BEYOND THE PALE: ( The Outlander ) (31 page)

Due to his union
position and his supervisory responsibilities, Ramesh was used to having the
complete freedom of the freight port. Therefore it felt uncomfortably awkward
and strange for him to be furtively sneaking about on foot with a large set of
wire cutters. He headed to the perimeter fence between the staff vehicle park
and the export container park and started to cut an access path through two
parallel rows of chain-link fences. When he was done, he whistled and River and
Isa appeared from out of the shadows and crawled quickly through. Both of them
had dressed in the typical working clothes of a port stevedore. Ramesh had also
given them the specific hard hats and high-vis vests needed in order to help
them blend in down under. He had been able to conceal them in the back of his
vehicle when he drove through the security check points at the main entrance.
But he did not want the brothers appearing on camera, which they would have if
they passed through the security gate between the vehicle park and the work
zones.

Once inside the export
container park, the three walked quietly and stealthily following Ramesh’s
lead. They stayed in the shadows of the high stacks of containers which were
waiting to leave New Denver. Of course it didn’t matter if he was seen, but
Ramesh knew that if he was seen here in the company of River and Isa he would
be in big trouble with Shondran.

He found the correct
container that he was looking for. It was on the ground and ninth in a long row
of containers stacked five high. To anyone else it was completely non-descript,
but Ramesh recognised it and noted the broken security tag. He ushered the two
brothers inside and pulled the door too without closing it, and switched on a
low light. 

“This will be going
down to the export bay in level 5 early tomorrow. You said that a westerly
tunnel on sub level 5 would make it easier for you. I will be on duty there, so
I will find it and open it up at the right moment when you can slip away,” Ramesh
looked a little forlorn at the thought.

“I will always remember
what a good friend you are to me,” said River with sincerity.

“Yes I will miss you
River, like a finger misses a splinter,” Ramesh joked to hide his real feelings.
He pointed to a small crate. “Anyway there is a supply of dried food and water,
some rope and some torches in the box. There is an oxygen flask in case of
emergency and two breathing masks…” Ramesh had not finished listing his
catalogue, but he trailed off when he saw the mutual expressions on both River
and Isa’s faces. He turned around slowly to see a CPS Security Officer standing
by the open door with his pistol drawn and pointing it at them.

“Now gentlemen, raise
your hands and place them behind your head and turn to face the wall,” said
Nathan. He then walked towards them with his pistol ready to make sure they
followed his instructions. Standing behind Ramesh, he patted him down and
removed his weapons. He then walked behind Isa and removed his knives and
lastly disarmed River of a taser and a stun shot being very careful and wary at
all times of River’s lightening reflexes. He then backed up in the direction of
the entrance and placed their weapons in a pile by the door.

“Gentlemen, I am sorry for
my interruption to your nefarious scheme. However this young man…” - he said
referring to River who had spurned every attempt Nathan had made to contact him,
“…doesn’t like to stay in contact. He doesn’t visit and he doesn’t even write.
Well that is what happens when they leave home. However I must say what a
pleasure it is to see you again Isa. And I am also pleased to make your
acquaintance Ramesh.”

Ramesh looked wholly
confused and had turned slightly to his right to look at River and Isa. They
appeared to be equally confused but obviously knew this security officer.
Ramesh considered Shondran’s doubts about River, and was now wondering whether
he had been entrapped by his supposed friend.

River spoke first, “What
do you intend to do with us?” he meekly asked his old friend Nathan.

“Well I don’t know, I
thought maybe I might crack open a six pack of beer and wish you ‘bon voyage’
but then I remembered that you don’t drink.” Nathan’s reply came in a tone that
seemed very cordial and light hearted. He had also lowered his gun.

Ramesh, River and Isa
all remained perplexed as they slowly turned around to look at the security
officer. They each still held their arms behind their heads.

“Gentlemen, I am
playing with you. Please relax; I am not on duty here and you can carry on with
whatever you were doing, but I think you have another friend here that also
wants to see you off.”

