by Isa Marks
“Should we risk it?” Cathy whispered to him.
“Well, we can’t play it safe forever.”
She wondered if it was worth the risk of exposure. But these past months hadn’t been very productive. If they wanted to find a way out, they needed to push it further.
This must be the edge of their domain. The tunnels were lit here, but there weren’t any people to be seen. It were just empty storage rooms and rooms filled with machines, which looked like they hadn’t been used for a long time. Big metal vats filled the big caves from front to back. They gazed at them in wonder. What was this place?
Daryl led the way, he could see the ground had been recently disturbed, which indicated they were getting closer to the center. It was more dangerous here, but it was also more likely they could figure out what this place was, and where they kept the others.
There were voices in the distance, which started to become louder. They crawled around the corner of the nearest room. It was dark inside, providing perfect cover. Two women passed them, wearing similar green spotted pattern outfits. The electric light coming from the tunnel’s ceiling accentuatated the frown lines on their faces. Both had batons hanging from the tool belt around their waists.
They waited for the silence to return before Daryl turned on the flashlight. A light buzzing sound filled the room, and the lines on the ceiling of the room started to glow. Moon stood by the entrance, her finger on the light switch.
“They have electric lights in here too?” Jake said impressed.
Cathy watched how he posed in front of the small mirror that hung on the wall and fixed his hair.
“Do you like it?” Jake said and winked at her.
She turned around and rolled her eyes. How could he be focused on his looks right now. While they had so much more important things to do.
“We should figure out how they power it, and where?” Daryl remarked.
“You push the off button as soon you see someone near the tunnel ends, okay partner?” he said to Moon.
“Aye aye, Captain” she said with a very serious face.
“Lose the ‘Captain’ please,” Daryl laughed. “But I am serious, you push that button if you think someone is coming.”
Meanwhile Cathy and the guys searched the room for anything useful. It was some kind of office, like her dad’s had been back at the dam. He had always kept the important things in his bottom drawer behind lock and key, making it the first place for her to investigate.
There was no locked drawer in this desk however. This office looked too messy to belong to anyone high up in an organization anyway. Her father’s office had always been structured and clean, this one looked more like a place to take a break between shifts. The other drawers held nothing of interest either. All that was there were some unlabeled bottles, probably containing some liquid high in alcohol.
Daryl grabbed a map from the wall. It was hand drawn and had some colored pushpins in it, which fell to the floor. He studied it carefully for a couple of minutes before putting it in the inside pocket of his now sleeveless jacket. He couldn’t get himself to throw it away after Cathy had used the sleeves to bind his wounded leg and make that stretcher. He actually liked it better this way.
“Let’s go and find somewhere safe,” Daryl said, signaling Moon to push the light switch, leaving the room back in darkness as they had found it.
◆◆◆
The top of the map was stamped ‘The Bunker’ in big capital letters. It showed a top level, middle level and bottom level. Each level was divided into segments, most of them highlighted in color code.
The middle level’s center was red, the legend indicated it as heavy traffic. Probably good to avoid that for now. It was surrounded by different shades of yellow and orange colored blocks, connected by passageways, sometimes turning to green zones at the edge of the level. Just like the ‘safe’ zone Daryl had brought them to on the bottom level, indicating minimal traffic.
The top level was almost entirely blue, marked water management and machinery. That must be the origin of the water supply, Cathy thought, where the rain and melt water is collected. They would need a lot of it for a place this size.
Daryl took a sip from the bottle he had grabbed from the office, no one had noticed that he had taken it. It was pretty good for home made whiskey.
“Notice how the bottom level has several segments,” he explained. “It is by far the widest spread of the three levels. But the segments seem to have a repeating pattern. See how these tunnels connect usually in straight lines, around that circular base? Try to memorize this map, it could be helpful.”
The west side was marked ‘Food’, ‘Field’, ‘Kitchen’ and ‘Dorms’. The circle around the inner center was marked ‘Machine rooms’ along with ‘Machinery’ to the north. And the center itself said ‘Lab’. East from the machine rooms were segments labeled ‘Medical bays’, and ‘Prison’. It was wide spread, but Daryl was right, there was a pattern to it. Although sometimes it deviated from the pattern.
“They probably worked around the natural cave formations,” Daryl suggested. “Which explains the geometrically precise lines between some of the bigger rounded rooms.”
“Prison,” Cathy said. “Do you think that’s where they keep them?”
“It could be, but we can’t just walk there without being noticed.”
“We should check it out!” she insisted, convinced that it was their best chance to find her brother.
“First things first,” Daryl said. “We need a plan, food, supplies and a good night’s sleep.”
◆◆◆
They looked outside through the most western tunnel exit on the map. The area wasn’t colored in, leaving it the dull gray background of the paper. From there it changed to a combination of green and yellow.
“We should figure out what it means,” Cathy had said that morning. “We need to understand how this map works exactly. It’s the only way we’ll get through this maze without being caught.”
