Guardian of the Deep Below

Twice below a place, Gordun shimmied between the rocks blocking the tunnel. The soft, slightly oily fur that covered his long body allowed him to slip easily through most crags and cracks. Tilting his elongated head down to the below, the whiskers on the end of his pointed nose twitched as he felt the air vibrate.

A moment later he felt the rumblings of movement beneath his four paws. Though he had no eyes to see, his sense of touch told him all that he needed to know. The H’dok had sent four warriors this time. So intent they were on following the overdweller’s trail that they didn’t move quietly. No, not at all. Quick he needed to be for he had very little time to get to the girl before the H’dok found her.

The H’dok were the taint of the twice below and the deep core. Patchy gray hide covered their lumbering forms. Hairless all over, their bulbous heads contained large beady eyes, sharp teeth and an endless hunger for the light. They once walked in the place above, but had been banished long ago for their treacherous ways.

But they wouldn’t win this time. Gordun would save the overdweller and return her to the heaven above. Again twisting his flexible body around boulders, his thick claws dug into the tunnel sides to propel himself along. His furry, nub ears caught the sounds of breathing; a very soft sobbing that was most definitely female. And very definitely an overdweller. He could hear the hitch in her breath as she struggled for clean air.

Deep in the twice below was no place for such a pure being, which is why the H’dok loved to capture any they found. To taste the sweet holiness that they were condemned to live without. Never would they live in the light again for it burned their bodies and seared their eyes. They would spread their evil ways in the deep below if left unchecked.

Thus it was Gordun’s sworn duty to protect everyone, overdwellers and underdwellers, from the taint of the H’dok. Just like his father and his father’s father and so on till the beginning of time; Gordun was a guardian. One of many, but nevertheless, he took his duty seriously.

At a dead end, he put his nose in the crack before him. The scent of flowers and sunshine assaulted his sensitive whiskers and he knew he had finally found her. But he had to tread carefully, for he did not want to frighten her overmuch. If he just broke through, he was likely to scare her to death, or she might attack him. And yet, he knew his voice might cause much the same reaction. Still, he had to try.

In a voice as craggy as his claws, he croaked into the crevice, “Are you unhurt?”

Her soft sobbing stopped as she whispered in a hoarse voice, “Who is there?”

“A guardian, come to rescue you from the deep below and take you back up to your place.” He cursed inwardly that he sounded so monstrous compared to her angelic tongue.

“I fell down a hole and my ankle hurts real bad,” she sobbed and started crying. Through her tears she choked out, “Please . . . take me . . . home.”

“I will, my angel. I am going to break through this wall. Do not be alarmed.”

“Y-yes.”

He heard and felt her shuffling away and once she stopped moving, he rolled onto his back. Grateful as always that he had no tail like some his kind, he started scrabbling at the crag with all four paws. Rock and debris went flying and soon the way was open. He rolled forward and shuffled just inside the opening. He tilted his head upwards, towards the surface. He could feel a small breeze and smell the faint scent of clean air.

“Where are you?” she asked in a timid voice. “You are in the shadows.”

“I have no wish to frighten you, my angel.” He would have to show himself eventually, but this was the longest he had spent near an overdweller in ten core pulses.

“I am not afraid. I-” she paused as a coughing fit took over.

Shaking his head, he knew he couldn’t dawdle any longer. He could feel that the H’dok were getting closer as their vibrations intensified. “I am coming out, my angel.”

“Why do you call-” she gasped as he trundled out into the center.

He wanted to curl into a ball, but he held himself steady on all four paws. He could not deny what he was, which did not matter, as long as he did his duty. “I apologize for my appearance, but-”

“There is nothing to apologize for.” She paused. “Your fur is beautiful. I’ve never seen so many shades of brown and black.”

He could not believe his ears. She thought him beautiful. A creature of the heaven above thought him attractive. A fuzzy warmth crept through his body as a lightness filled his core. Shaking off the odd feelings, he refocused on the task at hand. “It is not safe here, my angel. I am glad you do not find me offensive for you will need to hold onto me while I climb us up to the surface.”

