Beyond the Crystal City

by Logan Brookfield

  Felix walked through the doorway and into a relatively untouched corridor. He tried the first door on the right and it opened with ease. Inside were racks with neat piles of linen on them and hanging on a rail were military-style jackets, and boots of various sizes sat on the floor. He pulled off his old footwear and tossed it into a corner. After trying a few pairs on he finally found a pair of black leather boots that fitted, so he threaded the laces through the eyelets and did them up in a knot. These would make the journey over building material and rough ground much easier. He then pulled over all of the racks, which crashed down onto the floor spilling their contents. He was determined to destroy as much as he could before the others found their way deeper into the city.

  Felix tried the handle of the next door but it was locked. He took a step back, raised his boot and kicked at the lock, but it didn’t budge. He tried again, kicking harder and the lock snapped sending the door flying open and banging into the wall behind it.

  His mouth dropped open as he stood in the doorway looking into the large room. A huge arsenal of weapons filled the walls, including assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles and rocket launchers. At the end of the room was a waist-high metal cabinet with double doors. He walked in and turned around full circle. Every inch of space was taken up with military hardware and only a walkway in the middle of the floor could be accessed. He’d never seen such a large collection of weapons and everything seemed new and unused. The Cloud people must have taken all the resources they could carry and left behind those that they couldn’t, even if they were expensive and rare like these were.

  On the wall was a sheet of paper asking for anyone who took a weapon to make sure they signed it in and out. This looked like an armoury for the Black Hats. It was a well-ordered stockroom for their lethal weapons.

  Felix walked over to the metal cabinet and picked up one of several boxes piled up on top. He opened the lid and inside was a brand new automatic pistol. It smelt of gun metal and oil and looked like it had been precision engineered. He’d never seen anything quite like it. The only weapon he’d ever held was an old model revolver that his father used to own, which fired home-made bullets that were neither accurate nor reliable. He took the weapon out of the box and held it. He levelled his arm and pointed the gun at the wall, closing one eye as he looked down the sight. It felt heavy but comfortable and was perfectly weighted and balanced. He found boxes of bullets in the metal cabinet and loaded the magazine with a full eight rounds, then tried the mechanism and safety catch.

  ‘Nice stash you’ve got here, bro,’ the voice said.

  Felix spun round and pointed the gun at the Wretch standing in the doorway. He was about 30, bald with a spilt lip, bruised eye and a torn, blood-soaked shirt.

  ‘Easy, cowboy,’ the Wretch said holding his hands up. ‘I’m just here for the same reason as you are, and you sure can’t carry all this good stuff yourself, now can you?’

  Felix’s heart began to race. He’d no idea if the weapon would fire or how to use it correctly.

  The Wretch stepped into the room. ‘I’m not here to hurt anyone who doesn’t want to hurt me. I’m just trying to survive like everyone else. All I want is a couple of them assault rifles and I’ll be on my merry way,’ he said looking down at a loaded revolver on a nearby table.

  Felix gripped the gun tighter. ‘Step away from the table and get out.’

  The man took another step forward. ‘Really, son, do you know what you’re doing with that? Any idea what it’s like to put lead into another person, to take a life just because you can? Like it or not, there are two hundred angry Wretches coming this way and they’ll do whatever it takes to get their hands on this kind of hardware. Help me block that main door out there to buy us some time and I’ll help you carry this stuff out. I’m sure we can find another exit somewhere.’

  ‘I won’t tell you again,’ Felix said breathing rapidly.

  The man sighed. ‘Now that’s not good manners, is it? And I was being so polite. Also, how are you going to shoot me with the safety catch on?’

  Felix looked at the weapon, tilting it to one side.

  The man darted towards the table, reaching for the gun. Felix pulled the trigger, firing off one shot which missed and hit the wall behind. The Wretch grabbed the revolver and fired two shots back in quick succession as Felix ducked and tried to take cover. He pulled the trigger three more times, hitting the Wretch in the chest and shoulder, sending him reeling as he dropped the gun and collapsed on the floor.

