Faltered Light

SPLASH! My boots upset the peace a puddle was enjoying. Gases jet from a labyrinthian array of pipes running along the walls, creating a grey haze that supplied the metallic junction with an abundance of rust. It was about midnight and my only companion was a crescent moon. This part of the city block was prohibited to the proletariat. I was no exception. Throughout the city were bunkers for the rogue proletariats. Specifically, I was heading toward bunker C, smuggling medical supplies in my rucksack and this is where I ran into my second encounter with a sentry. CLINK-CLINK-CLINK-CLINK! The worn treads of the sentry beat down on the vented flooring to my right. Behind the wall's corner, I could see its red searchlight through the haze, glazing every surface existence could offer to its red slit for eyes. Adrenaline began to course through my veins. Being only about a klick away from the bunker I figured I could out-maneuver this amalgamation of rusted metal until it lost me. I slung my rucksack around my shoulders and dashed onward. Passing right by the droid, it fixated its red beam directly into my eyes and almost stopped my heart in doing so. "So this is what their victims see last." I thought. Looking away, I continued the race for my life. Each footstep dinged against the grated floors, each one a little louder than the last. Like grinding metal, its treads tore up the metal flooring behind me unapologetically. THUM-THUM-THUM! Cannon rounds thunderously exploded at my flanks knocking me down and slamming my rucksack to the ground. My body felt numb, my mind confused, and my vision distorted. "This is it," I told myself.

FYOOM! A blue light flashed and silence followed. The sweat from my forehead began to beat onto the rusted floor as I swung my nose upward. Hissing behind me, the droid appeared lifeless. Smoke emitting from its chassis with vacant optics. I wobbled to my feet and took a gasp for air, unaware that I had stopped breathing for a minute. I began to hear light footsteps clanking toward my direction. My head on a swivel, I notice a silhouette in the hazy fog. "You're welcome." a feminine voice said calmly. Her visage became visible now. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, a large scar was strewn vertically across her face. Her attire looked rugged, however liberally plated with steel underneath. "Decided to race a sentry huh?" she stated sarcastically. "Thought he could use a little workout," I responded. I glanced at the droid and then back at her. She held up a weapon that appeared to be rigged from junk. "This gets em' down for a while and shorts their circuits." She said while cocking her head. "What's that in your bag?" she questioned as she pointed to my rucksack. "I'm heading to bunker C for a medical shipment." A few seconds passed in silence as she thought. "Come. We need to go before the sentry wakes back up," she spoke assertively. She turned her back and began to jog into the mist and I obediently followed. "How did you know I was here?" I Inquired of her. "The sentries aren't the only ones patrolling these parts you know. You made quite a bit of noise, so we need to hurry."

Still only about a klick away from the bunker we hastily arrived. We stopped at an abandoned, yet still functioning automated refinery. Inside, she lifted one of the floor panels to reveal a vaulted latch which she promptly opened. The tunnel appeared to be an endless abyss with only steel rungs to accompany the descent. "Do you have a name?" I asked while we descended the ladder. "Karida'' she responded. "I've never seen you around these parts before. Are you a new runner?" she questioned me. "This is my fourth run, but my first to this bunker," I said in response. She pulled a flashlight from her belt loop and aimed it downwards. FLASH... FLASH-FLASH. A moment passed before the same signal was repeated back at us. Metal screeching began to echo up the tunnel as the light began pouring through an opening vault door. Once we hit the floor, five armed guardsmen stood their ground. "He's with me," Karida said to them. They nodded their heads and began to close the door once we made our entrance. "Kari! Glad you made it back and with a friend I see." A man, about middle age in ragged robes, approached us. Kari did a small bow and I mimicked her movement. "This is Elder Zion, he's the guardian of this sanctuary and its people," she said to me. "It is a pleasure to meet you, stranger. So what brings you to bunker C, if I may ask?" he questioned me. "I've come with medical supplies from Health Citadel," I answered back. "Ah, I see. Come with me," he said. He waved his arm to me as he turned his back and began to walk down a dimly lit corridor. "We knew you were coming. We just didn't know when. Karida volunteered to keep lookout since she knows this place quite intimately" he said as he glanced back at Karida. "The Above wasn't always the metallic madness it is now," she said.

