As Calix reversed a few metres so he could line up the excavator, he watched as Barrick blew the sand from the rectangular pit. They walked over after the sand had settled.
“Good work.”
“Why thank you, sir,” mocked Barrick.
Ignoring him, Walker stepped up to the edge of the pit and jumped down. Calix stopped the engine and turned on the power for the excavator, and in those ten seconds Walker disappeared.
“It’s a lot like Sanctum’s,” Walker crackled.
“Room for more?” asked Caia.
“There’s plenty, but wait a minute.”
Calix levered the excavator, keeping one eye on the proceedings down to his left, while digging away at the sand resting against the edge of the hardtop.
“Do you guys want to step back a moment?” said Walker. His voice came through broken, but clear enough that the others began to retreat. Then suddenly the ground shook, shaking their balance.
“What in the sake?” said Ardelia, knocked off her feet.
“I told you guys to back off.”
The hardtop in front of the pit began to shift. A large rectangle, perhaps half the size of the crawler, began to descend and then slide under the adjacent hardtop. As it did, it was accompanied by clouds of sand and a screech of metal on metal. Calix envisaged sparks flaming as an unoiled piston and an unoiled chamber tore against each other with the weight of a whole settlement upon it. But it didn’t last long. “Just needed to get it moving,” said Walker, appearing from a doorway in the pit. “How’s it coming?”
Barrick reached out an arm and helped him up. “Well there’s a hole.”
“Yeah there’s a hole,” shouted Walker. “Back at Sanctum it was deactivated years ago to repurpose the circuitry. But here, it still works!”
The hole was now as large as it was going to get. Calix stood, leaning out of the cabin. The few inches gained him little insight.
“What now?” asked Annora.
“Watch,” said Walker.
Something rose from beneath. There was more industrial noise, in stereo within the cabin, coming from the speakers and from the open window. Creaking and clanks and hissing. A platform appeared, something that rose higher and higher until it was evident it was a ceiling, and beneath that, struts ran down to a base that slotted perfectly into the vacant hole.
Straddled within the struts, on pivots and bases, were a line of two- and four-wheeled vehicles.
“Woo-hee,” shouted Barrick. “Boy I heard we scrapped these decades ago. Never did I think I’d get my hands on one.” He took three large strides and then flung a leg over a motorcycle. “Now this is something else.”
“Try getting very far on that,” said Ardelia.
“Oh I don’t plan on riding her. Not right away,” he bent over, stroking the glistening black fuel tank, lips barely missing the chrome as he whispered. “Like any lady, gotta treat ya right, hey honey?”
“We can hear you,” said Caia.
“Yes, give you a good polish. Get you all set up. There’s room for you onboard. In my alcove. You’ll keep me warm, won’t you?”
“Someone turn his mic off.”
Barrick started to laugh, jumping off the motorcycle. “No need to get jealous, ladies. There’s plenty to go round.”
“No there isn’t,” smirked Caia, stepping up to the vehicles. “We’ve seen, remember?”
“I don’t mean me, silly. I mean these lovely hunks o’ metal,” said Barrick, sweeping his arm down the line.
The crew gathered beneath the awning. Calix’s knuckles were whiter than ever as he clutched the edge of the window, leaning out, hair in his eyes which he tucked behind his ears. The posture was sharpening the knives in his rib cage but he had to get a good look. He reached back and picked up the binoculars, then hung outside the cabin window with them glued to his eyes. He grit his teeth and took long, deep breaths against the blades of pain.
***
“I wonder how long they’ve been down there,” said Annora. Her back ached from the blower and her shoulders were damp with sweat from the straps, and every now and then she pulled her clothing from her skin to aerate. They all did. It never really got too hot, but it was hard work treading through the sand. Standing on this island now was as close as her legs had gotten to sand shivers for a while, transitioning from soft to hard, knees unsteady. But it had gone now. She glanced up to the underside of the awning that she’d watched rise from below – her knees had wobbled slightly then – noting the flickering lighting and then walking alongside one of the four-wheeled vehicles. The glass of the side door was smear-free. The black chrome looked polished. Inside, there were two seats, one with a steering wheel and one that swivelled three-hundred-and-sixty degrees. At the rear was a mounted machine gun which the passenger could control. She imagined Calix sitting at the wheel, her in the passenger seat, and taking off across the sand.
