The Uprising: The Forsaken Trilogy

by Lisa M. Stasse

  “The people who got trapped at the station are the unlucky ones, but many of them will survive,” my mom says, glancing back at us and seeing our concern. “All the scientists here know about this escape tunnel. Many of them will find their way to it. Some of them probably already have. There are other hatches besides this one.”

  “Why did you hide this from us?” Cass asks, sounding indignant.

  “You would have tried to use it if you knew it was here.” My mom pauses, scanning the crowd of kids. “I know how desperate you are to get back to Island Alpha. We couldn’t let you know.”

  “You should have told us,” another voice calls out.

  “What does it matter now?” I yell back. “Stop arguing and listen!”  The crowd falls silent again.

  “We don’t have long,” Dr. Elliott says. “The machines will find us soon. We better start moving.” He ducks his head and steps through the portal into the tunnel beyond.

  Moments later, all of us are inside the dark tunnel. Liam and I are still holding hands. I don’t want to get separated from him if anything goes wrong.

  Dr. Elliott quickly swings the hatch shut behind us and locks it. He taps a button on the remote, and a grinding noise starts up. It’s the false rock wall descending again, cloaking the hatch. The sounds from outside are muffled now. Just quiet thuds.

  My mom moves over to a panel on the wall and taps more keys. Lights snap on around us, lining the bottom of both sides of the walkway. They have the dim, green glow of emergency beacons.

  I’m startled by what the lights reveal. Rather than another rough-hewn rock tunnel, natural or otherwise, this one is gleaming, with shiny metal walls. The floor is smooth and metallic too. The tunnel extends into the distance. The green lights stretch off as far as I can see.

  “This tunnel was one of the projects that your father helped oversee,” my mom says softly to me. “This is what he was working on in the dunes, before he lost his life.”

  I nod, trying to fight back my emotions. I bet my dad never could have predicted that this tunnel would one day save my life.

  Liam cocks his head to one side, like he’s listening for something. Then I hear the noise too. It’s the faint sound of panicked voices ahead of us, farther along in the tunnel.

  “Good,” Dr. Elliott says. “Others have made it.” He starts moving forward, about to stride down the long metal hall.

  “Wait!” Liam calls out. “You haven’t told us where we’re going. Or what’s even going on.”

  “He’s right,” I add.

  “We’re leaving Australia for good,” Dr. Elliott says, as he starts walking. All of us follow him.

  “What?” Cass asks, startled.

  “This tunnel goes to a saltwater lake. And in the lake, there are two large vessels that will transport us out of here. They have room enough for everyone. We anticipated that we might need them to escape. From here, we’ll navigate south through the Indian Ocean, to a top secret rebel base on the coast of Antarctica.”

  I can hardly believe what I’m hearing. I never thought we’d be heading anywhere except Island Alpha.

  “What kind of vessels?” a boy asks Dr. Elliott nervously as we walk. “Boats? If we turn up on radar, we’ll get bombed.”

  “It’s not radar we have to worry about,” Dr. Elliott replies. “It’s sonar. The crafts are submersible vehicles. Able to stay underwater for weeks at a time. But there’s no time to talk now—we have to go faster. You’ll see what I mean when we get there.”

  “Stay close by,” Liam whispers as we keep walking. “I’m not sure what’s going on yet.”

  “Me neither,” I murmur back. No one here ever seems to tell the whole truth about anything. Just like it was back on the wheel.

  We continue walking rapidly down the tunnel with everyone else, heading toward the sound of the other voices. As we move, there are booming noises overhead. Every now and then, the tunnel shakes slightly.

  It makes my heart ache to picture what’s happening to Destiny Station right now, and to anyone who got stuck there, either inside or out. How many people will die tonight, burned by flames or torn apart by the blades of the machines? Simply because of the UNA’s desire to crush any group that might pose a threat to it. Even here, thousands of miles away from the UNA, they came after us. It feels like there’s no escape from their grip on the globe.

