The Sewer Boy: Aerros

By Carol Mingst

Air, land, . . . and sewer?

Exiled for centuries to a primitive planet, the people of Aerros have learned to live without animals or higher technology but using their genetically engineered plants, cultures, and Wing cousins to survive instead. Over time, they improved the Wings, from flying idiots to a productive serving class. But there are some places that feathered appendages just wont fit. The humans who handle these less-than-pleasant tasks are provided extra assistance and special privileges to make up for such work.

Pete is just a boy, but hes quick and agile and can get into all of those tight spaces to help his father maintain the sewers, but he could do without the older apprentices hazing.

Left in the dark, filthy tunnels by his fathers apprentice, Pete is rescued by Jared, a unique descendant of both human and Wing. This chance intervention sets Pete, Jared, and their friends on a path that will eventually bring the true problem of the settlement to light.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 8, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524543570

Carol Mingst

please add back cover text: Carol has been writing stories about the world of Aerros for over thirty years but has only recently started making them available to the public. New Aerros novels and other stories come percolating out whenever the characters start talking through her fingers. Though writing has always been easy, getting things into print takes more effort. She hopes that readers enjoy these books so that the rest of the novels can come out to play. Carol works in data analysis and programming, does photography on the side, has owned cats and horses nearly all of her life, loves to travel, and writes stories because the characters always have something more to say.

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 by Carol Mingst.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 11/08/2016

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Contents

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

PREFACE

F OR CENTURIES, NO one had remembered why they were there. It simply was. The Seven Settlements were communities ranging from the edge of a broad plain to the sides of the higher mountains with long hikes in between. The climate was temperate with full seasons despite the sixteen-month-long year. All plants had been designed with a purpose—medicine, food, or fiber in addition to wood. The vats provided milk and pla stic.

The human population remained small, growing only as land and facilities could support them. Life was fairly easy for them with the help of the Wings, their genetically altered cousins. Though they looked a lot like humans, the gentle Wings were a little different. Most needed direction. Most could not make adult decisions.

And they could fly.

Generations of careful breeding for competition had improved them. They could fly fast and maneuver well, but they were also improved from their idiot ancestors in other ways. The twin societies of Wing and human coexisted and depended on each other for all things. It was how things had always been done.

Until it was not. One born a Wing had become something more, crossing both groups. The Seven Settlements were forever changed, but adults with feathers were rare. Living that life was not easy.

Life was changing for those with wings, especially the few of acknowledged mixed blood. Some settlements accepted things more readily than others, and some crossbred were easier to like.

But even the humans had their tasks. The settlements depended on everyone doing things to help out. Some tasks were impractical for those with feathers and had to be done by humans.

CHAPTER 1

I T WAS DARK, damp, and smelly. It was also a lot narrower than he had been led to believe. The young boy wedged his boot against a rough edge of a brick and pushed himself in farther and probed ahead with the long-handled tool. He tried to envision what it was like farther up the narrow pas sage.

He wished he had brought a better light. The one Gavin had given him was failing fast. He had almost turned around and went back for a new one, but his father’s apprentice had made such a point of it being a rush job he had decided to finish what he was assigned.

Pete was more than familiar with the sewers. His father had taken him into them almost as soon as he could walk. A few years later, he was still smaller than the others who worked there and was able to squeeze himself into more locations. He had wanted to please his parents. It might smell awful at times and be difficult work, but he knew just how important it was. It was why they had nice things.

Of course, it really was his father’s job, but Pete had never minded. It was kind of fun learning the underground passages. He knew that as long as there wasn’t a hard rain or other reasons for flooding, the worst of it stayed in the smaller trenches down the middle of the wider square tunnels. He could move around fairly well. The Wings certainly couldn’t do it. It was a job that had to be done by humans. And it wasn’t so awful once one was used to it—and if the ventilation was working properly.

That was some of his problem. The ventilation didn’t work so well nearer the actual houses. He had gone deep into the passages; but the smaller lines, like the one he was in, only led to one house or another. The vents were more for the main trunks.

