I put my hands up and slowly turn around. This position unnerves me. Every time I see someone with their hands up like this, it ends badly. I see a shimmer from another knife concealed in Radek’s hand as we turn. He is full of surprises. This is the third weapon he was carrying. This knife may be smaller than the one Sayda took, but if used properly, would still be deadly.
I look the man in the eye, attempting to read his intentions. Judging by his appearance, he is only a couple years older than Arluin. Despite his youth, he stands nearly as tall as Radek, with an equally strong build. The man has dark skin and eyes to match. A crimson stripe adorns his left arm, signifying he is likely a Guard. The thing that grabs my attention the most is the lack of a Leadership symbol on his bio-suit.
“My name is Kagen,” I tell him while bringing my hands down and wiping the dirt from the newer insignia on my chest. “And this is Radek.”
We both stand firm, feigning confidence.
“I’m sorry, sir,” the man says, realizing I am a member of Leadership. “But how are you not dead yet?”
“That’s a good question with a complicated answer. What’s your name?” I ask, stalling for Radek to get into position.
“Auden, sir. I’m new to this assignment. I saw some movement in the trees, so I came out here to investigate. I didn’t actually expect to find anyone.” The man has a sense of shame in his admission. He realizes he is in a tenuous position being outnumbered as well as outranked.
“Don’t worry, we’re not here to cause any trouble for you, Auden,” I reassure him. Radek is about to attack, but with a subtle movement of my hand, I wave him off. I have a feeling about this man and want to give him a chance. If I am wrong, Radek is in a position to strike. “To answer your original question, we’re not from this facility. Munitus is the name, correct?”
He nods at the question as his mouth gapes from his absolutely bewilderment. I understand how he feels. Assuming Munitus was fed the same lies we were, I can imagine how strange it would be to see an unknown man on the surface, claiming to be from somewhere else, and being immune to The Agent.
“We come from another facility called Securus. We were told the same lies I am sure you have been of the dangers of The Agent, and how we were the last ones left.” As I speak , he shows a spark of recognition, making me certain they are also under the spell of Caelum’s lies and tyranny.
“The Agent is a lie?” he asks suspiciously.
Such a bold proclamation is a difficult thing to accept from a stranger. I have no doubt under different circumstances he would dismiss my claims completely. Except here we are, without a bio-suit, not succumbing to the poisonous effects of The Agent.
“It’s been inactive for many years. We only recently discovered that fact as well as of Munitus’ existence. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s the truth.” I want to explain more but with Radek and Hadwin injured, we cannot afford to take the time. “Can I ask a favor of you, Auden?”
Before answering, he pauses, his attention diverted inward. Someone must be contacting him through his communicator. He raises a hand to tell us to wait while he speaks with them.
“The area’s clear. I think it was a deer or something,” Auden says before muting his communicator.
He turns back to us with more confidence. Auden must realize his communicator gives him some control of the situation. All he has to do is tell Leadership we are here, and we will become the hunted. What he does not know is more than just our lives rests upon his trusting us, and we will not hesitate to protect that. It would be much better to use Radek’s knife to make it look like an animal attack than to risk the inevitable annihilation to follow if Caelum learns we have contacted Munitus.
“That depends on the favor,” Auden answers my prior question.
“Thank you for not alerting Leadership to our presence. I was hoping we could keep it that way. We have an injured man I need to get back to our facility, so there’s no time to formally contact your Leadership now,” I tell him.
“Are you coming back?” he asks, not yet answering whether he will remain silent about our contact.
“I intend to, but that’ll take some time. Even though we have been looking for a way to contact your people, this particular meeting was not foreseen. We need to be careful because there are factions in Leadership that will stop at nothing to prevent us from knowing about each other.” I hope he understands. I cannot say much more without getting into the dizzying details. Radek and I watch his body language, but there are no clues to whether he believes me or not.
“Control room, this is Auden.” Determination forms in his stance as he speaks.
Radek raises his knife as he slips behind him. If Auden plans to expose us, he will not finish his sentence. He pauses. My muscles tense, preparing to help Radek. Auden takes in a deep breath, as if he is deciding what to say even as he resumes speaking. “I’ve completed the check and am resuming my assigned patrol.”
“Thank you, Auden,” I tell him, relieved our first contact with someone from Munitus will not have to end in bloodshed.
“I have to go or they’ll get suspicious. When you come back, use my communicator code to alert me.” Auden shows us the code on his wrist mounted control panel. I make a mental note of it.
“There’s one other thing,” I ask as he turns to leave. Maybe he can make our search easier. “Have you seen any round metallic hatches on the ground anywhere near the fields?”
“Yeah, there’s one about a hundred meters that way, just outside the fields.” Auden mercifully points away from the group of workers. “Some of the other workers talk about it, but no one really knows what or where it leads to.”
“It leads to Securus,” I tell him.
We thank him for his help and go to find the hatch. I was hoping we could use them to guide us back to Securus since we know the tunnel travels directly to it. We need only open the hatch to get a bearing for the direction of the tunnel, and then travel along it to get back. It would be faster to go through the tunnel itself, but we would not get very far before running into the Soldier Guards.
