Tremor: If your world was falling apart, how far would you go to save it? (The Tremor Cycle)

by Ryan Mark

  Althea followed Ichabod into the corridor.

  ‘Where’s Ori?’ asked William, looking behind them.

  ‘We needed a lookout, so he’s guarding the bus. Bod has walkie-talkies, can you believe it? I thought things like that were all destroyed in the war.’ Althea held up a black box with a big antenna. ‘Ori’s going to let us know if trouble’s coming.’

  ‘Sounds like a plan,’ said William. This was almost going too well… He didn’t want to jinx it by saying it out loud, though.

  Taking the walkie-talkie from Althea, he examined it. William had seen one before, just as he’d seen a lot of things before they’d disappeared during the fall.

  The modern technology that had made life so easy just didn’t exist anymore. There was nobody there to control big computers or manage the Internet; technology had deserted them. It was worthless. Well, to the masses anyway. From what he’d read in his father’s journal and seen in Kentvale, he knew that Terrafall had saved some technological devices, but they didn’t share those luxuries with the wider population.

  ‘Don’t tell me you have a gun hidden in your bag too?’ he said, pouting.

  Ichabod frowned. ‘Almost impossible, they’re useless now, since all the ammunition was confiscated by the armies for the war effort. Ammunition is gold dust.’

  William tucked the walkie-talkie into the back of his trousers. He supposed having no guns was a good thing, not bad. Having caused so much damage before, they’d only add to the destruction.

  The trio walked through the winding corridors for about ten minutes, pausing at every corner and hiding whenever potential danger approached. Ichabod had taken the lead, which William appreciated. The map was hard to read.

  When they stepped through the next door, the area that appeared on the other side was a complete contrast to the rest of the power plant. Carpets covered the floors and silk wall hangings draped the walls. ‘I think we’re in the right place,’ said William, before being pulled into a storage cupboard by Althea.

  ‘Shush, there’ll be guards ahead,’ said Althea, gently closing the door behind her.

  Ichabod unfolded the map again. ‘At the end of this corridor is the room we need. Enforcers will guard it. We’ll need to incapacitate them.’

  ‘How?’ asked Althea.

  ‘That’s where the Taser comes in,’ said William, pulling out the small device with two metal needles sticking out at one end.

  ‘Correct!’ Ichabod opened the door and slid out of the cupboard, beckoning them to follow. ‘Keep to the walls.’

  The silk drapes tickled William’s neck, but he pushed himself closer to the wall, ignoring the sensation and suppressing a sneeze. He could feel the Enforcers’ presence even if he couldn’t see them.

  Ichabod held up a hand, cocking his black walking cane forward. ‘Ready–’

  ‘Sound the alarm, intruders!’ screamed a voice from behind, cutting Ichabod off.

  William spun around and held up the Taser, his hand trembling. He felt acid rise into his throat. This wasn’t going to go well.

  Thankfully, Althea snatched the Taser and ran forward, ramming it into the man’s side.

  The man collapsed into an unconscious pile, but he’d alerted the other Enforcers in the corridor and they were speeding towards them. Ichabod swung his cane, hitting the first on the head with its silver handle. The Enforcer rolled onto the floor, unmoving. Althea stopped one with the Taser. William tried to stop the next, but he was flung out of the way, and the Enforcer managed to strike Ichabod with his baton, crunching down into his shoulder.

  William shut his eyes, the excruciating noise of the dislocation painful to hear. He didn’t have time to react, but luckily Althea did. She ran to Ichabod, but he lunged forward, his impacted arm swinging loosely by his side. He thwacked his cane across the Enforcer’s face, instantly knocking him cold.

  William released all the air in his lungs, catching Ichabod as he swayed backwards.

  ‘W–we should move,’ stammered Ichabod, passing William his cane then patting him with his good arm.

  ‘What about your arm?’

  ‘I’ll use the inside of my coat sleeve as a sling for now,’ said Ichabod, grunting in pain as he adjusted his black coat. ‘Let’s get into that office before the boss realises what’s happened.’ He took his cane back from William and strode forward.

  William opened the door ahead of them, marked with the nameplate ‘Overseer’ and peered inside. The room mirrored the corridor with fancy crimson decor and furniture, but it had a stale smell to it, possibly from a tobacco pipe. William scrunched his nose. Whatever it was, it wasn’t nice.

