After the informative session from the new Naturales tribe, they finally manage to leave and cross the Great Wall early in the morning of the next day. Having been guided through the edge of the coastline, they were shown a path through large storm drains that led back into the Capital in an almost direct path.
Among the instructions and warning the leaders gave them, were to be on the lookout for the humanoid creatures that everyone started calling Rey due to the shape of its head resembling a king’s crown: being the entirely infected version of a person infected by the Salina fungus. Many outlandish things called those storm drains home after the war, a few of which have no regard for life in the outside world, mutated or otherwise. Mutated bugs that weren’t as friendly as Betsy, willing to charge at them from all sides just to secure a meal.
The change of plans using the Pretoria opened the possibility of travelling further North into Brazil. Once renowned as a modern engineering breakthrough, the Pretoria was designed to be the first bullet train that could cross the American continent. Its design was the result of the combined efforts of a convention between Japan, Russia and the Federation. Managing to cover 20 of the 25 Latin American countries it was an incredible leap forward for public transportation and tourism, being able to go from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro in less than half a day. Its expansion was halted in 2072 due to increasing tensions with foreign superpowers, and threats of further terrorist attacks.
The electric substations were connected to an autonomous Thorium powered nuclear power plant on the outskirts of the Buenos Aires province. Its system being completely self-sufficient it did require periodic acknowledgment of its working state by human hands, failure to do so would end up with the safe shut down of the station in the event of sabotage or an extreme emergency.
Rushing down the tunnels, they see how a few rats try to come close and sniff around Betsy’s legs, weighing their options to see if that potential food source is worth the fight. To their dismay, Betsy took advantage of the situation and started feeding on them, making the rest scurry away in fear.
“Ew, Betsy… How can you eat that?” Cornelia exclaimed. “You’ve gotta learn some lady-like manners, though I think it’s all for the better, those things look pretty nasty.”
“Let her bet, she’s still a growing girl. Besides, who can deny anything to those cute big brown eyes?” Lindbergh pointed out as he started to talk tenderly to her. “Who’s a good girl? Who’s a pretty girl? Who eats all them mean critters that wanna eat us?” he said as Betsy started dancing excitedly hearing his words.
Despite the occasional rumbling due to Lindbergh’s sweet talk, everyone travelled comfortably, shining the flashlights that Reyes gave them down the dark tunnel. Their ride was a relatively peaceful one, with the exception of bumping into smaller Rachas and rats along the way.
They spotted a light source from the left wall of the tunnel, when they managed to look through the massive hole, they saw that the storm pipe had broken off making a big enough hole that even Betsy could fit through. The main problem of getting out that way was the sheer drop into rocks and coarse sand below.
The smell of clogged up sewer and rotten seaweed filled their noses as they decided to continue their trek through the tunnels. Coming across an intersection leading down two paths: following the left path ended in a huge blockage of rubble a few meters in. Going through the other way they began to hear faint rattling and a multitude of tiny steps shuffling back and forth from their position.
Flashing their flashlights onto the walls of the tunnel they spotted what appeared to be giant ants that were curiously moving around them, trying to make up their minds on what they were since they seemed to have never come across normal humans and such a large Racha. As they tried to approach Betsy, she aggressively hissed at them before taking a step back. The ants cautiously recoiled as well without breaking eye contact. Shining their flashlights on them did nothing but make their eyes shine as the light passed over them, the rest of their matte bodies were absorbed in the darkness.
The creatures kept trying to curiously study their new discovery, when one of the scouts got too close to Betsy her reaction was to immediately retaliate kicking it away. The rest of the scouting party took a few steps back as well, letting out a loud screech that resonated all the way down the tunnel. All of a sudden, a loud echo with the sound of an innumerable amount of legs began hastily approaching them. Shining light all around them they realized that the ants had already surrounded them making angry screeches as if they were sounding a charge against them. Betsy immediately backed out of there, running as fast as she could, as the angry ants kept piling up behind them.
