“And the book’s dome is already in place!” Kimberley observed. “Our captain friend is freezing in there.”
She spun round at the presence behind her and let off a shot from her huge weapon. It smashed into Carl Bain and pushed him into some cargo boxes behind the hiding female duo.
“He doesn’t have his power,” Kimberley said.
“They’re shooting lazer ankhs at the demons,” Mariah pointed out. “That must be affecting him.”
Kimberley shot the human minion again and he collapsed before both women.
“He’s no threat to us. Let’s get the book,” Mariah urged, stepping around the huge cargo boxes before her and putting her gun into use. “C’mon, Kim,” she persuaded her friend. “The Booklords are distracting them.”
Kimberley followed her. “What do we do?”
“We kill as many as we can!”
Kimberley looked surprised. “What if we just stun them? No need to kill them, right?” Her colleague had already sped into the battle, shooting anyone in her way. “Right.” Kimberley looked at Carl Bain’s body for the last time before stepping out into the light and noise of those killing and being killed.
Her huge Q-gun stunned those who got in her way. The strange weapons displaying ankhs instead of spewing lazer marveled her and she slung two of these over her right shoulder as she headed for the white book’s freezing protective dome.
Kimberley scattered the demons surrounding the mystical hemisphere with one of the new weapons in her arsenal and the dome disappeared. “Get up and raise your hands!” she ordered the cargo ship’s captain cowering on the ground before her.
The man obeyed her and she pulled the white book from his right hand. “Now, you must…”
Mariah came up beside Kimberley and shot the man twice.
“What did you do that for?!” Kimberley boiled.
“I had to, Kim,” Mariah said. “He would have done the same thing to us if he had the chance.”
“Kim, can we come out now?” Aiden’s clear voice came through on the TelepathyGi.
“We’re coming back, Aiden,” Kimberley replied, glaring at her Sikama friend. “Still think this Ben Haddad was brought here after being kidnapped?”
“No,” Rachel relayed through her communicator. “I still think he’s bad news, Kim.”
“No need to find out if he’s here,” Mariah said, ignoring the little girl. “I think we should leave now if we’re to avoid future situations we may not be able to control.” Her head directed the other woman’s eyes to look out over the Moon’s rocky landscape. A space vehicle quickly approached the spaceport from the east.
“More men,” Kimberley noted.
The female duo raced back to the ship.
“How do we get back into the ship?” Kimberley asked.
“No worries,” Aiden said from within the spacecraft. “We’re back in the control room and we just figured out how to open the main exit.”
“Just go to the right of the long shaft, Kim,” Rachel directed the two women outside.
An opening exit door awaited them on this side of the cargo vehicle. Getting back in became a piece of cake.
“These men were a different faction of the Sikama,” Mariah repeated after she had safely entered the spaceship’s cockpit with Kimberley. “They never meant well for anyone.”
“We cannot go to Ben Haddad, Mariah,” Rachel repeated. “He will only help himself.”
“I don’t think your friends are with you on this, Rachel,” the Bookmaker said.
Aiden looked away and Kimberley turned to Rachel. “We could see what happens, dear,” she said. “This Haddad guy could have some answers we need.”
“He’s dangerous, Kim, you don’t know him.”
“Do you?” Kimberley asked the young Bookbearer.
“What if there had been some falling out between your father and Mr. Haddad, and your father now became opposed to Ben’s views?” Mariah began.
“Okay, you know that’s not helping, Miss Ankh Sikama,” Kimberley berated Mariah.
The Bookmaker rolled her eyes. “Just trying to help,” she pointed out. “You’re welcome.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll go with this if we have a Plan B,” Rachel said and Mariah brightened.
“Of course, there’s a Plan B,” she enthused. “I’ll tell you about it when we get there. It’s all in my head.”
Nobody said a word.