  Felix stood up and felt warm liquid seeping through his shirt; he placed his hand on his stomach and looked at the blood now starting to pour through his fingers. The pain was intense and overwhelming and his knees buckled as he staggered forwards and fell to the floor. His ears were still ringing from the gunshots as the distant sound of people grew louder. He could no longer see anything but blackness as the sound faded and he succumbed to his mortal wounds.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  O’Connor punched the codes into the main computer to prepare the Icarus weapon. The system beeped three times and displayed a confirmation message to acknowledge the command. He took a small silver key from a leather pouch on the belt around his waist and placed it in the lock of the safe. Turning it halfway, the interior lock gave a heavy clunk. This partly unlocked the strongbox holding the two firing triggers, but the door would not yet open fully without a second key.

  Second key required, the computer said.

  Edmond entered the room and tapped another series of codes into the computer. The beeps confirmed Icarus was preparing itself. He then took his key and placed it into the vacant keyhole. A short twist moved the locking bolt out of the way and the safe door swung open. Inside were the two firing triggers. These were small and black and made of metal, sitting comfortably in the hand like the handle of a gun, with one big red trigger near the top.

  Edmond took one and O’Connor took the other. Each trigger was voice-activated and wouldn’t work without the correct speech imprint.

  Edmond pressed a small black button on top of the trigger as he placed it near his mouth. ‘Edmond, Delta, Echo, Zulu, 651.’

  Thank you, Edmond, your codes are correct and have been accepted, the computer replied.

  O’Connor raised his trigger. ‘O’Connor, Bravo, Foxtrot, Yankee, 716.’

  Thank you, O’Connor. Your codes are correct and have been accepted. Icarus is being prepared and will be ready to fire in five minutes, the computer said.

  A bead of sweat trickled down O’Connor’s temple.

  ‘You seem nervous,’ Edmond said.

  ‘I just want it to work. I’m as eager as you to reach Eden.’

  Edmond looked at his watch and sighed. ‘About three minutes left.’

  O’Connor nodded. He placed the trigger in his other hand then back again in an attempt to dry his wet palms. ‘Minutes seem like hours when you’re waiting for something.’

  ‘I guess a watched pot never boils,’ Edmond replied.

  The computer crackled into life. Thank you, gentlemen, Icarus is online and ready. The weapon will detonate when both triggers are pressed simultaneously. The operation cannot be reversed once both triggers are pressed.

  Edmond nodded to O’Connor as they both squeezed their triggers in unison. Edmond stared at his handheld device and again nodded to O’Connor. They squeezed the firing mechanism again and looked at the screen with a zoomed-in live feed of the city, but nothing happened.

  Edmond banged the trigger onto the desk and repeatedly squeezed the trigger. ‘Does nothing work in this place!’ he said smashing the device one last time into the corner of the desk as it broke into several pieces.

  Weapon failure. Coolant levels exhausted. Icarus has been powered down until coolant levels return to normal, the computer said.

  ‘What the hell does that mean?’ O’Connor said staring wide-eyed at Edmond.

  ‘It means the wretches below have managed to breach the catacombs and somehow
disable or damage Icarus. We haven’t got time for this, we need to get under way.’

  O’Connor pointed at the display screen. ‘I can fix this, Edmond. I’ll lead a team and take them down in a shuttle. We just need to restore the coolant levels and bring Icarus online.’

  ‘No you won’t. It would be a suicide mission with no guarantee of success. I need you here. Without your skills we won’t be going anywhere.’

  O’Connor placed the trigger back in the safe. ‘But without the cleansing, how can we be sure the planet will be uninhabited when we return?’

  ‘We need to travel for longer and let more time pass,’ Edmond said rubbing his face with his hands. ‘There are greater risks of course, but there is a chance that the earth’s natural decline over time will eradicate any last pockets of humans.’

