by Guy Salvidge
“Okay,” Ji Tao said. The lift seemed safe enough, and if the power was about to run out, there was no sign of it. “It'll be fine, uncle.”
“Do you want to come back up to the foyer?” Liang said, stepping into the lift.
“I'm not going in there,” Kalliyan said.
Ji Tao stepped into the lift again. Looking left and right, she saw herself in mirror image. She was not used to full length mirrors. Only the rich had them.
“Look at my clothes,” Liang said. “They're all muddy.”
“I could have told you that.”
“Let's go,” Liang said, reaching for the button that said 52.
“Wait,” Ji Tao said, grabbing his hand. “Let's try a shorter trip first. Let's go back to G; that must mean the ground level.” She pressed the button and the lift began to move. The sensation was unnerving; she could feel that they were moving and yet her feet were still. The lift came to a halt. There was a moment's pause before the doors opened. They were back in the darkened foyer. Light from the lift streamed into the room.
“Magic!” Liang said.
“Let's go back down and tell them,” Ji Tao said. “We don't want to attract those scavengers.”
“If we go up, then maybe we'll be able to see where they are.”
“Good idea, but let's tell your father first.” They went down again.
“The lift works perfectly,” Liang declared. “My plan is to go up to the top floor and spy on the wretches who stole our caravans. You should come too, Father. It'll be safer up there. Down here you've got nowhere to run if they come after you.”
“You didn't see them?” Tuan asked.
“There's no one about,” Ji Tao said.
“Probably they're eating our food as we speak,” Liang said. “Come on, you can't stay here.” Liang started loading their supplies into the lift.
Tuan touched Liang on the shoulder. “What if the lift breaks down, my son? I will take the stairs back up to the reception and wait there.”
“And what will you do if the scavengers decide to come after you?” Liang countered. “Listen, I've got a plan. There are two lifts, right? Well, if we take them both to the top floor, then the only way someone can reach us is by the stairs, correct? If they press the lift call button, then we'll know they're coming. And if they take the stairs, we'll have plenty of time to hide.”
“You want to keep both lifts on the top floor?” Ji Tao asked. “Good idea.”
“Yes, it makes sense,” Sovann said. “I'll take the other lift up. Kalliyan, are you coming with me?”
“How can you be sure?” Kalliyan said. “Maybe there's not enough power for both lifts, or maybe the energy will run out half way up. Then what?”
“Fine, you walk,” Sovann said. “Yi Min, you want to go in the lift?” The boy nodded eagerly.
Sovann pressed the up arrow on the other lift. There was a noise from below.
“It's coming up from the restricted levels!” Sovann said. This time they took the precaution of clearing the area as soon the lift doors opened. When the air had cleared, they returned. This lift was identical to the first.
“Maybe there's nothing to stop us going down there,” Ji Tao said.
“Let's go up to the top first,” Sovann said. “Come on.”
“Okay,” Liang said. “Father, are you going to walk the whole way up to the roof? You're too old for that.”
“I will meet you at the top in a short while,” Tuan said.
“Do you want us to take the bags, at least?” Ji Tao said.
“No, I'll be fine,“ Tuan said, hoisting a bag onto his shoulder. “Are you ready, Kalliyan?”
“Yes,” she said. “Someone has to get you out when the lift gets stuck.”
“Have a nice walk,” Liang said. Ji Tao got back into the lift with him.
“All right,” Ji Tao said, pressing the 52 button. “Here we go.” The doors closed.
“I hope the other lift works properly,” Liang said as the lift began to rise. “What if it doesn't?”
“It'll work,“ Ji Tao said. “Like you say, the ancients built things to last.”
It seemed to take a long time to reach the top. A small screen updated the level they were passing through. 12, 13, 14, it said. Finally the number reached 52 and the doors opened.
“Wow,” Liang said. “It actually worked!” They stepped out into a windy corridor. Here the vines and creepers had completely covered the floor, creating a shallow undergrowth. Ji Tao could hear cicadas chirping to themselves, as well as pigeons on the ledges. As they approached, the pigeons flew off.
“This is amazing!” Liang said. “It's like we're not inside at all.”
“I hope there's nothing else up here,” Ji Tao said.
The other lift had not arrived yet, although the up arrow was highlighted on the mould-encrusted display. The lift doors had a coating of brown lichen on them.
“What's taking them so long?” Liang said, dumping the bags down outside the lift.
“Look up there,” Ji Tao said, indicating to a small display above the lift. “They're on G.”
“Why did they stop there? They're not moving,” Liang said. The seconds ticked by.
“What if the scavengers were waiting for them?” Ji Tao said.
Then the numbers on the display started changing. The lift was rising.
“All right,” Liang said. When the lift reached level 52, Sovann and Yi Min stepped out into the undergrowth. “Took your time,” Liang said. “We were getting worried.”
“What's happened here?” Sovann asked.
“The Great Thief is really only a multitude of smaller thieves, isn't it?” Ji Tao said. “What took you so long?”
“I was just making sure Tuan and Kalliyan were getting along all right,” Sovann said. “I tried to get them to come in the lift, but they wouldn't listen.”
