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Cracks in the Stone

"It's right over here," Potato pointed towards the darkness.

"Great, Tate. It would be even better if we could see:" Flash scoffed.

"Well, he can't really see-" Barney started before being interrupted by Barnaby.

"You know that's so unnecessary," he challenged Flash's sass towards the mole, who was already waddling in the direction he pointed. "You need to mind your business," Flash spat. "I'd say the treatment of our eyes is my business," Barnaby shot back, getting ready for their-

"This is the sixth one," the owl's soft voice pierced the beat that the vulpine would have used if Barney didn't swoop in to take it. "Please, just be quiet and let's let Tate flash his feathers."

"What?" asked Flash. The rabbit that he was about to battle for the sixth time was also confused by the bird idiom.

"He's in his element. If we let him show off and don't do anything to mess up his feathers, like shouting and messing with the vibrations of the cave, he's going to really impress us," Barney lectured, "you can fight after his performance."

The fox huffed and gave a curt nod, despite the continued darkness. "You guys coming?" Tate shouted back at them, seemingly unaware of the interrupted fight. Tate, the mole that he is, fancied himself a spelunker. He explored a lot of the caves in their hometown when he wasn't hanging out with everyone. There was never anything of too much interest. The town couldn't even get the caves state park status. But Tate recently said he noticed there were strange vibrations beyond a crevasse. He invited Barneby and Flash to help him explore because they both could help him out if there were any issues, given their athleticism. While Barney might not have the same capabilities, he still rounded out the group well. He was the spiritual guide of the group, always seeming to know what was needed.

The lagging friends stumbled in the direction of Potato's voice. Once they all reached the crevasse, Flash asked Barney if he was sure that he didn't have something that could supply light. No one thought they would be going to the caves today, so their only preparations were what was in Barney's bag.

“I don't think so, but I can check," Barney took off his bag and leaned it against his knee while he shuffled through it.

“Sorry," Potato repented, “I forgot to check the light level of the cave before I came to get you guys." Everyone gave their usual responses to apologies. A quick “no worries" from Flash, an unseen smile and “it's alright" from Barneby, and a sharing of blame from Barney. It didn't take long for Barney to go through his bag. Fortunately, he did have a book of matches.

“Perfect!" Flash said, reaching for the book. Barney quickly pulled them out of reach. “We have to be careful with open flames in caves," Barney said and turned to the rabbit. Barneby took the hint and smelled the air, pausing to think. “There's a very slight smell of rain," he said confused.

“That doesn't make any sense. How could it smell like rain this far down here?" Flash criticized.

“I'm just saying what I smell. Do you want light or not?" Barneby responded.

“Simmer!" Barney hooted before carrying on with his questions. “No rotten egg smell?" Barneby shook his head no. “Okay, here we go," Barney said before he struck the match. The slight light that came from the flame lobbed enough light for all the sighted friends to see.

“Okay," Barneby said, looking at the now visible, and narrow, passage, “it looks like we're going single file. Tate, how should we-" the rabbit paused as their fox friend huffed and marched into the passage. “Alright, I guess Flash will lead. How about Tate, Barney, and then me follow?" There was no further discussion as the three lined up based on Barneby's suggestion. Barney had held his tongue about the situation, but he took the opportunity with Flash ahead of them.

“Is he okay?" Barney asked, facing forward.

“Why? Is he acting not okay?" Barneby asked, trying to brush off the question.

Tate pushed in with his own observations. “His vibes are definitely off," he said, referring to totality of the fox's subtle movements he can sense, instead of the atmospheric feel.

Barneby continued trying to dodge. “I don't have a clue what either of you are talking about. This is just how Flash is." While he could keep his voice level, his ears began to straighten out. Barneby was thankful that he was in the back, because Barney would have begun to pry.

The three marched forward in the low-lit quiet. The only sound was the immediate sound of their pawfalls and Flash's pawfalls echoing back to them. The air in the passage was heavy with moisture, to the point that Barney's feather oil was starting to run. The humidity and the lichen that grew over the few bumps were the only notable parts of the passage. This place looked more than an unfished stone hallway than a passage in a deep cave.

“Hey," the three heard the fox's voice ahead of them, the usual stern voice replaced with a confused one, “there's, uh... something here. You guys should hurry up."

After a moment of hesitation from them, Tate began to waddle as fast as he could. The owl and the rabbit picked up their pace, but Tate's mole feet made it hard to go much faster than both of their trots. The mole had a lot of stamina and could “run" that speed for some time, it just wasn't fast. Even so, it didn't take them that long to catch up, the opening that Flash had called from widened into a grotto.

