by C. M. Bacon
I leaned against the cold wall, taking deep breaths and coughing up a mix of smoke and seawater.
“Perry, turn around. We aren’t alone,” Arvin said.
I turned to face thirty men, most of them muscular and all of them angry. They looked like some kind of military force. They wore dark green, steel-toed boots tied with gray nylon laces. Green and gray camouflage covered them from the hats on their heads to the boots at their ankles. Any exposed skin was painted the same green and gray camouflage. Names were embroidered onto badges on their chests, and various patches were stitched onto each of their sleeves. An eight-inch serrated black knife was slid into each soldier’s belt. The room we were in was little more than a rusty box. Its iron walls were lit by ten bright bulbs hanging by electrical cords from the ceiling. The one who led us to safety turned back to face us.
The man’s voice echoed in the bunker. “Black or silver?”
Arvin and I looked at each other.
“Black or silver?” He repeated his question, his voice growing impatient.
“I’m Perry, and he’s Arvin.”
“Black. Or. Silver?”
“Black!” Arvin blurted.
Arvin motioned with his eyes to the left arms of the soldiers. On their sleeves, an embroidered Black Viper on a black circular patch formed a loop with its mouth swallowing its tail. If it weren’t for the intensity of the lights, I wouldn’t have seen it.
“Then you’ll live another day,” the man said. He looked down at Arvin. “I was informed all children had been evacuated to Pod 42.”
“My little brother missed the last transport,” I said.
Arvin looked up at me. “Little brother?”
“Go with it, Arvin. Do you want to argue with thirty armed men in camouflage?”
“Yep. I’m his little brother,” said Arvin. “Mom’s sure to be angry I missed the last transport to Pod 42. My big brother left the front lines to find me.”
I was impressed. Arvin’s getting good at this.
“Why are you wearing those ridiculous clothes?” the man asked, pointing to our tunics.
Arvin was quick. “These are our pajamas.”
“I wanted to make my little brother feel safe,” I said. Five points for me.
“The silvers scare me,” said Arvin, grabbing ahold of my hand and whining like a frightened child.
“Don’t press your luck, Arvin,” I said, whispering.
“They scare me too, son,” the soldier said, kneeling down to comfort Arvin. “But you’re safe now. Those vile beasts can’t harm you if you have these.”
The soldier beckoned another to bring forward two circular shields about half Arvin’s height. They were matte black discs with two side-by-side eye holes in the middle and two black straps on one side.
“Vile beasts?” I asked.
“You disagree?” the soldier said, rising to look me in the eyes, our noses three inches apart.
“No. But I’ve only heard rumors. Can you tell us anything else?”
“Those vicious creatures started this war by fracturing thirteen of our pods. They eat our flesh for pleasure, steal our water, and destroy our homes. They can’t be reasoned with. They won’t negotiate. They are pure evil.”
“They sound even worse than Mom told us,” Arvin said, trying to keep our story going. He let the black shields rest against his body. “What do they look like? We’ve never seen one.”
“Then your parents have protected you well,” he said. “They mock us by looking like us. They dress in similar clothes and speak lies through their forked serpents’ tongues. You’ll know them by the Silver Viper insignia on their sleeves and the silver shields on their arms.”
“How will you defeat them?” Arvin asked. The bunker shook as another missile struck the ground outside.
“Let the military focus on strategy. We’ll form a special detachment and take you to the children’s shelter,” he said, turning to his unit. “Lieutenant Black 3, take Black 4, 5, 6. Escort these children to Pod 42.”
“Aye, Commander Black 1,” they said, saluting.
Instead of lifting their hands to their foreheads, they made an “okay” sign with their right index finger and thumb, pressing it over the Black Viper on their left sleeve patches. Commander Black 1 stood aside, letting the group form.
I couldn’t tell them apart. They all wore the same camouflage makeup, talked alike, carried the same black shields and serrated knives, and showed the same rage towards the enemy. Lieutenant Black 3 proceeded to form his detachment.
“Black 4 report.”
