by H. G Ahedi
Scientists estimated tons of carbon monoxide had been released into the air. Nemesis had also damaged four nuclear reactors, releasing toxins. These shields had been erected on the seventh day of impact to secure all the areas affected by it. At first, the shields hadn’t been effective enough to contain the gases. It had taken a while to improve them, but finally, repeated efforts had paid off. From what Emmeline had heard, similar procedures had been carried out on the Eastern continent, and people had salvaged what they could.
Emmeline felt a bump when Delta set Astra down on the banks of the Hudson River.
“We can’t land in the city,” Delta explained. “Too much rubble.”
“Okay,” Emmeline replied and turned to the panel. “Oxygen levels are normal. Atmospheric pressure is normal. There are no dust storms for now. Radiation levels are 150 Sv. Safe, but I recommend we wear suits. Carbon dioxide levels are high. Our helmets should protect us. It’s hot out there, almost 110 Fahrenheit.”
“All clear?”
“All clear.”
“Let’s go,” Delta said, putting Astra in surveillance mode.
They left the cockpit and entered the cargo bay. Emmeline opened the closet and grabbed her suit. She unbuckled her jumper and stripped down to her underwear. Delta did the same. The suits very much looked like wetsuits and were made of thick but soft glossy material. They were designed to protect their wearers from chemical agents, radiation, and harsh changes in the atmosphere.
Emmeline looked at herself. The suit was tight, curved around her rounded hips. She felt the material sticking to her skin. She glanced at Delta, who she thought looked marvelous.
“You have a figure,” Delta remarked.
Emmeline ignored her. Delta took every opportunity to remind her to wear better clothes. But she couldn’t be bothered.
She tapped her fingers on the small screen embedded near the wrist of her suit. The screen came to life and assessed her vitals. It measured her heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and respiratory rate. Then it shifted to the surrounding environment. It calculated levels of oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, dust, radiation, and so on. Emmeline put on her helmet and pushed the green button on the screen on her wrist.
“Helmet active,” said a voice inside it.
The transparent screen of the helmet displayed the same information. Emmeline picked up her backpack. It was a flat black bag and was made of hard material. She pulled out a pad and turned it on.
Delta came to stand beside her. “Well?”
“It’s a long walk, about ten kilometers from here.”
“That won’t be a problem.”
“Oh?”
“I arranged for transport,” Delta replied gleefully.
They stepped into the loading bay. Emmeline stopped dead in her tracks when she saw two motorcycles. Her jaw dropped, and a surge of excitement ran through her body.
“Well, what do you think?” asked Delta.
One bike was red, the other blue. They looked heavy. The metallic cover hid most of the parts except the wheels and the exhaust.
“Oh my God!” cried Emmeline.
“What do you think? Aren’t they wonderful?”
Suddenly, dreadful thoughts clouded Emmeline’s mind. “Delta, what were you thinking?”
“Yeah, that’s the enthusiasm I was looking for!” Delta scoffed. “This is what I get for hanging out with a nerd.”
“That’s not it. You know I love bikes! Where did you get these? They look old. They must be expensive!”
“They still make them, although these are older. I got these at an auction on the eastern continent about two weeks ago. Great bikes with a fantastic combination of speed and comfort. Not made for racing, but they can go up to 100 miles per hour with their 750cc electric engines. I must work really hard for the next few months to pay for them, for Astra’s fuel too.”
Emmeline’s jaw dropped. “You spent all your money? You’re nuts!”
Delta shrugged. “What can I say? I like my toys. Anyhow, it’s my birthday gift.”
“Your birthday is six months away!”
“Hey, don’t spoil the fun,” Delta argued.
Emmeline fell silent.
“And don’t tell Mom.”
Emmeline rolled her eyes. “Why did you have to buy two?”
“I bought the second one at half price,” Delta said, smiling as if this justified it. “Once we’re done here, I’ll store them on Titan for a while, then sell one bike for a profit.”
