The Last Revolution (21 page)

“Remember our story?”

She nodded. “We’re only going to get one shot at this. Let’s do it.”

Alden followed Kira down the street and then into the entrance of the pub. The inside had seen better days and it smelled like helium-3. Steam pipes stretched across the ceiling. The area in front of them was cluttered with dingy tables and patrons. The ambient sound of the pub disappeared as everyone watched them move up to the bar. The hostility was palpable.

“Charming place,” Alden whispered.

She nodded. “Follow my lead.”

The bartender seemed unusually cold, even for this place. He ignored their arrival, and scrubbed away at several glasses. Alden made out half a tattoo, barely visible under his sleeve.

“Hello,” Kira said.

The bartender barely looked up.

“Could we get two Jamesons straight up?”

He ignored them for a few more minutes, until he finally pulled the rag out of the glass and set them both back down on the shelf. He pulledtwo glasses down, and filled them with a caramelized liquid. He dropped them on the bar and slid them over. “Hundred twenty credits.”

Kira swiped her deck over the digital reader.

“Thanks for the tip,” the bartender grunted.

Kira smiled. “I like your bar.”

He didn’t bother turning back around.

Kira continued, “It seems clean…no Terrans.”

“It’s against the law to segregate,” he responded.

One of the drunken customers on their left uttered an expletive in agreement.

“Then I guess you’ve heard about the bombing in New Tranquility?”

“Who hasn’t?”

“It serves them right for bringing more soldiers up here.”

“It’s an invading enemy if I’ve ever seen one,” the patron slurred.

Several other people sitting at the bar nodded in agreement.

“Shut your trap,” the bartender snapped at them.

Alden watched Kira take a sip of her drink. He wasn’t sure what she was getting at, but it didn’t appear to be working. This was going to be a lot more difficult than he’d realized.

“I actually grew up in New Tranquility,” she said. “What about you?”

The bartender slammed another glass down on the bar. “Look lady, I don’t know who you are and I don’t care. It’s time for you and your friend to go.”

“We want to get involved,” Alden blurted. The words had left his mouth before he’d had the chance to think them through. The bartender just stared at him. Another calculated risk, hopefully this one worked out better.

“Get involved in what?” He leaned in.

“The resistance,” Alden said, holding his ground.

“Did I hear that you’re interested in getting involved?” A man walked up. He stepped into the space between them. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Pleasure is all mine,” Kira responded, smiling.

He took her outstretched hand and kissed it gently. “So what would you like to do?”

“We just want to help. We don’t even know what needs to be done.”

The man had his back to Alden, cutting him out of the conversation. “What’s a pretty lady like you doing in a dirty place like this?”

“I’m Kira, from L9. This is my husband Alden. We’re tired of the bloodshed; we want to get involved. We want to kick the Council off Luna.”

The hair on the back of his neck stood up. Something was about to happen. The drunken patron’s eyes looked over his shoulder. Alden instinctively moved his head to the right as a glass bottle flew past his face and crashed into the wall behind the bartender.

He pushed off from the bar just as two guys rushed him from behind. This was not how it was supposed to go! He dodged several rapid-fire punches and used the assailant’s momentum to push him head first into the bar. Deflecting a kick from the second person, he was able to land a blow into their rib cage.

Kira let out a startled yell and jumped back. Three more people threw their table over and ran at him. It was all he could do to block their shots and send them sprawling out of the way without seriously injuring anyone.

The man grabbed Kira by the wrist. “What are you really doing here? Who do you work for?”

“We just want to help!” Kira responded. “We were told this was the place to go.”

There was a great crash in the distance. Screams rang out. Dozens of people were running past the bar outside. Someone hollered, “They’re locking down L3, rounding up anyone that isn’t licensed.”

There were a few stifled screams from inside the bar, but it was immediately disrupted as dozens of police officers crashed through the thin walls. The man who had been holding Kira looked stunned, unsure how to react. The patrons that tried to swarm the officers were tackled as more guards flooded the room.

