by Darren Lewis
The remainder of the journey along the main corridors leading to the core was uneventful but Gabby could not relieve herself of the idea that they were followed every step of the way, and it took every ounce of self-control not to continually check over her shoulder.
Large metal doors that the girls had never ventured through were standing open and for the first time a light was visible beyond the pale blue of their guide.
“Shouldn't we be wearing those silly suits to go in there?” Brooke's voice quivered with nerves and Gabby shared her fear. The core was off limits to the three of them. Only once had Gabby asked to see the core as part of her ongoing studies of nuclear physics but it was met with a resounding 'no.' That answer had led to Gabby attempting entry in the early dawn hours but even after a few years underground, a watch was still rigorously kept on the overbearing doors at all times. Except for now. Gabby stared down the hallway. She wanted to continue and would carry on alone if that didn't mean leaving Brooke behind in the dark, empty, cold corridors. The blue light simply hovered just beyond the door, no longer moving and Gabby was starting to suspect something about one of her friends, at least their location.
“Mary's down there.” Gabby stated flatly with a thrust of her chin. Brooke scoffed and opened her mouth to reply only to close it without answering. Gabby grinned widely, in the main as her nerves were still taut, and prodded Brooke. The blond girl jumped slightly and looked at Gabby with wide eyes.
“Yes, yes I think…know she is.” Brooke flapped her hands into the air. “How do I know that?” Gabby took one of Brooke's hand into her own and led her forward again.
“Let's find out.”
* * *
Mary adored Shakespeare. The use of language, the play of the words was like music. When she first read Hamlet a lot of the prose, the meaning of sentences and some of the plot were beyond her ability to comprehend and appreciate. But something drew her back time and again to the story and every time she read and studied it she understood a little more while she allowed the remainder of the story to wash around her like waves on the sand. Comprehension led her to a fundamental understanding that the words she read were about humanity itself and regardless of the storyline it always came down to people's actions and feelings however they were dressed up in Shakespeare's beautiful words.
Mary's passion for his work had never wavered, not even after the declaration of war above ground and then humanity's final surrender. Mary lost a good portion of herself during that time between the pages of Othello, Antony and Cleopatra, Richard III and so on. During that time, she also experimented in writing prose and stories, she discovered she could start a storyline but hadn't the patience or yet the knack to see it through and her small desk was full of half written poems and books.
These thoughts floated as pollen on a warm day, buffeted gently by the breeze as the heat caused it to rise through the clear air. It brought with it however a sense of frustration. Mary was experiencing the world around her through new eyes and senses and part of her was annoyed as she would never be able to describe what was happening. It seemed that the gift Shakespeare was imparted with was not within her.
Mary raised up on her tiptoes and pushed gently at the metal flooring below. The cold she felt quickly disappeared and her feet acting almost separately of her tried to find purchase in the air she now floated in. Mary heard small gasps of wonder from around her and she smiled lazily, enjoying how her actions impressed others. She looked down and happened to lock eyes with McCaffrey. The man who'd become a surrogate father to her, Gabby and Brooke was talking but she couldn't hear his words. Instead all she could hear was a constant high pitched whine which was quite a distraction but as it wasn't painful Mary tried her best to ignore it. McCaffrey continued to talk, gesturing for Mary to return to the metal walkway she had been standing on moments before. She sighed and nodded, not wishing to upset him. Mary faced forward and the blue glow that had captivated her since her arrival in the core flickered in what she thought was recognition. While descending Mary marvelled at the sight once again. When she'd woken in the infirmary Mary was extremely groggy and unfocused. The doctors had tried speaking to her, she remembered that, but she had no idea of what they were saying. After a short time, her eyes had grown heavy and sore so they'd left her alone. A restful sleep followed although on waking she was immediately terrified to find herself standing on the metal catwalk she was currently levitating above.
