by Sonador Snow
“Let's try again.” He stood in front of the oldest of the captured men. “Where's the entrance to your base?”
“I'd rather die than tell you that.”
“Your wish.” In the space of only a few seconds, Lucifer broke the necks of the two remaining men, and suddenly three dead bodies lay at his feet.
Gabriel looked at him critically and, with a firm voice, said, “We could have read their minds to find the answers we need. You know that.”
“Are you questioning my methods or authority?”
“No, I just…”
“Then shut up.” Lucifer drew a hand through his soft blond hair. “I know where their base is. The first boy I killed glanced numerous times at the big lake over there; he was waiting for help. Now follow me.”
The eight flying figures glided close to the blue surface below and, once they reached the approximate center of the lake, they changed direction. Using the little fuel left in their wings, they rose high above the water and looked at the surrounding area carefully.
Lucifer looked down for a full minute and, in a very calm voice, said, “We found them.”
The archangels waited to hear what he was going to order next. Lucifer sighed and, in a booming voice that echoed for miles around, said, “Brothers, the time for our rise to the positions we are destined to take has finally come. The only obstacle in our way is the people below us. These rebels and their organization must disappear from the face of the planet, our planet. I don't want anyone to show mercy, brothers. We're here to rule the humans, not to sympathize with them.”
The seven figures around him gave a short shout, then Lucifer gave his orders, “Gabriel, Michael, Jegudiel and Barachiel will go down and attack the city. The rest of us will wait here, and if you need us just call. I'm sure you are more than capable of penetrating their fortress.”
Bringing the wings close to their bodies, the four named archangels dropped like stones towards the water's surface. They showed enviable flying ability when hitting the brakes of their engines to stop right above it. The short-muzzle machine guns strapped across their backs were in their hands now. Using his extraterrestrial abilities to unlock all kind of doors, Jegudiel concentrated, and after a minute, the panel just under the water surface clicked. Doors opened up, revealing a staircase that was leading down.
The deafening sound of an alarm spread all over the area. The four men didn't waste time and, with their guns ready, stormed inside, disappearing out of sight of their four brothers watching from above. In seconds, gunshots, panicked human cries and pounding feet joined the piercing siren.
* * *
Jinhun was leading Taylor through the chaos of the swamps with confidence and at a very fast pace. They had made good ground since descending from the mountain, and the Chinaman was confident that by now the Indian militaries had lost their trail.
Something else bothered Jinhun much more. Every time a clearing towards the lake opened, he stared hard at the four big figures of unknown origin hovering right above their base.
Suddenly, something made Jinhun stop in his tracks. Thick smoke started rising up into the sky from pretty much where the entrance of the underground city was.
“Someone's attacking out city,” he said and sprang forward.
Taylor followed him only to shout while pulling his shoulder back, “Stop!”
Jinhun turned to face him. On his face, one could see a strange mixture of surprise and anger, “What do you mean?”
“Think for a minute. You have tens of thousands of people in your Base. If they can't deal with whoever the attackers are, how can we two do that?”
“I must say there's reason in what you're saying, but I can't just sit here and watch as my friends are killed one by one.”
“I never suggested such a thing, but we need a plan.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“First, tell me what we were going to use to reach the city? You mentioned earlier that we're very close to our transport.”
“It's a catamaran, genius development of our engineers and scientists. It's a two-seat, amphibian-type boat that can move both on and under water.”
“That sounds great. How far it is?”
“Just over there, in the tall grass.” Jinhun pointed left, a short distance from where they were. After that his eyes narrowed as, coming from the lake, the smoke became darker and thicker.
Taylor dragged him back from his worrying thoughts. “Okay, then our first goal is to make it to this catamaran of yours. Come on, let's speed things up.” He led the way. Left with no choice or time, Jinhun simply followed.
They walked carefully through the few open areas they had to cross and talked quietly.
“Who do you think found us?” Jinhun asked.
“It's very likely to be the Indians, but unfortunately my instinct tells me that it's more likely to be a much fiercer and ruthless enemy.”
“ATU,” Jinhun said with dread in his voice.
“Maybe, but we must focus on our actions and not think about possibilities. Are there other entrances or exits from the underground city?”
“There is only this entrance from the lake, but in the lowest level there are evacuation tunnels.”
“Where do they lead to?” The two of them stopped at that point to observe the last big patch of open land before they reached the hidden catamaran. Jinhun kept talking as they sat motionless and looked around.
“They split in four but only two lead to safety. The other two we made only to slow down any possible pursuers. They actually lead to dead ends even deeper underground. The two exits of the evacuation tunnels are in the east and west end of the swamps.”
“And we're approaching the lake from the north.” Taylor stated the obvious.
“Yeah, we're pretty much at a similar distance to the two exits, but I'm not interested in them. I want to help inside.”
“Stop it!” Taylor's voice suddenly sounded sharp. “If someone escapes the attack, they will come out of these tunnels, not from the main entrance. Do you have any idea which tunnel the survivors are more likely to choose?”