Encouraged by the luck of the encounter, we go back through the outskirts of the forest before emerging onto an open plain outside the fence surrounding their Solar Panel field. This fence is much simpler than our own. There is no electrified hum or sharp spikes like the fortified barrier surrounding the fields in Securus.
We are in the exact area Auden directed us to, except no hatch is visible anywhere. The ground is covered with thick vegetation mixed with fallen leaves, making it harder to see where the hatch could be. As we carefully search along the fence, I become more and more nervous. Our security cameras focus on the outer fence. Munitus’ are likely to do the same. If we do not find our target soon, they will discover us.
I move faster, desperately looking for the hatch. While keeping pace, Radek trips and falls to the ground. When he tripped, a distinct ping sounded that should not have come from his impact with the dirt or plants. He turns around to search under the leaves for the object that tripped him. A broad smile forms when he feels it.
“It’s the hatch!” Radek hurriedly spreads the overlying vegetation, uncovering the metal disc. He grasps the lever while turning to me. “Now we find out if it opens.”
I unintentionally hold my breath as Radek grips the outer edges of the lever. He pulls with all his strength. The lever does not budge. I reach over to help him pull harder. Our combined effort causes the handle to creak slightly, but does not open the hatch. My heart sinks with our failure. We were counting on this to guide us home. Now that the plan has failed, I do not know what we are going to do. Hadwin’s life fades more and more as time passes. His is not the only life depending on us. Those poison boxes in Securus will never be found until it is too late if we do not return the only working tracker.
“It feels like it wants to move,” Radek says with a surprising optimism. “Let’s try one more time.”
We both grip the l
ever, bracing our feet against the base of the hatch. My head feels ready to explode from the pressure as we put all of our strength into it. A shrill creak sounds as the lever gives. Afraid the others may have heard the sound, I quickly peek in the tunnel to get our direction. Inside looks the same as the other portions I have seen with bare tracks and little else. One direction leads directly under the group of workers to Munitus. That means the other way must lead to Securus.
“Let’s get out of here. Someone could’ve heard that,” Radek says as I close the hatch.
“It leads out that way.” I point in the direction the tunnel travels through.
It is impossible to see from here how long the trip will be, but at least we now have a direction. I am less confident than Radek looks because of a nagging thought lingering in the back of my mind, whispering to me. Telling Radek what worries me would be pointless because we do not have time for a debate. We must choose a path and there are no better leads than this one. Still, I cannot hide the thought already crushing my fragile hope. What if this tunnel doesn’t lead to Securus at all? What if we found the tunnel leading to Caelum? The thought continues to reverberate in my consciousness. It is a risk we have to take, I tell myself as we head back to get the others.
Chapter 29
Upon returning, we find the others exactly as we left them. Sayda still holds Hadwin who, despite his injury, looks to be enjoying the attention. Aamon clearly has not even tried to move. He knows with what happened, the little tolerance Sayda had before is now completely gone. Plus he is probably counting on Munitus to provide him with an opportunity for escape.
“Look who I found,” I say as we approach. Aamon seems disappointed we are alive while the others are excited to see us. Despite his annoyance, Aamon eagerly watches us. I know why. He wants to see if we figured out where we are yet.
“You made it!” Sayda says when seeing Radek.
“Thank you,” Hadwin tells Radek. He has more strength in his voice than when I left them not so long ago.
“Is help on the way?” Sayda asks.
“Well, about that. Apparently someone had other intentions when he led us in this direction.” I look at Aamon with contempt. His spirit drops with my words. He knows if I already know about Munitus and have returned safely, he will not be able to use the surprise to his advantage.
“But I saw the Solar Panels. They were right there,” Hadwin protests.
“Yes, you did, but they weren’t from Securus. He was leading us to Munitus all along. That was his escape plan.” As my words come, Sayda’s shoulders slump, and Hadwin drops his head back onto her lap. They know this means we are far from help and nowhere near being out of danger.
“Now you have no choice but to give yourselves up to Munitus or forfeit Hadwin’s life,” Aamon says, trying to salvage his chances for escape.
Unable to control myself, I jump over and kick him in the abdomen. While he curls into a ball, clutching at his stomach, I lean over and speak in a low voice. “As always, you’re wrong. Don’t you ever get tired of that?” I grab Aamon by his shirt, forcing him to look me in the eye before continuing. “You would do well to carefully consider your next words because if I don’t like them, they’ll be your last. I’m done with your scheming.”
Aamon does not dare speak another word, understanding I am not bluffing. I turn back to the others to tell them my new plan. “We found an exit hatch to the tunnel system. I know what direction it leads, and we know the tunnels connect Munitus to Securus.”
Even though I attempt to conceal it, Sayda sees my uncertainty and interrupts. “There’s something else wrong, isn’t there?”
“Yeah,” I admit, finally acknowledging the doubt eating away at me. “There’s a fifty-fifty chance we found the wrong tunnel. It could take us to Caelum instead.”
That is one of my concerns, but not the only thing the whispering voice in the back of my mind asks. What if we failed the review, and it’s already too late?
