by Amanda Rose
Run! No, you can’t! They’ll kill you… what do they want? Oh, Suako how did you deal with this? I’m a fucking rat in a trap… Shit! … “Vince!” Adamu came into his cell. Vince looked on at him dumbfounded. Vince stood there in the light looking, frightened, depleted and dirty. “A, Adamu?” Vince looked at him standing there with a wrinkle in his brow. “It’s alright. We’re here to help. Common, I’ll explain later,” Adamu then went onto the next cell to open it. A moment later Vince saw Seresuto walk past his cell door with a bundle in her arms. Walking with steps of caution, he went to the door, and then stepped into the hall. Vince wondered if he was dreaming. Whamp! Seresuto threw his clothes at him, and his journal whacked his square in the chest. He stumbled backward on unsubstantial legs. “Get dressed!” She beckoned.
Vince didn’t need a second request. He dropped his rags to the floor and pulled on his clothing that now fit a size too big. He pulled free his journal of his suit and kissed it, then placed it back into the protective pocket of his camouflage coat. He came out the door, where the others were starting to merge in oversized clothing. He saw Suako and ran to her, and they held each other tearfully.
Lastly Kairu walked out of his cell to join the others. His eyes were puffy and swollen from crying, he looked like a broken man. “We’re sorry Kairu,” Mei said and attempted to embrace him, but he refused her. “Let’s just get these fucking bastards,” his voice was wrathful. “There’s an empty room not too far from here where we put all of your weapons. We can hide in there for a little while. There’s food too. Common!” Seresuto told them and than ran off to lead them.
“What happened?” Adamu asked Kato as they scuffled threw the dark corridor. “After we left you n’ Kukotan we met a girl. ‘Er name was Masumi. Her parents had been killed in some civil war the Imperial Continent ‘s in. She was going wit’ us to da’ end. Then she got sick on t’ way back here. Kairu an’ her were close,” Kato explained, trying to cut his emotions off. “So, that was who that was. Well I’m sorry,” was all Adamu could think of to say. “Yeah… me too,” Kato nodded.
They ducked into a hidden crevasse, which had a ladder leading upwards. “This way. It’s unused by the C.D.F.P., they all use the elevator,” Seresuto explained. One by one they went up. The rusty ladder creaked and shook with every step. The metal rungs jumped into the body and like a virus, spreading a freeze that went bitterly down to the bone. They were travelling up a vent shaft that blew old air, which reeked of decay. The fowl stench turned their stomachs upside down.
Coming up to the next floor there was an actual floor, not just firm soil. Blue tinted sterile lights started to get brighter. Crawling out of the sealed of vent shaft the light hit them hard, scolding the eyes. Suako felt uneasy as her head came up from the shaft to see the room, she remembered the first time she stepped onto this floor when she was escaping. Random flashes of her past kept confusing Suako with reality.
Out of no where the earth started to rumble, and Suako’s body was thrown harshly against the metal siding. She cried out but no one could hear her amongst the grumbling earth. Her foot slipped off the metal ladder rung, and Suako hung from one hand. Reaching up with the other she supported herself, violently breathing. She clung onto the old ladder, but its old rusted structure couldn’t handle it.
Pealing free of the wall it was bolted to, the top of the ladder hit against the wall behind her. Suako dangled there in mid air. The tremors finally toned down, and eventually stopped. “Suako are you ok?” Yu-Lee called from above. “Peachy!” Suako yelled sarcastically. She climbed threw the rungs and came out the top, badly bruised on her arm and ribs. Minor scratches drew tiny droplets of blood, and in the shock of it all she’d accidentally bit her lip as well. Suako mumbled curses beneath her breath. The quakes had reached Torusan in very little time; decay was finally coming to its originator.
Mei came up last, behind Suako. Through the rungs she pulled herself up, then squirmed herself free of the shaft and placed her feet down on the floor. Her eyes strained to see, it was so bright that it burned. Her dry eyes wished to produce tears but they would not come. “Over here!” Seresuto called Mei in a harsh whisper. They swept into a vacant room blindly. Last to leave the room, Adamu shut the shaft behind them, and scuttled into the other room.
