by Peter Okafor
“Things getting bad enough for yah.”
“Sure.” Olivia nodded. “But my brother. I can’t leave him to fight alone.”
James walked towards her. “Yah brother will be fine.”
He walked to the end of the room and bent down to the foot of a wall. He slammed his hand twice on the wall and nodded. With a glance at Olivia, he pulled down a moveable wall, proceeded to unfasten a latch, and opened a door to a dark tunnel.
“Come on.” He beckoned. “Yah brother said yah must get to the council and stop yah boyfriend.”
“He is not my boyfriend!” Olivia snarled.
She followed him into the tunnel, staying close as he navigated through the darkness. Constant bombardment on the walls shook the tunnel, and she almost stumbled, but for James’s quick reflexes, he caught her and held her until she found her footing.
“Thanks.” Her voice was faint.
James reached to the side of his belt and brought out his torchlight. He turned it on, but the light grew dim and died.
“Give it to me.” Olivia stretched her arm forward.
He handed the torchlight to her. She waved it and hit it on her hand. The light blinked in response, and she tapped the head again. This time, it came alive with a bright light that flooded the tunnel.
“Sometimes, it just needs a soft touch.” She smiled.
He returned one and then turned to continue down the tunnel.
“Why?” Olivia asked.
James glanced at her. “Why what?”
“You seem like you came from pretty much a well-to-do family. You have little or no reason to leave your comfortable life and take up the Liberation flag with my brother. So, why did you do it?”
He broke into a brief laughter. She hardly saw his cheeky grin in the darkness.
“Rebellion here, rebellion there. No one wants to do what they’re told, and this is the price we pay for disobedience. We are hunted down like animals with the hunger to impose the councillor’s justice.”
He shook his head as if regretting his choices and turned to face Olivia. Their eyes locked in a heated moment of soul-searching. He sat down on the floor, and she did the same.
“Like everyone, I, too, want freedom. My folks are wealthy water merchants who came to the big city a few months ago. They bribed the matchmaker to match me with Lolly Gallywater.”
“Lolly Gallywater?” Olivia seemed astonished. “Red-haired stone-cold bitch! She was in my sixth-grade class at the citadel’s command school. She always wears a smile like she was stung by bees on her cheek. The girl’s as mean as the beard that sprouts from her chin. Eww!”
James chuckled and almost choked.
“Easy, tough guy.” Olivia crawled to reach him and patted his back. “Are you okay?”
He nodded, and his lips curved to a smile that brightened his once tightened face. “I had someone back in MegaCityThree, my former home. She waits for me right now, but the laws of the council would nat hear of it. People here don’t even know that other MegaCities exist. They think the whole world is decaying with little or no one left.”
“Are there?” Olivia glanced at him.
“There are over twenty MegaCities in this region. The wasteland is vast, but at certain points, you find huge domed cities or small sheltered colonies. I know this because I travelled as a water merchant. Beyond the great seas, folks say that there are places where the sun can shine upon yah face, and new worlds are growing, but I’m not certain.”
Olivia hung her head, and blonde strands of her hair fell loosely over her face. “I have someone out there in the wastelands. I feel like I have sent him to his death, and the guilt is eating me. You know, at first, it was hard to let him do our dirty job. I mean, he was a slum dweller, expendable but for a good reason.”
She raised her head and threw her gaze across to James. “You must think of me as a monster.”
“Nat really.” James shook his head.
“I didn’t know him very well, but there was something about him, something that makes his face haunt my dreams. I feel like we…” Olivia paused and sniffed the air. “Do you smell that?”
James pushed his body up and staggered to his feet. “Tear gas. They’ve found the tunnel. We got to get out of here, now!”
He stretched his arm and drew Olivia up. His gaze went to their front and then backwards in wild panic. There was no one there, but she could hear footstep coming towards them. James removed the belt that hung his crossbow over his shoulder and stretched the bow towards Olivia.
