Reddened Wasteland (10 page)

“We have reason to believe that you may be working
with a terrorist cell known as Liberty’s Hammer. As such, you will be taken
into our custody and held for questioning,” Saskia said to Lucius.

Lucius rose from his seat, “I assure you, I have no
affiliation with any terrorist group. I have not even left my office in many
years,” he smiled.

“We will look into that. In the meantime, we have a
few questions for you. Mind following us?” she asked, but it wasn’t really a
question. The guards grabbed his arms and began leading him out onto the
platform.

Lucius started laughing when the guards grabbed his
arms, “Is all this necessary? I said I would go with you.”

“Maybe we can lighten up a bit?” Alerik mumbled to
Saskia.

Saskia sighed, but nodded to the guards and they
released Lucian’s arms, allowing him to walk on his own.

“Thank you,” Lucius said directly to Alerik.

“Don’t thank me, she is the one with the power. I just
made a suggestion. You’re not out of hot water just yet though. I have a couple
questions of my own,” Alerik replied as the platform started its descent
further into the void.

“I will try to help you as much as I can!” He
exclaimed.

Alerik began wondering what was wrong with the guy, he
was way too cheerful for the situation he was in. The peculiar behavior made
him wonder if the guy was medicated, or just plain weird. Either way, he could
be Alerik’s ticket to finding out where Velar was. And if the guy became an
obstruction, he would just get mowed over.

The group had almost reached the ground floor.
Suddenly, the floor opened up beneath them to reveal a secret level with cells
that lined the walls. The cells themselves had some sort of thick glass keeping
the prisoners inside.

When they finally reached the bottom, the roof closed
over them, making the room pitch black briefly. Soon, the wall lights between
the cells came on and illuminated the area. The guards quickly moved over to
one of the cells and typed a string of numbers into the keypad before the glass
slid open.

“Let’s go,” Saskia said to Lucius as she escorted him
into the cell. “Have a seat,” she pointed to the metal chair in the center of
the room.

Lucius took a seat and, cheerful as ever, he asked,
“So, shall we?”

“Our boss sent us to do this investigation because you
used to work with a couple of the people that we have apprehended lately. From
what Aemon tells me, you’ve been here since the beginning,” Saskia said to
Lucius.

Alerik looked at the man, then back to Saskia. He must
have been right around Alerik’s age.
The beginning? Huh?

“Yes, that is true. While I have worked with a great
many people, less of them are around nowadays. I suppose that is your boss’
doing?” Lucius asked.

“I just do what I am told. My job is to eliminate
threats to humanity, nothing more, and I will be asking the questions. Is that
clear?” Saskia raised her brows.

“Crystal clear, Miss. Go on. However, I have to point
out something. If being affiliated with people I was forced to work with brands
me a terrorist, you should just put me away right now instead of wasting your
time,” Lucius was completely rigid in his chair.

“Not all of the people you worked with, just Aloron
and Tolthar. They have since been executed, but since Alerik’s discovery in the
mines, our group has been working diligently to help take all of these scumbags
into custody. We looked through our records and found that the only thing
linking the two men was this building, and you,” she said.

“Yes, and it’s quite possible we even used the same
railway to get to work. I don’t understand your point,” Lucius said with a
condescending smirk.

“Did either of the men I mentioned say anything to
you, at any point, about Liberty’s Hammer? Liberty’s Flame? Any type of
revolutionary talk?” she asked.

“Let me check,” he scratched his head in an
exaggerated gesture, “Nope.”

“Did either of them leave at odd hours, or meet with
anyone suspicious?” her voice was dripping with annoyance.

“Not that I can recall. If I had seen anything
suspicious, I would have reported it right away.”

Alerik grabbed Saskia’s arm, leading her away, “We
aren’t going to get anything from him. Honestly, he’s weird but I don’t think
he is involved.”

“I have to agree at this point. He seems to be a dead
end. The guy doesn’t even seem phased. Did you have any questions for him?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” He said as he walked back
over to the man. “Have you heard of a woman named Velar?”

“No. Can’t say that I have,” the man said cheerfully,
“Another rebel on your radar?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just know that if you are lying
and I find out later, I will kill you myself,” Alerik growled before pulling
the metal with the etchings from his pocket. “What can you tell me about this?”

Lucius took the scrap from Alerik and inspected it for
about half a second before tossing it back. He shrugged, “It is a blueprint for
a massive transceiver.”

“A trans—What is that exactly?” Alerik asked.

“It is a radio used to communicate. It receives and
transmits.”

Alerik contemplated for a moment. At least the guy was
finally useful. “What would someone use such a device for?” he asked.

“I assume to speak to someone over long distances,”
Lucius smiled.

“How far would this device reach?”

“Theoretically, anywhere. Given enough time,” he said.
“Am I free to go?”

“No, you will be sticking with us. I may find more use
for you,” Alerik said. Saskia gave him a strange look.

“You sure about that? Can we trust him?” she asked.

“Can we trust anyone?” Alerik shot back before heading
out of the room.

***

On the ride through the city, Alerik had a lot to
think about. He wondered who had left that scrap of metal for him to find. Only
a few people knew where he lived, but with him on broadcast for The Union’s
campaign, surely more than a few people had their eyes on him. His thoughts
always seemed to meander to Velar. He missed her so much, and she was the only
person he could truly trust. Now, he was in a vehicle with a driver that ratted
him out, A Union lackey, and a suspect. It was just peachy.

The vehicle passed through the city and finally
reached the wall where masses of armed guards were waiting. As they pulled up,
it seemed like dozens of guns were on them until driver flashed his card. Once
they were cleared, a guard waived them through.

