Eleven Graves

by Aman Gupta

  “They haven’t written the coordinates, but like all the maps, X marks the spot. I think we’re nearby, if the scales on the sides are correct. First, we’ll have to check around for any resistance we might face,” said Vik.

  “Let’s go,” said Eric.

  They walked another hundred meters and reached the area which represented the X on the schematics, but didn’t find anything. They were still in the bushes. Eric argued that maybe the entrance and exits outside Atlantis weren’t completed. They went another hundred yards ahead, but couldn’t see anything apart from the bushes in front of their eyes, till they reached the woods again. They went back, first in the east direction, then the west, but couldn’t find anything.

  “What the hell do we do now?” said Vik, when they went back to the spot.

  “It’s a dead end. We need to get into Atlantis some other way,” said Eric.

  “I don’t get it. Why write 90% completed when you haven’t created the only entrance and exit outside Atlantis. I mean, that’s where you start, right? Your entire road network has to lead somewhere or start from someplace. Isn’t the origin the first thing you complete?” said Vik.

  “Got a shovel in that duffel bag?” asked Eric.

  “No. What are you thinking, creating a tunnel of your own?” asked Vik.

  “You got any better idea?” asked Eric.

  “I don’t know. I hate this place and these itchy bushes,” said Vik.

  He viewed the schematics again.

  “Maybe I missed something,” said Vik.

  They looked at the schematics for another few minutes without saying a word.

  Vik started reiterating everything he could spot, “These two parallel lines in blue means two lanes, right? So most of these roads look like two lanes, except these ones below the buildings which are marked by a single line. So one-way. Here, that’s the south side gate few miles from here. Now, these two lines increase to four at the south gate and terminate at this point marked by X where we are right now.”

  “I used to date this girl. A real germaphobe. She was an architect. She was hell bent on teaching me few of the things about the diagrams she used to draw. Told me that one day, we might start a firm together,” said Eric.

  “Congratulations for finding a girl. How does that help?” taunted Vik.

  Eric took out a pen and started drawing over the schematics.

  Vik looked at it for a minute, finally realizing what Eric was trying to say.

  “It’s not a big X symbol. These are two ramps,” said Vik.

  “Yes. How did you know the symbol for ramps?” said Eric.

  “I used to date the same girl,” joked Vik.

  Eric smiled.

  “We’re standing on top of a ramp,” said Eric.

  Vik got up and picked up the schematics. Eric got up in a hurry too. Vik walked to the west side.

  “Where are we going?” asked Eric.

  “When was the last time you saw these itchy bushes anywhere in the county? Smell them. They smell too nice,” said Vik.

  “What are you saying?” asked Eric.

  “I think we just underestimated the size of the exit ramp. You’re right. We’re standing on it. I think the two ramps are spread across two hundred meters,” said Vik.

  “You mean to say this entire vegetation around us, is fake?” asked Eric.

  Vik nodded.

  “Let’s just hope that we’re lucky enough that whoever designed this, placed a control box outside as an override in case of an emergency,” said Vik.

  They went in different directions. Eric went left and Vik went right. They walked along the fringe of the vegetation, hoping to see something out of the ordinary. Since they were in the middle of a forest, ordinary would be easy to spot, Eric thought.

  After looking for an hour, Vik found one metal box half buried in the ground, hidden under the tree branches. Unknown to him, Eric had found one too.

  Vik removed the branches and smashed the lock with a rock. He opened the box and saw a big red button at the center of the back panel. The entire box was empty otherwise.

  Scared that it could blow the entire place, Vik still pressed the button. But nothing happened. He pressed it a few more times, but still nothing.

  He went back through bushes towards Eric, who was on the other side. As he was walking, the land below his feet suddenly started shaking. He picked up the pace as he got a sinking feeling, like the land underneath him was being swallowed by the planet’s core. When he reached the edge, he ran into a concrete wall, almost 30 feet in the ground. He looked upwards and saw Eric hanging on to the top by his fingers.

  “Get out of there,” shouted Eric.

