by Kyle West
Makara listened, not saying a word.
“Look,” I said. “Just let us scout this place a bit. I bet we can find water and maybe even some food. We need those things, don’t we?”
Makara sighed. “Yeah. Maybe you’re right. I just...have a bad feeling about this, you know? Part of me wants to pull you back right now, but then we’d just be back to square one.”
“Look,” I said. “Give us until six tonight to get this done. I’ll meet you back up here to report. If I haven’t convinced you by then, you can give us immediate evac.”
Makara didn’t respond for a moment. She was still thinking.
“Alright, Alex. You have four hours to find out what you can. But I want you contacting me at six o’clock on the dot. Am I clear on that?”
“Yeah, of course,” I said. “We won’t go too far in.”
“I mean it, Alex. I’m going to punch you in the face if it’s 6:01.”
I didn’t laugh. “Got it.”
“I’ll be in the area,” Makara said. “I’m about thirty minutes out, so if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.”
“Copy that.”
“And Alex...”
“Yeah?”
“...Watch yourself.”
Makara cut out. I didn’t want to have come here without getting anything done. We owed something to all the people back in Pyrite. They wanted solid news about whether Bunker 84 would work and we were the only ones who could deliver. I wanted to actually do something, to be responsible for leading this team safely and doing something valuable for the Exodus. Nothing was going to stand in my way.
I lowered the radio to my belt, clipping it on.
“You forgot to tell her about Grudge,” Michael said.
“No, I didn’t forget.”
Everyone looked at me a moment, as if they weren’t sure what to think. If I’d told Makara about Grudge, she definitely would have pulled us out.
“Back inside?” Julian asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
I started back toward the darkness of the Bunker.
***
We reached the “park” a few minutes later.
“Hold up, here,” Grudge said, wincing. “My leg is killing me.”
We paused. Maybe with Grudge it wasn’t a great idea to recon the Bunker. I didn’t want to split the team up, but I also didn’t want to leave one or two people alone with Grudge while the rest of us reconnoitered. I had to think of him as dangerous. I wasn’t going to let my guard down.
“What now?” Anna asked.
“Grudge, I know you’re here to help, but would you mind waiting by the entrance tunnel? It could get dangerous ahead. Your leg will slow us down.”
Grudge frowned. “What, stay here by myself? No way.”
I felt bad for doing it, but I didn’t want to leave anyone alone with him. “Yeah. There’s nothing in here, so you’ll be fine.”
“Really,” Ashton said, “I can stay with him. It’s no trouble at all. Besides, I’m too old to be tromping around in here.”
Michael and Anna looked up at me, willing me to firm up my resolve. Julian looked from Grudge to Ashton, unsure. It was up to me, now.
“No,” I said. “Grudge can wait by the entrance. He’ll be fine.”
“What, you don’t trust me?”
“Honestly, yeah – I don’t trust you. And why should I? You should’ve stayed back in Pyrite with the rest of the gang lords. Sorry if I’m offending you, but that’s just the way it is. I don’t know what your motivations are from coming with us, but we all have to consider that it isn’t as altruistic as you say. Besides, you will slow us down.”
Grudge pointed to Ashton. “And he won’t? Hell, I could make better time than this geezer.”
“Watch it,” Michael said, almost in a growl. “Maybe you are top dog of the Suns, but here Alex is in charge.”
Grudge smirked. “He’s just some kid.”
“I’m in charge, whether you like it or not,” I said. “You’re waiting by the entrance. End of story.”
Grudge met my gaze and held it. I wasn’t going to let this guy boss me around – I didn’t care if he was a gang lord or not.
“Enough,” Ashton said. “Alex is right. Makara put him in charge; therefore, his orders must be adhered to.” Ashton’s blue eyes glanced at Grudge coolly. “You are here, so yes, you have to do what he says.”
Grudge took a step forward. Instantly, Michael and Anna flanked my either side, and Julian put a hand on his gun. Grudge paused.
“You’ll regret this,” Grudge said. “All I want is to help. You’ll see.”
And with that, he turned and stomped off.
***
“Grudge!” I yelled.
Michael pointed his flashlight into the darkness. Grudge loped along on his good leg.
“Just let him go,” Anna said. “Where does he think he’s going, anyway?”
“I’m not going to leave him here,” I said, going in the direction Grudge had fled. “Grudge, stop!”
The footsteps ahead that had been dragging away stilled. Grudge had stopped.
“Come back,” I said. “We’ll do this together.”
As much as I hated to say that, it was better than him running off from us. Losing him here could have unintended consequences back with the Exodus.
There was no reply. The seconds dragged on, and I suddenly realized how very dark it was.
“Grudge?” Anna called.
“Yeah,” he said, finally. “I think I’m hearing something.”
I motioned the others to follow me forward. A moment later, Michael’s light found Grudge, who stood transfixed, staring ahead.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Quiet,” he whispered. “You’ll hear it.”
We stood still. I heard nothing at all. It was so quiet, I could almost hear my heart beat. Water dripped from somewhere, distant.
I was about to say I heard nothing, but then I heard something.
Voices.
