“We are deep inside the Hoover Dam. A part of the tour the locals don’t know about. And something only a select few leaders ever get to see.”
The walls were plastered with glow goo but it had faded to almost no illumination as if it were very old. It made it feel a little like home. A minor comfort in an otherwise dank environment.
“So why am I here? I’m not a leader.”
“You’ll see. You just have to climb up the ladder and meet your destiny. If you’re worthy to be there, I can show you around. If not, we’ll have to carry your body out.”
“Um, can I pass?”
She chuckled. “I need you, sister. You’ll do fine. Don’t worry so much.”
I walked to the ladder and looked up to see a metal hatch.
“Climb,” Felicity ordered.
With three determined women pushing me from behind and only a computer-controlled elevator as a means of escape, I figured I had no choice.
“Fine. Let’s do this.”
5
The ladder was cool to the touch, and slick like it had been there for a long time. When I reached the top the hatch popped open easily and a bright light shone from above. I checked Xandrie.
“Yep, climb, sister. We shall follow.”
I got to the top and stood on the white floor of a hexagonal room. It was quite large with each wall reaching about ten feet across. Every wall had a single door with a window in the top half, though the outsides of those windows were pitch black.
Xandrie came up first. She stood next to me and pointed to the hexagonal table in the middle of the room. “I want to introduce you to the real Meg.”
At first, the table was dark, but a glow came from the glass panel on top of the waist-high platform. The light continued above the surface of the glass and a shape formed out of thin air. The outline of a woman. She was dressed exactly like Xandrie and her sisters.
“Greetings, Elle. Welcome to the primary control interface.” Her voice was calm and collected and less mechanical than she sounded over the speakers.
“So is this where you kill me? Xandrie said—”
“Tsk, tsk, Elle. Don’t you worry what Xandrie said. You won’t be harmed. Xandrie has one little favor to ask and then we will all help you track down the madman you’ve been searching for.”
I looked around, wary of the two girls emerging from the hatch.
“I’m not going to be harmed?”
“I could have let the turrets shoot you. The drones buzz you. The tanks smash you. The elevator drop you. I could have sucked the oxygen out of that room, as I did for those soldiers. If I wanted you dead or injured I could have done so.”
I shivered. Partially because it was cool in the air-chilled room and I was still damp from the jet of water. But, mostly, it hit me how much power she had over me. Over all of us.
“Xandrie will explain the little deed.”
Xandrie nodded to the holographic woman, then turned my way. “Each of the six tribes can access this terminal through these doors. Some of them have never been opened. We have no idea what happened to those bunkers. Meg insists they are still operational because they still draw power, but she hasn’t been able to look inside. Almost like they knew what cables to cut to keep prying—I mean safety checks from taking place.”
She pointed to a door near me. “That door goes to your bunker.”
I scanned the door and noticed a faded number 6 right in the middle of the lower half.
“I’m bunker 6?”
“The numbers don’t mean anything, other than to keep us all separate. Your bunker is actually named Summersetter—”
Meg jumped in. “A contingent of British civilians were to be housed there, though they tragically never arrived.”
Xandrie waited to see if Meg would continue. A moment later she went on. “Right. So, the doors are coded to accept only the leader of each bunker, though there are emergency protocols designed in case the leader is unfit for service or tries to harm his people. In those cases, Meg can unlock the door based on the voice approval of someone verified as coming from that bunker. In this case, you.”
Xandrie forced a smile.
“So why do you need me to unlock this door? It doesn’t look very sturdy. Can’t you just knock it down?”
“Like we hadn’t thought of that—” Patience spouted off the words, but Xandrie shot her a look to shut her up.
“There are fail safes, sister Elle. If the door is forced open the long path through the dam and nearby rocky tunnels will activate a series of traps. The designers wanted to ensure we’d have a place to meet in complete safety. A neutral zone.”
“They assumed you’d be fighting?”
Xandrie laughed out loud. “Haven’t you been fighting inside your bunker all this time? You had no trouble? No good guys. No bad guys?” She looked at me expectantly.
“Of course. We had … problems.”
“And wouldn’t you have liked to come here and found people who could help you?”
“Well, I guess. Sure.”
I realized what she was saying.
“The Commander came here!”
“Bingo,” Meg chimed in a peaceful manner. “These doors have provided a release valve. A way to reduce the stress of those tasked with managing six very different ships on the rocky sea around us all. But I told him something I shouldn't, and he came and put that hole in our ceiling. He cannot be a leader. We need you to take command of the Summersetter.”
I wanted to say no. I wanted nothing to do with leadership or responsibility. That included such simple things as having babies all the way up to lording over an entire society.
“And what would I have to do if I did this for you?”
Xandrie’s reply was friendly, though her eyes remained clouded windows. “We would naturally help you since you’d be brand new to leadership responsibilities. I’ve been doing this for so long I could use some new blood to talk to here.”
Patience and Felicity each shared a look of concern.
“And Meg is allowing this transfer of power—which is unusual in itself. A great honor, if you ask me.”