  “Why?” asked Vik.

  “The floor, above you. It’s closing. From your left,” said Eric.

  “What do you mean, the floor above me?” asked Vik.

  “It’s a pocket floor. Ceiling for you. Wait, it’s a ramp. The ramp’s emerging from the side. You’ll be trapped down there in about 20 seconds,” said Eric.

  “What do I do?” asked Vik.

  “You’re at the edge. Maybe the ramp’s not that thick and high there. On my mark, get ready to jump as high as you can, and grab the surface,” said Eric.

  “Okay,” said Vik.

  After a few seconds, losing the grip himself, Eric shouted, “On the count of three.”

  Vik could see the light disappear in front of him as the region was going dark. He jumped after three seconds, but was too early. As the gravity was taking him down, he tried holding on the ramp floor, but wasn’t able to get a grip. Losing his balance, he fell on the ground. Eric looked in horror as the floor covered Vik when it hit the 45% mark. With only half the distance to go before the entire region is covered, Eric shouted for Vik’s name but didn’t hear a response.

  At the 65% mark, the floor was directly below Eric, who let go. He ended up at the bottom of the ramp. He rushed to the side and looked upside down into the trailing bushes. It was too dark to see. He shouted, “Jay!” but couldn’t hear anything.

  Few seconds later, he heard someone running through the bushes.

  “Grab my arm,” said Eric. “Hurry, Jay!”

  Blindly, he put down both his arms, hoping that Vik would latch onto them in time. Vik had another problem to take care of. He felt that he had to get ahead of the moving floor and turn around, facing Eric. If he couldn’t, he might not be able to get through with his back pack getting in the way. But he was running out of time. The floor was moving at the same pace as Vik could manage through the dense bushes. With less than ten seconds left, Eric felt someone grab his hands. He pulled with all his strength, but Vik wouldn’t push himself up yet. Vik leaned back against the width of the moving floor, and raised his front legs. He took a swing backwards, pulling Eric down a bit.

  “Stop moving,” said Eric.

  “Let go. Now!” shouted Vik.

  As he was going forward, Eric let go. Going with the momentum, Vik managed to do a 360-degree flip in the air and landed on the ramp at the same moment it touched the other side of the wall.

  Back against the wall, Vik breathed heavily. Eric was lying on the ground, cursing.

  “Since when did you get so perceptive?” joked Vik.

  “That was fun,” said Eric.

  “Thanks for saving me,” said Vik.

  “I guess the green button worked,” said Eric. “I found the control box.”

  “Why didn’t you give a warning? You almost killed me,” said Vik.

  “Seriously?” said Eric.

  “Fine, the score’s even, I guess,” said Vik, laughing.

  Eric laughed too.

  “Is it okay if we stay here for few more minutes?” said Eric.

  “Fine. Only because I owe you,” said Vik, breathing for his life.

  After a few minutes, they both got up.

  “Which way?” asked Eric.

  “The ramp’s marked. Here, that way to Atlantis,” said Vik.

&
nbsp; They climbed up the first ramp, walked for around fifty meters, and then climbed down the second ramp.

  “If I die in there before we make it to the surface, my ghost will haunt you,” said Eric.

  “Hope the ghost’s funnier,” said Vik.

  Eric punched him in the back, and ran into the darkness. Vik ran after him looking for the light at the end of the tunnel.

  “Where are the lights?” asked Eric, as they walked closer to the wall on the side of the convex tunnel.

  “That’d be my bad, I guess,” said Vik.

  The tunnel narrowed a few hundred meters ahead, and turned just wide enough for four cars. It wasn’t much high for a truck or a bus to go through it. Not knowing how far they would have to go before they see any light and breathe fresh air again, they used their only torch sparingly. It was exceedingly dark. They couldn’t see more than a feet in front of them. They walked side by side. They couldn’t see each other’s faces but could hear the other one breathing. Eric would curse himself for coming. Vik would curse Eric for coming. He would occasionally hold his breath and stop moving, freaking Eric out, when he couldn’t hear him.

