Subterrania – Chapter 2: My First Mission
I had trouble sleeping last night. Thoughts of the Don and his men circled endlessly through my mind. I tried to get more details from Jess before leaving the bakery, but she told me I had to wait until morning. Well, it’s morning. I got to the Bakery a few minutes early and have to wait outside for Jess to show up. I get annoyed when she is three minutes late but I do my best to appear happy.
“Morning, Pigmy,” she says, “you ready for today.”
I want to act relaxed and casual, but can’t help myself. “What is the plan, Jess? It’s killing me!”
She laughs as she unlocks the door to the bakery. “Come inside. I’ll tell you after we make the bread.”
I follow her inside, a pit of despair growing in my gut. “You can’t be serious! I nearly didn’t make it this far. You can’t keep holding it from me!”
She laughs again. “You’re right. I’m not serious. You’ve got much more important things to do than bake. Though you’re not right about me holding this information. I can do that as long as I’d like. In fact, I was going to tell you now, but I think I’ll wait till we get to the basement.”
I groan in frustration but eagerly follow. When we get downstairs, Jess instructs me to wait while she does something. I watch curiously as she punches buttons on a wall panel I hadn’t noticed before. Suddenly, the lights flicker off, leaving the space completely dark. I’m about to say something when a faint blue shimmer appears in the center of the room. The shimmer expands into a giant cube, and the lights return. The cube floats unchanged.
“Ever used a holosphere before?” Jess asks.
“A what?”
“I didn’t think so, but I had to ask. You never know. Holospheres are some of the most advanced computers ever made. They allow us to generate holograms in a specified space. This room happens to be equipped with one of the latest models.”
My eyes widen as I realize what she’s saying. I’d heard of rooms like this, but they were supposed to be reserved for wealthy people in the big cities.
“And you decided to wait months before telling me!? You should have started with this!”
Jess rolls her eyes. “It wasn’t applicable till now. Besides, the holosphere uses a lot of electricity, so we must be careful how often we use it. That said, let’s jump right in.” She walks up to the cube and touches it. It morphs into a large screen split into several sections.
“See this?” She points to the first section, which expands to show intricate blueprints of what looks like a factory. “This is the Don’s favorite money laundering business. It’s a processing plant for Iron ore. Iron goes in, is treated, and then comes out as various products. The Don sells a lot of this Iron to his own men. The problem is that his men purchase the iron with stolen money.”
“So what does that have to do with me? You want me to go buy a bunch of his Iron or something?”
“No. I want you to shut the factory down. Permanently.”
“What? I thought we wanted to make things better with the Don? Wound’t that only upset him more?”
“We do want the situation with the Don to improve, just not for him. This is your first big test, but it’s also a lesson. In this world, people can become corrupt. You saw that yourself yesterday. I mean, who stands by as a full-grown man beats up a sixteen-year-old girl? That’s the kind of thing The Engineers won’t stand. At its core, it’s why our organization was created. The police do their best to keep the peace. We fix it.”
I rub my chin as I take in the information. “So what you’re saying is I’m a super cop.”
Jess laughs. “No. I’m a super cop. You are still just a Pigmy. Remember?”
It’s my turn to roll my eyes. “Okay, but that means I’m on track to becoming a super cop, right?”
“Technically, yes, but you have to survive if you want to make it that far. Till then, a lowly Pigmy you shall remain.”
“Alright, fine. So what is the plan? How do you want me to take out this factory?”
“If only it were that easy. I could just give you all the answers, and you’d be on your way. Nice try, kid, you’ve got to figure this out yourself.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am. I want to see how you’ll go about the situation. Don’t worry, though. I think you’ll find that destroying things is easier than you think. You do get a little help.” Jess pulls a small cylindrical device from her pocket and hands it to me. Most of it is glossy white, though the top has a clear lid with a red button underneath it. “If you get into trouble, just press that button. I’ve got several runners on standby. Press that button, and you’ll have all the backup you need and then some. The drawback is that pressing it means you automatically fail your mission. Can’t get your next cog tooth if others do your work for you.”
Questions start pulsing through my mind. How can I shut down this factory? I walk up to the blueprints and study them. Jess watches at my side. The factory is relatively large and has two floors. From what I can tell, the bottom floor is where the iron is processed, and the top is primarily offices, though I make a mental note of a strange-looking room at one end. If I want to shut down the factory, I need to find some way to shut those machines down permanently.