“Isn’t there anyone else? I appreciate it, I really do, but the only things I want to do is find my friends and track down the Commander and put an end to his thievery.”
“That’s the best part. If you are the leader you’ll have access to information, video links, maps, and, most importantly, weapons. You can organize raids to go out and look for him. You’d be in charge.”
I wandered over to the door with the number 6 on it.
“Can I close the door once I open it?”
“Of course. You can dictate who goes through, though we never go into each other’s bunker. That would ruin the whole illusion.”
“Illusion?”
“Yeah. Everyone has to think they are out on the high seas alone. That the people on their boat are the last of humanity fighting to keep the race alive. Otherwise, they are likely to seek help from others—and that always ends in tragedy.
I ignored my own participation in tragedy. I’d set stuff in motion that I had no idea how I was going to fix. But being a leader would have some advantages I couldn’t ignore.
I put my hand on the handle, opened the door an inch, then slammed it shut.
Xandrie huffed in excitement. “See! You have the power.”
I backed away, still not sure.
That distant computer voice in my head had to know of the existence of this room. Had to know I could open this door. Yet he didn’t think it was worth sticking around. He advised I run away, over and over.
I moved sideways, putting my fingers to my jaw as if thinking it over.
“What do you say, sister? Can we count on you to lead your tribe?”
“What of my friends? Can I bring Felix and Scarlett? Will I find Alex and Wen? Will they be safe?”
Meg replied. “The ones called Felix and Scarlett will be safe. Wen is no longer on my scanners, but was last
seen on the Nevada-side collection area. Alex is safe. He is among the sisters.”
“What?” I blurted out at exactly the same time as Xandrie.
“Meg. We agreed—”
“Silence,” she said in an aggressive tone. “The girl, Elle, will not agree of her own free will if she suspects a deception. Alex is safe, for now, in bunker 4.”
Xandrie fumed, but said nothing.
Bunker 4?
I strode around the room, continuing my thoughtful pose.
Everyone thinks I’m something I’m not: a potential mother, a fancy leader of a bunker, a Sky Dancer. This angel could use some superpowers right about now.
I was close enough to test my theory. I reached for the handle of the door with the number 4 engraved on the lower half.
“I think maybe there’s something you’re not telling me,” I said to the room. “And until I know Alex is safe I’m not touching that door again.”
“But—”
I didn’t listen. Meg and Xandrie both canceled each other’s voices.
I turned the handle to door number 4 and walked on through.
“No!” shouted all four women behind me.
Chapter 11
I heard the door behind me open again and the sounds of running feet followed a moment later. I didn’t really expect the door to open for me, so when I started my run I had absolutely no idea where I was going. The tunnel began with one sharp turn but was completely straight from there. My gauntlet light showed me the way.
“You can’t get away, Elle,” Xandrie called out in an echoed voice.
“Run, Elle,” the voice in my head had said. It seemed like the perfect advice, now.
I couldn’t help myself from smiling at the tightness between the two walls of the narrow corridor. The women’s skirts would be in such danger of touching those filthy walls. I had no such guidelines and ran at a comfortable jog—my main concern was finding a locked door or tripping in the cool blue light of my staff.
I ran at least a mile before the hall became wider. The smooth rock of the tunnel changed to more polished stone and the first lights on the roof appeared. If I didn’t know better I could have been running into the Complex, instead of the home of the sisters.
Yet, there were important differences. The hallway was about ten feet across and ten high but there were a good number of “things” sitting along the wall on my left side as I jogged by. Several of the items were linked to power because I saw little LED lights on them.
Square boxes could have been view screens.
I recognized the computers.
Large black chairs that looked like they could have been made for sleeping.
A huge number of pallets packed with little cans.
Guns.
Ammo.
Books.
I ran by the booty for five full minutes, realizing about halfway through it was reserved for Xandrie and the leadership who’d have access to the central computer back at the dam. I ran the numbers and quickly decided there was almost certainly a similar hallway back in the Complex. The Commander did everything he could to keep certain places off limits. No wonder.
Xandrie had kept pace with me, though she still remained fifty yards back. Her two assistants might have been with her, but if they were they were very quiet.
“Looks like you’ve been roughing it, sister,” I yelled over my shoulder.
“Arg! I’ll let you in on this. All of it. Just stop running.”
Yeah, right.
I reached a solid metal door and stormed through. It didn’t surprise me at all to end up in Xandrie’s office. The pleasant aroma almost overcame me. My emotions welled up at the thought of apple pie. Of being at grandma’s house for Thanksgiving. Of helping peel the mashed potatoes and stand around with all the other women gasbagging.
My memory! I can remember that.
I pulled myself into the moment, hoping for focus. I scanned the room for what I could use to block the door and there was nothing. If I had plenty of time I might have been able to get the little sofa to the door, or Xandrie’s desk, but they looked too heavy to move in just a few seconds.
“Do what you always do. Run!”
I shot out the front door of her office, but stopped and came back inside to look behind her door. As I suspected there were no other staffs hidden there.