She kicked the tires – deeply threaded but uselessly rubber.
“Was there anything else down there, Walker?” asked Ardelia. She walked between the vehicles as though they were exhibits or replicas that would crumple with a single touch.
“There could’ve been – a lot of sand must’ve got in from some of the other pits that I couldn’t get to some areas. We’d need to fully scour the area.”
“Cal’s about to break another rib,” said Caia.
They all glanced up at him, half out of the cabin with binoculars.
“Cal!” shouted Annora.
They all winced.
“Fuck sake, Ann,” said Barrick, rubbing his ear.
“Sorry, guys.”
Calix retreated back inside the cabin.
“Keep digging, Cal,” said Walker.
An upturned thumb poked from the cabin window, and the excavator arm jerked back into movement.
“Let’s get to it then,” said Caia, lifting her blower.
“Don’t we want to check our haul properly first?” asked Ardelia.
“Caia’s right,” said Walker. “While we still have the energy, let’s clear as much of this area as possible, reveal the other pits, clean them out, and see what else is sitting underground. We can check everything over this evening.”
In silence, but with speed, the rest of the crew gathered their blowers and spread out, pushing the sand to the outer edges. The bruise on Annora’s shoulder felt a little less discomfiting as she emptied one of three more pits that they unveiled.
The bucket of the excavator burrowed against the edge of the hardtop behind them. Calix announced that an undamaged dome wall appeared to run deep. “I’d always wondered how far down it went. Keep digging, Cal,” said Annora.
“The crawler’s probably standing in what was once the Agridome,” said Ardelia. “If we dug further we’d probably find the outer wall to it.”
Meanwhile, the crew were treated to Barrick’s lamentations and sweet nothings. “Such a beauty. Such a waste that you’ll never be ridden how you deserve.”
“Shut up, Barrick.”
“Give me an open road and I’ll give you my heart, sweetheart.”
“Give it a rest, already.”
“He’s in love,” said Annora. “Let him have it.”
“Thank you, Annora. I knew you’d understand.”
The pit Annora worked on emptied, and she could see a doorway in one corner with a half-cascade of sand inside. She paused, dropped the blower, and took quick breaths, tired. She sat, hung her legs over, and when she caught her breath back, dropped down. The ground was now a meter above head-height, and she realised it was one of the few places in Sanctum she’d actually never been, and yet here she was, in its equivalent hundreds of miles across the sand.
She pushed her hand into the doorway and it disappeared up to the elbow. Then she simply pushed the sand away from her and it cascaded into the darkness beyond. “Is there a light switch here somewhere, Walker?”
“Inside to your left or right, you’ll have to feel.”
> “What do you see, Ann?” asked Calix.
“Not a lot yet.” She stepped into the sand, pushing it down with her boots, and pivoted around the doorway while holding on to the jamb. Dim daylight highlighted the edge of things, and beyond those edges the darkness could have gone on for miles. It was cool; she lowered her scarf and took deep breaths. The goggles weren’t helping, so she removed those too, and the darkness lifted slightly. On the wall next to her was a switch, and the darkness lifted entirely. “Sake,” she said, squinting.
“What is it?” asked Barrick.
“Bright.”
“You found the light switch then.”
“Where was it?” asked Ardelia. “I’m about to explore mine.”
“On the left, just as you go inside. You could probably feel around the wall and get it. You might wanna keep your goggles on, at least to begin with.” There was a thudding sound behind her as someone jumped down into the pit.
“What you got?” asked Walker.
