Although he recognised the underground station from what little he could see of it, Matt couldn’t be sure where they were. A lot of the stations looked the same.
The tiles that had once made up the floor had come away in many places and lay as broken pieces beneath their feet. When he didn’t stand on a loose tile, Matt’s foot fell into the slight dip of a gap left by the absence of one. Occasionally, either he or Louise would kick a shard and it would skitter off into the darkness. Each time it did, Matt snapped tight and stared at the small piece of ceramic until it stopped.
After a short while, they came upon a line of silver, pod-like machines. “What are these things?” Louise said. She spoke in no more than a whisper, yet her voice carried through the abandoned station and flew off into the abyss.
“We called them ticket barriers,” Matt replied. Before Louise could ask him, he elaborated. “In the old days, you’d buy a ticket to ride on public transport. You’d put that ticket in one of these machines to gain access to the station. It saved guards having to man every entrance and exit. If your ticket wasn’t valid, the barriers didn’t open for you.”
When they got to one of the ticket barriers, Matt pushed the black plastic gates and they swung open. “You never used to be able to do this. They’d hold firm until you slipped your paper ticket in here.” He pointed at the ticket slot before he stepped through and held the gate open for his daughter.
They came to the top of one of the escalators and Matt looked down the long metal staircase. Not that he could see all the way, but the torch showed them enough to realise they ran far down underground. “These used to move constantly,” he said. “A rolling staircase that you stepped on and it carried you down to the platform.”
“Why didn’t you walk?”
“Good question.” Matt laughed and with a shake of his head, said, “We used to be obsessed with efficiency. If we could remove the effort from an action… we would. The path of least resistance was well trodden by the modern man and woman. Although, to be fair, a lot of people would have heavy bags and suitcases, and some people didn’t have the fitness to walk up huge flights of stairs like this. But maybe that was because we had escalators… Chicken, egg, and all that.”
The beam of Louise’s torch fell on Matt. She clearly didn’t understand the last comment about chickens and eggs, but Matt didn’t bother to explain.
After Matt had walked down a couple of steps, he stopped and looked back up at his daughter. She remained at the top, her eyes wide, her frame wound tight. Her head torch blinded him and Matt had to raise his hand to protect his eyes from the strong beam. “You okay?”
The torch shook from side to side. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
“Come on, there’s nothing to be scared of. Sure, it’s dark, but that’s it. There’s nothing down here, I promise.”
“How can you promise that?”
Matt didn’t answer. He couldn’t promise her, and they both knew it.
At the bottom of the escalator, Matt waited for Louise to come down the last few steps before he set off again in the direction of the platform.
The once painted walls had shed their paint and the flakes littered the floor like ash. Where posters and advertising had been, there remained either shreds of paper, or large unpainted spaces. Even the signs with the maps on them had vanished. Everywhere smelled of damp and dust.
“I don’t know what station we’re at.” He also didn’t know which direction was north, but Louise didn’t need to know that.
With a platform on either side of them, Matt looked down the tunnels on both his left and right. Although, if he looked from side to side for too long, Louise would twig that he didn’t know where to go. When he saw some fallen rubble at the end of the tunnel on the right, he turned left.
Once on the old platform, he looked up and down and half expected to see other commuters as they waited for a train. He’d never seen an empty platform before. An old sign that used to detail when the next train would arrive still hung from the ceiling. With no electricity, it hung as a large black box that served no purpose.
From what he could see, the tracks and the tunnels remained intact. The metal rails ran alongside the platform as true as ever. Other than a small amount of debris on and around them, they looked ready for a train to run down them.
Before he could walk any farther, Louise gripped his arm so hard it stung. Despite his instinct to cry out, Matt held his tongue, spun around, and scowled at her.
With a finger to her lips, she stared straight at her dad, which blinded him. Once she had his attention, she crouched down and picked up a large piece of tile from the loose floor. A point of her finger, and Matt suddenly understood. A rat as large as a domestic cat sat on the platform. The torch beams didn’t seem to bother it; its eyes glowed red in the strong light.
A quick flick of her wrist, so fast Matt missed it, and Louise launched the piece of tile. With the accuracy and pace of an arrow, it spun through the air and connected with the rat’s head. It stunned the creature, but its little legs still kicked as it rolled on the floor. Louise closed the distance between them in two large strides and stamped on the black thing’s head. A loud boom echoed down into the tunnel and back the way they’d come from. The horrible rodent’s life left its body in a wheezed squeak.
Louise held the rat up by its tail, and although the bright light on her head made it impossible to see her face, Matt could hear the smile in her tone. “It’s gotta be better than woodlouse, right?”
Chapter 18
After he’d removed his torch, Matt scratched his head from where he’d sweated beneath the elasticated straps. He sat by the fire and laid the torch on the floor next to Piss Blonde’s machete. The bench closest to them stood broken and splintered; the quarter or so of it that had been hacked and tugged away lay ablaze on the platform’s floor.
