Reddened Wasteland

by Kyle Perkins

  Alerik opened his eyes to reveal a set of lifeless ones staring back at him. There was a growing pool of red underneath the man’s helmet and it registered that one of the guards had been shot in the head. Confused, he glanced around the area and saw a determined-looking Bragog standing with his gun out. Alerik noticed the second guard, then, and realized that the man’s head must’ve smacked his own on the way down. So, that explained that pressure he felt.

  “Alerik, I don’t have time to explain. You need to get out of here. Everything you need to know is in this file,” Bragog said, his voice growing more frantic. He unlocked the cuffs, “Go. Now.”

  Alerik pulled himself to his feet and stood there in shock, not moving a muscle. He had been wrong about Bragog. Well, actually, he had been wrong, and then right, and then wrong, about Bragog. He was paralyzed by what had just happened. He thought he was going to die, and then… this.

  “Who are you, really?”

  “It doesn’t matter, get out of here, now!” Bragog yelled as he slapped him across the face, and shoved a thick file into his hands.

  The slap did the trick, and Alerik snapped out of his confused trance. He took off running towards the car, where he saw Lucius tearing off the driver’s head with his bare hands. As the driver’s head came off, sparks flew from the wiring in his neck and spine. Lucius kicked the body off of the roof.

  Before he jumped into the vehicle, Alerik paused, turning back to Bragog, “Come with us! They are going to kill you!” he yelled.

  “My fate has been decided, my friend. Yours hasn’t. Get out of here and make something with this second chance,” Bragog shouted back, then scooped up a rifle and turned towards the door.

  Alerik hopped in the back seat of the vehicle as Lucius climbed in and took the wheel.

  “Where to?” Lucius was as cheerful as ever.

  “Head to the dump.”

  Lucius started the car and they headed towards the dump, leaving the docks and Bragog behind.

  Alerik watched out the window for as long as he could. He saw the door in front of Bragog swing open. Bragog took out a couple of guards with his rifle before a few more stepped out and returned fire. He was outnumbered and overwhelmed in a matter of moments, and Alerik watched a barrage of bullets pass through his friend, leaving him in a heap on the ground. The docks and the heap that used to be Bragog disappeared from sight as the vehicle headed towards the Children of Old headquarters.

  ***

  Lucius pulled into the dump and instantly tucked the vehicle alongside a heap of trash. The Union would, no doubt, be searching for them, and they would have alerted the entire settlement to be on the lookout. The two stepped out and stacked garbage onto the vehicle to serve as a temporary camouflage, while they went in to talk to the Children of Old. Alerik held Bragog’s file tightly in one hand as he went over to the hatch and pulled it open.

  As Lucius and Alerik climbed down into the hatch, they were met by a large crowd of Children of Old who seemed to be expecting them. At the front of the pack, Valek stood with his patched-together armor and long, dark hair. He was holding onto a homemade mace of sorts.

  “Welcome back, Alerik. It’s been a while. Who is your friend?” Valek asked, in a cautious tone, as he appraised the newcomer.

  “This is Lucius; he is a friend,” Alerik assured Valek, “We need to speak to Cinine. Urgently.”

  “She is meeting with our people in The Den. She was expecting you, actually…” Valek said, as he continued scrutinizing the pair of men. “Follow me, I’ll take you to your room. Cinine will see you as soon as she finishes preparing the group.”

  “Preparing the group? For what?” Alerik frowned.

  “Not my place to say. Now let’s go,” Valek started walking.

  They followed Valek a short distance, through several empty halls that all looked so similar that it was a wonder anybody could navigate the place. Not to mention, the silver coating on the metal was nearly blinding under the fluorescent lighting. Everything was immaculate, not a thing tarnished or out of place. Once they reached their room, the door slid open. It was a small room with only a bed, lamp, and toilet. The tiny bit of space made Alerik a little queasy, it reminded him of the tunnel up to Aldain’s office at The Union building, but he didn’t complain. So long as he was hidden from The Union, he was happy with whatever accommodations accomplished that. Hell, he’d stay in a cardboard box if need be.