  ‘And if it doesn’t?’

  Edmond sat down in a chair. ‘We have the capability, with enough time and work, to develop more weapons and we’ll deal with anything we have to on our return.’

  ‘So we find paradise and start nuking it?’

  ‘Not quite. We find Eden and see off the savages who might inhabit it. Just like every ancient explorer before us who has found a new world. But if we travel far enough we can maybe return after the next ice age. It’s ambitious and much further than we’ve planned. There are options, O’Connor, let’s just leave it at that. You make sure that the ship sails through space without a hitch and I’ll decide when we return and after how long.’

  ‘The next ice age is a very long way off and it’ll bring with it many added risks,’ O’Connor said stroking his chin. ‘But it is possible as we’ve discussed in previous meetings.’

  ‘Good, we’ve come this far and I don’t intend to fall at the final hurdle.’

  ‘So what now?’ O’Connor said.

  ‘Prepare the gravity drive. We’re leaving today.’

  Chapter Forty

  Carl kept the pedal to the floor as the vehicle now cruised along the wide road. ‘I can’t believe how smooth this road is. It’s like it was used recently by people, and also the air seems to be clearer the further we get from the city.’

  Amy looked over her shoulder. ‘Maybe they pollute it on purpose to keep us under control. There’s probably trees and animals out here somewhere. They lie about everything else so why not that. I think it’s all one big lie.’

  ‘You’re not the first person to say that. This isn’t a rough track underused for centuries, it’s a highway leading from the Crystal City to somewhere else. You can see the tyre imprints of other vehicles so somebody’s been driving through here. These tracks can’t be more than a few weeks old, they’d have been removed by the rains otherwise.’

  ‘How far are we now?’ Amy asked.

  ‘Difficult to say, maybe fifty miles out from the city or maybe a bit more. The bomb should have exploded by now. It doesn’t make any sense. I’m surprised we’re still here. Unless we managed to damage the device, that is.’

  Carl slowed down then pulled over at the side of the road.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Amy asked.

  ‘I’m going to have a better look,’ Carl said pulling a pair of field binoculars out from the glovebox.

  ‘Wait, I’m coming with you.’

  Carl jumped out and stepped onto the wheel of the truck. He clambered onto the bonnet and then onto the roof. He leaned against the top-mounted machine gun turret and brought the binoculars to his eyes, scanning the distant horizon. With the clearer air and flat landscape he could see a plume of thick smoke billowing into the sky from the direction of the city. ‘Yep, there’s definitely some smoke rising up. The bomb must have malfunctioned or been damaged. The blast radius would be well beyond our location otherwise. Hopefully the poor souls left there have survived.’

  Amy looked up using her hand as a shield from the blazing sun. ‘Do you think the people have overrun the city by now?’

  Carl squinted as he strained to see into the distance. ‘Maybe but I can’t say for sure. Depends what the defences were like around the perimeter. We got past the main gate easier than I thought we would,’ he said scanning the rest of the horizon and road ahead. ‘I don’t think the drones and the automatic gun turrets operate on their own, they need to be programmed and told what to do. Plus if the city lost its power then all the communication would be down.’

  ‘Can you see anything else?’

  Carl shook his head. ‘It’s all a bit hazy in this heat but the area ahead looks pretty flat to me. I can’t see anything unusual,’ he said climbing back down and walking around to Amy.

  ‘There’s a lot of rubble and trash on the side of the road, somebody must have put it there,’ she said kneeling down and sifting through the mounds. ‘There are tin cans, paper, batteries and a lot more. Maybe they brought the compacted trash out this way and buried it or something.’

  Carl nodded. ‘Maybe, yeah, it must have all gone somewhere after they processed it in the refuse area. But this isn’t the monster-filled toxic danger zone we were all told about. It’s just a huge empty space with no people. Let’s carry on and get over this hill and see where it leads. We need to find food and water from somewhere. Fuel too if we’re going to keep driving, or at least some shelter.’