“It doesn't matter. In fact I'm pretty certain that Masterson and the others will split the people in two groups. This way at least one of them will get a chance to save themselves even if they are chased.”
Taylor decided that they were alone, and the two of them walked out in the open and, with great haste, headed directly towards the tall grass ahead.
He asked, “Is there a gathering point if this is the likely scenario?”
“Under the mountains. In between the next two peaks to the one we went over, there is a very long network of caves. Some of them lead all the way to China. Our people have old maps of the chaos of crevices and lava tunnels there, and somewhere in the middle of this world of darkness there is an ancient temple. The locals believe that it was built thousands of years ago by an extinct race of giants, and they never venture near it. According to our evacuation plan, everyone that survives must gather there.”
“That's good. All logic suggests that we should head that way straight away.”
“No!” Jinhun stopped in his tracks and looked at Taylor.
“Calm down. I don't like the idea either but that's the logical course of action. Still, I want to know who we're dealing with. What about this catamaran? You said it can travel underwater?” They were nearly at the tall grass.
“That's right. It's pretty much a hybrid between a boat and miniature submarine. It's moving via electromotors built inside the two stabilizers. The transition from the two possible ways of travel is dead simple. The platform with the passengers simply shifts on its hydraulic shoulders, and this way you end up under water. It can go as low as fifty meters below the surface.”
They entered the tall grass at this moment, and Jinhun took the lead while continuing his explanations. “The air when you're under is coming through pipes that are connected to compressors that produce oxygen. Using oxygen bottles
is not needed.”
“It all sounds great. How long it will take us to reach the lake from here?”
“It depends how we travel. On the surface we can travel at up to twelve knots, but under water, the maximum speed is only five. Also have in mind that the motors allow us no more than ten hours of power. Here we are.”
Jinhun twisted his body in between a cluster of swamp grass only to reach an area covered by smelly mud and straw from dead grass. Without any hesitation, he jumped in the middle of this disgusting mixture, his body sank up to his chest, and, without any remorse, he started searching for something with his right hand. It took him a minute, but then a thunk came from below him. Suddenly, the clear water surface just five feet in front of them became alive. With the smoothness of a swan, an elegantly shaped blue catamaran emerged from underneath the surface. Obviously, Jinhun had released some weight that had held it down.
The two of them swam the short distance to the machine, a perfect opportunity for Jinhun to get rid of the mud, although he was left with the smell. Without much difficulty, they pulled themselves onto the flat stabilizers and, in only five minutes, they were already travelling towards the center of the swamps.
Taylor was pleased to find out that their transport was virtually silent, and apart from the sound made by the shifting water, the catamaran was gliding without making any other noise. The two men sat behind each other in the small cabin. Before they set off, they agreed to stop once they got closer to the lake and discuss how they'd proceed from there.
Despite the smooth moving catamaran and Jinhun's great knowledge of the swamps, it took them just short of three hours before they actually made it to the last mangroves before the big lake. The last of these hours, they travelled under water as a precaution. They finally stopped in between the countless roots of the mangroves. They ceased the motors to save energy, which made the catamaran pop up to the surface. Jumping on the solid branches, they made their way to the edge from where they were able to see the whole lake. They carefully showed only their heads above the leaves.
The strange flying birds Jinhun had noticed earlier were gone. Also, they noticed that the smoke that was coming from the entrance had nearly stopped and only a thin black line was rising up towards the clear sky when they looked.
“Strange,” Taylor whispered.
“What?”
“By now, this whole lake should have been swarming with soldiers and military equipment. They couldn't have missed the unnatural activity and smoke over the lake on their satellites, even if they didn't initiate the attack.”
“You're right, something's not right.”
“He wants everyone dead,” Taylor said with pain in his voice. “It's the ATU that attacked your city.” He placed a comforting hand on Jinhun's shoulder.
The Agency for Tracking the Untraceables was the only organization on the planet that, according to the international agreement from ten years earlier, had power and right to give orders pretty much all over the world.
“What are we gonna do now?” Jinhun asked.
“We'll wait here a bit longer. Someone must come out or appear. I want to know who we're up against.” As they talked, there was no sign of life wherever they looked and the lake's surface looked tranquil and quiet.
“What about going closer. My friends?”
“The best we can do for them is to find out who we're facing and, after that, to make our way to this cave you mentioned and join the survivors there. I'm sure many made it.” Taylor couldn't know that, but he felt obliged to say it as Jinhun was shaking his head and rubbing his forehead.
The Chinaman couldn't argue with the sense of this course of action and, despite his burning desire to go to the entrance and check what was going on, he agreed to this plan.
Their attention was attracted shortly after by something that flew out of the city's smoking entrance at great speed. By the time the two men contemplated the fact that they were seeing a flying man – from the distance they were standing they couldn't tell that he was using the newest military invention – two more men flew out of the lake.
“What the hell is that?” Jinhun rubbed his eyes.