  “This will be your room for the day. I am not sure what Cinine has in store for you, but she should be here within the hour,” Valek said before he stepped out of the doorway, letting the door slide shut behind him.

  Alerik turned away from the door and walked over to the bed, then sat down and opened up the file. Helpful as always, Lucius faced the lamp towards Alerik’s lap to illuminate the documents, before sitting down next to him on the bed.

  Alerik slid the paperwork out of the faded, old envelope as he glanced over it. The first page he pulled out showed a diagram of the dome. It was an odd diagram, though. There were two massive tunnels leading out of the dome. He found the drawing strange, no one had ever left the dome since its creation, because to do so would result in a quick death.

  “Why would The Union build tunnels out of the dome? It’s not as if they could ever leave…” Alerik mumbled to himself as he scratched his head.

  “They couldn’t, but I could,” Lucius interjected.

  “That’s right! But… what is the benefit of sending androids out into a wasteland?”

  “That, I cannot answer,” Lucius smiled.

  Alerik just shook his head as he went to the next page. It had strange logos drawn onto the pages, but they weren’t familiar to him at all. It had a note under it written to someone named “C”.

  “I can’t do this anymore. They are so close to figuring out who I am. This will be the last bit of communication you will receive from me. Stay safe. –B”

  There was nothing more to the note, so that was a lot of help. Alerik turned to the final page which went into heavy detail about the production of androids, and The Union’s plans to wipe out the weak. Their plan was relatively simple. There would come a time when they would cut off the food supply, and while chaos raged within the outer settlement, they would sit in their high-rises. They planned to watch people starve and rip each other apart, then come in and clean up with their android army.

  Alerik threw the file onto the bed and clenched his fists. The Union had used the people, and planned to throw them away. Everyone he ever knew were in or around those mines. An entire history of people would be erased from time. In Alerik’s haste, he almost didn’t notice the scribbles on the back of the folder itself. Alerik lifted the file so that the light of the lamp revealed the faint writing. It was addressed to him.

  “Alerik, you must find the pieces. Only trust Cinine. Follow her map. Find the caches.”

  He quickly tore out the small excerpt on the back of the folder. As he stood from the bed, there was a knock at the door. He walked over and pressed the button to slide it open. Cinine was on the other side, with three guards all dressed in their traditional patchwork armor. She stepped into the tiny room and waved the guards away, then began pacing the room slowly.

  “Alerik, we have much to discuss,” her eyes flicked to Lucius, then back to Alerik.

  “Yes, much,” Alerik’s reply was short, but he had been lied to, and he was irritated.

  “I suppose you have figured out that Bragog is— was with us,” she said with a sigh as she sat on the bed.

  “Yeah, I have gathered that much. How many people do you have working for you on the surface?” Alerik sat on the end of the bed.

  “We used to have many in our day… Now, though, it seems less and less as time goes on. Many have either been captured, or killed. A few have even flipped. We worried about Bragog for a while, but he only proved that he was a really good actor,” she said with a wistful smile.

  “Bragog saved my life. Without him, I would h
ave been executed. I owe him and his cause everything, and it seems his cause was you,” Alerik stood up and started pacing, “I need to know more, though; I need to know his sacrifice wasn’t in vain. Tell me everything, he said that I could only trust you.”

  “What would you like to know dear?” she asked as she patted the bed, signaling for him to sit down again.

  “Why are there tubes leading out of the dome, and why has no one ever seen them?” he complied and took a seat, though it was difficult to sit still while so many emotions and questions were bouncing through his psyche.

  “Oh, people have seen them, but they would never speak on such matters. Ask yourself, Alerik, why would The Union have tubes leading out of the dome?” she asked.

