Reddened Wasteland (9 page)

After most of the bar had effectively iced him out, a
couple of men approached him from out of the corner of the room. Both were big
guys, both about as tall as Alerik, but both were brawny with severe muscles.
Alerik was athletic, but the guys dwarfed him.

“I hear you are questioning people in our bar,” The
man in front said. He was the stronger looking of the two. His pale skin told
that he was a miner, but likely one of the rock haulers. He looked like he
could push the bar over if he wanted to.

“That’s right. Sorry I didn’t get to you yet. You were
next in line, sweetheart,” Alerik cracked a cocky grin.

“Take a hint, Union slug. Nobody wants to talk to you.
Myself included,” the man moved closer to Alerik.

“Maybe I don’t give a fuck. I thought I made that
abundantly clear when I walked in here,” Alerik said as he stepped up to the
man to display his lack of fear.

“Huh. I thought maybe you had just gotten lost. It’s
probably hard to see with your nose so far up The Union’s ass,” the man
sneered. His buddy let out a snicker behind him.

“No, I’m definitely not lost. A little stupid, maybe,
but not lost,” Alerik’s grin widened. “I am right where I need to be. Now if
you aren’t going to help me, how about you head back to that dark corner where
you and your buddy can finish circle jerking each other in peace.”

“I have a better idea. How about we just kick the
living shit out of you right here and now?” the man started pulling his shirt
off over his head.

As soon as the shirt covered the man’s face, Alerik
kicked the man in the balls, causing him to double over in pain. Alerik reached
back and delivered a nasty right hook square in his jaw, dropping the man to
the ground in a loud thud as his head smacked the floor.

A split second later, the other man rammed Alerik’s
midsection with his shoulder, lifting him into the air. He ran through the bar
and out the door with his arms hooked under Alerik’s knees. Once they smashed
through the door, the man threw Alerik down, slamming him onto his back on the
hard pavement. He gasped for breath as the other patrons started pouring out of
the bar to gawk at the altercation.

While he was still trying to catch his breath, the man
started to circle him. Alerik waited until he saw an opening, then kicked the
back of the man’s knee, causing the man to kneel on the ground. Alerik hopped
up and grabbed the man’s chin from behind, then immediately began pounding the
side of the man’s head with his fist. He stopped when the man’s body went limp.

The rest of the bar patrons swarmed Alerik, hitting
him all over his body in random places. He tried to fight them off, but the
alcohol had taken its toll and his adrenaline was spent.

Everything went dark.

He regained consciousness long enough to briefly crack
open his eyelids. He saw a blur of men in armor moving through the crowd
effortlessly. They attacked the crowd from the bar in a flurry, he could hear
the thud of each body as it hit the ground next to him.

Again, he lost consciousness.

***

The next morning, the Sun’s dim glow crept through his
eyelids as he felt a tap on his shoulder. He used one hand to prop himself up
and struggled to open his eyes. He succeeded, though it was painful.

Standing above him was a beautiful woman in
lightweight Union guard armor. She was tall with an athletic frame, her skin
was tan, and her eyes were an intriguing shade of green. Her dark hair was
cropped short, but all of The Union were like that. They liked to keep a
uniformed appearance.

“Alerik, I presume?” she said with one eyebrow raised.

He rose to his unsteady feet. “At your service,” he
said halfheartedly as he struggled to not throw up.

“Right. Well, it’s our first day of work together.
Good to see you are so very prepared,” she rubbed her temples. “Your driver
told me that he dropped you here and that you never gave him a call for a
pickup.”

“It’s because I was having so much fun…” he cocked a
smile and looked down to see a stain of dried blood on his shirt, “Mind if I
get cleaned up before we start?”

“By all means,” she gave a mocking bow before
signaling the driver. “You know, you could have been killed. Is this the kind
of shoddy work I can expect in the future? It’s a liability…”

“I had a bad day, alright? Let’s just get this over
with.”

“Regular people get the luxury of a bad day, Mr.
Jacobs. We, on the other hand, do not. We only get a limited time to fix
problems, otherwise we become a part of them.” They climbed in the car.

“Just spare me your indoctrinated bullshit. Driver,
back to the palace, please.”

“Indoctrinated? That’s a big word for a miner. And,
hardly. Perhaps I just have my eyes fully opened. I am not interested in the
mundane problems facing people now. It is a small sacrifice we pay in order for
humanity to flourish in the future.”

“Yeah, yeah… I get it. Fuck the people now, as long as
our great grandchildren are happy right?” he asked. “Has it ever occurred to
anyone that we might be able to have it both ways?”

“Oh, I’m sure it has. I’m also sure the people of
Earth lived in ignorant bliss before they started getting sick. Imagine if
there was tighter control in place. We might even still be there, had someone
taken control for the good of the people,” she said as she looked out the
window.

“Possibly, but what if it was that people rebelled because
they felt there was nothing to live for? I could certainly understand that.
Most in the mines would,” Alerik said with an irritated tone.

“Let’s not talk about this,” she shook her head as if
to clear it. “I don’t want things getting heated up… Can we start over? My name
is Saskia.”

He still wanted to argue, but thought it would
probably be wise to make peace with the woman. After all, she would be working
with him until this thing was over. He decided that he might as well play nice
for the time being, “Agreed. Nice to meet you, Saskia,” he forced a smile, “And
you already know my name.”

Saskia smiled back, then returned to looking out the
window. “We have a big day ahead of us.”

When they arrived at the apartment, Alerik hopped out
of the vehicle without saying much. He was worried about Velar, and was
constantly wondering if she was okay. He tried to shake the negative thoughts
running through his mind, but as soon as one would go away, another more
horrifying one would make its way to the forefront. He had to save her, by any
means necessary.