Though grotto was not the right word for the cityscape that stood before them. There were at least dozens of buildings shaped out of stone. All simple but practical. Neat rows that made streets and alleyways. There were two empty lots close to the opening that the three came out at, hinting at large gardens. There were even gas lamps that were still running, though much dimmer than they would have needed to be. It was still enough light for the three vision-havers to see the metropolis that stood before them. The mole could sense it and understood that there were unnatural structures in the area. No one had described it to him yet though, so all he could do was pretend to admire along with them.

"This is... exuberant," Barney whispered.

"Dammmmnnn...." Barneby said,

Flash tried to hide his amazement behind his typical veneer of coldness, but even his eyes betrayed a sense of wonder.

Tate eventually broke the new silence made after the exclamations. "Can anyone tell me what's going on?" he asked.

"Sorry, Tate. There's a city here," Flash said matter-of-factly.

"Or at least a town," Barney added.

Flash didn't respond to Barney's contrary statement, so Tate had a chance to respond. "Despite the word, it's amazing! It must be huge based on what I feel."

"Yeah, huge is right," Barney said, as he began to walk forward. He took the lead as they started to explore the subterrain settlement. "I mean, I don't think I have to tell you guys that this is manmade." The others nodded their heads. "So, I'm curious. Where is everyone? It seems like a lot of work for nothing."

"Could the people that made this made it for some art thing?" Tate suggested.

"I don't think so," Barney replied, "it's so deep and hard to find. Besides, it's a lot of work for just art."

Flash huffed, "yeah, so people used to live here. Is that what you're suggesting? Brilliant."

Flash's sarcasm did not get a response out of Barneby like they were all expecting. The lack of one wasn't too surprising though. Barneby would often slip away from the group to explore on his own. It just left Barney and Tate to have to decide how to respond when the sarcasm broke through.

"Now, where did Thumper go this time?" Flash asked, practically hissing the offensive name.

"Flash, come on. This is how this usually goes," Barney tried to placate.

"Sure, when we aren't in a strange empty city that's built right on top of hell," Flash shot at the unassuming owl. Barney wasn't used to the vitriol that Flash seemed to have today. So, he asked, "Are you okay?"

This seemed to take Flash aback, "of course I'm okay. What made you think I wasn't?" Barney felt it would be a waste of breath to say the obvious, so he just plodded forward, looking at the buildings and trying to figure out what might have happened.

"Hello? Is there something you wanna say?" Flash challenged Barney's silence. He and Tate both kept quiet. Barney ran his hand along one building, feeling the cream colored stone. "Feels strange," Barney mused, letting the silence dissipate, but not encouraging Flash's aggressive behavior. Flash took this hint and turned to walk away.

"Where are you going? What happened to the fact we're in a city just above hell?" Barney called after him.

"I'm gonna find bouncy boy. Once I see him. I'll yank him back here by the ears and we'll regroup," Flash shouted behind him. If he was trying to ambush Barneby, the echo took away any element of surprise he had. Barney sighed and continued to investigate the settlement. Tate trotted close to the owl. Tate couldn't supply much guidance after getting them to the grotto. Large areas cause changes in airflow that lead to stronger vibrations, but it's hard to make note of anything specifically. The owl had to remind himself of this as the mole tripped him more than once. If he had a stadium light pointed directly at him, he'd be able to tell you there was light, but not much else.

Tate was the one who finally broached the topic they were thinking about. "So Flash is mad about something."

"Or threatened. He seems to be acting in a way to keep control," Barney said, mostly to himself.

As Barney thought would happen, Tate didn't seem to hear his suggestion, or it just went over his head. The mole went on, "I wonder if it's because his leg hurts."

"Wait, what?" This was the first Barney had heard about the fox's leg being injured.

"Yeah, he didn't say anything, but the vibrations he makes when he's walking is clearly a disguised limp," Tate said as if he just told Barney that owls are birds.

"Did he say anything about what caused it?" Barney inquired; his eyes were even wider than usual.

"You think I'd ask him? He's always annoyed with me when I'm not doing anything," Tate said. Barney gave a silent nod of agreement. After a few moments of silent strolling in the stone streets, Barney thought of a question.

"Does Barneby have any injuries?" He asked.

The mole closed his dark eyes and scrunched his face, thinking carefully. "When he turned his head to smell the air earlier, there might have been a little more tightening around his shoulder muscle. Like it was overstretched at some point. There's a chance that's my imagination though."