“I really hope they are not some freaks of nature, but I'm ready to say that it must be some kind of innovative device they're using to fly. After all, it's not only the Yuyuan that have talented scientists.”
“Are we attacking them?”
“Trust me, there's definitely something more to them than just the means to fly around. The fact that they were sent here on their own without the support of the militaries shows you how dangerous they must be.”
At that moment, a sound coming from their right made them turn. Two black helicopters emerged on the horizon, heading in a straight line towards the lake. Within a minute, they were able to recognize the emblem of the Indian Army on their sides.
“Come on, we must get out of here. In no time, this entire area will be swarming with soldiers, and after that it will be virtually impossible for us to get out unnoticed.” Taylor gently pressed Jinhun's shoulders and slid back down the branches towards the catamaran.
They spent the next two hours carefully making their way west through the swamps. Three times Jinhun had to quickly submerge to avoid helicopters flying over their heads; but, at least on the ground, everything stayed quiet. Unfortunately, the constant stops and changes of travel mode emptied the energy motors much quicker than expected, and eventually they were forced to abandon the machine without being able to make it to the end of the swamps.
They tried to cover the catamaran as best they could inside a thick bunch of swamp grass and then continued on foot. Jinhun lived up to his word from earlier; his masterful leadership helped them to advance surprisingly quickly through the treacherous terrain.
They just about reached the end of the swamps in an hour. All that separated them from the thick forest ahead was one last stretch of open grassland that they decided to cross as quickly as possible. The two of them had covered about three hundred yards, half the distance, on the open field when a platoon of Indian soldiers walked out of the woods right in front of them. Jinhun and Taylor stopped in their tracks and looked at each other helplessly. They were standing in the open with no cover in sight.
Sixteen
The moment the alarm went off Carolina jumped off her chair and, taking her father's hand, she joined the rest in the communication center, scanning with fearful eyes the many screens broadcasting live picture from different parts of the city.
Masterson, Apalikov and Fukuzawa were shouting commands left and right to try and get some order, while Hans Grossmayer rushed through the doors and headed towards the upper levels. Carolina pulled her father to one corner and, with a firm gesture, told him to sit there; and then she let go of him and hurried to catch up with Grossmayer.
A minute later, Grossmayer and Carolina were running side by side along the stone path of the lower living quarters. Above them, they were able to clearly distinguish gunshots, painful human shouts and loud baby cries. A thick smell of smoke started to fill the massive underground cavity.
Just as they reached one of the elevators, a loud explosion echoed through the space, sending strong tremors like waves all around the enclosed space. The two lifted their heads to see that the upper floors of the tall skyscrapers had caught fire, and a bright and very dangerous rain of burning debris was fast heading their way.
“We must go up and see what's going on,” Carolina said while banging on the button of the elevator until its doors opened. They stepped back.
Both Carolina and Grossmayer took a step back as the heavily injured body of Wong Wei collapsed out of the elevator. He somehow stood on his knees, but his head slumped helplessly down on his chest and two constant trickles of blood colored the stones around him. His right hand still had a machine gun strapped to it, but it stood helpless and in an unnatural position next to his body.
After the initial shock, they rushed to help him. Doctor Grossmay
er gently laid him back on the stones, holding his head in his palm.
“Run,” Wong's voice was very weak. “We… can't… stop… them,” he barely managed to say.
“Who's attacking us?” Grossmayer asked.
“De…mons.” Wong's eyes remained open after the last syllable. His eyes lost their life, and Grossmayer gently put his head down and, drawing a trembling hand over his face, closed them.
The old but very strong man stood up and said to Carolina, “Come on, we must get back down. We need to launch evacuation.”
Burning debris reached them, and the feeling of desperation increased as they felt as if they stood in the bottom of hell. Above them, the flames had caught more than half of the skyscrapers already.
“There are so many people up there,” Carolina said looking up.
“I know, but we can't help them. We must save the ones we can and everything we need for our plan. Come on.”
The two ran back towards the communication center while gunshots and painful human cries continued to echo all around the cavity. The roofs of the houses around them started catching fire as they reached the end of the stone path. There they stumbled on two other running people. Carolina hugged Fabiana, while Ian MacGeady only nodded to Grossmayer, and the four of them continued together.
The four of them rushed into the big room only to find major chaos. People were shouting at each other, others were banging on black screens that had stopped providing pictures from different sectors of the city, while Masterson and Apalikov tried to shout meaningful orders left and right.
Carolina was pleased to see that her father was where she left him and only observed the atmosphere around them. She joined him as he asked, “What's going on?”
“We're under attack; they already breached most of our defenses. We'll have to evacuate.”
“What can I do?” Ademar Gamejro asked.
“Masterson, what could we do?” She pulled the American architect to her just as he rushed near them.
He looked at her face for a second and then barked, “Activate the explosives.” After that he was gone to help Akio Fukuzawa with everything as he needed to be able to activate his virus in two days' time.