“Okay,” Alpha Nine replied. “Let’s go.”
The older Alpha led them down a long tunnel lit by similar dull orange bulbs. The tunnel branched off a few times but they continued straight. Alpha glanced down one of the branches as they passed, a four-level cot was set up against one curved wall blocking half of the tunnel, but providing a place for them to sleep. A boy popped his head out from the curtained top bunk and smiled at Alpha Nine as he passed.
“You have children here?” Alpha Nine asked the older Alpha as they continued down.
“None younger than four,” he replied without taking his eyes off the direction ahead.
“But you have the survivors and the duplicates, you have the females of your teams. Do they not wish to have children?” Alpha Nine asked as an image emerged in his mind of Bravo Two, heavily pregnant holding her swollen belly and smiling down at it.
“You don’t know,” older Alpha said, stopping and looking straight at Alpha Nine.
“Know what?” Alpha asked, shaking the odd image from his mind.
“We are, for all intents and purposes, sterile.”
“What?” Alpha Nine replied. “No, that can’t be, why would they make us sterile?”
“They didn’t, every living mammal can no longer reproduce. We think it was something from the war, some kind of chemical attack.”
Alpha Nine frowned as he searched his memory for any knowledge of Earth's chemical weapons. Nothing stood out that could do what he was suggesting. “I have no knowledge of such a weapon. But if it is airborne, the ones still growing might be able to, if we can keep them from being exposed, maybe?” Alpha Nine mumbled to himself.
“It was likely one of the Annoronian's weapons,” older Alpha said as deep frown lines moved across his forehead. “Wait, did you say ones still growing?”
“Yes,” Alpha Nine said. “We left them behind, in the facility, others like us. I sped up the growth to get them out early, but now I wish I hadn’t. Hopefully if we get back in time we can keep them contained somehow, they might be able to generate a cure, that is if they are not affected already.”
“I doubt you will get back, the Annoronians have complete control up there, besides, it wouldn’t be that easy. I assume the oxygen they get would come from out here, it would be too late,” he replied, sidestepping around a section of cots to continue down the tunnel. “Now come, there is much to discuss, soon you will be comfortable here.”
“We need to find where they have taken our team,” Alpha Nine pressed. The older Alpha stopped and turned to him.
“You won’t get them out, don’t you think we tried that when they took ours? There is no hope, they are gone. As soon as they find out they are defective too, they will kill them or Drone them; either way they are lost to you.”
“NO!” Alpha roared, shoving him up against the wall and holding him there with his forearm pressed tightly against his neck. “We have to try.”
“No, you don’t,” the older Alpha wheezed.
Kilo put a hand on Alpha Nine’s shoulder and he stepped away, allowing the older Alpha to recover his breath. “You don’t have to do anything now, the war is over, we lost. The world above is theirs, and we live below, both of our races slowly dying off with no means to repopulate. If they go first, we will retake the Earth for whatever time we have left.”
“That cannot be it, we are trained for a war, we will get back our females, tell us where they take them, then you can go back to your half-life down here in the sewers of what used to be your world.” Alpha stood with his fists on his hips, he was not moving any further, he had to get Bravo Two back--it was his fault she was taken-- he couldn’t imagine leaving her to whatever the Annoronians had planned.
“You don’t get it; they will be dead or Drones by now.”
“Drones?” a Victor asked from behind them.
“Drones are like the men you probably saw up top. They wander aimlessly around until one of the Annoronians bid them to act. We haven’t been able to figure out how to turn it off.”
“Did you quit trying to figure that out too?” Kilo One spat from beside Alpha Nine. “You are defective if you think we will stop, we won’t quit, we were made for this.”
Alpha Nine raised his hand to silence Kilo. “He is right,” he said, taking a second to glance back at his group. “We won’t stop, so you have two choices.”
“And they are?” the older Alpha asked, tilting his head to the side, an amused smirk forming on his face.
“Tell us where to find our female party, or take me to someone who can.”
The older Alpha seemed to contemplate his choices for a moment then a crackle came out across the tunnel as the well-hidden speakers buzzed to life.
“Bring them to me,” a familiar female voice came out, broken but soft, over the system.
“Well, you heard the lady,” older Alpha said as he walked past Alpha Nine and took a nearby branched-off tunnel.
“Who is she?” Alpha Nine asked, following him down the new path. He was a little worried after what happened the last time he followed a stranger, but he wanted Bravo Two and the others back, and if this woman could tell him where to find them, he would take the risk.
“She is the elected leader of the underground,” older Alpha said walking through the end of the tunnel into a well-lit carpeted area. “But you can call her Bea.”
CHAPTER NINE
Bravo Two found herself encased in a blue light that sent tingles all over her body. She tried to reach out, to grab hold of something, anything. But the light held her encased in its glow.
Then she was free.
She landed surrounded instantly by the other females of her group, all of them frantically scanned their surroundings.
The four walls around them were metal and rusting with age. A solid door with a big wheel lock was on the wall opposite Bravo Two, another Bravo and a Juliette began trying to turn the wheel using some old tools they must have found on the floor.
