The Outside

The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. Her father was lucky enough to have a top floor room. Even so the window was level with the ground, and little could be seen but red soil and a deep blue sky. She stood on her tip toes, grasping the rough edge of stone sill. The glass was impenetrably thick, and dust coated it. But she was looking for something. Twice she had sneaked into this room and seen movement out there in that unknown world. Or she thought she had. Today she was looking for proof. Just a glimpse. Something to prove her mother right and her father wrong.

‘Peony!’ She jumped down from the wooden chest she had precariously perched on, feeling her cheeks redden. Her father’s new wife stood in the doorway, a bundle of clean washing in her arms.

‘Sorry.’

Lily tsked and dumped the clothes on the bed. ‘Shouldn’t you be in a class?’

‘I have finished for today. Mr. Ulbright was feeling unwell again.’

Lily looked round sharply. From this angle the slightly rounded belly beneath her shift was hardly visible. Peony still wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

‘What symptoms?’ she demanded.

‘Just a cold. Not THE SICKNESS.’

Lily nodded, turning back to sort the washing into two neat piles.

‘I will go then,’ Peony said in little more than a whisper. She was through the door and down the partially lit hallway before Lily could show her pleasure.

‘Ash?’ He carefully placed the specimen back in the container, not allowing it to touch the sides and closing the lid quickly before it realized it had any chance of escape. Only then did he look round. Kai was peering through a microscope.

‘What is it?’

Kai whistled and stepped aside. ‘Take a look at that!’

Ash stared at the slide under the lens, watching four tiny thin brown forms wriggle from side to side. ‘Are they…’

Kai nodded, beaming. ‘Yes. That last soil sample…these were in it. You know what that means.’

It wasn’t a question. Ash looked again, his heart pounding wildly. Life.

‘Where was this soil collected? Is there more?’

Kai picked up a container reading the label. ‘Collection chamber 00246.’

‘That’s a new chamber. The tunnel must have been dug out last year when the plans for expansion were begun. Try another sample.’

Kai opened another specimen jar and created a slide. His hand shook slightly as he placed it under the microscope. He let out a long breath, standing away from the table offering Ash the first view. It didn’t take long for Ash to zoom into the worms. Some were larger than others, and white egg sacs were scattered through the red soil particles.

He let Kai take a look. ‘Let’s get these analyzed properly. Order more samples brought from the upper most level, and the next one down. We need to know what oxygen levels are in this soil.’

While Kai, raced to get the equipment set up, Ash looked back at the sample. Could Rose be right after all?

Peony raced back to the 11th level. The room she shared with her mother, was close to the grand library hall, where all the books that could be saved, and all those written since the Cataclysm were stored. It was her favourite place in the Inside to spend time, but the book she wanted to look at was tucked under her bed.

Her mother wasn’t home yet. The room smelt of her though. Comforting, earthy, homely. She reached a hand under her mattress pulling out the small book her father had given her for her 8th birthday. Back then she had loved the images, but now the text itself was what fascinated her. It was an Encyclopedia of Insects. She flipped to the page she had marked and looked again at the insect she thought she had seen on the Outside. Bee. A pollinating insect. Some lived alone, but some lived in big hives and created something called honey, which was sweet. They made a sound with their wings called buzzing. She wondered what that sounded like. She said the word aloud. ‘Buzz. Buzz, buzz, buzz. Buuuuuuzzzzzz.’

The door opened. Rose walked in looking tired, but she smiled when she saw her daughter. ‘Was that you making that sound?’

Peony nodded, swinging her legs off the bed. ‘Mum, I think I saw something from the window in Dad’s room.’

‘You were in Dad’s room? Did she allow it?’

‘I sneaked in when she wasn’t there, but she caught me today.’

‘Did she get angry with you?’

‘Not exactly. I left when she came in. Anyway. I thought I saw this.’

She held the open book out for Rose to see. Her mum stared at the page, and then sat down in the armchair. ‘You saw a bee?’ she asked softly. ‘Are you sure?’

‘I think so. The glass is so dusty. I think that’s what it was. It was larger than the other insects that are that colour. Sort of fluffy and cute.’

‘Have you told your dad?’