  “To leave, I assume,” he replied.

  “Precisely. The red hue of your friend’s eyes, there, should give you a clue as to who is sent out,” she said, pointing to Lucius.

  “The androids, yes… we came to that conclusion, but it still doesn’t make sense. What would they gain by sending them out?” he asked, “It’s not as if they are bringing anything in, it would be noticed too quickly.”

  “So, if nothing ever comes in…” she said, letting the thought register in Alerik.

  “It’s only going out,” he said. Again, he stood and began pacing, “That would explain why we never see what is produced in the mines. There are no stockpiles within the settlement.”

  “Have you ever asked yourself why we believe what we believe here in The Den?”

  “I have wondered, sure,” he frowned, “I don’t see what that has to do with this.”

  “We believe that life still exists on Earth. We just believe that The Earth cleansed itself of the wicked, and sent them to this new, unhospitable world. For generations we have suffered here, and it was all to make us who we are, Alerik. We believe Mars to be a training ground for our people and The Union are agents of evil sent to build up our fortitude. We believe in duality, light and dark, good and evil,” she explained.

  “So you believe that the Earth holds the pure while our world harbors nothing but evil? How can you say that when there are people like you and I here? I don’t claim to be perfect, but I am a far cry from The Union,” he snorted.

  “Well, with duality, there cannot be evil without good and vice versa. We believe these things go in cycles. So, while Earth purges itself of evil, Mars will do the same with the righteous,” she said with a smile.

  “You mean, people are meant to return to Earth?” he was confused.

  “Yes. At one point, Earth was nothing but the righteous, and Mars flooded with evil… but, over time, the scales find balance and the cycle renews,” she said, standing up.

  “I think I understand… But if what you’re saying is true, then Earth is, once again, as unbalanced as we are.”

  “That is why we must go there. We have been put through all of this here to make us stronger, so that we may return to our home world and eliminate the evil residing there. Then, we rebuild in an era of peace on Earth, and let the evil on Mars destroy itself.”

  Alerik gave her a skeptical look, “Okay, let’s say all of that is possible and true. What is to stop the cycle from beginning again?”

  “Nothing. Evil people will always exist, just as good always will. Our only job is to ensure that the scales never tip this far again,” she said, walking through the door to the room and making her way into the hall, “I still have more to show you. Follow me.”

  “You know, for a religion, this all sounds oddly reasonable… But then again, I think that is how they get you,” Alerik chuckled as he followed behind Cinine, “You are aware that there is no way for us to actually get to the Earth, though… right?”

  “I have a theory that The Union is far more informed than we are, in regards to life on Earth. I feel those tunnels have something to do with it,” she said as they reached a stairwell that descended further into the depths of the vaults.

  As Alerik followed her down the stairs, he wondered to himself how much of what she had said was fact, and how much of it was unconfirmed conjecture-turned-belief. Faith didn’t hold much weight in Liberty, and even if it were all true, getting to Earth would be impossible. The aspect of cycles did make sense to him, but the thought that all the original Martian settlers had been evil seemed a bit far-fetched. There were so many good people on Mars. Then again, if she believed everything she had just said to him, it was no wonder they had prepared themselves so well for war.

  They finally reached the bottom of the stairwell and made their way through a narrow hall that led to a large metal door. Cinine pushed a series of buttons on a panel to the right of the door and it slid open. They both stepped through the door, the sheer size of the room was overwhelming. In the very center of the room was a massive control panel, connected to a large metal tube going into the ground, surrounded by guard rails.

  “What is this room?” Alerik asked as he scanned the area.

  “This is the room responsible for all life on Mars,” she said with a light-hearted smile, “Back in the year 2015 on Earth, scientists discovered saltwater beneath the surface of Mars, and many years later they traveled there, looking for any signs of life. Eventually, they funded a project to create a settlement here, and so the vaults were built. This room was the water supply to these vaults. It was supposed to be a temporary project, but they ran out of funding, and the project was abandoned. Well, until Earth began its cycle again,” she said.

