by Rayya Deeb
“Doro, he might— you know what, he probably does, and I wish I could find out but I know how unlikely it is. My dad has the highest level of confidentiality clearance in all of Seneca. But that doesn’t mean I do, too. It’s been that way my entire life, and it’s been for our own security. Me, my mom, and my sister.”
I was bummed, but I was aware my search would not be simple.
Brittany reached for my arm. “I know it all seems fishy, but I want you to know, I know nothing about your dad.”
“I believe you. But, Brittany, I need to find him and I think you can help.”
“If there is a way I can help, Doro, I will.”
I smiled. I felt deep down that she meant it. I felt it in a part of myself that I trusted even more than my logic, believe it or not.
“But I have to be upfront with you,” she said. “I can’t go sneaking around on my family. I have to to draw the line there. My dad may have secrets. Everyone does. But he is a good man and I already broke his trust big time with that party.”
“I get that.”
“But I also can’t imagine what you have gone through.”
“I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but this is where I am now. This is what I’m facing.”
“You should go find him, Doro.”
“I want to. I need to. I’m trying to make a plan. But the only way to do that is to go to Colombia, and as you can imagine, traversing in and out of Seneca is no walk in the park.”
“Not for everyone.” She offered up a genuine smile and gently took my hand. “But if you are me… you can get in and out— no questions asked.”
I started to get where she was going with her line of reasoning and I liked it. Her generosity made my heart swell and my mind started to tick…
“Are you suggesting—”
“Yes. We swap facial and biometric recognition data.”
After that, the rest was history. Or should I say, history in the making.
8
JADEL AND I had to get off the train before the next stop. I owed it to Brittany, I owed it to Dom, I owed it to Jadel, and I owed it to my parents because of everything they had ever sacrificed for me.
Once again, the clock was ticking. To my dismay, it never stopped ticking.
The two train attendants were clearly super cognizant of me so I couldn’t make any sudden moves. My mind, however, was in overdrive, calculating options.
Jadel leaned in to whisper, “What was that?”
“I’ll tell you when we get off this train, but there are people after me and we have to get away.”
He nodded and looked at his flexer, which he kept on his arm in a metallic red band, screen-side on the inside of his wrist. “We have about ten more minutes before La Raya.”
“We don’t have ten minutes,” I said, “I know this sounds crazy but you carry a signal flare in your backpack, don’t you?”
Jadel looked at me inquisitively as he opened his backpack and pulled out a wand. I took it from him and surveyed the passengers on the train. There were two empty seats in the center of the car between us and the attendants. That was my target.
“Doro, this isn’t the way.”
“Jadel, this is the only way.”
I grasped the flare. “Put your backpack on,” I commanded.
Jadel did. I could tell he was impressed with my assertiveness.
“What have you gotten me into?”
Tick-tock, tick-tock…
I put my backpack on as well, lifted the flare, pointed it away from my face toward the floor and twisted the cap off. I had watched my dad do this once when our family car had broken down in Joshua Tree National Park late one night. I took the back of the cap and ignited the flare like a match. The second the orange flame shot out, I tossed it into the aisle by the empty seats.
People immediately started to panic and shout. Jadel and I bolted from our seats that were two rows from the bathroom and the door that connected the cars, which opened up to the outside. Our car erupted in total chaos and the attendants’ watch on us had become completely obstructed as we made a run for it.
The smell of artificial smoke filled the car and people were coughing and shouting. Jadel punched through an exit door, opening a gaping hole in the train, and tore back the panel so it was large enough for us to fit through.
Fortunately for us, the train was only doing about twenty-five miles per hour and, without any discussions as to our next move, we wasted no time and— JUMPED!
We tumbled down a hill just shy of the river’s edge. I acquired a few good bruises on the way down, but nothing was broken, so up to that point I considered our escape a success. Yet I knew better than to underestimate the Seneca Observation and Intelligence League, and my money was on the fact that they would be hot on our trail.
“Doro! I had no idea you had that in you!”
“Oh, we’re just getting started!” My adrenaline was cranking.
Jadel held his flexer up. “Activate compass.”
He studied our position and then looked off across the tracks towards the road. I had to cut in. “Listen, I’m sure you know exactly which direction we should be going,” I said, “but we need to stay hidden. There are people who are trying to stop me because they’re hiding something really big and they know I’m on to them.”
“From the Aboves or from—” Jadel bit his tongue. ‘Where from?’ is what I meant to say. Where are they from?”
That was weird.
“Did you just say the Aboves?” I asked.
Jadel’s eyes narrowed, “Yes.”
“How do you know about that?”
“The place where the necklace is from, it’s below ground and they refer to the surface as the Aboves.”
“What else can you tell me about this place?”
“Why don’t we find safe footing and get ourselves inside before anything else, and then we can talk?”
“You’re right.”
