Reddened Wasteland (6 page)

He
grabbed the flask and turned it over in his palm. He stilled when he looked at
the bottom. Etched into the metal was that same symbol from before –  the
Liberty’s Hammer symbol. This one was different however, it also had a circle
and inside the circle was another symbol or drawing, one which Alerik had never
seen.

“Well,
this is Liberty’s Hammer for sure, but the other symbol, I have no idea what it
means. It was purposely done, so this symbol means something to somebody,” he
frowned in silence for a moment. He brightened with a thought, “I think I may
have an idea of who can help us…” he said as he leaned forward and tapped the
driver on the shoulder, “Take us to our old district, I need to see an old
friend.”

***

The
vehicle pulled up to a small shack on the edge of the mining district. The home
had sheet metal bolted onto the sides to form an arch over the dwelling. The
area was the poorest of the district, it was where old timers went to die when
they could no longer work or serve any real purpose. The Union didn’t waste
resources on these people and it was a sad sight, but a necessary evil. The
people in this district had no help and had to create their own luck.

Alerik
stepped out of the vehicle and clutched Velar’s hand before walking over to the
sliding metal door that blocked the entrance to the home. He hoped the guy was
still alive, he hadn’t seen him in some time. Activity was at a standstill in
this part of the district, it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. He
knocked three times on the door, the sound rang especially loud in the solemn
alley.

“He-Hello?”
A voice was heard from inside the shack.

“It’s
Alerik. I’m here to speak to you about something I found,” he was sure to talk
loud so the man could hear.

A
withered old man opened the door. He appeared to be around eighty years old,
with wrinkled skin and white hair. He wore an old miner’s outfit, a relic of
where he had spent the prime of his life. The same place almost everybody did –
the mines. The overalls looked weathered and the right button had broken, so
the strap was hanging down the front of his pants.

“Alerik!
I haven’t seen you in ages! How old are you now? Forty? You’re getting big. Is
this your wife? My my, you caught yourself a looker!”

“I’m
thirty now. And uh, no. She isn’t my wife. This is my…” he hesitated, unsure of
what to call her, “This is Velar. Mind if we come in? I found a symbol on
something and I thought you might be able to decipher it.”

“Where
are my manners? Please, please… Come in quickly,” the man ushered them inside.

The
interior of the shack was bleak, not many common necessities were around. The
man had only a few Life Bar wrappers scattered around on the floor, and a
canteen of water.
What had he been doing all this time?
Alerik wondered
if the solitude had driven the man mad. He decided to keep his guard up.

Alerik
and Velar found a place to sit on the floor next to what appeared to be a
homemade stove patched together out of metal signs.

“So,
you have a symbol to show me?” The man said joining them on the floor.

“Yes,
we know the one symbol means Liberty’s Hammer, but the other, we haven’t the
slightest clue,” Alerik handed the flask to the man. “Soran, if you have
anything
that can help us, we would be eternally in your debt. This is important.”

The
old man nodded as he examined the flask, “I have seen this symbol before. Used
to mean something around these parts, but today, not so much.”

Alerik
looked over at Velar then back to the man, “What do you mean?”

“Well…”
He said, pausing as he inspected it further, “This is the mark of the Children
of Old. They live underground just past the mining district.

“You
see, a long time ago, when this colony was first constructed, they built the
base of the dome to fit deep into the surface of Mars. That way, if there was
ever an asteroid impact or some other catastrophic event, we could all live
underground for a while until we could get back on our feet. The place was
intended to be off-limits barring a disaster on Mars. But, over time, people
kept pouring down into the bowels of the settlement. These people were known as
the Children of Old. They are a religious bunch. Complete nut cases if you ask
me. They believe the Earth is a god, along with Mars.”

“Wasn’t
religion abolished because of all the conflict it brought from Earth?” Alerik
frowned in confusion.

“It
was, but these people didn’t take notice and just kept right on with their
beliefs, far away from the eyes of the world. Down there, they were free to do
as they wished, and once their numbers were high enough, they were too much of
a risk for The Union to get involved. Plus, it’s not like they were harming
anyone down there or using up surface resources,” Soran shrugged as he handed
he flask back. “It’s truly puzzling to find their symbol up here on the
surface, I assumed they had all died out.”

“Well,
this could mean they are very much alive, and somehow mixed up in all this,”
Alerik rose to his feet.

“Can
you tell us how to get to where they were… or are?” Velar asked Soran as she
brushed off her jeans.

“Well
sure, I can even etch you a map. But I will ask for one thing in exchange for
the favor,” he replied.

Alerik
nodded. “Anything.”

“As
you can see, my living conditions are not the best. I want you to take me there
with you. Last I heard, they were very welcoming, well protected, and cared for
their people,” he said with a smile.

Alerik
contemplated for a moment but realized he didn’t have much of a choice. He
needed to find these Children of Old. Why Soran wanted to live with some
religious nut-jobs was his own business. And considering the man’s current
situation, he could understand how a few preachy roommates might not seem so
bad in comparison. He nodded.

“Well,
we’d better get going before the curfew hits and we all end up in prison,” he
said as he walked towards the door with Velar following alongside him. “We will
be outside with our driver, gather your things quickly.”

“Eh,
just need a few moments…” Soran scrambled around collecting his things as quick
as his rickety bones could carry him, a huge grin spread across his face.

***

The
trip was remarkably short. These people had been hiding in plain sight for
years. The vehicle pulled up slowly to the spot that Soran had sketched out
onto the back of a Life Bar wrapper. The area was open and dusty, with heaps of
metal and other refuse scattered about.

