“Officers,” Gisk said with an eerily calm voice, finally getting their attention in the midst of the long pause. “Find this man. Kill him. Gather every single control officer you can, and send them to every Technology Maintenance Center in this Facility. But I want you to personally lead a party to the Central Facility Computer. As soon as you can. I assume he’s there. If you can, kill him on the live video feed.”
The control officers stood still for a moment, finally announcing, “Yes sir,” and scurrying away.
“Don’t you dare come back without his dead body,” Gisk screamed at the officers as they exited the unit.
Reena stood still, knowing that even though the officers were gone she was still not free. The speech on the tiles continued.
“You might wonder how I can be so sure that we can live on the surface,” Hokmah said, reaching into a pocket on the breast of his grimy shirt. He produced a bottle of gray dirt.
“We have been there,” he announced, his smile growing bigger and more inviting. “Several of the people of the Midlet are Dirt Walkers. Yes, we have stood on the ground and breathed the air – which is completely safe. We have seen both the sun and the moon. We have seen a sign from someone who was there before us – flags marking a path that we will travel when we escape from here. It has been weeks since we were first out there, and we’ve suffered no ill effects or pain.
“You may wonder why we would come back if we really have already been there. We came back for you.
“We knew that we could save ourselves, but in doing so we were forcing the rest of our people to remain prisoners. We also knew that if we allowed a mass exodus of our people, few would actually get away before we were found and killed. That assumption was confirmed when we were attacked in our sleeping unit several days ago.
“We were gathered – a hundred of us or more – and control officers were sent to harm us for the simple fact of our being together. However, for the first time, we fought back. We won the fight with those officers and held them in prison. To be honest, we had no idea what we would do after that point.
“The Leaders demanded that we give up our leader and go back to our old way of life, but that would be impossible. Now that we know that we could live and breathe on the surface, we could never go back to how things used to be.
“Somehow, the officers escaped, and Reena, our beloved leader, was captured. The details are unclear about how this occurred, but she was set to be executed. In fact, she was only seconds away from being killed just now.
“The video feed of her execution was being fed to the tiles in the Midlet, but judging from the information on the tiles around me, no one in the Upper Levels could see it.”
Gisk growled. “He’s definitely in the Central Facility Computer if he can see that,” he said.
“Luckily,” Hokmah continued, “we were able to seize control of these video feeds before she was executed. I had a little trouble with some of the equipment in here, so I cut it much closer than I intended, but she’s still alive, thank the Maker. I can see her watching me right now. Standing in what is labeled Diplomacy and Sensitivity Production Unit 38A. Reena – I’m sorry for the delayed rescue.”
Reena spun around, wondering which camera Hokmah could see.
“Men and women of the Facility,” he said, with a slight wave to her. “Reena is the reason that we have the chance to be free. She stood for us and created a plan for us to escape. She united us, giving us hope that we could be more than we have been. She rose, even though her own life has been nothing but sorrow at the hands of the Leaders. Or maybe she rose because of it.
“You see, her husband was killed by control officers while she was pregnant, simply because they were hungry. She raised her son, Bear, without him, pouring everything she had into him to make sure he became the kind of man his father was.
“He indeed did grow up to be that kind of man, because he would often take punishments for other people – for innocent actions that were considered crimes. He was strong, and he would quickly accept responsibility for everything he could. He would be beaten near death, but as soon as he could stand again he would stand in front of another Stunner.
When he was a child, the control officers would mostly just beat him to scare him. I supposed they thought they were teaching him a lesson – showing him the consequence of not following the regulations to the letter. But as he became a young man, he grew strong. The officers who punished him no longer had any mercy. His beatings would often force him to remain in bed for weeks.
“His mother would plead with him to stop, to let others share in the punishment. But he was his father’s son. One day, when a child threw Food Substance at a control officer, he threw himself between the child and the officer as the beating began. The young man saved the child, but he lost his own life. While his mother watched.
“You might be wondering why I would tell you such a story about our leader and her family. I tell it for two reasons. First, quite simply, these are stories that need to be told. For laborers in other sectors, you must know that you are not alone, and that we beat with the same heart. You and I – we are all united, even if we have never met.
“For the people in the Upper Levels, I hope you hear me talk about our people and you realize that your comfort costs a great deal. I realize that most of you look at us as though we’re not human, as though we’re not worth any of your respect. But some of you know the truth. That your heart beats with us as well. I ask that you consider supporting us, and even joining us on our quest to live on the surface.
“But the second, most important reason that I tell the story is this.”
Hokmah paused.
“I’m stalling.”
He smiled for a moment, and then broke out into hilarious laughter. It seemed as though he couldn’t contain himself as he smacked the desk in front of him in amusement.
“I can hear several control officers trying to break the seal on the door to this unit, and I’m watching others throughout the Facility on the video feeds. Most are on their way to me at this moment, because they found nothing in the other Technology Maintenance Units. It’s quite amazing the information I can see on these tiles in front of me – I can even follow the officers that came from the unit that holds Reena and Quilen Coomy. They’re stuck in an unmoving Magnet Tram far from here.