“See?” Grudge whispered, so quiet as to almost be inaudible. “Someone else is here.”
“Survivors,” Michael said. “We might have found the last Bunker left.”
“Let’s not get too optimistic,” Ashton said. “Yes, there might be people. But will they be for us or against us? This adds another layer of complication.”
It certainly did. I had no idea if our best move was contacting them now or trying to be sneakier about it. Or even if the best move was getting the hell out of here.
But I didn’t get the time to decide on any of that. Grudge was off again.
I grabbed him by the shoulder, but he shook me off, and kept going.
“Grudge, stay here!” Michael hissed.
But Grudge wasn’t listening. Michael ran forward, grabbing Grudge by both shoulders and holding him in place. Grudge cried out, his voice echoing throughout the massive chamber. Julian ran forward to assist Michael. Together, they tackled the gang lord to the ground.
“Get off me!” Grudge said.
Finally, Grudge’s eyes went up and met mine. He was like a caged animal.
“Whatever we do,” I said, staring at him, “we do this together. These people could be dangerous, and for all we know they just heard us.”
Grudge gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath, but at least he was being quiet now.
“Can I trust you to not do anything stupid?” I asked.
Grudge stared at me a moment longer, his eyes burning with hatred. “Fine.”
At my nod, Michael and Julian let him go. Grudge stood slowly, brushing off his pants. He was still seething.
“Maybe we should just get out of here,” Anna said, softly. “Come back with a bigger group.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” I said. “The fact that there are others here is big news.”
“Maybe we can contact them by radio,” Julian said. “Not from here, of course, but from Gilgamesh when Makara gets here.�
�
Yes, Makara would be here soon. It probably was time to be heading back.
“We’ve learned enough,” I said. “Let’s head outside and try to raise Makara. There’s a lot we have to tell her.”
But when I turned around, there was already a man standing there.
***
Immediately, four guns were raised and pointed at the man as Anna bared her katana. He was a shadow in the darkness. He merely stood, waiting.
“Do you live here?” I asked.
The man remained where he was, but I thought I saw his head nodding.
“Are there others?” Anna asked.
The man said nothing. His lack of answer and the voices we’d heard earlier was confirmation enough.
“We thought this place was abandoned,” I said.
Finally, the man spoke in a deep voice.
“I’m surprised that you didn’t lose your way in the mountains. We never have Outsiders come in.”
I wasn’t going to tell him about Odin or Gilgamesh, or about our mission.
“How many others are there?” I asked.
The man did not answer this, either. “What brings you to Bunker 84? Food? Shelter?”
“We are looking for a place to shelter our group. Bunker 84 is one of the prospects.” The man did not say anything. “How many are living here?”
“Enough to push back the darkness in the world,” the man said.
“I’m sorry...darkness?”
This man was seriously starting to creep me out. I wanted a way out of here only I had to finish speaking to him first.
“Darkness...” the man said. “It is our enemy. And anyone who has been touched by it is our enemy.”
I had the feeling that something bad was going to happen, and soon. I could hear the sound of his breathing, deep. A chill crawled over my skin.
“You see,” the man said. “All of us carry the seed of darkness from birth. And there is no darkness on Earth as great as the human heart. If allowed to take root, it will grow and dominate a person’s thought, life, and intent. Only by believing in the Ascension and the call of the Voice can one free themselves of the grip of darkness – and it is very rarely that men can do so. Women are better, but men are twisted by their desire for power. They do not listen to the Voice from the Great Beyond. So far, I have been the only one.”
“Wait,” I said. “The Voice?”
The man seemed to tense. “You have heard of this?”
I didn’t know whether this man and I were thinking of the same Voice. Ashton stepped in before I could commit any sort of blunder.
“The Voice is nothing to be trifled with,” Ashton said. I guessed he was assuming that the man was talking about Askala.
“The Voice,” the man said, “has her own plans.”
Her. So it was Askala he was talking about.
“The Ascension will begin soon,” the man said.
“You are seriously off your rocker, man,” Grudge said.
The man did not respond for a moment. “Blunt. Impertinent. Uncivil. The mark of darkness.”
The man’s voice rose in intense, religious fervor, making me feel some threat was imminent.
“Calm down,” I said. “Just stay back and no one has to get hurt. Let’s talk. We know some things about the Voice, too. Perhaps we can help each other.”
The man said nothing, as if he were thinking.
But I guessed he didn’t think for long, because that was when they came out of the surrounding darkness, charging for us, screaming.
We let off a couple of shots; more screams followed. Two bodies crashed into me with such ferocity that at first I thought they were Howlers. As more hands pinned me down, I saw that all of us had been similarly restrained.
Every single one of our attackers was a woman.
“Tie them,” the man said. “And bind them. We must wrest the darkness from these before their poison infects us all.”
A sharp pain jabbed into my arm, followed by a shot of liquid. I screamed and fought like an animal, but it was of no use. I felt my strength ebb as I was swallowed by my own form of darkness.
Chapter 12
I regained consciousness in a dark, chilly room. I could tell nothing about where I was – only that it was not where I had been before. I didn’t know how I knew it, but I was deeper inside the Bunker. I could almost feel the claustrophobic press of earth and metal above me.
