Reddened Wasteland (2 page)

Outside of the settlement, who
knew? No one was allowed to venture past the settlement walls. It was a bleak
existence for the miners, working from sun up until sun down, with no breaks in
between. ‘It could be worse,’ they told themselves, but the sentiment was
unconvincing. And besides, what other choice did they have? They were stuck,
with no way out. It was how it was and how it would be, and that was that. At
least the days on Mars were just about the same as a day on Earth, otherwise
their bodies would go haywire. You learn to appreciate the little things.

Soon, the pair arrived at his apartment. It was a tiny
room, with a toilet on one side, and a stove on the other. Pretty
run-of-the-mill accommodations. The walls were bare, with rust forming over the
sheet metal, and the stone floor was always cold and slightly damp.

Velar actually admired it, it was far better than what
she was used to. She simply couldn’t wait to move up in the mining world and
make a name for herself so that she could get a place so spacious and
comfortable. She lived in a similar room, except with about twenty other women,
all on cots sprawled out across the floor. The extent of the décor was one dim
bulb hanging from the ceiling.

“Nice place you got here!” she said with a genuine smile.

Alerik smiled back, remembering she’d never visited
his place before. “Thanks, I’ve been trying to make the place look nice. I
saved up last cycle and was able to get a new lamp. It’s really been a
life-saver when I want to read the next morning’s orders,” his voice dripped
with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes. He moved over to the wall and slid down so
that it was easier to take off his boots. “So, come sit. Tell me why you wanted
to come here of all places. Why couldn’t you just talk to me at the bar?” He
asked as he got his boots off and pulled out his Cigz. She narrowed her eyes at
the pipe and sighed before speaking.

“So, I know what you have told me at the jobsite is
the official story. What I want to know is, what do you
really
think
happened? I can tell you’re bullshitting me and don’t you deny it, Alerik.
Things here are not great. They haven’t been great for a while. This can’t be
how humanity was before coming here. I imagine a world of color, of happiness.”
She said, her eyes widening with wonder and fantasy, “I refuse to believe it
has always been this… depressing.”

Alerik took a drag from his pipe and smiled at the
girl, his dimples making their first real appearance of the night. Velar loved
his dimples but couldn’t bring herself to ever tell him. She just wanted him to
think she was cool, unlike some of the other women at the site who fell all
over themselves every time he was around. She forced herself to focus on his
words and not his dimples.

“Well,” he exhaled a puff of that nasty smoke, “I
don’t think it happened the way we are told. I don’t think it’s too far off,
either. We are just meant to be depressed, in my opinion. Think about it,
everyone you know is down about something, if not everything. Even the people
up at The Union can’t be happy with their work. I know I wouldn’t be. I think
maybe when Earth died out, this was supposed to be some paradise for us to
regrow in, somewhere to call home without missing home too much. I suppose
something between then and now changed and now here we are, disappointed and
depressed because this isn’t the paradise it was meant to be. Men have always
fought for power, and power corrupts things. Maybe this was always inevitable,”
he shrugged, “Every scenario involving humans ends this way eventually,” he let
out a deep breath.

“So, you think that someone took control once we were
isolated and that this is just all we know? All we’ll ever know? So now we just
accept it?” her face fell into a sad expression.

He hated seeing her frown. Watching
her perfectly shaped lips shift from a smile to a frown twisted his heart worse
than anything else inside the dome. He moved towards her and looked at her in
the eyes in an attempt to reassure her.

“I don’t know anything for sure,” he offered gently,
“That is just my best guess, but I’m a cynical asshole. My family passed down
stories of Earth for generations, and some of that got lost in the hand
‐
off, I’m
sure. But, one running theme is that men like power, and if they have a way to
secure it, they do. At any cost.” He said before shaking it off and smiling.
“Hey, there isn’t much we can do anyway, is there? So, just keep these thoughts
out of your head. They’ll only bring you down. We are all alive and that’s what
counts. We just have to keep doing our part and eventually, once we are big
enough, things will change. You'll see.” He hoped his speech was as convincing
as he was trying for. Optimism wasn’t his strong suit. She was just so young
and had a long life of depressing shit ahead of her. If she could get a touch
of truth here and there while maintaining a positive outlook, she might be okay
for a while.

She frowned and stood up from her spot on the floor.

“I suppose you’re right Alerik,” she sighed, “Thanks
for talking to me, I can’t really ask anyone else. Anyway, I’d better head out
so I can get back before curfew.” She walked towards the door. “See ya
tomorrow, boss,” she offered a tight smile and put her hand up in a farewell
before leaving his apartment.

***

The next morning started like any other. Alerik woke
up in his empty and quiet apartment, did his normal morning rituals and headed
out to the jobsite.

Once he arrived, the mundane just kept on coming. The
usual guards were stationed at the enormous gates outside of the mine to pat
down workers before herding them through turnstiles. Inside the gates, the
guards watched every move of the workers as they moved towards the mouth of the
mine for their final inspection.

The mines were important to the settlement. The
precious metals found below the surface provided many of the common day
advances that made the settlers’ lives “comfortable.” Considering the volume of
material mined over the years, it was a wonder where it all went. It was true
that the settlement was quite large, and the dome was far larger, stretching
somewhere beyond the horizon. Who knew where it even ended since no one had
ever being allowed to pass the settlement walls.

Alerik often wondered if what they mined ever made it
out of the settlement, and how it was transported if that were the case.

His daily agitation quota was met
with his final pat-down, and he headed inside the mine to work his shift. He
hoped he’d see Velar later. Ever since she left the previous night he had been
worried that he might have filled her head with too much speculation and caused
her to short-circuit.

A few hours into his shift, Alerik spotted Velar
leaning against a wall. She looked exhausted. The way she was moving sent the
clear signal that she was fed-up with the day, yet a certain light shined
through in her smile when she spotted Alerik.

