by Stefan Bolz
where the children of twilight are born?"
[—The Midlands]
"I don't feel good."
"You'll be okay. It's just a fever."
"And I can't breathe."
"It's just a cold, sweetie. You'll be back on your feet in no time. No time at all."
"How do you know?
"I just know."
"But what if I'm going to die?"
"You're not going to die. I'll make sure of it."
"How?"
"Because I'm your mother. And I can do things others can't do. I'm very, very powerful."
"Can you make it go away?"
"Yes. It might take a couple of days, during which you can rest, and I'll be right here next to your bed. And you'll feel better in no time."
"You're going to be here?"
"I'm not going anywhere, sweetie."
"What about Daddy?"
"He'll be here too."
"I'm glad you're here."
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere... not going anywhere... going anywhere—"
"Mommy? Are you there? Mom? Mom, where are you—?"
The elevator cabin crashes into the ground. Aries's scream is swallowed up by the dust the impact generates. It enters her nose and mouth, clogs up her airways until she is unable to breathe. Why is it so dark?
"Mom?"
The thought echoes, dissipates, and then comes back, only to slip away again. Aries feels cold stone under her feet when she stands. Out of the darkness that surrounds her, a shape appears in the distance—a golden silhouette against the dark background; a triangle with a circle inside. A three-dimensional shape is centered within the circle. The geometrical form slowly comes closer. The shape in the center reminds her of something she can't grasp. Fan blades, maybe. Yes. Like the ones in the primary air duct, only not as rudimentary and utilitarian. The blades are translucent, as if made of finely woven strings of individual threads. She can't make out the material.
As it comes closer, Aries realizes that the shape doesn't move toward her but rather she walks toward it. The sand under her feet extends in all directions. The golden light the object emits illuminates the surrounding area. Two immense, curved pillars enclose the object from either side, leaving a large opening on top. The pillars seem to be part of the rock, as if chiseled out of an existing structure of granite. There are markings on its sides, hieroglyphs in a language she does not recognize.
The closer Aries comes, the more she realizes the object's massive proportions. It must be at least twenty stories high and as wide. And now she can see that the three-dimensional blades in its center are not made of any material but rather of thousands of individual strings of light. The blades begin to pulsate slightly, accompanied by a low humming. At first it sounds as if the humming is generated by human voices, but as it increases in volume Aries realizes that it’s generated by the object itself.
The blades in the center begin to rotate around their own axis, held by an invisible force within the circle. Then the circle itself begins to turn, slowly at first, but increasing in speed with each revolution. And then, the triangular shape on the outside begins to spin, its corners reaching far into the space.
The sheer power of it all causes Aries to stagger backward. The light inside the center increases with its speed, illuminating the ruins of what must have been a city, abandoned a long time ago. In the distance, far behind the object, large pillars reach up toward an invisible ceiling. The light of the fan blades forms intricate patterns that flow into each other. As the speed of the blades increases, the patterns slowly disappear, giving way to a single beam of white light.
The light engulfs Aries completely, blinding her to her surroundings. She opens her arms, welcomes it, floats in its embrace, feels her mind extend into it, surrendering to its pull. The humming sound dissipates until there is silence. She feels completely weightless, as if floating downward inside a high dome.
A cry cuts into the silence. Then another, and yet another.
Shhh, no. Don't disturb me now, she thinks. I'm floating. It's so... beautiful—
The cry is loud and piercing. Relentless. Demanding her attention. The pull from the light is so strong, she wants to give in, let it take her, carry her, envelop her.
Aries Free-Born, a distant voice seems to say. Come with me.
Leave me be, she thinks. Not now.
There is only now. Not later. Just now. There is no time. You must come with me.
Who are you? she thinks, as she floats toward the light.
Or all is lost.
I just want to sleep.
But you can't! Please! Come with me.
She remembers something. A dark, circular shaft dropping into nothingness. The memory is being pushed away each time the pressure on her chest increases.
I don't want to. Please let me go!
Aries looks into the light, sees it for what it is, feels its gentle pull toward her, its welcoming radiance urging her to join it. For a split second she senses the weight of her choice. Then, slowly, she turns away from the light and toward the darkness behind her. The pressure in her chest increases suddenly. There's no air.
Stop it! I can't breathe if you do that! she thinks. But the other, the one on the outside, doesn't react. The rhythmic pounding continues.
It hurts me! she screams, even though no sound escapes her mouth. Something sharp pierces her back with each push. Let me go! she wants to say, but she can't speak.
The blurry outline above her moves rhythmically, its hands pushing into her chest. His face comes closer every once in a while. He says something that she can't hear. His lips form words. One word. A name. And then she hears it as it echoes in the small room she's in. The water in her stomach shoots out and for a moment she can't see anything. Then she is being pulled onto her side. Pain engulfs her. Her lungs scream inside her body. The man smiles and cries and laughs all at once. Then the breath comes and Aries Egan is back among the living.