“I don’t know, eyes adjusting.” She looked to the floor first – hardtop, like above, but somehow scintillant beneath the lights – and then up to the tarpaulin draped over hard, boxy surfaces. Beyond those, there was a control panel at the far end with a computer station, and a rack of shelves with plastic boxes, all named. Probably a goldmine, thought Annora. A further door was closed.
“Yeah, looks a lot like the other one,” said Walker, peering over her shoulder. “This pit will join with the adjacent one. Ardelia, yours will probably join the one I already lifted.”
“Oh right.”
“But I didn’t explore it all. If it’s just racks of tools and such, go back to the surface and clear some more area.”
“Was just thinking of settling down here and having a nap. Someone’s kitted it out with a camp bed.”
“Saw that.”
“Wonder what happened...”
“Galen would have a field day,” said Annora, walking the shelving and pulling out boxes. “And Rafe.”
“Any more toys?” asked Barrick.
“There’s something,” said Walker.
“I’m coming down.”
“No need, we’ll send them up. Ann, press that button there, then get within the side railing that’ll come up.”
She turned, catching the oversized red button on the console. “This one?” she smiled.
Walker’s frown deepened.
“Alright, hold your hats.” She pressed it and then jumped onto the platform. The same familiar sound grumbled, only louder now, and the platform shuddered beneath her feet. Her heart murmured as it started to rise. The lights went off, but a rectangle of light shot across the edges of the ceiling as the upper portion made way. After a few seconds they were back out in the open.
“Oh, this is great, just great,” said Barrick as he caressed the tarpaulin.
“You don’t even know what’s under it, ya ape,” said Caia, stepping beside him. Walker and Annora were on the opposite side.
“Well let’s find out shall we?” And together they swept the tarpaulin to the ground.
Walker, Barrick and Caia all lifted their goggles, while Annora lifted her scarf back to her mouth. She’d take some water in a minute. The four of them took steps forward towards the hunks of metal lying there; long rectangular shapes that could have been motorcycles, if built from salvage and as pure function over form, and if they had wheels. But where there should have been wheels, the metal – rust-coloured and dented – just tapered to a dull, blunt end. At the back end was a seat, so it was definitely transportation of a sort.
“Seen anything like this before?” asked Annora.
They all shook their head.
“So much silence,” said Ardelia. “Must be good. Coming up, not much here beside tools.”
“Where’s the wheels?” Annora sat in one of the seats. Her legs stretched out almost parallel to the ground. There was a handlebar built into the section in front of her, and a speedometer dial.
Barrick leaned over her, tapping the speedometer. “Used to run quit fast according to this. Ugly fucker though.”
“Seriously though, Barrick,” said Caia, kneeling beside one. “There’s no space for a wheel. I can’t see an axle. Can you?”
“Nothing about this looks conventional. Probably some kind of experiment.”
“Then why create,” Caia counted them. “Eight. Why make eight? Why make any at all when you have your lover over there?” She gestured to the motorbikes.
“Weird,” said Ardelia, joining them.
“Add it to the list of mysteries,” said Barrick.
“Looks like a pile of scrap metal from up here,” said Calix. “The dome wall is still going down, in case you were interested.”
Annora raised a hand. He should be down here, she thought. The idiot.
“Don’t even see an engine,” said Caia. And then she stood, scratching her head.
“All good?” asked Barrick.
Caia placed a boot beneath the nose of the nearest vehicle and lifted, testing the weight.
“There’s no ignition, I don’t think,” said Annora, “but there’s a power button on the inside, look.” She pushed it in and the machine jolted, before letting out a long, whining whirr. “Did you see that? It moved.”
Ardelia bent down and pressed the starter button on the vehicle by her feet. And for a few seconds it hovered.
Above
The scream of the crew’s surprise blared in Calix’s ear; it rang and he shot a fist at the frame of the window, throwing his earpiece. It landed by his feet. He brought his boot up and lingered his heel over it, imagining the satisfaction of bringing it down. “Thanks for deafening me,” he said, and bent to pick it up.