The fear passed quickly as she was drawn in by the sight and sensation of the object in front of her. The artefact was at least two stories high. The catwalk Mary was standing upon brought her eye line close to the apex of it. It glowed blue, but it didn't seem to rest on one shade alone. The longer Mary watched she noticed the shade lightening painfully slowly to almost white before returning to the original blue colour, it would then darken only slightly and the process would repeat again. The change in shade reminded Mary of a merry go round, albeit an awfully slow one, with the shades of blue chasing around the artefact in a never ending slow dance to silent music. Peering cautiously over the railing, Mary saw the foot of whatever she'd encountered affixed to a large circular steel clamp with massive screws at least the thickness of her arm drilling into the object, no doubt holding it in place. At intervals moving higher, more metal rods were connected to the blue artefact but these seemed for another purpose as the rods fed into machinery rather than any type of scaffolding.
At this point Mary's fear was drained away and without knowing why she'd reached out to the strange object she'd discovered. Touching it was impossible, Mary's hand fell short by a good six feet but she realised with shock but no alarm that she could feel the surface. Mary moved her hand gently through the air and the smoothness the object seemed to portray was transferred to the skin of her hand. She laughed in wonder and pulled her hand back, wanting to see around the artefact, as the catwalk was built in a circular fashion. A circuit of the walkway revealed the smoothness was contrasted by sharp lines that Mary thought looked razor sharp. These lines weren't jagged but rose from the surface, creating smaller versions of the object extending down its length. Mary had paused with a frown as something nagged at her, it was the sense of familiarity or knowing an answer but being unable to free it from the information held captive in the brain. Mary had reached out again, this time more cautiously. Now she felt the power of the thing and the heaviness in the air. She closed her eyes and instead of seeing darkness she saw the object with a new sense. It looked more than anything like a network of veins, each one pulsing with energy. That energy was transferred into the metal rods and into machinery built around the circumference of the room and disappeared only for more to flow outwards. “You're alive.” Mary blew out a breath with a rasping laugh and opened her eyes. The blue light pulsed and now Mary saw the display as one gigantic heartbeat, feeding its living energy into the network of pipes around her transforming them in turn into something approaching pulsating arteries. To the main object itself, the answer had come to her as she watched the power flowing around the artefact, it was simply the size that kept her from recognising it. It was a crystal.
* * *
Gabby and Brooke moved through two more sets of large metal doors, each unguarded and both with signs promising or threatening the weight of the law would be brought down on all uninvited guests. The girls ignored them, there was no law anymore. The corridors remained quiet and the blue glow was still acting as a guide for them. Both Gabby and Brooke had made numerous guesses from the sublime, top secret military drone, to the ridiculous, a fairy. Neither knew exactly what it was nevertheless they both were aware it was not any of the guesses they'd ventured. The corridor began to slope downwards and turn to the left. The blue glow disappeared and the girls hurried on finding that the turn was in fact a drawn out spiral, explaining why the glow had been lost from sight. A short trot brought them back to their companion and they continued downwards. Gabby noticed that whatever their destination was there were no mo
re signs, no offices or checkpoints, just this one long corridor descending further into the earth.
They walked on at a steady pace for a further five minutes with nothing of interest occurring or presenting itself to clue the girls into what was happening inside the core. As they descended Brooke was becoming increasingly tense, her hand, intertwined in Gabby's was causing Gabby quite a bit of discomfort. Gabby continued on without a complaint. The two girls argued a lot and swore a good thumping during their altercations but when each had calmed they carried on as normal until the next trigger. As annoying as Gabby found Brooke they had formed a wary friendship and the two girls shared a certain kinship in their visits to the doctor regarding their mental wellbeing. Gabby knew, as did everyone, of Brooke's difficulty adjusting to life below ground, but the girl was making an effort now and Gabby wasn't about to complain about her hand hurting as Brooke attempted to hold herself together.