“The Magnet Tram cars are packed with officers, in fact. And obviously I’ve shut that whole system down. Meaning that any of them who are not currently beating down this door are most likely stuck in the middle of a tunnel, and will have to be manually removed after power is restored to that system.
“Since the moment I started speaking, the people of the Midlet have been traveling through the tunnels towards the surface. With no control officers to stop them, since they’re all focused on me, and with the rest of the citizens staring at their tiles, I’m assuming most of them are out at this point. Well – I don’t have to assume, because I can see those who remain running through tunnels with no issues.
“In the last twenty-four hours, we sent words to laborers in other sectors. The welds the Leaders used to seal all of the surface hatches shut would be removed by the grinders that they themselves gave us to serve them with. My own sector is free, and many of the others surely are as well.
“And on top of all of this, Reena, who is sitting in a unit with two of the Facility Leaders, doesn’t realize that she is only moments away from rescue, because a group of our finest laborers are right outside the entrance of her unit.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“What?!” Gisk screamed as he turned around.
No laborers were barging through the door, but he heard footsteps. Standing still for a moment, he moved towards the nearest rifle that had been set down by one of the missing control officers. He pointed it at the door, waiting on them to walk through.
“Wait,” Reena yelled to the doorway. “If you’re there, he has a weapon, and you’ll be killed. It’s not a Stunner �
� it shoots.”
The footsteps shuffled to a stop.
“Shut up, you dirty laborer,” Gisk roared. “You are ruining everything!”
He moved the gun, pointing the barrel at her.
“Mr. Gisk,” Quilen said steadily, raising his palms to the chairman. “Think about what you’re doing first. If you kill her, then they will definitely kill us when they get in here.”
“They’re going to kill us either way, you idiot,” Gisk snapped back.
“No,” Reena said. “We are not like you. We don’t want to kill you. We only want our freedom.”
Quilen moved slowly towards Reena, his hands still up.
“Really,” Gisk said, dripping with sarcasm. “Your friend there on the tile is talking about everything that we did to you and your people, and you’re happily going to let us go safely, eh?”
“Yes,” Reena responded with strength. Her hands weren’t up, and she didn’t seem to be afraid. As if she was more comfortable dying like this than she was before.
“They’re in the Central Facility Computer,” Quilen reasoned with Gisk. They can do just about anything they want to us right now. They could shut off oxygen or Food Substance to the whole Facility. If they want to kill us, we’ll die. Why should we kill any more of them if we have nothing to gain from it?”
Gisk shook his head angrily, lowering the gun for a moment.
“Are you a laborer sympathizer now, Coomy?” he said with disgust. “Do you think you’re going to go to the surface so you can live happily ever after with your precious daughter?”
The words hung in the air for a moment.
“What?” Quilen asked as he dropped his hands.
“I said do you think they’re going to let you go and live on the surface with them, like you’re one of them,” Gisk yelled. “Do you really think they’ll forgive you for killing them? Or even forgive you for just living? You heard what they said – they hate us. And that’s okay with me, because I hate them. And I’ll make sure all of them die rather than them killing us.”
“No,” Quilen said, taking a single step forward. “What did you say about my daughter?”
Gisk stood for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed.
“What are you talking about,” Gisk asked, puzzled. “I didn’t say anything about your traitor daughter.”
“No, you asked if I wanted to live on the surface with my daughter,” Quilen said.
“So I did,” Gisk admitted. “What does that change about our situation? How does that keep these insects from destroying us?”
“So she’s alive?” Quilen asked. “Talitha is alive?”
“Forefathers, I don’t know,” Gisk cursed. “It’s been months, and I doubt she survived a week. Even if the air is breathable, she’d still need to eat and drink. We don’t run any tubes of Food Substance to the surface for traitors.”
Quilen stood still for a moment, interpreting what Gisk was saying about his daughter through his angry words. His daughter was alive – or at least could be. Everything that he regretted saying and not saying could be fixed. He could go the surface and start a new life with his family.
At least, if the laborers let him. Through his conversation with Reena, he realized that none of them even knew Gisk’s name. But the name Quilen Coomy was hated by everyone in the Midlet.
Quilen had a momentary realization that it was Gisk’s plan all along. He pulled all of the strings, but his name was never mentioned. Even amongst the citizens in the Upper Levels, Gisk was only known to the highest Leaders and members of the Regulation Committee. Gisk was the reason that the laborers hated Quilen, but they didn’t even know he existed.
“Reena?” Quilen asked.
“Yes,” Reena replied, her eyes still on Gisk.
“Are you serious about letting us go?” he continued. “That you won’t kill us, and that you just want to get out of here?”
“Yes,” she said. “Freedom is all we have ever wanted.”
“Even a man like me?” he asked.