He couldn’t feel the problem. Gavin had told him this area wouldn’t flush out properly. He thought there should be a blockage. Maybe if he moved in a little more, he could find it.

Pete couldn’t see much, but he heard it coming. A wash of water was headed his way from the house.

Gavin had assured him the water was off there. He had given him specific directions. Pete knew he hadn’t gone to the wrong place. He never got lost in the tunnels.

The water was more than just a flush down the line. It was a deluge as though a storm had hit or someone was intentionally dumping water down that line. It might be necessary to clear a clog, but it wasn’t at all what should be done when someone was in there.

The water was far more than what could fit in the narrow ditch down the middle. It topped that, splaying out across the wider square of the tunnel, splashing and carrying whatever it picked up along the way.

There was nothing Pete could do about it but gasp for some air and cover his head as best he could.

It hit him. At first, it was just a cold, hard punch of smelly, filthy water. Then he felt it pick him up enough that he lost his footing and slid backward. He tried to grab on to something, but the water filled the tunnel and pushed him back. It was a short trip before he tumbled out of the smaller passage and into the feeder line. It wasn’t huge, but it was wide enough that the push of water dissipated around him, leaving him rather roughly dumped on hard bricks but able to breathe without getting a mouthful of sewer water.

It took him a minute to realize that most of the water was past. There was still a trickle coming out of the house feed; but it was pretty much only what had coated him, soaked into his clothes, that still dripped into the tunnel.

Gavin, he said. He had suspected the older boy of doing certain things on purpose in the past, but this time, he knew. He had rushed Pete into the tunnels, given him the assignment, and now, when he was most vulnerable, had flooded the place. Pete was lucky he had not been significantly hurt by the fall into the wider tunnel and that he had not slipped farther when he might have found the next much more significant drop.

And he had lost his light. The water had washed it away, so all that he was left with was his knowledge of the tunnels and experience from the years.

Cold, smelly, and rattled, he was a long ways from any exit. It didn’t help that Gavin would have plenty of time to make up some kind of story. Pete knew his father would be more likely to believe Gavin’s version. It was easier to believe his apprentice than his own son for some reason.

It would be a long trip out of the sewers.

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Pete had a good sense of direction and luckily was not claustrophobic, but spending an hour or more slipping over things best left unseen and scraping himself on various rough brick features left him exhausted. He couldn’t even stand completely upright at first. He was shivering as well from his thorough soaking. A few times, he had stopped to rest but had felt almost sleepy when he did so. The last thing he wanted was fall asleep in the tunnels.

Even if he had never been in the sewers, he knew that the default was to continue going downhill. That was sometimes not so easy to determine as he reached the larger areas. It was at least all generally heading in the same direction. He didn’t have to remember much in the way of turning right or left. He just had to keep from slipping on things or banging himself too much.

He knew there were some exit points along the way, but without a light to find them, he felt it too likely that he would get lost by looking for them. There were other areas that could be opened over the main line, but those were locked from the outside and far too high up for him to reach even if he could open them. Everything eventually drained into the cistern. There was an exit down that way that was easy enough to find. There was also fresh air down there encouraged by the fans near the pumps.

He wondered what story Gavin had come up with. It probably was as simple as some miscommunication—or Pete’s failure to follow directions. Maybe Gavin would make up something about going in to look for him when he didn’t return as expected.

Gavin probably didn’t expect Pete to be seriously hurt by the prank. No, killing the mentor’s son was probably not a good way to get your position in life.

Pete spent a good part of the walk back in the dark thinking about Gavin and what he would like to do to him, but there weren’t a lot of options. Gavin might not be an adult yet, but as an apprentice, he was pretty close to it. It was a respectable thing in the settlement.

Pete was still just a child.

In fact, most people would believe that he had wandered in by himself. It had taken years for Pete to piece it together, but there were others in the settlement who would be shocked to know the work Pete did. He was too young. He should go to school and play. But he had always felt smug that he had something important to do for the family. He had felt it was his family’s secret. And fawns did work at his age.