‘No. I haven’t told anyone.’

Rose nodded, still staring at the image. ‘Good, good. Don’t tell anyone yet OK? I will see what I can find out about any other sightings.’

Peony smiled at her Mum. ‘I know not to say anything, don’t worry. It’s good news though for the movement?’

‘Excellent news. Yes. Excellent news.’

The lab phone rang shrilly into the focused silence of scientists engrossed in their research. Ash jumped to stop the noise. ‘Hello, you have reached Government Research Lab 1. How may I help?’

‘Ash it’s me.’

‘Rose?’ How did she know?

‘Yes. Look. Have you got time today to meet up. I have something to discuss. About Peony.’

Ash sighed. ‘I am really busy today, but perhaps early tomorrow morning. We could meet at the coffee stall?’

‘Hmm. Could we walk through the catacombs?’

Ash felt a prickle of anxiety. ‘Why there?’

‘Please?’

‘OK. 7 am. But bring coffee.’

The line went dead. He stared at the phone in his hand. The catacombs were the oldest part of the Inside, discovered on an archeological dig 100 years before the Cataclysm. They gave him the creeps. Skeletal remains had been found there and there were rumours that people had become lost in them, running from government agents. There were also rumours that people who disappeared were locked away in those dark, ancient tunnels. He shuddered. Rose wanted to talk to him about something secret. That was certain. No one would overhear down there. Had someone leaked his research? He glanced around the lab as he walked back to his workstation. Everyone else was completely engrossed in their work. This was the most exciting moment in the two hundred year history of the Inside. The chance that life Outside could be recovering. But the Government had made everyone sign a non disclosure agreement. Only the people here with him and a couple of high level officials, along with the Premier himself, knew. So, what did Rose and her ‘Go Outside’ movement know?

He placed another soil sample in the machine and set the program running. His mind drifted to the arguments they used to have, the ones that broke them apart. Rose, and a growing group of people, were convinced that the Government was keeping something from them. Why were those who tried to go Outside, disappeared? Rose felt everyone should be allowed to choose for themselves whether to risk it. It was The Sickness that prompted her interest. Not long after Peony was born, the clean air had dropped significantly, and The Sickness had killed many infants. Because of his status as a Scientist his rooms were on the highest level where the air was cleanest. But Rose still worried for her child. She began to do her own research, and soon found the Go Outside Movement, which was backed up by scientists the government were keen to silence. And often did.

These scientists said the damage caused by the Cataclysm would now be healing, and it should be possible to live Outside once more. This prompted a lot of fear and panic in the general population, and the Government had announced that the Oxygen levels were still too low to risk it. In his more skeptical moments, he wondered who had tested it. He knew of no Scientists allowed to do such a project. But this one had been given the thumbs up. They weren’t hiding anything, just being cautious. What did Rose know?

The machine beeped and ground to a halt. ‘Damn!’

‘What’s wrong?’ Kai asked looking up from his notes.

‘I don’t know. The machine just stopped.’ Ash pressed the start button again. There was a mechanical clunk, and then nothing. He ran his fingers through his hair. Five equipment malfunctions in so many days. He was tired. ‘I’ll call the engineers…again!’

Kai chuckled. ‘Anyone would think someone didn’t want us to find anything!’

Ash glanced round at his friend, but he was looking back at his notes. He took a deep breath dispelling all thoughts of interference. ‘Bloody Rose,’ he whispered.

Rose placed the coffee on a rocky outcrop that formed a perfect shelf at the entrance to the catacombs. She wondered if it was intentional. The silence this deep down in the Earth was soothing to her Soul. The levels above were overcrowded, even with the expansion, and she ached for space to move and create. She yearned to experience Outside. Footsteps on the stairs above could only be Ash. She took a sip of her coffee, wondering what real coffee beans tasted like. He looked tired and had cut his chin shaving. He had a permanent scar there now. He always caught that same spot. She smiled, holding out the coffee like a peace offering. He took it, wrapping both hands round the cup to ward off the chill.

‘Thanks.’

‘How’s Lily?’

‘She’s fine. Thanks for asking.’ There was an awkward silence.

