by Kyle Perkins
The rest of the bar patrons swarmed Alerik, hitting him all over his body in random places. He tried to fight them off, but the alcohol had taken its toll and his adrenaline was spent.
Everything went dark.
He regained consciousness long enough to briefly crack open his eyelids. He saw a blur of men in armor moving through the crowd effortlessly. They attacked the crowd from the bar in a flurry, he could hear the thud of each body as it hit the ground next to him.
Again, he lost consciousness.
***
The next morning, the Sun’s dim glow crept through his eyelids as he felt a tap on his shoulder. He used one hand to prop himself up and struggled to open his eyes. He succeeded, though it was painful.
Standing above him was a beautiful woman in lightweight Union guard armor. She was tall with an athletic frame, her skin was tan, and her eyes were an intriguing shade of green. Her dark hair was cropped short, but all of The Union were like that. They liked to keep a uniformed appearance.
“Alerik, I presume?” she said with one eyebrow raised.
He rose to his unsteady feet. “At your service,” he said halfheartedly as he struggled to not throw up.
“Right. Well, it’s our first day of work together. Good to see you are so very prepared,” she rubbed her temples. “Your driver told me that he dropped you here and that you never gave him a call for a pickup.”
“It’s because I was having so much fun…” he cocked a smile and looked down to see a stain of dried blood on his shirt, “Mind if I get cleaned up before we start?”
“By all means,” she gave a mocking bow before signaling the driver. “You know, you could have been killed. Is this the kind of shoddy work I can expect in the future? It’s a liability…”
“I had a bad day, alright? Let’s just get this over with.”
“Regular people get the luxury of a bad day, Mr. Jacobs. We, on the other hand, do not. We only get a limited time to fix problems, otherwise we become a part of them.” They climbed in the car.
“Just spare me your indoctrinated bullshit. Driver, back to the palace, please.”
“Indoctrinated? That’s a big word for a miner. And, hardly. Perhaps I just have my eyes fully opened. I am not interested in the mundane problems facing people now. It is a small sacrifice we pay in order for humanity to flourish in the future.”
“Yeah, yeah… I get it. Fuck the people now, as long as our great grandchildren are happy right?” he asked. “Has it ever occurred to anyone that we might be able to have it both ways?”
“Oh, I’m sure it has. I’m also sure the people of Earth lived in ignorant bliss before they started getting sick. Imagine if there was tighter control in place. We might even still be there, had someone taken control for the good of the people,” she said as she looked out the window.
“Possibly, but what if it was that people rebelled because they felt there was nothing to live for? I could certainly understand that. Most in the mines would,” Alerik said with an irritated tone.
“Let’s not talk about this,” she shook her head as if to clear it. “I don’t want things getting heated up… Can we start over? My name is Saskia.”
He still wanted to argue, but thought it would probably be wise to make peace with the woman. After all, she would be working with him until this thing was over. He decided that he might as well play nice for the time being, “Agreed. Nice to meet you, Saskia,” he forced a smile, “And you already know my name.”
Saskia smiled back, then returned to looking out the window. “We have a big day ahead of us.”
When they arrived at the apartment, Alerik hopped out of the vehicle without saying much. He was worried about Velar, and was constantly wondering if she was okay. He tried to shake the negative thoughts running through his mind, but as soon as one would go away, another more horrifying one would make its way to the forefront. He had to save her, by any means necessary.
He walked inside his apartment to the same empty feeling he had when he was there the day before. Without Velar there, the place was so… Quiet. Saskia followed him, stepping into the apartment moments later. She had apparently decided to invite herself in, sauntering through as if she owned the place.
“This place is a mess…” she scoffed as she picked a cup up off of the floor.
“Yeah, no shit. That usually happens when your home is broken into,” Alerik barked.
“Broken into? But how—Sorry… I didn’t realize. Was anything taken?”
“Just my…” he paused for a moment, “Girlfriend.” He realized it was the last word he had said to her. A word that used to seem so trivial suddenly held so much weight, thanks to his little label person. His heart broke all over again.
Saskia tried to give him a comforting look, but gave it up quickly. She wasn’t the type. “So why are you not out looking for her?”
“Why do you think? I’m a Union slave, same as you.”
He wandered towards the kitchen and noticed there was a piece of metal sitting on the counter that hadn’t been there before. There were strange markings in it, sort of like a diagram. Alerik couldn’t decipher it at a glance. He quickly stuffed it in his pocket. He figured it was probably something to do with Liberty’s Hammer. The fact that it was left on his counter meant it was intended for him, and might get him closer to Velar. He checked to make sure Saskia hadn’t noticed, then walked to his bedroom and changed.
On his way out, he grabbed his pickaxe, just to be safe.
“What do you need that for?” Saskia laughed.
“Well, some of us don’t have electromagnetic-powered firearms,” he eyed the gun on her hip.
“Point taken,” she shrugged. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah. Just explain what we are doing today on the way there,” he said as he followed her out.
“Well…” she started while stepping into the vehicle, “We are going to go into the city on a hunting trip. The Union believes that even people within the nicer parts of the city are latching onto this movement.”