He had begun to realize that he really shouldn’t be down there at all. What had seemed like helping his family would be frowned on by most of the settlement. What had seemed like a family secret was starting to look like taking advantage of him.

He had ignored all that. He knew things had to be done, and he was small enough to be very useful. Someone had to get in the smaller lines. His father couldn’t. Gavin, though still relatively slight of build, wasn’t small enough either.

But his father was training Gavin to take over for him. Pete might not mind helping out with his own family, but he had no interest in helping Gavin. Once his father retired, he would as well. It was hardly as though he would want to apprentice to Gavin, who was young enough that Pete couldn’t expect to hang around until that man retired as well.

No, Pete wasn’t going to work for Gavin. And he wasn’t going to work with him again if he could help it.

It seemed like forever that he stumbled around in the dark, squishing through things he didn’t want to consider. He was afraid, at times, that he had somehow gone in the wrong direction. It seemed to be an endless maze of darkness.

But eventually, he noticed a bit of light. There had been a few spots where drains fed in and provided false hope, but as he drew nearer, he knew he was reaching the end of the tunnels. The cistern was up ahead. It was a wider area that received all the waste from the settlement. Rocks and other things that didn’t belong there would be captured in that area. Fluids would be stored briefly before filtering out into very long leach lines heading out into the plain. But near the cistern was the main access point. That was the largest entry—the usual place to go into the tunnels. It was large enough to have a man stand upright and carry in all kinds of equipment. It was also the source of much of the fresher air.

He realized he didn’t hear the fans blowing. They should be on pretty much all the time if it was not pouring rain. They certainly should be on whenever someone was in the tunnels.

He grumbled more, though was glad he could feel some of the fresh air coming in on its own. He was getting close.

The light made it much easier to negotiate through the last bits. He wanted to run out of there, but he was too tired to do more than slog the last few steps. Luckily, he could finally see clearly the wider and drier areas around the waste ditch. This area was even kept clean when not carrying a flood. It was something anyone could walk in.

Not that anyone did. The tunnels were distinctly off-limits to strangers. It was dangerous. It was the purview of the family. It was why they had nice things.

He knew that the work he did would be done by Wings if they could. But feathers and tight spaces didn’t go together well. Humans had to do it. And if humans had to do it, then the task, though noxious, was going to be well compensated. Otherwise, no one would choose to go down in the waste of the settlement.

At last, Pete saw the large grate that stood between the tunnels and the drop to the cistern. The access point was next to that.

The light from the day almost hurt his eyes as he reached that point. The light flooded in from above. The lovely clean air wafted down on him.

The ladder was metal and affixed to the walls. He grabbed the rungs almost joyfully and set his feet to the task of escaping from the darkness. He was tired enough that the climb was difficult, but nothing like that would stop him from getting out of there at last.

He reached the top and pushed on the trap door. The entire large grate could be opened if larger things needed entry. But there was a smaller section that he could push open from below.

Except that when he pushed it, it didn’t move.

It was only after a couple of abortive attempts that he thought to look enough to see that the latch was set from the outside.

Gavin, he cursed again.

The latch held the thing in place so that no one would accidentally fall into the hole. It was difficult to open as well. They didn’t want others to get inside. Wings might use the wider area for trysts. Children might go exploring in the dark.

The latch was not set in such a way that it could be opened from below. It should have been, but somehow, Gavin had made even that difficult. If Pete was larger (if his arms were mature), he would not be able to slip them through the grating and reach the latch. As it was, he had to cling to the grating while balancing on the top of the ladder with his feet. He was tired and slimy. He could easily fall down.

He got his arms out the grate well enough, though that didn’t quite leave his hands in the best position. He could feel the latch. He could lift up the tab, which was the first part of it. He knew he should be able to open the thing.

His hands were slippery too. The metal fell back into place with a soft click.

He cursed and tried again.

He knew he could undo the latch. Gavin hadn’t somehow locked it. But it was difficult. He was trembling, and that removed some of his dexterity. His arms hurt where he all but hung from them. His back didn’t like it either. But he knew that if he were to somehow slip out of position, he would fall backward down the length of the ladder to slam into the hard bricks below.