‘Shall we walk?’ Rose asked. Ash sighed, staring at the dark opening.

‘If we must.’

Rose wound up the torch she had stashed in her pocket and then led the way into the catacombs.

‘Did we really have to meet here? You know it gives me the creeps.’

‘It’s the only place I dare speak to you.’

Ash felt his stomach sink. ‘About what.’

Rose linked his arm. It was strangely comforting. ‘Peony saw something out of your window.’ Her voice was barely more than a whisper. He sipped the coffee.

‘Twice now she has seen this.’ She stopped and pulled a book out of her pocket. He recognized it and his heart began to pound. Rose opened it to a book-marked page and shoved it into the torch light. ‘A bee.’

He took the book, staring at the image. Could she have mistaken a flying insect for anything else? His daughter was observant, he had taught her to be so. If she thought she had seen a bee…

‘It’s not only Peony. Others have been seeing things too. It would be Spring outside now if the seasons were returning to normal. There have been reports of bees, moths, and someone thought they saw a bird!’

‘I don’t know what to say.’ He shut the book, handing it back.

‘Do you know anything Ash?’

He looked down at her. Once she had been his Rose, the girl next door. Those eyes still haunted him. Now they were huge, hopeful, and beseeching him to tell the truth.

‘I haven’t heard of anything like this.’ She looked away. ‘I’m sorry Rose.’

She turned back the way they had come. ‘I didn’t really believe you would have.’ There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone. ‘But our daughter wouldn’t lie. And neither would the twenty-five other children who have seen things either. Think on it. And ask your conscience to guide you.’

She didn’t look back. He had to stop Peony coming to his room.

It was a week later before he saw his daughter. He had given Lily strict instructions to lock the door when she went out, and to tell Peony she wasn’t well if she tried to visit at other times. It was evening and he sat reading a report on the theft of data from the lab, when her soft knock came. He put down the paper and glanced at Lily. She purposefully stared at her knitting. She always made it clear how she felt about Peony and Rose. If it wasn’t for the baby…the soft knock came again.

He opened the door, and Peony looked shyly up at him. She was small and dark like her mother, a child of the inner Earth. With an urge to escape Outside. He smiled and stood to the side for her to come in.

She clutched that damn book in her hands. Had Rose sent her? ‘Sit down Peony. Would you like a drink.’

‘No thank you. I’ve just had dinner.’ She looked over at Lily. ‘Are you feeling better?’

Lily stopped knitting but didn’t take her eyes from the baby blanket she was making. ‘A little,’ she said abruptly.

He saw the twinge of pain in Peony’s eyes and swallowed down his own. Peony bit her lip and then opened the book and handed it to him, the page open to the bee.

‘Dad. I saw this from your window. Does it mean there’s life Outside?’

Children didn’t beat around the bush. Lily stared at the girl; eyes wide. ‘It is dangerous to even ask such a thing! What are you thinking Peony? Has your mother twisted your mind too?’

Peony ignored her, her eyes on her father’s, but they flinched with pain once more. In that moment he hated Lily and all her snide, underhand comments about his daughter. And if he was admitting that, he hated how she talked about Rose too. He hated how she made him see how wrong he had been. How he had pushed aside a beautiful, soulful, creative woman, because he believed the rhetoric the Government spouted. Well, this last two weeks had changed him. There were too many malfunctions, thefts and ‘accidents’ for him not to see clearly that someone was sabotaging his attempts to prove that life was beginning to thrive Outside. He was the only one who had seen the test results before they were accidently deleted. The ones that said the topsoil was full of all the ingredients for things to grow. To show there must be oxygen in the air. A large amount of it. And the Government knew if this information got out, who to make disappear.

‘Dad?’

He got up out of the chair. ‘How long has it been since we got ice cream together?’

Peony beamed. ‘Ages!’

‘Come on. Let’s go.’ He didn’t look at Lily. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to.

Peony skipped down the passage at his side. He’d been spending far too little time with her. ‘Do you think your Mum would like ice cream too?’

Peony stopped mid skip and turned to stare at him. ‘I think she would. Yes!’

‘Let’s go get her then.’

