“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I whispered, my voice echoing off the tunnel walls that surrounded us.

Shiv paused and turned around, his eyes glowing red in the darkness, “Reese…I asked if you were sure about this, and what did you say?”

I let out a deflated sigh, “I said I was willing to go with you.” I paused. “I’m just nervous is all.”

Shiv placed a hand on my shoulder, “Listen, Reese. There is a world out there, unseen by our eyes because of The Elders. Today we end this life of darkness."

There was a flair of ambition in his voice, and a glimmer of excitement in his eyes. I missed this version of Shiv, I hadn't seen him in years. Shiv had become morose, and unmotivated, simply going through the motions of our day-to-day lives. A hollow shell of the boy that he once was. It was The Outsider, a beautiful girl with auburn hair who turned his life around. Telling him of the daylight and the beauties that it held. I wanted to believe Shiv...but could I believe The Outsider?

Shiv picked up on my unease, "The Elders have never provided us with a valid answer as to why they've restricted us to the night. Does that not seem odd to you? Does it not frustrate you?"

It did frustrate me, it always did. But I just took it for what it was, I think we all did as youths:

Don’t go out into the Daylight!

The Elders always said it with such sternness that it left no room for debate. I had been curious about the Daylight for years, but my interest reached a new level when it became Shiv’s obsession. “Let’s just hope your Outsider friend is reliable.”

He smiled and patted my shoulder, "Then let's move forward Reese. Let us see the world as it should be."

Shiv began to climb the ladder to the manhole cover above. My heart raced faster with each rung he grabbed hold of, my mouth became parched due to the excitement. I reached for the canteen and took a large swig of the fluids within, I could feel my body surge with nourishment.

Shiv stopped at the top of the ladder and looked down at me, flashing that trademark smile of his. I couldn't recall the last time I'd seen him this happy, or this excited. He reached up and pushed the manhole cover from its place, a narrow beam of light seeped through the opening. He gave it one final push, a grunt escaping his lips as the manhole cover crashed onto the pavement.

A mesmerizing beam of gold cascaded through the manhole cover, over Shiv, and through the ladder. It glistened and twinkled, setting off every sense in my brain and causing every nerve in my body to ripple with euphoric bliss. I felt an energy surge through my body, one that I’d never felt before. A comforting warmth tickled the surface of my skin, flirting with the delicate hairs on my exposed arms. It was both inviting and invigorating, I stepped forward unknowingly. My legs moved on their own accord, and then I saw the glow in Shiv’s skin.

He clung to that ladder, head arched upwards, mesmerized by the daylight, he didn’t realize the concern of his skin until it was too late. I stood there in the darkness, staring at Shiv’s skin as it glowed a radiant yellow, I could see the veins under his skin, lines of orange fire that surged throughout his body. The color in his veins grew more intense, turning from bright orange to fire red, and then Shiv erupted into flame. I couldn’t hear his screams over the fire but after a few seconds, it was all I could hear. He feebly clung to the ladder as his body burned, as the flames singed through his hair, as it melted off his clothing. Shiv’s screams would die out long before the flames did.

I turned and ran, it was all that I could do. Running through the darkness with my eyes closed, trying to clear the image of Shiv burning on that ladder. Running back to my home.

Running back to The Elders.