Heather was tidying the classroom. Logan glanced around to ensure they were alone. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“Can we use my cabin? I’m desperate for a cup of tea.”
Heather’s accommodation area was decorated with children’s pictures. Books and papers piled in haphazard stacks and a faint incense scent hung in the air. She tidied away the clutter, clearing a space on the table between two chairs.
“Can I get you some tea?”
“That would be great, thanks.”
“Only green tea I’m afraid. Turo hates it.”
Logan was slow to make the connection of Turo to Sergeant Ortiz.
“He hates people using Turo. Says they all pronounce it like dumb Americans.”
As she boiled water and placed tea bags in cups, he tried to imagine the dynamic of her relationship with Ortiz. Heather opened a small green packet of cookies, placing them on a white plate. It was a simple gesture that pleased Logan, even though he was sick of the hard brown cookie.
“Dr Sarin has Survivor Complex,” Heather said, placing a cup in front of him. “And no one likes their friends to succeed above them.”
“I didn’t come here to talk about Sarin. There’s lake water in the mine. I’m running the calculations but I think there has been a breach since we arrived. The lake is flooding the mine.”
Her face flickered briefly with fear before settling back to its usual calm exterior. “Are we safe?”
“I’m going to set up a barrier to divert the flow and track penetration. But ultimately our time here is over.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“We all need you now more than ever. I’m going to lead an expedition out of the mine and find out what’s going on. While I’m away you’re the leader.”
“Will Turo be going with you?”
“I need him. You have to keep going while we’re gone. I imagine it will take a few weeks without vehicles but if we’re not back after one month then start going up.”
Logan stood, squeezed her shoulder and left. He opened the door and found Sally Sarin waiting for him, leaning against the rock face. He managed to plaster another convincing smile and ambled over to her.
“I’m sorry for what happened,” Logan said
“I don’t blame you. But please talk to him.”
“I will.”
“I understand the pressure and despair he feels at being down here. He still has a lot to offer the community.”
“I’ll speak to him. We all need each other, don’t worry Sally.”
Logan left her with an awkward hug, promising to bring the boys over for dinner later that evening. Walking away along the tunnel, he scanned the area ahead, glad there was no one else around who would want to talk.
Jarod sat in the workshop studying a map of the mine. Pencil lines and sketches scrawled across its surface. The room was dark except for a desk lamp that lit Jarod’s desk.
“I’m taking a team above ground to scout the area and find where we can go next.”
Jarod turned and walked away to his room at the end of the workshop. Logan was about to follow and ask him what was wrong, when he returned with a bag over his shoulder.
“Let’s go then,” he said.
“No my friend. You have to stay here.”
“I’m not staying here while you get into trouble out there. No way.”
“I need you here to keep things going in the mine. Our people need leaders. We have to stay hidden until I know it’s safe.”
“Sarin or Heather can keep things going here.”
“But no one that I would trust with my family like you.”
Jarod began to deflate in front of Logan, his shoulders sagging and head bowed. “I haven’t the strength to keep going. I’m dying without Demi. I’m a mess. I don’t even want to wake up on a morning.”
Logan swallowed and thought of Cate. He knew how Jarod felt. Every time he looked at the cabin bed. Every time he saw his children.
He threw out an arm and grabbed Jarod in a bear hug. “You’re the strongest man I know. If we’re going to get through this then we all need you. The old you.”
“I’ll give my life for the people here. But when you get back, I’m leaving.”
The main lights flickered into life and Sean walked into the workshop. He eyed them both and gave a wink. “You want me to wait outside?”
“I’ve just been taking to Jarod about what we’re going to do.”
“Grow gills and live underwater?” Sean asked.
“Unless you can show us how to do that, its plan B, I’m taking a team out of here and I want you with me.”
“Engineer, I thought you’d never ask.”
#
The central cavern filled with miners for the final meeting Logan would address. This time when he arrived, the cheers were muted as he climbed the stage. Hushed whispering and finger pointing. He smiled and glanced around at the assembled audience. Recognizing all their faces, he remembered the sea of strangers at his first speech. The noise abated when he reached the platform.
“Apologies for the short notice. Circumstances have conspired against us. We must begin the process of going back to the world. Our story here is coming to an end.”
He paused allowing his words to filter through the audience. Watching as the faces of the people below considered his words.
“I won’t lie to you. The mine has been breached by lake water. We’re safe here for now but eventually, the mine may be flooded.
The crowd ceased their chattering and silence descended on the gathering. Those faces closest now looked confused, staring blankly back at Logan.
“We must go back to the surface and rebuild our lives. But we can’t do that until we know what’s happened and what state the world is in. After all we have been through to rush now would be foolish. I’ll take on the task of discovering what is out there and I won’t be alone. Fourteen of our miners will be with me. Together we will not fail you, that’s my promise.”
He paused again to survey faces of the people he knew below. In their previous world, they could be taken for drug addicts or homeless. They had changed physically by such a large amount.
“While I’m away, Heather will take over my duties and I expect you to offer her the same support you’ve given me.”