Xandrie kicked the door open, which was my cue to run.
“Stop!” she ordered.
Though I was tired I kept going. A vague plan had formed involving getting lost in the back part of this bunker, just as I’d done back home. Then I could search out Alex and mount a rescue operation. It all seemed very possible as I ran down the twisty tunnel to the main floor.
I kicked my way through the final two security doors and stood breathless just off the Cathedral. To my dismay I realized the chamber had a second “Icer” opposite the one Saint Valerie had jumped in. Like the first it had no power to it, but a large group of sisters stood around the platform to watch something happening there. Their pull carts were parked against the wall, out of the way.
I couldn’t see from my vantage point, but there were enough people I figured I could easily get lost. Xandrie wouldn’t be far behind.
In ten seconds I merged with the crowd and made my way into the thickest parts. The sisters didn’t even look at me as I drifted by. I kept my head down and made myself as small as possible while walking through the spectators.
A door banged against a wall nearby.
“Sisters! Stop what you’re doing. Look among you for Sister Elle.”
I froze, hoping against all logic I would be overlooked. But it wasn’t to be. The crowd literally split apart rather than touch me. I was left with a clear path right back to Xandrie.
I pulled off my staff, resigned to violence.
“That’s the way of it, isn’t it, sister Elle. Those on the outside are always violent. Always destroy. You are almost as bad as a man.”
I didn’t know how to take that.
“I don’t want a problem. I’m only here to find my friend.”
Given the large number of women around me I re-slung my staff and pulled out the handgun. I tried to keep my hands steady, but I know they had to see me shaking as I handled it. In the time it took to get it ready she could have jumped on me twice over. I finally got it in front of me and pointed it at her.
“I said I don’t want any trouble. Just help me get Alex and you can get back to your sick society.”
“Sick? We’ve been perfectly healthy for decades. That’s why we all stay fresh and young. Even the word sick is forgotten here.”
“Uh, I don’t think so. I saw your secret hallway of toys and treasures. I bet the other residents here would be very interested to see all that.”
“I’ve been very open about the privileges and anchors of leadership. The responsibility is worth it when you get the perks. No one has ever complained, or stepped up to replace me. I made the same offer to all the sisters, here, as I did with Felicity and Patience. They allowed me to come back as their leader.” She bowed to the crowd.
I admit I hoped the sisters would rise up in anger, but they remained fixed on Xandrie with rapt eyes.
“You manipulated Meg. You used me. You lied about the residents of your prison. You didn’t tell them about the elder sisters you keep hidden!”
“Dear, dear, Elle. Our prison has always been empty. I’m not sure what you saw down there. And Meg is the operational computer to keep things running in our home. I would no more manipulate her than I would this dear sister right here.” She put her arm around a particularly young starry-eyed woman.
“And I swear on my soul I have not hidden elderly sisters from anyone. That is a simple lie.”
I couldn’t prove that one, but surely someone remembered the missing half of their society.
“The men!” I shouted. “You got them all to leave the bunker and didn’t let them back in.”
I figured that was going to br
eak the camel’s back.
Xandrie laughed, and I knew my blow didn’t connect with her.
“Sisters. Let’s show her the men. They never left us, sister Elle, as you shall see in a moment. And we were about to add one more to our eternal collection.”
She held out her good arm, motioning me to turn around.
I sighed, wary of her tricks. But when I did, I naturally used one of Alex’s worst curse words.
I had a clear look up the gap between the two halves of the gathering. Alex was in my sight. He was standing on the stage among several sisters with their knives trained on him like he was the most dangerous criminal they’d ever encountered.
2
My breath caught in my throat. I ran to him, ignorant of the girls all around me. I plowed into the gaggle of knife wielders and gave him a hug. His shirt and top half of his armor had been removed, though he still wore the silvery armor under his pants. I could tell he’d been roughed up. The thing I found most interesting for those first few moments was his brown eyes and toothy smile. But he ruined the illusion when he spoke.
“These girls ripped the shirt right off my back. Just like you tried to do.”
I cocked my head in disbelief. “I only took a slice. I’ll give it back if you want it.” I reached for the loop of his shirt I’d cut and used for holding my staff.
“Nah, keep it.” Quieter, he added. “I don’t think these ladies like me.”
“No, I’m beginning to suspect they hate men.”
“Me, too!” He nodded his head so I would follow his eyes back over my head.
“Oh. My. God.”
Just as the one half of the hall was covered with the hologram of the sisters walking the hill to their sacred monastery, the other half of their Cathedral had been left blank the other time I’d been there. Now it was lit up with the other half of the projection. I wished it had been left off.
“What have you done?”
I got weak-kneed looking at the ghastly image. Instead of a happy scene with women walking to a stately castle, this showed a long line of men—bare chested all—descending a rocky path into a pool of fire. Other men came out of the fire, each carrying a heavy rectangular stone on their shoulders. They screamed in silence, as the scene had no sound. Their skin would burn for a good way up the path.
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