She swallowed hard. “All the way up? I don’t know if I am strong enough to hold on that long.”

“You can do it. You just have to believe in yourself.” He trundled over to her and, standing on his hind paws, stretched out his full length.

“Why, you’re bigger than you look!” She reached out and ran a hand down his back.

A tingle shot straight through him. No one but his family had ever shown kindness to him. It shook him to his core. His life was a dark unpleasant one; yet here was this angel showering him with soft sunshine. Strained, he croaked, “Please, my angel. Wrap your arms around my neck.” He felt vibrations in the tunnel below his paws – they had to hurry!

“I still don’t know why you call me an angel. I’m ugly,” she murmured as she rose up on her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I may not have eyes to see, but to my other senses you are an angel.” Once she was settled, he lumbered as quickly as he could over to a wall without dislodging her. “After all, you are from the place above, which is heavenly.” Striking his front two paws into the hard dirt, Gordun started climbing up the shaft.

“Oh, above isn’t all that great. I get teased a lot at school because I’m so gangly and awkward. The other children call me Hideous Harriet.”

To distract her from the approaching H’dok, he kept up the conversation. “So your name is Harriet? My name is Gordun.”

“Gor . . . dun. Gordun. I like it. It matches your fur.”

Not knowing how to respond, Gordun paused. In that moment, he felt a major shifting in the soil down deep and to his left. Quickly, he continued up and asked, “What about your parents? They must love you.”

“Oh they do.” She nodded her head. “But they also love my three brothers and four sisters. I’m from a large family. Do you have siblings?”

“Yes, my mother had many litters. I have 21 brothers and 27 sisters.” They were halfway up and the smells of the surface grew stronger. Unfortunately, the movement below continued. He was grateful that she hadn’t noticed, but his nerves stood on end as he struggled upwards.

“Wow! That’s a lot! Do you get lonely? I get lonely.” Her voice cracked and she leaned her head against his.

He tried to hold his head still as his paws worked in rhythm to continue their climb. “Sometimes,” he admitted. “But sometimes, I enjoy my solitude. Especially when I’m out on patrol. I must stay ever vigilant against the H’dok.”

“The H’dok are real?!” She almost let go, but tightened her grip at the last moment. “The village elders haunt us with stories of the H’dok. The gray-skinned devils dwell in the twice below our place and will steal away any children naughty enough to enter caves or tunnels.” Another sob escaped her lips. “I was so afraid until you came along.”

“And glad I am that I found you first.” Finally, they reached the surface with no sign of the H’dok in the pit below. “And here you are, safely returned home.” He scrabbled up halfway out of the hole.

She rolled off him and onto the solid ground, laughing with relief. “Thank you! Thank you, Gordun!”

“You are wel-” he cut off as his keen hearing tuned in to the raspy whispers of the H’dok warriors below him. They had caught up like he knew they would. “Quickly, Harriet! You must go!”

“What? Why!” She crawled over to him and took his paw in her hand. “But I just met you.”

Her supple skin felt like nothing he had ever touched before. She truly was an angel. He shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I must close up this hole so the H’dok do not get you or any others.” He gently pulled his paw back. “Mayhap we will meet again.”

“Yes,” her voice cracked. “I will remember you, Gordun, and I will tell others about you, my honorable guardian of the deep below.”

He heard her roll away. He scurried down the shaft a bit and started scrabbling at the side walls. Debris and rocks began to rain down on the H’dok warriors. Shouts and bellows issued up at him, but he did not stop or slow down as he collapsed the passageway. Just at the last minute, before it caved in on top of him, he burrowed to the side and into the safety of another tunnel.

He lay still and concentrated on the vibrations around him. It was hard to tell the difference between the H’dok warriors’ movement and the rock fall. After some time, it all settled. He waited. He felt some movement, a slight shifting of the rocks and then all was still.

He sighed in relief and tilted his head upwards. He felt new movement above him – the pounding of many feet. He yearned to go up and to see if Harriet was okay, but he knew that he had no place up there. His place was here. As a guardian of the deep below.

(1,760 words)