.