Burrowed: Chapter Three

"Get out of the car," Alaric ordered me, shaking me from my thoughts. Like a scared dog, I obeyed and followed him into the warehouse and then into the tunnels my father had taken me through not too long ago.



We entered the Faction housing area from an exit in the tunnel I never knew was there. Alaric led me into my home with a stern hand on my shoulder and I couldn't help but notice I was trembling beneath his grasp.

When we walked through the door my dad was sitting in the barely lit living room, with his head in his hands. When he heard me approach he jumped up and hugged me tightly and began apologizing over and over. I wanted to ask him what had happened, but held my tongue in the presence of Alaric. Before long, Alaric cleared his throat. My father released me and cringed, waiting for the blow to fall.



"Mark, You above all, are most familiar with our rules. As such, I'm sure you are well aware of the cost of breaking them."

"Yes," My father said sadly.

"The Faction have reviewed the offense. Your punishment has been decided. You are no longer a member of the Faction, nor a citizen of Underaan. You are never to return, never to visit. You may take nothing with you, and you must come with me now."

"Wh-what?" I stuttered out. "I'm the one who left, I broke the rules! You can't be serious here!"

"Jackson, they're right and it's fair. It could have been a lot worse, son." My father sighed.



"No, dad.. They can't.. I.." He grasped my hand as Alaric started shoving him towards the door. As soon as my father was out of the house, Alaric paused and looked at me.



"This is your punishment as well. You will be removed from the premises soon, I suggest you pack your family belongings. You and your brother will be relocated to minimal housing and your spot in the Faction is suspended, for now.. You are lucky it's even being considered and not outright revoked. As for this situation, you are to speak to no one of it. Not even your brother, as he's unaware. He's been staying with friends to avoid the.. problem. The Faction will release their own reason for your father's removal. Unless you wish to tangle with the Ward, I strongly suggest you follow the instructions you are given."

With that, Alaric led my father out of my life. Both my parents had been taken from me, and in such a short amount of time. Now, I was left to raise my little brother alone, completely under the scrutinizing eye of the Faction. Even after all that, still the thought of the upper world, of Amber and my young love for her, passed through my mind tinged in guilt and sadness.

How do I move on from here? Would I be able to keep my secrets from everyone, including my own brother?

I had no idea what I was going to do and the utter despair choked the air from me. I forced myself forward and quickly packed our things.



After gathering as much as I could, two members of the Ward showed up to escort me to my new home. It was small and cold, the front walls were flimsy and there was only one large room. A half wall separated the bathroom from the beds and small, sparsely furnished living area. I crossed the room to one of the two beds, collapsed and quickly fell asleep.



The next day, The Faction released their statement that my father was caught smuggling from outside for money and had been removed from Underaan. No one could believe my father would do anything wrong, but no one would question the Faction. Life in Underaan resumed as normal, as if my parents had never existed. Time passed.



Micah wouldn't talk about it. He would come home to do schoolwork and then paint. He was always happy when he was painting, so I never pushed him to talk about our parents. We got along alright and I noticed a few of the women in the community would be kinder to us, take pity on us, or give us things. Eventually, I began using this to our advantage and Micah and I had whatever we wanted.

Surprisingly, The Ward and the Faction left us alone. It was curious. I didn't push it, or get out of line too often, but I noticed they let me get away with much more than I was ever capable of before. It seemed they only favored me, and not Micah, as far as it went though. Micah was always the good kid and didn't get in trouble often but I couldn't help but notice how harsh they were with him when he did. I began to wonder if they were afraid I'd bring up the truth of what happened to my father and how I'd been to the upper world. Or if they were just waiting for me to screw up again.