Jake agreed. “But we still have to work on a way out too, don’t forget about that.” He had been okay with the plan to get food, but he didn’t plan on staying here longer than necessary. Living in these tunnels still bored him, he wanted out. That and his attempt to charm Cathy into giving him a light toy had failed so far. She hadn’t seemed interested in him at all, something his ego wasn’t used to.
Now Cathy sat crouched next to him, peering through the opening at the area marked ‘Field’ on the map. The heavy rain created what looked like a curtain of water, a natural barrier hiding them from the supervisors standing at the other exit in the distance. It should only be a matter of minutes, before they would gather and leave. Just like they had done for the past week. The lights would stay on for about ten minutes after everyone was gone. It would give them a window to gather food along the west side of the Field without risking them being exposed by their flashlight. Like clockwork the first alarm buzzed and people started to carry the crates to the vans.
There were quite a lot of people here, it was a strange variety. The group consisted mainly of men roughly around the same age, thirties, forties if she had to guess. They were well fed but seemed unmotivated, struggling like they weren’t used to this.
Then there were some older men, their outworn clothes soaked through, hanging heavy around their emaciated bodies. They were going about their normal everyday routine without complains. Cathy’s eyes turned to the younger group. A variety of boys and girls, some well fed like the men, but most were slim or even thinner than healthy. It left her puzzled at first, did only some of them get food? But then she remembered what Daryl had taught her. Look at the details, they’ll provide clues and things will start to make sense.
She focused on one of the heavier girls that stood out. She was sweating, hardly able to keep up the pace. But it was not just because of her weight, there were other things that made her stand out from the girls around her. Her clothes were cleaner and she seemed to pay more attention to her a
ppearance. She looked lost, not a part of the group yet, she had to be new.
That must be it. The more emaciated they were, the older and more patched up the clothes were. They had just been here longer. None of them were fed properly, she thought. Working here had to be a punishment, a prison camp of some sorts.
She felt a rush going through her body. She quickly focused on the faces of the boys roughly her age. A prison camp, she repeated in her head, over and over again. Without thinking she left the tunnel, crawling through the crops on the west end, further towards the center.
She was looking for a familiar face in the crowd. It was impossible to identify the ones far away, their faces looked blurred by the heavy rain. She had to get closer, she thought, as she got soaked by the raindrops that hit her back like small hard pebbles. The strong wind blew against her wet skin, giving her goose bumps. They had to keep her brother somewhere. Another group her age came towards her. He wasn’t there, she thought disappointed. But then something caught her eye, she looked at the group again. He had a familiar face . . .
CHAPTER 10
TRIALS
These past months had been hard, working in the Field. The weather conditions reflected on the workers. Faye noticed the irritation among them had started to rise.
New kids came and went, unmotivated and complaining about the daily work, complaining about the food, complaining was all they did. They gathered in their own groups, since most of them seemed to know each other. They did not seem to want to have anything to do with her or the other workers, as if they were better than them. They acted spoiled and selfish in their clean bright colored clothes. Their complaining hadn’t helped the general mood, and most of the workers were happy to see them leave again, after they had served their time in the Field.
Every time a new middle aged man entered the group a riot would take place within a few days. Accompanied by a display of power. Than the man would either submit and join the group or vanish mysteriously. They had learned to stay out of it. People who interfered would be degraded to the Sea Farm or worse. As did people who pissed off the guards.
Sometimes they would see a familiar face, someone who had been there before. Mostly they were those men in their forties. They had a tendency to show up again and again. They seemed to have serious authority problems, offending the guards every time an opportunity arose. They all experienced the consequences, meaning smaller portions of food or even another day without food. The rebel himself would get either a change of workspace or disappear.
Another day in the Field had come to an end. Faye’s head hurt from the heavy raindrops hitting her skull for the past two hours. She just went on as always and carried the crates to the vans, along with two others of her group. When they walked back into the field Faye saw something deviate from the symmetrical rows, just a few feet in front of them. Was it the rain playing tricks on her? Maybe not. Was there movement at the end of the field as well? She tapped the guy next to her on the arm, while instinctively slowing her pace.
“Do you see that too?” She pointed her finger to what looked like a brown ball between the green leaves.
“Shhh, keep quiet,” he said and pulled her arm.
“You in the back, what’s taking so long?” one of the supervisors shouted. Faye picked up the pace and proceeded her way to the crates.
Glancing sideways they could see movement from between the leaves. It looked like a person crouching, Faye thought while picking up one of the heavy crates. She kept one eye on the supervisors and the other on the deviation in the field. On the way back they passed it again. She could see it better now, two hands were holding the soy plants slightly apart, someone was peeking through, watching them. Startled, she dropped the crate.
“Cathy . . .” she exclaimed softly.
“What’s going on there!” A supervisor shouted who came running toward her, from all the way across the field.
“I’m sorry, I tripped,” Faye shouted back while putting the things back into the crate as fast as possible.
Daryl sat behind Cathy now. His hand over her mouth and his arm around her waist. He dragged her back to the tunnel, trying to stay close to the ground. It was a good thing Jake had told him that she’d run into the Field, she could get them all in a lot of trouble.
