James’s mouth hung open in surprise. “Well I bloody well didn’t think… I mean, I never meant to hurt your feelings.” He looked thoughtful for a second and, with an embarrassed expression on his face added, “I am sorry 1105. I guess it is my own insecurities that cause me to treat you that way. I have the absolute highest faith in your abilities.”
1105 nodded at him and said, “Apology accepted and thank you for the nice compliment.”
James’s face displayed a wide variety of emotions. Eventually, he just nodded and turned away. Ryan clapped him on his shoulder and said, “See? I’ve been trying to tell you that they are more than just machines for years.” Mortified, James went and sat down in the back of the car and looked away from everybody.
Lucy, who was sitting across the aisle from James, gave him a little frown and then she closed her eyes, took a couple deep, slow breaths, which she exhaled through her nose and began a deep meditation.
Ryan looked around the car and said, “Everybody ready?” Receiving no negative replies, he pressed a big red button on a console in the middle of the aisle. A computerized voice said, “Please select a destination.” Ryan spoke in a carefully annunciated voice. “Station number seventy-six. Helena, Montana, North American zone.” The computer replied, “Please confirm destination: Station number seventy-six. Helena, Montana, North American zone. Press and hold the red button for three seconds to confirm. Press the button twice quickly to abort. Travel will begin immediately upon confirmation.” Ryan smiled and said, “Here goes nothing,” and he pressed and held down the button. The ramp retracted, doors closed and the vehicle began moving. It rapidly picked up speed and shot down the tunnel, kicking up a trail of dust from the long disused rails.
Martha stood and watched the train leave. “Godspeed,” she softly said as it moved off. She did not move until the echoes of its passage faded away to nothing. With nobody around to see, she relaxed her tough facade. Her shoulders slumped and she slowly and painfully hobbled over to the travel cart. Right now, she felt every one of her seventy-three years. “Too old, Martha,” she sighed. She put on a brave face, sat down in the travel cart and drove back to face the bedlam of her council chambers.
At first, everyone, with perhaps the exception of Lucy, was excited about being underway. However, after a while everybody fell into a bored silence. Although the vehicle had windows, there was nothing to see but the bare rock walls of the tunnel as they flew by. At first, they had occasional glimpses of other stations as they streaked past. Soon even this distraction was gone as they entered the deeper tunnels under the Pacific Ocean.
James amused himself by taking furtive glances at Lucy. He found the taciturn young Asian woman a source of endless fascination. His eyes were drawn to her face, the curve of her hips and the swell of her breasts. Lucy sat there unmoving, as she meditated. James finally worked up the nerve to go and talk to her. He got up and then sat down beside her. “Hey there,” he said cleverly.
Lucy opened her eyes and looked at him in annoyance. She remained silent.
James tentatively reached out and touched her arm. Her frown deepened and she jerked her arm away. James, oblivious to her annoyance said, “How come I have never seen you before? You are very beautiful. Do you know that?”
Lucy looked daggers at him, got up and moved to a bench on the other side of the vehicle. When James got up and sat down beside her again, Lucy frowned at him and said, “Please stop. I wish to be left alone.”
James did not get the message. He smiled at her and said, “Don’t be like that, Lucy.”
Ryan, who had watched the exchange in amused silence, piped up and said, “Bloody hell James. Leave her alone. Can’t you see that she is not interested?”
Lucy subtly glanced at Ryan. The edge of her mouth curled up in the slightest little smile. It quickly turned back into a frown when James got up and petulantly said, “I just wanted to know why I have never seen her before. That’s all.”
Ryan looked at his friend, shook his head and then sarcastically said, “Didn’t you know? We secretly opened up a recruiting center in Beijing.” He put his finger to his lips, made a shushing sound and whispered conspiratorially, “Keep it quiet. Nobody is supposed to know!” With a deep laugh he added, “You know, there are over a thousand of us in the colony. You can’t bloody well know everybody!”
James frowned at him and said, “You don’t have to be that way, mate. I was just trying to get to know her.”