For some reason none of
the three felt comfortable yet to lower their hands. They still stood in arrest
mode watching utterly perplexed whilst he signalled with his hand outside the
door. And they still remained as such when Audrina walked in the door wearing a
boiler suit and a cap. River watched her mesmerized as she walked towards him.
She had a tearful but joyful look in her eye. He completely forgot about any
thoughts of arrest, and dropping his arms he bounded towards her and grabbed a
hold of her, embracing her long and hard. Then still holding on to her, he
dropped to his knees and started kissing her small pregnancy bump. Ramesh and
Isa watched avidly and slowly lowered their own arms, relaxing out of their
arrest stance. Isa scrutinized Audrina and then looked at his brother who appeared
so smitten. He wondered whether Audrina had cast a spell of
glamour
over
him, but had to accept that they seemed to be genuinely in love. Nathan avidly
watched the scene with his daughter as well, yet he had mixed emotions about
it. Ignoring those thoughts, he retained command of the situation and suggested
to Ramesh and Isa that they all go outside for a breather to allow River and
his daughter a bit of privacy. He had holstered his weapon and now he offered
his hand to greet Ramesh and Isa. After they had both shaken it with weak
enthusiasm, Nathan walked them towards the door with open arms across both
their backs, herding them outside.

Once alone, Audrina
knelt down to mirror River’s position and started to kiss him passionately.

“I have waited to do
that for such a long time. I love you so much River. I am so sorry for the way
I treated you,” she said through stifled tears.

“I never could forget
how I felt with you. I couldn’t be with any other girl, I only wanted you,”
River replied telling the truth.

“I don’t want you to
leave, but I don’t want you to stay here if you are in danger. Maybe I can come
with you.” Her request surprised him, and Audrina appeared genuine.

“It is too dangerous
for you to come with me and Isa, and you’re pregnant. Look after that baby, and
make sure he is born naturally without anyone manipulating him in your womb”

“Yes sweetheart, I
know. Anton has already told me of your fears. You know he loves you too, but
not like I do.” Audrina slipped her hand inside River’s shirt as if to prove
her point. “The baby is going to be fine. I cannot wait to see his little face.
I am going to love him so badly.”

“I don’t want to leave
you and the baby, Audrina. I have promised Isa though, and I will not break my
promise to him again. But once we get out of here together and I feel mentally
rested, I plan to come back for you and my son. I have another identity now,
lots of credits, and work that I can do.”

“It is not about you
supporting us River. Forget what I said to you back then. I was trying to be
mean to you. I don’t know why I was like that. Perhaps because I was confused
by how I felt about you and because I thought you were turning my life upside
down. I don’t think that way any more. I just know that I care for you.”

“I love you very much,”
was River’s reply as he now felt overtaken with emotion.

“I have to go River,
Dad cannot be here with me too long, or he will get in trouble,” Audrina spoke
whilst continuously crying. River held on to her with demonstrative affection
but Audrina broke free of his grip. “I have to go now,” and she walked outside
without looking back.

As she walked out,
Nathan walked back in with an outstretched hand, and looking River squarely in
the eye, he asked “Are we cool? Are we still friends?”

River spurned his
handshake, but pulled him towards him in an embrace instead, “Of course; you
are always my friend Nathan Carlson. I didn’t reply to the messages you passed
through Wendy for your own good.”

Nathan nodded
acceptance and made a suggestion, “Well be safe, and maybe you will meet me one
more time at that same place. Let say one year from today,” River nodded, but
would not promise what he could not guarantee. 

After the departure of
Audrina and Nathan Carlson, Isa noticed that the spirit had drained out of his
brother. He guessed that River was having second thoughts about going, but he
respected him for staying true to his promise to leave. He knew it was a hard
decision to make, but he also knew that he had to get River away from this
citadel. River could not stay here and remain unchanged. The price of remaining
would be his spirituality, and that should be held pre-eminent above all else.
After all it was the core to real happiness and the only thing that you could take
with you after this life. He felt that his brother would come around to
appreciating this again some day. Isa on the other hand was happy to be
leaving. There was nothing in the Blue Horse City, nor any person, that gave
him any desire to remain here a minute longer.