“Do I get any tools?”
“You can use anything you want if you can get it alone.”
“How long do I have?”
“Technically, you have until the Don sends men over here to burn our bakery down. Could be minutes, could be hours. Who can say.”
I feel frustrated, but I long to prove myself to Jess. I’ve taken a liking to her over the past couple of months. Understanding Jess’s words, I decided not to waste any more time and dart for the stairs. Halfway up, I realize something, turn back, and poke my head into the basement.
“Uh, Jess?”
“Yes, Quin?” She says with a raised eyebrow. “Where is this factory located?”
Jess chuckles and shakes her head. “You mean you don’t recognize it? I thought you knew this city.”
“Well, I do. I just don’t know every building.”
“Alright, there’s a park on the east side of town. You know it?”
I nod.
“Head there and have a look around.”
I nod again and take off up the stairs. When I get outside, I notice the artificial sun lights are starting to turn on. It’s only five in the morning. That means most people will still be in bed, and the roads are clear. I wish I had a bike and make a mental note to get one later. For now, I run as fast as I can to the east side of town. I’ve been to the east park several times, so I’m able to make my way there quickly.
When I arrive, the sprinklers are on, and I have to jog around the park before spotting the factory in the distance. It’s two blocks away. I stop for a moment and try to think. I probably couldn’t get away with waltzing straight in. I need a plan. I resume jogging around the park so I don’t look too suspicious. I talk myself through several possible plans but don’t feel good about them. By my third lap, I feel stuck yet pressured to finish this as soon as possible.
I stop running and decided to try walking down the street past the factory. As I get closer, I notice a side alley just big enough to slip into. I look around to ensure I’m not being watched, then dash into the alley. The space is about a foot wide, so I have to turn sideways as I shuffle through. I don’t know what I’m expecting to find, but I keep an eye out for entry methods.
There are windows above me, but I don’t think I can climb up to them. The alley is too narrow to wedge myself and shimmy up, so I keep heading forward. At the end of the alley, I cautiously poke my head out. I hear a few workers walking nearby and wait for them to pace. My heart is racing now. My body wants to panic. I take a deep breath and try to calm myself. I can do this. Jess wouldn’t have sent me here if she didn’t think I could, right?
I reach into my pocket and feel the emergency button. At first, it brings me comfort, then shame. I can’t rely on it. I have to pass this test. I don’t know why, but I need to prove myself. Still, I keep it with me. Better safe than sorry. The workers are gone now, and the street appears empty except for a man pushing an industrial hovercart a hundred yards away. He’s whistling a happy tune and walking away from me.
I take the opportunity to peek around the corner and look for my entrance. There is a large garage door, likely for delivery trucks, but it’s closed. No windows. At the far end, I notice an access door. Not an option. I have no way of knowing what’s on the other side, and the thought of walking through scares me so bad I want to call the whole thing. I duck back into the alley and have to steady myself again.
I take a couple of deep breaths, each one making me feel confined between the buildings. Luckily, I’m used to this feeling. You don’t spend years exploring tunnels and come out with a fear of tight spaces. My heart rate is slowly dropping now. I can’t find a way to get it, so I wait. I briefly try to climb into the alley, but I can tell it’s a vain attempt. The only thing I can do is wait. I don’t have to wait long. A delivery truck has arrived. I can’t see it, but I can hear the garage opening. I hold my breath in anticipation. The truck beeps as it backs up into the factory. I hear some workers shouting orders, but everyone is inside the building.
I peek around the corner again. The truck is almost inside, and the driver appears focused on looking at his review camera. I look down the street, relieved to see it’s empty. Trying to remain as quiet as possible, I make my way out of the alley and lean over to peek into the factory. This is it. I’ll have to go for it any moment now or risk losing the opportunity. I can feel my heart beating again, but there’s no time to calm myself.
The garage door is shutting now, and from what I can tell, all the workers are preoccupied with taking care of the truck. I hesitate. I can’t do this. I’m just a sixteen-year-old girl. Any of those workers could kill me. No. I have to. I shake my head. Come on, Quin. You can do this. The garage door is only a few feet from the ground. Feeling like I was about to make a wrong choice, I ignore my feelings, drop to the ground, and roll under the door. When I stand up, the door is shut, and I’m stuck inside.