They tossed the tools against the wall when the wheel wouldn’t budge; the metal clanged and drew the attention of a few of the others.
Bravo Two scanned the room again. On the floor around the room, there were a few pot lights that shone a muted yellow glow into the space but there was nothing else. She looked up to the ceiling, but couldn’t see it.
The walls of the room lurched up into a blackness. She squinted, trying to see through the dark, trying to decipher their whereabouts.
“What happened?” a Whisky asked, now at her side. “Where are we?”
“They transported us here, but I don’t know where we are. There is something up there,” Bravo Two said, pointing up at the empty ceiling.
“It’s pitch black. How can you tell?” the Whisky asked.
Bravo moved over towards the wall and placed her hand on the cool metal. “I can feel the vibrations, can’t you?”
The Whisky placed her hand beside Bravo Two’s and frowned in concentration, then smiled.
“Yes, I can feel it. Everyone, stop,” Whisky called to the others. “There is something in the darkness up in the ceiling, we have to get up there, find out what it is.”
“Give me a boost,” Bravo Two said as she faced the wall.
Whisky and the others gathered around her and two strong arms lifted her up to stand on their shoulders.
“Can you reach it; can you see what it is?” Whisky called from beneath her.
“No, it is too far up, we need to get higher.” Bravo Two climbed down off them.
“We can go higher,” a Juliette said, looking to the others. “We make a pyramid against the wall, start out with five or so on the bottom and then four and so on. We will see what it is.”
“Great idea!” Bravo Two said, the Juliette blushing slightly before regaining her steeled composure. “Alright, you heard her,” Bravo Two continued. “On the wall, let’s get up there.”
They constructed their pyramid of people and Bravo Two was the last to climb. She
climbed through the dark, using only her sense of touch to guide her up the bodies of the others below her.
“There is something at the top, a grate of some kind,” she called down to the others. There was a shuffling below her as something was passed up from below. She felt a tap at her leg and reached down, careful to maintain her balance on the shoulders of the India below her.
She ran her fingers along the length of the tool they had passed up. It was a screwdriver. Bravo Two felt along the edges of the grate until she found a small round divot. She positioned the tool into the divot and it felt like it locked into place. After a readjustment to maintain her footing in such an awkward position atop a pyramid of people, she turned.
The tool worked to undo the first of the screws she was hoping held the grate in place.
She undid it quickly then moved onto the next, letting the first fall to the floor with a ping.
“Sorry,” she called to the others below. “Watch out there are more coming.”
There was a shuffling from below as the others not constructing her tower moved clear of falling screws.
“I think there is a few more,” Bravo Two said, sending another screw to the floor. The grate shifted, and Bravo Two had to hold it in place while she undid the last of them, or it could bend and snap off, hurting someone on its way down.
“I have it,” she called, letting the grate come away into her hands. The hands gripping her right leg let go, and Bravo Two passed the grate down her right side slowly waiting for her to take hold. “Careful, it is rusted and flakes are coming away.”
“Thanks,” came the strained voice below her. She felt the ladder of people shifting and moving beneath her as the grate made its way down and she breathed a sigh of relief when she heard it clang to the floor.
“What is up there?” came a voice from below.
“I’ll hoist myself up and try to figure out what it is. Let’s hope it will lead us out of here.”
The grip on her legs lessened and moved down to her feet, the hands wedging themselves under each sole of her shoe ready to lift on her command.
“Go,” she said and the hands raised her high, she peered into the compartment. Her legs wobbling slightly as all her weight was supported by only the hands of the two bellow her. At first when she peered into the small duct she couldn’t see anything, but when she moved her head to the left she saw the smallest of glows coming from an intersecting section.
“It might be a way out, start sending up the others, and then we will pull up the rest of you.”
“How? it is too high; you won’t be able to get us all up there,” came the strained cry of one of the people, probably a part of the pyramid.
“Everyone not in the pyramid, take off your belts and join them together, then first up, bring one end with you. We will get all of you out of this place, I promise. Now lower me back to your shoulders so the rest can climb,” Bravo Two said and the clinking of belts ensued.
The first to climb up the pyramid of people first fed the end of the belt length through Bravo Two’s, fumbling in the dark she nearly fell back but Bravo Two felt her sway, and grabbed her before she lost her balance and then pushed her up into the opening.
One by one the others made their way up the pyramid and Bravo pushed them through the opening. Once most them were up into the ductwork and headed towards the glowing light, Bravo told them how to deconstruct the pyramid into a single person ladder bit by bit. Taking from one side, they worked away until only five remained, each standing on the shoulders of only one below them. Bravo Two hoisted herself into the duct the belt catching on the edge and scraping over as she pulled herself inside. She began to adjust the end of the belt to secure it around both her and the next to follow her up.
“Stay beside me,” Bravo Two said to the next as her shadow climbed through the opening and into the duct. “Let me get this around you too.”
“What are you doing?” she asked Bravo two as she knelt beside her above the hole.
“What is your handle?”
“India Four, but what are you doing?”
“Okay,” Bravo Two called down into the hole, ignoring India Fours question yet again. “Myself and India Four have you supported. Whoever is on top, start climbing, when you are high enough we will hoist you up into the duct.”