“It'll take them ages to climb all those stairs,” Ji Tao said. “And it could be dangerous.” The wind was starting to pick up. It was quite chilly here.
“Come on,” Liang said. “Yi Min, I've got a job for you. Your job is to stay by these lifts and make sure they don't go down. You understand? And you're to tell us when Father reaches the top, okay?” The boy nodded. “We're going to take a look around. Got it?”
“Okay,” Yi Min said. He beamed, clearly happy at having been assigned so important a task.
Level 52 must once have been a place where people worked, but now it was a place where animals lived. The windows must have broken decades if not centuries before, for there was a thin layer of soil on the ground. As the shield was intact overhead, rain must only enter the building when accompanied by a a howling gale. But it was enough. There were remnants of desks, chairs and computer equipment, but it was virtually unrecognisable now.
They had come to the end of the corridor. A large window looked out over the ruined city. The wind was blowing toward them. “We're too high,” Ji Tao said, peering out. “We'd be better off lower down.” But the view was extraordinary nonetheless. The window looked out over the undamaged section of the great shield, which filled the sky. They were looking out over a cluster of similarly huge buildings, many of which were extensively damaged. Beams and metal pipes were visible, as though a giant monster had taken a bite out of the buildings. The city below was a green labyrinth of smaller buildings and ruins.
“Uncle Liang!” Yi Min said, running down the corridor toward them. “The lift's going down!”
They hurried back to the stairwell. The number on the display was descending. Currently it was on 20.
The lift stopped on level 3, then started ascending again. “It's probably your father,” Sovann said to Liang.
“Hope so,” Liang said. “Maybe he's come to his senses.” It seemed to take an eternity for the lift to reach them. Each number clicked over slowly, increasing their sense of anticipation.
The lift reached level 52 and rumbled to a stop. The doors opened to reveal Tuan and Kalliyan.
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“It's ridiculous down there,” Kalliyan said. “You can barely move. It's like the jungle has come inside the building!”
“The situation does not look so advanced up here,” Tuan said, indicating to the state of the chamber.
“You scared us,” Sovann said. “We thought you were the scavengers.”
“Have you found anything of interest?” Tuan asked.
“Not really,” Ji Tao said.
“I still want to look at those restricted levels,” Liang said.
“I'm still wondering why there would be a medical level in an office building,” Sovann said.
“Maybe to treat the workers when they got sick,” Ji Tao said.
“They would have had a separate building for sick people,” Liang said. “No, I think the underground levels serve some other purpose.”
“Did you see any sign of the scavengers?” Tuan said.
“No, we're much too high here,” Ji Tao said.
It wasn't long before Liang got his way. After convincing his father that there really was nothing interesting here, Liang tried to enlist support for an expedition to the 'restricted levels.' “What's the point hanging around here?” he said. “It's a waste of time. Okay, maybe there's nothing interesting down there. At least we'll know for sure, right?”
“I'll come,” Ji Tao said.
“Cousin Ji Tao is brave, and smart too. You know Liang can be trusted. What about you, Kalliyan?”
“I'm not going down there,” Kalliyan said.
“I'm disappointed in you,” Liang said. “Sovann? Are you coming?”
“All right,” Sovann said. “But if there's nothing there, I'm not looking around all day. Got it?”
“Okay,” Liang said. “That's three. Sorry Yi Min, I need you up here to guard the lift. You did such a great job of it before that you really can't be spared. And I need you to look after Father and Kalliyan. Can you do that?”
“I suppose so,” Yi Min said.
“Calm down a bit,” Ji Tao said to her cousin as the lift doors closed behind them. “You're making everyone nervous.”
“I'm just in my element, that's all,” Liang said.
“We'll look at -4 first,” Sovann said. She pressed the -4 button in the red area of the console. The lift doors closed but nothing else happened. “See, we can't go down there after all,” she said.
“Let me try,” Liang said, pressing the button. The lift didn't move.
“Try turning the key,” Ji Tao said.
Liang turned the key and the red area on the console turned green. “Hey, it works!” He pressed the -4 button again and the lift started to descend.
“Someone must have forgotten to take their key with them,” Ji Tao said. “Lucky for us that they did.”
“Hey, I've got an idea,” Liang said. “If everyone went down to the restricted levels and we took the key out of the lift, then the scavengers would have no way of reaching us.”
“They could sabotage the lift and we'd be stuck,” Sovann pointed out.
“Let's see what's down there first,” Ji Tao said.
Ji Tao was starting to get used to the sensation of the lift, but it still made her feel queasy. She started thinking of what would happen if it were to stop between levels. The lights would go out, plunging them into total darkness, and they would only have each other's voices for company. There couldn't be much air in the lift, if the filter stopped working.
“Are you okay?” Sovann asked.
“I'm scared,” Ji Tao admitted.
“We're almost there,” Liang said.
The doors opened into darkness. “The air smells fine,” Sovann said. They stepped out and groped around for a light switch.
“Found it,” Ji Tao said, flipping a row of switches.
“Why does the power work down here but not upstairs?” Sovann asked.
