The Biomass Revolution (The Tisaian Chronicles) (32 page)

The dam, which
had not been used for over half a century, looked like an abandoned castle, an alien in the desolate land. A thin metal ladder snaked down the cracked concrete that once held back millions of gallons of water.

Obi stood at the ledge, his orange goggles piercing the darkness below.
He studied the twisted metal extending into the bowels of the old dam. Nudging the handlebars softly with his boot, he braced himself against Creo just as a gust of wind tore into his coat.

“It’s the only way down,” Obi
said, stepping out of the way. “Two at a time. We can’t risk more weight than that. Ran and Nordica, lead the way.”

Nordica nudged h
er way carefully through the others and tested the first step with a cautious foot before she began her decent. Ran followed anxiously, his fearful eyes locking for a second with Obi’s before his head disappeared beneath the ledge.

The strain of the two scouts’ weight made the ladder creak and
sway. They paused simultaneously, gripping the handlebars tightly, until the rusty metal stopped moving.

“Careful,” Obi muttered under his breath, loud enough to pinch the nerves of
Creo, who watched nearby.

Nordica
paused, peering up at Ran before continuing down the steps. After a few agonizing moments they made it to the bottom of the old lake, their boots created footprints in the mud that hadn’t been walked on by humans for decades.

Obi watched them disappear
into the opening of the large storm drain at the bottom of the spillway. Satisfied, he nodded at Nathar and the four new recruits. They were up next.

One by one the soldiers
made their way down the ladder, joining the others in the storm drain below. The squad huddled together, anxious to be out of the cold wind.

Ajax was
a lucky man; avoiding the raiders, the CRK, and navigating a safe route through the radioactive valley. This much luck wasn’t something Obi was accustomed to, and he knew it wouldn’t last. Luck had a tendency to dry up and disappear as soon as you got your hands on it, like a glass of cold water on a hot day. It didn’t last. It evaporated, especially in Tisaia.

Obi switched on his night vision goggles again, the warm orange glow illuminating the darkness of the small storm drain. The rest of the squad members with goggles followed suit, lighting the tunnel with a safe and tepid orange radiance.

With the fresh light, Obi examined the tunnel. It was eight by six feet. He glanced in to the darkness where their lights could not penetrate. A set of small green eyes glared back at him. It was one of the stranger sensations Obi experienced when using the device, especially when the eyes belonged to mutated creatures. In this case it was just a rat. He paid no attention to it, watching it scamper away from the squad and into a small crevice in the concrete.

“Spurious.
You’re up. Do you remember where this tunnel leads?”

“It should connect to some utility tunnels we can access through a ladder. They should take us directly to Rohania.”

“You heard him. I know everyone is tired, but this is what we’ve trained for. This is our chance. Take five, grab something to eat and then we’re heading out,” Obi said.

He crouched and grabbed an energy bar from his pack, the orange glow illuminating the faces of the four new recruits who sat huddled together, their faces all riddled with fatigue and fear. He nodded at the youngest and tossed him the energy bar.

“Are you sure?” the young man asked, his frightened eyes peering up at Obi.

“Yeah, I’m not hu
ngry.” Obi lied, walking away to find a place to sit. He listened to his men chat and chew on their meals from a distance. 

“Where are you from?” Spurious asked Creo, hoping he would be more responsive than Ajax. The question hung in the air, long enough to make him feel uncomfortable.

Creo
cocked his head, chewing on a half eaten piece of bread. “I suppose it doesn’t hurt if I tell. In fact, you might be interested in the place I come from.”

A few feet ahead Ajax snorted; his gaze
fixed on the dark skinned Spaniard. 

“The land I come from is across the seas, where the sun is still as bright as a thousand fires. The bombs never fell there
, but the radiation poisoned everything,” he added. “I left with all the other survivors. I came by boat in the year 2043 to see this world with my own eyes. After traveling from one refugee camp to another, I finally saw the great walls of Tisaia I had heard so much about. It was here I met Obi and my other companions. I have fought with them ever since.”

The story sent a chill down Spurious’ spine. He heard of the refugee camps outsi
de the quarantine zones before, but never met anyone who had visited one.

“What is it like out there?” Spurious
said, nodding towards the light from the entrance of the storm drain.

Creo’s
eyes panned to the ground.  He paused to take another nibble of bread, his eyes locked on the concrete floor. “The horrors I have seen are endless: children, mutated by radiation poisoning; their mothers, working the street corners to pay for a meal that only prolongs their suffering. I have seen shanty towns ruled by ruthless men, where stealing a can of peaches will get you death, and rape is the most common form of conception…” Creo paused, taking another bite and twisting his head so he could look Spurious in the eye. “It makes Rohania look like a five star hotel,” he continued.

Spurious
shook the images of the mutated children out of his mind and turned his gaze back to Creo. “I have heard of the refugee camps before. You know Tisaia denies they still exist?”

“That’s because the government does not want the State employees to know the truth. If they did know the truth
, they would certainly want the State to try and help those outside the walls.”

The truth behind
Creo’s statement lingered in the stale air. Everyone in the group knew there were people outside Tisaia that could use the State’s help. This was information the Governor’s Office never shared with the public and never would. Spurious was the only one in the tunnel who truly knew how dishonest Governor Felix Steppe’s office really was. The confidential reports he had seen and the rumors he heard from friends working at the Capitol gave him ample information to believe the State knew.

“The State knows people are
out there. They choose to do nothing,” Spurious said.

“
Pack it up. Time to move out,” Obi said, interrupting their conversation.