The crowd gave a muted applause as Logan left the platform. He walked into the crowd of people to speak with as many as he could.
After an hour of questions and answers in the central cavern, Logan left with his boys. Gregor climbed onto his back and Adam leaned close into him, his arm looped through Logan’s.
Adam and Gregor collected their toys and games from his cabin and filled bags with food. They drove back to Cates parent’s accommodation, singing in the car on the way. When they arrived, Logan took them both in his arms.
“I need you boys to look after the mine for me,” he said.
“I will Dad,” Adam said.
“I won’t,” Gregor said.
Adam punched him on the arm. “You idiot.”
“Why not Gregor?” Logan asked.
“I want you to come back, you might not if it’s all okay here,” Gregor said.
“I promise you, I’ll come back. Then we’re going back to the house to dig up our treasure.”
Gregor screamed at the mention of treasure and Adam grappled him to the ground. They both kissed Logan goodbye at the door. As he walked away, Adam banged on the door and blew a kiss. Logan gulped hard, climbing back into the Jeep after blowing one back.
#
“We’ll see you off,” Jackson said, handing him a Geiger counter in a black bag. Inside was a yellow box with a protruding probe. He turned it on and moved the probe around the room hearing a consistent crackle of low pitch readings.
Logan was handed a combat suit. He dressed in the uniform but used his own boots, rejecting the offer of a new pair. His backpack contained a poncho, sleeping bag, spare set of combats and met
allic pouches of food. In the side pockets were ammunition, water bottles and field dressings. He was given an assault rifle that he slung over his shoulder and an automatic pistol that he holstered in his jacket.
“Where’s my weapon?” Sean asked.
“If you’re shooting then we’re already dead,” Ortiz replied.
“I’m not going into a zombie apocalypse without a gun. Have you ever seen a movie?”
Ortiz looked hopefully at Logan.
“Give him one. No ammunition.”
Sean snatched a pistol from Ortiz. “Admittedly I have been known to run with scissors but for fucks sake.”
Fully uniformed and equipped, they were an effective force. Whatever threat they faced, they were ready. When he thought no one was looking, Logan jammed the Ghost cloak, wrapped in a plastic bag, into his pack.
At the mine elevator, a large crowd gathered to watch as Jarod worked the controls and sent up an unmanned car. It rose then descended. After so many months, the operation fascinated the miners, even Logan stood mesmerized by the simple mechanical movement.
“Ready for you now,” Jarod said.
Logan shook his hand then squeezed into the car. Sean pushed in a welding rig. The crowd peered towards them and Logan held up a fist until they disappeared from view. The door was pulled across and the motor whined as it pulled them upwards.
The carriage rose steadily, wind noise too loud to hear anything that was said between the group. Sean caught Logan’s eye, giving him a thumbs up sign. Breathing in heavily, he looked up at the ceiling.
A few of the soldiers gave a muted cheer as the car slowed to a stop. Logan pulled open the doors to step into the ante chamber. The internal concrete walls showed no evidence of damage and the welded door was fixed in position, just as they had left it.
Sean lit the cutting torch and began to work on the door. A crack of light appeared and Logan put out his hand to feel it. Staring at the beam on his hand, fascinated as it widened then flooded the room. He copied others, putting on wrap round sunglasses.
“Ready to see a brave new world?” Sean said, standing back and pulling up his mask.
Logan turned the steel handle. It was stiff, giving way to more pressure then finally flapping open and blazing like a door to heaven.
The mine entrance building had been ripped away exposing the world outside. The sun was shining and despite the debris, the view was breathtaking. Delicious shades of color, scents of lake water, flowers and grass drew them out of the entrance at a run.
They surged forward in an unorganized rabble, not like a well trained military unit. Across the rubble and towards the knee high vegetation that bordered the entrance. Logan was intoxicated by colours, risking a lift of his glasses to see them in more detail. The sharp pain in his eyes forced him to pull them quickly down. He breathed fresh air, gulping it like he was drinking oxygen.
He spun around. Head leant backwards and arms out to his sides. A million acres of deep blue sky, covered in places with thin lines of white cloud like water ripples. He rolled his head to take it all in.
Sean appeared in front of him, grabbing his arms and laughing. “Look at the sky, look at the sky.”
Logan let Sean jump away and unhooked the Geiger counter from his backpack. He glanced up at the group who had taken their release in different ways. One soldier sat crying in the grass with his face cupped in his hands. Four others were running towards the road, their energy unleashed by the open space. Ortiz was following the fleeing soldiers, shouting at them to ‘fall in’.
The Geiger counter static was consistent at a steady low pitch. The instrument panel readings were slightly higher than in the mine but no threat to human life. Logan breathed deeply then heard a whistling sound. He cocked his head but couldn’t identify the source.
A now composed Sean was welding the mine entrance closed. Ortiz returned with the soldiers who were forming up in two disheveled ranks.
“Can you hear that?” Logan asked.
Ortiz seemed confused then spun round to check their surroundings. “Hear what?
Logan waited for Sean to return and asked him the same question. Before Sean could reply, the world tilted and he staggered to recover his balance.
