by Isa Marks
. . . . . . . . . .
Daryl looked at the file number again. It was a date, the same date the dam broke. He had read enough.
He flipped through the other files, which showed more charts, diagrams, and blueprints. But nothing about evacuation protocols for the Bunker or tunnel exits, which was what he was actually looking for.
Suddenly the door swung open and a girl came stumbling into the room. “No no no,” he heard a boy’s voice say. “We’re not allowed in my father’s office.”
“Daryl is your dad?” she said. Teagan looked at her confused. When he saw the stranger sitting in his father’s chair, the files scattered over the desk, he froze.
Daryl had not heard them come in, he had been too overwhelmed and distracted by the information in the files. He recognized the girl from earlier that day, and the guy from the porch. She had called him Daryl, did she know him? He shone the light in her face. She couldn’t stand the brightness and averted her eyes. Oh yes, he knew her. She had been at the Spring Cabin, the one Cathy had been so upset about losing, she had been left behind with the others . . . she had died.
“Are you with them too, like Adrien?” Daryl asked Cecilia. She felt at her dress as if she was looking for something in her pockets.
“I got your message, the note you left, I still have it somewhere. But then I couldn’t find you and Cathy. I found some other people though, or well they found me. They gave me a job. What about you, do you work for Teagan’s dad now or something?”
“No I don’t, you have no idea, do you?” Daryl said. “They did this, they destroyed the dam. These people are not your friends, they are killers. Just read these files, it’s all in here.”
Teagan just stood there, he did not have a clue what to do about this man in his house. He was older than him and at least twice his size, no way he was going to fight him.
“My father is not a killer, and neither am I,” he said. “But my father is going to kill me if he finds out someone has been in his office.” He knew the consequences for getting caught, and he wasn’t going to let it happen again. And he was definitely not going to take the blame for this guy.
“You have to go now, or I’ll call the guards!” Teagan said as firmly as possible.
“He is a guard, silly,” Cecilia giggled, “can’t you tell by his clothes? But yes, you have to go now Daryl. I have to sleep and so does Teagan. We have to work tomorrow. We have to save the world! No wait, we have to help Murphy save the world. And Doctor Miller of course,” she rambled on. She looked at Teagan who did not realize she had tried to make fun of him by using Doc’s full name.
“Murphy? Is he alright?” Daryl asked.
“Of course he is, he is saving the world!”
“Tell me where I can find him?” She was clearly drunk, Daryl had no hope of getting anything useful out of her in this state.
“You have to go.” Teagan pressed, “Now.”
He switched on the lights in the hallway and office. It didn’t take long for the neighbor’s lights to come on as well. Their loud voices had already aroused interest.
“Okay, okay I’ll go,” Daryl said. He walked up to Teagan, who was still standing in the doorway. “Maybe you should read those files. I know you don’t want to believe what I say, but maybe you will believe the facts.”
He turned off the office lights and left climbing through the same window he had come in. He saw Teagan standing over the desk, trying to put the files together in their original order.
“One more thing,” Daryl said. He threw the key in Teagan’s direction. “You should probably put this back under the chair when you’re done.”
CHAPTER 17
GETTING OUT
“I’m sorry Cat, but there is no exit on the middle level.”
Daryl sat next to her, in the dark, along the back wall of the cave in the safe zone. It had been a long walk back, it had taken him most of the night. The streets and tunnels were pretty much abandoned at this hour. The back wall of the cave gave a good view of all the connecting tunnels. If one of the dark holes were to light up, all they had to do was make a run for it through one of the connecting tunnels. They knew their way around this part of the Bunker by now. Jake and Moon seemed to be in a deep sleep on the other side of the cave. Cathy was on guard duty, she had volunteered because she wanted to wait for Daryl to come back. Now he was here and the news was not what she had hoped for.
“No exit, huh, that’s not good.” She yawned, and stretched her arms. It had been a long day. She was too tired to even be upset by the bad news. “We still have to check out the other levels, though. There must be a way out. We have to wait anyway, until we find Murphy. Faye and the others haven’t seen him.”
“Hmmm,” Daryl responded, not sure if he should give her hope.
“So now what? We check the other levels, but what if there is no exit?”
“I need to tell you something else,” he said, not sure how to put it in words.
His tone was serious. He told her about the man in the suit, the office and the files. How it had been Adrien’s idea to blow up the dam. And then about being caught by Cecilia and the guy in the office.
“Cecilia? She is alive? How did she make it out, that is impossible.” Cathy sat up and suddenly felt wide awake.
“We were lucky though, she took the note I left at the basin. If the guards had found it we probably would have been slaves right now as well. But Cecilia, I’m sorry Cat, she didn’t seem all right. And it was not just because she was drunk. She seemed brainwashed. She is friends with the suit man’s son and she even works for them. She said they gave her a job with some doctor. She seems to believe that this doctor and Murphy are going to save the world.” The words slipped out before he realized what he had said.