Now exiting the corridor we made our way to a vast and spacious cave formation with large tunnels in the walls, and sporting numerous shops and buildings composed of a mixture of sheet metal and stone. While passing by one of the shops, a small black book caught my attention. Karida seemed to notice my eyes straying as she elbowed my shoulder. "The bookstore has some wacky voodoo in there." she paused. "You should check it out once you're settled in," she told me. "Yeah, I'll give it a go," I responded. We made our way up a scaffold with wooden planks to support our footsteps. Following Elder Zion into one of the shallow tunnels, he presented to me a small, cozy-looking abode labeled "A-6". "This is where you will be staying. Make it your home. When you've rested, I would like to meet with you in my quarters," he said. "Where exactly are your quarters?" I asked. "The large spire in the middle of this sanctuary. I will let the guards know of your appointment. Tell them your room number when you get there," he answered back. "Big spire and room number, gotcha," I said to him. He nodded his head before hastily turning to leave. As I sat down on my bed, Karida reached for my rucksack I had laid on the ground. "I'll take this to medical. Rest easy," she said as she turned to leave. I laid my head down and before I could think about my day, I was asleep.

I awoke to feel refreshed. The covers felt heavy and my body cocooned underneath. I got up to make preparations to see Elder Zion as knocking began at my door. I opened it to see a figure with a gas mask in rugged clothes holding a small box. They laid it on the ground and walked away without saying anything. The box had a note that revealed the word "Compensation" on it. Opening it revealed to me 100 valued credit bills adding up to 20,000 credits in total. I was shocked. Generally, we were given food rations as thanks for our deliveries. I thought of venturing to the bookstore to check out the black book that caught my eye, but Elder Zion was expecting me. I traveled through what looked to be a market of some sort with a liberal amount of people making their errands. The tower was finely built from the same metallic structure seen above ground with wiring traveling up from the town below as if it were built from circuit boards. The guards piloted what appeared to be large, crude humanoid mechs wielding a prong grasper in one hand and another replaced by a belt-fed cannon. "A-6" I projected my voice over the noisy machinery. They sidestepped as the doors opened to a large vast hall. "A-6, right this way, sir."

A man, in a hooded robe, led me through a series of chambers up the spire with a hymn echoing throughout the building. I was led to the top of the spire where Elder Zion's quarters were located. Large metal doors creaked open to reveal a large dome-shaped room with candlesticks providing the lighting. At the end of the room was a stained glass figure to which Elder Zion was meditating in front of. "Welcome, I'd like you to take a seat with me," he said invitingly. I walked up a few steps to meet him on the red rug he sat on. He began to rise. "I have something I would like to give you as a gift if only you will accept it," he said. "What exactly am I accepting?" I asked. "What I would like to demonstrate is the ability to tap into your repressed traumas. You helped heal my people and I will help heal you," he answered. "Alright, so what do I do?" I questioned him. He answered back, "I ask that you relax and try to quiet your mind and focus on your breathing." He lifted a little black book from a nearby altar and opened it to a page that he had marked. With a concerned look on his face, he asked, "Are you ready?" "Always," I replied. I closed my eyes as he began reciting tongues while circling me with incense. My body was warm and I felt light-headed. My breaths began to prolong as I felt my heart beating. My vision mimicked a kaleidoscope with a rainbow of colors. I was traveling somewhere within myself. The shapes began to take hold as a scene; a wall, the floor, then a figure. The colors never found their places and everything looked to have a pink hue to it. I knew exactly where and when this was. My heart sank.

I was back with my father nearing the end of the Age of Discord when the light of man was becoming eclipsed by machine. There was a fire-fight taking place in the machine-made metroplex. We were in the sewer and had made it to the exit before my father stopped abruptly in his tracks. In a calm voice, my father said, "I have to go now, you'll be safe here." I stood behind a barred door and as he locked it, an explosion rang my ears. Dirt and dust polluted the air. "Don't stop running, someone will be waiting for you!" he yelled before turning to fire his weapon. Lasers flashed in the darkness and bullets flew through the air. I turned and bolted down the sewer. SPLASH! My boots upset the peace a puddle was enjoying. I was tired and wanted to stop running. I couldn't feel my legs. My vision was blurred but the wind broke the tears from my eyes.

The colors began to distort again. The walls morphed and everything began to kaleidoscope inwards. Thump-Thump. My heartbeat slow and strong. My breathing was long and heavy. I could feel the wetness on my face. The streaks of tears cutting down my face. My shirt was soaked. A ting rang throughout the room. As I opened my eyes a voice spoke, "Welcome back."