I tried to move my hands, but they were still bound. My circulation had been cut off slightly so my hands were cold and numb. I tried to stand, but found myself too weak from whatever they had drugged me with. I wanted to close my eyes and sleep again but the only thing that stopped me was my will to understand what the hell we had gotten ourselves into.
I strained my ears, listening for the slightest sound. There was nothing but maddening silence and total darkness. From somewhere beyond, I heard the clicking of metal on metal and the periodic drip of water. I could hear my own heart beating.
“Hello?”
My voice, so weak, seemed like a shout in the near silence. I tried standing again. I forced myself to my feet, finding that they, at least, were not bound. I stumbled, falling forward. I stretched out my bound hands, connecting with a cold metal wall. I coughed, the sound echoing loudly. My space was confined. I felt along the wall, and it took a moment and came back to where I’d started. I traced a small square around my cell, perhaps three paces by three paces in area.
I was a prisoner.
I started feeling along the wall again, hoping to find where the door was. After a moment, my fingers brushed along an indentation. Reaching out both hands, I found that two indentations ran in parallel lines up and down. It was definitely a door. I felt along the surface of the door, hoping to find a latch or knob. There was nothing. I pushed against it and heard the lock click in place.
I stood for a moment, feeling numb all over. There was nothing I could do. I had to wait until someone came for me.
Thankfully – or perhaps not so thankfully – footsteps approached from the outside. I stepped back against the far wall, as distant as possible from the door. I felt as if it were my executioner coming.
The door opened, letting in dim light, still too bright after being in the dark cell for so long. When my eyes adjusted, I saw a woman maybe in her late twenties. She had long black hair, held a candle, and wore a stained white dress. Even in the weak light, her blue eyes were wide, fearful, and haunting. Her face was thin, as was her form.
“Come with me,” she said in a hoarse whisper.
In her voice I felt a sadness such as I’d never known. Maybe that sadness was from the fact that she had lived her entire life underground and didn’t know anything different. Or maybe it was something deeper. The voice was almost...inhuman, as if all the life had been stripped from it. Could living here under the control of that man really be that horrible?
The woman led me from my cell. I followed her down a dark and closed hallway. Doors lined either side – additional cells, the doors of which were closed. I wondered if anyone else was being kept in them. For now, it was me and the woman.
“Where are you taking me?”
She didn’t respond. Her long dress hid her feet and gave her the ghostly appearance of gliding.
She reached a set of metal steps. As she started up, the only sounds were our footsteps – my heavy boots, thunderous in the close confines of the hallway, and the patter of her bare feet.
We reached the top of the stairs, entering what appeared to be a small rec room. The space was dark and obviously hadn’t been kept up. Fifteen years for dust to collect. Fifteen years for furniture to disintegrate.
Fifteen years for people to go crazy.
The girl quickly snuffed out the candle with two fingers, giving way to the interior fluorescent lights that shined weakly. They cast a sickly blue along the walls, the worn furniture. From the shadows of a corner stepped the man – the same one who had attacked us above. From instinct
, my bound hands went to my side, finding nothing.
“Untie him,” the man said.
The woman rushed to obey. Within seconds, the rough rope had fallen to the floor. I rubbed my wrists, trying to work feeling back into them. The woman scooped up the rope and began to coil it for reuse later.
The man stood in the center of the room. He wore a dark denim coat with dark pants, and by the light I could see his features a little more clearly. He was surprisingly young – perhaps in his early thirties. Everything about him was dark – his clothing, his eyes, his hair, long and to his shoulders but still surprisingly kempt. He also had a beard, but it was short and trimmed. He was tall and fit and carried an aura of command. There was nothing cruel about his features – from appearance, he looked like a good person – stately, even. But I knew that this was not the case because of how he had attacked us earlier. It was his eyes that got to me most. Empty. Hollow. It was like staring into twin abysses.
I felt as if I were looking into the eyes of a man with no soul, or at least, a man who had buried his soul so deeply that the only thing left was...I didn’t know. What I did know was that he gave off a creepy, infectious vibe.
Then it hit me. Looking at him was like staring into their eyes.
“Thank you, Elizabeth,” the man said. “You may return to your duties.”
As Elizabeth left the room, the man’s eyes turned on me. His gaze was piercing and seemed to see into my core. I didn’t falter, but met his stare head-on. A younger version of me might have looked away, but I had seen too much to be intimidated by this man.
“Forgive the confinement, Alex,” the man said. “We have never had Outsiders visit, but we take the safety and integrity of the Community very seriously.”
“The Community? And how do you know my name?”
“We are the Community,” the man said, gesturing around the empty room. He gave a small smile, in realization that we were the only ones here. “And I heard one of your friends speak your name.” The man paused. “We of the Community are close in heart and purpose. Whatever threatens that heart and purpose is darkness. Anything that stands in the way of the Ascension is darkness – the rebirth of the New Humanity upon the face of the world.” He paused to look at me closer. “I am Elias Greene, Voice and Prophet.”