“Sir. Yes, Sir.” Black 4 stepped forward, clicking his heels as he stood to attention.
“Black 5 report.”
“Sir. Yes, Sir.” Black 5 stepped forward.
“Black 6 report.”
“Sir. Yes, Sir.” Black 6 stepped forward.
“The objective is to move these two boys to shelter within Pod 42.”
“Sir. Yes, Sir.” Black 4,5,6 acknowledged their orders.
“There are a lot of Silver Vipers between us and 42. Are you prepared to die?”
“Sir. Yes, Sir.”
“Move out.”
“Sir. Yes, Sir.” they all said, adorning camouflage packs and heading for the bunker door.
“Are we cleared to proceed, commander?” Black 3 asked.
“The enemy has ceased fire,” Black 1 said. “You are cleared to depart.”
Twenty-six soldiers returned to their planning and strategies as Arvin, and I followed behind our escort. As we exited the bunker, I looked up. The smoke had cleared, but where I thought there would be a sky, was something else.
“Lieutenant Black 3, what’s that?” I said, looking up as we passed beyond the wall.
“It’s a leaking fracture in this pod. Don’t worry. It’ll hold back the sea as long as it doesn’t sustain another direct hit.”
Coming to a halt, I grabbed Arvin’s shoulder. “Arvin, we’re under the sea.”
Arvin stopped to look up. We were below the surface in a transparent dome. It reached from the seafloor up to the waves, spanning an area the size of a small town. Seawater sprayed through the fractures like rain, falling onto the city below. The only light came from the surface a thousand feet above.
I could see the paths of roads and the shapes of buildings. Piles of clothes, shoes, and toys lined the streets and collected in the spaces between buildings. Everything was either burning or soaked in seawater. An eerie green glow highlighted the skeletons of broken buildings. They looked like bare trees in winter - bent and twisted in the battle to take them.
Our group walked single-file through a narrow corridor between the buildings and the dome’s bottom edge. I stretched out my right hand, gliding my fingertips along the smooth glass. My fingers made a squeaking sound like wet rubber on glass. The dome was massive; the round bottom seemed perfectly straight. If the other pods were like this, it would be a long walk to 42. As my and Arvin’s worried eyes met, I saw neither of us liked the idea.
“Black 3, how long will it take to reach Pod 42? Isn’t it far?” I asked.
“Two days. There are maintenance tunnels under the dome. They connect all Pods in a grid. They’re no problem to bypass,” Black 3 said, looking concerned.
“Is there a problem?”
“Silver Vipers occupy five pods connected to this one. So far, they’ve been attempting to breach pods through the primary surface tunnels. If they’ve discovered the maintenance tunnels, we’ll have an army of problems.”
“What if they have?”
“We’re about to find out,” Black 3 said, stopping at a steel hatch at the end of the corridor. “Black 5 and Black 6, if you will?”
Black 5 pulled, and 6 pushed, turning a large squeaking wheel on top of the hatch. It made a loud PISSSH as the pressure within expelled a stale gust of air, popping it open. Black 6 was first to climb down the ladder. He was followed by Black 5, Black 4, Arvin and I, and Black 3 into the tunnel. Bl
ack 3 pulled the hatch closed. He turned the wheel and locked it in place.
I thought, Not another tunnel.
“Detachment, proceed to target,” Black 3 said, walking forward to lead his men.
Emergency lights were working in the half-circle tunnel, shining a red light on everything and everyone. It was like walking through the bloody veins of an animal. Long black pipes of various diameters stretched across the ceiling and sides of the tunnel, going as far as I could see.
I stopped to examine my reflection in a puddle on the floor. My blonde hair looked as red as Arvin’s. He walked ahead of me, carrying his black shield. His hair had grown back more than a centimeter. It stuck out of his scalp among a few strands Iwa had missed. I ran to catch up with him.
“Arvin, did you get a gewgaw from the albinos?” I asked, whispering in his left ear.
“No. You?”
“No. We had the pelts, but we left them near the bunker.”
“Do you still have your weird coin?”
“Yeah. It’s in my pocket. Do you have your twisted wire?”