It had been a long
evening for the brothers in their confinement within this container. The fact
that River had become introspective and withdrawn didn’t make him very good
company, which was probably an essential ingredient, when two people were
locked up together for hours on end in a dark metal can. River had a time
piece, but Isa felt that his brother was beginning to resent his continually
questions about the time. Thus it was with the relief of a trapped cat that Isa
sprang out the door of the container, when Ramesh finally got to open it.

Ramesh had a look of
urgency on his face, “Good; you two look ready. We haven’t got a lot of time.
Grab all your stuff and follow me, and pull your hard hats down low on your
face. I don’t want your faces seen on camera, nor anyone to recognise you. I am
finished if word of this gets back to Shondran.”

River who had now
stepped outside, pulled a workers satchel over his shoulder, and gave the other
one to Isa. Looking at his time piece, he enquired, “It is later than you said.
Have you had trouble my friend?”

“Yes, Sorry for the
delay,” replied Ramesh who was leading them at a fast pace through the narrow
service lanes of the underground container park. “There has been a lot of
commotion down here. An engineer was trapped under some debris in an accident
down 5W1 tunnel earlier. He is still there and they need to move some heavy
lifting equipment down the track to free him, and then clear the track. They
are saying that it was a localised earth movement that caused it; a small
earthquake. There is some damage to the tunnels, and now there is an incoming
train stuck the other side of the accident site, waiting to come in. It could
be stuck there for a long time.” Both Isa and River showed looks of sympathy
for the man but other than that nothing particularly registered. “That is your
tunnel route guys. Did you forget? Now you won’t be able to travel incognito
along that adjoining service tunnel. So I am taking you down to sub level six.”

“I am not sure if that
will work Ramesh, my friend Anton mapped me out a route and we needed to follow
the 5W1 tunnel for quite some distance.”

Ramesh saw two
approaching stevedores and grew instantly paranoid, “Hold still, don’t talk,
and just look at my hand held reader for a minute whilst those men walk past.
Try and seem like you have a problem so they won’t want to know.” The men did
walk past without paying any heed, and Ramesh led the two brothers at a faster
pace towards the service lift which was only about 100 yards away.

Once they were inside
the lift and going down, Ramesh continued, “There is a tunnel 6W1 which runs in
a parallel path to 5W1 for about 4 miles. You should be able to find an
emergency exit tunnel coming off it that will take you back up to 5W1 but it
will be a steep and long climb.” Ramesh was speaking while looking over River’s
shoulder as he pulled up a grid map for sub level six on Anton’s tunnel-mapper.
“That is a neat device. I could do will one of those. Anyway follow 6W1 for at
least a couple of miles before you try to join 5W1 to make sure you avoid the
halted train in that tunnel. There will likely be Rangers deployed in the
adjoining area to protect it from hijack whilst it is vulnerable.”

The lift had reached
Sub Level 6, and all three got out. They had arrived at a large but mostly
empty storage depot. Ramesh continued, “See the tunnel entrance way over there.
That is your new route; tunnel 6W1. Good luck with your journey, but I have to
leave you now and head back before people start searching for me.”

“Just one thing,” River
asked his friend as he queried a read out on his tunnel mapper. “I do not see
an adjoining service tunnel for this 6W1.”

“No there isn’t any.
You will have to follow the main tunnel. Don’t worry; there are no trains, and
it is not magnetised. The tunnel is a dead end. They ran into problems when
boring it, and had to abandon it. It is just a dark four mile road to nowhere.”
-Ramesh was showing his expression of urgency once again- “Look I have to go. Let’s
say goodbye,” and Ramesh held out his arms and River grabbed him in a good
friend’s embrace, “I will miss you my friend.”

Tunnel 6W1 was
completely inoperative and desolate, just like Ramesh had implied. There were
no red LED lights installed in the ceiling and the tunnel was pitch-black. Isa
switched on his torch which gave off a wide beam of light, which when reflected
off the structural curved steel panels that supported the walls, created weird
shadows. The random shapes and silhouettes which they saw ahead in the darkness
sometimes appeared alive but they were just tricks of the light. The further
they progressed down this tunnel, the creepier it felt. They both had a
sensation of being watched. River thought this strange, considering he paid no heed
to being watched over on a daily basis during his stay in the metropolis.

