Darkness (17 page)

Elias paused. I waited for him to continue. But he didn’t. It was as if something...
stopped
him from going on.

“I will say this much,” Elias said. “The Voice is the reason for all of this. The Community. The Realization. And it will be the reason for the Ascension.”

“So the Voice is trying to use you to take over the world?”

Elias shrugged. “I do not pretend to know her will. No mortal can. But yes – she has chosen the Community for this purpose. The reason why is a mystery. We of the Community also go by the name of ‘the Chosen,’ but informally we are the Community. We are the Chosen of the Voice, and we do her bidding. The fact that the five of you are here confirms that the prophecy she gave me is true.”

I remembered Elias saying that he had received this prophecy two days ago – about the same time Ashton had tried transmitting to Bunker 84.

“You would have heard our transmissions,” I said. “You didn’t prophesy anything.”

Elias shook his head. “I know there is nothing I can say to prove it to you. Askala spoke to me in a dream and let me know of your arrival. How do you think we knew to come up to meet you?”

“And by meet you mean attack?”

“I must safeguard the Community. None of you have been harmed, but I take safety very seriously.”

For some reason, I believed Elias. Maybe he hadn’t heard any radio transmissions, and Askala had known we were coming. The question was
how.
Then, I realized.

“The dragon.”

Elias looked at me questioningly.

“We were attacked by a dragon. The dragon could have let Ask...” I stopped myself, remembering not to say her name. “The dragon could have let the Voice know that we were coming.”

“Yes, it very well could have,” Elias admitted. “Indeed, the dragon, Chaos, was part of my vision, and that attack did happen two days ago. Whatever the case, I am right, in that the Ascension will begin soon.”

“You can do your Ascension without us,” I said. “I want me and my friends to be released.”

Elias regarded me with cold eyes for a moment before answering. “Let me tell you something, Alex. I’m not going to kill you. I’m not going to kill any of you. I believe you’ve come here for a purpose. And nothing shall be done until the Voice commands it. I sense that she has some purpose for you – something beyond what even I can speak or know.”

Elias’s eyes gleamed, filled with some sort of maniacal passion. He believed fully in what he was doing. It was not an act. I wasn’t sure whether Elias was merely a madman or if he was truly an agent of Askala.

“Let me ask you another question, Alex,” Elias said. “Have
you
been inside a Blight?”

I nodded, after a moment. “Yes.”

“And what did you find inside that Blight? Darkness? Light? Can you, who haven’t been marked, know the difference between the two?”

“Of course I know the difference.”

“And how do you know that what you have found is good? A feeling? Feelings are nothing more than chemicals in the brain. You must be
marked
by the truth, or you do not know the difference between good and evil.”

“Did the Voice tell you that as well?”

Elias nodded. “The Voice is truth. I am the mouth of the Voice. Therefore, whatever I speak is true.”

“And men cannot be
marked
by the Voice.”

“I tried to save them. But they only went insane. There can only be one Prophet. Nevertheless, they had to be killed so that they couldn’t pose a danger to the others.”

“What about me, then?”

“I have already said. I have no intent of killing you. I...sense something within you that I hadn’t in the others. Not that you are marked but...something similar. Something...dangerous. Yet it is not darkness. At least, not any darkness that I know.”

I had no idea what Elias was talking about. The only thing I did know was that he had mentioned my friends.

“You’ve spoken with them?”

Elias did not answer that, and I realized he had not meant to say so much. I focused on what Elias had been referring to. I was infected with my own version of the xenovirus – the
Elekai
version.
Elekai. Radaskim.
Could it be that two pieces of the Xenominds’ cosmic chess game were staring each other in the eyes this very moment? Did Elias know that? What would happen when he, or Askala, realized this?

“If men are so bad, as you say, then why are
you
still alive?”

“I am Chosen,” Elias said. “I do not deny my evil. And evil, sometimes, is even useful. Any time something evil must be done, I do so that the women may remain pure.”