Gabby wasn't sure when the sounds started, only that she was suddenly aware of them. Voices from below, distorted by the distance and shape of the corridor droned for a short while and were then punctuated by sharp barks that Gabby hoped were people shouting. Not that she found that reassuring. The blue glow floated on, ignoring the ominous noises and the girls followed until reaching one final metal door. This one, as the others, was open, but it resembled a huge circular vault door from a bank. Large metal rods could be seen housed within the door and in the wall the sockets they inserted into to protect the core from the rest of the bunker. The blue glow stopped at the vault door's threshold and slowly dimmed until the girls realised it had completely disappeared. Hand in hand, with a final squeeze that made Gabby wince they crossed into the core.
* * *
Mary simply could not hear any of the words spoken by McCaffrey and she was starting to harbour the suspicion that he was messing around and moving his mouth without saying anything. The whine that pervaded Mary's hearing increased slightly, making her wince and then stopped abruptly. The effect was astonishing and Mary cried out and fell to her knees, clapping her hands over her ears.
“Mary!” McCaffrey's voice was muffled, far away, drowned out by the machinery surrounding them both. Mary opened her mouth wide to try and ease the pain in her ears, she then held her nose and blew air into them to try and equalise the pressure she felt. McCaffrey placed his hands on her shoulders and brought her face up, his eyebrows high on his face in response to the expression on hers.
“Mary!” With a satisfying pop her ears cleared and Mary slumped slightly in relief. She grinned and gave McCaffrey a thumbs up. “You can hear me yes? Good.” McCaffrey released Mary's shoulders and sat back on the catwalk, murmuring curse words to himself as he fumbled a handkerchief from a pocket to wipe the sweat from his face. Mary sat next to him and leaned on the metal railings.
“I think we need to have a chat.” McCaffrey turned his head slightly at Mary's request, her voice was different, it had gained a maturity. He nodded to speak and gazed down through the small openings in the metal of the catwalk floor to the audience far below comprising nearly every person in the bunker. He opened his mouth to reply.
“HEY!” Both Mary and McCaffrey came to their feet swiftly and leaned over the railing. The gathering on the ground floor had parted to allow two people, in medical gowns, in. “CAN SOMEONE TAKE FIVE MINUTES AND TELL US WHAT THE PISS IS GOING ON?” Mary grinned at Gabby's shouted question.
“AND WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?” Brooke added pointing at the massive crystal dominating the room.
* * *
“I don't know if you remember but the first day we met you figured out there was something strange about this place?” McCaffrey was sat at one of the large dining tables in the refectory, pouring drinks for himself and the three girls. After Mary and McCaffrey had come down from their high perch normality resumed, as much as possible after Mary's levitating act. Power was restored and light and life once again ran and energised the bunker. McCaffrey had promised answers so one quick change of clothes later had them meeting in the refectory as each girl was ravenous. McCaffrey said he would talk while they ate so he wouldn't be interrupted.
“If you don't I do. You said the plans didn't make sense. Well you weren't supposed to see them on the screen but at the time there was no damage done and then the attack started and the issue was never raised and never felt important enough to bring to your attention.” McCaffrey paused while the girls had their plates refilled with scrambled eggs and toast. As they tucked in he continued. “Back then of course I, we, still thought that our time down here would be measured in days or maybe a week or two and all the staff were still beholden to the Official Secrets Act. By the time we truly understood how long we could be here it was a moot point as what difference would it make if you knew or not.” McCaffrey leaned on the table and rubbed his already red, tired eyes. He sighed and looked sadly at each of the girls. “You know I've taken it upon myself to be there for you, make sure you're okay, as best as I could anyway.” The girls stopped eating and gave each other an embarrassed glance, silently acknowledging that an adult was making them feel uncomfortable with a display of affection. McCaffrey caught the look and he chuckled softly, his smile then dropped and his expression became a mixture of guilt and love. “I would never let anything harm you, please believe me. I had no idea that our 'secret' could affect each of you in such a way.” Mary reached out across the narrow table and placed her hand on McCaffrey's, Gabby and Brooke followed their friend's gesture.