He probably wouldn’t kill himself, but he would be injured enough that he would be unlikely to climb the ladder again.

The latch was being difficult. He had felt around it enough to know it could be undone, but it wasn’t working as easily as he hoped. It probably was stiff. It probably was that he was exhausted, slimy, and—he finally admitted—scared.

He only had to get the latch undone. Then he would be out of the dark and smelly tunnels. Then he would be outside and never have to go back into those things again.

He knew that wasn’t entirely his decision to make, but he was definitely going to make as many excuses as he could come up with to avoid going back in.

He certainly wasn’t going to go in on Gavin’s say-so.

He was too weak. He realized that he wasn’t going to be able to cling that way much longer. It was better to take a break than to fall. Yes, he could disentangle his arms from the grate and climb back down the ladder. He would rest a while. At least the sunlight penetrated down there. It might almost be warm. Then he could try it all again—after he got some rest.

He shivered as he made his way down the ladder but didn’t fall. He found the floor of the tunnel and tried to find a spot with direct sunlight on it. But the shaft was too vertical and the sun too much below zenith for that to be possible. The best he could do was some brighter reflected light. At least he could see the sky.

It looked like it was a million miles away.

Pete sat huddled on the hard bricks and realized that he was crying. After that, the sobs came.

No one was coming to rescue him. No one was looking for him.

No one cared about him.

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In some ways, the flood of despair warmed him up. He actually did feel a little stronger, not strong enough to do too much, but he forced himself to climb up the ladder once more. He would work on the latch, but he also thought that a few good yells might help. Even if no one was actually looking for him, someone—anyone—might be able to hear him. A Wing could be flying by. Or maybe even Gavin was somewhere close, waiting for him to call out. Or his father might be looking for him.

Pete tried to look around, but the grate only allowed him to look straight up. There was no Wing flying past and no one sitting on the grate. He would have to do what he could. He hoped something worked—either the latch or his cries—because he wasn’t feeling so secure in his ability to climb up the ladder anymore. He didn’t want to spend however many hours it would take before his father realized he was missing. That would surely be after dark.

The idea of sitting in the dank tunnels for hours on end and into darkness spurred him to stronger efforts.

The latch was being as difficult as it had been before. Gavin must have done something special. It was supposed to be something he could reach just in case.

He paused to pull in a lungful of air so that he could give another loud cry, but he stopped when he heard something. It wasn’t loud at first, but the whistle grew quickly.

It was the sounds of feathers slicing the air.

Help me! Pete cried out, though not as loud as he had originally intended.

It could just be a Wing passing by, but it had sounded almost as though the sound had come right up to him …, and then it stopped.

Are you stuck down there? a warm and friendly voice asked.

Pete sighed in relief. Please help me. I can’t get the latch.

Then a face came into his narrow view, the face was of a young man with brilliant red hair. The arch of feathers behind him was anything but unexpected. He also realized that this was not just a Wing as he would expect. Jared was well-known and was pointed out to him as someone different. His father dismissed him as just another young man even if he happened to have feathers. Pete’s other childhood friends liked to talk about him a lot. A few families didn’t approve of adults with wings. Others really seemed to like him.

Jared was examining the latch mechanism but also looked over the situation as a whole. You sure you have a good hold there? he asked. You might be more secure on the ladder.

Pete realized he was still mostly hanging from his arms. If he wasn’t going to have to open the latch himself, he supposed he really didn’t need to be doing that. But he didn’t want to go back down to the bottom. He unwound his arms and clung to the ladder instead. There’s a trick to it, he told his rescuer. I know how to open it.

Jared made a sound of impatience or concern or something. Pete wasn’t entirely sure. Then Jared did something that Pete couldn’t quite see and tossed something away. I can get it, he assured Pete.

Pete hoped so. Clinging to the ladder was difficult. Now that rescue was at hand, he really felt his fatigue. He almost wanted to slide back down to rest on the hard floor.