They passed through the tall, oppressive gate and
color suddenly flooded Alerik’s vision. It was beautiful. So much green, he had
never seen anything like it. As far as his eyes could see, there were rows of
plants along with small groups of people tending to them. He was speechless.
The air outside the wall even had a different smell. He couldn’t put his finger
on it, but the word “life” came to mind. It was dreamlike.

Saskia must’ve noticed his awe, “First time outside
the wall?”

“Yeah… It is,” Alerik said with his face glued to the
window.

“I remember my first time. I was absolutely amazed by
it. I would have even tried a plant, myself—straight from the source—if it
wouldn’t have landed me in prison,” she confessed, looking out her own window.

Alerik glanced over at her, thinking that prison was a
harsh punishment for nibbling a plant. His sight was drawn back over to Lucius.
He was just staring straight ahead, emotionless. He didn’t seem to care or
notice what was right outside his window. Was this guy a fucking lunatic?

“Lucius? What do you think about all this?” he
questioned.

“I think it’s fantastic,” he said flatly, but Alerik
didn’t buy it. Something was definitely off about the guy.

The vehicle finally came to a stop out in one of the
fields. There was a strange, tall plant growing out of the ground. Alerik
wanted to call it a flower, but he didn’t want to look like an idiot. How would
he know, anyway?

The group began walking towards a farmer who was clutching
a strange weapon. It was a long metal pole, with a curved blade at the end. It
didn’t seem too practical for a fight, though it looked intimidating. The
farmer was a bigger guy, broad and strong with an ordinary and forgettable
face.

“Eden Velyni?” Saskia asked.

“Yeah, that’s me, what do you need?” Eden responded.

“I am with The Union, we are here to question you
about your role in Liberty’s Hammer,” Saskia said bluntly.

The man bolted instantly, vanishing into the field of
tall plants.

“Fucking great,” Alerik grunted as he pulled out his
pickaxe. “Maybe try for a more delicate approach next time!” he called over his
shoulder as he gave chase. Saskia and Lucian followed right behind him.

Alerik zipped between the plants, looking for a
straight path or one with less resistance, but it was all like a giant maze. As
the others caught up with him, he used hand gestures to tell them to split up.

Gun drawn, Saskia took the path to the left. Lucius
went right.

Alerik moved slowly through the crops, carefully
listening for footsteps while brushing the plant life out of his way. There
were no footprints to follow. He assumed the man had cleaned up his tracks. He
hesitated, surveying the rows for signs of movement.

Suddenly, the same blade the man was carrying sliced
through the air and almost took off Alerik’s nose. Alerik jumped back quickly,
swinging his pickaxe in a sudden blind rage, only for it to strike against the
man’s weapon. Eden moved in close and threw all his weight behind shoving his
weapon forward. The force knocked Alerik back and he stumbled trying to regain
his footing on the uneven soil.

Eden raised his weapon and prepared to bring it down
on Alerik’s chest, just as Lucius appeared seemingly from nowhere. He tackled
the man to the ground.

Eden quickly recovered and swung his weapon at Lucius
as soon as he was upright. The blade sliced open Lucius’s chest and he fell,
landing face down in the dirt.

Alerik palmed his pickaxe and prepared to charge Eden,
but stopped when the man’s kneecap exploded in a mist of red. Eden dropped to
the ground, shrieking in pain. Saskia stood behind him with her gun drawn.

“Thanks… But I had him,” Alerik said sarcastically.

“I believe you,” Saskia smiled, then kicked the man in
the ribs.

The man’s howling intensified as he writhed on the
ground. He actually looked quite pathetic. It was a bit of a contrast to a few
moments earlier.

“Not so fucking tough now, are you?” Alerik spat as he
sat on the man’s chest. “Now we have some questions, and you’re going to answer
them.” He began dealing blow after blow to the man’s face with his fists. He
knew he was losing it, but he didn’t care.

Blood began pouring from Eden’s nose and he begged
Alerik to stop, but every time Alerik considered quitting, he saw Velar’s face and
he just hit the man harder. He finally had one of the guys responsible for her
disappearance, laid out in front of him. He kept hitting the man, almost in a
trance, as Eden’s teeth began loosening and cutting through his lips.

“Okay Alerik, we still need him to talk. It’s time to
pull it back a bit,” Saskia said impatiently.

Somehow, she got through to him. Alerik stood up,
leaving Eden in a bloody puddle on the ground. His clothes were soaked in red,
and face was bloody and already swollen.

“You ready to talk, yet?” Alerik asked.

The man spat blood onto the ground and stared up at
the sky. “Do I have a choice?” he wiped his mouth.

“I want to know where the girl named Velar is. I know
your group is responsible for taking her. I want an exact location of where I
can find her,” Alerik demanded.

“You mean you want to know where we buried her,
right?” the man gurgled a laugh.

“Buried her?” Rage flared inside him, rage like he had
never known before. He could actually feel his body heating up.

“You may kill me, but when I die, three more of us
will sprout up. We are everywhere. We are in your Union, we are in your mines,
and we are in your farms. You can’t beat us, we have already won. That girl of
yours, she’s been dead. They killed her as soon as they got her back to base.”
Eden cackled and blood poured out between his cracked lips.

It was more than Alerik could take.
Without a word, he grabbed his pickaxe and began slamming it down into the
man’s face. Over and over and over. He swung his pickaxe until his arms got
tired and nothing was left of the man’s skull except bits of bone and flesh a
few feet in diameter around where his skull used to be.

Saskia looked on without saying a word, it was the
first time she had seen this side of Alerik and she didn’t really know him that
well. There was no telling how far this anger would carry him and she had no
intention of becoming a target.