I said nothing. I was so creeped out about this that there was nothing I could say. Besides, how could I argue with madness?

“Will you let us go free?” I asked.

Elias paused, as if considering that. “Not until all is accomplished. The Community’s time to leave Bunker 84 is drawing near. But we cannot do anything until every part of the Ascension is enacted. In time, the darkness will be conquered. I will see to that.”

“How do you plan on leaving the Bunker? You said the entrance below was caved in.”

“How indeed,” Elias said, with a smile. “We have our ways, as you soon shall see.”

Suddenly, Elias stood. “Come. I have more to show you. Maybe you will begin to see that what I say
isn’t
madness.”

I had my doubts about that. All the same, Elias walked past me and there was nothing I could do but follow him out the door.

Chapter 14

We passed the women in the commons. Their whispers hushed as Elias strode toward an open doorway. Our path brought us next to the blue-eyed woman – the one who did not seem to be completely on board with Elias. Elias barely gave her a glance as he passed. I got the sense that this woman was low on the social hierarchy here. Now more than ever, I felt that she might be a potential ally. But I could not speak to her here – if ever.

I followed Elias out of the commons. We were now in a tunnel, walking onward toward a pool of light cast from a light bulb above. These light bulbs were spaced at even intervals along the tunnel, but the dimness was hard to get used to. I tried to follow Elias’s tracks since he obviously knew where he was going.

We entered a large, open space filled with row upon row of plants. It was the Hydroponics Lab. It was far larger than the one in Bunker 108. We stood above on a tier. The plants gave a greenish glow from the grow lights above. The space was so large that I couldn’t see the far corners. All of the lanes were empty.

“Everyone will be gathering soon for the Ascension Feast,” Elias said.

We continued to walk until Elias led me back into another tunnel. The layout of Bunker 84 was much different from any other Bunker I had been in. There were lots of tunnels, and any time there was a space, it was massive and bewildering.

The tunnel widened, forking with, on the right side, steps leading downward, while the tunnel continued on the left side. Elias led me down these steps. I wondered where we were going until we stood before a door at the bottom of the three flights we had taken. Painted in faded yellow letters across the double metal doors was the word “Hangar.”

“You guys have an airplane?”

Elias gave a crooked smile. “Soon, you will see how our vision will be enacted.”

He pressed the red button, and the door hissed open, revealing a cavernous space – in the middle of which stood a spaceship that was at least twice the size of
Gilgamesh.

***

“Whoa.”

I had to restrain myself from running ahead. Elias calmly led me forward, pausing after a few steps.

“Go ahead,” he said. “You can go inside. It’s where we live.”

“Does it fly?” I asked.

“Of course,” Elias said. “Only we have never tested it. We reroute power from its fusion drive to power the Bunker. We use that power to pump water, which in turn provides fuel to create more power. Not to mention that the accommodations on
Aeneas
are far more hospitable than those of this Bunker.”

I was still walking forward, Elias’s voice echoing in the chamber. I then heard other voices – women from above returning to the ship. They had entered by a different direction. As more women filed into the hangar, talking and laughing, I turned back to Elias.

“Where are my friends being kept?”

“They are aboard
Aeneas
already. Secured, of course. You are the only one who got the grand tour.”

I had no idea
why
Elias was keeping us all alive, but I supposed I would find out as soon as I went aboard
Aeneas.
According to Ashton, there were only four spaceships constructed during the Dark Decade by the United States military. Obviously, he had been wrong. There were at least five, perhaps even more.

“Bunker 84 was designed to be independent of Bunker One,” Elias said. “It had complete autonomy. It was believed that if Bunker One made any important decision, they needed a check in case it was the wrong choice. Bunker 144 was also part of this process, though of course, 144 was one of the first to go offline.” Elias chuckled. “I don’t know what they were thinking, constructing a Bunker in the Arctic.”

“Three Bunkers making sure each one didn’t get too strong – sounds like checks and balances.”