“Where will you ride them?”
“You know me. I’ll find a road somewhere,” Delta said, winking.
Emmeline smiled and chose the blue one.
“Hope you still know how to ride,” Delta teased.
Emmeline eyed her. She had grown up around three men who were enthusiastic about machines. She didn’t remember playing in a backyard or with dolls. No. At the age of nine, she remembered her brother teaching her how to ride his bike. They’d never stopped since then, not until she’d moved to Titan two years ago.
“Astra, prepare to open the loading bay,” Delta said.
Emmeline smiled, got on the bike.
Astra announced, “Loading bay doors opening.”
The huge brown doors opened outward. Light flooded into the cargo bay. Emmeline saw the dusty, cracked, and rocky path ahead. She pushed the red button, and her bike came to life.
“Preparing for departure,” stated Astra.
Loud noises echoed inside the craft. Beep. Beep. Beep. The lights turned green.
“Here we go!” Delta shouted.
The bikes raced over the ramp and left a trail of dust as they charged along the riverbank. Emmeline could almost hear her heart racing over the roar of the engine. She felt bumps as she rode the bike over the cracked road, and a broad smile spread across her face. She had forgotten what having fun felt like.
As they neared the bridge, Emmeline saw that the road ahead was covered with rubble. The bike bounced over the rocks. Sweat trickled down her forehead, and her breathing quickened. But the speed was exhilarating. Excitement like she hadn’t felt for days returned. She felt several bumps but stayed in control of the motorcycle. Emmeline swayed her bike around a few flipped vehicles, and Delta raced her bike to ride alongside her.
“Having fun yet?” Delta asked.
“Delta, you’re the best!”
“Tell me something I don’t know!”
The bikes raced ahead, then turned to the bridge. Emmeline realized that at some point, the bridge had been a marvel of steel and cables. She saw six lanes, separated by pale white lines. The tall towers holding the structure together cast shadows over the road. She looked to both sides and imagined how beautiful the city must have looked when it had been alive.
“Hey, stop daydreaming!” Delta shouted as she rushed ahead.
Emmeline increased speed. Part of her wanted to remove the helmet and feel the fresh air. But that wasn’t possible just yet. A huge tilted vehicle sat in the middle of the road. She swerved her bike around it and gained speed. She spotted a large gap ahead. The tower to her left had crumbled, and the other side of the bridge was tilted. “Delta?”
“It’s not big. Come on. We can do it,” Delta replied and picked up pace.
Emmeline wasn’t sure. It was risky. But she liked it. Emmeline watched Delta’s bike leap over the gap and land on the other side. A wave of excitement hit her. Emmeline increased speed, and her vehicle bounced over the gap. “Woo-hoo!” she shouted.
The two bikes entered the city.
Sunlight hardly penetrated the jungle of broken structures that loomed over the vehicles. The path was broken and blocked in several places. It was hard to maneuver the bikes around the obstacles. Emmeline’s helmet regularly reminded her of the polluted air and high radiation levels. But she was having so much fun, she didn’t care. She just wanted to keep riding.
After thirty minutes, they reached the coordinates and came to a stop in front of
a collapsed iron gate. Emmeline turned off the engine, and dead silence surrounded them. There was no breeze. Not a bird, leaf, or flower in sight. The city was gray, dead, and lifeless. The damaged gate, the burned trees, and the half-fallen roof of the house scared her.
Once inside the premises, Emmeline parked her bike in front of a partially collapsed main door. She got off and looked at the ground. The cement bore huge potholes. But that wasn’t what caught her attention. She kneeled to touch the tiny green leaf sprouting out of the ground. Against all odds, it had somehow survived. Life finds a way, she thought.