“Murphy?” Cathy looked at him. “Did you say Murphy? Tell me, where is he? Is he okay?”
“I . . . ehm I don’t know where he is, or how he is doing. My best guess is that he is with the doctor. There is a lab and office on this level. We should check it out. But I don’t think that’s where they keep him all the time.”
Cathy calmed down a little, letting all this information sink in. He was here and he was alive, so there was some good news after all. But why would Cecilia think Murphy was going to save the world?
“Let me guess, we need a plan?”
Daryl smiled, “Yes that would be a good idea, but first you need some rest.”
◆◆◆
The other guards gathered around the guy on the floor. They started to search everyone in line. One of them pushed Faye to the wall. He had his hand against the left side of her head, pushing her other cheek into the wall. He pulled up her shirt and patted her down. That’s when she saw the man that took her seat in the van was beaten to the ground with batons. The guard let go of her, leaving her standing against the wall as she watched the people that stood behind her in line. There was going to be a riot, she could feel it.
She looked around for the others, they were all lying on the ground, different shades of green and orange bled through their shirts and trouser pockets. Smashed vegetable mush was spread over the tunnel floor. Their faces were pushed downwards and a knee pressed in their backs, keeping them locked in place. There was nothing she could do for them, it felt selfish but all she could do was try and save herself.
Faye made her way to the back of the line. She moved slowly between the furious men in their forties, that had started to yell louder and louder, and tried to avoid the guards with their batons. There were not enough guards to control the men, most of the guards were pinning the thieves to the floor. The drivers tried to help, but could not do much against the horde of angry men.
She made it out from between them and watched the unfolding scene from the back row. She did not really have a plan, but if she could make it to the open door, which was a little bit further down the tunnel, maybe she could move on from there.
The men were on a rampage. Somehow one of them had go
tten hold of a guard’s baton, the guard himself was pushed into a corner. He covered his face while he was beaten by at least five men. That would give her some time. She started running, looking back every couple of yards. No one noticed, no one followed her.
The open door led to a small supply room. There were some open cabinets with shelves stacked with kitchen towels, tablecloths and napkins. The floor was covered with boxes, stacked on top of each other. Most boxes were still closed and were covered in orange discolored packing tape, like they had been there for years. Three were open and contained individually wrapped plastic forks, knives and spoons, the printing on the side read ‘10.000 pcs per box’. She felt strangely safe for the first time since she’d arrived. Before they got through ten thousand of forks, knives or spoons, and opened a new box, that would give her . . . well, plenty of time to escape. Faye crawled behind the pile of closed boxes she knew no one would move any time soon.
She sat there until all sounds disappeared and it became quiet. No screaming, no running, no crying, no vans driving. No opening or closing of doors. Nothing but the humming sound of machines and the occasional footsteps of guards on their rounds. She just sat there, behind the boxes, for hours, replaying the images in her head over and over again.
She knew she had to continue her escape soon. They had increased the security, making their rounds twice as often. It was like clockwork, every thirty minutes the footsteps came. They seemed to increase from the left, where the dorms were, being at their loudest in front of the storage room door, before continuing to die off to the right. She had an idea, and it even had a plan B.
Someone had closed the door to the room shortly after she had entered, she had heard the banging sound. Now she was grateful, she could switch on the light and search the room. She searched between the neatly folded piles of fabric and tossed aside some loose checkered pants with elastic waistbands and double breasted white coats.
“Yes, Aprons!” she whispered, that would do. She put the top band over her head and tied the two strings behind her back in a bow, as she used to do when she helped her mom in the kitchen as a kid. She killed the light and crawled back behind the boxes. All she had to do now was wait for the footsteps to come again.
It wasn’t long before she heard the footsteps again. The sound disappeared, and she opened the door carefully. The tunnel was illuminated like usual, only the lights were less bright than during the day. She went to the right, following the footsteps. Back the same route she had come, back to the Field. Most doors were closed and the buzzing mechanical sounds that came from the rooms were almost soothing.
She tried to look as natural as possible, blending in as if she worked there. Kitchen personnel on their way to another room with machines, ready to slice up some of that fresh produce. Just like the girls she had seen from the van every morning when they brought her to the Field. God, she hoped they worked night shifts in this place. The tunnel opening widened, wide enough for four vehicles across. There it was, the exit to the Field.
A faint red glow hung over the crops, it moved like waves when a soft breeze went through the plants their leaves. Above the tunnel exit bright red numbers read 00:00. The field seemed infinitely large in the dark. She walked forward through the red plants, touching the leaves with her fingers. This was the last time she would be on this damn field.
She stuffed an apple in her mouth, it tasted so good, it almost made her forget she was trying to escape. She sat there on her knees, her eyes closed, she held the apple against her lips and chewed. If a guard came in and dragged her away she wouldn’t even notice.
All she cared about was that sweetness in her mouth, and what it did to her empty stomach. Holding up the bottom end of her apron she filled it up with as many fruits and vegetables as she could carry, before making her way toward the tunnel. The same exit she had seen Cathy come from the other day. She was free, she was actually free.
