Like Veins of Red Rubies (Most Precious Book 1) Read online

  LIKE VEINS OF RED RUBIES

  By Nicolas Abel

  Like Veins of Red Rubies

  Copyright © 2015 Nicolas Abel

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  The characters in all of the stories are fictional. They are not meant to represent any real persons living or dead.

  CONTENTS

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ONE

  "Look at them, Victor. The gems, they're lovely aren't they?"

  "Yes Ms. Emily," said Victor. "They're quite the shiners."

  "I'll ask that you call me Mrs. Barrett now."

  "Oh well of course, Mrs. Barrett." Victor said. "Again, congratulations on the wedding. Stanley's lucky to be with you. But if I may speak about my cousin, he's a genuine guy. I do hope you keep him sane."

  "That's why I'm with him."

  "My conscience is clear then," said Victor. "See you around." He waved and walked away.

  "Did you show the ring to Victor?" said a voice from within the domicile. A man in a clean, brown suit emerged.

  "Oh Stanley, everyone loves this ring. I love it the most." Emily jumped and wrapped her arms around him.

  Stanley caught her and held her up. He smiled and whispered, "I'm glad you like it."

  Emily looked into Stanley's eyes and said, "It's not just about the ring. It's great, but a ring's just a ring. It's that we're finally able to be together in our own domicile."

  "Yes," said Stanley. "Thank you for thinking like that, really." He stroked Emily's chin. "Where in this entire bunker can I find a girl who's as thoughtful and pretty as you are?"

  "I’m just as lucky to have found you."

  Stanley smiled widely, creasing the sides of his cheeks. "Let me tell you something, our babies are going to be really adorable. And smart."

  Emily pecked Stanley's lips and giggled.

  Stanley said, "Come on, let's go get our pills." Stanley draped his coat over his shoulder and held Emily's hand. As they walked down the domiciles, the lights along the ceiling brightened. The metal wall panels changed from their black hue to a light grey one. They reached the main chamber. People passed by, giving smiles and some gasps when they saw Emily's ring.

  "That Stanley Barrett boy, he's a man now," said Mr. Albertson, who was sitting on a bench with his grandson. "Not that dreaming little boy who used to dash around the streets, no. He's got a real heap of duties now."

  Stanley and Emily went up to the end of the queue. They pecked at each other and swiped each other's noses. They whispered into each other's ears and giggled and did this the whole time until the line shrunk. They inserted their coins into the vending machine and received their pills and cups of water. They went aside and swallowed their pills then drank their water. Stanley picked a drop of water that hung off Emily's lips and she giggled.

  The clock of town hall rang nine times, signaling nine in the morning.

  "We've had our nutrition for the day," said Stanley. "And we have the rest of it to ourselves. Do you have any suggestions?"

  "We should visit your sister; she wants to see the ring."

  Stanley crunched his nose. "Okay," he said.

  "You don't seem too excited."

  "I wanted to go somewhere else."

  "Where in this small bunker could we go?"

  "I'd say we should go to the cave," said Stanley. "Let’s get away from everyone else."

  Emily smiled and bit her lips. She placed her hand on Stanley's chest and leaned in. She whispered into Stanley's ear, "I didn't really want to visit your sister. I was just thinking about your family."

  "You know we're the closest family now," said Stanley.

  "I'm so glad we can communicate like this," said Emily. "I'll lead the way." With both hands, she pulled Stanley away from the street and to the wall. They walked along it until they reached an open part. A water pipe had broken five years ago and the metal sheets had burst and folded to the side. The council advised that no one should be near it, but Stanley and Emily would sneak in and have private talks.

  They walked inside to a spacious cavern. A small pool of water was at the far end, and the rocks had formed to look like beautiful statues. Even the ceiling had jagged rocks that pointed downward. Stanley and Emily would lie down and stare at them, talking and letting their minds run amidst the grooves and curves of the intricate outcroppings. Sometimes, the odd drop of water would fall and land on their heads, and they would laugh.

  Emily led Stanley to the base of the lake and lay down. Stanley did too.

  Emily raised her hand and let the ring sparkle. "Tell me how you got the ring," she said. "It must have taken ages to dig this many diamonds."

  "You know, I thought of mining that only two months after we met. I thought you were the most beautiful thing ever, and I just had to prepare." Stanley pointed across the lake to an opening. "You see that hole over there? Whenever I had free time, I'd sneak over there and just dig. It was a fool's hope to find anything, but my intentions were set. It took ages, heck it took so much of my time that I couldn't sleep some days. But I kept digging, knowing that one day, I would find some pretty gems. And surely, I found a cluster of them. I was so overjoyed that I danced within that small tunnel and hurried back home to get them refined."

  "I never knew that it took so much effort."

  "Do you like it?"

  "Yes."

  "Then my work has paid off," said Stanley.

  Emily kissed Stanley's cheek and he giggled.

  "You know," said Stanley, "I came across a vein of rubies yesterday. I wasn't going to tell you, but I can't keep it from you."

