by H C Edwards
When the door opened, Claire could hear the surprise in the older councilwoman’s voice.
“Misao?,” she said. “What the hell happened to you?
“Hello, Mother.”
Claire could almost picture the elder councilwoman’s expression.
“My god, are you okay? I’ll call the clinic right away. Come in, you need to sit down.”
The older woman grabbed Misao by the arm and pulled her through the door.
“You need to tell me what happened.”
“I’m fine,” Misao replied. “It’s just a scratch.”
“Not from where I’m standing it isn’t,” came the retort, slightly reproachful.
“Listen, Mother,” Misao interrupted, her voice agitated. “I don’t have time for this. I need to discuss something with you.”
Claire, impatient, stepped into the line of sight.
“Hello, Councilwoman Egbert,” she said.
“Claire?” the older woman blurted out before she could stop herself.
The councilwoman’s eyes flashed back and forth between her daughter and Claire. In that moment it became apparent that Misao was convinced of Claire’s identity and that Councilwoman Egbert was less than pleased to see the two of them together.
The Rescue
“We’re about ten minutes out. Kill the lights.”
Mia did as asked, switching off the headlights, leaving only the red glow of the panels bathing the cabin, almost like a forewarning of what was to come.
They had not heard from Bear since his last communication, and with The Mountain coming up they were certain not to, but Mia wished he would, if only to ease Chase’s anxiety. She seemed a bundle of nerves that became more frenetic the closer they came, and it was no doubt due to the fate she was envisioning for her father. Mia didn’t want her friend’s attention split. There was little chance as it was for them. They all needed clear heads, or as clear as they could get.
Mia flicked a switch and grabbed the mic.
“Ten minutes out,” she said for the benefit of those riding in the main engine hold behind them.
She had no idea what the group was feeling. They were not her people, but when push came to shove they had stood strong, as evidenced by the mess back in the trade hub. She hoped beyond hope that it was the last of the violence they would face, while also knowing such sentiment was wishful thinking.
Chase stood up and set her rifle on top of the console. Her hands flew across the screen.
“We’ll be coming in about half a minute after Bear’s arrival, and coming in hard.”
“The engine needs to come to a stop right out of the tunnel,” Mia said. “Can you swing that?”
Chase nodded, and then asked, “What about after that?”
“Just follow me. I’ll lead the way.”
She just hoped not much had changed there. A couple of decades weren’t a long time in the life of Akropolis, but The Mountain was a different sanctuary. They were constantly excavating to make more room, digging through the heart of the mountain and tunneling into the adjoining ones. She would just have to trust to memory to navigate.
Chase hooked a thumb over her shoulder.
“They may look like a mean bunch,” she said, referring to the group of people in the hold. “But they’re just as nervous as we are. It might help to have a word with them while we still have the time.”
“Me?” Mia replied with surprise. “They don’t even know me. I think it’d be better if it came from you.”
But Chase was already shaking her head.
“With Bear gone you’re the lead. I’m just following along like everyone else.”
“What would I even say?”
Chase smirked.
“Got me. Words have never been my strong suit. Think of what Bear would say, and then say something completely different.”
They stared at each other for a moment before breaking into matching grins. The tension eased slightly.
It was enough.
Mia took a deep breath as she turned away and faced the cabin door. She had no idea of what she was going to say, but when she stepped through the door and faced the small crowd that looked to her for answers, she felt eerily calm.
They were too few for the task ahead. She was under no illusions about the possibilities for success, and looking into their eyes she realized that they knew it too. Each of them bore the countenance of acceptance instead of resignation. They had chosen to be here.
“We’ll be there in a few minutes. I don’t know what we’ll find when we get there but keep together and follow me. If luck is on our side we’ll make it out of the hub. After that, it’s anyone’s guess.”
She knew it wasn’t the most rousing of speeches, but she was not accustomed to buoying the hopes of others when she had harbored none herself for so many years.
Except that wasn’t exactly correct. She felt it now, strangely enough. Here, near the end of a long road of shame and guilt and self-loathing, she had found peace with her past, peace with herself. It had nothing to do with what she had done, but what she was going to do…and then she knew exactly what to say.
“I know you wish it were Bear here instead of me. I’m not anyone important. I’m here because I don’t really have a choice, but I’d like to think that I would choose it if given one. You made the choice to be here. You are the ones leaving family and loved ones behind. It is you who are risking your lives to save others. When you saw something wrong, you took action, when others only tried to hide it.”
She could hear her voice rising unbidden, mixed with the pride she felt for these people who were complete strangers to her.
“You are the true citizens of Akropolis. You are its heart today, and if we are to die here, I know that you will make enough noise that others will hear, and follow your lead.”
Mia found her chest heaving, heart hammering against her breast. It wasn’t fear she was feeling. That feeling had passed. What she felt was the euphoria of purpose, of knowing her place in the great scheme of things.
It took a moment for her to realize that the pounding she heard in her ears wasn’t her own pulse, but the stomping of feet and the thumping of fists against thighs and chest, and when she turned her back and stepped back into the engineer’s cabin it was to the roars of the righteous.