He walked inside his apartment to the same empty
feeling he had when he was there the day before. Without Velar there, the place
was so… Quiet. Saskia followed him, stepping into the apartment moments later.
She had apparently decided to invite herself in, sauntering through as if she
owned the place.

“This place is a mess…” she scoffed as she picked a
cup up off of the floor.

“Yeah, no shit. That usually happens when your home is
broken into,” Alerik barked.

“Broken into? But how—Sorry… I didn’t realize. Was
anything taken?”

“Just my…” he paused for a moment, “Girlfriend.” He
realized it was the last word he had said to her. A word that used to seem so
trivial suddenly held so much weight, thanks to his little label person. His
heart broke all over again.

Saskia tried to give him a comforting look, but gave
it up quickly. She wasn’t the type. “So why are you not out looking for her?”

“Why do you think? I’m a Union slave, same as you.”

He wandered towards the kitchen and noticed there was
a piece of metal sitting on the counter that hadn’t been there before. There
were strange markings in it, sort of like a diagram. Alerik couldn’t decipher
it at a glance. He quickly stuffed it in his pocket. He figured it was probably
something to do with Liberty’s Hammer. The fact that it was left on his counter
meant it was intended for him, and might get him closer to Velar. He checked to
make sure Saskia hadn’t noticed, then walked to his bedroom and changed.

On his way out, he grabbed his pickaxe, just to be
safe.

“What do you need that for?” Saskia laughed.

“Well, some of us don’t have electromagnetic-powered
firearms,” he eyed the gun on her hip.

“Point taken,” she shrugged. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah. Just explain what we are doing today on the way
there,” he said as he followed her out.

“Well…” she started while stepping into the vehicle,
“We are going to go into the city on a hunting trip. The Union believes that
even people within the nicer parts of the city are latching onto this
movement.”

“I suppose that doesn’t sit well with Aemon.”

“No, it doesn’t,” she replied. “We are going to a
couple of places today. The Union building, and outside the wall, to the farm
lands.”

“Farmlands? What?” he acted surprised, thinking back
to all that Cinine had told him. She had been right about everything so far. He
wondered if she would know what the etchings were. Or maybe Soran would know.

“Yes. Outside of the wall, farmlands stretch as far as
the eye can see. All the way to the dome itself. Families are born and die
there, generation after generation of farmers. They work for The Union much
like the miners. Their role is key to our survival. Without them, oxygen and
food would be impossible,” she said, smiling. “That’s why we have a wall
protecting them.”

Alerik wondered if it was for protecting them, or
trapping them. “Makes sense,” was all he said as their ride soared through the
air towards The Union building.

It was massive. The structure could be seen from
anywhere in the settlement, but to be so close to it was surreal. It was the
giant, dark watchman of humanity. He glanced down out the window. The floors
below seemed to go on forever.

“We are almost there, once we land, stay close to me.
If you think the guards are methodical in the mines, just wait,” she said as
the vehicle landed at the docks.

Alerik sighed as he stepped out onto the platform and
immediately felt out of place. The guards at the main entrance were sharply
dressed, it looked like their armor even had titanium plating. Their jumpsuits
didn’t have numbers identifying them like they did in the mines, just a solid
black coloring with big silver plating in the vital areas. He knew that these
guys probably wouldn’t find the humor in his typical sarcastic tone, so he
opted to stay quiet while Saskia spoke with them.

Two guards approached with fully automatic rifles, the
magnetic versions. They leveled their rifles right at Saskia and Alerik as they
stepped closer.

“State your business,” the guards said in unison.

“We are here on behalf of Aemon Irithil. We are
conducting an investigation within this building and have been given level
three clearance. We are looking for a man here by the name of Lucius Rolen,”
Saskia said as the guards began patting them down.

“Lucius is on floor forty-one,” a guard said as he
finished up his search. “We will take you to him and offer any support we can.”

“Perfect,” she smiled before turning to Alerik, “You
ready?”

Alerik nodded in silence.  They walked inside with
their armed escort.

The building seemed almost bigger inside than it was
outside. Each floor had a circular platform with a hollow center that allowed
other motorized platforms to rise and fall, rapidly bringing things from the
bottom up and vice-versa. Nobody seemed to pay attention to the group, they
kept right on with their duties as if the visitors weren’t even there. It gave
Alerik a bizarre feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wondered if they had all
been brainwashed or something. Or even heavily medicated. The cheerful music
playing over the speakers didn’t help his uneasiness.

The guards led the group onto a small platform near
the edge of the main platform in the room. It began descending diagonally down
and towards the other side of the room. Alerik and Saskia both looked down into
the abyss underneath them. Soon, the platform reached its final destination and
a loud buzzing sound prompted them all to get off.

“Well that was… Something,” Alerik remarked as they
started walking towards a row of offices. The fluorescent glow of the
artificial lighting was giving him a headache.

“Here it is,” the guard pointed towards a door that
looked just like any of the others.

Saskia walked to the door and opened it gently. A man
sitting at the desk looked up at her and smiled.

“How can I help you?” he asked. He had pale skin and
the irises of his eyes had a dark red hue to them. He wasn’t very big, or
intimidating at all.

“We are looking for Lucius Rolen,” her tone was
authoritative.

“Oh, well! You found him!” Lucius said with a short
laugh. “What do you need, Miss?”

Saskia pulled Alerik inside by his sleeve and shut the
door. The tug instantly flooded memories of Velar back into his mind. She used
to pull at his sleeve like that. He almost felt offended that Saskia would do
something that was Velar’s thing to do, but he calmed himself. She had no way
of knowing.