The latch protested but made the appropriate sounds. Then the squeaky hinges on the small gate sang out as Jared opened it and laid the metal section back.

You’re going to have to make your way up, Jared said. I could probably fit in if the whole thing opened up, but I know I can’t get in through this little hole.

Pete knew that was true enough. No one with wings could fit inside. It was another way of keeping them out of the tunnels. When Wings did assist, the entire grate had to be removed; and even then, it was difficult.

Pete scrambled the short distance to the hole. He might be exhausted, but enough adrenaline was left to get him up the last couple rungs of the ladder to where he could poke his head and shoulders out of the trap door.

Now I can help you, Jared said and grabbed hold of Pete’s shoulders and all but lifted him up into the air. Pete felt his feet drag a bit across the grate, and then they landed on the ground again, safely out of the tunnels.

The area wasn’t pretty down by the cistern, but it was a far better sight than the dank and hard passageways.

How did you get yourself down there? Jared asked as he shut the hatch.

I was working, Pete admitted, though he knew it really was a family secret.

Working down there? Jared asked. Then he paused for a moment. There’s no one else down there, is there? I mean, there aren’t half a dozen boys exploring or anything like that?

No, Pete assured him. Gavin sent me in.

Gavin?

Father’s apprentice, Pete explained.

And who is your father? Or more to the point, what is your name?

Pete, he said almost dismissively. My father is Kendal. That name he said with great pride.

I’m Jared, the red-winged adult said as though that was necessary for anyone living in the First Settlement.

Jared looked him over and then made a rather pointed sniff. My guess is you took a tumble somewhere down there.

Pete flushed. He reeked. There’s a hose over that way, he said, pointing the correct direction.

Jared escorted him over to the hose. What you need is a shower.

I’ll get one, Pete said. But I’d like to get this stuff off me—or at least as much as possible. He realized that he had smeared a bit onto his rescuer. And you can wash up too. Sorry about that.

Jared assured him that there was nothing to be sorry about. He was glad he had come along. I heard you calling, but I wasn’t too sure. Then I realized I couldn’t hear the fans. That seemed odd and made me come closer. Once I saw you at the grate, I came straight over.

Thank you, Pete said sincerely.

Jared kept Pete from working the hose. He unwound enough that there would be some control and turned on the water. This is cold, he warned.

I know, Pete said. He had been sprayed down enough times. It was rather to be expected even if he had never been quite such a mess. He spread his arms and closed his eyes.

Jared didn’t just spray him as expected. He was gentle about running water over some areas and rubbing briskly to get the worst of it off. He didn’t seem to mind getting his hands in the mess even though he had to know what kind of waste was soaked into his clothing.

Pete rather appreciated it.

You’re shivering, Jared said in concern.

I’ll be all right, Pete said, though his chattering teeth kind of belied that.

Jared laid a hand against his arm and then shoved aside his shirt and placed a hand on his belly. That tickled a little.

You’re freezing.

I’m fine, Pete protested.

Jared turned the water off and dropped the hose.

Pete turned to gather it back up and restore it where it belonged, but Jared grabbed him right up off the ground. Let me go! Pete yelped out of reflex.

I’m going to get you to a hot shower and then maybe the doctor, he said, bundling Pete up in his arms.

Pete thought a shower sounded nice enough, but a doctor wasn’t a good idea. I’m fine, he said, though he did like the warmth of being clamped next to a larger body.

You’re not fine, Jared said. Just how long were you down there?

Pete didn’t really know. It seemed to have been hours and hours. But he didn’t want to tell this stranger everything. He couldn’t tell Jared about Gavin. That was something his father would have to deal with.

I don’t know if this is high enough, Jared said.

Pete was set down on the rise over the cistern. It wasn’t all that high, but with other equipment and things, it was taller than he was—taller than Jared too, discounting his wings.

Pete started to climb back down; but Jared did some kind of leap, which Pete didn’t quite see, and then stood beside him.

Just relax, Jared said. He actually bent down a little to look him in the eyes. . I’m only going to help you.