“I suppose that doesn’t sit well with Aemon.”
“No, it doesn’t,” she replied. “We are going to a couple of places today. The Union building, and outside the wall, to the farm lands.”
“Farmlands? What?” he acted surprised, thinking back to all that Cinine had told him. She had been right about everything so far. He wondered if she would know what the etchings were. Or maybe Soran would know.
“Yes. Outside of the wall, farmlands stretch as far as the eye can see. All the way to the dome itself. Families are born and die there, generation after generation of farmers. They work for The Union much like the miners. Their role is key to our survival. Without them, oxygen and food would be impossible,” she said, smiling. “That’s why we have a wall protecting them.”
Alerik wondered if it was for protecting them, or trapping them. “Makes sense,” was all he said as their ride soared through the air towards The Union building.
It was massive. The structure could be seen from anywhere in the settlement, but to be so close to it was surreal. It was the giant, dark watchman of humanity. He glanced down out the window. The floors below seemed to go on forever.
“We are almost there, once we land, stay close to me. If you think the guards are methodical in the mines, just wait,” she said as the vehicle landed at the docks.
Alerik sighed as he stepped out onto the platform and immediately felt out of place. The guards at the main entrance were sharply dressed, it looked like their armor even had titanium plating. Their jumpsuits didn’t have numbers identifying them like they did in the mines, just a solid black coloring with big silver plating in the vital areas. He knew that these guys probably wouldn’t find the humor in his typical sarcastic tone, so he opted to stay quiet while Saskia spoke with them.
Two guards approached with fully automatic rifles, the magnetic versions. They leveled their rifles right at Saskia and Alerik as they stepped closer.
&nb
sp; “State your business,” the guards said in unison.
“We are here on behalf of Aemon Irithil. We are conducting an investigation within this building and have been given level three clearance. We are looking for a man here by the name of Lucius Rolen,” Saskia said as the guards began patting them down.
“Lucius is on floor forty-one,” a guard said as he finished up his search. “We will take you to him and offer any support we can.”
“Perfect,” she smiled before turning to Alerik, “You ready?”
Alerik nodded in silence. They walked inside with their armed escort.
The building seemed almost bigger inside than it was outside. Each floor had a circular platform with a hollow center that allowed other motorized platforms to rise and fall, rapidly bringing things from the bottom up and vice-versa. Nobody seemed to pay attention to the group, they kept right on with their duties as if the visitors weren’t even there. It gave Alerik a bizarre feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wondered if they had all been brainwashed or something. Or even heavily medicated. The cheerful music playing over the speakers didn’t help his uneasiness.
The guards led the group onto a small platform near the edge of the main platform in the room. It began descending diagonally down and towards the other side of the room. Alerik and Saskia both looked down into the abyss underneath them. Soon, the platform reached its final destination and a loud buzzing sound prompted them all to get off.
“Well that was… Something,” Alerik remarked as they started walking towards a row of offices. The fluorescent glow of the artificial lighting was giving him a headache.
“Here it is,” the guard pointed towards a door that looked just like any of the others.
Saskia walked to the door and opened it gently. A man sitting at the desk looked up at her and smiled.
“How can I help you?” he asked. He had pale skin and the irises of his eyes had a dark red hue to them. He wasn’t very big, or intimidating at all.
“We are looking for Lucius Rolen,” her tone was authoritative.
“Oh, well! You found him!” Lucius said with a short laugh. “What do you need, Miss?”
Saskia pulled Alerik inside by his sleeve and shut the door. The tug instantly flooded memories of Velar back into his mind. She used to pull at his sleeve like that. He almost felt offended that Saskia would do something that was Velar’s thing to do, but he calmed himself. She had no way of knowing.
“We have reason to believe that you may be working with a terrorist cell known as Liberty’s Hammer. As such, you will be taken into our custody and held for questioning,” Saskia said to Lucius.
Lucius rose from his seat, “I assure you, I have no affiliation with any terrorist group. I have not even left my office in many years,” he smiled.
“We will look into that. In the meantime, we have a few questions for you. Mind following us?” she asked, but it wasn’t really a question. The guards grabbed his arms and began leading him out onto the platform.
Lucius started laughing when the guards grabbed his arms, “Is all this necessary? I said I would go with you.”
“Maybe we can lighten up a bit?” Alerik mumbled to Saskia.
Saskia sighed, but nodded to the guards and they released Lucian’s arms, allowing him to walk on his own.
“Thank you,” Lucius said directly to Alerik.
“Don’t thank me, she is the one with the power. I just made a suggestion. You’re not out of hot water just yet though. I have a couple questions of my own,” Alerik replied as the platform started its descent further into the void.
“I will try to help you as much as I can!” He exclaimed.
Alerik began wondering what was wrong with the guy, he was way too cheerful for the situation he was in. The peculiar behavior made him wonder if the guy was medicated, or just plain weird. Either way, he could be Alerik’s ticket to finding out where Velar was. And if the guy became an obstruction, he would just get mowed over.