  "Rubies?" said Emily, her voice waning.

  "Yes. Rubies. I'm planning on coming here tomorrow to get some more." Stanley turned his face to look at Emily. "How does a ruby necklace sound?"

  Emily didn't look back. Her gaze remained on the ceiling and she paused before saying, "Good. That sounds good."

  "Just good?" said Stanley. "You don't like rubies?"

  "No, I'm just afraid of what you might dig up," she said. She turned and faced Stanley. "If you get all of these fancy things for me, I might fall in love with them, instead of you."

  "Emily, I know you and you are not like that," said Stanley.

  "But you never know."

  Stanley reached out and laid his hand on Emily's face, turning her closer to him. "I know you will stay the same," said Stanley. "And I want you to. Because that's the reason I love you; you're perfect just now."

  Emily brought Stanley close and kissed him.

  "Let’s stay here for a while," said Emily, "alone, together."

  Stanley kissed her forehead. "That sounds great."

  They spent the whole day there, talking and laughing. Their joyous banter echoed within the hall that kept them separated from world. And they were able to ignore everything and focus only upon themselves. But when they heard nine rings from the town center, they returned to their domicile, as everyone else did.

  Emily lay on her bed and slept, but Stanley could not find rest. He changed into his casual white shirt, jeans, and apron. He grabbed his duffle bag and quietly slipped out of his domicile.

  "Rubies," he said, as he started t
oward town. "She’ll like the rubies."

  TWO

  Stanley walked along the empty streets. The row of domiciles was dark and quiet, except for the few lights and silhouettes of people laughing and sharing conversations. He walked across the town center and looked up at the clock that marked ten-forty.

  "I have about two hours tonight," he said to himself and continued on.

  Stanley reached the broken wall and went through to the lake. He set his bag beside him and knelt down to fold the cuffs of his pants up to his knees. He removed his shoes and socks and held them in his left hand. With his right, he grabbed his bag.

  He stepped into the water and took slow steps, the calm water rippling from where he walked. Stanley sunk deeper as he went farther in, until the water rose to his knees. It grazed the tip of his folded pants, but he started rising and continued to do so until he reached the other side. He set his bag down and opened it and withdrew a towel. He dried his legs then placed the towel, along with his shoes and socks on top of a rock. He zipped his bag open and walked to an opening and climbed through. It was dark inside the tunnel, but light was not required for he stopped when he banged his head.

  Stanley reached into his bag and pulled out a light. He felt along the wall for a cleft and perched it there. He reached inside the bag and pulled out an old digger. He slid the bag under his stomach and adjusted it to cover him from the hard floor. With both hands, he aimed his digger above the thin vein of rubies. He activated the digger and it shot a beam of heated light that shot into the rock. Carefully, he dragged the beam all the way around the vein until it stuck out by itself.

  "There it is," he said. He set the digger aside and grabbed a chisel and mallet. He placed the base of the chisel closely by the ruby vein and gently tapped it with the mallet. Little chunks of rocks fell away. He continued to pick at the rocks until the vein fell out, and he dropped his chisel as he shifted to catch it.

  "You’re not getting away," he said, clutching the rubies. He brought it close and observed it for a moment before placing it on the cleft. He looked around for more veins, but there were none, so he brought the digger out again. For a long while, he dug. But when eleven long rings echoed from the town to the cavern and up the tunnel, Stanley stopped. He returned his gaze to the end of the tunnel and saw a glinting point. He lowered his digger and ran his finger along it.

  "What are you?" he said. Without looking away, he reached down to the cleft to grab the light, but his grip loosened and he dropped it. The light slid down the tunnel and cracked, allowing the darkness to envelop him.

  "Damn my luck," he said. He reached forward and ran his finger along the sharp point. "I can feel you right there," he said. "It would be a shame to leave you." He set the digger in front of him and aimed toward it. He released a beam and using the small bit of light, noticed that the point was red compared to the surrounding grey rocks. He carved out the basic shape of the point, and it seemed to go on for a long way up.

  "I've hit the pot," Stanley said with a silly grin. He opened his mouth widely and chuckled. "I've hit it, I've hit it." He dug farther up along the point when the rocks around it cracked. The protruding tip fell to the tunnel floor and slid down. It sliced Stanley's left arm as it went by and slid all the way down.

  "Gah!" Stanley wailed. He let go of his digger and it slid down as well. He rolled to his back and brought his damaged arm to his face, but he couldn't make anything out in the dark. Liquid dripped onto his face and rolled down his cheeks. But he did not pay much attention to it. He used his good arm to search for the cleft, and when he found it, he grasped the thin ruby vein and held it close to his chest. Pushing with his damaged arm, he slid down, using his bag as a buffer. His legs almost cracked when he abruptly crashed to the bottom. Frantic, he patted the ground, but cringed when he felt the broken glass that was once the light. He patted elsewhere, but not long after, he felt something sharp dig into his skin, and he reached down to where it was less sharp. He grabbed it, stood up, and waded clumsily through the water which fluttered violently, dampening his clothes and washing over his face. He staggered out of the cavern to the town and looked down to what he held. It was thin, long and red, with a pointed head at the top. The arm that held it was covered in dirt, torn open and bleeding.

