Surface Dweller

The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room.

For as long as she can remember, Allison has longed to go down to the surface, but her father would never allow it.

Whenever she gets the chance, she sneaks into her father’s room just to see the world beyond. Her father hates it. He gets angry any time he catches her there, so she’s learned to be more careful.

She peers out of the bubble window, down to the ruined city half a mile below. Her heart longs to explore something other than this hermetically sealed bunker in the sky.

Few of her people ever venture to the surface. Only those who are specially trained get outfitted with suits to withstand the harsh environment. Fewer still get selected for an expedition. Even they only go down twice a year or so to take soil samples and survey the ruins.

Why would they? They have everything they need up here. Their self-sufficient commune in the sky grows its food, scrubs its air, provides for all its needs. A geothermal vent at the base of the massive central column provides all the energy they could ever need.

Whereas, the surface is a desolate wasteland. Dust storms rip across the landscape, for miles and miles in every direction. Supposedly, a hazardous miasma lingers from centuries past. Nothing can live there, so she’s been told.

But Allison wants to go beyond that. She wants to know what lies beyond the desert. In the distance, she can just make out a range of mountains, speckled white near the peaks. She wants to go there. She wants to see what else the world has to offer. Are there forests like she’d seen in the archives? Oceans? Did anyone on the surface survive the Cataclysm?

Allison’s teachers have always encouraged her curiosity, but her father…

He’s not a bad man. He’s kind and generous, but when Allison mentions her desire to go to the surface, something triggers in him. He forbade her from joining the expedition training program three years ago, but she was an adult and could make her own decisions. After much convincing and begging, she made an agreement with a few of her teachers to train in secret.

Over three years, her fitness and abilities have been judged under the same criteria as the rest of the class. She’s passed the same tests. Completed the same trials. Hell, she’d be lauded as top of the class if it weren’t for her father’s station.

Allison turns twenty-two years old next week. More importantly, tomorrow is supposed to be graduation.

But to officially graduate, she has to convince her superintendent father to recognize her achievements and sign off on her diploma. All her teachers would vouch for her studies. They have records of all her assignments and trials, but her father is a hard man to reason with when upset.

She stares out the port hole, contemplating how she might convince him when she hears the snick of the automatic outer doors opening. She swiftly sneaks across the hallway to her bedroom before anyone can catch her by the forbidden window.

“Ally!” Her father calls from the living room. “Ally, are you home?”

With a calming breath and a light foot, Allison pads out to meet her father. “Right here, dad. How was your day?”

She flops herself onto the couch, curling her legs beneath her.

“Long. Arduous. Are you ready to head to the mess hall? I’m hungry, and there’s lots to do before tomorrow’s ceremony.”

“Oh, sure. Let me just slip my shoes on.”

Allison slides her flats onto her feet and together, they venture out into the metal city.

Despite being a survival bunker, this place, Laputa, is miles across and two dozen stories thick. The giant metal monstrosity, named after something from a five-hundred-year-old book, rests atop hundreds of pillars. How their predecessors built it, Allison couldn’t even fathom.

As they trek through corridors and streets, they frequently pass familiar faces. Her father greets them with a kind salutations, but Allison has too much on her mind to speak with anyone. Her father hardly seems to notice her silence. It’s been her default state with him for a long time.

After a few minutes, the dark streets open into a green park with a high domed glass roof letting natural sunlight into the otherwise grim cityscape. Glittering reflections dance across chrome handrail on the balconies overlooking the park. Children and adults alike run and play or bask in the sunlight all around the greenspace. A sparkling fountain sprays recycled water, showering a group of laughing children. Allison can’t help but smile at the charming sight.

Allison’s father leads the way over to the food court around the corner from where they entered the park. Inside, a bustling crowd of university students and faculty queue for their favorite eateries.

The hydroponics labs are able to grow massive crop yields year-round. More than enough to feed the city, which gives everyone an extensive selection of plant-based food options. Few sectors are as well stocked as the University, though.

“What do you say we eat out in the park today?” Her father chimes, collecting their plates from a dark-skinned woman behind a counter.

“Okay.”

They pick a spot at a picnic table in the shade of one of the artificial trees. Once seated, Allison kicks off her shoes, feeling the soft mossy ground beneath her toes. She breaths deeply letting the scents of her spiced meal and the moss lawn mix together. The almost lets herself relax into the peace of the afternoon, but her mood sours when she remembers her daunting task.

She casts her eyes down at the table, studying the details in the metal, desperately trying to sort her thoughts.

“Something is bothering you.” Her father says, intruding on her brooding. “Would you like to talk about it?”