Ryan shook his head, laughed and said, “This is real life, James. It’s not like when we are role-playing your rogue in the game The Island of Xannor. Your real-life charisma is only a three out of eighteen.”
“Harsh Ryan,” James said in mock anger, “Harsh.”
Lucy arched her eyebrows, smiled at Ryan and asked, “You play The Island of Xannor? What’s your character’s name?”
For a second, Ryan did not reply. He was not only shocked that Lucy had actually talked to him, he was even more shocked that she also played his favorite online role-playing game. “Um, I am Halator. A level 99 wizard of the third order.”
To Ryan’s complete and utter amazement, Lucy stood up, bowed to him and said, “Halator, it is my great honor to meet a wizard of such high renown.” With a sweep of her arms, she bowed again and said, “I am Felicia, the high priestess of the upper realms.”
Ryan’s eyes opened wide in shock. “Oh my God, YOU ARE FELICIA?!” he asked in utter amazement. He turned to James and said, “She’s Felicia! The highest ever rated high priestess the game has even known!” He did not wait for James to respond. He stood up and walked over to Lucy and amazingly, despite his great bulk, executed a perfect bow. “The pleasure is all mine, priestess.”
James’s head swiveled back and forth and his mouth hung open in amazement. He said to them, “Well, I am Cerberus, a level 99 rogue from…”
Lucy looked at him in disgust. “You!” she spat, “You are that idiot rogue who got the whole party killed on the Caves of Ice run last week when you pulled the entire room full of monsters onto us at once!”
“Yeah well,” James tried to apologize, “Accidents can happen.”
Lucy completely ignored him and said to Ryan, “Where did you get that magic staff that you have? I have never seen one with stats as good as that!”
Ryan grinned and said, “Well, I won the roll for it against a certain high priestess last year.”
Lucy’s eyes opened wide. “Yes, that’s right. I remember now. It was the first time anybody ever beat the Caves of Fire dungeon. When I saw it in the treasure chest at the end, I swear I actually drooled. When I rolled a 97 out of 100, I was sure I had won it. Then you rolled a 99!”
Ryan grinned sheepishly and said, “Sorry.”
Lucy smiled and said, “No, it is okay. You certainly are a worthy player.” She glanced at James and said, “Now if a certain rogue had won it and just sold it for gold, that would have been a different story.”
James muttered, “Bloody elite players,” and turned to leave.
Lucy chuckled and said, “Oh come on now James. Can’t you take a little ribbing?”
Ryan chuckled as well and said, “He doesn’t have many social skills Lucy, but James is an okay person.” He patted the bench and said, “Come. Sit.”
James sat down, careful not to sit too close to Lucy. She laughed and said, “Oh relax. I don’t bite.” When he looked at her doubtfully she added, “No, seriously. I am stand-offish because I get so much unwanted attention. I realized you were okay the minute I found out that you played The Island of Xannor too.”
“Really?” James said with a tentative smile.
Lucy laughed and said, “Yes, really. I know your character. You have done well many times. We never would have gotten into that locked treasure room in the Haunted Castle if it were not for the lockpicking skills of your rogue Cerberus.” James smiled and moved a bit closer to her. Lucy frowned and said, “I am STILL pissed at you for getting the whole party killed la
st week though.” James moved back away. Lucy smiled and rubbed her chin in amusement and said, “Oh really now. I am JUST KIDDING!”
The thousands of miles passed quickly as the trio became fast friends while talking about their favorite pastime.
Chapter 22
Max pounded on a gleaming stainless-steel cylinder on the massive blast door with a rubber mallet. “Try again Sally,” Max Power said to a woman standing beside a control panel attached to the door. The woman, a shapely girl whose flame-red hair cascaded in waves down her back, had emerald green eyes and a face full of freckles.
Sally pushed a lever upwards. Hidden motors inside the door emitted a loud hum and the dim lights in the tunnel dimmed even further, however the door did not open. Sally shook her head and pulled the lever back downwards. “No good,” she said in a distressed voice.