After a look around them, Louise said, “Are you sure we’re okay with this on fire here? You don’t think they’ll come?”
A sniff of the smoke-filled air, and Matt shrugged. “We must be at least fifty metres underground. There’s no way this small amount of smoke will find its way up there.”
Without a response, Louise continued to turn the spit with the rat on. Nearly the same size as the fox, the fat rodent hissed and sizzled above the naked flames. The shadows danced around the pair, erratic because of the fire’s flicker.
As he watched his daughter cook the creature, Matt damn near had to sit on his hands. She needed to learn how to do it on her own. At any point, she could find herself alone and with a need to survive; best for her to learn under his watchful eye than for her to have to learn on her own. As long as the rat finished up edible, it didn’t matter how she got there. With the sting of smoke in his eyes, he watched on, hypnotised by both the flames and the way his daughter turned the rat.
“You were only about eighteen months old when the riots started. I’m pleased you didn’t have to see them. Compared to some wars, they passed quickly. Although at the time, the six months of bloodshed seemed far from quick. We should have taken advantage at the beginning. Our biggest mistake was holding back after the first few attacks. It gave The Elite time to mobilise. Once they had organisation on their side, they became a much more intimidating foe.”
Matt shuddered and lost focus as he relived the dark days of the riots. “We may have had the manpower, but that meant nothing against the army and the weapons The Elite had. We fought hard, but not smart. They had the artillery of an affluent nation on their side.”
Matt stared into the darkness and the warmth of the fire sent prickles across the side of his face. “I suppose the war has never ended… it’s just slowed down. The Elite think they’ve won, but we still have the fight in our hearts. We just need to get to the people in Enfield. We need to find the resistance so we can take The Elite down once and for all.”
Although Louise looked at her father, she didn’t respond. She looked like she wanted to sa
y something though.
“Before the revolution, The Elite did a good job at pretending they had our interest at heart.” Matt laughed. “They didn’t give a fuck about anyone but themselves. They never have. With their hand up the arse of whichever politician that represented them at the time, they placated the people with lies and deceit. They kept our lives busy with their illusion of democracy. But we called them out on it, and I promise you, Louise, it ain’t over. When we get…”
Before Matt could finish, a familiar hum cut through his rant. He shook as he looked at the tunnel they’d entered the platform through. The hum grew louder.
Suspended in mid-air, the drone’s round body—a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree camera—watched the pair. Just before its alarm went off, Matt said, “Fuck.”
The shrill call to a gargantuan rang so loud, it echoed through Matt’s skull. Its sharp tone made him dizzy.
Chapter 19
Matt stood up and tugged on the already broken beam of wood on the nearby bench. At first it didn’t move, so he tugged harder and it came free with a loud crack. The drone’s alarm continued its high-pitched squall.
In just three steps, Matt closed the distance between him and the machine. He gripped the wood with both hands, wound it back, and swung for the round-bodied drone.
The alarm halted with the crash of glass. The outer shell of the drone showered the tiled floor, but its metal innards remained suspended in mid-air.
Matt swung at the thing again and each subsequent swing tore at the muscles in his back. It wobbled with each hit, but somehow the drone maintained its hovered position like something held it there other than its small engine.
A loud roar, and Matt delivered his final heavy swing. The drone crashed to the ground with a loud whack.
When Matt turned to Louise, he saw her frozen to the spot as she stared back at him. Heavy pants got in the way of his words, but after a few seconds, he finally said, “Get your head torch on. We need to get moving. Now.”
Louise sprung to life, gathered up the head torches, threw his to him, and slipped on her own.
Matt discarded his lump of wood and it clattered on the platform before it fell down onto the tracks. He ran to the fire and grabbed his rucksack from beside it. When he slipped it on, he bit back his scream. The well-worn trenches of pain where the straps had sat burned from the familiar pressure. But Matt pushed through it, gritted his teeth, and followed his daughter down onto the train tracks and into the darkness.
At first, they moved at a gentle jog, but after no more than one hundred metres, Matt’s head spun and he had to slow down. The straps on his backpack felt like red-hot blades as they cut into his body once again. Besides, if they ran too fast in the dark, one of them would surely fall.
He breathed heavily as they walked and fought to keep up with his little girl, but he lost ground with every step.
Blind beyond the ten metre range of their head torches, the pair followed the tracks.
Louise stopped and turned around to look back at Matt. “Where will this take us?”
A shrug clawed at the pain in Matt’s already sore shoulders, and he drew a sharp breath through his clenched teeth. “Dunno,” he finally said, “but hopefully it’ll take us away from the gargantuan that has no doubt woken up to that drone’s call.”
After about three minutes, Matt’s lungs burned. His last swig of rain water swam in his guts like his body would never absorb it. A look behind showed him more darkness.
When he stopped, Louise did too. It silenced the crunch of their feet over the large stones that the track rested on. Then he heard it and a hot rush of fear surged through him.
The hum, although distant, had a thickness to it that couldn’t have been made by just one drone. “Can you hear that?” he said.