Inside, Emmeline stood in the living room with her feet apart, surveying the old rusted building. She reached for her backpack and grabbed a square-shaped scanner. Her eyes slowly moved from the half-fallen ceiling to the weather-beaten walls, which were riddled with massive holes. The white paint had almost disappeared, and the bricks beneath it were exposed. Her heart filled with warmth as she reached for the broken wooden crib that stood in a corner. She studied the data her scanner had collected. She sulked. Nothing. There was no crypt here. But she didn’t give up. She kept scanning and walked around the ruins, trying her best not to touch anything.
Although she left the building empty-handed, Emmeline felt content. She felt the house was at peace, happy to be left as it was. It held great memories of her family, especially her grandfather. She smiled to herself.
“Anything?” Delta asked, appearing from behind the structure.
“There’s a structure under the house, but there’s no crypt,” said Emmeline. “What about you?”
“Only dirt, cement, and rocks. The other side of the house is a big pile of gravel and nothing else. Let’s check again. Then we can count this house out.”
Emmeline was confused.
Delta’s thin lips stretched into a wide smile. “Don’t you remember? You told me there was another house, older than this one.”
Emmeline recalled her grandfather telling her about the other house. Fear rushed through her body as she also remembered he hadn’t liked it. No one in her family did.
“Are you coming?” asked Delta, heading into the house.
Emmeline looked at her. Her heart was beating faster than ever. “Give me a moment, will you?”
Delta gave her a quizzical look but turned and disappeared into the house without questioning her.
Emmeline grabbed her pad and went through the entries in the diaries—not her grandpa’s but the ones that had been written long before he’d been born. No one knew it, but Emmeline had discovered encrypted entries in several of the diaries that dated back to the early twenty-first century. Her grandpa hadn’t found them because he hadn’t thought to check if they were encrypted.
After her grandfather’s death, Emmeline had acquired all documents relating to her family. Some had been found in the basements of her relatives, others in a vault sealed by her ancestors. It had been hard to get them, but because Emmeline was a descendent of the Augury family, these documents belonged to her by law. It was in the vault where she had discovered numerous diaries and personal logs. The unidentified writer lived in the twenty first century and had encrypted most of the logs. She’d had a friend decode them.
“The other house . . .” she muttered. Was it true? She wanted to be sure. She stopped pushing buttons when she found the entry:
The other house has a deadly secret. I have seen it, felt it, and witnessed what it can do. It is so unbelievable. I cannot even tell it to my father or my wife. There is nothing to do but hope and wish that it is never discovered.
Blood drained from Emmeline’s face.
Emmeline and Delta left the house, and rode their bikes north. As she drove to her destination, Emmeline could feel all her hopes fading away. Her father was right. It was all a wild goose chase. There was nothing here. On the other hand, investigating might give her the closure she needed to move on. Her attention was drawn to the deserted, dusty road. She tried to recall all the information about the old house. It was a preserved family heirloom and had been used as a guest house for several years. Most of the time, the family had lived in the city house.
From the encrypted logs, Emmeline remembered one sentence: Old sins cast long shadows and hide in the dragon’s wake.
She didn’t understand what it meant, and she had no one she could ask. This anonymous writer had mentioned the dragon quite a few times. But when Emmeline had checked human history, she’d discovered that dragons were legendary creatures, a part of folklore.
The sun shone brightly in the sky, and the air was thin and dry. The temperature rose, or at least it felt like it. Emmeline slowed her bike down when she saw Delta dodge a few potholes in the middle of the road. She followed her, swaying her bike to and fro. When they cleared the potholes, she increased her speed to match Delta’s.
As they approached their destination, both of them slowed down. It was a similar picture, but there were no big skyscrapers here. On both sides of the sandy road were skeletons of cement and steel. The houses were long gone. One or two poles stood where Emmeline supposed there had once been fences. The bikes moved effortlessly along the snake-like road. They turned and found that the road ahead was engulfed by tall, crooked, burned trees that bent inward, leaning toward the ground.
“How much further?” inquired Delta on the intercom.
Emmeline looked down at the display. “It should be coming up now.” A moment later, she glanced up, and her jaw fell open in surprise. Under the clear blue sky stood a big house.