“There's something fundamentally different about these levels,” Ji Tao said.
Like -3, -4 was not carpeted. The layout was identical to the floor above, except that here the stairwell was blocked at the top of the stairs as well as at the bottom. Liang opened the metal door into the level proper. When the filter started up, the air smelled of rotting vegetables.
“What does that word say?” Sovann said, indicating to the red writing on the metal wall.
“Hydroponics,” Ji Tao said. “I think it's got something to do with plants.”
“Medical and Hydroponics,” Liang said. “Whoever built this must have been preparing for something.”
“Let's take a look around,” Sovann said.
Hydroponics turned out to be a maze of corridors, which contained dead plants in glass tanks embedded in the walls. All the doors were pressurised. They also stumbled upon a vast greenhouse room. When they opened the door, they were overcome by a sickening stench of rotting vegetation. Sovann quickly closed the door.
“I think Liang is right that they were preparing for something,” Ji Tao said. “But where are the people who were meant to use all this?”
“It's not like we've found any bodies,” Sovann said.
“Down to -5,” Liang said.
The layout of -5 was the same as the levels above. Here they found what they were looking for: something they could sell. Level -5 was Stores. There were rooms full of shelves, and the shelves were stacked with vacuum sealed containers. The containers held bottles of water, chemicals, clothes and miscellaneous equipment. There were tents, maps, headphones, batteries and compasses, as well as several items that they did not recognise. “You could live forever trading this stuff!” Liang said.
“And none of it has been touched,” Sovann said.
“How are we going to carry all this?” Liang asked. “Really, we need a bigger expedition.”
“We're going to need a caravan, at the very least,” Ji Tao said.
“We better talk to Father,” Liang said. “See if he has any ideas on how to shift this stuff. I wonder what time it is?”
They took a sample of some of the things that could be found on this level back up to the top floor. “Just let me check something,” Liang said as they stepped out of the lift under Yi Min's watchful eye. He opened the door of the other lift and went inside.
“Just as I suspected,” he said, coming out again. “No key.”
Ji Tao nodded and took the key from Liang. “You'll lose it,” she said. “I'll hang onto it.”
“Okay,” Liang said, “but that's our meal ticket for years to come.”
Tuan was interested to hear of their discovery, but he had news of his own. While the others had been exploring the restricted levels, Tuan and Kalliyan had walked down to level 51, finding the decayed corpse of a wildcat. But if there were wildcats living here now, they were keeping a low profile.
“We're wasting our time up here,” Ji Tao said. “All the levels from -3 downward are different. There's no stairs after -3 and no carpet on the floors. All the walls are metal and the doors are pressurised. It's been totally sealed off all this time.”
“Perhaps it was designed this way to conceal something,” Sovann said.
“And it must have its own power supply,” Ji Tao said.
Liang explained how the scavengers would not be able to reach them without the lift key.
“On the other hand, we could be trapped down there, and who knows if the power will last?” Tuan said.
“It'll last,” Liang said. “All of this has been designed with a particular purpose in mind. There must be a generator around somewhere.”
“This begs the question,” Tuan said, “of where are the people for whom this facility was intended?”
“It's a mystery,” Liang said. “Shall we take a look?”
“It's getting dark,” Tuan said. “You can explore the other levels in the morning. Now we must make a decision. Are we safer here, in the dark, or underground, at the mercy of whoever might be lurking around?”
“Our position would be impregnable underground,” Liang said. “Up
here, the scavengers could sneak up on us while we sleep.”
“That's what night watches are for,” Sovann said. “And besides, how would the scavengers know to look up here for us?”
“Both of the lifts are up here,” Liang said. “That's a pretty good indication.”
“We could sleep here tonight,” Sovann said, “and if the power is still working in the morning, we can assume that it will last.”
“I still think we'd be safer underground,” Liang said.
“I'll take first watch,” Ji Tao said, “and Sovann can take second. Will you feel safer then?”
“All right, cousin,” Liang said. “If you insist.”
Having lost all their camping equipment, they had no blankets. Liang suggested looking for some pillows and blankets on the Stores level, but Tuan would not hear of it. Ji Tao set herself up in an alcove in view of the lifts, rugged up in her heavy jacket, while the others found an interior room with no external windows. Despite the jacket, Ji Tao was bitterly cold. At least the wind had died down now. And it was completely dark, except for the glow of the buttons on the lifts. She could hear her family settling down for the night. Ji Tao did not expect to hear footsteps on the stairs, and they would have ample time to prepare themselves in the event that someone called one of the lifts down. All was quiet, except for the birds roosting on the outside ledges.
Finally it was midnight. Creeping along the corridor, she opened the door to where her family was sleeping. No one stirred. She went over to Sovann.
“Wake up,” Ji Tao whispered.
“Hmm?” Sovann said.
“It's midnight.”
“All right,” Sovann said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. “Now you get some sleep.”
“I haven't heard anything.”
“Go to sleep, Ji Tao. It'll be fine.”
Then the room was bright, and Liang was shaking her awake. “What is it?” Ji Tao said. It was morning.
“Are you coming with me?” he asked.