* * *
//Pulled from Mainframe**S-0t9nn_nf44. Recording 1_49931_4887 1 A.R.C//
- How can this happen?
- We're not sure. Waiting for—
- How can this possibly happen?
- We don't have the full—
- Three units and two kill drones.
- Yes. I'm afraid so.
- Three units and two kill drones and you don't know where they are?
- That... seems to be the case.
- That seems to be the case? A fifteen-year-old girl and a seventy-one-year-old man and you let them slip through your fingers?
- My apologies.
- They were there and then... they were not there... anymore? That's what your report says.
- Yes.
- Find them. And activate the androids.
- Yes, sir.
- Find them now!
S-0t9nn_nf44. //End of Recording// 1 49931 4887 1 A.R.C
Chapter 11 — Samuel
"The children sing, the children sing, around the oaken tree
They jump and skip and leap, as free as free can be."
[—Unknown]
"You're okay. You're okay. You're gonna be fine, shhh."
Ty sits, his back against the wall, holding Aries's head. She is curled up next to him, and once in a while a shiver goes through her. Other than her soft weeping noises the room is quiet. After Ty had revived her and when Aries's body started shaking so violently he thought she’d had a seizure, he held down her shoulders and legs while repeating over and over again how terribly sorry he was for what he had done to her—that he should never have shown her the entrance, never put her in harm's way like that. He talked so much that Aries eventually lifted her arm and touched his face with her palm to make him stop.
"How long was I dead?"
Ty doesn't react at first, probably too deeply submerged in his own thoughts. Or maybe she spoke too quietly for him to hear.
"Ty, how long was I dead?
"
"Two minutes, more or less. How do you feel?"
"Better. I think. As long as I don't have to go near water ever again."
"Deal."
"We should go."
"You need to rest."
"I can rest later." The thought of getting up and moving around seems utterly impossible at the moment. And yet, there is an urgency she feels, a presence within her that propels her to move, to push on, despite her wish to lay here.
I thought I'd lost you. Where did you go? Born-of-Night's thoughts stand at the threshold of her mind.
"Where are you?" she says.
"I'm right here," Ty replies. "But then, you're not talking to me right now, are you?"
"Sorry."
"How does it work? How do you communicate with her?"
"I have not the slightest idea. It just happens."
"What is she saying now?"
"She's not really saying anything. She's showing me where she is."
"Where is that?"
Aries closes her eyes and describes to Ty what she sees: a shaft, spanning about twenty floors. The surface surrounding the large circular opening in the center is completely covered by steel plates. A few small rectangular openings face the core. Below that lies darkness. In seemingly random intervals, blue electric charges cross from one side to the other, every four floors or so.
"They must have been installed after I was here last," Ty says.
"What do you think they're for?" Aries lifts her head but realizes immediately that it was a bad idea; pain shoots up into her forehead.
"You're dehydrated."
"But I almost drowned."
"I know. It's funny how this works, right?"
"What do you think they are for?"
"There was a breakout attempt a few years back. The chargers must have been installed afterward. The guards’ quarters have openings facing the core. Some of the inmates made their way in there and tried to flee through them."
"To go where?"
"Downward."
"But there's nothing down there."
"They must have thought anything had to be better than where they were."
There is a moment of silence between them. Aries becomes aware of a growing sense of hopelessness.
"What are we doing here?" she says quietly.
"What do you mean?"
"Why... are we doing this? And what if we reach the Forgotten Floors? What then? There's no place for us to go from there. We're trapped. And we were the ones walking right into it. I feel so silly. I almost died. I put you in danger with my stupid request. And for what?"
Aries doesn't expect an answer. She knows Ty doesn't have one. Mostly because there isn't one. This was a fool's errand and only fools would put themselves in a position where the only path to take is one that goes deeper into an impossible situation. She closes her eyes. The image of the outside of the prison comes back. Born-of-Night watches the electric currents that discharge in seemingly random intervals. Suddenly, the hawk drops down and toward it—
"No!" Aries lifts her head, sits up. She watches in her mind's eye as Born-of-Night dives straight down, only inches away from the outer wall, maneuvering around the electric charges that sound like small explosions beside her. The further down she drops, the faster she gets. The large rusted metal plates rush by. Aries becomes aware that she is holding her breath while grabbing Ty's arm at the same time.
Then the hawk is past the lower perimeters and lands on a railing several stories below the prison. Aries can see a few floors down across the gap. Born-of-Night lets out a cry. It echoes through the empty halls, resonates within Aries’s mind. The moment she's about to open her eyes and sever the connection to the image, she sees something in the shadows. A figure approaches from the other side, across the gap. Next to the figure, another one appears. They seem to move toward the railing. Then they reach it. Aries can make out only their contours at first. Then she sees them more clearly. Children. They can't be older than ten or maybe twelve years old. Behind them, others move forward and toward the railing. When they step into the residual light from above, Aries can see that they look straight at her. There must be two dozen of them, some as old as herself.
