The Dream Protocol: Descent (Book I)

by Adara Quick

  In a soft voice, she sounded it out. “Ireee...Land. Ireland?” She ran her fingers across the letters, careful not to cut herself on the broken glass that still clung to the frame. This is important. It must be. Ireland. But what does it mean? There were a handful of red dots sprinkled across the landmass, but she was drawn to the largest one. The dot looked like it was out in the water. Her fingers drifted over to touch it. “No, not in the water. There’s an island there. Skellig Michael.” Like Skellig City? At the bottom of the frame was a tarnished brass plate that read ‘IDream Holdings 2547.’

  Then she heard a voice. “C’mere,” someone hissed. “Everyone. Everyone. They’re coming. Shh! Shh!”

  Deirdre turned and crept down the corridor toward the sound. Are they Ministry or someone else? Soon she could make out row after row of rusting metal bars. She thought at first the bars were just more scaffolding, but she soon discovered the truth. The bars formed cells with doors and locks on them. Then she heard more voices drifting through the hallway and it hit her. The ruined. They’re still here! No one is in Tír na nÓg! She ran to the nearest cell, put her hands on the bars, and pressed her face into the space between them. She called out, “Who’s there? Is there someone in there?”

  As her eyes adjusted to the darkness in the cage, she saw four people cowering against the back wall. They were dressed only in their underclothes. “Everyone relax,” said a man. “It’s not a Dream Drone. It’s one of us.” The prisoners rushed to her, grasping at her hands. All of them spoke at once, pushing their own faces between the bars.

  One said, “How did you get here, child?”

  Another said, “Were there any Dream Drones out there?”

  Still another asked, “Can you get the door open?”

  “Just one sec. Let me try.” Deirdre tugged at the door with all her strength, but the deadlock kept it tight. Frantically, she looked around for some way to open it, something she could use as a lever against the lock. She ran back to the map and pulled at a section of wood frame. But it was so old that it disintegrated to splinters in her hand. She said, “I’m sorry. I don’t have anything to get it open.” It was then that she heard another voice farther down the hallway.

  “Deirdre? Deirdre, is that you?”

  The voice sounded so familiar, a memory bubble bursting to the surface. Breaking away from the cries in front of her, Deirdre ran for the other voice, one frantic footstep placed in front of the other. “Maeve,” she called. “Is that you? Are you there?”

  Maeve called back, “Here, Deirdre! I’m here.”

  Reaching her cell, Deirdre reached inside the bars to embrace her old friend. “Maeve, I can’t believe it’s you. I thought you were gone forever.”

  “Child!” Maeve said. “What are you doing here? How did you find us?”

  Maeve felt weak and thin. Deirdre said, “I was helping Flynn escape an early descent. But the Drones found me and chased me through Level 48. Then I fell through the floor and woke up here. I don’t even know how much time has passed. What is this place? What is happening here?”

  Maeve gently reached out through the bars and wiped away a single tear that had fallen onto Deirdre’s cheek. Softly, she replied, “Dear one. If only I knew. This place is a prison.”

  “But I don’t understand. You are all supposed to be on your way to Tír na nÓg.”

  Maeve said, “When I reached the bottom of the cylinder, two Dream Drones stripped me of my jumper and threw me into this cell. The man in the cell next to me has been here a month. When we were sure that we weren’t being watched, he told me what he had learned. He said there is a train at the end of this corridor, and that all the people held here were herded onto it by the Drones a few weeks past. But there were too many people and he couldn’t fit on, so the Drones put him back into the cell and the train left without him.”

  Deirdre exclaimed, “A train left? Going where? We’re on an island!” She took off running down the hallway.

  Maeve called after her, “Dee, wait! Come back, lass! Go no closer to that cursed contraption!”

  But Deirdre had to see the train for herself. Running hard with lights activating with every step, she found the train at the end of the hall. A yawning space narrowed into a tunnel, which continued off into the black unknown. She paused to take in this extraordinary scene: a train at the bottom of a city in the middle of an ocean. She pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t in dream and went closer. The loading platform and the train cars were empty. The train was old; the car numbers barely visible from where the paint had flaked off from the years - maybe centuries.