“We believe you.” Mary chided McCaffrey gently. McCaffrey nodded and looked down at the table so the girls wouldn't see the tears in his eyes.
“Excuse me, sir? The doctor is waiting for you in his office.” McCaffrey pulled his hand away and cleared his throat. The engineer nodded in greeting to the girls.
“Thanks, appreciate it.” McCaffrey replied and the engineer left without another word. “There are countless documents and files about what you've seen but next to nothing on what you've experienced.” McCaffrey winced but it was at the pain of his next words rather than something physical. “I've asked Dr Bilson to debrief you.” The girls moaned in unison. “I know, I know.” McCaffrey held up his hands as if warding off the girl's disgust. “He's a bit different.”
“He's a dick.” Brooke stated simply eliciting snorts of laughter from Gabby and Mary. McCaffrey nodded.
“True, but we need his input.” Gabby tutted and blew out a breath in frustration.
“Great.” She whispered sourly.
The Doctor — Gabby's memories
Gabby, with Mary and Brooke, entered Dr Bilson's office behind McCaffrey. The former officer directed the girls to a small sofa against one wall as the Doctor studied each of them. Their first encounter with Bilson occurred a few days after the dragon's initial attacks. Being of the same opinion as the military, that the situation would be resolved sooner rather than later, he graced the girls with a cursory glance that dismissed them from his current reality. When it became clear that the war was taking a disastrous turn for the human race and the unexpected company would be staying for the long term he left the girls under no doubt that he didn't want them there, they were a distraction, a random vector he had not considered in the construction and running of the bunker. It was obvious to the girls and those around them that the doctor considered the war above ground as a means to an end in testing the facility and human life merely another distraction or variable he couldn't account for.
Now, years later, with the doctor a witness to events in the core, he looked upon them with interest, maybe even a certain affection, but it was the affection a scientist shows his lab rat that he uses for testing. He knows the creature may yield wonderful results and he may care for it but he will be the one who will experiment and test until the creature is dead.
Gabby squeezed herself between Mary and Brooke, wriggling her shoulders for a little extra room. McCaffrey took a chair before Bilson's desk and placed a hand on it, drumming his fingers lightly a
s he considered what to say. Gabby took the quiet for the opportunity to cast her eye over Bilson. She hadn't seen him much recently but she remembered those initial encounters with a good deal of smouldering anger. Back then he was actually a handsome man, just over six feet in height and slim. His hair was light brown and wavy, his eyes green and piercing. It was his demeanour and coolness however that to Gabby seemed to subtly shift those qualities that created an attractive face to one that harboured a cruel twist. His mouth would smile but there was no investment of humour or humanity in it. His eyes, though piercing, invited a cold stab to the heart rather than a sense of warmth.
The years underground had taken their toll on the doctor and Gabby was quite shocked at his appearance now. If there was one person stuck down here below ground for years who could come out unscathed she would have bet a great deal of money it would be the doctor. The wavy hair was grey and lacklustre, it had not received attention from a pair of scissors for a while and it hung loose and in greasy strands to his shoulders. The eyes had lost their power to intimidate and were quite watery and weak. It was the doctor's weight that shocked Gabby the most, never a man to carry any spare weight, the doctor currently could not weigh more than eight stone by Gabby's estimate. She bit her lip and felt a flush of embarrassment. As much as she disliked the man in front of her she didn't wish him to be seriously ill.
“Considering the events of the last seventy-two hours I think it's time for explanations for them.” McCaffrey said, breaking the silence and causing Gabby to jump slightly inviting looks of mild protest from her friends either side. Dr Bilson stared at McCaffrey for a few seconds and then turned his watery gaze on the girls. Gabby at that point wasn't sure which was worse, the doctor's former piercing gaze or the wet, almost excited look he now gave them.