I can feel the adrenaline pumping through me now. It’s exhilarating! I’ve only ever felt like this one time before when a tunnel nearly collapsed with me in it. My body is shaking in anticipation, but no one has noticed me. I feel like the most fortunate girl in the world when I see several large bins of scrap metal to my left. I dash behind them and press my back to them. Each bin is at least five feet tall and stacked on top of each other, so I have plenty of cover.
Suddenly, I feel foolish. I’d successfully made it inside, but now I remember that I have no idea what I’m doing. Doubts creep back into my mind, but I shrug them off more quickly this time. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I slide around the corner and try to look at the factory’s interior. The workers are already moving Iron ore from the truck. Might as well start with those.
Luckily, I only spot a few workers. They don’t look too scary. They are big, but I’m willing to bet they’re slow. I should be able to get around them in a pinch. I scan the area. There has to be something around here that I can use to ruin the place. A control panel, perhaps? I don’t know much about machines, but maybe I could overload them. There’s a lot of heat inside each machine.
The workers use hover carts to unload ore from the truck and dump it into a receptacle. As far as I can tell, the ore is broken down and passed through a conveyor belt into the furnace machines. When I find a clear moment, I dart from my hiding place to another nearby. I see some stairs ahead. I recall the strange-looking room from the blueprints. Might as well start there. I want to try to climb the stairs, but I don’t dare. I’d be exposed for too long.
There’s a loud clamor that breaks my concentration. I peek around my bin and see that one of the men has spilled the contents of his cart across the floor. Another worker looks angry and starts shouting at his colleague. I seize the moment and do my best to creep up the stairs quietly. No one spots me, or if they did, they said nothing. I take a deep breath and let it out when I reach the top of the stairs.
There’s a long hallway in front of me, and it’s mercifully empty. There are windows to the left and several doors to my right. Each door has a sign above it. As I read the sign above the third door, my excitement grows. It says “Control Room,” and I can’t help but smile. I approach the door and quietly turn the handle; it’s locked.
I curse as I try to figure out what to do. One of the other doors says “Utility,” and another says “Office.” I try my luck with the office door, knowing I can only open so many doors before there’s eventually someone on the other side. I peek inside the office, and it’s dark, so I slip inside and quietly shut the door behind me. It’s so dark I can’t see my hand two inches from my face. I reach into my pocket, pull out my phone, and find the button for the flashlight.
The office looks exactly as I expect it to. There are two rows of cubicles, one on either side of me. I walk between them and discover a nice office with windows looking out at the cubicles. Part of me wonders why there are so many workstations, but I force my curiosity out of my mind and focus. If keys were in here, they’d probably be in the boss’s office. I feel a little hopeful but disappointed again when the door is locked.
I peek through the window to shine my light into the office. There are blinds in the way, but they’re open just enough that I can make out pieces of the inside. I can’t be sure, but I think I see a few sets of keys hanging on the far wall. Bingo. Now I just have to get inside. I look around and asses my options. It’s dark, and I haven’t seen any people nearby. I tap the window with my pointer finger. It seems like standard glass.
Pulling my arm back, I try pounding on the window. The noise shocks me, and I worry I made a huge mistake. My hand aches a little, and the glass seems unaffected. I duck into a cubicle and wait in case someone heard and comes to investigate. Five minutes pass, and no one shows up. Feeling more confident, I look around the cubicle and find a metal plaque. It has an inscription that reads “Congratulations on five years!” on the front. It’s heavy in my hand.
I go back to the window and tap it with the end of the plaque. This could work. I find a comfortable way to hold the plaque to swing it. It’s surprisingly tricky since it’s a triangle. I’m not sure this will work, but I give it my all. I use two hands and pull the plaque back over my shoulder. With all my strength, I swing at the window. If I thought my pounding was loud, the window shattering is significantly worse. Again, I duck into my hiding place, but it seems nobody has heard.
I get back up, approach the window, and carefully put my arm through. The whole I made is in just the right spot, and I’m barely able to reach the door handle. Edges of sharp glass dig into my skin as I strain to flip the lock open. I can feel the glass stabbing my skin, but I don’t care. I have to get this door open. The sooner I do it, the sooner I can be out of here.