“I—” She stammers. Gathering her courage, she decides it has to be now, or it may be never. “Dad, I have something I have to tell you.”

“Oh?”

“Dad, I…I’ve been going behind your back and studying to join the Expedition Corps. I know you don’t approve, and I know you’re probably going to be mad, but I’m an adult. I’ve been studying in secret with several of the professors, and I’ve passed all the tests and trials. But tomorrow is graduation, and I need you, as superintendent of the University board to sign off and let me actually graduate. I’m—”

“Ally.” He says, cutting her off, but his tone isn’t angry or hurt. It’s soft, loving. “I know.”

“You—” She stammers, dumbstruck. “You knew? How?”

“Kid. Do you think anything happens in my University that I don’t know about?”

“Yes. All the time.”

A smile breaks across his lips as he looks up into the sunlight filtering through the branches. A low rumbling laugh escapes him, “You’re probably right. But yes, I’ve known about your escapades for almost two years.”

“You didn’t say anything. You’re not mad?”

He sucks in a deep breath, furrowing his brow. “No. I am not angry with you. I was, at first. I was quite incensed when Orville first informed me, but he convinced me of your adulthood, your maturity.”

“Dr. Wainwright told you?” She says, incredulous. “I can’t—”

“Don’t blame him. He did so for your benefit.”

“So…Does this mean…?”

“I can’t pretend to be happy about it. You know how I feel about you going to the surface,” He sighs heavily, “but yes. I have already signed all the appropriate paperwork. You will be graduating…officially…tomorrow morning.”

Allison nearly leaps over the table, knocking her food to the side as she tackles her father in a tight hug. He grunts as her body impacts his, but he gently returns the embrace. After a long moment enjoying the closeness with his only daughter, he pushes her back, looking into her eyes from arm’s length.

“However, this means you have somewhere to be in…” checking his watch, “Oh! Forty-five minutes.”

Allison cocks her head to the side, a questioning look that her father has told her many times emulates her mother’s.

“Your fitting.” He offers. “For your expedition suit. You weren’t able to do a proper fitting before, but now… I’ve made an appointment for you, but you’d better hurry.”

Allison’s eyes light up in sheer joy as she wraps him in another bear-hug. This one only lasts a second before she pushes away and starts off toward the armorer’s workshop.

“Don’t forget your dinner!” Her father calls after her.

With a flick of her hand, she spins on her heels, marching back to the table. “Right. Thanks, dad.”

The older man scratches at a patch of stubble under his chin as he rolls his eyes and shakes his head at her. Allison quickly scoops up her plate and shovels food into her face as she races across the park, still barefoot, but not caring. Once finished, she drops her plate in one of the disposals and breaks into a run, too excited to waste time.

*****

“Finally, graduation.” Allison thinks as she beams up at the temporary stage set up in the park.

Hundreds and hundreds of spectators gather on the mossy field and balconies surrounding the park to watch the ceremony. Though only twenty-seven students, including Allison, are graduating into the Corps, everyone who can fit is gathered here today.

It’s always been thus. Despite feeling awkward with all eyes on her, Allison can’t help but feel pride and joy at joining such a long and celebrated tradition.

Periodically, Allison notices strange looks from her fellow graduates. Questioning looks as they try to figure why she’s there with them.

Once the ceremony starts, everyone is too jubilant to pay her any more mind.

Her father stands at the podium, calling each name in turn. Each new Corpsman stands, marches up the stairs and crosses to the center where the Expedition Corps Commander awaits them. The large woman presents each with a folded leathery suit and a helmet before saluting them and letting them head back to their seats to the cheers of the masses.

When her name is called, Allison shoots out of her chair. Doubt creeps in as the sea of people falls quiet. A low hum of confused murmurs ripple through the crowd as she makes her way to the stage. She hazards a glance to her father who gestures for her to stand tall and proud. She tries, but the quiet crowd is racking her nerves.

As she approaches the Corps Commander, the woman looks down her nose to Allison, holding a stack similar to all the others. Allison swallows back her nerves as she looks the woman in the eye.

But then the commander speaks, low enough for only Allison to hear, “As I hear it told, the armorer had little time to outfit you, and therefore could not make a full suit for you. So, I made a suggestion. I believe you will find this one satisfactory,” She pauses, a wry smile pulling at the corner of her mouth, “As it belonged to your mother.”

Allison notices then the scuffs and wear on the suit’s exterior, the hand painted signature on the side of the helmet. She recognizes the signature immediately.

Allison blinks away tears as they well in her eyes. Straightening her back, Allison accepts the uniform from the Commander.

“Congratulations,” the commander says, saluting, “Corpsman.”