  She stepped up to an open car and boarded. The inside of the car was lined with rusted shackles. As Deirdre looked at them more closely, she saw that the red stains weren’t rust - they were dried blood. She shivered. Deirdre backed up, and tripped over one of the chains lying on the floor in her haste. I could get trapped here so easily. She lurched up, stumbling off the train and back on the platform.

  Then she took a long look down the dark tunnel. Somehow, she felt that it was calling her, a whisper on the close air. This is not a train to Tír na nÓg. She thought the sound of her heart pounding in her chest would fill the entire level. Thump. Thump. Thump. The bitter smell of fear-soaked sweat filled her nose. It doesn’t matter. I have to know what is down there.

  But at that instant, the loud buzzing of an alarm cut through the tomblike silence of the place. She looked toward the cylinder. It will bring the Drones. The level will be filled with them any moment! She turned and ran back up the corridor to the prisoners. Sore as she was, she sprinted back to Maeve’s cell and yanked on the unyielding door with all her strength.

  She shouted, “Maeve, I have to get you out of here!”

  “No, lass. No!” Maeve said. “The Drones will be here any second. It’s Siobhan’s time any minute now so they probably have a head start. You must get yourself out of here. Flee this place now!”

  Deirdre looked into Maeve’s eyes as panic filled her.

  Mother.

  Deirdre wailed, “No! She’ll be trapped down here like the rest of you! I have to stop her.” She turned away from Maeve to run, and then added, “I promise I’ll be back. I promise, you hear?” Then she took off at a sprint again.

  Maeve shouted, “Go, child. Go! Red Oak, Deirdre. Remember Red Oak!” Then Maeve turned to the other prisoners and said, “They’ll be coming out of that lift any minute. Everyone please help her! Make as much noise as you can to distract the Drones!”

  Darting down the hall for the lift, Deirdre’s escape was abruptly blocked. Lights over the lift indicated that it was moving from Level T to Level 50. She skidded to a stop. Someone had called it Topside, and now it was coming back down. She ducked into the yarn room just as the door opened and two Dream Drones stepped off.

  One said, “Check the Great Spider first. I’ll head down to the prisoner section.” The other Drone nodded and walked toward the room where Deirdre hid.

  Oh no. They’re coming this way! Deirdre took in a deep breath and held it tightly.

  But further down the corridor, the cells exploded in noise; the prisoners had taken up Maeve’s call and they filled the hallway with their screams and yells. The other Drone said, “No, I’m coming with you first. Something is going on with those ruined.” Both soldiers ran past, shouting to the prisoners to quiet down. When they reached the prisoner area, they unlocked one of the cages and grabbed for a man there.

  Deirdre forced herself to exhale slowly. I need to make a run for it now. Then she sucked in as much air as her lungs could hold and threw herself into the hall. Her feet hit the corridor at a dead run. Don’t look back. The lift doors were still open. Ten feet more and I’m there. Her feet ate up the concrete and her arms pumped in time with her breath.

  Her speed slammed her into the back wall of the small chamber. She whirled around and looked at the level options. The Drones hadn’t looked her way. Could I get Topside if I tried? No, I’d be caught an
d then no one would be there to stop mother’s descent. So she hit the button for Level 49. The doors slid shut just as the Dream Drones wrestled the man out of his cage. I’ll have to get out the way I came in. Please let me get to the Ritual Room in time.

  She shifted back and forth on her feet, restless for the lift to finally slow. What’s the plan? She would have to find a way up the wall where she had fallen through. The doors opened and she flew out of them, a girl on fire. Past the cylinder she dashed until she came to the section that was blocked with debris. She looked around under the hole above and found scaffolding on one side where wall should have been. With trembling fingers, she searched for a handhold and began to climb fast and true.

  Reach. Step. Pull.

  Reach. Step. Pull.