“Is
this your idea of a joke?” Alerik snorted in an annoyed tone.

“No,
no. You’ll see… Just follow me,” Soran reassured them as he opened the door and
hopped out.

Alerik
sighed loudly and glanced over his shoulder to see Velar wearing a big grin. At
least
somebody
was amused.

The
driver stayed behind with the vehicle as the group walked through narrow paths
marked only by paint and totems. Soran seemed to know where he was headed at
all times. His confidence in gave Alerik a tiny bit of relief. This was their
only lead and if the trail grew cold, it would likely never thaw again. Their
group hiked for what must’ve been twenty minutes before Soren finally stopped
on the inside of a cove made entirely out of trash.

“This
is it!” the old man hissed excitedly as he knelt on the ground and began
sweeping dust away to reveal a hatch. He knocked on it a few times but there
was no response. “No promises, but this
was
the old entrance they used.
I suppose they really could all be dead by now… It has been…” He trailed off as
he began counting the years on his fingers.

“Well,
let’s just check it out. We didn’t come all this way for nothing,” Alerik was
impatient. He began turning the handle. It was interesting that the hatch
wasn’t guarded at all. Usually, people that have had unpleasant run-ins with
The Union had a reason to be behind locked doors. Maybe they were all dead.

The
door popped open without too much effort to reveal a dark nothingness within.

“Well
when you two are done standing around, I’ll be inside,” Velar said with a
giggle as she began climbing down into the darkness. Alerik admired her
bravery, but it also concerned him. He wanted to tell her to be more cautious,
but that would do no good. She’d likely just start taking more risks just to
prove him wrong and get herself into trouble.

Alerik
and Soran quickly followed after and were immediately engulfed by darkness as
they descended. Velar knelt down by the two men who were stumbling and bumping
into things like fools. She scoffed and pulled out a couple of lights from her
backpack.

“I
can’t believe I’m the only miner here prepared to crawl through dark tunnels.
You two should be ashamed,” the glow from the lights illuminated her cocky
smile.

“You
saved the day,” Alerik’s response was sarcastic. He reached for her book bag
jokingly, “What else you got in there?”

“A
girl has her secrets,” she snapped as she quickly zipped it up in defiance.

Now
that they had light, it was much easier to navigate the tunnels, though the
paths were far different than the mine. These were built to be a comfortable
living space, not tunnels carved into rock from digging around with primitive
tools. There were signs on the walls indicating what was where, from the
kitchen to the bunkrooms. Alerik found it very odd that The Union wouldn’t want
this place for themselves. Why hadn’t they occupied this place? Surely they had
to know about it. They normally had no problem taking whatever they wanted.

“I
think we should start walking towards the administration office if anything, or
possibly the cafeteria,” Alerik said as he walked.

“The
cafeteria sounds great, plus if no one is down here anymore, we can always try
to salvage some supplies,” Velar suggested, walking ahead a few paces.

As
the group entered the cafeteria, a light turned on in the center of the room,
illuminating the area to reveal a nicely kept cafeteria. Nothing was out of
place and everything had been wiped down as if people had recently been there.
Everything in the room was modern and sleek, except for odds and ends here and
there that were obviously collected from the surface and repurposed. Someone
was living there, or using the facilities… that much was certain.

Alerik
started investigating the room, mentally noting everything from the foundation
to the walls. Everything was made out of aluminum or iron. It was bizarre to
him and suggested that the mines had been open since the beginning. He wondered
what brave souls ventured here in the early days and made life possible.

Velar
started grabbing things that seemed useful and stuffing them into her backpack.
Mainly just some toys and eating utensils that were lying around. The room had
many common commodities that the surface lacked. Things that would fetch a good
price if put into the right hands. And many on the surface were collectors of
things from the old world. It gave a lot of people comfort to actually hold
something that was once on Earth.

“Alerik…
Velar… We have a problem,” Soren’s worried voice pierced the silence. They
looked up from their observing and scavenging to see a very pale man with a
knife to Soren’s throat.

“Hey,
we don’t want any problems. We just came here to talk. We mean you no harm,”
Alerik said cautiously as he raised both hands to show he had no hostile
intentions.

Several
men and women with brightly painted faces began pouring into the room, they
were clad in makeshift armor and weaponry. It was peculiar, their armor design.
Scrap metal bolted together to form armor sets, and many curved swords along
with giant bludgeoning weapons. Unlike anything found on the surface. Alerik
was at a disadvantage, he felt naked without his trusty pickaxe.

The
man pushed Soran out into the middle of the room to join his companions that
were now surrounded by these unknown people.

The
man with the knife walked forward, introducing himself, “My name is Valek, and
you are intruders. What is the meaning of this disruption?” he demanded, his
tone menacing and cold.

Velar
reached into her backpack and retrieved the flask, pulling it out and thrusting
it forward.

“This
is why we are here!” she nearly shouted. The man called Valek snatched the
flask from her hand.

Alerik
flinched. She was bold to a fault, and lucky these people hadn’t thought she
was drawing a weapon. He’d need to have a talk with her, she was wreaking havoc
on his nerves.

“Why
do you carry our symbol?” Valek asked as he slowly lowered his knife, gesturing
for the others to take a step back until he had more information.

“We
are investigating Liberty’s Hammer. One of their assassins had this on her when
she attacked my friend there,” Alerik gestured towards Velar.

The
man contemplated for a moment before nodding to the others that were with him,
“You will follow me. The great mother will want to speak to you,” he said as he
strode towards the doorway. “It’s a short walk, I trust that you will not try
to harm anyone down here. Otherwise, your skull will serve as a reminder to
those on the surface to avoid this sacred place.”