  “Hey!” voices call out, as we get closer to the other group in the tunnel. They’ve finally heard us.

  A few minutes later, we catch up with them. This group is much larger than ours, consisting of about a hundred kids and adults. They stand there, looking terrified and dirty.

  “Is this all of you?” my mom asks.

  “More are coming,” a bearded man answers her. I recognize him as one of the scientists who helped move our pod into the station, on the first day that we arrived here. “Many have died.”

  “Vargas-Ruiz?” my mom asks.

  “I was hoping she was with you,” the man replies.

  “We’re headed for the submersibles in the lake,” Dr. Elliott says. Everyone is quiet, trying to listen to the conversation.

  The bearded man nods. “Are they primed? Stocked?”

  “As much as they’re going to be. We think we can reach Southern Arc in three days.”

  “Southern Arc?” I ask. “What’s that?”

  “The name of the base in Antarctica. It’s the sister base to Northern Arc—the one in the Arctic. From Southern Arc we can contact the other bases around the globe and try to launch our assault on Island Alpha right away.” Dr. Elliott turns to Cass and the other former drones. “So, you get your wish after all. For things to move faster.”

  Cass and her friends look like they don’t know what to say.

  The thud of a detonation above us makes me flinch. Here in the tunnel, we’re protected from the impact. But I know that this tunnel could collapse if it receives a direct hit.

  “We need to keep moving,” the bearded scientist says, pushing forward. The crowd follows him, our group merging with the others. Liam and I walk next to each other. Cass and Emma are right in front of us.

  It’s a long journey to the underground lake. We just keep heading down the tunnel, seemingly for miles. At three different places, we meet up with other groups of people. There are now at least five hundred of us in the tunnel.

  Even in this moment of crisis, I notice that the different tribes are separating out. The ex-drones form groups of their own, splitting from the other kids. But at least Cass is still walking near me and Liam.

  I no longer hear the sounds of the battle. We’ve gone too deep, and we’re too far away from the station. I only hear the noise of hundreds of footsteps.

  I realize this is my chance to ask Cass about David. She promised me information about him, and I’m still determined to get it.

  “Cass,” I call out. She hears me and turns around. “What were you going to tell me earlier?” I ask. “About David Aberley?”

  She looks at me. “He’s alive. Did you know that?”

  “No.” I desperately want to believe her, but I can’t be sure. We keep walking. “How do you know?”

  Cass looks around to make sure that none of the scientists are listening. “I’ve seen a video dispatch from him,” she whispers.

  “What do you mean?” I ask, startled. “When?” I glance over at Liam. He’s listening too.

  “On a screen in one of the reconciliation rooms,” she continues softly. “Late at night last week. There were some scientists in there—including Dr. Elliott. They were watching live footage from the wheel.” She lowers her voice even more, so that it’s barely audible. “They were communicating with David somehow. Talking back and forth. I only caught a glimpse, but I saw his full name and an ID number at the bottom of the screen. Then, later, I heard you and Liam talking about him. I figured you must have known him on the wheel.”

  I’m shocked. “But he was taken by a feeler! I saw it.”

 
; “Then he survived and got free of it somehow.”

  “How do we know you’re not lying?” Liam asks her. “It’s impossible that David was communicating with Destiny Station like that. There aren’t any microphones on the wheel.”

  “There must be. We just didn’t find them.” Cass falls silent for a second as we keep walking. “You have to trust me. Why would I lie about David? I’m doing you a favor by telling you about your friend. And I helped save you after the concert, too.”

  “What did David say?” I ask Cass. “Assuming that you’re telling the truth.”

  “Something about being in a resistance cell back home in the UNA. He was reading the scientists a bunch of data. Numbers and letters, like a code.”

  Liam and I look at each other. Cass might be telling the truth if she knows about David being in a resistance cell. Still, I know that she could have learned about that from someone else.