“Let’s g-,” Logan slurred. He blinked to maintain focus at Sean who had grabbed him by the shoulders. Sean was opening and closing his mouth but no words were coming out. He seemed to be nodding in slow motion. Logan’s mouth moved in slow motion as he tried to speak. A noise like vomit spewed from his mouth and he fell.
#
Logan jerked awake, wincing as a bolt of pain lanced through his temple. The pain receding almost as quickly as it struck. Massaging his temples, he became aware he was not outside the mine. The knee high grass was gone. He grabbed two fists of golden sand and let the particles fall between his fingers. Water lapped onto his legs and he scrambled to his feet.
Impossible.
It was a desert island surrounded by ocean. Thick green trees led up the sides of a slate colored volcano. A stout castle carved on the top. A place he spent nearly two years imagining.
Stronghold.
The normally bright blue sky was leaden grey. Shafts of sunlight penetrated clouds like golden spears. He winced in pain at their brilliance.
Rubbing his chest, he scanned the island. It was different. Shadows lurked between the palm trees, their tops swaying in harmony. A light wind cooled his face with a metallic aroma. It blew harder and picked up particles of sand that stung his eyes. Water lapped over his feet as the ocean rolled with increasing energy. It pulled at him, dragging away sand around his feet.
Logan splashed back on the beach and a movement caught his eye. Although the beach bar was distant, behind the counter he could see a figure. A crack of lightning illuminated the beach for a split second and he saw an unfamiliar shape. Sat on a bar stool was a man.
“Who are you?” Logan shouted, approaching slowly.
The man sat impassively, stiffly, hands resting on the counter. His eyes followed Logan as he approached.
“Who are you?”
It was like staring at himself in the mirror. Logan held out his hands in front of the imposters face, waving and clicking his fingers. There was no reaction. A gust of wind brushed his face and the sky seemed to darken.
He turned towards the man and reached for him. His arms were caught, as hands suddenly jerked upwards. The hands burned his arms and held them in a vice grip.
“Who are you?” Logan screamed.
His scream was carried by a shrieking wind. Echoing his words and repeating the question over and over. The face remained impassive but its eyes grew brighter. Sparkling green at first becoming a deep searing red.
Logan twisted away and screamed. “Leave me alone”.
The wind repeated his scream. It tore at him and pulled him away from the attacker. He drew in a breath and clenched his fists.
A tidal wave rose out of the sea and powered towards them. For the first time, the man turned his head to look at the approaching wave. He looked back at Logan.
Before he could say anything, the wave crashed down upon them.
#
“Can you hear me?”
“He’s unconscious. What happened?”
“I don’t know. He just froze then fell.”
Logan drifted back to consciousness to see Sean’s face hovering above his own. The rest of their group formed a circle around him, all staring intently.
“You have breakfast this morning?” Sean asked.
Reaching up, he wiped away a wet slug of mucus from his top lip and his hand came away bloody. “I’m okay, probably just a reaction to the change in pressure.”
Logan lay back and made a mental checklist of his body from head to toe. The headache was subsiding but his body was sluggish and energy level’s low. He climbed to his feet and brushed dust away from his combat trousers.
“Want to go back?” Ortiz asked.
“I’m fine.” Logan re
plied. “Lead on.”
A line of broken SUVs lay across the mine access road. They were scattered in a haphazard formation as if dropped from the sky. The vehicles were covered in a black sludge compacted in layers. Logan poked his finger into the dark material until it struck the metallic frame of the car below.
The soldiers fanned out in front, walking north through a copse of trees. Logan operated his legs to keep moving but his thoughts were disjointed. Sean walked alongside him, his backpack bumping noisily. Ortiz dropped back and tightened straps, wedging a scarf into a rattling pocket. The sounds and actions seemed odd, as if they were a strange species of animal. Logan shook his head and took in deep breaths as he walked.
Ortiz suddenly crouched and pulled Sean down. Logan took a knee and watched as four soldiers rushed forward and took up firing positions. They were aiming towards buildings on the other side.
“What is it?” Logan whispered.
“Scouting. Let them clear the buildings then we can follow.”
“Any sign of people?”
“No tracks here or outside the mine,” Ortiz said.
There were muffled sounds of movement ahead. A door opened and closed, then silence.
Private Rodgers ran towards them in a crouch. “All clear. Four bodies been dead for some time.”
Ortiz stood and Logan followed him towards the buildings. They skirted to the left and arrived at a road junction. Soldiers on either side crouched in firing positions. Ortiz made a gesture to continue and they followed the road away from the mine.
For the next hour the roads were clear and the group maintained a steady pace, occasionally stopping for random house searches. It appeared everyone had either left in a hurry or lay decomposing in their houses.
Logan walked in a daze, his conscious mind only barely able to read the road and keep moving. He swayed, unable to concentrate. The grassy road gave way to sand below his feet. He prodded Sean and pointed out the terrain, but the world around him shimmered then become clear. He was back on the grassy road.
He could make out the lake over the horizon to his right. It kept him focused on their direction. Ortiz called a halt to wait for a returning scout and the group stopped for a rest break.
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