After a mile and a
half, they passed the first emergency exit shaft which was a vertical
cylindrical shaft about four foot in diameter. Isa climbed up the fixed metal
ladder reaching a few yards above the roof of tunnel 6W1 before returning. It
seemed good, except Ramesh had warned them not to climb to 5W1 above them,
until at least 2 miles out. River checked the hand held GPS tunnel mapper which
showed their current position in this tunnel, and showed that the next
emergency exit shaft was a mile and a half further along. So they continued
along the same path. This tunnel still seemed an eerie place to them and there
were strange sub sonic booms and creaking noises that were audible but
impossible to pinpoint where they originated. About a mile later, Isa’s hand
held torch started to illuminate some Major damage to some of the large curved
steel panels lining the tunnel walls. Many were no longer buttressed together
and some appeared to be hanging off the wall. Along sections where the panels
had not been fitted, there were incidents of rock fall which appeared very
recent on account of the amount of airborne dust circulating in the locality.
River looked concerned and explained to his brother, “There is no mention of
these obstructions on the tunnel mapper. This must be recent damage from the
earthquake.”

 They finally reached
the next exit shaft precisely where the mapper had pin pointed it, and Isa
scurried up the ladder to investigate. This time he was a lot longer and when
he finally came down, he looked like he had a problem.

“It has collapsed
further up. It is completely blocked by a rock fall. We will not be able to use
it; maybe we should go back to the last exit shaft.”

“We cannot use that
other shaft anytime today. You heard Ramesh. He said that the train is likely
going to be stuck there for some time. No we can wait a day here at least. We
have food and water, or we can walk to the end of this tunnel and investigate on
our way.” River knew his brother well. He had captured his interest on the word
‘investigate’, so they proceeded onwards. It was only about three quarters of a
mile until the tunnel terminated. Along their path, they encountered more and
more structural damage and rock falls. This damage had to be from the localised
earthquake and earth movements that Ramesh had mentioned. At the tunnels end,
they encountered a long fissure in the bed rock which cleaved a long gap
diagonally across the whole diameter of the tunnel. This fault line had
actually split the rock wall apart which served as the tunnels end. River
studied his GPS position on the tunnel mapper and realised that he was right at
the perimeter of one of the restricted zones. Those were the zones Anton had
told him about, which a tunnel boring drill could not penetrate. So this was
the likely reason why this tunnel had been abandoned after four miles. This
made it all the more amazing that an earth movement along a fault could just
cleave this impervious rock apart.

Isa was in exploration
mode. He had lowered himself into the fissure which was just wide enough for a
person to traverse. He had found a small mini fault line which served as a foot
hold and he manoeuvred sideways gripping the tunnel floor with his hands. River
shouted for him to be careful as Isa disappeared fully into the fissure gap
that ran through the previously impervious tunnel end. He was a long time away,
but this was normal for Isa once he had engaged his spirit of exploration. Then
half an hour later, he pulled him self back up and out of the mini crevasse.

“I followed the fissure
for about 100 yards, and then I noticed some dim light coming from above, so I
climbed up. River you will not believe it until you see it. There are passage
ways and walkways up above. They are lit dimly. The walls are like ceramic. It
seems very different than the underground complex that we have come from. There
is this one passage way that travels in the same direction as the fault line.
Perhaps we could follow it and then find a way out.”

“Maybe,” said River as
he was zooming into this zone on his GPS tunnel mapper. “This 6W1 tunnel seems
to hit this restricted at its corner perimeter.” River held the device up for
Isa to study, “Look here! There is a bend in tunnel 5W1 above which runs to the
south west. At this point it runs adjacent by less than 50 yards. So this is
the edge of the restricted zone along two axis. If we follow the fissure, it
may allow us to break through the other wall and climb higher to reach 5W1
above. Are these tunnels on the other side of this wall empty?”