He realized that he already owed a debt to this man. He had been rescued out of the sewer. What are you going to do? He didn’t understand why they were on top of the cistern.

I’m going to carry you back to the settlement.

It wasn’t all that far. The cistern was just on the outskirts.

I can get you to a shower. Get all this stuff off you and get you warm.

I can walk.

Jared looked at him dubiously. Come on. I won’t drop you. We’ll get there faster.

Pete couldn’t imagine why Jared would want to walk back carrying him. It would be faster to …

"We’re going to fly?" Pete asked in amazement.

Just a short bit, Jared said as he ruffled his feathers. You’re small enough. It won’t be hard, and I know some Wings who have some very good showers close by.

Our showers are close, Pete said, though he was still thinking about flying.

Then maybe we can go to your house.

Oh, my house is a long way from here, Pete said. But the showers are over that way.

Jared turned and looked toward the buildings. Well, you tell me where they are, and we’ll go there then.

You’re going to fly now?

Uh-huh, Jared said. You just stand there. I’ll pick you up in my arms and then leap into the air. It will be fun.

Pete had never done that before. He had watched fliers many times in the past, but to actually fly!

Ready? Just relax. You can hold on to me if you want, but don’t move around.

Pete would stay like a rock if he could get into the air.

Then he was going up, but only enough to grab around Jared’s shoulders as he was lifted up in a more mundane sense of the word. He felt secure in Jared’s arms.

Jared jumped off the cistern and brought his wings down sharply. Pete felt like he was bouncing, going higher and higher. He gripped tighter but did turn his head so he could watch the ground zipping by.

He had imagined what it must be like to fly, but he had never had a clear understanding. The ground below looked awfully far away and went by so quickly, but he felt secure enough in Jared’s hold.

It didn’t take long at all for them to reach the buildings of the settlement. Pete had walked that distance any number of times, but it seemed almost to pass by in a blink. Certainly, the ride was over much sooner than he would have thought.

He had even remembered to point out where the showers were. It was where he always came after working in the tunnels. It was also where the few Wings who worked with them lived. They might only do peripheral work, but they were very useful for heavier stuff. There were house Wings at his home, but these ones would take care of him too. Jared could leave him with these Wings and be on his way. Pete didn’t want to inconvenience him anymore. In particular, he didn’t want to annoy the person who had taken him flying.

Jared landed with a long, sweeping glide and stopped almost directly in front of the Wing quarters. One moment, they were still slicing through the air; and the next, Jared was walking. Pete wished he could ask this man to do it all again, but he would have to take what he got.

The entrance was obvious enough. There was a very wide arch more than just a door. The place was all on one level, so there were no landings for the fliers, but there was no difficulty with squeezing feathers through a narrow portal. The door didn’t lock. Pete would have simply walked inside, but Jared paused to knock. Still, he didn’t wait that long. When no one answered, he carried Pete into the shower building with only a quick shout out to anyone within.

There was no one. Pete might expect that when there was specific work for them to do, but he had never seen it empty. Luckily, he knew perfectly well where the showers were. He pointed Jared in the right direction. He protested that he could walk it on his own, but his benefactor said for him to hush and took him the distance. The cavernous place was easy enough to walk through. The showers were even more so.

His father had lavished attention on the showers. After all, he used those after a hard day in the sewers. The Wings who lived there would help to get him clean as well. Pete had been looking forward to that. It was something he rather liked. The Wings were attentive and never said anything about the smell.

The showers worked without them, of course. Jared finally set him down on a bench that was next to some of the sprays. Pete had mixed feelings about that. He realized he had enjoyed more than just the flying, but it was good to sit down too. It was stable and safe. He was about to get clean and warm. Jared was checking the water flow and temperature for him so he didn’t have to do more than that.

The soaps were easy enough to find. Pete knew there were clean clothes in the room somewhere, though he wasn’t so sure about where those were located. The Wings normally just appeared with them.

Not that he had ever been so dirty. In the enclosure of the building and with the warmth