  A man dressed in a smart pinstriped suit with neatly parted grey hair sat behind a desk in the middle of the room, stroking his tidy moustache. He looked up from a notepad and stared directly at them, his towering frame casting a thin shadow across the floor.

  ‘Who the hell are you? I had no appointments today!’

  Althea walked forward. ‘We want answers.’

  ‘My, my what an attitude!’ The man’s wrinkly lips barely contained his sneer. ‘Answers? What answers?’

  ‘What do you know of the abductions?’ demanded Ichabod, waving his cane menacingly.

  William guessed the man would deny knowing anything, but kept quiet nonetheless and just watched. The man straightened his suit and adjusted his posture so that he appeared even taller in the chair, pushing the notepad aside. Was he actually going to talk? They’d not even had to throw a punch! William held his breath.

  ‘I knew this day would come. The day ignorant fools try to stop the redemption of man. I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone put two and two together.’ He sighed, leaning back in his chair.

  ‘So Terrafall is behind this…’ William breathed out, raking his cheeks.

  The man laughed.

  ‘You monsters!’ Althea cried. ‘Who do you think you are?’ She lunged, but Ichabod managed to stop her. ‘You can’t get away with this. We’ll stop you!’

  The man rose, slammed his hands on the desk and craned his neck forward. ‘You will never stop her. The Tremor Project is our salvation!’

  ‘You’re making no sense!’ said William, looking from the man to Ichabod.

  Althea raised her fists again. ‘He’s stringing us along; probably waiting for more Enforcers.’

  ‘I agree, he’s talking nonsense,’ whispered Ichabod, grip tightening on his cane.

  The man shrugged. ‘I am not, but believe what you will.’

  ‘Who do you speak of then, who is this woman?’ shouted Ichabod, flinching.

  ‘I speak of Erisia Morret of Terrafall,’ said the man. ‘I’m surprised you haven’t heard of her! In our early days we placed all our faith in science but slowly that faith eroded. Science just didn’t hold the answers we needed. But Erisia helped us regain a faith, a new kind of faith!’

  ‘Faith? How do you find faith by kidnapping people?’ asked William, stepping forward. He could feel a furious heat rising into his face.

  The man was still now, only his voice expressing emotion. ‘We tried to find a reason for the tremors; a way to stop them, but we couldn’t. Our resources failed us… science failed us!’ he snarled, spit shooting from his mouth. ‘We had to try something else. Erisia suggested turning to the ancients for inspiration, the Aztecs in particular.’

  ‘What are you on about?’ Althea said.

  ‘Sacrifices. To pacify the tremors and settle the Earth. Sacrifice worked for the Aztecs, Celts, and on desperate occasions, even the Romans, so why wouldn’t it work for us?’

  ‘You sacrifice… p-people?’ William couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He would never have guessed Terrafall would do such a thing. This couldn’t be true…

  ‘Naturally, boy. The more the person has done to help others or this planet, the better the sacrifice. They have an urge to save running through their veins. Sacrifice may sound ancient, but this kind of blood may stop the destruction! It
will quench the tremors’ thirst and halt their devastating onslaught.’

  ‘You barbaric cowards!’ shouted Ichabod, raising his cane with his good arm, but shaking due to the awkward position of his injured limb.

  ‘I can’t believe what I’m hearing. You can’t be serious about this!’ said William, frowning. Sweat dripped from his forehead, stinging his cut, but he didn’t care. Was the Overseer saying that his mother had been taken for a sacrifice? It was crazy.

  ‘He’s deluded, lost his mind,’ Ichabod said, voicing William’s thoughts.

  The man’s sneer remained. ‘Your opinion is of no consequence. Those ancient peoples sacrificed their own to appease the Earth; to bring about a peaceful existence, and we have resurrected that tradition.’

  ‘But why only people connected to Terrafall?’ Althea asked, inching closer to the man with each word she spoke.

  ‘To begin with, we did only use those connected to Terrafall, as they were working to save this planet, and so made perfect sacrifices. They were easy to access too, being right on our doorstep. Sadly, we ran out of suitable employees and had to search further afield. Erisia explained that most people could be given to the tremors, as long as they had a will to save running through them. Blood is powerful, and through it, the Earth will be appeased.’