“Thank you, commander,” Allison answers, voice cracking. She quickly returns the salute and leaves the stage before her emotions overwhelm her.

*****

Weeks and months pass with little excitement. As a new member of the Expedition Corps, Allison’s job now is to process data from the previous expeditions. Despite the short duration of the excursion, the ten-person team brought back mountains of data, soil samples, and materials.

One day, as she pores over a tablet of information—her head swimming from information overload—the floor and walls shudder with a resounding groan.

Like small animals from their dens, every head in the room pops up, hunched backs straightening as they look around. Murmurs pass between them as they try to reason out the source.

“I’m sure it’s nothing.” Allison hears.

“The city is old. It does that sometimes.” Offers an older woman.

Allison goes back to her work, but the strange incident lingers in her mind.

The next day, Allison is called into the Commander’s offices along with several other Corpsmen. As it turns out, the sound was an explosion from below—an unknown but non-catastrophic failure near the base of the central pillar. And this group…this team…is being sent down to the surface with a handful of engineers to assess damage and facilitate repairs.

Allison can barely contain her exuberance. She’s been chosen to go to the surface. Finally, her lifelong dream coming to fruition.

The next morning, she bids a tearful farewell to her father before heading to the launch pad.

“Be careful.” He told her…repeatedly, a deep-seated fear hovering behind a forced calm. “Whatever you do, keep that helmet on. I want you back here in one piece.”

She hugged her father tight, more for his benefit than hers, the rushed off to her first expedition.

She arrives earlier than most others. Only the expedition captain— Captain Orikson, a young man, not much older than Allison— and the chief engineer, Dr. Haren, greet her. As the others trickle in, Captain Orikson approaches her.

“Corpsman.”

“Yes, Captain?”

“You graduated the Corps program last spring, is that correct?”

“Yes, Captain.”

“It’s strange,” He says, not unkindly, scratching his stubble with a one finger. “I was a professor’s assistant that year. I don’t remember you being in any of our classes.”

“Yes…sir.” She admits, timidly. “I received…private tutoring. Sir.”

She had feared this day would come. She hadn’t studied with the others. She hadn’t had the opportunity to bond with them in the normal ways. Of course, she’d grown close to a few through the moths of working together, but this is different. This is where their skills and training would be put to the test.

“Private tutoring?” He muses. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. All Corpsmen go through the same rigorous training together. At the University…Wait, aren’t you also the Superintendent’s daughter?”

This time his tone turns accusatory.

“Y—Yes, Captain Orikson.” She stammers, steeling her voice. “Yes, I am, but I assure you I have received the same levels of training as all the others. I am qualified for this and any other mission.”

The captain sets his jaw, narrowing his eyes at her. “Hmfh.” He grunts, turning away.

As it has many times before, self-doubt creeps into her mind. What is the captain thinking about her? Is he going to make a fuss? Is she actually qualified?

“Alright then!” Calls the Chief Engineer, her booming voice silencing the chatter in the bay. “You’ve all been briefed. Suit up. Load up. We leave in fifteen.”

Allison, having already donned her second-skin suit, assists the engineers in loading their gear onto two Pegasus aircraft. Soon, a call of “Helmets!” echoes through around the room. Allison fumbles with hers, almost dropping it in her nervousness, when she sees it. Her fingers alight on her mother’s signature drawn near the edge of the visor.

For a second, she can almost feel her mother’s spirit wash over her, calming her anxiety. With a deep breath, she slides the helmet over her head, locking it into the suit.

The heads-up display flickers to life before her eyes, giving her information on temperature, oxygen content and contaminants. She sucks in a few breaths to test the filters just as the bay doors seal and the ceiling begins to open above her.

The Captain does a roll call over the helmet coms and orders the Corpsmen onto the Pegasus’. Once aboard, the aircraft turbines whir to life, lifting them out into the open air.

Allison sits by the door, watching with wonder as they drop altitude again, skirting the city’s exterior walls.

As they descend, the weight of it all hits Allison at once. Here she is, descending into a desolate wasteland where she could die just from breathing the air. Her excitement and horror mix together in equal measure as the Pegasus touches down a hundred feet from the base of the central tower.

“Lock and load! Look sharp!” Come’s the captain’s command.

In formation around the engineers, the Expedition Corpsmen escort the party toward through an ancient, obliterated street. A strong wind whips through, bringing a wall of dust. Thousands of particles batter her suit and helm with little metallic tinks.

Allison shoulders the butt of her rifle. Her feet shuffle with practiced movement as she follows the column of soldiers.

Suddenly, it occurs to her… “Why are we carrying firearms if nothing can live down here?”