One guy attempted to put up a fight. He threw a punch, dropping one of the police officers. He was blindsided by a club to the face. He fell to the ground, motionless and bleeding. That was all it took. People ran off in all directions.

Several officers sprinted towards him with steel clubs in hand. Alden figured he could sustain a few attacks, but those clubs were meant for breaking bones.

He avoided the first strike, grabbed the officer’s baton and gave him a strong kick. The man released the weapon as he fell. Alden swung and landed a blow into the arm of the second officer. Several soldiers charged Kira and the stranger. He let go of Kira, and tried to defend himself, but he took a club to the face. He dropped like a sack of rocks. Suddenly a gun fired and Alden’s right shoulder lurched back in searing pain. He saw the horror in Kira’s eyes.

Alden swung the club at the officer who had just fired at him. He landed a debilitating blow against his temple and the man slumped to the floor. Alden flipped the steel rod in his hand and then flung it across the room at the guard that had just hit the stranger.

The metal connected with the back of his head. Alden was over the pile of guards around him and across the room in a matter of seconds. Easily weaving between their clumsy blows, he landed a flurry of hits against anyone who stood in his way.

Alden grabbed Kira’s arm. “We have to go now! Soldiers with guns will be here any minute.”

“We can’t leave him.” Kira pointed at the stranger sprawled out on the floor.

“We can’t risk it. We have to go now!”

“He’s our only way in, we have to.”

Alden sighed; she was right. He bent down and picked the man up, threw him over his shoulder and then moved to the back of the bar. They were partially obscured from the chaos in the street.

“Wake up, wake up!” Alden slapped the man’s face.

His eyelids separated and the first moments of consciousness registered on his face. “What’s going on, what happened?”

“You were attacked, but Alden saved you,” Kira said. “The police are shutting down L3. They’re rounding up anyone that isn’t licensed. Is there any way out of here?”

He looked up at them through a half hazed stupor. “Huh, what?”

“We need to get out of here! Now!”

“Oh, umm…follow me.”

Alden put a hand under his arm and helped him to his feet. They ran the rest of the way through the bar and then down a back hallway. It sounded like the screams were getting closer.

The man came to an abrupt stop. He pounded his fist against a non-descript part of the wall. On cue, a small section sank back and disappeared. The man raced through with Kira and Alden closely behind. As they rounded the first corner, the door slid shut behind them.

Alden found himself wandering down a dimly lit tunnel. The walls had been heavily refined so the lunar regolith was almost indistinguishable from concrete. Flakes of dust glinted under the light of the lamps hanging from the ceiling. He could face almost any challenge that lay at the other end of the tunnel, but the thought of a thousand meters of dirt above his head made him shudder. He’d always been terrified at the thought of being buried alive. Unable to move, forced to endure the slow deprivation of oxygen. What a terrible way to go. Pushing the thought out of his mind, he picked up his pace until he was jogging next to the man.

“How’s your head?”

He shrugged. “I’ve been better.”

“What happened back there? Why were they raiding the lower levels?”

“They were rounding up anyone without papers. It’s not uncommon, but I’m sure it had to do with the explosion in New Tranquility. They’ll search all the colonies.”

“What’ll happen to the people they arrest, like the bartender?” Kira asked.

The man remained silent for several moments before answering, “They’ll be interrogated on level 2 for information about the resistance. After that they’ll be transported to
LDF1.
”

“What’s LDF1?” Alden asked.

He shook his head as he continued moving down the hall. “It’s the Council’s lunar prison—one way trip,” he mumbled. “We’re getting close.”

Dozens of indistinguishable tunnels crisscrossed back and forth. He was desperately trying to keep a mental map of their movements; it would be invaluable when it came time to clear the resistance out. Unfortunately, it was proving to be a nearly impossible feat.

“Lunar Detention Facility One or Traterous, as it’s also known. It’s where the Three Nations send the vilest, most dangerous individuals: terrorists, assassins, serial-rapists…political prisoners. Anyone they choose not to execute. I’ve been told the Council actually makes good money running that facility. It helps them finance other projects.”