The lock clicks, and I let out a sigh of relief. I pull my arm back through the glass and feel a small trickle of blood run across my bicep. It’s flowing very quick, and I expect it’ll stop before it starts to drip. I open the door and move to where I saw the keys. I can’t believe my luck. Whoever runs this place must be very organized. Each key on the rack has a neat, clean label indicating what it opens. I grab the one labeled “Control” and shine my light on it. I read the label one more time just to make sure.
A noise makes my heart stop. The main entrance, my only exit, is opening, and I hear a man’s voice. I dash out of the office and return to my hiding place in the nearest cubicle. The moment I crouch down, fluorescent lights flicker on. As the man gets closer, I start to make out his words.
“Thanks for coming in early today. I’m sure you’ll like it here. This is where you’ll be working.”
The voice gets louder as they get closer to my position. I worry they’ll notice the broken glass, but the conversation suggests they don’t suspect anything. The man almost makes it to me when it sounds like he’s stopped on the other side of the cubicle wall.
“We have to get you in the system, so you can’t log in yet, but this is your machine. You said you have a lot of experience with this sort of thing, right?”
“Yup,” another voice answers, this one deeper and more gravely, “been working similar jobs for almost thirty years now.”
“Excellent! That’s what we like to hear! Now, let me show you where my office is. If you ever need anything, you can be sure to… what? Is my window broken? That’s odd.
Icy fear takes over me as I watch the two men walk past my hiding spot. I’m covered under the desk, but they’ll see me if either one looks down. I don’t dare breathe as they pass by. Not that it will matter much; they’ll probably start looking for me soon. I hear the two men talking as they move into the nicer office.
I climb out from under the desk and poke my head out of the cubicle. Both men have their backs to me, but I can tell one of them, presumable the boss, is angry. I think my time here is about up. Throwing caution to the wind, I sprint down the corridor between the cubicles and rush out the door. The men behind me start shouting.
“Hey! Get back here!”
As if that would ever work. I clench the key in my hand and reach the control room door as the boss man bursts out of the office.
“Hey! Don’t you dare go in there, it’s-”
I ignore him. The key clicks. I rush inside, slam the door, then turn around to lock it. The handle jiggles, and the man pounds on the door. I waste no time and turn around and take in my surroundings. A single emergency light illuminates the room. I find a switch by the door and flick it on. Like the office, there are no other doors out of here. I panic. Even if I find a way to use this room and destroy the factory, I have no way out. I pat my pocket to make sure Jess’s emergency button is there. At least I’d found a safe place for now.
Many different colored pipes run along the walls. Dials, gauges, blinking lights, and a small computer screen are all grouped together on one wall. I decide to start there. Several of the gauges have warning labels on them. I have no idea how any of this works, so I start with those. Maybe if I could get one of those gauges past their max, something will happen, and the man at the door will be forced to check on it.
The red pipe seems like a good place to start. I can’t tell what’s inside, but the word “Danger” is printed in large words near the blue valve that’s connected to it. I grab the valve and try to turn it. It doesn’t budge. I get better footing and throw my body into it. It moves now, though it’s only inching along. Even so, I already see the needle in the gauge moving up. I push again, and the valve starts spinning more freely.
Now that the valve is looser, I can turn it using my hands. I turn it a full rotation. Then another. Then another. Five more do the trick, and I’ve spun the valve as far as it will go. The needle on the gauge is beyond the safety mark. Pounding continues on the door behind me. I wait and pray something will happen. Ten seconds pass, then twenty. The banging on the door has stopped, but I can’t tell if the man has left.
A loud crash comes from the door, and I instinctively cover my ears. When I look up, I see a large dent in the door. A second crash happens. Another dent appears. They’re breaking it down. I don’t have much time left. My hands are a blur of motion as I try to twist as many valves as possible. I must have done something because I’m knocked off my feet as the building shakes from an explosion. The banging on the door stops, and I hear shouting. An alarm starts blaring as I stand up, and a red emergency light fills the room. I notice the computer screen coming alive with motion. I lean in to get closer and see several notifications that say things like “system failure,” “warning: operation critical,” and “danger: abort process.” I laugh, I don’t know what I did, but it worked.