  "Hey Stanley, what are you doing out so late?" a voice called from down the street. "It's me, your cousin Victor." But his greeting was interrupted when he gasped. "What's happened to you?"

  Stanley looked up and uttered, "Get my things. Please! I need medicine." He scurried over to the vending machines and struggled to count his change. His trembling, bleeding hands barely managed to fit the coins in, but he managed and received a pill and a cup of water. He swallowed the pill and washed it down with the water. He crushed the cup with a tightly clenched fist and released a long, raspy sigh. He glanced at the gash on his arm which spouted the dirt and sealed.

  Victor approached with Stanley's belongings, but he was holding the sharp rod far away from him.

  "Stanley," he said, voice blunt and clear. "Where did you get this?"

  Stanley did not answer. He took his bag and started packing it.

  "Stanley," Victor said again, this time snapping his fingers. "You have to answer me. Where did you get this?"

  Stanley rose and slung his bag over his shoulder. "I was digging," he said. "That’s when I found this."

  "Digging where?"

  Stanley pointed behind him. "It was through the busted wall, past the lake."

  "You’re not supposed to go there," Victor said. "What would ever drive you to do so?"

  Stanley stared back with large, baggy eyes that surrendered to Victor’s thin, sharp ones. "I wanted to get rubies for Emily."

  For a moment, Victor did not speak, but he twitched his eyes. He pointed to Stanley’s arm. "That gash you had," he said, "was it because of this thing?" He shook the rod.

  Stanley nodded. "Yes. But it’s fine. I’m all healed and I don’t feel anything."

  "You may be fine, but what if someone else had found it?" said Victor. "What if they couldn’t get their pills on time and died?"

  "It was far into the earth, somewhere no one should have been," said Stanley. "It could have only happened to me at that precise moment."

  "I think we should share this with the council," said Victor. "We can’t keep the discovery of such a weapon to ourselves."

  "I suppose that would be the wisest thing to do," said Stanley.

  "I will call a meeting tomorrow morning. I will come by and walk with you."

  Stanley nodded. "All right."

  "Goodnight and keep yourself safe," Victor said. He carefully held the rod as he walked away.

  Stanley turned and made his way back. He walked by the row of domiciles. Every domicile was dark except for his. Emily was waiting out front in her nightgown. When Stanley approached, she dashed over, face pale and frowning.

  "You made me suffer," she said. "Why are your clothes so dirty? Your face looks battered. Where were you?"

  "I went to get the rubies," Stanley said. "But I couldn’t get much." He opened his hand and revealed a thin strand of red rubies that was covered in dirt and dried blood.

  Emily’s eyes drooped as she said, "I don’t want you to waste your energy trying to get them for me. As long as you’re with me, all I want is for you to rest."

  "But I saw a vein; I had it right in front of me. I can get it tomorrow, I know I can."

  Emily pressed her thumb against Stanley’s lips. "No more from you," she said. "No more."

  Despite every feature on his face being down, Stanley managed a smile. "Thanks for always caring about me. That is why I love you." Emily opened the door and Stanley entered.

  Stanley took a long shower and changed into his sleepwear. He lay down beside Emily who had already fallen asleep. As his eyes closed, his mouth opened to whisper into her ear, "I will get those rubies for you."

  THREE

  Emily laid Stanley’s clothes on
the bed. Stanley emerged from the shower, dry and in his undergarments.

  "I don’t want you going anywhere near those tunnels again," said Emily. "Your intentions were kind, and I am satisfied with merely that."

  Stanley smiled and said, "Okay."

  Emily held Stanley’s pants as he put on his shirt.

  "So what is this meeting about?" she said.

  "This meeting," Stanley began. He took his pants and put them on before saying, "I’m actually not too sure about it. I only know that Victor said he would call one."

  Emily went behind Stanley and helped him into his coat. She hugged him and rested her head on his back. "Just get back safely," she said.

  Someone knocked on the door. Emily walked over and opened it and saw that Victor was there.

  "Hello, Mrs. Barrett," Victor said. "I’m just here to steal your husband from you."

  "Of course," said Emily.

  Stanley kissed Emily on her forehead. He said, "I’ll see you later," and walked out.

  Stanley and Victor walked down the street, past the domiciles.

  "I briefly spoke to some of the other council members about what you found," said Victor. "They were certainly interested. They were mostly concerned that you went digging around there."

  "They shouldn’t worry too much," said Stanley.

  "I'll have to agree with them. You were foolish to mess around in the cave. But if you hadn’t found that weapon, we would have left that busted wall open."

  "You’re thinking of patching it up?"

  "If the rest of the council wants to. I’ve wanted to patch that place ever since the water pipe had burst it open. It’s a structural integrity hazard and a general safety issue. And you found a weapon there, who knows what else there may be."