“Wow! This is beautiful. I don’t believe it’s still standing!” said Delta.
Emmeline smiled automatically, but she knew it was barely standing. The historical society had decided to preserve all heritage buildings that were structurally sound and environmentally friendly. This included private properties. Fortunately, her ancestors had put in the effort to refurbish the house. But despite their efforts, over the years, the building had begun to crumble, and her father wasn’t doing anything to keep it standing. To Emmeline, it seemed he wanted to bury their history deep beneath the ground.
The girls slowed their bikes as they neared the iron gates.
Emmeline stopped her bike beside Delta’s. “What are the radiation levels?”
“Minimal,” replied Delta.
They removed their helmets. Emmeline was glad for the chance to breathe fresh air. Titan was great, but the air there wasn’t natural. Nor was the gravity. Emmeline had lived most of her life on Earth, and although she had been on Titan for over two years, she still missed the natural beauty of her planet. Earth had changed, while in the past most of the parts in the northern hemisphere would be covered in snow, now it hardly snowed, and most of the population had moved either to the north or the south. When she was young, she spent every summer with her grandpa in his cottage, in Canada. While her brothers taught her how to drive a bike, she learned a lot about space crafts from her grandpa. His old rusting private ship was one of the best things she had learned to fly.
A low humming dominated the air.
“Security shield?” inquired Delta.
“Yeah,” Emmeline replied, looking at the house. She could see that the wall facing the gates was shattered in places, and the west wall had partially collapsed. The new alloy used to stabilize the house was clearly visible. She walked toward the panel near the gate and punched in the codes. The humming noise stopped, and the old rusty gates slowly opened inward. The girls drove onto the premises. As they got off their bikes, the security shield closed behind them.
Emmeline looked at the old building and wondered how it had lasted so long.
Delta had already started scanning. “We have five hours to get out of here.”
Emmeline nodded and began working.
Delta slowly strolled in the opposite direction. “I think we should be careful,” she called behind her. “Most of the structure is compromised. It could collapse at any time.”
Emmeline heard her and kept walking. Delta was r
ight; her scanners told her that one day, the house would collapse. Her heart sank, she wished it wouldn’t. It reminded her of the old castles made of large stones. They stood the test of time, and a part of her wished the same for this house. She touched the wall, and she knew it wasn’t logical, but she felt a connection to it. Her scanner began beeping loudly. Her eyes widened in surprise. “Delta!” she called out.
Delta came running toward her. “What?”
“It’s unbelievable,” Emmeline whispered, pointing her scanner toward a large pile of rocks. Beyond them were traces of human remains.
They walked over the sandy ground and climbed over the heaps of old rock that had molded together with time. Emmeline stood in the middle of a cluster of crooked brown trees. The ground was covered with rocks, mud, and sand. She slowly moved ahead, leaving the trees behind. The scanners beeped loudly.
“Okay, yes, there are human remains here.” Emmeline turned to her right. The beeping noise amplified. She moved her device back and forth. “Oh, this is a graveyard,” she said.
Delta turned around to face her.
Emmeline didn’t move from her spot. She was unsure of how she felt about walking on someone’s grave. As if sensing her discomfort, Delta took a step back.
Emmeline got to her knees and kept on scanning. “Four, to be exact,” she said in a soft voice.
“Agreed,” Delta said.
“They died a long time ago,” Emmeline drawled.
“This is a crypt,” said Delta. “If Alexander was right, this is where the secret should be buried.”
Emmeline felt uncomfortable. She didn’t want to disturb someone’s resting place, especially not her family’s. Her scans had found cement, human remains, and nothing else. If the mystical device or plaque was buried here, the scanners would have picked it up, surely. She got to her feet.
“This is creepy,” Delta remarked, looking at something.
Emmeline spun and looked at the vast wall, which was covered with a maze of dried twigs and branches. Big cracks emerged from the ground and spread across it. “This is the east wing,” she said, remembering.