  William’s fingers closed, knuckles tightening. ‘You took my mum…’ He wobbled a little, tears clouding his vision. ‘Tell me where she is! She’s called Judy Bateman and worked as a nurse at the hospital.’

  Althea joined in. ‘You sacrificed my parents, you killed them! They didn’t do anything to you, just helped you grow food, for goodness’ sake!’ She looked the man directly in the eyes. ‘Why not sacrifice yourself then? Surely those at the top of the Terrafall tree would make the best sacrifices?’

  William and Ichabod murmured in agreement. The man squirmed, looking uncomfortable for the first time. He pulled out a jagged cross, which hung from his neck, and clenched it tightly.

  ‘I’ll tell you why, it’s all a load of rubbish. You make me sick, you really do.’ Tears were streaming down Althea’s face but she refused to wipe them away.

  The man regained his composure, let go of his pendant and took out a bumpy, oval object from the desk drawer. ‘Think what you will, it matters not. However, I do agree with you on one matter – I should be sacrificed in order to appease the Tremor Gods. I see it now. And if it works, I shall be considered a hero for ever more.’ He leered. ‘And now you’re here with me, we shall all be sacrificed together. You’re mission to save will be appreciated by the tremors. They need to be fed, and Terrafall will provide until they are finally pacified.’

  Althea backed away, grabbing William’s hand.

  ‘You’re wrong,’ Ichabod cried. ‘There are no gods; the tremors will continue with or without us, no matter what this Erisia has told you.’

  ‘The tremors call for our sacrifice, they hunger for our blood.’ The Overseer pulled out a metal ring and dropped the object. ‘It is time to feed them.’

  The room vibrated and everyone froze to their positions.

  ‘We have to get out of here now!’ screamed Althea, pulling William towards the door. ‘It’s a bomb, a grenade!’

  William’s elbow twisted painfully as he was flung out of the room by Althea. There was a millisecond of calm, and then the shrillest noise he’d ever heard ruptured his ears. It was as if all the sounds around him had been compressed into one piercing shriek, digging deep into his brain. He was propelled across the hallway, feeling his face burn against ribbed carpet.

  ‘Will, get up!’ screamed Althea.

  ‘I–I can’t feel my arms,’ stammered William, trying to push himself up with the help of the wall, but failing. He looked back into the Overseer’s office, but could see nothing human there, only a devastated mass of splintered plasterboard, furniture and carpet, all splattered with blood.

  ‘We’ve got to go. In five minutes this place will be swarming with Enforcers,’ echoed a deep voice, which had to be Ichabod’s.

  The cut on William’s forehead had reopened slightly. A small amount of blood trickled into his blurry eyes, and all he could see was a dark mess of colour. He tried to wipe it out, but his arms were like jelly.

  ‘Come on Will, it’s just the shock of the explosion. We have to move!’ shouted Althea, grabbing him and dragging him down the corridor.

  When William’s pupils finally focused and he’d become fully aware again, he pulled away from Althea’s grip and ran as fast as he could. Even though Ichabod’s arm was dislocated, he was in the lead, using his cane to propel himself through the corridors.

  ‘We–go–pany,’ fizzed a voice from William’s back pocket.

  ‘Say that again Ori,’ said William, pulling out the walkietalkie.

  ‘We got company. A group of Enforcers just went into the plant. You better be quick.’

  ‘We’re nearly at the exit. Can you start the engine?’

  ‘I’m on it, over and out.’ Silence for a second and then, ‘I turn the key right?’

  ‘Yes, the key, turn it now!’ shouted William, tucking the device away and running straight for the emergency exit.

  They burst out and clambered down the hillside, heading to the other side of the rocky outcrop. By the time they’d skipped through the rocks, the bus was already spewing out dark fumes and the door was open. William climbed in first and helped Ichabod into the driver’s seat.

  ‘You’ll have to watch me William. I may pass out, so we need someone to take the wheel if that happens,’ Ichabod said, swaying slightly.

  ‘I’m on it,’ William said, closing the door and winking at Ori, who ran back and sat with Althea in the passenger seats. ‘Where are we going now?’