Surrounded by the noise of the vent, it was obvious why this room was out of use. The sound was overpowering and all around them, it was trapping and induced a swarming feeling of claustrophobia. There were no windows in this room either. They were still deep beneath the earth’s surface. As they got used to, again, another change in the light dynamics, Adamu lit up a burner. They were in an old cafeteria type room. “We managed to salvage most of your stuff. Here’re your maps Jenko…” Adamu began dispersing their personal belongings to them.
The small trip left everyone quite fatigued, their bodies hadn’t moved much in a long while. “What happened?” Mack asked taking a seat on a stool. Adamu warmed water at the stove for tea. As he turned to face everyone, the glow of the flame from the stove lit his face. It was badly scarred where the glass had penetrated when their ship had crashed. Many inch-long lines of scar tissue designed his face. “A lot…” Adamu replied, his voice serious.
“We stayed in the city after you left, but none of the residents ever came back to it. Seresuto healed slowly, but she recovered. We stayed in that house you left us at. We were waited for you to come back. There was nothing to do but wait with the ship sunk. About a month and a half later we wake up one morning and there’s a commotion in the town. We thought it might be you. Then we saw a massive ship in the harbour, and some people in uniforms came scouring through the city. They were collecting provisions, probably for a trip across the ocean, we thought. We weren’t sure if you’d be coming back, so we thought it best to hitch a ride back across the ocean while we could.”
“When we were going through the streets to get to their ship we nearly were caught by two officers. That’s when we heard them talking. They were going on about some prisoners they’d caught in the Capitol City. I knew it was you. Just before they left we snuck on board. We hide ourselves in some empty boxes. The seamen put some heavy crates on top of the boxes we were in so we were trapped inside, but I could see you guys through a peephole.”
“I saw that girl you were with, Masumi was it? … She was soaking wet. She had woken up and been screaming at one of the soldiers. He threw a bucket of seawater on her… When she still wouldn’t pipe down he went in and, and… and it was bloody awful. After that, the girl got pretty sick. I thought she’d get better but… she got worse and worse… I couldn’t even get out to help her. I had to sit there and watch... she just laid there. When I woke up the on third day I thought she was dead. She wasn’t moving. Then I heard her breathing. It was coarse and ghastly. It sent a chill up my spine. She sounded like she was in so much pain… Well after five days of lying there she finally stopped breathing… I’m sorry Kairu, I heard you screaming. Sigh. After they knocked Kairu out for freaking out, nothing else happened, which I thanked god for…”
“We were only at sea for seven days and we were back at the East Green Continent. I couldn’t believe it. While they were distracted unloading the hull, Seresuto and I snuck out. When we saw you being put onto a truck we got in too. It was a couple day’s drive and we came to Torusan. We only got to see the city for a second when we were going between the truck and this building. It’s massive here…”
“Anyway, we couldn’t stay with you. After they took you away we had to search all over this damn place to find you. We accidentally stumbled upon this basement area. It’s creepy as hell. We got into an elevator shaft, planning to climb up, but then we saw it going down. We thought we were on the bottom floor as it was. We must be at least five floors beneath the earth. It was so weird. We heard some screaming coming from somewhere. We checked out every floor on the way. Finally, we found your stuff, so we figured you were close. Then we found the air duct and went down. We we
ren’t sure if there’d be anything but there you were. We’ve been waiting for an opportunity to get you out. Phew! Well here we are. So, what happened with you?” Adamu asked as he passed out the tea. Shivering hands received it thankfully; the room was an icebox.
“Well…” Mack began. He gave them the low down. From the discovery of the new civil war outbreak, to the ice cavern, twisters, and finally their attempt in Tomakomai, they heard it all. It was quite a story. Mack went up to the warm flames of the stove and showed them the loss of his eye. Many things had happened, and the world’s brutality had taken a toll on them.
They ate from the kitchen stores. Canned sardines were all that had been available, and the scent was sickly strong. Their bodies revolted the food at first, then rumbled for more. The alien substance gave them much energy that they were craving. “So, what now?” Seresuto questioned looking down at the sorry looking bunch. “What now? Hmmp!” Mack sighed and turned away from her. “Yeah! What now?” Seresuto’s fire hand been fanned, and now it flared, “… You can’t tell me you’re giving up! Not after you’ve come so far!” she insisted.