“Make it count, or we will both die,” he said.
“What? I have never shot an arrow in my life.” Olivia stepped backwards.
“It’s easy, princess,” he said and edged closer to her. He reached his right arm over her shoulder and held her hands steady on the crossbow. “Point and shoot…point and shoot. Easy, right?”
Olivia nodded, unsure of her aim.
James began to hurry towards the exit, and she followed behind him, her grip loose on the crossbow like any other amateur. The footsteps were approaching faster. In her heart, she prayed for it to be Oliver. She knew this day would come like it had met every other rebel leader that wore the mask that named them Death Throe.
Her heart raced like the nonstop thumps of the city’s geothermal generators. What would happen if she was caught by the spectres? That would be worse than dying. The councillors would force her father to hang her in front of the entire city. It would be broadcasted on digital screens, the penalty for treason and terrorism.
“We are here,” James said.
Her heart eased to a great calmness. James forced the latch and opened the door. A blow landed on his head from the butt of a rifle. He fell on the floor, and a spectre aimed at him. Olivia raised the crossbow and shot an arrow. It went past its mark and landed bluntly on the tunnel wall.
James slammed his foot on the Spectre’s leg to disconcert him. “Olivia! Shoot him. Shoot him now!”
Olivia shot another arrow, and it grazed the spectre’s arm, tearing through the black military garb he wore. The spectre raised and aimed his rifle at her.
“Your Death Throe has been captured, and you shall join him soon.”
He took a step towards her. She panicked and fell on the ground, struggling to fit an arrow in the crossbow. His face folded to a fiendish grin, and then something struck into his head. Blood spurted upon her shirt as she gazed at the huge machete stuck in the spectre’s head.
The man slumped to the ground, revealing a blue-eyed boy behind, and it certainly wasn’t James Wednesday.
“Who are you?” Olivia muttered as the blood pooled towards her.
“Troy Decker,” the boy replied and gasped for air. “Runner sent me, and believe me…it wasn’t easy tracking you.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Fellowship of Nine
No one wanted to risk their lives and go down the underground ruin that had been known as MegaCityTwo. It was not cowardice that stayed them, but the walls of the city still held horrible memories that were fresh in their hearts. Runner had not been there to witness the fall of a growing utopia. He was only a toddler then, but now, he must delve into a place that all men feared.
His bow was strapped at his back, just at the side of his backpack. Knives were readily sheathed around his belt, and his gas mask hung at one end. He tried to summon a smile, but his efforts were futile.
He was scared.
With little luck, he had made past several obstacles, but this time around, his heart was soaked in fear. He raised both hands and gazed at them; they were shaking. No luck in the world could save him from the perils beneath the ground he stood, not if he went alone. There was safety in numbers, but he had no one, not even Legion.
“Runner, are you okay?”
Runner nodded without as much as a glance at Legion. She put a hand on his shoulder and grasped his quivering fingers together.
“You know, you don’t have to do this. You can sta
y here with me. We can make something of this life here in this shelter. Look around you; there is peace, love, and life.”
“You don’t understand,” Runner said. “I have been on my own since I was seven, squatting with Troy and his mom. We watched her die because there was no antibiotic to treat an infected wound, and then it was us against a broken world. We saw many good people die because they lacked simple things like water, first aid, medicine…so, this is not about my freedom or wanting to be a hero or finding water for the big city. I have a plan that would change the lives of every slum dweller, and that is why I must endure till the end.”
Legion smiled. “Turn around. I got something for you,” she said.
He turned around and saw some familiar faces. There were many gathered before him, and he was confused. He glanced at Legion.
“Volunteers from the Remnants of Men and a few from this shelter,” she said.
“How did you…” Runner paused and turned to Legion. “Thank you,” he whispered.
“All I did was draw them here, and they heard what you said. So, it was all you not me.” She smiled again.