  ‘I think Erisia should be our next target,’ said Ichabod. ‘She’s the one leading the abductions. We can make her tell us where your mother and my wife are.’

  After what he’d heard just now, William tried not to think about what might’ve happened to them.

  ‘I doubt it will be easy to get to her,’ Althea called. ‘She’ll be protected, massively.’

  ‘We’ll visit some friends of mine first. They’ve been big protesters against Terrafall since after the war, so they might know where Erisia is. They were the ones who helped plan this little venture,’ said Ichabod, turning the bus out onto the dirt track. ‘We’re going north, to Deep Rest Hollow.’

  ‘The Scavenger camp?’ said Althea. ‘I’ve heard really bad things about that place. Do we really want to cross Scavengers?’

  ‘Terrafall has no idea what truly lies in the Hollow, or even where it is, as a matter of fact,’ replied Ichabod, cranking the engine harder. ‘Terrafall doesn’t like what it can’t control, so it makes up lies.’

  ‘So did you get what you wanted?’ asked Ori, wrapping his arm around Althea. ‘Do you know who’s got Will’s mum?’

  Althea nodded. ‘Sort of. Have a sleep now Ori. We might not have time later.’

  Night was gradually turning into day and William was exhausted. His body ached and he just wanted to lie down in his own dust-ridden bed. His eyes began to flicker. He would’ve fallen asleep if it wasn’t for the sound of screeching tyres. He jumped up and raced down the length of the bus to look out of the rear window.

  ‘It’s one of Terrafall’s jeeps, we’re being followed,’ said Ichabod, eyes frozen on the rear view mirror.

  William looked back at Althea and then the crossbow. She turned, guessed what he was suggesting and nodded silently.

  ‘Bet you’re glad I brought it now aren’t you?’ she said, gently resting a sleeping Ori on her seat and picking up the weapon.

  The hours seem to crawl by. She stares into the darkness of the metal box. There’s no keyhole she can attempt to crack. Her head’s too woozy anyway. Her nails sting, she’s clawed that much.

  She’s exhausted, but hates herself for being so weak. She shouldn’t have wished for oblivion. Giving up is like sitting in a puddl
e while it’s raining. Pointless and painful.

  She lifts an arm, it shakes and falls. Her legs won’t move either; they’re frozen.

  ‘Is anyone there?’ sobs a voice, coarse but youthful in sound.

  She jumps, a little life flooding back into her. She drags herself to the side of the box where the voice came from. ‘Who is this?’

  ‘I was grabbed by these people and now I’m in this box. They cut me,’ the voice replies.

  Her hand rests on the cold surface of the wall as she tries to comfort the boy. He can only be thirteen, fourteen? ‘The same happened to me,’ she says. A tear clunks onto the metal.

  ‘Are they going to kill us?’ says the boy fearfully.

  She doesn’t answer and sinks back against the box as it suddenly jolts. They must have hit a crack in the tarmac. Next there’s a bang. The side of the box vibrates.

  ‘Are you OK?’ she calls, but the boy doesn’t answer. Her eyes narrow and she bangs against the metal again. Her fists strike hard but there is no response.

  She tries again. She won’t give up. She won’t let this journey be her last.

  Chapter 9

  Road Rush

  The black rusted jeep swerved next to the bus, bashing into its side. Ori was now awake and huddled next to William, clutching the inside of his arm. Althea stood next to the door, crossbow in one hand, the other gripping a metal rail.

  ‘I think I’ll be able to take out a tyre, at least I hope I will,’ she said, gulping, crossbow rested on the door.

  ‘You can do it Alfie,’ said Ori, curling further into William as the jeep smashed into the bus again.

  ‘Goddamn them!’ shouted Ichabod from the wheel. He pushed a button and released the door. ‘Teach them a lesson.’

  Althea’s lips twitched nervously. ‘OK, let’s do this. I can do this!’

  William held Ori to shade his eyes. If anything went wrong now, if Althea fell out of the bus, he didn’t want Ori to see. He tried to close his own eyes, but he couldn’t, he had to carry on watching.

  Althea hooked her arm around the metal rail and aimed the crossbow. ‘One, two, three!’ she screamed, pressing the trigger.