by Magus Tor
The pod slid through streets that grew narrower and then darker, and Aurelia could sense the dome sweeping down as she got closer to the outskirts of the City. Here buildings were shorter and dirtier, the streets less well-kept and less well-lit. Eventually the pod drew up in front of a residential building, and Aurelia got out.
Now where? Tara had given her the address, nothing more. She looked around her but saw no one. So she approached the door of the building, but she didn't want to key her personal number in, didn't want anyone to trace her back to this place. She was concentrating on reading the names of the building's inhabitants in case any seemed familiar when she felt a tug on the bag that was slung over her back.
“Nice dress,” said Tara, sarcastically. “We're not going to a dinner party, you know?”
“Best I could do,” Aurelia said through gritted teeth.
“Probably make no difference once we're down there,” Tara said with a shrug. “Now, you ready?”
Aurelia nodded.
“Then let's get underground.”
Chapter Five
Following Tara down a narrow alley around to the back of the building, Aurelia could feel trembling. At first, she thought it was her legs, that the fear of what she was about to do was getting to her. But as they got closer to a metal door, she realised that the ground itself was vibrating.
“Stick close to me, okay?” said Tara over one shoulder.
Shouldn't be too hard, Aurelia thought. Tara was dressed in some sort of shining fabric, with light panels that shimmered as she walked. She wouldn't be hard to miss. The girl stopped in front of the door and knocked in a complex pattern, and the door was immediately opened.
“She with me,” Tara said to a tall youth, who simply nodded and stood back to let them both in.
Dense music played, a steady rhythm beating through the walls of the dank corridor they now stood in, and the light was dim and red. It was like being inside a giant heart. Aurelia could hear nothing but the music, and Tara took her hand, leading her down a wobbling set of metal stairs. And then she saw it.
The huge cavern was full of Elite teenagers, a writhing mass of colours winding in and out of each other like a nest of snakes. For a moment it was breath-taking, a constantly changing kaleidoscope of patterns. Music throbbed around her head, and Aurelia felt her body respond, her muscles discovering some innate connection to the beat that surrounded her. She wanted to... dance? Was that the word? Tara was looking at her and laughing; she said something, but Aurelia didn't catch it. The girl once more pulled her by the hand and, threading her way through the crowd, took her to a smaller room off to one side.
The music was still loud here, but at least Aurelia could hear Tara when she leaned in and shouted to ask if she wanted a drink. She nodded, and the girl signalled her to stay where she was. Obediently, Aurelia remained rooted to the ground, afraid that she'd be lost. In the web of colour that ensnared her, Tara wouldn't be as easy to find as she'd first thought. Thankfully, it was only a couple of minutes before she saw the familiar purple hair and a raised hand beckoning her. They went to a corner of the room.
“Here.” Tara pushed a container into her hand. “Listen, there could be someone here to help you. I gotta go talk to some people. I need you to stay here where I can find you again, got it?”
Aurelia nodded, then turned her attention to the container she'd been handed. Tara shook her head and grabbed the cylinder out of her hand. She shook it vigorously, then pressed a small slider on the side before handing it back to Aurelia. Again she told her to stay put before disappearing.
The room was spinning with people, the music seemed to have no end or beginning, and Aurelia wondered what it was like to live this life. To have nothing to fill your days with but music and laughter, parties, drinking. She lifted her drink to her lips, swallowed, and grimaced. It was bitter and citrusy, obviously alcoholic. Not wanting to look any more out of place than she already did, she kept the cylinder in her hand but drank nothing.
A tall boy, dressed in a blinding white suit and wearing glasses that glowed in a series of flashing colours, smiled at her from across the room. She smiled back, and his glasses glowed green. Gesturing to the dancers, he nodded at her. Confused for a moment, and then realising that he was asking her to dance, Aurelia thought about agreeing. There was something in the raw energy of the dancers that she wanted to be a part of. But no. That wasn't why she was here. Regretfully, she shook her head, and the boy's glasses flashed red for a second before settling back into their repeated series of hues.
She waited, her legs growing tired from standing. The cylinder in her hand at least made her look like she belonged here, but she was beginning to get scared. What if Tara didn't come back? She had two options: try to get out and get back to the hospital, or try to figure out how to get into the rest of the tunnels from this cavern. She had just about decided to go with the second option, not knowing when she'd get the chance to be down here again, when Tara pulled on her sleeve.
“Come,” was all she said, and she set off.
Aurelia pushed her way back through the throngs of people, trying to keep Tara's purple hair in sight. A hand snaked out and tried to pull her onto the dance floor, but she pulled away. A dark curtain covered the far wall, and when she reached it, Tara pulled one side away, revealing an opening. They both entered and stopped. The light in the corridor was bright, and they blinked, letting their eyes adjust.
Tara shook her head. “Come on, he's around here somewhere.”
“Who?” asked Aurelia, but Tara was already walking away, and she had to skip a few steps to catch her up.
