Chapter 28: Resistance
Something was wrong.
As I ran through the city, people were screaming. Whatever had caused the explosions had sent them into a panic. People were not used to chaos — they were used to order. The lack of it terrified them.
Drones were everywhere but they seemed uninterested in me. There was something much larger at play. As I turned a street corner, I came upon a large crater in the middle of the street. I stepped over a small pile of debris that had been created by the rupture of the street. There were no bodies or anyone injured near the area. If someone had blown up the street, they had either deliberately avoided hurting people or gotten extremely lucky.
I leaned over the hole and peered into the darkness. I was surprised by the depth beneath the street. The tunnel reminded me of my dream — the passages underground with charges set before the earthquake. I felt a buzzing behind me. I turned and faced a dozen bee drones forming a semi-circle. I had become complacent and they had found me. I was pathetic. I thought I was so smart in outwitting the drone, I was not paying attention to my surroundings. I closed my eyes and waited.
Seconds passed and nothing happened. I looked around and the drones had passed me and were lighting the darkness of the hole. As they zoomed into it, their red eyes illuminated the rock walls. Soon they disappeared and their red glow faded into the darkness. I had gotten lucky. Again. The drones were looking for a much bigger prize than me.
I looked around, trying to decide where to go. I could go back to Grandma’s; she’d be concerned but as soon as things settled down, they’d find me there. I could go to oil refinery (for real this time) to avoid the cameras, but I had given that secret place away. I was alone. I had escaped my prison only to be trapped in another much larger one. I could make a break for the mountain now. They hadn’t time to discover that part of my plan. As I made a decision, a hand on my shoulder took it all away from me.
“Pene! Come with me.” I looked into Austin’s eyes and knew I was going to be all right. Some actions just felt right.
“How did you find me?”
“The drones weren’t the only ones looking for you.” He grabbed my hand and we started running out of the downtown core. “I went to see your grandmother when I heard you disappeared. She was worried and asked me to find you. We knew that if you didn’t escape the city, you had to be downtown in the Justice Building.” I stopped moving.
“You never thought I could make it. Did you?” I commented, resisting his pull but preventing my hurt pride from getting in the way.
“We know you can make it. Just not alone.”
“Who’s we?”
“That’s where I’m taking you. We’re not alone. There are others like us who know how the city really works. I’ve finally made contact with them!”
What? I try to escape the city and in the span of day, a whole resistance springs up?
“You’re not making sense. Who is helping us?” I turned and realized this wasn’t the time for answers. A motorcycle drone stood at the end of the street, and its red eye was directly focused on me. It revved its engine over the ground once, then twice, like a bull ready to charge.
“This way!” Austin screamed, pulling me into a mall. We ran into the main courtyard. Despite the crisis in the street, there were many frantic-looking people, as if they were rushing to buy emergency supplies. About half dozen alert mall cops were near the entrance, ready to act if looting began. We charged up an escalator, bumping into annoyed shoppers.
“Sorry,” Austin said to several people as we reached the top. I turned and watched the drone drive in the main door and scan the crowd. It took seconds for it to notice us on the next floor. It pointed its wrist at the escalator and the upward motion stopped. People yelled at the drone but got off the escalator. The drone pointed its wrist again and the escalator steps flatted so that the stairs became a ramp. The drone gunned it up and was on the second floor in moments.
“Hope you got a trick up your sleeve,” I yelled to Austin. “That thing is going to be on us in seconds.”
“Fortunately, they gave me this.” He pulled us into a small alcove between stores and tossed what looked like a small spherical grenade. Instead of an explosion, a video screen flashed in front of us.
“What is it?” I asked. Austin put his finger to his mouth.
“Quiet. The image won’t mask audio. Stand still,” he commanded. We were in an extremely tight corner. I don’t know who started it, but all of a sudden I was holding him and he had his arms around my back. His eyes stared back me and for a moment he was the only thing that existed.