Mariah took their silence as a final approval of her plan, and picked up the sharpie they earlier used from a table. She stretched out her right hand towards Rachel. “Let me do the honors, dear, since I personally know him.” The little girl gave her the white book and she wrote down a name on one of its page. “Hold hands, everyone.”
Outside the Wellington XCX12 Cargo Transporter, Carl Bain hated the fact that he couldn’t face his enemies with his powers. His infernal masters appeared all around him and he thought they would end his life there and then, but the instruction came through clear enough.
“Follow them!”
Chapter 33: The Underground City
NATIONS of the world ended the Red War in X40.05.02. No victor emerged from this momentous upheaval, though every partaker had wounds to lick. As a result of the war, multiple mega cities were incinerated and the planet lost 75% of its vegetation, leading to millions falling into poverty.
After the Red War, fallout dust covered the Earth’s surface. This remarkably dense red dust originated from the weaponized particle in the most destructive weapon to be used in the calamitous war: Endren X37. A nuclear weapon named after the date the deadly compound came into existence.
Owing to this fallout, the Earth became a red globe when viewed from outer space, with temperatures going as low as 50°Q and as high as 200°Q around the equator on a daily basis. The stark challenge facing the planet could never be experienced at a more definitive place than the Amazon Rainforest, now more of a wood forest than anything else. The remaining animals surviving in this dead zone always went hungry for months before finding something edible, especially if they were herbivores like the iconic Scarlet Macaw.
Flapping over the scorched trees in search of food, a member of this predominantly red bird with stripes of blue and yellow across its feathers chirped and groaned as it flew over dry tree after dry tree. Almost all the greenery in the world had vanished the day the greatest red bomb detonated, because a large percentage of the Sun’s photosynthesizing rays could not penetrate the dense red dust the exploding bomb spewed into the atmosphere on that day.
This dust could be seen for miles on end from where our time-travelers finally appeared. Of course, they all wore protective hazard suits and artificial respirators.
“Where the hell are we?” Kimberley demanded, looking around her. She could see several surface shelters down a valley to her right, and a steep slope leading up to a group of caves on her left.
“Good that we’re together,” Mariah observed. “Would have hated it if we had to start by looking for one or two of us.”
“First, we need to protect ourselves from the Booklords,” Rachel said, bringing out a sharpie.
“You brought that along?” Aiden asked her.
“Yes,” the little girl replied. “It’s not the one I took from the spaceship, but it will do.” She drew ankhs on everyone’s hazard suit, except Mariah’s. The Sikama preferred a cross.
“We still need to know what happened here,” Aiden pointed out. “Is it a bomb?”
“The bomb, knucklehead, the bomb.” Mariah appeared on edge. She frowned. “It caused the red dust everywhere. Radiation levels are way too high here.”
“How did you know that?” Kimberley demanded.
“A meter is working with my helmet screen. Could be new TelepathyG tech.”
“TelepathyG7,” Kimberley said, surprising herself. “My alternate memory also tells me we’re hostiles here.”
“And what does that mean?” Rachel began.
&n
bsp; “That we should run?” Aiden suggested. “Those guys don’t look happy to see us as far as I can tell.”
The small speck in the distance grew rapidly.
“Who are they?” Rachel wondered.
“Doesn’t matter, that vehicle is not slowing down,” Kimberley noted.
The hovering vehicle bearing down on the small group had a reckless driver. Obviously, the fellow had one objective.
“I think we need to go now,” Kimberley said, pulling Aiden and Rachel along. She saw flashes from the approaching unit. “They’re shooting at us! Quick, to the valley!”
“No!” a new voice opposed from her left. A young black man stood above them halfway to the caves. “If you go into the valley, they will hunt you down and kill you. Just follow me.”
Lazer bolts shot past, missing their targets as Mariah followed the new guy and Kimberley urged the kids to scale the slope. Up the steep slope they ran, putting all their strength into this effort now a matter of life and death. They kept up their speed for some time, until Kimberley turned to check on their pursuers, and noticed that the floating craft had stopped at the foot of the slope. Four figures stood around the vehicle, one person pointing up towards the fleeing group, while the remaining three kept up their lazer barrage.