“I never saw a living
soul,” replied Isa, “We should at least attempt to find a way through. If we
fail to find an exit, then we come back here and wait until tomorrow before heading
back to the first unblocked exit shaft.”

The two brothers agreed
to proceed, with Isa leading the way and River carefully traversing the narrow
and awkward path behind him. They both emerged into a strange all white walkway
that was dimly lit with a feint ambient purple glow which had no obvious
source. There appeared to be no one using it all, as if it were abandoned.
Despite this belief, neither brother had the conviction to challenge this
assumption by calling out. Instead they kept a low profile and stayed close to
the fissure while it still followed a route inside this new underground
complex. After walking about a thousand yards, the walkway made a right angled
turn and they had to choose whether to leave the fissure behind and follow the
passage onwards. They chose to proceed and walked an equivalent distance before
reaching a section where the floor and the walls appeared transparent. They
stepped gingerly on to the surface which seemed to be the same texture but just
invisible as if it were a form of ceramic glass. As they walked across this
twenty foot section, they realised that it was a viewing gallery. One hundred
feet underneath them there seemed to be an immense concourse filled with lines
of dimly lit large cylindrical tubes. The two brothers pressed their faces to
the floor, and squinted to make out what they were observing in the dim green
light below. There appeared to be thousands of naked sleeping humans or
humanoids suspended in the liquid of those perspex cylinders. They could also make
out what appeared at first glance to be medical staff tending to them. On
closer inspection, it appeared that only some of these people were human. The
others were taller and thinner in stature and appeared lizard like in their
features. This whole vision seemed like a horrific dream to the brothers who
stared transfixed at the scene below. River spoke first.

“They may be the
snake-men that took our ancestors below ground when the land flooded. They were
good to the Hopi. They might help us.”

“They are too tall for
snake-men. They are over six foot tall and I think they are lizard-men,”
corrected Isa.

“You mean the ones that
tortured and preyed on the Navajo and the Lakote Sioux. They were nearly eight
foot tall.”

“You are thinking of
mothmen,” corrected Isa. “Geren will confirm; the mothmen were the nocturnal
predators that hunted them above ground. Those things down there are
lizard-men. They are sauroids too and also malevolent, but they are changelings
and they can come above the ground in sunlight.”

“I think I have seen
one in the citadel. It was mimicking the appearance of a man, an important man.
I didn’t realise what it was until I felt it as a ‘nagus’ appear beside my bed.
It was in my mind. It was not a good spirit. I wonder if they know we are here.”

Isa made the decision
for both of them, “Come on, we need to get out of here. We will head back to
the tunnels right now.”

The brothers retraced
their steps and soon reached the right angled turn in the walk way. However as
they headed back to where they had come in, they could no longer find the
fissure in the bed rock which had allowed them entrance and which had run the
whole length of this passage way. Both River and Isa felt the growing panic
associated with being trapped. The fault line was missing, but it didn’t appear
to have closed. Instead the walk way now appeared to be some different passage
way. Impossible as it seemed, considering that they had stuck to the one path;
they were lost.  This was very unnerving as it appeared that they could not
trust the local environment; it had somehow altered. They chose to investigate
the walkway in the other direction and took another 90 degree turn to follow
another long ambient purple ceramic walkway. This way they found they had
options. They could continue straight ahead, or head for a long line of steps
to their left which ascended to an opening up above. They decided to head
towards the steps but when they reached them, they appeared much larger and
more like the large step terraces on the side of a pyramid. They climbed for a
while and found themselves on an open platform which they walked across to
investigate the other side. They were totally lost for direction now. When they
reached what they thought was the edge of this platform, they appeared instead
to be on a mezzanine floor that ringed and overlooked a lower concourse. Here
they had company. They were looking down on many others, just like those they
had seen earlier in the viewing chamber. These entities with the sauroid
features seemed oblivious to their presence up above. Isa pointed to some
figures amongst them. These were humans who wore the uniforms of the government
officials of the metropolis. Three such men were standing in a group talking
with two of the sauroid entities. River then spotted other men amongst them who
wore the same medical uniforms of the medical officers who had tried to
experiment on him in the CPS headquarters.