“Here I go," came her own voice, as another Bravo climbed the length. the belts went tight around Bravo Two and India Four grunted beside her but said nothing. They waited and when the breaths of her struggle were in earshot, they reached into the hole and grabbed hold of her sleeves, hoisting her up into the duct.
“Okay, next,” Bravo Two called down to one of the others. They repeated the steps until only one remained.
“I don’t think I can climb,” the voice quivered up to the darkness.
“Why, what is wrong?” Bravo Two asked.
“Get up here already,” the India Four bellowed down.
“My shoulders are numb; I don’t think I can pull myself up,” the quivering came again.
India Four scoffed beside Bravo Two, but Bravo Two placed her hand on her arm silencing her.
“Take the end of the belt and loop it to make a foot hold,” Bravo Two instructed, the belt moved as she did as Bravo Two said. “Now step into it and hold on, we are going to pull you up.”
“We are what?” India spluttered. "There is no way we can do that, she will be too heavy.”
“We can, and we will,” Bravo Two ordered, she felt her breath bounce off India’s skin in their close confines.
“Let’s get this over with,” India Four conceded and the last girl stepped into the belt loop and Bravo Two hoisted her up into the darkness.
Bravo Two knew she was taking most of the weight, but didn’t care, she was not going to leave anyone behind. When she had finally pulled her up into the duct, they too began the crawl towards the glow like the others had. Turning the corner, they continued through following the muffled noises ahead of them, the light growing with each second.
They rounded another bend and found the end of the line.
“The others must have kicked out the end of the duct and climbed down,” Bravo Two said as they continued towards it. Bravo Two looked over the edge but could not see the others, the room below was far better kept than the one they had found themselves in earlier. This room had plastered walls painted a cool grey and a few chairs in steel blue lined one wall, on the opposite wall, a long table sat with two chairs seated either side.
“It all looks clear,” Bravo said to the two behind her. When she looked back she saw that the last girl, the one who she had to help climb, was a Juliette Eight.
“Are you?” Bravo asked and Juliette Eight nodded. She smiled a knowing smile then turned and flipped herself over the edge and into the room.
Bravo Two landed perfectly and almost silently on her feet. India Four followed, not as graceful--she was as stealthy as Bravo Two but her balance wasn’t as great. She landed and fell to one knee to steady herself.
Juliette Eight came next, she stumbled though, her shoulders and legs obviously still recovering from the weight of all those females for all that time.
Bravo lunged forwards, caught her in her arms before dropping to one knee.
“Wow, thanks,” she whispered into Bravo Two’s ear before she lowered her feet to the ground and helped her to stand.
“The others must have gone through here,” Bravo Two said making her way to the ajar door.
“Wait,” Juliette offered but not in time. Bravo opened the door and the arms of men in lab coats grabbed her as more entered the room, taking hold of India Four and Juliette Eight.
India Four kicked one in the leg, it bent backwards at the knee and made a horrible cracking sound. The man screamed an ear-piercing wail before the hand holding her thumped her on the head with something and she went limp.
Bravo Two tried to pull free but the men were strong, too strong. She arched to look back at the one now clutching
his leg and where the bone protruded from the flesh and out of the fabric of his pants green ooze dripped to the floor.
The Annoronian captors jostled them down corridors until they reached an open stone area with several tents set up. Bravo looked up at the tubes running from something above them into each tented section.
They rounded a corner and pulled them towards a wall of square lights. Bravo saw them as they were pushing a November into a tube then forcing it into the wall of squares. The wall shifted, moving the squares around until an empty tube popped out at the bottom.
Their captors lifted India Four into the tube, still unconscious. Then repeated the shuffle until another popped out. They moved Juliette Eight towards the pod, as a commotion came from behind them. More men in lab coats pulled at a Bravo as she tried to fight them off. The light glimmered over her jacket as she fought her captors and she saw her handle. She was a Bravo Four.
Bravo Two tried to free herself, but another set of strong arms joined the others in restraining her.
She watched as Bravo Four twisted and kicked at them. She got an arm free and smacked one in the eye. He let go for a second and she used that to flip the other one holding her over her shoulder to the tiled floor. The floor cracked at the impact and the Annoronian lay still, green ooze trickled from the back of its head and down the grout line of the tiles.
Bravo Four was surrounded. She didn’t look worried, she glared at them, arms raised, ready.
A pop echoed through the room and Bravo Four’s face changed. Her eyes blank, her lips parted and then she fell.
The Annoronian behind her smiled at the gun in his hand, it’s blue glow illuminating his face, giving it a green hew.
“Collect the sample and dispose of the body,” came a voice over the Annoronian’s transmitter at his ear. It was scarcely loud enough for Bravo Two to hear. She locked eyes with the Annoronian and saw something she never thought she would; fear.
They jostled her again and she realised that she hadn’t noticed them stuffing Juliette Eight into one of the tubes. She prepared herself for the shuffle of squares and her own pod to pop out, but they moved her past the squares.
Alpha 9 Page 10