A grin formed on Runner’s face even as he tried to hide it, but then his gaze settled upon someone unexpected.
“Dope!” Runner pushed through the small crowd.
“Look, man. No hard feelings, alright?” Dope took quick steps backwards.
Runner got to him and grabbed him by the neck of his grey jacket. He pushed Dope to stagger backwards, and as the boy recovered, Runner’s fist landed on his face. Dope fell on the floor, and a few boys gathered around Runner and held him still.
He knew his actions ruined any sense of leadership he had established, but he did not care. He was red with rage.
“Okay, okay. I’m cool…I’m cool.” Runner raised his hands and wiped the dust off his jacket.
There were seven original members of the Remnants of Men. Runner recognized them by the flashing wristbands on their wrist. The rest were sheltered locals, and some had begun to leave.
“Listen. I know this is a difficult thing to do, but if we are successful, it means enough water to last everyone for decades.” Runner shouted.
“Where are the rest of us?” a gangly boy asked.
Runner gazed at the tag on his shirt to see his name.
“Jonny, right?” Runner pointed at him. “Jonny Johnson. You are the one they call Razor.”
“Yeah,” the boy answered. “Call sign: Libra,” he added.
“Don’t be proud of your call sign. It is the name of your sponsors, and all they want is for you to find the location of the lake, then they will abandon you. They are all in for themselves alone, the lot of them.”
Runner circled his gaze around them. If they couldn’t be inspired to delve into the dark city, then he would unite them in common hatred, and nothing better than the big city authority figures.
“Wynn Rivers, call sign: Helix, is dead. I found him, brains scattered all over. He was killed by a goddamn butcher, and for what? To please men who held his life in little regard. Fat Eddy Chen was captured and sold to slavers, but we have not forgotten him. Slim Jim is missing but…”
“But not lost,” a voice sounded from the crowd.
A boy shoved through the gathered group. His face was smeared with black soot and his grey shirt torn halfway diagonally with one half of his chest bare.
“Jimmy…what the hell happened to you?” Runner stepped towards him.
“Good to see you too, Runner.” Slim Jim’s arms were wide open.
“Nah…no hugs.” Runner joked.
Slim Jim shrugged his shoulder and turned to receive Legion’s warm embrace. When they disengaged, he went on to shake hands with the rest of the group.
“You didn’t answer my question, Jimmy,” Runner said.
“What do you think, Runner? I spent most of my life in a Section 5 command school, picked up a few things from the rangers.”
Runner sniggered.
Mayor Wiggins came towards them in the company of her watchmen. Runner’s face brightened at the thought that they were some kind of reinforcement. It would lower the risk they were about to take and even save a lot of lives. Most people showed little or no fear when in great company; safety in numbers and all that crap. Well, it didn’t matter if it was all a load of bull’s crap as long as they were willing to go down there.
The mayor stepped in front and faced the crowd.
“I know most of you here are moved by your quest for freedom. Some of you believe it is your path to find the water you seek. Others just don’t want to be called cowards, but all the same, I say thank you for this bravery. Most of my people would not go down there, not even for their mayor’s daughter. I cannot promise you gold, silver, or credit-chips, but I would owe you a debt of gratitude if you bring my sweet girl safely back to me. Thank you all.”
She walked to Runner, her face bearing a sullen pout. “I’m sorry, but I cannot force the watchmen to go with you, and they will not go down there of their own accord.”
The mayor beckoned, and a young girl came towards her. She was tall and slender, wearing a grey cloak with a hood over her head, but Runner could see the strands of red hair straying away from the obscurity.
“Sara Summers.” The mayor introduced her. “She is our most trusted scout, a good healer, skilled in combat, and most of all, a great guide. She knows the ruins having been there once or twice, and she will guide your party. This is the best I can do for you, Runner of Rat Town.”
“Thank you,” Runner muttered.
He turned to his party. “Let’s move out!” he shouted.