Rather than taking the road, we cut up into the edge of the mountain where we were camouflaged by trees. Instead of flexing a ride, we walked for two hours in the direction towards the portal before we finally saw a car. Then, when an old, navy-colored Jeep arrived kicking up dust, Jadel ran out and threw his thumb out to hitch us a ride. The Jeep didn’t stop. Over the next hour several more vehicles passed before, finally, a gas-powered Toyota Camry taxi from the turn of the century pulled over and picked us up.
9
THE HOUR AND a half taxi ride along a snaking, precarious road had me feeling woozy, but the incredible journey and anticipation of the destination kept me focused. Jadel did all the talking since he knew where we were headed and I just stared out through the taxi’s dusty window at the serene blue and beige landscape studded with moody stone ruins.
I was becoming accustomed to new horizons and could only imagine what lay ahead, and moreover, what lay beneath. Especially considering this land had been roamed by humans for millennia. It was no secret to me that there was far more going on below the surface than what was happening above. If what Jadel had said was true, it could very well be that our ancestors, thousands of years ago, had prepared us for this very point in time and beyond. My senses aligned with this notion and became increasingly heightened, stomping the cloud of confusion that had consumed my consciousness into a broom closet deep inside the recesses of my mind.
We traveled across a flat valley, passing vista after vista of sublime views. Glacier capped mountains made me feel like a speck of sand along the Pacific. Santa Monica Beach felt so far away. No matter what anyone said, I could not believe that this was a small world that we inhabited. By this point, I had seen a nice slice of the globe and was convinced the saying was totally false. This world of ours was a massive puzzle piece inside infinity’s labyrinth and I had emerged from a tiny little nook inside of it. This was all just the beginning of something spectacular with no end.
We had left the gray skies way behind in our dust and next thing you know the gentlest o
f baby blue horizons offered us an impressive welcome into the outskirts of a town called Puno.
The taxi driver cut off of the main road onto a straight and narrow but bumpy path. Everything vibrated in the car: Loose change, the knob to unroll the window, a dangling air freshener that was clearly out of scent because all I could smell were rank petroleum and corn chips. Why did all old cars reek of corn chips? Jadel leaned in to whisper in my ear, “We are directly on top of the ancient tunnels that connect the secret underground cities I am going to show you.”
Jadel looked into my eyes to capture my surprise, but he was left hanging. Yes, of course I was in permanent awe with every bit of information I devoured, but my mind had already been blown to pieces back in Virginia. I forced a look of intrigue just to play the game that he was taking me to a place I couldn’t even begin to imagine.
Seneca was one million percent beyond my wildest imagination. My knowledge of this secret society that existed beneath the nose of humanity only kept growing into an intricate web too far-reaching for me to fully comprehend. I wanted the whole world to know about it. Maybe together a bunch of people could piece the totality of The Seneca Society together. There had to be a way. It just wasn’t fair. Nothing was fair, and I desperately wanted to change that. It seemed that, for as far back as recorded history went, people had been fighting for equality and justice, and this point in time was no different. But could it be different? Could I play a part in a fair and just future? I had to believe I could, otherwise why keep moving forward? I was no longer capable of finding satisfaction in scheming, gambling money, and hot-hacking flighters. Unveiling the world’s truth, our rightful truth, was my new high.
The taxi came to a stop at the end of the dirt road where we were met by an imposing chain link fence wrapped menacingly with barbed-wire, not unlike those found encircling maximum-security prisons. Only this was in the middle of a small, peaceful valley and there were no buildings in sight.
“Gracias. Buenas tardes,” Jadel said as he handed our driver a bill.
“Gracias,” the driver replied quietly with a dip of his chin and a polite smile to both myself and Jadel.
I smiled back and in a flash I imagined the taxi driver’s life and family. The mother he cared for, his wife working in their textile shop. Their children headed to school each morning. The more I traveled, the more nice people I met and felt connected to. They, just like everyone else on Earth, should have access to all the secret discoveries inside Seneca from the cure for cancer to large-scale cell regeneration.
In seconds the dirt road had disappeared into its surroundings. I turned my face to the sun to soak in its rays, not knowing how long it would be before I felt them again.
Peace out, Sun.
Jadel and I walked right up to the ominous-looking, towering mesh and metal fence, its top layered with jagged, razor-wire loops. These walls were intended to keep people in, not out, and posed no real challenge to the likes of us. Jadel swiftly opened his backpack and pulled out a laser knife. I feasted my eyes on the muscles tightening in his forearms as the knife's emerald-green laser sliced easily through the woven metal. Jadel bent a flap back and motioned for me to go through first. I ducked down and slithered against the ground to the other side, completely disregarding the sign in bright red that read: Prohibido el paso! Warning signs meant nothing to me. In fact, I started to see them as a challenge. Then I noticed something else that stood out: Private Property of SGE Corporation. Violators will be Prosecuted— in both English and Spanish.
SGE Corporation. SGE Corporation. Why was that so familiar?
SGE.
SGE.
Then it hit me.