  “Then people were forced to come here…” he trailed off, “So, how do you know all of this?”

  “The scientists that first came left many relics. From books, to devices capturing their voices. The people who came first documented everything. That is why The Union are so well-informed… When they branched off, onto the surface, we believe they did so with information that they kept secret,” she frowned.

  “So, in the beginning, everyone who arrived here was evil, and generations later, the good that were born became the Children of Old,” Alerik thought out loud.

  “Exactly. The Union scrambled to the surface so that we wouldn’t pollute their cause. At first there were only a few of us, and they left us here to work on the pumps that brought water out to the settlement, confident that we would keep doing it since it would keep everyone alive. Seems they wanted good people working on the source of all life here. Go figure,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  “To ensure that you would, they closed off all of the entrances in—” Alerik came to a realization.

  “Yes, and that is why they have left us alone, for the most part. Our entrances have all been buried under construction, and through the years The Union lost sight of where we were. They know we are underneath them and supply their water, but they do not know of the entrance we built for ourselves. We built it nearly fifty years ago, only a few close to us know of it, and the people we send to the surface. Well, now you and your friends know of course,” she said.

  “So why are they looking for you, now… after all of these years?”

  “I assume it has to do with the scales finding balance. Uprisings have begun, and they can only assume that we are part of it as we are the original good. Plus, now that they have androids, they don’t have to worry about right or wrong, they can just program them to do what we do now, with little worry,” she said.

  “Of course… So you have been planning for war for a long time now,” he said.

  “Since the beginning, when we first learned of these cycles. The Earth was purging entire species before we existed. According to the texts left behind, there used to be massive creatures on Earth that it cleansed itself of millions of years ago. We are just the latest one. The cycles will happen, we just need to live through it, and this is how we will do it,” she gestured towards the control panel.

  “You are going to cut off their water supply? Won’t that affect everyone up there?” Alerik asked.

  “It is a small price to pay for victory, and to guarantee our
survival. The human body cannot go long without water, by the second day, their forces will be completely weakened. Of course, this will not affect the androids, but any advantage we can get, we’re going to take,” she said, looking especially apathetic.

  “When will you cut off the water?” Alerik asked.

  “When you collect the pieces to the radio that Bragog left behind for you,” she smiled.

  “Once I have all of the pieces, and I put this thing together, then what?” he frowned. He was uncomfortable with the thought of cutting off the water supply to everyone on the surface. The Union still held all the power, they would be the last to see the effects. Why did everyone’s master plan involve harming the very people he had been fighting to protect?

  “You find a way to The Union Radio tower and use the device to hijack the signal. Then you scan the skies, and try to find another signal and if we are right about all of this, you will find some originating from Earth. Once you have a lock, broadcast to the entire world, let them hear our story. I am confident that if there are still people there, like we predict, they will at least have advanced enough technologically to receive radio signals,” she explained as she moved closer to Alerik.

  “If these cycles are as you say they are, then there will be just as many evil on Earth as there are good… just like here. How will we know we are reaching the right people?” he asked.

  “We won’t. That is where the faith part comes into play,” she smiled as she gave his upper-arm a light squeeze.

  “I suppose that faith also keeps you believing that we can actually pull this off as well?”

  “You catch on quick,” she said with a wink.

  “How can you be so confident? Can I borrow a little of that from you?” he chuckled.

  “Well, it is half faith, and half good information. We won’t be alone in this fight. Liberty’s Hammer is planning an attack, a full-scale war, actually. With them fighting the androids and both sides weakened from thirst, I have faith that you will make it to the radio tower. Our people will be cutting a path in front of you, as well. Of course, we can’t risk being seen prematurely, so we won’t be with you to collect the pieces. Once you have them, however, return here, and we will be ready,” she said as she began leading him back to the stairs.