“Yes, I think even a man like you can be spared. Especially if you are serious about your apologies, and everything else we spoke of. I will tell the others to have mercy on you.”
“Not if you’re dead, you disgusting laborer,” Gisk said, raising the barrel of his rifle to Reena.
He fired three shots.
Reena’s eyes closed at the sound of the gun, knowing that her life was over. She braced herself for the impact, prepared to take it knowing that the Midlet was free. The loss of her family, the loss of her own life – it was justified if her people were now standing on the surface. Her memory would be honored by the fact that other families would survive. Her hope would live on, and her final thoughts could be happy ones.
But the impact never came.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Quilen Coomy standing in front of her, swaying. He made a noise, a sound of pain, and fell forward.
Gisk’s face was surprised as his eyes followed Quilen’s body to the floor. Then the coldness returned as he said, “Idiot.”
He pulled the barrel of the gun up, again pointing at Reena. “That was a waste of a sacrifice, Quilen,” he mumbled as he pulled the trigger again.
Reena braced again.
The gun clicked, but nothing happened. Gisk looked at the weapon in his hand, moving it from side to side as if he would know a problem when he saw it.
“Midlet, help!” Reena yelled.
Four laborers rushed in the room, with Onjo leading the charge. Gisk tossed the useless gun aside, slowly waddling towards another. The laborers were too fast, reaching him before he completed a few steps.
Onjo extended a Stunner, which knocked Gisk to the floor. The four laborers surrounded his body with the Stunner hovering above him. Onjo raised the power to the highest level and pointed it at Gisk again.
“Don’t kill him,” Reena said. “Remember – we aren’t the murderers.”
“Are you sure, Reena” Onjo asked. “He just tried to kill you.”
“I’m sure,” she said as she got on her knees beside Quilen and rolled him onto his back. His midsection had three large red stains.
“I saved you?” Quilen whispered faintly.
“Yes, Quilen Coomy,” she said, “you saved me. Why did you do it?”
Quilen’s breath moved in and out slowly, each one obviously taking tremendous effort.
“Because,” he gasped, “you deserved to live… More… More than I do…”
Reena stared at him for a moment, not believing what she heard.
“Reena,” he whispered.
“Yes,” she answered.
“My daughter… Talitha… She sent you the messages.” Quilen coughed and blood dripped from his mouth. “If she’s still alive…”
“I will find her, Quilen,” Reena reassured him.
“Tell her… I love her… And my family… I love them,” he said. “And… Tell Talitha I’m sorry… Not just for… The last time I saw her… But sorry… For who I am…”
A tear rolled down Reena’s cheek.
“You don’t have to apologize for who you are, Quilen Coomy,” she reassured him. “Maybe for who you were. But I was wrong before. Who you are now – you are a friend to the Midlet. And you are my friend.”
Quilen smiled.
“I will tell your daughter and your family,” Reena added.
“Thank you,” he breathed. “For helping me see… What life is… Before I died.”
With that, his eyes closed and his body went limp. Reena put her hands on his pale face, pulling him close to her.
“May the Maker hold you until—”
Before Reena could finish her short eulogy, a noise behind her interrupted.
Gisk swiped the legs out from under Onjo, and the Stunner that she held skidded across the floor. The two laborers standing nearby rushed to subdue him, but he tossed them aside one by one as if they were rags. Gisk stretched his body as much as he could, reaching for the gun laying closest to
him.
“None of you will see the surface,” he growled as his fingers connected to the stock of the rifle, dragging it closer to him.
As his fingers brushed the trigger, the fourth laborer, who had gone after the Stunner immediately when Onjo lost it, rushed back to him with the weapon extended. The tip struck Gisk’s belly, causing him to convulse and roll on top of it.
Gisk’s fingers squeezed due to the electricity flowing through his body, pulling the trigger on the firearm. Bullets spread through the unit, shattering more wall tiles, and connecting with two of the laborers.
A moment later, the gun clicked, with no more bullets firing.
All four laborers jumped to their feet, again surrounding Gisk. His body convulsed briefly, then his whole body slumped. Onjo carefully grabbed the handle of the Stunner that was sticking out from under the body. She lowered the power level.
All of them stared at each other.
“Is everyone okay?” Onjo said, noticing both of the laborers who were bleeding.
It was as if they were unaware of their wounds before Onjo asked. They both nodded, looking at their injuries – one in the shoulder and one in the arm.
“Thank you,” Reena said. “All of you. His death is on his own head.”
Hokmah, who had been holding his breath during Reena’s near death experiences, let out a relieved cheer.
“Reena!” he finally said, watching her cradle Quilen’s head in her lap.
She looked up, not knowing which camera to look at for him to see her. Instead, she settled on looking at the monitor with his face. She could hear a grinding sound emanating from the tiles that she didn’t notice before. She knew it was the control officers trying to get in.
“You’ve done it,” he said with tears in his eyes. “Our people are free. The five of you in that unit – you are the last of us.”
The Dirt Walkers Page 14