“Yep. Right here, safe and sound.”
“Have you seen that red-bellied brown snake?”
“No. You?”
“No. Not even a hiss.”
“One weird coin, one copper wire, no brown snake.”
“Inventory? Anything useful?”
“Yes and no. Ideas?”
I hunched my shoulders. “Not a clue.”
Black 3 stopped ahead at the intersection of three tunnels and raised his left hand in a fist. His team knelt down on one knee and pulled the serrated knives out of their belts.
I whispered ahead to Black 3. “What is it?” Black 6 turned his unblinking eyes to meet mine. In the glow of the emergency lights, his painted skin was black, and his eyes were red. He pressed the knife’s blade to his lips, “Shhhh.”
Water dripped from the tunnel ceiling. Droplets of water made little splashes as they landed in puddles and bounced off pipes. I counted the water drops and the breaths of the squad as they inhaled and exhaled in the red silence. Black 3 lowered his fist to his side, signaling the men to stand.
“Continue on target,” Black 3 said, stepping into the intersection.
I felt relieved as Arvin and I stood up to go. Arvin walked slightly ahead as we crossed the intersection into the next tunnel.
BOOSH!
The left intersection ahead of me exploded, sending Arvin forward into the second tunnel and me backwards into the first. The blast ripped the shield out of my hand, flinging it somewhere in the darkness. A cloud of red smoke filled the air.
“Ambush!” Black 3 said, shouting. “Move it, Black team. Go. Go. Go.”
BOOSH!
Another explosion tore open the right wall.
“Black 3 and 5 are down. Move it, Black 6.” Black 4 said, taking command of the last man. I heard footsteps splashing as they ran, taking Arvin into the tunnel without me. Their footsteps became faint until they disappeared, leaving me in silence to stumble around in the red smoke.
I whispered. My voice was softer than the water drops. “Arvin, Black 6, Black 4, where are you?” There was no answer. “I can’t see.” Water continued dripping from above as crumbling bricks hit the pipes, making music like chimes. Something bigger splashed to my right at the entrance to the third tunnel. “Arvin, is that you?” There was no answer through the red smoke.
Take him,” a man’s voice said. I was thrown onto the wet tunnel floor, my arms tied behind my back, and my eyes blindfolded. I struggled as they pulled me into the third tunnel.
“Where are you taking me?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Down Under
“Please don’t hurt me,” I said, pleading as they dragged me through the tunnel, my silk slippers splashing in the puddles. They untied my hands and placed them on the wet rung of a ladder.
“Climb.”
They kept me blindfolded as I was led up the ladder, out through a hatch, down a corridor, and into a room, slamming a creaking metal door behind me. My voice echoed “Who are you?” as they forced me into a chair, tying my hands again. “Where am I?”
A man’s low voice said, “Silver or Black?”
“I’m Perry.”
“Silver or Black?”
“Please don’t hurt me,” I said, unable to see my captors.
The man’s voice became louder, demanding I answer. “Silver. Or. Black?”
“Silver!” There was silence.
“Then you’ll live another day.”
My hands were untied from the chair, and my blindfold was removed. I raised my hand to shield my eyes from the intense light of ten bulbs hanging on electrical cords. My eyes opened to a familiar scene.
Thirty men stood, scowling in front of me. They wore dark gray, steel-toed boots tied with green nylon laces. Grey and green camouflage covered them from the hats on their heads to the boots at their ankles. Their skin was painted the same colors. Names were embroidered onto badges on their chests, and various patches were stitched onto their sleeves. A small circular silver patch was stitched onto their right sleeves. On it, an embroidered Silver Viper formed a loop with its mouth swallowing its tail. Each carried an eight-inch serrated silver knife and a silver shield with two eye holes in the middle.
The muscular man in front spoke. “I’m Commander Silver 1 of the Pod Defense Force. What were you doing following those Black Vipers?”
“I missed the last transport. The Black squad took my little brother, Arvin. I was chasing after them, trying to rescue him.”