Mack stood revered in silence. “I won’t stop,” Mei said, bitterly protesting the idea, “I’d die first.” “I feel da’ same,” Kato agreed. “I have to fulfil Masumi’s last request. It’s my duty to fight for her, as well as for Yokutan. And… I have to save Okichi,” Kairu said. “Those bastards stole me from my home, from my family, I grew up a fucking science project to them! No damn way I’m letting them go free,” Suako hissed. “I’m not giving up,” Vince conquered. Yu-Lee gave a nod, “For a planet once rich with life, I serve her fully.” “No way I’m jumping deck now,” Jenko spoke up.
Still Mack said nothing. “Mack, you were always the smart one. You were never the one to hesitate. You always knew what had to be done…” Came the voice of a mysterious invisible guest. Everyone drew their weapons and aimed in the direction of the voice. An arrow soared threw Mack’s heart when he heard the voice. It can’t be… “Kazuo!” he exclaimed as he spun around. As sure as his assumption the shadowy figure came free from the corner of the room, and Kazuo walked towards them. Mack just stood there in stunned silence.
“We found him in the cell block you were in,” Adamu said. Mack’s head turned to Adamu. Slowly he felt his eyelid come down, and as if the world had drastically slowed time he looked back to Kazuo. Adamu’s words sunk in, but did not feel real. A dream? Am I dreaming? He’s really alive… How? Thoughts came and went faster than answers could reach them.
Kazuo reached the light, and Mack could see that his friend’s once thick black hair grew thin, his face was gaunt, and his body withered from malnutrition. Eyes that had seen too many things looked at Mack. Only his voice spoke with any reminisce of a past long left behind. Feebly, Kazuo stood there. Mouth to the floor, Mack’s eye started to tear with happiness; all those years of searching, hoping, and never giving up had finally paid off.
Standing there, they both just stared at each other. Mack looked upon the remnants of a once strong and peace-desiring soldier. He had been a man of stature and great cause. Kazuo had once been a muscular man, with perfect posture, lively eyes, and glorious hair. Now the balding man was only recognisable by his handsome voice, which had surprisingly not changed at all. Reversibly, Kazuo looked upon his old childhood friend, to see that Mack had become strong. The once never defiant man now a renegade justice fighter. Inner strength that once had only shown itself occasionally shone brightly. An eye lost to cause, his path decided. Mack overwhelmed with swelling emotion hurried to embrace a friend he had thought to be long dead. “I knew you’d find me. I knew it…” Kazuo whispered.
Everyone introduced his or herself. Adamu reminded them that guard checks would be soon. Time was precious. They needed to figure out what they were doing, and quickly. It was time to get down to business, to finish what they’d started once and for all.
“Kazuo, the documents?” Mack had to ask. “Finally, I can tell you what they tried to shut up in me…” Kazuo started. Then his eyes clouded over, he was deep in thought as memories flooded his mind. He began to pant. As if another person had come take over him, Kazuo morphed, his personality switched. The strong confident man twisted into a frightened soul. He blanked out.
“Kazuo?” Mack interrupted. Snap! He was back and, “Oh… uh, sorry. What was it again? … Oh yes, the documents. I memorised them. All the years they held me. I never forgot. I rehearsed them again and again. Bastards! I’d never forget that. That one document. I couldn’t believe it. Nope. Couldn’t believe it…” again Kazuo fell into a cavern of memories. Psychologically Kazuo was unstable when he referred to the documents or his entrapment. Forever it would haunt him. Other subjects he spoke normally without disturbance of mind, as they later found; digging deep into the painful instalment of this stretch of time in his life brought about incoherent speech the rest of his life.
“Umm, Kazuo?” Mack said again. Like he never stopped speaking, Kazuo picked up where he left off, “What was written was disgusting. So, I confronted them. Then they took me. They would have killed me but I hid the document. They needed me to tell them where it was. So, they kept me alive. They took me all over. The back… back of the truck, so dark… bumpy…” Pause. “Everywhere… where did I go? I went… they took me…” Pause. His head jerked and his face changed.
“Horrible, horrible words… on purpose… signed by Genjo Anami… the C.D.F.P. leader. Ngh…” Kazuo began a sway, “One of them stated the proposal to sway the Company to use filters. Cut down on carbon emissions. A reply with the word ‘terminate’ at the top responded… I memorised it: As the new Chairman of the C.D.F.P. after my late father, I, Genjo Anami, refuse the proposed. It is not my will to cut back on the emissions. The people not living under air domes who defy us must suffer their decided fate. Both this and the emission deposit report are to be destroyed. No more mention of this shall be done without severe consequence…” Kazuo trailed off in tears. Mack hurried to comfort the broken man.