  ‘There doesn’t look like much of that out here,’ Amy said looking around.

  They both climbed back into the truck and continued to follow the road ahead, which was filled with more obstacles the further they went. After a short distance they came across a line of rusted abandoned cars and they slowly drove past them.

  Amy wound the side window down. ‘Doesn’t look like anyone has used those for a while.’

  ‘There must have been another community out here somewhere. I’ve never seen vehicles that looked like that before. They look more like personal transports than military issue. Imagine that, a community full of people living their lives without any interference from soldiers or drones,’ he said.

  ‘Look, up ahead,’ Amy said pointing.

  As they passed the line of decaying metal and rounded a corner, a small collection of ruined buildings came into view. They were single- and double-storey dwellings and each one had the roof and windows missing and some damage to the walls but were in better condition than most of the buildings within the walls of the city. Carl parked up at the edge of the road and they both got out.

  ‘What was this place?’ Amy said.

  Carl looked around. ‘Looks like a small collection of houses. Not in too bad a condition either and probably lived in by whoever owned them cars back there. They look too recent to be used by the ancients.’

  ‘I wonder where they all went to,’ she said.

  Carl shrugged. ‘Who knows,’ he said pushing open a stiff wooden door and walking inside. He looked up at the sky through the open roof of the two-storey house.

  The upper floor had collapsed and filled the middle of the lower floor with rotten wood beams, tiles and corrugated sheets of metal. A table and chairs were half-buried underneath the pile and over in the corner was a sofa, the covering of which had been eaten away by the harsh elements and acid rain leaving just the frame and rusted springs.

  ‘It reminds me of the abandoned tower block back in the city. Looks like people were here not so long ago and left in a hurry,’ Carl said walking through a doorway into another room. He took two steps in and stopped, mouth open, staring at the bed. ‘Or maybe they didn’t go anywhere.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Amy asked as she followed him in. ‘Oh my God,’ she said putting her hand to her mouth.

  Chapter Forty-One

  O’Connor sat in the captain’s chair on the bridge and started to run the primary ignition sequence to prepare the gravity drive. Millions of pieces of data streamed through the computers as everything was analysed, from the engine temperature to the coolant levels, structural stability to the course ahead looking for potential collisions. Near the navigation console there was an array of monitors showing images
from within the engine compartment. The gravity drive looked good and the white boiler-suited technicians scurried around in the secure area checking for leaks and monitoring the core temperature.

  ‘Evacuation is complete and our supplies are on board and locked down. Rationing will commence as soon as we leave to ensure we’ve enough to last the journey,’ O’Connor said.

  Edmond sat nearby, stroking his chin and watching the monitors closely while occasionally looking out of the windows. ‘At last, so many years of planning and it all comes down to this. You know, there were times I never thought we’d get this far. Not everything has gone to plan but it doesn’t matter now. Maybe it’s our destiny to do it this way. Maybe we would have returned too early and had a greater struggle, who knows. Everything happens for a reason.’

  ‘We’ve come a long way, Edmond. We are mankind’s last hope and it’s our duty and destiny to repopulate the planet and create a better world.’

  Edmond smiled. ‘I couldn’t have put it better myself, well said. Now…shall we get under way?’

  ‘Engine idling at five per cent,’ O’Connor said.

  The bridge crew of eight men and women repeated back a series of checks that O’Connor listened carefully to. Each check needed to be successful or the trip could be delayed. There was no room for error and the predetermined checklist was extensive.

  ‘Bring engine to fifteen per cent,’ O’Connor said. Droplets of sweat formed on his forehead as the ship gave a gentle vibration. ‘Thank you, now thirty-five per cent, please.’

  The bulkheads creaked and the ship started to move slightly as if it had a mind of its own. It was still tethered in orbit and couldn’t break free from its hold until it was commanded to do so. The exhaust port area around the rear of the ship was now shimmering, and the fabric of space itself appeared to be twisting and bending.