Perseverance - Chapter Nine
Aisling smiled at the two guard dogs who were staring down at them.
“Hey… guys… could you get us out of here, please?”
“… Do you have any more dog toys to throw at them?” Peter hissed at Aisling.
“Shh!” She quickly looked down at him and gave him a warning glare.
“That was you?” Snarled the guard dog on the left, the Doberman from before.
“Do you have any more?” Asked the one on the right, an oversized Golden Retriever.
“Not on me,” Aisling admitted, “But I can give you lots of pets and cuddles if you get us out of here.”
“Oh please, as if that would work on-”
“I’ll do it!” The Retriever happily bounded past his fellow guardsman and helped the two of them up, despite the Doberman’s protests.
Once they were safely up, Aisling found her nose touching the end of a spear point. She stared up into the Doberman’s eyes.
“Rex, you are… such a good boy!”
“… I am…?” He stared at her confused.
“Yes you are! You’re such a good guardsman, aren’t you?”
“I-I am…” His tail started wagging.
“You’re doing such a good job keeping the kingdom safe, aren’t you?”
“I am!”
“Your Mum’s so proud, isn’t she?”
“She is!” He barked with joy and started licking Aisling’s face. She laughed and started petting him too.
The retriever, Alex, had taken a particular interest in the boy.
“Aah-!” Peter tried to run, but it was too late – the boy was pinned to the ground by the excited doggo, who proceeded to lick the boy’s face.
“Hello, new human! I love you!”
“Agh! Ew, ew, ew, get off me!”
“Aww, you made a friend!” Aisling grinned as she proceeded to rub Rex’s belly.
Peter, meanwhile, was fighting to get the oversized dog off of him.
“C-can’t… breathe…” He wheezed.
“Aw, really? Poor baby. Hey Alex!” She gave a sharp whistle. The guard dog immediately sat up and saluted, though the effect was somewhat ruined by his tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth. “Get off of him.” She ordered with a scarily sharp tone to her voice. Alex’s ears drooped as he clambered off of Peter again, who slowly sat up, gasping and wheezing for breath again.
“Good boy…” Aisling cooed. The guard dog’s tail wagged furiously as she scratched behind his ears.
“You know, you aren’t supposed to be here…” Rex stated in a matter-of-fact tone, clearly not jealous that Alex was getting all the pets now. “No-“
“No one is, I knooow…” Aisling rolled her eyes. “But I wanna explore this place while I still can – before the building crumbles away and lava floods the lower levels and destroys all of his research.”
“That is still illegal and counts as trespassing.” Rex sighed. “Though I guess I’ll let you off with a warning, just this once…”
“Yep. Because I’ve only been here once so far.” She grinned and saluted at the two guard dogs. “Later, dudes! C’mon Pete, let’s go.”
She opened the laboratory doors and all four of them were bombarded by the searing heat of Hotland.
“… So how long until your shift’s over?”
“… Two hours…” Rex replied, and he hardly seemed happy about it. “You get used to it eventually…”
“Just drink lots of water and you’ll be okay!” Alex smiled at Rex, who didn’t return the gesture.
Aisling walked by them into Hotland.
“God, I hate this place…” She looked back at the guards. “Give my best to everyone!” She called back to them with a grin. Rex gave a nod while Alex waved cheerfully back at her.
“I hate being slobbered on by dogs…” Peter muttered as he furiously tried to wipe all traces of dog off of him. “Ugh, hope my phone still works…”
“Well, let’s just get back before Goat Mum tells us off.” After a couple of steps, she realised that Peter wasn’t following her. “… Pete?”
She turned around to see him staring at his phone in complete and utter shock. Ever so slowly, he raised his head and stared at her, unblinking.
“Ash, please tell me that this is a heat-induced mirage? That I’m imagining this?”
“… What the hell are you on about?” She marched over to his phone and peered at the screen. There, at the bottom, were the words ‘Emergency Calls Only’. There was one bar of signal. On the human side. One bar of signal to the outside world, despite the Barrier.
“… You see it too?” Peter asked, knowing the answer from her expression. “What should I do? Who should I call?”
“Call the Police.” She immediately replied. “Let them know we’re alive.”
He nodded and dialled the number. They waited.
And waited.
The normal ‘out of signal’ bleep played and the call closed.
Peter looked at his phone again.
No signal.
Just like always.
“… I’m really sorry, Pete…” Aisling placed a hand on his shoulder and felt as it started shaking, stronger and stronger.
Peter threw his head back and laughed. It was so funny that he couldn’t stop.
Aisling watched in stunned silence and waited for him to calm down, which he did eventually.
“… You okay, dude…?”
“Okay? OKAY?! I feel better than ever!” His eyes shone with excitement as a huge grin plastered his face. “There IS a way out! Sure, it’s not in the way that I’d anticipated, but the Barrier has never felt weaker! Where did that signal come from? The top of the cavern?” He held up his phone. The signal didn’t come back, but that only served to strengthen his resolve. “How do you get up that high?”
“We could ask the spiders?” Peter visibly flinched as Aisling’s suggestion. “Don’t worry, I won’t let YOU do any socialising with them…”
“I would… really appreciate that…”
“No problem, you’d suck at talking to them anyway, even without your arachnophobia. Nah, talking to them takes tact, politeness and patience – things I’m terrible with too. This’d be a job for… Morgan… or the Dreemurrs.
Oh wait, crap, they’re still waiting for us, aren’t they? Dammit we still need to get showered and stuff!”
“Speak for yourself.” Peter smirked.
“I’m speaking very strongly for the BOTH of us!” She grinned at his face and patted him on the back. “Come on, if we tell Goat Dad what just happened, he’ll be sure to help with any arrangements! He might be a bit too old to go there himself, but he can definitely help!”
“… So you believe me then? About what I saw on my phone?”
“Of course, dude, I saw it too! Now come on, let’s go!”
As Aisling rushed back to the ferry, Peter stared up at the cavern roof again. They were under the tallest part of the Underground, of course the Barrier would be weaker here…
As he walked back to the ferry and stared at the river flowing by as they made their way back home…
He was filled with hope.
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