  Her arms burned from lifting her weight. What am I going to do when I get to the Ritual Room? The Minister and his Drones will be there. Somehow I’ve got to get her out of the cylinder.

  Reach. Step. SLIP!

  Her feet slipped off of the rusty frame, and she found herself dangling in midair. Come on, girl. Don’t fail Ma. Slow and steady wins the race. Deirdre took a deep breath, calmed her mind, and felt for the elusive rung with her feet. Found it. With careful steps, she climbed up the rest of the way to Level 48.

  At the top of the scaffolding, her exit was blocked by the floorboards above. She reached out toward the hole in the flooring but it was just out of reach. If this flooring is rotten, maybe I can punch my way through. So she climbed up as far as she could go and wedged her shoulders against the old wood planks. Then she pushed off the rebar against the floorboards, trying to open a new exit. The old wood creaked and groaned, but it held fast. Dust fell down into her face and she started to cough. Again she pushed, and again, until finally the planks broke free and she was through, pulling herself through the splinters.

  Up and out she climbed, bursting onto Level 48. She flew through the hallways like a banshee. I’m close now. So close. Back into known territory she ran, the lights getting brighter with each intersection. She was tired, dehydrated, and hungry. Still she ran, forcing the speed from her legs, trying to reach her mother in time. But when she rounded the next corner, there was a new wall blocking her route.

  “No!” she yelled, slamming both fists into the wall. Restack! For a moment, she crumbled, tears of frustration squeezing out of her closed eyes. I’m so tired. And then her memory flashed on all of the ruined being held against their will on Level 50. Where they had planned to put Flynn. So, she wiped her eyes and found the information panel in the wall. Bringing up the new crowd flow pattern for Level 48, she realized that she was going to have to run all the way around the exterior wall of the city to reach the Ritual Room. Blast it.

  Her mouth was parched and her throat was dry. But still she willed a jog from her legs. The deep gulps of air she took pained her throat even more. Minister! If I ever get the chance, I’d trade it all just to wring your neck. She made it the length of one section and then ran on to the next. Mother, are you in the cylinder yet? Another section passed by. The muscles in her legs burned from lack of oxygen. Don’t go in there, Ma!

  She was almost there. The people arriving for the ritual looked on surprised as the daughter of the ruined sped through the hallways. But outside the entrance, she crashed headlong into a Drone. Its eyes flashed red and it demanded an explanation.

  Deirdre stammered, “Oh. Um. I’m sorry. It’s my mother’s descent. I’m going to miss it.” Then she choked out, “The Ministry provides.” Its eyes went dim once again and she was released.

  The Ritual Room was filled with the sound of chanting and a drum beat. As Deirdre entered she heard the last wish was being offered, and she was just in time to see the large glass door shut over her mother. Screaming, she pushed her way through the crowd. Her long golden hair whipped back and forth as she fought through the layers of bodies.

  “Ma! Stop! Don’t go down there! Please!” She broke through the last row of people and rushed to the dais, pressing her face and hands against the Cylinder of Descent.

  The timer chimed thirty seconds left.

  Siobhan yelled back, trying to make her voice heard through the thick clear glass. “Daughter. Hush now! Be still.”

  “Oh, Ma,” she wailed. “I’m too late. I’m so sorry.” Tears streamed down her face. “Ma! Ma, get out of there. Don’t go. Listen to me...there are...”

  Breck was standing in the front row with her father, and she stepped out of line and pointed at Deirdre, shouting, “C’mere! Stop it, Deirdre. There are rules. This is Ma’s special moment, and you’re spoiling it!”

  The timer hit 10 seconds left.

  Siobhan placed one palm on the glass atop Deirdre’s trembling hand. “Deirdre,” she said. “None of that, now. You must be strong. I have accepted my fate.” Her words started coming faster. “Quickly now, there isn’t much time. There’s something I must leave you with about Red Oak and your father...” The last alarm sounded and the flooring opened up below her. With a rush of air, Siobhan was gone.

  Deirdre collapsed to the floor, screaming her mother’s name. The Minister commanded the two Drones on guard for the ritual to pick her up. His voice brought order to the room.