The group had almost reached the ground floor. Suddenly, the floor opened up beneath them to reveal a secret level with cells that lined the walls. The cells themselves had some sort of thick glass keeping the prisoners inside.
When they finally reached the bottom, the roof closed over them, making the room pitch black briefly. Soon, the wall lights between the cells came on and illuminated the area. The guards quickly moved over to one of the cells and typed a string of numbers into the keypad before the glass slid open.
“Let’s go,” Saskia said to Lucius as she escorted him into the cell. “Have a seat,” she pointed to the metal chair in the center of the room.
Lucius took a seat and, cheerful as ever, he asked, “So, shall we?”
“Our boss sent us to do this investigation because you used to work with a couple of the people that we have apprehended lately. From what Aemon tells me, you’ve been here since the beginning,” Saskia said to Lucius.
Alerik looked at the man, then back to Saskia. He must have been right around Alerik’s age. The beginning? Huh?
“Yes, that is true. While I have worked with a great many people, less of them are around nowadays. I suppose that is your boss’ doing?” Lucius asked.
“I just do what I am told. My job is to eliminate threats to humanity, nothing more, and I will be asking the questions. Is that clear?” Saskia raised her brows.
“Crystal clear, Miss. Go on. However, I have to point out something. If being affiliated with people I was forced to work with brands me a terrorist, you should just put me away right now instead of wasting your time,” Lucius was completely rigid in his chair.
“Not all of the people you worked with, just Aloron and Tolthar. They have since been executed, but since Alerik’s discovery in the mines, our group has been working diligently to help take all of these scumbags into custody. We looked through our records and found that the only thing linking the two men was this building, and you,” she said.
“Yes, and it’s quite possible we even used the same railway to get to work. I don’t understand your point,” Lucius said with a condescending smirk.
“Did either of the men I mentioned say anything to you, at any point, about Liberty’s Hammer? Liberty’s Flame? Any type of revolutionary talk?” she asked.
“Let me check,” he scratched his head in an exaggerated gesture, “Nope.”
“Did either of them leave at odd hours, or meet with anyone suspicious?” her voice was dripping with annoyance.
“Not that I can recall. If I had seen anything suspicious, I would have reported it right away.”
Alerik grabbed Saskia’s arm, leading her away, “We aren’t going to get anything from him. Honestly, he’s weird but I don’t think he is involved.”
“I have to agree at this point. He seems to be a dead end. The guy doesn’t even seem phased. Did you have any questions for him?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” He said as he walked back over to the man. “Have you heard of a woman named Velar?”
“No. Can’t say that I have,” the man said cheerfully, “Another rebel on your radar?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just know that if you are lying and I find out later, I will kill you myself,” Alerik growled before pulling the metal with the etchings from his pocket. “What can you tell me about this?”
Lucius took the scrap from Alerik and inspected it for about half a second before tossing it back. He shrugged, “It is a blueprint for a massive transceiver.”
“A trans—What is that exactly?” Alerik asked.
“It is a radio used to communicate. It receives and transmits.”
Alerik contemplated for a moment. At least the guy was finally useful. “What would someone use such a device for?” he asked.
“I assume to speak to someone over long distances,” Lucius smiled.
“How far would this device reach?”
“Theoretically, anywhere. Given enough time,” he said. “Am I free to go?”
“No, you wil
l be sticking with us. I may find more use for you,” Alerik said. Saskia gave him a strange look.
“You sure about that? Can we trust him?” she asked.
“Can we trust anyone?” Alerik shot back before heading out of the room.
***
On the ride through the city, Alerik had a lot to think about. He wondered who had left that scrap of metal for him to find. Only a few people knew where he lived, but with him on broadcast for The Union’s campaign, surely more than a few people had their eyes on him. His thoughts always seemed to meander to Velar. He missed her so much, and she was the only person he could truly trust. Now, he was in a vehicle with a driver that ratted him out, A Union lackey, and a suspect. It was just peachy.
The vehicle passed through the city and finally reached the wall where masses of armed guards were waiting. As they pulled up, it seemed like dozens of guns were on them until driver flashed his card. Once they were cleared, a guard waived them through.
They passed through the tall, oppressive gate and color suddenly flooded Alerik’s vision. It was beautiful. So much green, he had never seen anything like it. As far as his eyes could see, there were rows of plants along with small groups of people tending to them. He was speechless. The air outside the wall even had a different smell. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but the word “life” came to mind. It was dreamlike.
Saskia must’ve noticed his awe, “First time outside the wall?”
“Yeah… It is,” Alerik said with his face glued to the window.
“I remember my first time. I was absolutely amazed by it. I would have even tried a plant, myself—straight from the source—if it wouldn’t have landed me in prison,” she confessed, looking out her own window.
Alerik glanced over at her, thinking that prison was a harsh punishment for nibbling a plant. His sight was drawn back over to Lucius. He was just staring straight ahead, emotionless. He didn’t seem to care or notice what was right outside his window. Was this guy a fucking lunatic?
“Lucius? What do you think about all this?” he questioned.
“I think it’s fantastic,” he said flatly, but Alerik didn’t buy it. Something was definitely off about the guy.