◆◆◆
Her head felt heavy like never before. Cecilia tried to sit up but crashed back down onto the fluffy pillow, and the softest mattress she had ever felt. Even that didn’t help with the headache. A line of light came from between the gray curtains. She gazed from between her eyelids at the unfamiliar room. It was pretty much empty, aside from the single bed on which she lay. She was still wearing the same dress from last night, her shoes where placed side by side on the linoleum floor.
Fragments of last night started to come back to her. The twinkling lights at the Ocean Lounge. The Aridondecks, or whatever they’re called. The pink drinks with the sugary rim. How did Daryl fit into this again? Some of it was still a blur. She had ruined it, she was sure of that. Their first date had ended in her running off, and after that she couldn’t remember much.
There was a knock on the door.
“Are you up yet?” Teagan whispered and peeked around the corner. His wet blonde hair was combed backwards.
“Hmmm . . .” was all she answered, staring at the ceiling light that was turned off.
“Headache, right?” he said softly. He came in and sat beside her on the bed. “Here drink this.” He helped her up and brought the glass of water to her lips. She sipped slowly. Why was he being so kind to her, after last night?
“You can take a shower or bath if you like. I’ve left a towel for you. Join me in the kitchen after.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“I’m not surprised,” Teagan smiled. “But you could use the vitamins.”
“Hmmm . . .” she said again.
She missed a step, and held on to the railing of the stairs. Her shoes slipped from her hand and made a loud noise as they fell to the marble floor below. This time she couldn’t blame the high heels, as she vaguely remembered she had last night.
The smell of coffee led her to the kitchen. Teagan stood behind the metal counter, his hair now in the familiar side part. It still looked a bit wet, but she couldn’t tell if it was from the shower or the large amount of hair product he had just applied. The sweet artificial smell was even stronger than that of the roasted beans. He looked like those guys from the magazines she had seen lying around the Hospital.
“I’ve given a message to Doctor Miller that we are not coming to work this morning,” Teagan said.
“Oh no, work, I completely forgot about that.” Usually she could deal with Doc’s chatty nature, but right now she could not even stand the thought of it. “Thank you,” she said, “. . . for everything.”
Teagan turned around, facing her. Steam circled up from the cup in his hand. He gave her the familiar smile and sipped his coffee. He put another glass of water in front of her, then took a bottle from the cabinet.
“Here, it’s just vitamins, C mostly. I’ve read some studies that say it helps with the hangover, and the water helps with the headache.”
He was right, the pounding had become more bearable.
“I’m sorry about last night,” she started.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. I shouldn’t have brought it up. I just noticed you were upset after seeing that guy lying there and thought you might want to talk about it. Sorry, I was wrong. I’m the one that should apologize.” Teagan said.
“There’s something you should know. But you can’t tell your dad. If what Daryl said is true . . .”
“My dad is not a killer!”
“That’s not what I meant . . . I mean, let’s just keep what I’m about to tell you between us, okay?” His reaction was so intense it almost scared her. She didn’t want to cause another fight, or whatever it had been last night.
“Sorry, It’s just . . . that guy broke into my house and you take his side. It’s hard for me to believe he’s not a criminal.”
“Do you promise not to tell, you need to promise first,” Cathy insisted.
Teagan raised his right hand, his index and middle finger extended upwards.
“Okay then, I’ll start from the beginning. I used to live in a place on the south side of the mountain. When the dam br
oke we fled to the cave near our spring. When the water came, some of us got out, but most got trapped. I got trapped too, but was able to stay afloat holding on to one of the empty barrels. I made it to the tunnel opening in the mountain and crawled in. Your guards found me, all wet and dripping and put me in a cell for the night. Guard Adrien interviewed me and told me they could use my experience at the doctor’s office. That’s how I ended up at Doc’s. They gave me a room in the guards quarters. I don’t know what happened to the rest of my group. Not until I saw Murphy on that table. Doc told me he volunteered, but then you told me that he was a prisoner. I think Doc has been lying to me. That’s why I ran off at the Ocean Lounge. And then there was Daryl. He helped the people get to safety, without him none of us would have survived. I don’t know how he got in your dad’s office or why, but I believe what he says.”
It was a waterfall of words. Teagan was silent for a little while, he needed some time to let it sink in.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that, I had no idea,” he finally said. He understood now why she had been so silent after seeing Murphy on that table, and apparently she had reasons to trust this Daryl guy.
“Do you think Daryl could just be looking for someone to blame, though? I mean, I was raised to always do the right thing, be nice to people and find ways to improve the world. Would my dad teach me that and have people killed at the same time? It does not make sense.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Cecilia agreed. “Maybe it’s more complicated than that. Maybe we should read those files, like Daryl suggested.”
“My father’s office is off limits. Last night was already one risk too many.” He didn’t want to risk her being sent to the Field for being in his father’s office, as they had done to him last time.