“I say we go,” Hadwin says. “I would rather die trying to get home than waste away out here or in Munitus’ Detention Center.”
Hadwin has the most to lose if we do not get to Securus soon, so the conviction in his words leaves little choice in what we are going to do. If he wants to go, then we will go. Now we know what our plan is, but how we are going to accomplish that goal is another thing altogether. We need a way to get Hadwin moving and just as importantly, we need to keep Aamon docile. Our tattered group will not get very far if he gives us away when we go back to the hatch to start the trek.
To help Hadwin move, I make a leg support out of some thick sticks and vines. The brace should keep the tourniquet in place as well as stop him from flexing his injured leg muscles while we walk. The restricted motion makes his movements awkward, but with Radek and my assistance we should be able to make do. That leaves Sayda to again be in charge of Aamon. She will have to watch him even closer than before.
We go back to the exit hatch to be sure of our direction. Thankfully, this time we are not surprised by any patrolling Guards. Sayda keeps her knife close to Aamon the entire time, making sure he cannot run away or make enough noise to expose us. Even though we are so close, Sayda and Hadwin do not even bother to look at Munitus. They are too consumed by our fight for survival to bother.
We immediately head off in the direction the tunnel leads. Ahead of us, the trees obscure the distant terrain. All we can do is be careful to keep a straight path while staying vigilant in search of the next hatch. Mercifully, the ground in this direction is relatively flat. Even so, without a used animal trail, the ground has an overall raggedness to it. Considering how difficult the terrain could be, this is as good as we could have asked for.
After what feels like an eternity hiking through the forest, we emerge onto a small opening created by some recently toppled trees. The light from the Sun begins to change. It must be getting into the late afternoon already. The constantly mounting effects of dehydration and hunger slow our movements significantly. So much so, I am not sure if we will be able to make it to Securus before nightfall. I hoped to avoid traveling at night because even though we have not seen any of the predators in a while, they are supposed to be more active at night. None of us have the strength to fight off any attack. Especially since the openness of the surface gives the predators numerous angles to attack from.
Needing the rest, we stop to gather what little energy we have left. We need to check our position. Only, Hadwin is no longer able to climb the trees, and Radek is exhausted from shouldering most of Hadwin’s weight while we were walking. Even with my injured leg, I have no choice other than to climb myself. When the others are not watching, I sneak away to scale a nearby tree. Sayda is too tired to notice my plan until it is too late to stop me.
About halfway up, I discover why the Sun’s light has started to darken. Dusk is not approaching. Instead, we are entering the shade of a towering cliff in the distance. My already low spirits tumble to new depths. We could not climb that cliff even if we had enough energy to do so. Even worse, the rocky wall is wider than it is tall, making it unfeasible to go around in any reasonable amount of time. I come back down from my tree to tell the others the bad news.
“Hey monkey-man, while you were busy in the trees we found another exit hatch,” Hadwin proudly tells me. His voice is weak and sounds like he forces himself to speak, but I appreciate his efforts.
“We’re headed in the right direction. We have to be at least halfway by now,” Sayda says.
“That’s great, but we have another problem.” When my words come out, Aamon grows a smile. As soon as I glance at him, he hides it. “There’s a huge cliff coming up. It’s too big to climb and it’ll take hours to go around.”
“Well, if we can’t go over, we go under,” Hadwin says.
“I think the blood loss is affecting your brain,” I say to him, only half joking. “We can’t go in the tunnel. Those Soldier Guards are just waiting for a chance to kill me or anyone
else they find in there.”
“I think he’s right,” Radek says, looking at me. “We can’t go back, so there’s only one choice left. At least we won’t have to worry about our direction anymore. We’ll follow the tunnel until we’re on the other side of the cliff. Then we take the next exit hatch to the surface before they ever see us.”
I look to Sayda for support, but she does not even need to speak. The way she looks at me makes it clear she agrees with Hadwin and Radek. Even with them already decided, I am reluctant to agree. They did not see the look in Malin’s eyes when he left and do not know how eager he is to find us out there. Going into the tunnel will be certain death. I am outnumbered and need to buy enough time to come up with a better option.
“Fine, but let’s rest up first,” I tell the others.
“When we open the hatch, we should see if we can get a signal on this.” Sayda tosses me the communicator.
There are antennas on Securus where the tracks end. So they might be able to pick up our signal, even this far out. It is possible, though not very likely. The noise alone would be dangerous. The echo in the tunnel could give us away fast. If we do take the tunnel we will give the communicator a try, but I continue to search my mind for an alternative that would be less of a suicide mission. Besides, the communicator will only work if Securus is still there, the annoying voice in the back of my mind says, reminding me of the possible outcome of Caelum’s review. After a short rest, the others become restless.
“We should check to see if the hatch is rusted shut before we make too many plans,” I tell them, stalling as much as possible.
Radek walks over to the hatch. Seeing my hesitation, Sayda nudges me to go help. Like the last hatch, we position ourselves to use all of our weight to force the lever open. I do not want to open it. Still, I have to try. I owe them nothing less. For a second it feels like the lever is stuck, but like the other one did, it opens with a loud squeal.
The Controller (The Securus Trilogy Book 2) Page 28