Then the whirling engine of the drone came from around the corner. We stood like statues against the wall, looking straight out onto the pedway. The drone flew by us, proceeding to the next store.
“That was close,” I whispered. The drone engine slowed and came to a stop. Austin gave me a look as if he was going to kill me if the drone didn’t. I watched as the drone came back to our position and stared at us. I don’t know what the image was, but the drone was scanning it. It tilted its head in a human manner, as if the visuals were false. I held my breath and closed my eyes. Austin gripped my hand.
I imagined being at home, having breakfast with my dad. Talking about his day. Him asking about mine. Cooking for him. All gone. That life had disappeared. My memories of him were all that were left. A sob escaped and a tear ran down my face. I opened my eyes, expecting that I had given away our position, but the drone was gone. We were no longer hugging each other but he held my hands.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“No, but it can’t be helped. Is the drone gone?”
“Yes.” He pointed. “It’s heading down towards the other end. We should go.” We stepped out of the alcove and looked back. The image was perfect — two still mannequins in a store window. It looked real, even to me, and I knew the difference. Austin bent down and grasped the grenade, turning it off. The image disappeared as he pocketed the device.
“Where to?”
“We need to get below ground. Follow me.” We headed towards the stairs and went down to the basement. I scanned our surroundings and noticed a camera at the bottom of the stairs. I put my arm in front of Austin’s chest to make him stop, and pointed. He pulled a small tube from his pocket and climbed on the rail, out of sight of the lens. He sprayed black paint over the camera.
“They can’t alert a drone to us right away.” He grabbed my wrist and we opened the door to a parking garage. There was no one else around. Austin went straight to a heating duct.
“It’s going to get warm for a moment,” as he pulled the grate open. We pulled ourselves through and closed the grate behind us. The air came from a heat duct. The heat made me feel like I had stepped onto a beach. Austin passed me a small tube. I touched a depression on its surface. The light illuminated the gloomy surroundings.
We moved forward in the cramped area and the sounds of the garage faded away. Suddenly we crossed over a lip and dropped about six feet until our feet touched water. Inwardly, I grimaced. Austin must have felt my body tense.
“Don’t worry, it’s not sewage, just water.”
“Where are we?” I asked. Inwardly, though, I knew the answer.
He put his light under his chin, trying to create a frightening face.
“Don’t you remember the re-enactment games? Before the earthquake there were a series of tunnels under the city. Although most were demolished when the city was rebuilt, some stayed intact. You just need to know which ones are still active.” As if on cue, a large piece of cement hung down, partially blocking our route. Austin skittered around its edge and pulled me behind him.
“I get taken away for a day and now you’re an expert on escaping the city? What else did I miss?” I was getting frustrated. It seemed like on both my escape attempts I had failed miserably, while Austin seemed to come about information freely.
“It’s better that I show you. Follow me, it shouldn’t take us to long to get there now.” I followed his beam of light as it traversed the concrete tunnel. Twice we had to scramble around debris and once the ceiling had collapsed, but eventually the tunnel opened up and a glow appeared in the distance.
“Where are we?” I asked. Before Austin could answer, the tunnel opened up into a huge natural cavern. The area was the size of a large warehouse, with jury-rigged lighting above us. Computer workstations littered the top portion as well as a number of workbenches with bucket loads of electronics strewn across them. About a dozen people were working diligently on focused tasks. Only a few looked up as we entered, and most quickly returned to their work.
“Remember your success at the school games?” Austin grinned. And he pointed above ground. Suddenly I knew where we were.
“You mean all of this is below the stadium?”
“Hidden in plain sight. Apparently the sound of the crowd is overwhelming down here during the competition.”
I pulled Austin closer to me. “Spill. How did you find all of this?”
“It kind of found me. Especially after he saw me with you at the dance. He followed me and figured out I was someone he could trust with the Resistance.”
“Resistance? Who is leading it?” A hand touched my shoulder.
“Hi, Pene.” Cold eyes bore into me.
The leader of the resistance was Mr. Stewart!