Rose was not alone. A man Ash knew was in the room, and he felt an unexpected stab of jealousy.

‘Ash! What are you doing here?’ Rose smiled. She always smiled for him.

‘Dad is taking us for ice cream!’ Peony said. ‘Can Oakly come too Dad?’

Oakly stood and held out a hand. ‘Long time no see Ash. How’ve you been?’

Ash shook the hand tentatively. What am I doing? This is crazy. ‘I erm. Yeah. I’m OK. You might like to hear about my latest research. Why don’t we all get ice cream and go and visit the catacombs?’

Rose dropped a cup she was holding. Peony ran to pick it up, but Rose was on her feet. ‘Yes, let’s do that,’ she said quickly. There was no smile now, only silent wonder.

The catacombs were as creepy as ever. Oakly led them through so many tunnels that Ash would not have known how to get out again. He supposed that was the point. Eventually the tunnel they had followed for the last ten minutes opened into a wide cavern, lit all around with braziers. Other people were there, some that he recognized. Silence fell as they saw him. They knew who he was.

‘Don’t be afraid,’ Oakly said. ‘He isn’t here to spy. Ash has some information for us, but sharing it means he won’t be able to go back.’ He turned to look at Ash. ‘Are you sure? You have a pregnant wife up there.’

Ash knew if he thought too long, he would talk himself out of it so he blurted out a yes, and then took a proffered chair before his legs gave way.

‘This means we have another for the escape list then?’ A woman stepped out of the shadows. She was tall and beautiful. He gasped. ‘Yes Ash. I am a founding member of this movement. The Royal family have had enough of this ridiculous Government and its regime of fear. I am glad to see you have come to your senses. Share what you know.’

He stared at the Princess for a moment longer before beginning. ‘We found life in some soil samples from the recent excavations. Not only that but the topsoil shows oxygen must be present in the air.’ No going back now. He felt a strange sense of relief. And excitement. The cavern was silent except for the crackle of fire in the braziers and water dripping somewhere.

‘Well, that fits in with the reported sightings. Welcome Ash.’ A man lowered his hood and Ash gaped. ‘Robin! I thought you were dead!’

‘No. I disappeared before I was disappeared. Nice to see you came to your senses old friend.’

Ash laughed. ‘I couldn’t argue with the evidence. And it was obvious that someone was trying to cover it up.’ He suddenly relaxed. He counted four ex leading scientists in the cavern. Not only that, but there were two medical officers and an MP who had always been outspoken in his views.

‘This information should help those teetering on the edge,’ Princess Fern said, taking a seat. ‘It seems we will have enough people to start a lasting community. Oakly, find Ash a bed for the night. As soon as they find him missing there will be a full on search. They know what he knows. Ash, you will join the exploratory group. They leave tomorrow.’

‘Exploratory group?’ He glanced at Rose. She smiled and nodded.

‘Rose and Peony should join you. They will be under suspicion once your wife reports you missing. They are already on a list of G.O.M members known to the police.’ The Princess smiled at him also.

‘Congratulations. Tomorrow, you become one of the first people in two hundred years…to go Outside.’

He would never forget that first taste of fresh air. The smell, the feel, the exuberance. The overwhelming sense of space that big open sky created. None of them would. Now, years later as he sat in front of the fire, snow softly falling outside his open door he felt nothing but relief for the chance he had taken. Him and his Rose, and his Peony. There were still people Inside, Lily included, along with a son he had never known. Still living in fear and ignorance, believing the fear mongering. He had never worked out what the Government really had to gain other than a sense of power.

There were many villages now. The Go Outside Movement infiltrated Inside more and more, rescuing people and bringing them out into a thriving world. The Government were perhaps relieved that the strain on their resources and space was lessened. For whatever reason they didn’t pursue anyone who got out through the catacombs.

‘Grandpa?’ He looked down into the small rosy cheeked face of Peony’s son. ‘Can we shut the door now? It’s cold.’

Ash laughed. He wondered what it felt like to have grown up never knowing anything but the Outside? He hugged his grandson to him. ‘Do you know how lucky you are?’

The boy frowned. Then he smiled…a hint of his Rose in there. ‘Are you going to make me hot chocolate?’