I move to the door, unsure if I should open it, and see smoke flowing through the edges of the frame. I put my ear against the door and listen. All I hear is an alarm. I pull my emergency button from my pocket, just in case, then grab the door’s handle and pull. It doesn’t move. I try again, harder this time. The attacks on the door have bent it so severely it’s wedged in the frame. I ram it with my shoulder, hoping to dislodge it. One more time, I plant my feet and pull as hard as possible. It takes several bounces, but I see the door starting to give.
All at once, I feel myself flying back as a new strength is added to the door. I stumble backward onto the ground as a man steps inside the room, accompanied by a large plume of black smoke. He has a cloth over his mouth and is coughing uncontrollably. I see him coming my way, and I pat my pocket. My emergency button is gone. I look around frantically and spot it on the other side of the room. The man jumps in my direction, and I brace myself. The impact never comes. Instead, he ignores me and goes straight to the valves. He must know what he’s doing because there’s a method to his madness.
I try to scramble to my feet but decide against it when I get a gulp of smoke. Dropping to all fours, I crawl toward the man, aim just right, and kick him in the groin. He shouts and falls to the floor. I don’t know why I did it, but it seemed like a good idea. He knew his way around the control room, and I didn’t want him to fix the situation. Leaving the man behind, I crawl into the hall, where the smoke is thicker than ever. I pull my hoodie up and cover my mouth. It helps a little, but my time is running out.
I make it to the stairs and start descending. My eyes are burning like mad, and my lungs long for the taste of fresh air. I stumble and roll down the stairs. I feel a scrape on my arm, and my body aches. Now, on the lower level, I’m feeling a little better. There is still smoke here, but it’s not thick. I nearly cough my chest out as I stumble forward. I feel dizzy. I should press the emergency button. Wait, where is it? Did I really leave it upstairs? I curse. I see a light up ahead. I’m close. I force myself to keep moving forward. Ten more steps. I stumble to the floor. It takes everything I have to keep moving.
Only a few more feet, I can do this. I cough some more and fight the urge to rub my eyes. I have to keep moving forward. I have to. I reach the light, but something is wrong. The light doesn’t look like it should. Is it blinking? It is. I curse again. I can’t think straight. The light I’d crawled to is an emergency bulb. For the first time, I start to truly fear for my life. If my eyes weren’t so dry, I’d be crying. I use the wall to pull myself up. I’m lost. I still can’t think. “Exit,” I tell myself. “I’ve got to get..” I cough, “exit.” I hear a loud clang and artificial sunlight splits through the smoke.
I can see the direction, but my legs are as heavy as my breathing. I can’t bring myself to move. Come on. It’s right there. I can do this. As I try to take a step, I feel an unexpected sensation. Time slows down, and I feel like I’m flying. Wait, I am flying. Oh, crap! I’m flying! I’m off the ground, my body soaring toward the artificial sunlight. I barely have enough time to process everything before I slam into a hard metal object. I feel something crack, but I can’t hear it for some reason.
I land on my side and use all I have left to turn onto my back. Everything hurts. My ears are ringing, and my vision is blurry. I inhale and feel the smallest amount of relief as fresh air fills my lungs. I’m outside. I should get out of here. I did it. All I have to do is get back to Jess. I can’t. My body won’t respond. I let out an intense scream as pain racks my body. My left arm feels like a thousand needles just pricked it all over. It’s like it’s on fire, but more intense. I’m able to turn my head just enough to see my arm, and I want to vomit.
The skin is black, and my arm is covered in large boiling blisters. I try to scream again, but my throat has gone dry. This can’t be happening. It’ll go away soon. I try to convince myself that this is all just a bad dream, but the pain won’t let me. I feel a single tear starting to well up, but it won’t fall. My eyes are still too dry. I want to get help. I need help, but my body is failing me. I’m starting to lose my vision now. Everything keeps fading to and from black. I hear a muffled noise coming from my other side and slowly turn my gaze.
A stranger stands above me. He’s shouting something, but I can’t understand him. My hearing is shot. He looks angry. I can’t help but feel like this is the end for me. I think of my dad. He’ll miss me. I can’t die now. The stranger pulls something out of his pocket and kneels beside me. He shouts something, but I still only hear muffles. I try to say something, but I can only groan. Even with all the pain I’m in, I feel something sharp pierce my thigh, and my body tenses. Every injury I have feels like it just amplified a thousand times.
It’s too much. I can’t take it. I let the blackness in my vision overcome me and drift into a comfortable darkness.