  If it’s true, I’m not sure what to make of it yet. “Where would David have found a microphone? And how would he know how to communicate with Destiny Station? It doesn’t make sense that he and the scientists would be talking to each other.”

  “I agree,” Cass continues. “I wanted to hear more so I could figure it out, but I couldn’t stay any longer. I was afraid I’d get caught so I just sneaked back to my room.”

  We keep walking. My mind is racing. I knew that something strange must have happened to David when he didn’t turn up in the specimen archive. But I don’t understand how he escaped from the feeler, or what he was telling the scientists. He’s always been so mysterious. Able to move within any group of people like a chameleon. Able to escape any bad situation. I wish he were here right now to help us, but also to give us some explanations.

  Eventually, the mob of people stops moving. I try to see up ahead, but there are too many people in front of us and I’m not tall enough. “Liam?” I ask.

  “We’re at another door,” Liam tells me, craning his head to look over the crowd. “A giant portal.” There’s a loud clanking noise. “It’s opening up . . .”

  A second later, the crowd starts surging forward again. I grip Liam’s hand.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he says. “We’re going to get out of here and down to Southern Arc.”

  “I know.”

  Then the crowd jostles us, and we’re forced to keep moving.

  “Form two lines!” a man begins yelling in an officious voice. For a second, the words remind me of that terrible day when I took the GPPT in the scanning arena, back home in New Providence. The GPPT was the name of the government personality profile test that I supposedly failed. The one that got me sent to the wheel in the first place.

  But of course if I hadn’t failed the test, I never would have met Liam. Or ended up here with the other rebels, including my mom. I would have spent my life stuck in the UNA, never knowing the truth about the government, about my own parents, or about myself. I guess I’m glad that things turned out the way they did. I just wish Destiny Station hadn’t been destroyed, because now one less safe haven exists in the world for rebels like us.

  The tunnel widens, and Liam and I reach the huge metal portal. It’s at least fifteen feet wide. We walk through it, stepping out onto a large stone platform lit with lanterns.

  Beyond the platform is a vast underground lake of opaque, milky-green water. It stretches out a hundred yards in every direction before running off through subterranean channels. Steel barricades at the edges of the platform prevent people from falling into it.

  “Two lines!” the voice keeps yelling. Other voices pick up the cry.

  In the underground lake, I see the gray decks of two submarines, sitting side by side. Their towers and periscopes rise up like dual steel monoliths. I’m startled by the sight. The rest of the vessels are mostly concealed under the water. Metal catwalks stretch down to their decks from the stone platform. People are being led down the catwalks and helped on board through hatches.

  Liam and I move forward again with the crowd. The scientists in charge of loading everyone onto the submarines are trying to get an even distribution of people in both.

  Everyone keeps walking. I don’t know how these vessels are going to fit five hundred people between them. I hope they’re larger than they look from the surface.

  “How far do you think it is to the Antarctic?” I ask Liam.

  “Maybe three thousand miles,” he replies. “Could be even farther. I’m not sure.”

  Three thousand miles of slicing through the cold ocean. So many things could go wrong during a journey like that.

  I glance at Cass. For the first time, she doesn’t look so confident. In fact, she looks like she feels sick.

  “You okay?” I ask her.

  “Yeah.” She swallows hard, eyeing the submarines. “No big deal. I can’t swim. But that’s not a problem, right?”

  “You’ll be fine,” I tell her, trying to reassure her.

  “Two lines!” the voice yells at us. “Get moving!”

  Liam and I slip sideways into one line. Cass and Emma follow. Other kids get herded into another line.

  “Faster!” Dr. Elliott yells. Some nearby kids are crying, upset about friends who haven’t made it. I understand exactly how they feel. I look around for my mom, suddenly worried for her. I don’t see her anymore.

  “What’s going to happen to the people who don’t get here in time?” I ask Liam. “You think they’ll be left behind?”