Turning on the intersection, they steal a glance at the rocks that were blocking the patch, trembling as if pressed by an incredible force, they see a Rey’s face pop up in between of the crumbling stone. To their horror, they saw that the disfigured face of that Rey was being held between the mandibles of a large soldier ant that was trying to push through from the other side of the pile of rubble. Trying to escape the ant’s onslaught they return through the main storm drain until they see the light in the distance showing them the hole they saw earlier, as they took another sharp curve one of the ants spews out a thick substance on the wall as it begins sizzling and melting away, making a small clear cut hole that let the sun rays seep into the pipes.
“You’ve got to be kidding me, those things spit acid?” Lindbergh frantically exclaimed.
“Don’t think about it! Just keep your head down!” Cornelia yelled at him.
“Eh? Wha--? Oh damn!” Lindbergh screamed as he lowered his head when a multitude of ants came rushing from the other side of the tunnel.
“This can’t be the end, Lord. We need to get out of here somehow.” said Adriana with a desperate expression.
“Hmm? What’s that? Guys! Over here!” Titus exclaimed with an excited voice.
Everyone looks at the daylight coming into the tunnel through the huge gap they saw earlier. As they were about to jump down in their escape, one of the ants spewed its acid all over Betsy’s rear legs before they could leap out the hole. Screeching in pain Betsy tumbled over, not able to hold her balance, making everyone hit the ground hard, as they recovered from their fall they looked up into the pipes to see the giant ants peering down on them menacingly, only to withdraw back into the dark tunnels shortly after.
Sighing in relief, they took a moment to observe their surroundings. The pungent smell of rotten seaweed and stagnant water made everybody want to leave the abandoned coastline. Looking for a way back into the main roads in order to resume their task of finding and reactivating the electric substations they encounter a small ramp made of debris. When they tried climbing it Betsy chirped out in pain, not being able to balance her weight properly.
“Poor girl… You think that you’ll be able to carry on, girl?” Adriana asked her as she caressed her side.
Betsy lets out an affirmative chirp with a nod as she made a zigzag pattern on the flatter side of the ramp, realizing they were on an old park near the collapsed highway, Cornelia let out a sad sigh:
“To think we’re not even in the Capital yet. On top of that, Betsy’s injured and we have no way to treat her.”
“Don’t be so easily discouraged, chicuela. Look…” Lindbergh points back to Betsy as her broken legs begin to slowly fall off.
Seeing how Betsy suddenly stopped and chirped in pain for a brief moment before her two new legs popped out from her open stubs, she let out a small chirp in relief and proceeded to do a celebratory dance.
“Ah, the wonders of modern genetic manipulation on our dear bugs.” Lindbergh thought out loud.
Betsy looked back at him, appearing to almost understand him completely, she then bumped him disapprovingly before heading forward without him, causing everyone to burst out in laughs and giggles around him.
Time passed by as they came to a two story house completely covered in overgrowth with a large vine covered electric tower, the electric company’s sign being barely legible, they walked around the street trying to find a way in, noticing a half-broken rusted fence behind some thick shrubs that led into the property.
“This must be one of the substations. We gotta be quick about it, this place gives me the creeps.” Adriana nervously exclaimed.
“We gotta be careful, I’m not planning on running any more marathons any time soon.” Cornelia willfully stated.
Once inside of the property, they were reassured that they were in the correct place when they saw a nearly intact sign that read: “Substation BA-14”. Noting that most of the computers and devices were still operational, they got to check which terminal had the configuration to turn the station back on. After a brief security scan, the terminal acknowledged the reboot and the revolving sound of generators began to fill the station as they saw the lights turn back on.
Feeling accomplished by their swift restoration of the station to working conditions, they briefly celebrated. Their initial ruckus drowned out a thump that came from the generator room. Hearing a now clear second thump coming from within the station, they decide to peek into an empty room that had a locked door on its far side. Deciding that it was best to leave, they were about to turn their back when a loud metal clang resounded as the door was bashed open, revealing three frenzied Reys running towards them. They managed to close the door in time, but the Reys started to violently claw the walls nearest to them and head-butt the small crystal window on the thick metal door.