Chase, eyes shining with the fervor they both shared, was standing in front of her. Without pause, Mia reached out and grabbed the woman by the waist, pulling her in close, lips hungrily finding the other, their breath mixing as one to the chorus of their beating hearts.
If it wasn’t for the safety harnesses the force of the stop would have turned the group into splatter paintings on the opposite walls. Inside the conductor’s cabin, Mia felt the straps bite into her shoulders and punch her in the chest. All the air whooshed out of her as the train’s magnets caught hold, the humming sound jumping to a crescendo as the Mag-lev experienced a strain like never before. There was no screeching sound like the trains of old, but there was a loud clunk that shook the whole frame, a pulse that seemed to go from the head to the end of the train and then back again until they finally came to a stop, only half of the Mag-lev protruding from the opening of the tunnel.
When the breath finally rushed back in, Mia had to shake her head to clear the faintness that was creeping into the edges of her consciousness. From her left she heard Chase groan. A low boom made the windshield rattle, and just like that, Mia’s eyelids shot open. Through the palladium glass in front of her she could see a scene of chaos; people rushing in panic, little pockets of explosions popping off left and right, the low rattle of gunfire, muffled shouts and screams.
Mia bolted to her feet, or rather tried to but was caught by the harness, slamming her back with only a few inches of give. Frustrated, she fumbled with the latches for what seemed like an eternity, finally hearing the click as the straps fell away. The moment she was on her feet, she reached over and unsnapped Chase’s harness and began to shake her until the woman’s
eyes fluttered open. Her reaction was the same as Mia’s. The moment she heard the gunfire, she jumped to her feet alert.
“What about the others?” Chase immediately asked, putting a hand out to the back of her seat to steady herself.
Without answering, Mia grabbed her rifle and went through the door into the hold. There were several men and women hovering over the unconscious, a few still strapped in their seats. In retrospect, bringing the train to almost a dead stop at over two hundred fifty miles per hour had been a poor judgment call, but from what Mia had seen through the glass of the engineer’s cabin, no one had noticed them arrive. Whatever distraction Bear was implementing was working, but it wouldn’t last forever.
Mia started shouting as loud as she could, ordering those with rifles and pistols to conceal them beneath jackets and shirts, triggering the main door and pushing and shoving them out into the hub, Chase off to her side doing the same. Without thinking she slapped the last unconscious man, jolting him awake like a bucket of ice water.
Within seconds they were all on their feet, groggy but stumbling out the door. Mia followed them, snagging a coat someone left behind and throwing it on, her rifle strap over one shoulder, holding the barrel pointing down along her side, hoping no one saw spied the gun.
Mia need not have worried. The scene in the hub was pandemonium. Workers were still fleeing in opposite directions, seemingly without understanding that they were knocking each other down and trampling others, wide-eyed and hysterical. Others milled about in shock and dazed confusion, battered left and right from those fleeing.
So far, no one had noticed their small group, and Mia intended to keep it that way. Pushing her way to the front, she turned and gestured for the others to follow her. They packed together as she led them to the left, holding close to the wall past the opening of the tunnel, not quite running but moving fast nonetheless. Going slow and cautious right now would only make them stand out.
More gunfire burst at the other end of the hub and people screamed. The next explosion made the previous ones seem like firecrackers, a thunderous boom that made the ground shake and sent smoke billowing into the air.
Everything went silent then. The rifle fire ceased and even the screaming came to a standstill. Some of the crowd paused and turned to look, perhaps hoping whatever transpired had finally ended.
Mia and the group were almost to the adjoining tunnel. The crowd here was thick but not so congested that they couldn’t slip through quickly and blend. But the deafening silence couldn’t be ignored, and though she knew better, Mia paused and looked to the opposite end of the trade hub.
Like the smoke that blanketed the scene, the people seemed to part just enough so that she could see straight across. There were guards lying prone on the ground, scattered about as if they’d been thrown by an invisible force. A few were getting to their feet and others still were starting to stir.
From the midst of the smoke she could see the hazy outline of a giant emerge. He moved awkwardly, as if he didn’t know his heading, and just before she could make out any details, he stumbled and collapsed partway to the ground, swirls of grey smoke surrounding him.
The guards had recovered somewhat, enough anyway to gather their fallen weapons and train them on the still concealed figure, advancing very slowly, no longer bothering with warnings or calls for surrender.
By her side, Chase lurched forward. Mia, knowing this would happen, grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back hard, tossing her to one of the men in their group. He didn’t need the command to hold onto her tightly.
Mia turned away from the scene, continuing towards the exit tunnel, the rest of them following suit, heads bowed as if they couldn’t bear to glance back.
They forced their way through the throng. Some of the workers were still moving forward and they followed them, meandering back and forth between the small crowds. The tunnel hooked to the right and in a few more seconds the trade hub was lost to sight. A moment later they all heard the quick burst of rifle fire, and then all was silent again.