Louise didn’t reply.
No matter how hard he squinted, he only saw darkness behind. When he reached over and grabbed Louise’s shoulder, she jumped and stared at him, her eyes wide, and her breaths short and sharp.
His words came out as a hiss. “We can’t outrun these things, but I have a plan.”
When Matt moved to one side of the tunnel and hunched down into a ball, Louise copied him. He pulled his long coat over the top of them and they both flicked their head torches off. Hopefully the dark presented the same troubles for the drones as it did for them. Hopefully they’d sail straight past the pair.
Matt screwed his nose up at the combined reek of both of their stale breaths. Even his own halitosis offended him. Not that dental hygiene ranked as a high priority now, but Scarlett would have made sure that Louise took better care of her teeth.
The hum of what sounded like at least thirty drones came down the tunnel toward them. Matt shook beneath his coat. What had seemed like a good idea suddenly seemed like a fucking stupid thing to do. Of course they’d find them there and call to the gargantuan. What an idiot. Why had he stopped running?
The hum grew louder, the collective buzz of a swarm of drones.
When they got close, Matt ground his jaw and held his breath. The pound of his heart rocked his entire body. He expected the shrill alarms to go off as one deafening call.
Instead, the sound buzzed past them and continued down the tunnel. They’d missed them. He snorted a laugh. The plan had worked.
The sound of the drones had died down after a few minutes and Matt spoke in a whisper. “It’s worked, Louise. It’s actually worked.” With that, he flicked his head torch on and pulled the coat away. The drones had gone. He laughed. “It’s fucking worked!”
Chapter 20
For a while, the only sound in the dark tunnels was the crunch of Matt’s and Louise’s feet. Matt walked over to his daughter and put his arm around her slight frame. “The drones can be avoided. If we’re canny, we can beat The Elite. When we find the resistance, we’ll win this war. I can feel it in my bones.”
Louise sighed but didn’t respond.
Matt should have asked if she was okay, but if he did that, it may encourage a conversation he didn’t want to have. His hope hung by a frayed thread and he couldn’t let her challenge it. To keep going, he needed to believe that the revolution hadn’t died.
Thirst tugged on Matt’s throat as he walked, but the muddy rainwater still swilled in his guts. Every time he swallowed, his tacky trachea pinched and a small rush of nausea rose up in him. Several burps and hot, muddy bile lifted up onto the back of his tongue. His face twisted from the acid kick.
While Matt got over the strong taste, Louise stopped and pointed at the wall. “Look.”
Matt turned his own head torch in the same direction as Louise’s. A white dove had been spray-painted on the wall next to what seemed to be a tunnel busted through the brickwork. A giddiness ran through Matt that made his skin tingle.
“What is it?” Louise asked.
After he’d opened and closed his mouth several times, Matt finally found his words. “It’s the white dove of the revolution.” He grabbed his daughter’s hands. “They’re still active, Louise. We’ve found them!”
Chapter 21
The smell of damp earth permeated every inch of the tight tunnel. Cold and claustrophobic, Matt did his best to ignore the panic inside of him as the pair pushed on.
Matt drew another deep breath as he tried to fill his lungs. The air he craved only existed above ground, but the white dove sprayed at the entranceway gave him strength. After they’d walked through London for hours, they’d finally found some hint of the revolutionaries. Enfield or not, they existed and they’d finally found them.
The ground squelched beneath their feet as they walked, the soft earth a drain on Matt’s already tired legs. A dry gulp, and he looked across to find Louise staring at him. “What?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you didn’t know where we were going?”
After a moment’s pause, Matt sighed. Again, the child that had been his daughter had vanished. As recently as a few weeks ago, he’d been able to jolly her along wi
th diversionary tactics. Now she seemed more than able to outsmart him.
“So it’s true. You were leading us on some kind of wild goose chase? Why didn’t you tell me that?”
“Hope.”
“What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?”
The slight frame of his daughter stood tense with her shoulders pulled back. “Language,” Matt said.
“Fuck that. When you start treating me with respect, I’ll do the same for you. I’ve followed you into these horrible tunnels, and when I ask you why, you say ‘hope’ like it’s supposed to mean something.”
“I wanted to keep hope alive. I wanted to give you—hell, I wanted to give both of us something to strive for. With hope, we can keep going. If we think too much about the reality of this bleak world, we’ll grind to a halt and they’ll win. That can’t happen.”
Louise drew a deep breath, but before she spoke, Matt cut her off. “As a species, we’re designed to survive. If we need to find ways to motivate ourselves so that happens—”
“Like lying about a group of revolutionaries that don’t exist,” Louise said.
“Motivation, Louise. If we need to motivate ourselves by creating goals, then so be it. It kept us moving, didn’t it? And look where it led us.”
“To a piece of graffiti on a wall? We still don’t know what’s at the end of this horrible damp tunnel. It’ll probably cave in on us before we find anything.”
Matt didn’t respond.
As they walked, the sound of their feet squelched through the wet mud.
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