Max sighed. “There’s just not enough power left, Sally.”
Sally laid her hand upon his arm and said, “Maybe we should give the penetrating oil you put on the cylinder more time to work.”
“Maybe,” Max said doubtfully. He stood with his shoulders slumped and said no more. The massive stainless-steel door to the outdoors had defeated him.
Sally took his hand and said, “Come here, Max.” She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his lips. “I’ve always liked you Max,” she said. “Now that we are all going to die down here, I wanted to say that. To let you know, you know, before the end.”
Max looked at her in surprise. “I’ve always liked you too, Sally.” He hugged her tightly and said, “I never had the nerve to tell you before. I did not think that a pretty young woman like you would like an old man like me.”
“Why do lonely people always wait until it is too late to tell each other about their feelings?” Sally asked. Max had no reply. He just hugged her even more tightly.
“I don’t want to die,” Sally whispered into his ear.
“Nor do I,” he replied with his face buried in her hair.
The couple stood, holding onto each other with their foreheads touching, for a very long time.
Ryan noticed it first. “I think we are slowing down,” he said, interrupting the conversation they were all having about their favorite game.
The train traveled at such a high velocity that it took several minutes to slow to a complete stop at station number seventy-six. It eased up to the station platform, the doors opened and the ramp extended. A voice emanated from the train’s speaker. “Arrived at station number seventy-six, Helena, Montana, North American zone.”
All three people and the robot moved to the door and stood motionless at the top of the ramp. Finally, Ryan said, “New dungeon protocol.”
James scoffed at him and said, “And you are always the one telling me that I mix up real life and the game, Ryan!”
Lucy chuckled and said, “Well, in a way, this IS like it is in the game. This is a new location that we have never been to. We don’t know what to expect or what we will find. Caution is prudent.”
Ryan laughed and said, “Well, this time we don’t let James take point. He’ll pull the whole bloody colony down on top of us!”
Lucy let out a belly laugh and said, “Okay now. Enough joking. Let’s do this,” and she walked down the ramp and surveyed the train station. The others followed on her heels.
“Look!” said James, pointing to the other end of the platform. “There is the train that they called, parked over there.”
Lucy walked over to it and looked inside. “No tracks in the dust inside. Whoever called it never got on board.”
James bowed his head and said, “Good God. I hope that I wasn’t correct and that this was just a fluke.”
Ryan shook his head. “No look. There are definitely fresh tracks here on the floor. They came from the direction of the tunnel.”
Ryan walked up to the station console, tapped the touch screen and said, “Computer, please open a communications channel to colony number eleven’s council chambers.”
A split second later a hissing and crackling came from the speaker. “Hello?” Ryan said, “This is Ryan Grey at station seventy-six calling Martha Turner.”
Martha’s voice was instantly online. “You made it?” she asked. “What is the state of the colony?”
Ryan replied, “Unknown Madam. We have only just arrived safely. There were no incidents in-route.”
Crackles and hisses came from the speaker for several seconds before Martha replied, “Okay Ryan. Please update me as soon as you can.”
“Certainly Madam,” he said and then tapped the button to terminate the connection.
The trio stood, shoulder to shoulder for a minute, peering into the darkness of the tunnel. Ryan snapped out of the trance first. He inclined his head and said, “Let’s see if that travel cart over there still works.”
James walked over to the little vehicle and switched on its power. “Amazing,” he said as he coiled up the travel cart’s charge cable. “I can’t believe this thing is still functional.”
They all got into the little vehicle. Ryan called to 1105, “I’m sorry. There is no room for you on this cart buddy. Just follow along behind us.”
1105 nodded and said, “Absolutely, Ryan Grey.”
The cart began moving with a lurch and then Ryan smoothly steered it into the tunnel. He stopped short when the tunnel lights did not come on. He flicked on the cart’s lights and said, “What the heck?” he said. “They don’t have power?”
James shook his head and said, “No, look. The light bulbs are gone.” He threw his hands in the air and said, “Why the bloody hell would they remove all the light bulbs?”