Southern Gate Electric. Claytor Lake. Frank Wallingford’s brother! Then there was Brittany’s dad with his position and worldwide traversing capabilities that often brought him to this very neck of the woods. What was the information that connected all of this that they were hiding from us?
“Everything alright?” Jadel asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking about something. Never mind, let’s go.”
Jadel climbed in after me and then pushed the fence back into place.
We jogged through a field of golden barley that tickled my armpits.
About a quarter mile in we stopped at a meandering stream that ran straight into a massive mound of rocks.
Jadel turned to me, “I hope you are not… how do you say, claustrófobo?”
Claustrophobia was not an option. We were too close. “I got this.”
Jadel marched right into the water and I followed without missing a beat. We trudged through the freezing cold, right up to a mound of rocks. He started up the rocks, paying particular attention to the first few that were covered in a slippery green moss. I used all my strength to hold on in case I slipped as I clambered up behind him.
Jadel stopped at the halfway point. There was a narrow space between two of the largest rocks in the center. “Mi amiga, you are about to experience a gift from the Incan people, built for us over four thousand years ago.”
Jadel lifted himself up between two rocks and lowered his legs down between them.
“Follow me and be careful. It is completely black inside, just feel for the steps. They are steep yet perfect. We will climb down two kilometers and then we see again.”
I found his broken yet intelligent English hot. Oh man this was a slippery slope.
Jadel sank between the rocks until all I could see were his dreads. I climbed up and watched him disappear into the tight space, barely wide enough for his shoulders if he folded his body in just a bit. I took in one last glimpse of the magnificent heights of the towering Andes and sucked in a huge breath before dropping my legs into the tiny space. I squeezed the rest of my body in all the way and then I looked up to kiss the sky goodbye.
I wiggled in behind Jadel, down into an ancient Incan stairwell made of solid stone. I pulled my goggles from my eyes to hang around my neck. We made our way, deliberately and carefully, step-by-step down what seemed like a perfect forty-five degree angle, all the while bathed in complete darkness.
“This is nuts, how did you even find this?”
“I have been exploring since I could walk, and when I was a young boy, I learned to read the iconographia on the walls of caves which led, after many other steps, to this one. As you see, it is not easy to get to.”
Our voices echoed and vibrated as we descended deeper into the shaft. The sound was so cool it made me want to keep talking, but at the same time I wanted to stay quiet to hear what was happening above and below.
“When we reach the cavern, we rest,” Jadel suggested.
I wasn’t in the mood for rest.
10
JADEL’S ESTIMATION WAS dead-on. My quads were ready to give out as we took our final steps. We moved through a short, narrow doorway and I found myself inside a massive cavern bathed in light despite having no clear source of where all the illumination was coming from. It felt more natural than the artificial lighting inside S.E.R.C., yet we were two kilometers below ground. A mixture of large and small stone blocks that appeared to be perfectly symmetrical made up a cavernous space that was as wide as four Olympic-sized swimming pools, with walls lined with dozens of small, arched doorways.
I was rendered wrong— I thought that my mind could no longer be blown, but it was. This ancient scape was the gateway into the future. All this time I thought the ancient civilizations were only busy developing systems of farming, mathematics and language. But they knew something more, and thousands of years later, here I was, on a mission to find out for myself just what it was that they knew.
“This is just unbelievable.”
“Well believe it. And we still have not made it to where we are going.”
“When will we get there?”
“If I remember correctly, very soon.”
I inched my way out into the center of the empty cavern, craning my neck around to take it all in. It was apparent that this
place was once coated in… I ran my fingers along the wall…
“Gold,” Jadel said. “The currency of the gods. Of course we know that money is power, power is money, and greed is one of the greatest detriments to humanity. Some believe that humans were left to fend for themselves as our creators retreated even deeper into the earth for the sort of heavenly life we can only hope for after death.”
“And you think these doorways can lead us there?”
“I am not certain, but what I do know is that these doorways connect all of the underground cities built by the Incas. And one of these doorways, the one that we will take, goes directly below Lake Titicaca.”
“Why Lake Titicaca?”
“It is Earth’s highest body of water.”
“So?”
Just then I heard a high-pitched sound coming from inside my eardrum.
I grabbed at both ears and tucked my head in pain.
“What’s wrong?” Jadel reached for my shoulder.
“There must be something happening with my—”
I hesitated. Jadel didn’t know I had a flexer implant and I knew it could potentially change his opinion of me if he knew. He was such a holistic guy, and I was what many consider to be the ultimate threat to the natural state of humans.
“Doro?”
I looked up at him and the piercing sound hit me again. My face contorted. The sound was almost paralyzing.
“Doro, what’s wrong?” Jadel asked but remained calm.
I came up short of breath. It took everything in me to talk over the sound. The screeching wouldn’t stop. I tried so hard to block it out. I started to think that powering up my FlexOculi and deactivating my implant might be the only way. It kept getting louder and more painful. I had to stop it and if it meant exposing my location by jumping back on the grid, then that’s what I would have to do.