  “Get her out of here,” he said. “The Ministry provides. Today we make the gift of an exception for the Ritual Offering’s daughter. Let no one say that the Ministry is not merciful.”

  Deirdre allowed herself to be carried from the room by the Drones as her father stood stoically at the front of the crowd. He hadn’t moved through the whole thing. The Dream Drones deposited her on the hallway floor outside the Ritual Room and walked away to escort the Minister. Deirdre felt empty. Like she had nothing left. I failed. She’s gone.

  Then she heard a familiar voice. “Dee? Dee? What happened? Are you all right?”

  She felt a gentle hand lifting her chin and saw that it was Flynn who was calling to her. Wrapped in a new cloak, he let the cloth fall away from his face.

  Deirdre grabbed hold of him. “Flynn! You’re OK! But I’m too late,” she sobbed. “Ma is gone. Taken.”

  Flynn put a hand on the side of her face. “Yes, I’m alright – thanks to you. By order of the Second. But Deirdre...of course she’s gone. I know you’re serious wrecked, but this is the day of her descent.”

  Deirdre clutched at his hand. “No, Flynn. Today...the things I’ve seen...” She stopped. “Wait, wait, we can go back. We can save her.” She struggled to her feet and grabbed Flynn’s hand. She pulled him along with her, as fast as he could go through the crowd of exiting people. As they ran through the corridors, Deirdre explained all that had just happened.

  Flynn said, “Dee, I don’t know what you are talking about. Did something go wrong with one of your dream downloads? There is no level below this one.”

  Deirdre said, “But I was there, Flynn! And Maeve was there. I talked to her. And that’s where Ma is going right now. And we’re going after her.”

  But when they wound their way to the back passageways of Level 48, they hit a wall. There was no way around it; all of the intersections were blocked. Deirdre frantically felt up and down for any crevice that would let them through, but there was nothing. It was as if the entire section of hallway had been rebuilt while she was in the Ritual Room.

  “This is impossible. It was right here,” she said. “And all those people are down there...being put on a train to who knows where! I swear to you Flynn, they’re not going to Tír na nÓg.” She started banging on the wall and shouting, “Let me in. Let me in!”

  Flynn wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace. “Dee,” he whispered, “We have to be smart about this. I don’t understand what is happening. But if you say that you saw people at the bottom of the city being held in cages, then I believe you. Maybe we won’t figure it out today, but we will figure out what is going on. And when we do, the Ministry will have us to deal with.”

  She turned in his arms and pulled back just
far enough to look into his eyes. “We have to fight them, Flynn. With every weapon we can find. And we have to find my mother. Promise,” she implored, gazing up at him with fresh tears falling.

  “Promise,” he said, and he touched his forehead to hers.

  Then she whispered, “There’s something I haven’t told you yet. My mother and Maeve sent someone to help us. His name is Roenin.”

  Still with his eyes closed, Flynn said, “Good. We’re going to need all the allies we can find. And Dee. There’s something I haven’t told you.” Then he opened his eyes, looked into hers and said, “You asked me what I wanted when we find Blue Sky. All I want is to be with you. I don’t care what’s out there. As long as we’re together.” He pulled her into a close embrace.

  Deep down on the hidden levels, the walls of the great city rumbled with laughter. A warm, moist wind blew through the hallways of Level 49, almost as if the breath of some great creature was being exhaled. And this wind, as it blew, took on the quality of a metallic voice. “Deirdre Callaghan. At last, fortune blooms like a flower. How long it has been since I was surprised?” the voice mused to itself. On the level below, even the Great Spider attacked its work on the ritual jumpers more joyfully.

  In the upper levels of the city, a man in a white lab coat sat at his desk. The holo screen played the recording of Flynn in the quarantine room on the day of his audience with the Second. He watched Flynn pace, lay down, and pace some more. Then the screen went blank. The Director reloaded the file from the cloud archive, but again it went dark. Twelve minutes were missing from the file. “That’s impossible,” he whispered to himself. “The archive is a perfect record.”