“We’ve got to go, don’t touch the plants,” he whispered in her ear.
She tried to break free, but his grip was too tight.
“What on earth were you thinking?” he said when they were safely back in the tunnel. “That was too close for comfort.”
Cathy looked back at the group in the field. “But . . . we have to get Faye, and . . .” she mumbled confused.
He had never been so hard on her before. He kept his arms wrapped around her tightly, he couldn’t have her running back into that field.
“But it’s Faye, and that guy was in Murphy’s team.” She kicked her legs trying to get out of his grip. “You don’t get it.” She struggled until she didn’t have the strength for it anymore. “If they are here, my brother must be too.”
A tear rolled from her eye. She stopped wriggling in his arms and buried her face in his chest. Her body felt heavy against his now. He loosened his grip and brushed her hair gently from her face. So it was about her brother, it made sense to him now. That guy was all the family she had left.
He had noticed how she had withdrawn herself after her father’s death. Her mother had asked him to keep an eye on Murphy, who at the time rebelled and often disappeared for days. And he had kept that promise. But he had taken it onto himself to look after Cathy as well. There was something about her, something different. She might be quite a bit younger than him, but she acted older and wiser than others her age. He had felt for her when he saw her struggle now, like he saw her struggle then.
He tried calming her down, wiping the tears from her cheek.
“We have to be smart about it, make a plan and stick to it. We know where they are now, okay. They’ll be there again tomorrow,” he whispered in her ear.
She knew it was true, but deep down all she wanted was to run back to see if her brother was there.
◆◆◆
Murphy looked at the certificates on the wall. PhD in Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics, Doctor of Science, Molecular and Cellular biology, Professor of psychiatry . . . pff that’s a bit of overkill, he thought, what’s next? Master of Counterfeit at the University of the Bunker?
The lack of sleep made him cranky, so did the hissing sound of the machinery in the room next door. He had seen big kettles puffing out steam when he passed through the tunnels this morning.
“You are lucky my boy.” Doc entered the room in a good mood. “You get two for one today. Meet my new assistant Teagan.”
At his side stood a timid blonde guy wearing a white lab coat. They had the same slick side parted hair. He looked like a miniature version of Doc, but without the arrogant self-confidence.
“What did you do, clone a younger version of yourself? Is that what you’re doing in those kettles next door?”
Not that he really wanted to know, but it wouldn’t hurt to stall his time in the lab. Anything was better than going back to isolation. He didn’t trust Doc, no man who injects you with an unknown substance can be trustworthy. But the man had been treating him kindly, despite of Murphy’s cynical attitude. Doc actually seemed amused by his remarks, most of the time.
Doc started laughing out loud, “You’re funny boy, we should sign you up for the entertainment group.” Teagan stood at his side, one step further back, forcing a smile, not sure how to react to this situation.
“Well Teagan here, is my new protégé, he has shown a lot of potential on paper. He is the brightest of the brightest. His latest research even caused a breakthrough in the field,” he boasted. “That’s why he’s here now, to help us tackle this issue we’re dealing with.”
“And what issue is that?” Murphy said. He was too tired to even conceal the fact that he wanted to p
ry information out of the old man.
“Well, how we can improve the lives of people of course,” Doc replied vaguely as always. He looked beside him and saw relief in Teagan’s eyes.
“He’s a bit shy this one,” Doc whispered to Murphy. “Don’t scare him off on his first day, okay.”
He turned to Teagan and gave him a slap on the shoulder, forcing him a step forward.
“Teagan, explain to him what we are going to do today, while I go get my glasses. I think I left them in the office.”
Doc left him alone in the lab with Murphy, who was strapped to the table wearing the usual clean blue jogging suit.
“Ehm,” he stuttered and scraped his throat. He had never liked presentations or speaking in public, he’d rather let his work speak for itself. The first day on the job was something he hated more than anything, it always left him with this uncomfortable feeling. He’d rather be back behind his desk with his research, that he knew he was good at.
“We will inject the subject with substance X9, a combination of C21H30O2 and C20H25N3O and a stabilizer known as substance Y in ratio . . .”
“Whoa whoa whoa,” Murphy exclaimed, “maybe you can try it in English? That way I might actually understand some of it.”
Teagan fell silent, his eyes wide open.
“I’m sorry,” Murphy smiled at the guy, “you know what, pretend I’m five years old, okay?”
Murphy hoped he hadn’t come across too harsh. He saw the tension in the Teagan’s muscles relax a bit. He had a softness in his face, and a gentleness in his movement. He was quite handsome for a guy, Murphy thought, someone most people would fall for. But he seemed fragile, he‘d have to be careful not to scare him away. Maybe he could get him to trust him . . .
The stress of the new situation had made Teagan tense. It was such an honor to work under Doctor Miller. He didn’t want to screw up on his first day. The subject on the table in front of him was only a couple years younger than him, according to the file Doc had given him to study. He looked at him and took a step closer. It made sense what the subject had said, what’s the use of throwing all these scientific terms at him if he’s never going to understand any of it.