“How would I know?” Ryan asked.
Lucy tensed up and said, “I don’t like it.”
“Me either,” Ryan said, peering up the tunnel into the unknown.
James took a deep breath and said, “New dungeon protocol.”
“Indeed,” Lucy replied, her eyes alert.
Mary’s excitement grew as she watched the LCD screen on the dash of the tunneling machine. Over the racket the machine was making, she yelled back over her shoulders, “Three more meters. Two. One! We’re here!” she cried and then released the handles and let the machine come to a stop. She stared at the blank rock face in front of her. With a sigh, she shut off the cutting head. “41,” she cried, “Are you sure you uploaded the correct map to the digger? I still have a solid rock wall in front of me. According to the map we should be inside the old tunnel by now.”
41 bobbed his cameras and said, “Mary, you must keep going. The map I uploaded is only my best estimate. The precise location of the cave-in on the farming side was not accurately recorded in the computer database. What I entered was only an approximation. You could be only one meter away and you would be unable to tell. You must continue,” he repeated.
“Okay,” she said. “Please stand clear,” and then she restarted the cutting head. Five minutes later, with a rumble of falling rock, the digger burst through into the tunnel of the farming wing. Mary whispered under her breath, “I’m home!” and then turned the machine ninety degrees to the right and embedded it out of the way in the side of the tunnel. She switched it off, hung the respirator and goggles upon a hook in the cab, hopped down, ran up to 41 and embraced him. “We did it!” she exclaimed happily.
41 nodded vigorously and said, “I had no doubt that the world’s best tunneling machine operator would succeed, Mary Elizabeth Hydro!”
Mary laughed and said, “It’s easy to be the best in the world when you are the only one!”
11 bobbed his cameras up and down in amusement and said nothing.
Mary and the robot turned to face the farming wing. “I wonder where everybody is?” Mary asked. “I would have thought that the bedlam this machine made would have brought them all running to investigate.”
41 looked down the tunnel in silence for a few seconds, “It looks like the power is fading more rapidly than I had predicted. The lights are very dim. Perha
ps they all went outside.”
Mary contemplated his words for a moment. “Perhaps,” she said. “Well we better run the cables to hook in to the tech wing’s reactor as quickly as we can then.”
41 nodded and turned back towards the technical wing. He returned a few minutes later, unspooling a thick, insulated, multi-conductor cable onto the floor of the tunnel. He continued down until he reached a circuit breaker box on the tunnel wall in the farming wing. He very quickly hooked them in and then rolled back towards Mary. “All I have to do is turn on the circuit breaker on the box in the technical wing and then the farming wing will have full power again.” He bobbed his head up and down and added, “I just hope that the little reactor can produce enough power for the entire colony.”
“I hope so too,” Mary said. She started jogging towards the circuit breaker box in the technical wing and called back over her shoulder, “Well, let’s go find out, shall we?”
Max and Sally sat on the floor, holding onto each other. He let go of Sally, stood up, reached down for her hand to help her up and said with a sigh, “I hate to do it but I suppose we have to go let Paul know that we have failed to open the door.”
Sally accepted his hand and said, “I know Max. I hate to do it too. Ever since Mary went missing he… well, he’s just given up on life. It’s like he is already dead.”
Max nodded and said, “I know, but it is still our duty to keep him informed.” He kicked at the dirt at his feet and added, “As long as we are still alive, that is.”
Sally let out a little sob and said, “Yeah, I know,” and the pair walked, holding hands, to the council chamber.
Max stopped short in the council chamber door when he saw the state his friend was in. Paul Hydro sat, slouched in his chair with an unshaven face. A half-empty bottle of three-hundred-year-old bourbon sat on the table beside him. When he saw Max and Sally he said with a slurred voice, “Come in. Come sit with me.” He pointed at the bottle and said, “May as well drink this with me. We can’t very well save it for a special occasion if we are all…” He did not finish the thought. His sunken red eyes said it all.
Those Left Behind Page 12