“They will come up on foot.”
“Why?” Kimberley asked their new guide.
“Their vehicle works with the red dust and there’s not much of that on the slope,” the young man explained. “By the time they trudge up to the caves, we would have been long gone.”
The shooting stopped when the four individuals below started climbing up the slope.
“So, where are we going?” Aiden asked.
“Somewhere safe,” their new friend replied. “The name’s Jeremy, by the way.”
“Thank you, Jeremy,” Mariah said. “I’m Mariah and these are my friends, Kimberley, Aiden and Rachel.”
“Good to see you guys,” Jeremy said. “Now, to safety.”
The cave inlets dotting the top of the hill varied in size. Jeremy led his new friends into one and switched on the torch on his hazard suit. A flight of stairs descended into the cave.
“Where does that lead us?” Mariah wondered.
“To the Main Corridor,” Jeremy said. “You’ll see.”
Sure enough, the Bookmaker and her friends got to the bottom of the rocky stairs with their guide and exited this particular cave into a huge corridor the likes of which they had never seen. Rows of cave mouths lined up the opposing walls of this corridor.
“Those men will stop their pursuit here, because for them it will be futile to continue,” Jeremy said.
“And why is that?” Kimberley wondered.
“All the cave inlets outside lead to this corridor and the caves we see on the opposite wall lead to more corridors and more caves.”
“So, where do we go from here?” Rachel began.
Jeremy entered one of the caves lining the opposite wall and his new friends followed him. Emerging from this cave into another passage lined with opposing natural caves, he crossed five entrances before entering another cave. Coming out of this particular cave, he stepped up between two caves before the others. “Come, join me,” he told his small audience and they soon crowded around him. “The entrance is a lift,” he said before the ground gave way and a vertical tube took them all down to the city underneath. Jeremy liked the surprise on the faces of his guests. “Welcome to the city we call Resilience,” he introduced. “The shelter we all cherish.”
* * *
Carl Bain lifted the dying man up into the air with his right arm and released the fellow, who crashed to the ground. He looked around at his handiwork and smirked. His feeling of satisfaction at the moment could never compare to the gratification he would receive when he succeeded in retrieving his package and the white book. He knew exactly where his primary targets were currently residing in the vicinity. Their use of the caused symbols had drastically affected his plans and he hated the fact that he had hit this brick wall.
The human minion knew his masters were barely keeping him alive out of mercy. He also knew he only had one final chance to prove himself worthy of their trust. He didn’t know how to effectively utilize this chance.
The four men lying around him never knew what hit them as they investigated the cavernous corridor he now stood in. Of course, he knew the ground had a hidden lift mechanism somewhere to his right. He just didn’t care, because appearing in the city underneath was a piece of cake, and as long as his targets forgot to draw the caused symbols on their arms after removing their hazard suits, he could appear close enough to retrieve his package and the white book down below.
A new plan filled his head. He now knew what to do should his targets draw the caused symbols on their arms after removing their hazard suits. Of course, many would die. The more the merrier.
* * *
Rachel drew the symbols on their arms as soon as they removed their hazard suits. The decontamination room had little equipment save for a tube into which went all the discarded hazard suits.
Mariah saw a radiation device on the wall. “Good. This place is airtight.”
“This way, please,” Jeremy directed them, walking past an ultraviolet sanitizer. “This underground city was built before the war,” he said, watching the others get sanitized. “It lies inside a thick underground concrete barrier equipped with systems that purify the reddish dusty air outside.”
“Okay, good to know,” Kimberley noted, stepping out of the sanitizer system.
Jeremy led them through an exit that brought them to the middle of a street scene within a very high arching white roof. Blocks of shelter units spread out as far as their eyes could see alongside straight roads. Dazzling light lit the streets and many mobile units zoomed about the paved roads.