  Sometimes, they would check the ceiling with their flash light and see hundreds of light bulbs. Eric would tell Vik to invent electricity, Vik would tell Eric to breathe lightly to conserve oxygen, which would worry Eric even more. He wasn’t exactly on good terms with the darkness. His suddenly aggravated claustrophobia wasn’t helping him much either.

  They wandered for many hours. They would see platforms without doors leading to the top. The tunnel would split and eventually multiply, prompting them to pick a route. This would tell them that they were under Atlantis, but not much else. They changed their directions every now and then, hoping for a miracle.

  “What was the name of the architect girl?” asked Vik.

  “Can’t remember,” said Eric, after pausing for a few seconds.

  “Where did you meet her?” asked Vik.

  “We shared a cab together,” said Eric.

  “Shared a cab with you? Thought she was a germaphobe,” said Vik.

  “Yeah, I don’t know. I’m just tired,” said Eric.

  After five hours, they caught a break. They saw a light at the end of the tunnel. A battery operated bulb to be precise.

  Next to the light bulb was an unlocked door. They were wary of going in there, but decided to open the door. They went up the staircase on the other side. They ended up in the basement of a fire station.

  Evading detection, they managed to get out of there, and headed to the road. Reading the road signs, Vik realized that they had reached the west side of Atlantis. He could see a tall building, burnt to a crisp.

  “Your work, huh?” asked Eric.

  “Just a checkpoint. Wait till you see the destination,” said Vik.

  Eric would hide himself from the cameras, but Vik told him that the security system had likely gone kaput.

  Many roads were closed, and the traffic was being redirected. They asked a stranger on the road about the current situation at Locus. The guy told them about a massive fire, and around fifty confirmed deaths. Eric looked at Vik who didn’t show any emotion. He called it tragic, and asked the guy about what had happened since then.

  The guy told them that they opened the second building early, which acts as a new Locus. It was at the north end of the region. The guy asked Vik about the reasons for his questions. Vik told him that he and Eric were investigating a deadly gas leak and possible harmful radiation due to fire at Locus. The guy looked scared, and Vik urged him to spread the message to get the people to evacuate. Another three had gathered around since then, which helped Vik and Eric spread their message faster.

  As Atlantis lost its sunlight in the next hour, there was mass panic inside. They went to Locus in the north side of Atlantis.

  It was heavily fortified.

  Eric spotted Anton and pointed him out to Vik.

  “Can’t believe dating Jasmine turned out to be so helpful,” said Eric.

  “Dating who?” asked Vik.

  “Jasmine. The architect,” said Eric.

  “Guess, you aren’t tired anymore after walking another five miles in the open,” said Vik. “It’s so cold out here. How are you not freezing in your T-shirt while I’m freezing in my jacket?”

  “It’s not snowing. Just a little wind,” said Eric. “Maybe you’re sick.”

  “Yeah, could be,” said Vik, as he saw Eric sitting calmly and staring at Anton.

  Vik opened his backpack and started choosing his weapons. He explained his plan to Eric, and illustrated some of the weapons to bring the plan into motion at specific intervals.

  ◆◆◆

  Emma, Kate and Joey had spent their entire time searching the information that Sam had given them access to, on Vik’s private server. They began downloading the information on Morrow PD’s server, thanks to Adam’s technical skills courtesy Vik. They took printouts of non-research based information, to take home with them. Eric also requested to be kept in the loop regarding the same.

  The next day, when they found out that only partial information was downloaded before Vik shut off the back door access, they began searching for any relevant information about projects of Atlantis more deeply.

  They found all sorts of information, be it safe houses of Atlantis’ security forces, or the personnel files of senior researchers working remotely with Atlantis. Other information was locked. They struck gold when they found communication logs and transcripts secretly kept by Olivia, of all her interactions, going back two years. They realized that she had put Anton under surveillance as well, when they found drone footages of Anton’s hideouts, as well as audio clips of his conversations with his men.