Born-of-Night lifts off and flies across the gap and toward them. They move backward and away from the railing. When she lands, the children are about ten feet away. There is no fear in them. They look at the hawk, some curious, others in disbelief. Their faces are dirty, their clothes in rags, but there is something about them, something... intelligent. And despite where they are and what their lives must be like, there is a strength that radiates from them. Aries can almost feel it.
Another figure appears behind them, walks toward them from the shadows. This one is taller. When she comes closer, Aries sees that it's a woman. Her long hair is as dirty as that of the children, her dust-smeared face in stark contrast to her eyes. She stops a few feet in front of the hawk. Aries can see her facial features through the grime. She must be in her sixties. As she looks at the hawk, tears begin to run down her face. Aries can't tell if those are tears of joy or sadness, until utter relief seems to pass through her. She says something Aries can't understand, repeats it over and over.
Stay with them, Aries thinks, and opens her eyes.
I will, is all she hears, before the connection to Born-of-Night breaks.
"What is it?" Ty asks. "What did you see?"
"You won’t believe this," she says, and gets to her feet.
* * *
"I didn't think anyone could exist down there." Ty wrings out his shirt and hangs it over a small pipe. Then he removes his shoes. Aries stands in her bra and underpants, trying to do the same with her coveralls. There is a large purple-and-blue bruise over her sternum. The right side of her face has taken on a darker tone.
"Let me help you with that," Ty says. He takes the arms of the coveralls and wrings them out. Then he does the same to the torso and each leg.
"They must have help," Aries says. "I don't know how and from whom. And why are they down there to begin with?"
Ty hands her the coveralls. "You should put them on so they can warm up while you wear them, rather than wait until they’re dry."
Aries nods. The cold fabric on her skin makes her shiver. "How are we going to do this? I'm assuming there's some kind of system of checkpoints and things like that in place."
"The prison is designed as three entities." Ty lets the remaining water drip out of his boots. "There's the inmates’ section, which is the most heavily guarded, of course. Then we have the guards’ section. It's accessible to the inmates’ section through different points of entry and exit. There are hallways within the inmates’ section where they are transported from one part to another. There are several points where the guards enter the inmates’ section. And then there's the maintenance sector. That's basically a system of narrow shafts and walkways that are, for the most part, independent of the guards’ section. They have no need to enter and maintenance has no need to get to the guards’ section unless there’s something wrong."
"That sounds promising," Aries replies.
"Yes and no. There are a few areas, mostly access points, where there’s the possibility that a guard might enter. Guards usually make routine checks several times a day, open the doors to the maintenance section, look around, things like that. It's nothing we have to be concerned about. Normally. However, I assume that as we have disappeared right outside the prison, they might have put it on alert. I have no idea if they know where we are. The hatch door is still open. They could have seen it by now. And if they have, if they know that we're inside the prison, this will be a short stay in the maintenance section."
"We have to be quick." Aries puts on her socks and shoes, then touches the flat container around her neck that holds the RSC chip.
"I guess we can forget this," she says, holding it toward Ty, who is removing items from his shoulder bag.
"Not necessarily. Should be waterproof. But there
's no way of finding out until we actually stand in front of a camera." Ty lines up the items that are left. "The flashlights are useless. I've got a screwdriver, a utility knife, multifunction tool, a roll of electrical tape that may or may not still be useful, a few cable ties and two power bars." He hands both bars to Aries.
"What about you?" she asks.
"I'm not hungry."
"Liar," she replies.
"You keep saying that."
They smile at each other.
"I'll keep it for later," Aries says, and slips the bars into a pocket.
Ty puts the screwdriver and knife in one pocket, the tape and cable ties in another.
"Hey, you never know where those cable ties might come in handy," Aries says.
"Are you making fun of an old man?"
"Not necessarily."
Ty nods, a smirk on his face, while looking around the room. Then his eyes meet Aries's. "You ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
Ty grabs the handle of the lock mechanism and pulls it down. The sound echoes through the small room. Far too loud for Aries's comfort. The door squeaks as Ty opens it, and they slip through into the dark hallway beyond.
* * *
A narrow hallway extends before them. They walk one behind the other trying to move as quietly as possible.
"We should come to a ladder, soon," Ty remarks.
"How many people are in the maintenance crew?"
"I don't remember. Ten, fifteen per shift. Possibly more. They are all guards, though."
"What do you mean?"
"The guards in the prison, about two hundred on any given day, were either recruited out of one of the corporate programs or maintenance personnel after their initial contract was up. They have to fit a certain personality profile and it doesn't matter where they come from, really. What matters is whether or not they fit into the basic-traits schematic of the Corporation’s definition of a prison guard."