A banging sound was coming from the surface. Dust and debris were falling from the ceiling. It was only time before the room collapsed. Rachel climbed out of her room-cave and into the black hallway. All of the lights had gone out to avoid exposure. She ran and dashed around the hallways until she reached the main cave. She gasped at the sight. There were wounded all over the floor. Nurses and doctors were attending to the damaged people from the rocks falling from above. This was the only room where the ceiling wasn’t moving. The doctors’ tails waved in anger. Their tails were dark black, and some were red. There were spades at the end of their tails that were almost always black, some were red.

As the Head of Tanwen walked into the room, all the doctors stood up and bowed to their leader. Mousad walked onward to Rachel.

“Sir.” said Rachel, addressing Mousad. Rachel was one of the head guards of the Tanwen civilization, and worked directly with Mousad, even though she was just nineteen. 

“The mess is coming from outside the cave systems.” he said to Rachel, “The miners have come back, but they are on the brink of discovering us. We cannot let that happen, Rachel. I am going to assign you to help everyone escape. Use the back exit and tell everyone to take all they have. We CANNOT leave anything or anyone behind.”

Rachel nodded. That was all the information she needed. She headed into a cave system and to the large wall. The wall had many holes, in which the Tanwens lived. Rachel used her wings and flew into the middle of the wall, and yelled so everyone could hear.

“Everyone! We are evacuating! Pack and move as fast as you can! Do not leave anything behind! Meet at the back exit and wait for a guard to escort you to safety! We are moving to the Rimforte Mountains! Let’s move! Move! Move!” , she yelled across the wall. Rustling could be heard from every section of holes and little kids, panicking. Rachel’s tail fluttered angrily. She flew back into the cave systems, and to her hole. She grabbed her black bag and stuffed all of her belongings into the bag. Her clothes, blankets, candles, and her pictures of family.

She pinned her guard badge on her shirt, and slipped her bow and arrow over her shoulder, and her blade at her waist. She needed to prepare for battle, in case the miners break in, and find them. Rachel pinned her red hair up in a bun on her head and took off her jacket. She slipped on her fighting boots and laced up the white laces. A boom came from above.

“Dynamite….” she muttered, “Oh no!”

Rachel shoved the last of her things in the bag, and slipped it on her back. She took one last look at her hole. Rachel patted the wall.

“You did well for me, little cave.” she said softly, “Goodbye.”

Rachel unfolded her wings and glided through the cave systems. She flew close to the ceiling to not bother the worried families and people. The cold wind brushed against her face as she flew. This would be the last time she would feel it. The mountain served the Tanwen well, and was a stunning place for them to live. It was cozy and cold, but that’s what the Tanwen liked. There was fresh water from the mountain tops running through the cave. At meal times, Tanwens gathered water from the stream for their meal. Moss and vines hung from the ceiling which made it feel like a jungle ecosystem. Tears flew back behind her and the wind brushed them away. 

It wasn’t the time to cry, Rachel promised herself, at least not now.

Rachel sniffed and made her way to the main room. She flew to the ground and made a soft landing. Mousad turned to her with worried eyes, but a stern look on his face.

“Mousad, they’re using dynamite. The expedition is going to be much faster. We’re not going to make it.” Rachel said. But right as she finished her sentence, an explosion came from behind her and blasted everyone to the other side of the room. Rachel screamed as she was flung across the room and smashed into the wall. Rocks flew across the cave in all directions and hit many Tanwens, and Rachel saw blood spatter on the walls of the cave.

A burning pain was seething into her back as she lay motionless on the floor. Screams and echos of shouts were coming from all directions and orders could be heard from across the room. Rachel tried to speak, but instead of speaking, screams of pain erupted from her mouth. She groaned and whimpered as she laid on the floor, face down. A muffled voice spoke in Rachel’s ear as she was lifted up into someone’s arms and carried away. Her vision was blurry and couldn’t see who this person was. Then, everything went black.