Sara ran to the front and walked beside Runner. They exchanged awkward glances and never said a word. She led them past the stalls whose marketers had emptied in fear of being asked to join the expedition.
Runner caught their faces as he walked. Women snatched their children off the streets and hid inside their tents. The men stared wide-eyed, sitting around barrels of burning fires and warming their hands. Perhaps they laughed at the foolish bunch that would delve into a place where angels fear to tread.
The group halted. Four watchmen came and rolled over a large stone that sealed the tunnel to the underground ruins. It was time. Runner stepped in front. A smile grew on his face as he set his gaze upon each member of the Remnants of Men.
“Remove your dog tags.” He ordered.
They stared at him confused, but Slim Jim removed his and brought it forth. Runner took it and nodded. The next was the gangly boy, Jonny Razor, and after him, others began to comply.
Runner’s right hand was filled with tags. He gazed at the names and began to call them out. “Jimmy Slim, Jonny Johnson, Toad Cooper, Marq of Mole Town, Big Sylvia…”
His gaze fell on Dope. The burly boy reluctantly pulled off his chain tag and handed it to Runner.
“Dope ‘Skittish’ Davies,” Runner said and was distracted by a voice in the distance.
Legion came running towards the group. She reached them and shoved her way through, removing her tag and handing it to Runner.
“Ariel Waters,” he said and then removed his own chain. “Runner of Rat Town.”
Runner gave the chains to a member of the watchmen. “Much of our lives we’ve been given nothing. The world called us slum dwellers, only fit to eat the scraps that fell off tables of our betters, only fit to die for them to live in comfort. But today, we make a stand not for them, but for our friends and families to endure. Take our tags to the mayor. Tell her that we are the Remnants of Men, all of us living in this shattered world. They called us lawless, unfit for society, but we go to our deaths to quench the world’s thirst. Tell her to hang them at the centre of her town, and it shall serve a constant reminder that few went where many feared. Let them remember us, and perhaps they shall grow courage of their own to stand against the Second Coming.”
The group had begun to make their way into the tunnel. Runner inhaled and breathed out deeply. He tried not to think
of the many things that waited waylay them and strode into the tunnel.
The watchmen pulled the large stone. Slowly, the light outside died until there was only darkness in the tunnel. Everyone turned on their torchlights, flooding the hollow room with bright white light.
As the group’s guide, Sara Summers led the way. Her cloak and hood made her look like a silhouette in the light. Runner noticed the way she maneuvered past obstacles like rocks and fallen bricks. It was like her feet barely touched the ground. Her skill was present in her tracking, and so was her ability to remain silent even when others spoke so loud to undo the eerie quietness that filled the wide tunnel.
“Wait,” the girl spoke sharply.
Runner hurried to the front along with Legion and Dope. He guided his torchlight to see ferns and stunted plant life he could not recognise stretching down the dark distance. The plants bore shades of red, blue, yellow, black, and several other colours caught in something that looked like a bog.
“What is it?” Dope asked.
“It is the end of the tunnel,” she said.
“Well then, let’s march right into the ruins and find the damn freshwater lake and be out of this creepy place.”
He turned to face the group. “Come on, guys.”
“I won’t be in a hurry if I were you,” Sara said. “I have been here before, and there were no reeds and ferns. Wait for me to check it out.”
“Are you guys seriously gonna listen to this girl? What can she do that I can’t?” Dope shook his head and began to laugh loudly.
“I would listen to her if I were you,” Runner added.
“Fuck off, Runner. Who made you the leader?” Dope replied angrily.
Runner jerked forward, but Legion put her hand on his chest to restrain him. Scrawny-looking Jonny Razor strode forward, not minding what they argued over. He stepped into the plants and opened his arms wide.
“You see, there is nothing to fear, you wimps,” he said.
For a moment, Runner hoped that something would snatch him into the darkness and teach him a lesson. But nothing happened. The bog was not deep, and the plants reached the height of his knees.