“I saw the boy and thought as much. Those vile beasts have no honor. They started this war by fracturing thirteen of our pods. They eat our flesh for pleasure, steal our water, and destroy our homes.”
Not again. I thought. “I didn’t get a good look at them. What are they like?”
“They dress in similar clothes and speak lies through their forked serpents’ tongues. You’ll know them by the Black Viper insignia on their sleeves and the Black shields on their arms.”
Oh, Geez. “Have you tried to make peace with them?”
“They won’t negotiate. They can’t be reasoned with. They are pure evil.”
Where have I heard that before? “What about my brother? Can we rescue him?”
“Let the military focus on hostage situations. Children don’t belong in this war.” He turned to his team. “Lieutenant Silver 2, take Silver 7, 8, and 9. Form a special detachment and escort this civilian to shelter in Pod 24.”
“Aye, Commander Silver 1,” they said, making an “okay” sign with their left index finger and thumb, pressing it over the Silver Viper on their right sleeve patches.
“Silver 7, 8, and 9, report.” Silver 2 said, calling his squad to attention.
“Sir. Yes, Sir.” They all stepped forward, clicking their heels, standing to attention.
“The objective is to move this boy to shelter within Pod 24.”
“Sir. Yes, Sir.” Silver 7, 8, and 9 acknowledged their orders.
“There are a lot of Black Vipers between us and 24. Are you prepared to die?”
“Sir. Yes, Sir.”
Silver 2 walked over to me carrying one of their silver shields. “If you’re going to travel in silk pajamas, you’re going to need this.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant Silver 2.”
He turned to face his squad. “Move out.”
Lieutenant Silver 2 proceeded to unlatch the rusted bunker door, opening it with a squeak. We entered a large courtyard beyond the bunker. Another dome. This one looked like the last: the same size and shape and housed the same smashed buildings. The same eerie green light filtered down through the water high above. I ran ahead to Silver 2 and tugged on his sleeve.
“Silver 2, how long will it take to reach Pod 24.”
“About three days. The Black Vipers mainly use the maintenance tunnels, so we must pass through the primary surface tunnels. The route takes a little longer, but it’s much
safer.”
“What if we need to use the maintenance tunnels?”
“I wouldn’t suggest it. We’ve placed booby-traps at all tunnel intersections.”
“Won’t you force the Black Vipers into the surface tunnels?”
“We’re about to find out.”
We walked, staying close to the wall, taking care to avoid passing through any open areas. After four hours, we hadn’t left the pod where we’d started. My fingers made the same squeaking sound as I slid them along the dome’s glass, feeling how wet it had become as fractures above sprayed. Water rolled down the glass like glistening streams in the eerie green light. I listened to water drip, dinging on steel beams and splashing into large puddles. The occasional white light would flash like lightening as the power surged on and off, never staying alive for more than a second. Hundreds of books were strewn on the ground. Their bindings were either soaked or smoldering. A hospital gurney laid broken on its side - the mattress bloody and burnt. There were no explosions here; the battle for this pod had clearly been lost to the Silvers. All that remained was us and the silence.
“The primary transport tunnel is 200 meters ahead,” Silver 2 said, slowing his pace to single steps as we approached the tunnel.
The power surged, illuminating the tunnel’s clear glass for a second before fizzling out. The tunnel was a semi-circle like the tunnels below, but these were made of glass like the dome, crossing from pod to pod like a highway under the sea. Where the pod and the tunnel joined, seawater poured like a waterfall.
“Silver 2, aren’t you worried about the tunnel? I know it’s strong, but won’t the glass still break?”
“Glass? No, kid,” he said, shaking his head. “All the pods are made from twenty-foot thick aluminum oxynitride. Didn’t they teach you kids about transparent aluminum in school?”
“Yeah, sure. I forgot. That’s all.”
“It’s tough stuff, but it can’t withstand multiple missile strikes.”
“Why would Black Vipers occupy the pods if they wanted to destroy them?”
“As long as the pods can be repaired, they’ll do anything to take them. We’ll scuttle all 100 Pods before we give up the fight.”