Not wanting to stick around anymore, they ran out of the station, securing the main door tightly behind them as they fled onto the now lit up streets. A few minutes later they recognized they were on Santa Fe Avenue, near the old Hippodrome of San Isidro. Passing what appeared to be a designated route between vandalized cars, conveniently placed rubble to cover or block most buildings and streets, they finally see that the Hippodrome was now lit up and had a painted: “Welcome” sign on the deteriorated front gate. Steering clear of the eerie racecourse, they were now in full view of the outside area of the Great Wall, seeing how huge piles of garbage reached the top of buildings and poured over to their sides, compacted in such a way that no one could even slip a sheet of paper between the excessive waste accumulated there.
Frustrated by the realization that they were way off course, Cornelia grunted:
“Is it just me or are we back up North?”
“I think so, we got kinda lost after we ran away from the Rey. Besides, remember we couldn’t see anything from the inside of the Great Wall when we were back there.” Adriana replied as she looked around.
“Well now that I think about it, we’re now on a more direct route down to the Capital, we just need to follow the avenue.” Lindbergh pointed out. “I’m just glad we already found and reactivated the first station.”
“Let’s just hope there aren’t any more nasty surprises on our way down there, I’ve had enough heart attacks for today.” Titus nervously chuckled.
The road farther down the avenue was almost entirely clear of debris and rubble, all of the destroyed cars had been placed on top of the sidewalks making the entire avenue an almost perfect runway. As they walked by one of the side streets along the Great Wall, they finally saw the other side of the broken Tren de La Costa train station, with the now visible destruction as different tribal warning signs and other graffitis from Nuevo Futuro and the C.L.A.N were painted on its blown up columns and along the nearby streets.
“Those bastards…” Cornelia angrily grunted. “They were just waiting for everything to fall apart so they could wreak havoc on it all… Miserable bastards.”
“You never know how you’re gonna react in a situation like that until it happens. You can never really tell what horrible things a person might do out of desperation or insanity, especially when they think it’s the right thing to do. War and its aftermath changes people, but war? War never changes.” Lindbergh replied in a frustrated tone as he observed the devastation.
“I hope Dios has them all in His Glory and, I hope that His Divine Justice falls upon all of those that took it upon themselves to destroy the world and all the innocents that survived after. They’ve lost their humanity, they’re lost to Dios.”
“I hope they have a better time in their next life. Those other unhappy wretches have forsaken their right to an afterlife, after you violate someone’s rights, you’ve forfeit your own.” Titus declared with a stern expression.
Finding relief in their approach to the Capital, they see another electric tower sticking out of another two story house, this time it was even more overrun with overgrowth, there was even an improvised barricade of broken cars by the entrance. Feeling uneasy at the mere sight of the place, they try to find an alternative way in. Failing to find a back entrance they returned to find that the front door was entirely covered in thick dried up vines, as they attempted to open the door to no avail, Titus saw a lighter in the grass. Nodding in agreement to his plan, Lindbergh pulled out a small deodorant that he scavenged from his bag. The moment the vines started burning and falling off, Cornelia though she heard a faint cry of pain coming from the door.
“D-did you guys hear that?” Cornelia mumbled.
“No, wait… Heard what?” Adriana asked.
“There was a faint screech, as if something was crying out in pain when Lin burned the vines on the door.”
“Well I didn’t hear anything.” Lindbergh affirmed.
“Well maybe it was just me then, let’s hurry up and get this done. I really don’t wanna spend the night here.”
As they entered the control room, they saw giant spore-like bubbles floating around the stuffy air, making it clear that no one had been inside for a long time. This time around most of the equipment was offline or totally broken due to the creeping vines that seemed to envelop the entire area. The only thing that was visible was a beeping red light that came from the main console in the far end of the room.
“What could that flashing light be?” Adriana wondered.
“Adriana! Stop!” Lindbergh yelled out.
Looking down at her feet she saw how the vines slowly started moving toward her using the reflection of the puddles of water that were filled up the entire place.
“Before you go further in, let me try something…” Lindbergh said as he grabbed a small brick, tossing it into the room.
