6.8 KiB
WARNING: incomplete
Chapter 2: Unexpected Idiots
With a sigh, Jason un-flicked a switch, tilted the sticks backward, and forced the mole to climb. Drill after drill after drill pushed it’s way through dirt and stone, climbing towards the surface, and fresh air. Ugly and unglamorous, the Drill Mole was certainly built for speed. At least underground.
Learning to pilot this thing was relatively easy - five hours curled up with the user’s manual was worth it - the hard part was convincing immigration that it was his personal construction vehicle, and not a weapon like most other Mechas. Still, those drills could serve the purpose if need be.
Five minutes. Ten minutes. Twenty minutes. How far down was he? He still couldn’t read the gauges properly…
Sunlight! Brilliant blinding sunlight flooded the cockpit, making Jason flinch in pain as his eyes failed to adjust. Slowly, color returned to the world. He had surfaced in a rocky plain.
He flung open the hatch, taking a deep breath of the Siberian air for the first time in hours. Recycled air did not agree with him, nor he with the recycled air. He dropped to the ground and brushed himself off, before producing a small comb and fixing his blonde, trim hair. You never know who you’ll meet out here, and he always tried to leave a good impression.
He began to take in his surroundings. There were shrubs and rocks, some gravel, rocks and yellow grass. The hole he had left behind was already beginning to collapse. He had read something about support beams, but he didn’t really need them. The dirt covered Drill Mole - a drill on each arm and it’s nose - stood grinning it's familiar custom painted grin.
In the distance was a large pink mountain range, while behind him was what looked like some kind of shelf, or the inside of a crater. He turned forward-
Pink. Big. Big. Way bigger than he thought. Jason’s brain clicked into place, and he was hit with a wave of perspective. Ahead of him was the Catastrophe. Above him were the dancing lights of multiple barriers. Behind him was the lip of the great impact crater.
He couldn’t contain a jump for joy, nor a triumphant scream. His idea had worked! The barriers can’t affect you if you’re underground! Oh how the ladies back home will see him, decked out in gold and jewels from selling the alien technology he finds.
He turned back to the Drill Mole and froze. In his excitement, he had stepped towards the Catastrophe, and seemingly through a barrier. He could see it clearly now, with the glare of the sun no longer between the barrier and himself.
He had aimed to surface well within the third barrier, but he had fallen short. Through some chance, he had surfaced just outside a barrier; probably the third. Shimmering lights showed that the mole was poking it’s caterpillar tires and it’s nose through.
How had he crossed? The barriers were supposed to be extremely dangerous, more dangerous than what was inside the Catastrophe. And yet, he had stepped through this one unharmed. Maybe it was broken?
Confident in his deduction, he took a large step through the third barrier.
His head was pounding.
That was the first thing that came to mind. He tried to lift his hands, but couldn’t. He tried to let out a moan, but couldn’t. He tried to open his eyes.
Jason was on some kind of bed, strapped in. The tiny room around him was shuddering slightly, with a regular rhythm that matched the pounding in his head.
He wiggled a hand free, and loosened the straps. Slowly, he sat up, just barely avoiding a knock to the head, and took in his surroundings.
He was in a Mecha, that was for sure. Something with legs and a regular gait. At the front was a small doorway, through which he could see the back of a pilot’s chair. The back of the Mecha clearly opened up to allow entry - that would look quite silly.
“Hello?” He called.
“You’re awake?” A voice replied.
“Who are you, and where are you taking me?”
“Straight to the point. I like that. The name’s Bear, we’re heading to a safehouse. Don’t worry, your Mecha’s following behind on a radio tether.”
Jason looked around for a fridge or something, he was parched. Finding a small box designed for food - what were they called? - he found, and then downed a bottle of water.
“Help yourself. I’m not one to be greedy when it comes to necessities. How are you holding up?”
“What happened? I feel like I went on a bender.” Jason rubbed his head. The throbbing wasn't going away.
“You crossed the third barrier, by the looks of it. You see the bottle of bourbon there?” Bear was talking about a sealed bottle of- how old was this?
“Drink it. You’ll need it for the second barrier.”
“Wait!” Jason exclaimed, as he stood too fast. “I’m trying to get to the Catastrophe.”
“Oh? There’s nothing there for you, trust me.”
“Stop and turn around! I can get through the barriers!”
Suddenly, the Mecha stopped. The pilot’s chair swiveled around and lowered to floor level, revealing an fat, gruff looking man sporting a beard. A smile crossed his face; a strange look look of genuine kindness.
“Now then.” Bear began, “How? How do you expect to get back out?”
“Underground!” the word made Bear drop his facade.
“Listen.” Jason continued. “If you’re deep enough, the barriers won’t affect you. I reached outside the third barrier without a single thing going wrong.”
Bear leaned back in his chair, his face a look of cynicism, but his eyes betraying understanding.
“You know the barriers only affect you when you try to leave, right mate? You can get as close as you like and you’ll be fine. But if you try to get back out, that venus fly trap will kill you. And before you try, you’re not the first one to try digging under the barriers. That doesn’t work either.”
Jason just stared with his mouth slightly agape. How stupid he must look, not knowing something like that. It only kills you on the way out. Suddenly, the encounter with the third barrier made sense.
“Listen.” Bear continued “These are dangerous areas. You’re lucky I found you when I did. You’re welcome to stay at my safehouse, but you’ll need to pull your weight.”
Jason thought for a moment.
“How do I get to the Catastrophe, and get back out again?”
“I’ve been trying to figure that out for ten years. If you do, let me know.”
With that, Bear turned around, raised his chair, and began the Mecha’s incessant march forward.
“What’s the second barrier like?” Asked Jason, as he made himself comfortable in the back.
“Horrible. It’s like being drunk.”
“What’s horrible about being drunk?”
“Ask a glass of water.” With that, Bear let out a thunderous belly laugh at his own joke, while his - captive - audience mentally rolled his eyes.
Written by Kayne Ruse