“Hey there old man, how’s your day been?” She said in
a surprisingly chipper tone despite her tired appearance.

“It’s a day,” he said with a smile as he wiped the
sweat and dirt from his forehead. “Shouldn’t you be working? Here you are,
slacking like these other bums,” he teased, moving closer to her.

“Yeah, I probably shouldn’t be so lazy. What if I piss
off my superiors?” she winked. Before he could respond, a deafening sound
erupted from the tunnel intercom, alerting everyone to stop what they were
doing.

“Alerik Jacobs, report to central command
immediately,” an authoritative voice announced before cutting off abruptly with
a loud crackle.

“What do you think they want with you?” Velar
questioned, worry etched across her face as she grabbed the sleeve of his
jacket.

“I don’t know,” he frowned, “I guess we’ll find out
shortly.” Alerik turned to navigate the tunnels and return to the surface, his
jacket sleeve sliding through her tiny hand as he marched forward.

Once he was back on the surface, several guards
dressed in black and silver uniforms were waiting for him. The main guard
stepped forward. He was a tall man with a muscular build, but his face was
concealed by a dark visor so Alerik couldn’t make out any distinguishing
features.

“Alerik?” He asked as he kept his hand on his rifle.
He had one of the new edition rifles, not one of the old gunpowder based
firearms. The Union came up with a new prototype a few years back that only a
few soldiers carried initially. Now that gunpowder was a thing of the past, all
soldiers were equipped with these new guns. They were a darkly tinted metal and
had cartridges full of pellets or metal bolts. Apparently, they were fired
using some type of powerful magnet inside. Incredibly quiet, you’d never knew
it even fired except for the whizzing sound the projectile made through the
air.

“Yeah, that’s me. Can you guys tell me what’s going
on? I was called away from work which is… Highly irregular,” Alerik said with a
puzzled look on his face. Two guards stepped forward, linking their arms with
his, and began walking with him. The main guard trailed them, keeping a look
out.

“Follow Captain Terina,” the man in the background
barked. Alerik nodded, deciding to keep his head down and play along. There was
no point in agitating the muscle. Hopefully answers would be at his
destination.

When they arrived at a small building on the other
side of the fence, the guards loosened their grip and allowed Alerik to walk on
his own.

“Thanks for everything, fellas,” he said with a smirk
as Terina opened the door and allowed him to pass through. A dim light flickered
in the long hallway and at the end where two guards stood with their weapons at
the ready. Alerik moved slowly, allowing the captain to keep the lead. He
didn’t want to step on any toes – that would be a good way to suddenly go
missing.

The guards waved him forward into a room with a single
desk. Various pieces of random equipment lined the walls. A large and robust
man stood in the corner, smoking his pipe. He turned to face them as they
entered the room.

“So you’re the Alerik that has been leading the crew
in our magnesium mine, correct?” He asked, blowing out a huge puff of smoke as
he waddled over to his chair and sat down. He had dark hair with gray streaks
throughout, and his brown eyes were sunken into his already wrinkled and
weathered face.

“Yes sir, that’s me. I was actually in the mines –
working – before I was called in here. How can I help you?” He asked, trying to
mask the annoyance in his voice.

“Well, you see, Alerik… We here in The Union need your
help with a small incident – series of incidents – that have occurred lately in
and around the mines,” he slapped a sweaty hand down on the table, a metallic
sound echoed in the room. When he slid his hand away a small scrap of metal was
revealed. On it appeared to be a crude etching of a hammer surrounded by
flames, along with the words “Liberty’s Hammer” carved deeply into the side.
“These have been appearing more and more frequently in the mines, and even in
some of the local bars.

Now, I don’t know if you are familiar with the
terrorist attacks of 2231, but they were orchestrated by a group called
Liberty’s Flame. We suspect this new group may be a copycat organization and we
need someone on the inside of the mines who can help us find the responsible
parties,” he gave Alerik a pointed look.

Alerik’s brow furrowed as he studied the etchings on
the metal. He wasn’t sure what help he would be. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be
a help to The Union. After all, it wasn’t like they’d ever gone out of their
way to help him. But the truth was, just like every other aspect of his life –
he didn’t have much of a choice. The Union didn’t really make requests. Sure,
they’d ask as a formality, but the consequences of refusing… well, he didn’t
have any interest in finding out what those might be.

“Of course, this isn’t really a request,” Alerik said
flatly, calling it what it was, “Humor me. Do I get anything at all out of this
arrangement?” He didn’t bother masking his irritation. The Union was asking a
lot. They were asking him to snitch on his coworkers – his peers. These were
people he grew up with. It would be a betrayal, even if they weren’t all
buddies. “Another thing, why can’t you do this yourselves? Surely you could
just go down and search everyone.”

“I suppose we could allow you an upgrade to your
living situation. Even though this isn’t about bribing, you would be doing us,
and humanity, a service. We would, of course, show our gratitude,” he nodded.
The man sounded surprised that Alerik was bold enough to ask for compensation.
He continued, “Naturally, we could go down there and stir things up, but what
would be the point? The terrorists would scatter and likely never surface again
until they attacked. Surely, you don’t want to wait until then to practice due
diligence?” the man stuck out his hand for Alerik to shake.

Alerik stood up from his chair quickly and avoided the
handshake by pretending he didn’t see it.

“Alright then. How about we start this relationship
with a little slack from the guards?” Alerik spoke over his shoulder as he
turned to leave the room, “I’ll do as you asked because I don’t want any blood
on my hands. But please, just keep your guards out of my way. I don’t want to
be affiliated with The Union. None of the miners would ever speak to, or trust
me again. This cloak and dagger stuff puts everyone on edge.”