As soon as the brick hit the floor they heard the sound of another cry of pain like the one Cornelia heard earlier, followed by a familiar yet terrifying drowned screech coming from the walls around the control room. In the dim lighting they could only make out the shape and pale color of what looked like a Rey that had been completely enveloped by the creeping vines, displacing their bodies all around the wall as they kept softly crying out in pain.
When Cornelia tried stepping into the room again without touching any of the vines. The head of the Rey immediately started trying to bite her with erratic movements, snarling at her from the distance.
“W-what’s wrong with them now? What’s with these things? Why are they like this?”
“I don’t know, but we shouldn’t touch them or their vines if we don’t wanna end up like that.” Lindbergh hesitantly said.
“There has to be a way to get to the control panel without directly touching the vines.”
“What if we made a bridge with the debris outside?” Titus suggested.
“That could work. Hey, Adri. Help me out here…” said Lindbergh as they pulled broken down tables, boards and pieces of solid concrete, making an impromptu bridge towards the control panel. “All done, chicuela. Whenever you’re ready.”
“Why is it always me?” Cornelia annoyingly muttered.
Making her way toward the control panel, Cornelia clumsily stumbled in the union between a used tire and a broken table, when she managed to recover her balance, a hand grabs her by the ankle as it starts to pull her toward the vines, without a moment to lose Titus ran to her, using her body as bridge he managed to activate the console to restore power. All of a sudden blinding lights fill the room, blinding everyone for a moment. They hear the Reys throughout the station complaining loudly, trying to get out of their nature-bound prison with no success.
Cornelia was pulled back toward the entrance by Lindbergh, making her blush at his sudden reaction to save her.
“T-thanks, guys… I thought I was a goner back there.”
“No problem, chicuela. Now let’s get out of here before those things call their man-eating flower cousins or something.”
While searching for a suitable place to set up camp, their faces light up with hope when they see in the distance the ruins of Ciudad Universitaria, making their trek from the North finally pay off. Being the largest university campus in Buenos Aires, it was made to house huge facilities of almost all known careers to date, since it was modernized they even included automated services on-site to facilitate the time everyone spent there, even going as far as integrating the colossal college to all forms of public transport, ranging from trains, buses, a subway line, and more spacious parking areas, in order to accommodate all manner of students, professors and even the occasional tourist.
Deciding to set up camp within the still sturdy structures, they picked out the engineering portion of the campus, since the huge faculty building housed all sorts of useful parts and scrap they could scavenge, and even offered a nice view over the entire area on its upper floors.
“My plan was to come here after I got out of high school, y’know? I never really knew what I wanted to study, but I’ve always been fascinated by robots and these smart devices that we used to have. If the end of the world would’ve given me more time, maybe I could’ve saved Abby…” Cornelia warmly confessed.
“I’m sure that we’ll find some way to bring her back, Cornie. She’s always with you anyways, and now we all are.” Adriana replied with a tender smile.
“I always wondered how so many successful people graduated from here, but at the same time some of the craziest leaders like those from the C.L.A.N or Nuevo Futuro also got their claim to fame with the support of people from within these same walls.” Titus thought out loud.
“I think there’s always gonna be room for people like that in any society. It just takes a small push from people like that to make everyone feel like they’ve found their lifetime purpose. No one wants to go through life without feeling they have something to live for, the problem is how those other people abuse their hopes and dreams turning them into nightmares like this.” Lindbergh wholeheartedly replied.
“You really believe that don’t you?” said Cornelia with a sigh and a smile. “I’m not sure that we’ll find the other station around here, but at least the view from La Costanera is nice. Tomorrow we’ll see where we can find something to point us in the right direction.”
Later that night, as they prepared dinner they began hearing a faint rumbling in the distance, without being able to tell what it was exactly, they turned to look through one of the windows over to the old Capital airport, seeing it lit up in the pitch blackness of the night sent chills down their spine, wondering what could be going on over there beyond the winding road a couple of kilometers away.