"It sounds like they were both in a fight then?" Barney suggested. Tate shrugged his shoulders and the two of them carried on their investigation. While they ran out of thread for the Flash and Barnaby question, there was an interesting question to unravel right in front of them. They've found signs of a farm in the empty rectangles and what could be described as a market to the left of it.

"There must not have been a lot of people living here, which makes sense given the number of buildings," Barney noted.

"But that only tells us that them leaving might have been easier," Tate pointed out in a rare display of thought.

"You're right... why did they leave?" Barney pondered.

***

Flash didn't bother to call out the rabbit's name. He figured he could find him based on smell alone. The smell of the water didn't do him any favors though, emphasizing the smell of the rock that surrounded them. It took him a bit longer to find him than he expected. He found Barneby to the northeastern most point of the city, if the entrance were south.

"So, you just decide to find out how far you can get from the entrance and hang out there, huh?" Flash said, feigning surprise. This is the kind of thing that Barneby was expected to do. He didn't like staying in one place too long, so he would take a peek at anything that might interest him and then quickly move on.

Barneby ignored the comment and just continued looking around, not even acknowledging the fox. There wasn't much to catch his eye, the only thing that would make someone believe there was a town here was the actual town.

"Barney says I'm the one acting weird, but you're ignoring me. He stopped responding too. If anyone is acting weird, it's you guys," Flash sneered.

Barneby continued searching for anything. Anything that might point to life having existed here at some point.

Flash's frustration continued to grow. "I bet you feel so high and mighty right now. 'Why bother talking to this fox that couldn't protect himself in a fight?' that's probably what you're thinking right now."

Barneby responded to that, "I'm not the one making a big deal out of it."

"Then why are you acting like this?" Flash asked.

"Because you're being an ass. Not just to me, to all our friends. You went up against four punks from out of town. If I didn't show up when I did, you would have been mincemeat. I don't think you needed help because you were weak," the rabbit said.

The response didn't soften the fox's heart. "Why would you have helped me if you thought I could handle it?" he shouted at the rabbit.

"Flash, we're supposed to be friends. Why can't I help you?" Barneby asked. still walking past buildings and looking into windows. Flash didn't have any response to that.

Barneby continued his investigation, Flash trailing him.

***

Barney and Potato walked past the abandoned farms.

“It couldn't have been a food issue either, right?" Tate asked Barney. The owl squinted at the field, almost like he was trying to spot some relic of a disease or infestation.

“I don't know how their farms could have had any issues. We're too deep for anything to harm it from the outside, and I don't think anyone would have wanted to starve out the people that lived here," Barney concluded after a long pause.

Potato didn't respond.

“Of course, I suppose that a bottleneck effect could have happened, making the crops more susceptible to illness." Barney continued while Potato listened intently.

Barney approached the fields to get a closer look. He needed to get an idea of how the farming worked down here to rule out the starving out theory.

“Do you think they would have left if it was just food?" Tate asked.

Barney didn't acknowledge that Tate was the one who asked the question in the first place. The mole tended to make a lot more tunnels than he needed to, and he explored all of them. Despite being the most forgetful of the group, Tate somehow was the one who reminded everyone about everything that was needed. “It would be hard for them to bring in food. If their crops didn't grow, it would be better to just leave." Potato didn't respond.

Barney looked at the dirt, though he wasn't sure what he was looking for. He began to just make statements about what he saw.

“The soil doesn't seem that dry."

“There doesn't seem to be any weeds."

“There're a couple seeds here.

Tate interjected, “is that because of the cave or because the people haven't been gone long?"

Barney cursed. He assumed that all of those things were a sign that there was some life tending to this place, but Tate was right. A closed-off system, protected from wind, weather, and all the other forces of decay, would take much longer to become derelict.

“You're right Tate," the owl said, “any ideas to figure out how long this place has been abandoned?"

Potato thought for a second. “It's not a lot, but I don't feel any vibration from the seeds. So, they aren't alive anymore."

“Can you really feel a seed's vibrations?" Barney asked. Tate just nodded.

“Huh," Barney said. They continued to examine the farm. He and Tate found a storage space to the side. It wasn't anything too special, but there were plenty of seeds. “So, there was no real threat of a bottleneck."

“What exactly do you mean by a bottleneck?" Tate asked.

“Well, in so many words, it's what happens when there isn't enough room for change in a population. It opens the door for bad recessive genes to take over," Barney explained.

Potato stared at Barney blankly.

***

Barneby walked into one of the stone houses. He was shocked at how nice the apparent hut was. The rooms were spacious and laid out how a luxury home would be.