Mia looked over to Chase. Her face was pale and strained, eyes glassy as if she were near fainting. Mia reached out and encircled the woman’s waist with her arm and pulled her close, but they kept walking.
At some point Chase began to cry, low sobs that seemed to blend in with the shocked cries of those citizens surrounding them.
The Rabbit Hole
Aiko walked into the dining room balancing a silver tray with the clay teapot and cups. They were antiques, brought in when Misao’s ancestors first arrived in Akropolis. It was the only possession they had brought, a reminder of their heritage and ancestry.
Once a day for the past three hundred years, someone in the family would brew tea in the pot, rinse it out, and then wipe it down with a soft cloth dipped in the tea. It was a tradition that had gone back as long as their memory.
Aiko had inherited the set from her mother about thirty years before and someday Misao would inherit it from her. The tradition would be carried on until the Wall fell.
Seeing the teapot had always infused Misao with calmness. She sat at the table, hair still wet from the heavy rinse to remove the blood, thinking that she never needed that feeling more than she did today. A yet, for the first time, she found herself impatient with the process, even as her mother went through the routine. By the time the tea was finally poured for each of them, her patience was all but gone.
“Mother,” she addressed Aiko somewhat stiffly. “We are short on time.”
“We are all short on time,” her mother replied, sitting down and taking an almost languid sip from her cup. “We have been since the Wall went up. Now, I assume you have something important to tell me. I’m all ears.”
“It’s what I have to tell you,” Claire interceded, ignoring her tea, staring hard and straight at the councilwoman.
“Of course,” she replied serenely. “Otherwise why would my daughter have brought you here?”
“You certainly looked surprised to see us together,” Misao couldn’t help but point out.
Aiko turned her gaze to her daughter.
“I was unaware that you two were acquainted. And don’t think I’m not catching that tone. Whatever suspicions you have, perhaps you can air them after you tell me why you’re both here.”
Misao, slightly chagrined, looked to Claire, who didn’t seem fazed in the slightest.
“You know about the latest steps in my genome program?” she asked.
“Of course. We approved the human test trials just a few months ago. My memory isn’t that bad.”
“A handful of volunteers,” Claire continued. “That was the deal.”
“Yes, you were very specific,” Aiko volleyed back.
“What happened to them?” Claire asked. “To my volunteers?”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” she answered, unruffled.
“You expect me to believe my grandfather acted on his own?” Claire nearly hissed.
Misao, suddenly uncomfortable with the change of approach, leaned over and reached out with her hand. The moment it came in contact with Claire, the younger woman snatched her arm away.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Aiko said steadily.
“Oh, you know exactly what I’m talking about. My grandfather wouldn’t take a piss without the rest of you watching.”
Aiko’s lips grew thin across her mouth. Red spots blossomed in her cheekbones.
“You had better be careful with-”
Claire snorted, her derision palpable enough to cut with a knife. Misao was frozen with shock, but she also knew exactly what was going on.
“You don’t scare me,” Claire sneered. “I know what you’ve done; what all of you have done. You sit there and deny it but I know you’re lying. I’ve seen the proof of it. When the rest of Akropolis finds out, you’ll all be wiped so far back it’ll be like being born again.”
Aiko’s hands were trembling so bad she had top set
her cup down. Then she planted her palms on the tabletop and turned to Misao.
“How dare you bring this into my home. I don’t know what the hell you are thinking but I’ve had quite enough. I want you to leave right now before-”
This time it was Misao who interrupted.
“Before what, Mother?”
When Aiko didn’t reply, Misao continued.
“What was it you wanted to tell me on the day I was sworn in? You wanted me to come to dinner. I could tell there was something important. Tell me, Mother.”
Aiko stood up from the table.
“I will not sit here and listen to this. I expect you to leave now.”
Misao shook her head.
“Is it true? What is happening in The Mountain? Do you know about it?”
Her mother’s eyes darted to Claire, and in them was a spite that Misao had never seen. It was all the answer she really needed. In a way, she already knew. From the moment Claire had told her story, Misao immediately suspected the council’s part in it. How else could such an operation be put into play if not with the council’s approval? She hadn’t insisted on their coming to seek help but to prove her suspicions.
Misao could have saved herself the lie. Claire had never been fooled for a second as to her actual intent.
“Mother?” she prompted.
When the elder councilwoman turned to her, her eyes were still blazing with the fever of her temperament. It took a few seconds for that fire to die down, and even when she composed herself, it was a flimsy shield.
“You don’t understand what is going on, Misao,” she said, her voice tremulous despite her best effort. “We are trying to save our entire species. The steps we have taken will ensure our survival but…”
Aiko lost her composure for a moment, and when she did, it made her appear old and tired.
“There are things, unsavory things, that we’ve had to do, sacrifices that we have made.”
Claire, contemptuous, replied, “What do you know of sacrifice?”
Aiko exploded, bolting to her feet and sweeping her arm out, catching the clay cup and sending it flying across the room to smash to pieces against the wall.