“Are those lights really coming from the airport?” Cornelia asked as she wiped her eyes in disbelief.
“I think so.” Lindbergh nodded. “What do you think it is? Robots? Maybe we restarted their power in the last power station.”
“Whatever it is, tomorrow we’re gonna go investigate. I see you both fired up already and itching to go.” Adriana chuckled. “Maybe this is the Lord blessing us in some way. For now let’s just head to bed, goodnight you guys.” said Adriana as she rolled over in her sleeping bag.
The next morning, everyone picked up camp excited at the premise of investigating the rundown airport. The old Aeroparque of Buenos Aires used to be the main connection that connected the Capital with all neighboring nations of the Federation, in the years after the Latin American union, the government decided to integrate the train line that went to Ciudad Universitaria to pass through the airport, cheapening access to everyone that intended to travel in or out of the city.
Walking down the road with densely packed trees all around them, Cornelia sighs in slight frustration:
“Tsk. All that time I spent trying to get North just to end up back home. Would’ve been nice getting back here on the train.”
“Well at least we know the Pretoria is in working conditions, it would be cool if we could restore all the trains though. Zooming all around the city would be a breeze.” Lindbergh confirmed with a big smile.
“That certainly would be nice. But Cornie, you didn’t seriously think that He wouldn’t give you a hand after all you’ve gone through? This is clearly a sign that this is the way to go. We just have to follow His Light, and we’ll definitely get where we need to go.” Adriana added with the same smile as Lindbergh.
“You’re right, Adri. I’m still feeling a bit uneasy by all of this Pretoria talk. Have any of you ever gotten on it before?” Cornelia nervously asked. “It’s supposed to be wicked fast, even making you barf if you’re sensitive like that.”
“Nope, I didn’t travel by train all that often… I only did the one time with my family for the holidays, but you know how that turned out…” Adriana confessed slightly hanging her head. “Though I don’t think that it will be bad this time around, we’re together as a family now, right?”
“We sure are, but I didn’t use those mobile metal human compactors either, I am excited to see how fast that thing really is.” Lindbergh laughed out loud. “I mean, it can’t be worse than what we’ve gone through up until now, right?”
Cornelia lifts her head up smiling as they all share laughs and their expectations as to how their trip on the Pretoria will be. As they approached the airport they began to hear the distinct roaring of engines and loud chatter from within the now fortified terminal.
Arriving at its makeshift gate, they’re greeted with large signs placed haphazardly all over the corrugated metal walls that read the following: “No guns allowed.” “If you cause violence, violence will be caused to you.” “To all Gamblers, Merchants, and Mechanics: Welcome to Niuberi.”
After reading the multiple warnings plastered all around the place, the “eye for an eye” doctrine was clear to them. Entering the large barricade they saw that it led to the main terminal gate on one side, and on the other they had torn down the old walls to make a clear way over to the runway. They’re promptly intercepted by a group of bikers as they exited the tarmac.
“Oi! Who the hell are you? Who do you think you are coming in here like you own the place? If you wanna pass, you gotta pay the entrance fee to us.”
Stopping dead in their tracks as they walked over to the terminal, Cornelia turns around to answer them in an defying tone:
“Who the hell do you think you are, old man? You clearly don’t run things around here…”
With a rumbling rage, the angered bikers got off their bikes, preparing chains, machetes, and bats waving them menacingly as they approached them.
“Who does this bitch think she is?” The biker spat on her shoe. “I think we need to teach this feisty redhead and her friends some proper manners… If you come quiet and lose some of that attitude, I might just forgive how you just insulted me…”
Having his rancid breath just millimeters away, Cornelia furiously stomps on his foot as Lindbergh readies his fists for a fight. Before Cornelia was able to utter a word against the bikers, a loud shotgun blast resonated through the entire area, silencing both groups.
An imposing feminine voice emerges from the terminal, giving out a clear order to the bikers:
“Fuck off, you greaseball prick. Before I decide to shove the other shell up you and your boy’s asses. My finger could accidentally slip as soon as you boys step outside these walls. No one cares what happens on the outside, remember that.”