A light on the cabin dashboard lit up, followed by a small bleep.
Standing, looking through the murky window, he saw the crew had spread out a bit from the salvaged vehicles, and were gesticulating. He held their tinny voices in his hand and decided they could stay there for a while.
Below and to his right, the excavator bucket hovered inches from the sand – the auto-detect had halted its progress, and would do so until he gave the override authority. The air was cool on his face when he leaned out to take a clear look down. Nothing obvious. If this was the Agridome, there shouldn’t have been anything there, not really. Unless they had floors?
“Hey, I got a detection,” he said. “Need a blower.” After realising the earpiece was in his hand he repeated his request, hooking it back over his ear.
“We’re a little busy, Cal,” Walker said. “In case you hadn’t noticed.”
“What?” He switched the earpiece to the other ear.
“This thing turned on?”
“Yeah it’s on. You guys about deafened me is all.”
“Sorry, Cal,” said Annora. “We all got caught in a shock.”
“What shock?”
“Weren’t you watching?”
“No, I was digging. It’s detected something big and I need a blower.”
“Watch, we’re about to do it again.”
“Do what?” He leaned his head out just as Barrick reached down and pressed a button on one of the scrap vehicles. “What the fuck?” he said as the vehicle leaped into the air, and stayed there for about five seconds before falling back down. “Is that a fucking hoverbike?”
“As good a name as anything else,” said Walker.
“Ugly as sin but man if we can get these to work, I’m sorry my rubber-riding darlings, you’re relegated,” said Barrick.
“What did you say you had?” asked Caia.
“Umm, don’t know, just a detection. Pattern looks large.”
Caia broke from the group and began to walk over, blower hefted across her shoulder. “I’m coming.”
“Thanks.” Calix sat back down, but leaned his head against the windscreen. Through dry red sand, dirt and grease, the crew were a muddy montage. He rubbed his thumbs against his fingertips. As he had been doing quite regu
larly, he tested the size of his breath intake to see how much he could expand his lungs before it hurt. Not very far.
“You wanna switch to a private channel?” asked Caia. “I don’t think I can take much more of Barrick’s lust.”
“There’s room for the two of us on this thing,” said Barrick.
“With me leading, you’d never hold on. Switching to three, Cal.”
Calix twisted the small dial on the earpiece. “Switched.”
“Got you. Now where is it?”
“Just below where the bucket’s hovering.”
“Alright.” Caia turned the blower on and the sound of the whirr came through the open cabin window and echoed from the earpiece.
Across the hardtop, the rest of the crew continued to press buttons on the hoverbikes – Calix saw another jump from the corner of his eye. How had they never found them before? He’d seen vehicles that could float back in the film archives; speeding down tarmac roads and heading into the skies, or drifting in regimented paths criss-crossing between buildings. But Kirillion had called it make-believe – “Don’t believe everything you see in these films,” he had said. “Most of it is true, but some of it will be all effects and camera trickery.” Like the flying vehicles?
Calix stuck his head out the window again – sweat had formed on his forehead and he wiped it away before it dripped into his eyebrows.
Kirillion the murderer. Kirillion the liar. As Calix watched the sand sweep up, he ran his mind through the films they’d watched on those long, boring days and nights, wrapped up in blankets on the couches to prevent the thin foam and springs from sticking uncomfortably against their skin. And to keep warm. Assuming everything that looked like magic was make-believe. Effects. Camera trickery. The speed of cars. The flight of planes. The way you could talk to anyone, anywhere in the world. How you could make instant film and have someone else see that, even in space. Rockets. Space stations. Space travel. They’d known there were elements that had been real: blue sky, rain, rivers, trees, the variety of animals and even how it could freeze outside and have snow fall, like white sand, and cover everything. Calix had always wondered about that – how it wasn’t much different to how it was now. Instead white. And cold. Rain that froze and fell and covered everything. He rubbed thumb and forefinger together and scratched an itch by his broken rib.
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