  Kate talked about splitting the work, but Joey argued that it would stop them from seeing a bigger picture. They decided to start with different things, but eventually cover everything they had with them.

  Kate started with Anton and all the information related to him, as well as personnel files. Emma and Joey decided to take the communication logs and safe houses.

  As the days passed, each of them started putting their insights on a common drawing board. Emma also looked into the research files, but couldn’t make much sense of it. Neither of them really excelled in Science in their college days.

  One day, they came to the Sheriff’s office to talk to Eric, but found a note on the table.

  ‘Hey guys. I’m writing this to let you know that I, Eric Daymond, is so proud of you. The work that we have done together has changed many lives. I’ll always be grateful to each one of you. When I look back, I feel honored to have worked with each one of you. We’ve laughed together, we’ve cried together, we’ve bled together, and we’ve recovered together. But, this time, I needed to do something knowing that I couldn’t do it if it put your lives at risk. As of this moment, I resign from my duties as Sheriff of Morrow Town. I won’t be naming a sheriff to take my place. I don’t think New Frontier needs a sheriff when they’ve got you.

  Don’t worry about me, though. I’ve got my friend to give me some company. I’m sure you already know this but trust me, he cares about you more than you. Don’t worry, I’ll do my best to right a wrong and make the world a safe place.’

  They were distraught. Joey and Emma talked about going to Atlantis. But Kate convinced them to respect Eric’s wishes. After few hours, they once again began working on the files.

  Emma was looking deeply into Olivia’s obsession with Old River. Kate was investigating Anton’s movements throughout the country based on the video recordings. Joey was looking into the kind of researchers that were assisting Atlantis in their projects, so as to find out the nature of work at Atlantis.

  ◆◆◆

  Around 80% of Atlantis had been evacuated overnight. Remaining residents and family members were protesting on the streets to be let out. Vik and Eric used the chaos in the morning to plant inch-wide devices on every other building’s load bearing w
alls and pillars, in Atlantis. Vik told Eric that they were portable surveillance cameras. Eric planted over a hundred devices before he ran out.

  Vik ran into Vanessa while he was planting his share. They hugged each other, and Vik thanked her. She assisted Vik in planting some of the devices as well. Vanessa was holding the bag while Vik was setting up a denotation device near the Electricity Control Centre. He saw Morgan coming out of the building. He jumped from the first floor terrace and they hid behind a car.

  “Who’s coming?” asked Vanessa.

  “An old enemy,” said Vik.

  He grabbed the bag from Vanessa and started searching for something.

  “What are you looking for?” asked Vanessa.

  “My gun,” said Vik.

  Suddenly, two men came from behind and grabbed Vanessa and Vik. Vik pushed them and took out something from his bag and put it in his pocket, before being overpowered.

  They took them to Morgan, who was standing nearby.

  “Well, well, well. Look who’s here,” said Morgan.

  The lackeys gave Vik’s bag to Morgan. Morgan looked inside it, and threw it away, as everything inside looked like crap to him. He found Vik’s handgun and threw it at Vik’s feet.

  “Why are you here?” asked Morgan.

  “To kill you,” said Vik.

  “Go ahead, pick up the weapon and shoot me,” said Morgan. “But your precious friend here will die.”

  Morgan forcibly kissed Vanessa on her lips while one of his lackeys held her from behind.

  Vik looked at Vanessa and nodded.

  Vanessa stomped her feet into the man’s toes, while Vik overpowered the one behind him, simultaneously. Another guy knocked him down and tried to grab Vik’s gun, but Vik kicked his gun towards Vanessa who picked it up.

  Vanessa pointed the gun at Morgan, and told him to throw his gun away.

  Vik knocked out the remaining guard, and picked up Morgan’s gun.

  They both pointed their gun at Morgan who backed away, raising his hands.

  “Before you kill me, do me a favor, would you?” said Morgan.

  “What’s that?” asked Vanessa.

  “Ask him, where the other chip is, okay? I mean, I searched everywhere. Anton searched everywhere. We couldn’t find it,” said Morgan.