  Cass speaks before Liam can even answer. “Yes,” she says. “That’s how they do things here. The scientists are cold. Not evil like the UNA, but hard. That’s what I meant earlier, when I said they didn’t care about anyone.”

  “Maybe the people who get left behind will try to rebuild the station after all,” Liam says. “Or maybe there’s another escape vessel hidden somewhere. The scientists might be cold, but they definitely know how to stay alive.”

  I nod in agreement. “We don’t know everything that goes on around here.”

  “Keep telling yourself that,” Cass says, sounding doubtful.

  “You didn’t know that they were watching you in the cave,” I say. “And you didn’t know about these submarines either. Maybe you just need more faith in the scientists.”

  “I’m through putting my faith in anyone except myself.”

  “Now who sounds cold?” Liam asks her.

  Cass flashes him an angry look, but Emma puts a gentle hand on her shoulder. Cass doesn’t say anything more.

  Our line moves forward.

  Soon we’re standing on the catwalks, heading down to the submarine on the right-hand side. I’m standing on my toes and scanning the crowd for my mom, but I can’t find her. I wonder if she’s already on board one of the submarines, but maybe she’s helping orchestrate everything somewhere.

  “Liam, do you see my mom?” I ask.

  He shakes his head. “Not yet.”

  One by one, we step off the catwalk and onto the deck of the submarine. The corrugated steel is slick with water. Emma almost slips, but catches herself at the last second, grabbing on to a railing. I help her up.

  “Careful,” Cass says.

  The four of us walk over to the nearest open hatch and ladder. I look down inside. I can’t see anything except glowing white light.

  I crouch down and grab the top rung of the metal ladder.

  “I’ll be right behind you,” Liam says.

  “You better be.” I take a deep breath. Then I start descending the ladder, heading into the belly of the submarine.

  5SUBMERGED

  WHEN I STEP DOWN off the ladder, I’m standing in a vast cylindrical chamber. Inexplicably, everything around me is made of gleaming metal and glass. The floor is made of thin marbled tiles. Despite the low ceilings, it’s oddly plush and opulent in here—the exact opposite of what I expected.

  I’m still standing there, gazing around in wonder, when Liam steps off the ladder next to me.

  “There’s no way the scienti
sts built this thing,” he says.

  He’s right. The chamber is gigantic. Large glass portholes, nearly as thick as the glass in the specimen archive, are set into the rounded hull. I can see the milky-green water outside. Recessed lights in the ceiling provide a bright, comforting glow.

  “They must have hijacked the sub from another nation,” I reply, looking around. We move away from the ladder, farther into the chamber. I can see winding stairways descending to lower levels.

  I notice some text inscribed along one side of a gilded metal railing. Although I can’t read it, I recognize the writing as either Chinese or Japanese. “Look,” I say to Liam, pointing it out.

  He leans in. “So the sub comes from the Asian Alliance. I bet the scientists modified it, though. To be able to get under the ice when we reach the Antarctic.”

  More people keep entering the space, including Cass and Emma, so we keep stepping aside to make room.

  A voice crackles to life over hidden loudspeakers. I assume it belongs to the captain. “Vessel One will be leaving in five minutes. Please move calmly away from the hatch and down to levels two and three.”

  I see scientists walking around, helping get everyone situated. Liam and I head for a stairway.

  “What did this thing used to be?” I ask, thinking out loud.

  “An escape vehicle for the emperor of the Asian Alliance,” a voice declares behind me. I turn and see Emma standing there. Cass is next to her.

  “How do you know that?” I ask.

  “I can read Japanese.” Emma sees my surprised expression and smiles. “My parents were diplomats. At least before Minister Harka’s government took over the UNA. My dad taught me Japanese in secret.” She looks around. “According to the writing, this submarine was built in 2024, probably so the emperor would have a way out of Japan if things went wrong over there—which they did. I’m guessing the other ship was a decoy vessel so nobody would know which one he was in.”