“Who could leave a place like this?" Barneby asked.

“That's what we were trying to figure out before your impromptu showing," Flash groaned. His red form was leaning against what could be called a door frame. The whites of his eyes showed his annoyance.

“Do you have any ideas about what to search for, O Wise Flash?" the brown rabbit huffed.

Flash didn't respond.

“Yeah. That's what I thought," Barneby continued viewing the home.

“What are you even trying to find?" Flash asked pointedly.

“Well, if you really care to know, I'm looking for writing, or something that might make this place unlivable. If I can find something like that, it might tell us why this place is abandoned," Barneby explained.

“Why do you guys care so much about this? It's a nice place. It was fun to find. Why does there have to be anything more?" Flash pondered.

“I don't know why Barney cares, but I care because there doesn't seem to be a reason to leave such a nice place. It's amazing, it's different, and unless there's an issue with the food and water sources, it's sustainable. I want to see the catch that those people caught after building their lives here," Barneby had left the home, Flash in tow. The two began to approach the center. A pillar stood there. It was very imposing. It was the thickest application of stone in the city.

“You really can't expect me to believe that, right?" Flash responded.

“What?" Barneby looked at the fox in confusion, “I mean, yeah. It's the truth."

“Alright," Flash groaned.

“What's your deal, man?" Barneby said at Flash. “Do you want to explain what the fuck you think is the reason I care?"

Flash shouted back at the rabbit, “I think you're trying to prove a point. You don't give a shit about this place or the 'mysteries.' You just want to show that you're in charge of this group. Those two will stay until you decide you've had your fun, and you want to shove that in my face."

Barneby stopped in front of the pillar, fast enough that his ears swung in front of him. He turned and looked at Flash. “Do you really think I'm that shallow? That I want to 'control' our friend group?"

Flash and Barneby's eyes locked. Their pairs of eyes were what people meant when they said an immovable object meets an unstoppable force. If Barney was there, he would say something like “you guys are letting your friendship hang on this stare down?" If Tate was there, he would say something to distract the two of them, not even on purpose.

But now it was just the two of them.

“If that's how you see me, if that's how you see our friends, then you're just a shallow asshat and a control freak. You don't deserve to be one of us," Barneby said calmly. He turned his back to Flash. Flash had faced the barbs that Barneby tossed before, but this one hit him to the core. He didn't know why, but he found his paws lifting themselves. He found his paws on the back of rabbit. He found the feeling of cotton on his sensitive paw pads. He found a brown blur falling against the mass of gray. He found noises invading his ears, a steady series of thuds. He found his name being shouted over the thuds.

***

Potato sensed a pile of stones.

“This is weird right?" He asked Barney while picking up a couple of stones.

“I don't see why it would be," Barney answered, “just a pile of rocks should be expected in a cave."

Instead of saying anything, Potato handed the stones he picked up to Barney. Barney ran his wings over the rock. “These are chipped." Barney looked up at the ceiling.

He couldn't find any specific marks, but he could tell that those stones came from the ceiling.

“The whole place is unstable," Barney concluded, “there's no threat of a cave in now, but we need to get out of here."

They heard Flash scream “Fuck you!" and the two of them started running towards the voice. It wasn't more than three seconds before they heard stone falling on stone.

Barney shouted their friend's name.

The fear in Flash's eyes and Barneby's prone body under some stone told Barney what happened. The focused look of the owl and the fast waddling of the mole told Flash that they needed to get out of there now.

Flash and Barney got to work pulling the rocks off the semi-conscious rabbit. Potato started looking around, trying to sense the exit. The falling rocks ruined the vibrations of the cave, so he took much longer finding the right direction than he wanted to.

Flash and Barney got Barneby up. Flash wrapped his arm around the rabbit under the rabbit's arms. Their heads were being pelted by small rocks, and there was a real chance those rocks would grow.

“You killed us," Barneby whimpered.

Flash ignored him. Barney made note. Potato was out of earshot.

The four were halfway to the exit. The rocks becoming large enough to leave cuts.

Barneby was able to limp along with Flash. Flash wouldn't let him. They were still fighting, but this fight was how to survive the next 8 seconds.

The four were almost at the exit. A rock hit Barney's wing. There was a snap.

“You petty bastard," Barneby spat.

The four made it to the exit. Tate tripped right at the end and a rock fell just next to him. Barney picked him up with his uninjured wing and dragged him into the crevasse. They had made it, but all the worse for wear.

“Get your hands off of me," Barneby's vitriol continued, somehow still so calm.