She hardly finishes the thought when movement registers off to her left. A shadow crosses between buildings, so quickly, she thinks she imagined it.

Existential terror grips her as she stares off toward the movement, freezing in place.

“Get a move on!” Shouts one of her teammates, pushing past her.

Before she can think, something flashes through a gathering dust cloud, followed by a concussive wave that knocks her sprawling to the ground. Utterly stunned, she feels her suit skid against the ground and her helmet slam into something, then…black.

*****

Allison wakes some time later with a headache, the pounding in her head rivaling the Laputa Philharmonic’s percussionist. She pushes herself up onto her elbows, a painful groan ripping its way through her throat.

She blinks several times, clearing dust from her eyes.

She finds herself sitting on a cot in a small, dimly lit room. As she looks around, she notices a distinct lack of metal and chrome, which confuses her. Then she realizes…her helmet is gone. She still wears her suit, but she can feel cool air brush bare skin in several places along her body.

“Good. You’re awake.” A man’s voice, heavily accented rumbles from nearby chair. “Welcome back to world of the living. Soldier.” He spits the last word, derision permeating his tone.

“Where am I?” She groans through gritted teeth.

“Isn’t’t obvious? You’re on the surface. Ya’d be dead if’t weren’t foor us.”

“Who’s us?” She slurs, her brain still not fully functioning.

“Ma’ people. Surface dwellers.”

“But that’s not possible. Nothing can live on the surface?”

“Tell tha’ to me mates. Me wife.”

“But, I…”

“Look, kid. Yer Soldier friends prolly kept a lot from ye. We been fightin’ ‘em fer years.”

“Why?”

“We asked fer asylum when things down here got bad. They refused. We asked for supplies—food, clean water. They refused. Many o’ me people got sick. We asked for med’cin. They refused. Our people died. We attacked.”

“I don’t understand.” Allison pleads, head still throbbing. “We grow more than enough food. Why wouldn’t they…”

The man shrugs dismissively. He rises from his chair, heading toward the door.

“Wait.” Allison groans weakly. “Why save me. You obviously set off that explosion. Why treat me? Did anyone else survive?”

“We’re not monsters, soldier girl.” He jabs. “An’ yes, two others survived the blast. One died later.”

“Only one other? There were almost twenty of us. You killed…” She trails off.

“Sorry, lass.” He croaks. “We all have to survive somehow.”

“And how exactly does mass murder help you survive?”

He lets out a deep sigh, turning to leave. “You’ll see soon enough.”

And with that, he’s gone. Allison lets herself collapse back onto the cot, the ache of her body and mind overwhelming her.

For a brief moment, she allows herself to grieve her fellow Corpsmen and the engineers. She wonders who survived. Then, slowly, she cuts herself off from her grief. Steeling herself, she forces her body to turn over, putting her feet onto the floor.

With great effort, she stands. She wobbles only briefly before finding her balance. She reaches for her helmet but pauses. Clearly she doesn’t need it. She seems to be breathing fine, and if there were a miasma, she’s already been contaminated. She takes it anyway but keeps it tucked under her arm.

Hobbled by her injuries, Allison ventures out into the hall beyond.

The rest of the building isn’t nearly as whole as her room had been. Blown out windows and cracked walls, stained rusty brown by dust and age line the old lobby. Scruffy-looking people camp all throughout the bombed-out shelter, all wearing light clothing with bandanas over their faces and goggles. A scream echoes from a nearby room. A voice she recognizes.

The Captain.

With as much haste as she can muster, Allison heads toward the commotion. She finds the Captain lying on a cot like hers, but he’s missing his left leg, amputated at the knee.

“Captain…” She whispers, shocked. “Oh, my gods. I—”

“Corpsman!” He responds, venom in his voice. “Help me get out of this bed. I’m going to kill every one of these bastards.”

“But Captain, your leg.”

“What about it? It’s gone and it’s those animals’ fault.”

“Sir, they’re not animals. They’re just people.”

“People who murdered our entire company. Now help me, so I can return the favor.”

“But, don’t you think we have higher priorities. Like getting home?”

“Fine.” He spits. “I’ll do it myself.”

The captain rolls himself off the side of his cot, using his one good leg and arms to stand up. But when he tries to hop forward, he stumbles, falling into Allison. She catches him and sit’s him back on the cot. He lets out a pained and frustrated scream that makes her heart break for him.

*****

Allison spends the next several days trying to contact Laputa via her helmet’s coms, but to little avail.

After a week, the stranger from before comes to Allison again. This time, taking her by the arm and leading her outside to the Pegasus. The Captain, having been sedated, lay strapped to a stretcher in the cabin of the aircraft.