“Sounds like a conspiracy theory more than a prison,” Alden replied. “I know quite a bit about the colonies and I’ve never heard of such a place before.”

The man slowed to a walk. “We’re here.” He put his hand on Alden’s shoulder and then looked him right in the eyes; there was something unnatural about his left eye.

“Trust me,” he continued. “It exists.”

They emerged into a cavernous room, several stories high. The man stood straighter and seemed a little more dignified than before. The room was bustling as people moved around. It appeared to be a makeshift hospital. The wounded were pouring in from every direction. There had to be dozens of passageways scattered across Apollo City to facilitate this many individuals arriving. How were they able to keep it so well hidden?

The only thing they all had in common were tattoos similar to the bartender’s. The area was in disarray; people hobbled around on crutches, or held pressure on bloody wounds. Others were being wrapped in any clean bandage that could be found. Anyone that didn’t appear to be injured hurried around to assist the walking wounded. They moved into the room towards the epicenter of the relief efforts. Amidst the chaos, an older woman orchestrated the aid, sending workers or wounded to their respective locations.

“Molly, how bad is it?” the man asked, exasperated.

“At least five dead, several dozen wounded, and even more missing.”

He sighed. “How many?”

“At least double the number of wounded.” Molly pointed at them. “Who are they?”

“This is Alden and Kira. They saved my life.”

A woman jogged towards them. “Where have you been?” She cast a suspicious glance in their direction and then whispered something into his ear. The man nodded in understanding as she spoke. Alden strained to hear what was said, but the dull roar of the room drowned out the sound.

Turning back to them, he said, “Thank you again.” He stretched a hand out to Alden and they shook. “There is something urgent that I must attend to, please make yourselves as comfortable as you can. I’ll find you later.” He nodded respectfully at Kira, and then walked away.

“So, are you just going to stand there, or can you give us some help?” Molly asked.

“Of course, what should we do?” Kira responded.

“Most of the wounded are pouring in from the other side of the room. Run over there and help with the flow. Send the most critically wounded here, closer to the supplies and doctors. Anyone that is less urgent should go to the other side of the room.”

“Got it.” Kira headed back the way they came.

Alden realized this was the first time they’d been separated since they met in Munich. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

“Hey, dreamy boy.” Alden turned and looked back at her. She was a very prickly individual. “Come with me, I need your help.”

Alden dutifully followed her through the crowd towards the middle of the relief effort. Several dozen crates were stacked around them. On top of each were stretchers and individuals in agonizing pain. Blood was everywhere.

“This is Dr. Klaus, he’ll tell you where he needs you.” With that, she turned and disappeared.

Alden stared down at an individual leaning over one of the patients. “Trust me, you’ll be just fine, I’m going to give you something that will keep you from feeling a thing.” He injected a small amount of fluid into the IV bag.

He turned and greeted Alden, frowning and whispering, “He’s a goner.” Dr. Klaus must have been in his early fifties, a full head of grey hair, slender build and probing eyes.

“There’s nothing you can do for him?” Alden asked.

“Nah. Hey, you want a little whisky?” He pulled a small flask from inside his jacket, and then cast a glance from side to side to see if anyone was watching. Alden shook his head, as Dr. Klaus tipped his head back and took a swig. “Ahh…burns. Good stuff. Okay, come with me.”

He grabbed Alden’s arm and headed through the bustling masses in the triage area. He approached another wounded patient. “Okay, I need you to hold his thigh really still.”

Alden obediently clasped it with all his might.

“I haven’t seen you around here before. What’s your name?”

Alden knew he should have had some quick answer, but he couldn’t think of anything that didn’t sound lame, so he just responded honestly, “Alden.”

“Well, Alden, pleasure to make your acquaintance. How’d you end up here?”

Just as Alden was about to answer, Dr. Klaus twisted the patient’s leg and snapped it back into place. The man let out a yell and sat bolt upright.

“You’re fine, just lay back down.” Dr. Klaus laid his hand on the man’s shoulder. The man passed out the moment his head touched the stretcher.

Dr. Klaus looked back at Alden. “So, you were about to tell me how you ended up here.”