“Welcome to the city of Resilience,” the young black man said. “Here, the rich tend to have good shelters while the poor suffer from rundown shelters.”
“And where is your shelter?” Aiden asked.
“Down the street,” Jeremy pointed out. “You’ll also meet my family.”
Kimberley looked at Mariah. Time was running out. “Eh, Jeremy, is there any place of learning in Resilience? We need to find someone who can help us.”
“Yes, about that,” Jeremy began, walking down the sidewalk. “You guys don’t look like you’re from this vicinity. Where are you guys from and where are you headed?”
Kimberley sighed. “We…We…. You…”
“You guys are safe here no matter where you came from, where you are headed, or why you had to put your lives in danger by exposing yourselves to the Kannibals.”
“The Kannibals?” Aiden walked alongside Jeremy. “Who are they?”
“The flesh eaters, and that’s ‘Kannibal’ with a ‘K,’” Jeremy replied. “Plant food got scarce after the red bomb exploded, so outside the cities, cannibalistic communities have sprung up. You guys don’t know about this?”
“That’s terrible,” Rachel exclaimed. “That’s horrible.”
“You said ‘cities,’” Kimberley began, turning to Jeremy. “How many cities are there?”
“There are five other cities like Resilience in this area,” Jeremy said. “Others are sited in other areas like Area 12.6 and Area 55.7. All these cities are linked together through underground tunnels. Ah, here we are.” He stepped off the sidewalk and stopped before a shelter covered with graffiti. “My family love art, so they have this huge canvas they live in.”
“Nice,” Aiden said. “Who is the better artist, your wife or your kids?”
Jeremy laughed. “I live with my two sisters, boy. They’re family.”
Rachel brightened. “Would love to meet your sisters, Jeremy.”
“You will, dear. Soon.” The shelter’s door opened and two young faces beamed at the visitors. “Guys, meet my younger siblings, Ginia and Tilia.”
Ginia had black hair running down her neck and shoulder
s to shape a beautiful face. Her eyes were as wide and as innocent as Tilia’s, both pointing towards a fine nose and a refined mouth. She couldn’t have been more than twenty. “Welcome strangers,” she joked. “We’re happy to have you in our house.”
Tilia nodded, but said nothing. The visitors came into their living room with her brother. “I’ll warm a meal,” she finally said and walked away.
“You don’t need to do that,” Kimberley began, but realized she was too late. She admired the living room and sat on a long sofa opposite the one Jeremy had taken. Aiden and Rachel sat beside her, but Mariah remained standing. Ginia left to help her sister and Rachel stood up and gave Aiden the white book before following the girl.
The shelter had a small cozy living room exuding warmth. Abstract art frames hung everywhere and the diffuse lighting suggested class, and taste. The two sofas in the room faced each other across a low, flat coffee table. Awkward silence hung over the parties sitting across this solid piece of furniture.
“First of all,” Kimberley began, “how did the world change to this, Jeremy?”
Jeremy sat up. “You’re serious you don’t know?”
Mariah coughed for attention. “You’re right, Jeremy, we’re not from these parts. We…”
“We do know a little about the red bomb,” Aiden interrupted her. “What we don’t know is how the world became a dead red zone.”
“The red bomb caused it,” Ginia called out from the kitchen. “The Sun helps plants to grow only when it can cause photosynthesis to take place in leaves.”
Jeremy cleared his throat. “The red dust prevents most of the Sun’s rays from getting to the plants, thereby hindering this process.”
“Artificial light can grow plants but not enough on a commercial scale,” Tilia added from the kitchen.
“We use artificial light to grow the food we consume here,” Jeremy said, “but this is expensive and can never last us all year round, even with the abundance of the energy source we thought would be cheap.”
Kimberley noted the annoyance in the young man’s voice. “You were talking about Compound V?”
The White Book Page 40