Elias raised an eyebrow. “I am surprised you know about that.”

I didn’t bother to tell Elias about how we learned about the Old World government in my time at Bunker 108. As we continued to look at the
Aeneas,
it powered on. The lights from its dozen or so ports glowed and filled the hangar with an iridescent glow. The craft was long and angular. It clearly had more than one deck – perhaps as many as three. It appeared to have the same amount of thrusters as
Gilgamesh,
only they were larger.

I stared upward to see a large exit tunnel rising ever upward.

“So this ship has stayed docked here ever since Dark Day?”

Elias nodded. “We haven’t flown it, not even as a test.” He gave a crooked smile. “We have had no need to. That is – until now. The Voice was clear about the prophecy – as soon as you all came, it was time to being the Ascension.”

“Do you even know how to fly it?”

Elias nodded. “Lyn and I both do. What we know is by the book, but I am confident that I know what I’m doing.”

Before I could protest that, Elias strode forward. I followed after him.

***

We entered the
Aeneas
by way of the boarding ramp. It was longer and wider than the ones
Odin
and
Gilgamesh
had. I wondered what Ashton’s reaction had been to this massive ship
.

We stood before the blast door. I noticed an indentation around its edges where it could connect with an airlock.

The door slid open, revealing Lyn, the woman who had spoken to Elias earlier.

“Is everything ready?” Elias asked.

“Everything,” Lyn said. “The feast is near ready, and all will be gathered to hear your proclamation.”

“Good,” Elias said. “Prepare the rest of the Five and keep them under guard.”

Lyn nodded, glancing at me askance before turning on her heels and retreating into the light of the ship.

“She is skeptical of you,” Elias said. “But you cannot be anyone other than who I foretold about just yesterday.” He sighed. “I think Lyn just expected the Voice to give us more time to prepare. But the time is now, because it has been commanded.”

He stepped into the ship and I crossed the threshold after him. The door shut behind, the lock clicking into place.

We had entered a wide atrium. If this were
Gilgamesh,
we would be standing in the wardroom. But this space appeared to be far larger than that. One corridor led aft to our left, and another ran aft in the far corner of this main “anteroom.” Between the two corridors was a staircase that led to a second deck. To the right of that staircase, a flight of steps led downward, probably to a large cargo bay. Toward my right, a large central corridor led forward – probably to the bridge.

In the center of this anteroom, two long metal tables had been set up, around each crowded twenty or so chairs, for a total of forty. It looked as if there was space for the entire Community and its guests. The ship’s interior was white and kept clean – much cleaner than the rest of the Bunker. I guessed since this was their main home, the Community kept it well maintained. It probably had enough bunks for all of the Community members.

Several women and children already sat at the far table. The women wore dresses made from whatever scraps of fabric they had managed to scrounge in the Bunker – this usually meant sheets or old clothing. I wondered why they did not wear the vestments typical of Bunker dwellers – hardy pants, usually of camo, and wear-resistant shirts. I guessed, after fifteen years, even Bunker clothes would get worn down.

“Where are my friends?” I asked.

At the sound of my voice, the women turned and looked at me suspiciously.

“They are being kept aft,” Elias said. “They will be brought out when dinner is served. Then, I will reveal the details of the Ascension.”

When Elias had first mentioned the Ascension, I thought the word had been metaphorical. Now, in the context of the spaceship, it felt more literal.

“You’re going to fly this damn thing, aren’t you?”

Elias smiled as more women and children filled the anteroom, coming in from behind and from the stairs that led down from the second deck. As they took up their seats, the anteroom was filled with their chatter – though it felt a bit subdued. I guessed everyone was nervous at having new people inside – people they were taught to recognize as containing “darkness.” I found this fear ironic, considering I was completely outnumbered and would likely be killed if I went against the grain in any way. If these women had been taught that men were evil for their entire lives, then it made sense that they were suspicious of me. I searched for the brown-haired woman with blue eyes I had seen earlier, but she wasn’t present at the moment.