Chapter Four: Home
Alex touched Steve's hand as they stared upwards at the mountain. "We were so close," Alex muttered under her breath. "We were so close to home."
Steve took a deep breath. "So, do we go in, or…?"
"Oh, yeah," Elli had already tied up the horses, and Jimmy was observing the surrounding area. She sighed, tugging at a knot. "Jimmy, wait for me." She glanced at Alex. "It's really hard to get inside unless you have the whole layout memorized."
"The… what?" Alex asked. Elli shrugged as Jimmy lead them to a small crater-shaped cave in the ground, leading downwards towards a larger system. Jimmy grabbed a torch from his inventory, and Steve and Alex did the same. Steve offeredone to Elli, but she refused.
"Women from our… group… don't carry torches," She answered, moving to stick closer to Jimmy. "It's a sign of trust."
Alex and Steve made eye contact, then shrugged. "Your loss," Steve answered, shoving the torch back in his inventory. He shuffled closer to Alex, taking her hand as they followed Jimmy through the tunnels. Surprisingly, the tunnels were huge, confusing and twisting, a giant maze designed to keep people out. Or… to keep people in.
"Why'd you guys build a maze?" Alex asked as Steve ducked, a disgruntled bat flapping past them. "And… why is it so big?"
"I think it was originally designed to keep Herobrine out," Elli answered, almost tripping over Jimmy's heels as they took a third right. "But we use it for mobs now. It's really dark everywhere but the caves directly in front of our city."
Alex took a breath. "Smart. And you all know how to navigate it?"
"Well, not exactly," Jimmy answered. "Those of us who are… uh… higher class… usually get training to fight and navigate the maze. Lower class citizens have to have a high class man with them to navigate the maze."
"You have a class system?!" Steve sounded appalled and horrified that people couldn't always be treated as equals. "How?! Why!?"
"I dunno," Jimmy shrugged. "The adults came up with it at some point. It's based on animal ownership."
Elli nodded. "The highest class owns commodities like turtles, horses, and llamas. The middle class owns sheep, pigs, and cows, and the low class owns rabbits or chickens. We all farm, though, and almost every family has a dog. Cats are vermin, because there are too many of them, but a few are pampered tame pets," She shrugged. "Higher classes sometimes serve as soldiers or guards. Jimmy's dad, in fact, is the-"
"No," Jimmy snapped. "It's not important." He turned to glare at Elli. "Don't tell them. It's not important to anyone. Ever."
Elli rolled her eyes as Jimmy turned back to the maze. "Sheesh. Touchy, are we." Elli turned back to explaining. "My family is... lower middle class. We only have pigs, and my dad works as a miner."
Alex nodded, glancing at Steve, who still looked confused. "I think that makes sense."
"Yeah, it's confusing," Jimmy answered, taking another turn and leading them into a torch-filled cavern. This one was much nicer, the floor was worn smooth by hundreds of leather boots, the walls were covered neatly in torches and sea lanterns, a show of class that a community such as this could purchase such high-value items.
As they neared the light at the end of the tunnel, the hall broadened out some to open into a massive, circular room. The whole thing was made of stone and cobble, sprinkles with andesite, granite, and even diorite. Walking out farther, Alex and Steve could look directly upwards, towards a massive faux-sun made from sea lanterns that hung glittering from the ceiling.
The whole creation was several blocks high, soaring upwards into the mountains. Where they stood was the bottom of a curled, seashell-like formation. The whole place was designed in a rotating twist. The bottom parts of the hollow mountain were the widest and… lowest class. Market stalls, poorly chizeled houses, and scrappy fences littered the bottom of the city.
"Woah," Steve breathed beside Alex. "I didn't know people were capable of producing something this beautiful."
"Me neither," Alex added.
"You guys are impressed by this?" Elli asked. "This is just lower class. Wait until you see the high-class living!"
A group of four children appeared to be playing some sort of game involving a wooden lever and hiding. One of them waved, hopping over to say hi.
"Hi, Laura," Eli waved as the other girl came closer to them.
"Hey, Elli," She waved, smiling. "Who's the new guys?"
"Oh," Elli glanced at Alex and Steve. "These are Steve and Alex. Steve, Alex, this is Laura. Her family raises chickens, and if you see a gray cat wandering around, it's theirs."
"Nice to meet you," Steve smiled, his natural ability with children shining through.
Laura nodded. "Have fun, Elli. I'm gonna go back to Olive, Marie, and Jamie." She turned back to the other kids.
"Who are-" Alex started, but Jimmy cut her off.
"They're her siblings," He sighed. "Can we keep going?"
The group started waking again.
"How come she didn't talk to you, Jimmy?" Alex asked, suspiciously glancing towards the kids as a tired looking, thin woman came out to call them inside.
"I'm upper class," Jimmy sighed. "It would be 'impolite' to converse with those of 'less noble blood'." The quotations were visible in his voice.
"Do they go to school?" Steve asked as the group began ascending a curved path upwards towards the second and third levels, both obviously middle class. Pigs, sheep, and cows ate grass in clean pastures, fattening for food. Massive fields farmed crops like wheat and potatoes.
"Not really," Elli shrugged. "Their mom teaches them stuff, but low-class kids have to start working pretty early to support their families. They don't have a proper school."
Alex wrinkled her nose. Kids weren't allowed a proper education? That didn't seem very fair to her, but she kept her mouth shut.
"This is middle class housing," Jimmy motioned around. Suspended in the air was a massive wooden platform, on it was laid out food and grain, gems and armour. The smell of cooking food was heavy in the air, and this part of the city was bustling with excitement.
Even the style of the houses displayed a bit of a richer vibe. They had oak and spruce in the designs, wood from outside that could be spent on beauty and not on cooking food.
Kids and adults here looked a little different from the lower-class people they'd seen before. Adults had a more rounded look, and the kids looked fuller and less boney. The people in middle class could obviously buy more to eat, and it looked like their hunger bars were constantly full.
Alex narrowed her eyes, but looked skyward, furious. People were suffering in this system, and no one ever tried to change it?
That was the wrong thing to do, as the extravagant quartz, birch, gold, and terracotta palaces above her made her blood boil.
"Hey, Alex," Steve took her shoulder. "You okay?"
Alex took a breath. "Yeah. I'm fine. I'm fine. Where are we going next?"
"I want you to meet my mom," Elli clarified. "She kind of looks like you, y'know."
"Okay," Alex sighed, taking Steve's hand for comfort from this strange new world that had overwhelmed her. "Take us."
Elli led them to a house embedded in the far side of the wall. As they approached, Jimmy moved to the side of the path. "I'll wait here." He whispered.
Elli nodded, pushing open the door to the house. "Mom? There's someone I want you to meet."
"ELLI," A slim, older woman raced into the room. She looked about forty, with graying blonde hair and pale green eyes glittering with choppy bangs. "Do you know how worried your father and I-"
She looked up, and immediately stopped. Alex and her made eye contact and the world slowed down. Alex's brow furrowed. She could swear she'd met this woman before.
The woman took a deep breath before she spoke. "Alex?"
Then everything came rushing back to her. Alex couldn't breathe. The world was moving too fast as she stared into this woman's glassy eyes. "Mom?"
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