Allison wasn’t sure where they were headed the Pegasus reached the edge of the sky city and climbed ever higher. The hangar doors grind open, responding to the Pegasus’ presence. By the time they land, a contingent of heavily armed Laputans in suits and helmets rush into the hangar. Many of the soldiers faulter at the sight of the surface dwellers. The pilot stays in the Pegasus keeping the engines running idly. The stranger steps forward, representing the others.

“Who are you? Why have you come here?” Comes the familiar voice of Allison’s father from behind a darkened visor. On instinct, Allison tries to go to him, but one of the surface dwellers restrains her. However, she does, for a second, see her father’s shoulders relax in relief.

“We have come again te ask ye for asylum. Again, we ask for supplies. We bro’ back two of yer people as a sign of good faith.”

“You murder nye on twenty of our people and try to destroy our power source, and you expect asylum?”

“Aye. Tha’ seems to be the lang and shor’ of it.”

“I should put a bullet through your head.”

“Ye could. But we’d kill the ‘ostages.”

“What do we care?” Spits one of the soldiers. “They’re already contaminated. Just like you. They can’t come back here anymore than you can.”

The soldier’s answer seems to catch the stranger off guard. “We’re no… There’s no…”

“Of course, there is, you filth. Your hostages are better off dead than diseased like you.”

The stranger furrows his brow, then swift as a bird, pulls a gun, training it on Allison’s forehead. Despite all evidence to the contrary, she didn’t believe he would actually shoot her. She’s gotten to know him over the last week, and he is a gentle man. Pushed beyond his limits.

“Wait! That’s my daughter. Please.” Her father’s plea is as much to his own people as the stranger. Suddenly, he turns toward the door, directing his attention toward the camera mounted above. “Please, Commander. Let’s just take them in. It’s my daughter. Please.”

An intercom speaker buzzes to life with the voice of the Expedition Corps Commander. “You know the law. You know we cannot do that. By necessity, your daughter’s sacrifice will be as great as her mother’s.”

“Why not? We have the space. We have the food. We could quarantine them until we’re sure they aren’t contagious.”

“No.” Her voice lacks all pity, all empathy. With just one word, Allison realizes that she is doomed. Doomed with the rest of the surface dwellers.

Is that what she is now?

Is she one of them?

Laputa is all she’s ever known. Would she thrive on the surface? Could she even survive on the surface?

“Execute.”

Allison’s heart drops at the single word command. Before she can think, bullets begin flying around the hangar. She ducks just in time for the person restraining her to be hit. The entire chamber is pandemonium. Gunshots echo all around. The surface dwellers return fire, forcing the soldiers to take cover behind stacks of refuse.

The Pegasus engines roar back to life as the surface dwellers pile back in, panic overtaking them. Bullets ricochet all around her as Allison grabs a man before he can hit the floor. In a race against closing hangar doors, the Pegasus rises into the air.

In the commotion, Allison just glimpses her father pushing against several of the gathered soldiers. He rushes toward where the Pegasus had been. With three quick shots, her father drops to the floor. As his helmet sprawls across the gray floor, Allison sees the look of pain as he watches her fly away, helpless to save her or himself.

Then his body goes limp, and her father is no more.

*****

Unable to process her father’s death, rage builds in Allison day after day. She helps organize attacks on the central column. She builds bombs. She fights anything she can.

After that day, Allison no longer feels any connection to Laputa.

But they abandoned her first.

Over the following weeks, Laputa sends company after company to repair the tower, or eradicate the surface dwellers who deigned to defy them. Allison helped to slaughter them all.

After a while, they simply stopped sending troops. Either they’ve run out, or they’re planning something big.

But the next attack never comes.

Without the fighting, emptiness creeps into Allison. She finds herself longing for the next fight.

And that scares her.

More than anything in her life, that terrifies her.

One day, while sitting alone atop one of the ancient, barely standing buildings watching the sky for Laputan craft, she has a moment of pure clarity.

She didn’t start this conflict, and it can’t be on her to end it.

She finds herself resenting both sides.

She can’t be a part of the killing anymore.

She can’t stay here.

She lets her eyes trail down from the sky, alighting on the snowcapped peaks far in the distance.

A familiar longing tugs at her heartstrings.

With a sigh, she makes her decision.

*****

By sunrise the next day, Allison has all the supplies she can carry. She stands in the middle of the street, looking out toward her destination.

With a sigh, she takes the first step.

Then another.

Then another.

With surprise, she feels the emptiness slowly diminish.

She allows herself a smile, leaving Laputa and everything she’d ever known behind her forever.