“Tsk. Y-yes, Matrona… We don’t have to get all worked up over nothin’, we’re all friends here.”
“Yeah, yeah… Get out of my sight before I decide to throw you out myself.”
“Ah! R-right away, ma’am! I’ll get you kids, just you wait.” the biker muttered.
Speeding away in their bikes they leave the area without protest leaving a small cloud of dust behind. As the cloud dissipated they saw the intimidating woman that just helped them: being slightly short in size, having long dark hair with pink highlights, her caramel skin combining with her light brown eyes and thick lips. Despite her curvy physique, her outfit appeared to suit her perfectly: a white bordered blouse with a small leather corset that caused her chest to pop out with her clear cut cleavage, a khaki colored skin tight set of pants that made her thick thighs stand out even more, long stiletto styled corset black boots that almost reached her knees, lastly she sported a big purple hat that appeared to be a mesh between a Victorian-style bordered and an old western cowboy hat.
Lindbergh leans into Adriana’s ear whispering:
“Man, I think she took the apocalyptic cowboy mistress look too far, eh?”
“Hush! D’you want her threatening to kick us out too?”
The woman lifts her eyebrow after clearly hearing Lindbergh’s indiscreet comments, letting out a small chuckle she ignores his transgression and approaches them with a sensual movement at the sway of her hips.
“You have to forgive those useless pigs. They call me Matrona, I see you have a Racha with you… Interesting. Are you merchants, mechanics or--?”
“Yes! We’re merchants… We’ve just got back into town and we wanted to trade some scrap we scavenged out there.” Cornelia replied in an anxious tone. “We wanted to see if we could get some information as well.”
“Information?” Matrona asked. “What did you want to know?”
“Well first of all, we wanted to know what you’ve got to offer around here. We come from the North, so we were curious when we saw your settlement. We intend to go to the downtown area here in the Capital, so maybe we could get some directions as to how we could get there quicker.” Cornelia replied.
Titus realizes what she’s trying to do and whispers into her ear:
“Are you sure you wanna lie to someone like her?”
“Got a better idea? I’m all ears…” Cornelia annoyingly replied.
“You’ve got a talking ferret? This is unexpected. I thought they never got released for the public to buy. Would you be interested in selling him?” Matrona curiously asked.
“S-sell Titus? N-no… I couldn’t, he’s my friend.” Cornelia stammered.
“Aw, I love the sentimentalism. Well if you change your mind, the offer stands.”
“Just out of curiosity, Miss Matrona ma’am. How much would you give us for the furry guy?” Lindbergh sheepishly asked.
“I hadn’t really thought about it.” Matrona replied. “How does 200 caps sound?”
Baffled by the fact that they didn’t know what caps were or how much they were worth, they feel as if they have to try and haggle the price so that the lack of their bargaining skills isn’t revealed to her.
Stumbling nervously with her words, Adriana proposes a counteroffer:
“How about 350 caps and two weeks’ worth of food for all of us?”
Evaluating the seriousness of her proposal with a cold expression on her face, she suddenly burst out in laughter as she replied:
“You’re good, missy. Deal. If you do ever want to sell the little guy, I’ll make sure he has a comfortable home around here.”
Still being a pile of nervous wrecks at the expectation of the Matrona’s response, everyone half-heartedly laughs to keep in tune with the lighter mood.
“You have to forgive us, we’re not used to such swift negotiations.” Cornelia confessed.
Still laughing out loud, Matrona looks down at her as she said with a now serious expression:
“Everything here can be settled by bartering, gambling or on the tracks.”
“Tracks? What tracks?” Adriana asked.
“Simply put it’s a race out on the tarmac, anyone can enter, but not everyone can get out. The mechanics put a lot of work in making those cars, bikes and anything they can get their hands on, turned into fast killing machines.”
“What’s the prize or what do they gain from winning the race?” Cornelia inquired.
“It’s usually the winner’s choice: the first one to finish the race or last one standing gets to choose from a large percentage of the caps from the bets, its equivalent in merchandise, or whatever they can scavenge from the tracks.