The corridor stretched for a hundred metres or so, painted in grim, industrial grey paint, lights flickering from a ceiling lined with pipes. At the end was a T-junction, and Tara looked both ways before deciding on going right. It was a good decision, and a second or so later they saw an open door.
A young guy, dressed in grey and black, was sitting on top of an upturned steel vat. He jumped down when they entered.
“We be ready,” Tara said with a sharp upward nod of the head.
“You be psych,” the boy said in return.
Gods, this is ridiculous, Aurelia thought. Placing her fate in the hands of two kids who could barely use correct grammar. The thought made her smile a little.
“Be Aurelia,” Tara said to the boy.
Aurelia shook her head. “This is Aurelia. Look, can we cut the cool crap? I don't really have time for it, and it makes both of you sound like idiots.”
The boy looked amused at this, and Tara raised an eyebrow. “Fine,” she said. “It's not my fault that you're old.”
Old? She was what, two, three years older than these guys. Whatever.
“And what's your name?” she asked the boy.
“No names,” the boy said. “You two ready?”
“Two?”
“Yeah, I'm coming with you,” said Tara.
“I thought you didn't like the dark.”
“I don't, but you're going in, so I thought I'd check it out while I had the chance. I mean, you're not just a kid messing around; you're serious. Besides, this guy here knows these tunnels inside and out, right?”
The boy nodded.
“He's gonna give us the grand tour, you know, take us around a bit, show us what's out there.”
Again, the boy nodded. “Give me a minute to get the alarms off the door,” he said and disappeared.
“Tara, what are you doing?” Aurelia hissed.
“I had no choice. He wouldn't take just you, doesn't know you; it had to be both of us or none. I thought this was important?” Tara looked half terrified and half angry, her eyes flashing.
“It is important, but I don't want you to risk anything because of me.”
“And neither do I. But as far as he knows, we're not risking anything. He's taking us on his little tour and then, well, if something else happens then it happens, right? Maybe he even knows some of these black dude
s that let people in and out. I don't know, ask him. But wait till we're already out, or he might not even take us.”
Aurelia let out a long breath. Tara was right. She'd done what she could and was even willing to go into the tunnels with her. Aurelia had no right to be angry with the girl, but she was. It was hard enough looking after herself, without the added responsibility of looking after a kid.
“You gonna drink that?” said Tara, hopefully.
Looking down, Aurelia realised she was still holding the drink cylinder. She shook her head and handed it to the girl, who drank it down in one go, shivering a little as she swallowed.
“There, now I'm ready for anything,” she said.
Aurelia just sighed.
The boy came back and told them to follow. At the end of the hall was another of the large metal doors that Aurelia had seen outside. Before he opened the door, he stopped and turned to the two girls.
“It's not as dangerous down here as some people might have told you,” he said quietly. “But that doesn't mean that you should shout and scream or do stupid stuff, right?”
He might be young, Aurelia thought, but he had a definite air of authority about him. There was something in his manner that made her trust him, or at least trust him to look after her.
“Just do what I tell you and you'll be fine, okay?” he added.
Aurelia and Tara nodded, Aurelia noticing that Tara's face was paler than it had been a few moments ago. The kid was scared.
The boy opened the door, metal screeching on its hinges.
“The doors all have alarms,” he said as he pushed. “But we can override them for a while. We've got an hour or so before it'll kick back in again.”
The door opened, he stepped through, and the two girls followed.
There was the smell of cold and damp, a musty scent that reminded Aurelia of storage rooms and one of the few times that she'd held a real, paper book in her hands. Water was dripping somewhere, and the painted walls of the tunnel were white and dank. Putting her hand out, she could feel a slimy texture, something long neglected. But it was not dark. Surprisingly, the entire length of the tunnel that they were standing in was lit, though dimly, by a series of caged lights placed at intervals along the wall.
“Not what you expected?” The boy laughed.
“Not really,” said Aurelia, truthfully. “What is this place?”
The boy started walking down the corridor, and Aurelia and Tara followed.
“All of Lunar City is riddled with tunnels,” he explained as he walked. “Many of them were used in the building process, since it was easier to pressurise underground caverns and supply oxygen to them than it was to use smaller portable domes during construction.”
He ducked his head under a pipe that thrust out of one wall and back in through the opposite wall.
“And then these corridors are necessary. There's a lot of Lunar that you don't see. A lot of what you take for granted every day depends on these tunnels.”
“Like what?” said Tara. She was starting to look grumpy. This trip obviously hadn't been anywhere close to as exciting as she'd thought. By the looks of things, she was worried about her shoes, delicately stepping over puddles on the concrete floor.
“Like water, air, even food,” the boy said. “All of these pipes that you see around you are pumping something to somewhere. Maybe it's water to a kitchen, maybe it's air out into the dome itself. And all these corridors give Workers access to those pipes.”
“Workers?” asked Aurelia.
“Sure,” said the boy. “There are tons of Workers down here. In fact, most of the Workers in Lunar work in the tunnels. That way the Elite never have to see them, right?”
They turned out of a main tunnel into a slightly narrower corridor.