Spurious stood and followed the squad down the narrow path, crouching to avoid dripping water above him.

“What I don’t get is why more State employees don’t question these things…” Spurious said, realizing he was a perfect example of a State worker that did not question due to fear.

“You’re a fine one to talk,” Nathar piped in. Spuriou
s knew the blow was coming and shook it off easily.

“
You’re right, Nathar. I have been living in a world of fear my entire life. Most employees probably are,” he said, dropping his gaze to the green trail of water below.

“You know
, Spurious, your parents were examples of people who did not fear the State. As a matter of fact, from what I heard, one of the reasons they created the TDU was to help spread hope amongst State workers in a time when fear was becoming common. If it were not for them, we wouldn’t even exist. Well, at least not in the form we do today,” Obi said.

Spurious looked to Ajax and saw his scowl. For some reason, one
he couldn’t quite figure out, Ajax did not approve of him. He wasn’t sure if it was due to a bitterness Ajax had for the State, or for him personally, but something had angered Ajax ever since they met a few nights ago.

“Ajax, how long have you been a
part of the TDU?” Spurious asked, trying to include him in the conversation.

Ajax
snorted and stared ahead.

“You know for someone trying to help you
, I think you owe me some respect. I’ve done nothing wrong!” Spurious yelled at him.

Ajax stopped dead in his tracks. He turned slowly and stared at Spurious. “I owe you nothing.
You’re just like the rest of the sheep in Lunia. If it were up to me, we wouldn’t be using you in the first place.”

“You know nothing about me
!” Spurious exclaimed.

Obi frowned, realizi
ng he would have to intervene. “That’s enough, you two. I already have my hands full enough and don’t need to worry about this shit!” he yelled.

Spurious and Ajax glanced at one another for one last time before they continued on behind the rest of the group.

“That goes for everyone, drop the chit chat,” Obi snapped. “Now, which way do we go?” he said, staring ahead at two different tunnels.

Spurious brought a finger to his lip
s, trying desperately to remember. “This tunnel isn’t supposed to stick out like this. I don’t remember there being two routes,” he said.

“Damn,” Obi murmured under his breath. He didn’t want the rest of the squad thinking they were lost.

“Ran, Nordica, you take the recruits and head down the left tunnel. Ajax, Nathar, Creo, and Spurious, you’re with me. Keep your radio channels open so we can stay in touch.” Obi paused. “Good luck, men,” he said, before heading in to the darkness of the tunnel.

***

The abandoned camp made Spurious’ stomach roll. When the small squad of TDU soldiers came upon it they found decaying bodies still being consumed by rats. The poor souls who had lived in the underground camp looked as though they had died recently, perhaps in the last month or so. A stench of rotting flesh still lingered in the cold air.

“Here,”
Creo said, handing Spurious a handkerchief to cover his mouth. He brought it to his face instantly, trying to relieve his nostrils of the atrocious smell.

“Move on
, men. There isn’t anything we can do for them now,” Obi ordered. He stopped for a second to massage his temples.

A few feet ahead
Spurious tried to avoid the torn tents, cooking pot, and heaps of trash covering the concrete ground. He looked back at Ajax, who walked emotionless through the death. The young State worker gagged. “This is the future we face?” he asked, trekking on through the carnage.

Obi’s radio blared to life, interrupting Spurious.

“This is Nordica. Over.”

“Roger, Obi here, over.”

“Commander, we’ve reached a fork where our tunnel separates into four others. Which one do we take? Over.”

The aging commander
shined his flashlight in Spurious’ eyes. “You heard her, which one is it?” he demanded.

Spurious
mentally went over the piles of maps he studied the past few months. Within a few seconds, he remembered. “Tell them to take the third tunnel that runs east. This tunnel goes directly underneath the CRK headquarters and the Capitol.” Spurious swallowed hard, realizing what he said could seal the fate of hundreds of innocent people.

Obi nodded and relayed the message over the
channel. He turned to face his men, who looked on anxiously. “How long will it take for us to get there?” he asked.

The office worker looked worried. He had no way of truly knowing the distance
. Trying to conceal his uncertainty, he looked back through the darkness and found his most sincere voice. “Three hours, at least,” he finally said.

“
We better get moving then,” Obi ordered without question.

The squad
continued down the platform, Spurious holding the small cloth handkerchief to his nose, trying desperately to avoid the stench of death lingering in the air.

Time
: 5:09 a.m. February 27, 2071

Location
: Capitol Building. Lunia, Tisaia 

The citizens of Lunia slept under a blanket of darkness that held the distant gray sunrise at bay. Beneath the cobblestone streets, far under the stone and soil, soldiers moved silently through the tunnels. Slowly, they made their way towards the heart of the Capitol where Governor Felix Steppe sat alone at his desk.

It was rare
for Lunia’s leader to be at the Capitol so early, but something had driven Felix to make the short journey to his office. He wasn’t sure if it was the sleep evading him or the feeling of uneasiness lingering inside him since the legislature passed Bill 12b.

He knew the stress was
also affecting his staff. The past few days, he watched Sonii leave work paler than he had ever seen him. His Chief of Staff was his most trusted confidante, and he knew the man was suffering in silence.

To make matters worse the Governor was served his morning coffee with a note from Commander Augustus, a note revealing his own fears
—the TDU were still alive and operating in Tisaia.

The sun was still hiding along the gray horizon and
Felix was on his third read of the memo. His strained face hovered over the yellow piece of paper under the orange glow of lamp light. He stroked his mustache and read the third paragraph again.