Kazuo’s parents couldn’t afford to live in a domed area at that time. He wanted to confront Genjo, which resulted in imprisonment, that would have been murder had he not hidden the incriminating documents. Although the C.D.F.P. was strong, it still was under Imperial Rule. The Empire would not stand for it. That alone saved Kazuo’s life.
Mack rubbed Kazuo’s back, “Just let it all out. It’s all right.” Kazuo just cried for some time. No one said anything. Suako’s hand squeezed Vince’s firmly, and Mei feel back into Kato’s arms. The need for comfort and escaping, and the feeling of abandonment was empathetically spreading.
“Kazuo,” Mack spoke softly. “You’re safe now. They can’t hurt you anymore. Where are the documents?” he asked, holding his friend paternally. “Here…” Kazuo mumbled. A bubble of gel-like spit muffled the word. Kazuo pulled away from the nurturing embrace of his friend. He went to the wall and took Mei’s dagger, which had lain freely on the counter. The walls were concrete blocks. He counted several times over from the corner of the room. After satisfying himself that he’d found the right block, he commenced to chisel at one.
Mack, and some of the others, found themselves ruffling their brows. Kazuo, how he’d spoken, seemed almost senile. Jenko was about to speak up when he saw the wall flaking apart. It was plaster and crumbled away. Kazuo had to stop though. He took a break, fatigued, his body weak. Mack offered to help but Kazuo was determined to be the one to free them.
Once most of the plaster had gone, Kazuo reached his hand back into the dark space. Pulling back something crinkled against the back of the wall. He struggled in a kind of tug-o-war with it until he finally brought it through the dark hole. A dust-covered tan colored folder was in his hand. The original color of the folder, and the once white paper inside, had been augmented by its surroundings. He blew on it and a cloud of dust and plaster bits flew off into a rolling cloud. “Here… I hid it here,” Kazuo had regained his former composure.
; “I remember so well… I got a stone cutter and cut out a block. I stashed the files away and sealed the hole. Then I blocked off the room so no one would come in. I made a non-lethal chemical blend, you smell that? Well it’s released every so-often to make it seem like a gas leek. They’d never be able to find it, I put it behind the wall… I figured they’d just stop using this room, keeping these babies safe. There are more correspondences in here about other terrible activities that would ruin Genjo, murder, and that kind of thing. There was also something about some human experiments,” Kazuo said. “I can vouch for that,” Suako said squeezing Vince’s hand even harder. Her nails clawed his skin unknowingly, and sympathetically Vince glanced her way.
“So, we finally have proof,” Jenko said bobbing his head, “we need to get this to Keiji Kane, the sooner the better. Once he finds out what’s going on he’ll be on our side…” “But Jenko, we can’t leave things like this now. Those quakes are already here! In Torusan! They spread across the continent in just a few months. By the time we get all the way back to Tomakomai and then get them to come here, there’ll be nothing left to save!” Vince enthusiastically protested. “I agree,” Mei said. All of them knew it to be true. “Fuck…” Jenko sighed. He took a moment, then crossed his arms, “So, what is our game plan?”
A second chance. The last chance.
Chapter 26: The Plan
“It’s this way! Common Kato, stop dragging your ass!” Mei teased. “Oh yea, like you just flew up ‘ere,” Kato grunted in a sort of half laugh, as he pulled himself up an elevator cable. His biceps bulged, and burned, with every strenuous pull. The leather gloves on his hands barely felt as if they’d prevent the wire from splintering into his skin. When he reached the doors, Mei pulled him into the hall; it was empty. They were still in the sub-levels of the building.
It had to have been the wee hours of the morning Mei thought. Next to no lights were on, no busy workers were using the hall, it was too quiet. Still her guard was up, they’d failed once, and now it was time to take the chance they were given and complete their mission. The droning blue lights glowed off Kato’s eyes like mirrors. More elevator doors were on the opposite side of the hall, with the triangular up and down buttons, which shone in a clear crisp yellow. The bluish tile floor was hard and polar, numbing raw flesh.