“And are all of the tunnels well lit?” Aurelia asked. Being underground was turning out to be a lot more, well, comfortable than she'd expected.
The boy snorted. “Of course. No point Workers being down here if they can't see what they're doing, is there?”
Fair point. The little tour was nice, but Aurelia needed to get more info. “And is there anyone else down here, you know, except for Workers?”
The boy shrugged and kept moving. “Sure, see some people down here sometimes in the further corridors. You're talking about the guys in black, right?”
Okay, this was a start. “Yeah, I've heard of them,” Aurelia said casually. “Who are they, anyway?”
“Dunno,” said the boy, leading them into another side tunnel, this one with a single large pipe travelling down the middle of the ceiling. “Criminals maybe, guys that have got Out. Maybe just sec Workers, but I don't think so. We don't talk to them. Run if we see any, just in case.”
He was walking quickly, and Tara was starting to lag, her ornate dress flashing strange colours around the corridor and her shoes obviously unsuited to walking far.
“Think we can take a break?” Aurelia called.
“Yeah, in a minute.”
He led them around a corner where they found a small niche in which were several boxes. He sat on one and waited for the girls to catch up and sit down. Tara was breathing heavily, and she groaned as she sat on her box. Aurelia thought she heard her mutter something about her damn shoes, but she let it go.
“Alright,” said Aurelia, once they were all seated. “It's time to be honest. Can I trust you?”
“Yes,” said the boy promptly.
Aurelia looked at Tara, who nodded wearily. “Yeah, you can. He's a friend.”
“I need to get Out.”
The boy sucked in a breath, and his eyes narrowed. “Why? You in trouble?”
“No, I swear to you that I'm not. But I know someone who is, and I need to get Out to bring him back in,” she explained. That was putting it simply, but the kid didn't need the details. “Can you help me?”
Crossing his legs, the boy put his chin in his hand and pursed his lips thoughtfully. A lock of golden hair fell into his eyes.
“Not really,” he said after a while. “I mean, I don't know how to get Out, if that's what you're asking.”
“But you know someone who might?”
“In a way,” he said. “Look, I can't guarantee anything, and I can't really help you, but I do have a suggestion.”
Better than nothing. “What's that?”
“I can take you to one of the far corridors and leave you.”
Tara started at this and was about to interrupt him, but he held up a hand.
“Hear me out. If I leave you up there, then sooner or later one of those guys in black are going to find you. I'll make sure of it. And that's who I think will help you, if you can persuade him, that is.”
Aurelia had suspected as much. “Alright,” she agreed. “Let's do it, then.”
“Just to be clear,” the boy said. “I can't help you get back in again, and I don't know if these guys will help you or not, but it's the best I've got if you really want to do this.”
“I'll take my chances,” Aurelia said.
“Fine, then, let's go. We don't have much time to get back before the door alarm kicks in again, so I can't take you far.”
He hopped off his box and started walking. Aurelia followed, and with another groan, Tara also got up and started walking.
As they got closer to what Aurelia presumed was the limit of the dome, the tunnels grew narrower. Every now and again they passed huge, gulping machines, big white boxes that towered above them in caverns and made belching noises.
“Air purifiers,” the boy said.
They walked for fifteen minutes, during which Aurelia became completely disoriented. The boy seemed to know every turn and never hesitated. Tara was limping along bravely beside her, and in a fit of sympathy, Aurelia reached out and squeezed her hand.
“I'm not sure why you're doing this,” she said. “But thank you.”
Tara smiled weakly.
Reaching a junction where two larger corridors intersected, the boy f
inally came to a stop.
“Here's probably the best place,” he said. “Close to the edge, but you'll be easily visible. You'll need to wait here; someone will come to you.”
“How can you be so sure?” asked Aurelia, suddenly nervous about being left underground alone.
“Because of this,” the boy said with a grin, pulling a small silver ball out of his pocket.
“What's that?”
“Smoke pellet,” he explained. “Some of the guys use them on a dare. You throw it, and it makes a bang and fills the corridor with smoke. Then you run like hell to make sure that one of those guys in black doesn't catch you. It's, well, I guess it's fun. You know?”
“I see,” said Tara, who obviously didn't. “And you thought we were the ones who were psych. Right.”
The boy ignored her and handed the ball to Aurelia. “Wait until we're gone. Give us five minutes or so, then throw it hard against the floor. The guys in black don't bother us too much if we're not making trouble, but a noise like that should bring someone running. Okay?”
“Okay.” Aurelia nodded.
She turned to Tara. “Thank you,” she said simply.
“No worries.” The girl shrugged. “You owe me, remember?”
“I remember,” said Aurelia. “Just com me when you need something.”
“If you even make it Out and back in again,” Tara pointed out.
“Yeah, thanks for the reminder.” But she could see that the girl felt bad, as much as she tried to hide it, so she leant in and gave her a hug. “Seriously, thank you. And don't worry, I'm gonna be fine.”
“Hope so,” said Tara, her voice muffled on Aurelia's shoulder. “Com me when you get back, just so I know, okay?”