Intentionality (19 page)

The sub is groaning, struggling to respond whilst all the time I hear a scratching of metal on rock. The sub is caught, possibly hooked on the jagged rock by one of the protruding bits of metal from the outside of the hull.

It is time to help. Communicate to Willem. I know what to do and exactly how but I will need his force too. We only have a few seconds before we are struck down again.

“Willem, remember when we fought off that guard. We actually moved him with that repelling force. Do you think we could project outwards to push this sub off the rock?”

This was clearly a great idea. Willem is bounding over.

“Incoming from the right Ma'am, they must be surrounding us… definitely more than one vessel above on the surface… just picking us off like fish in a tank,” bellowed a second guard

The moment is now. This is what I can do to attempt to save my rescuers. This is payback time. I must not fail.

Willem caught both my look and hand simultaneously. The fear and survival instinct in us both kicked in. I can feel a magnetic pressure very much like the ones in my dreams. Almost immediately a tremor just about apparent to the eye is beginning to spread away from us. It is clear but wave like and getting stronger. I am struggling to stay on my feet; the heat emanating from our palms is immense. It feels like my hand is submerged in boiling water. The wave has reached the shell of the sub. My fear is that we are not yet strong enough to push through. We have to, it's imperative that we save these people. The metal is swelling outwards, further strain to the shell and it will give way, allowing the frozen water an opportunity to gush in and drown us. I was wrong, a silly, immature, naive suggestion. I am not a super hero and never will be. I have endangered the very people trying to save me!

“Mae, what is happening? My fingers are on fire and my bag has just been catapulted across the room!”

That can't be Lily not at a time like this!

“Lily, this is a force that we project when we are in danger. I have only experienced it twice before, however Willem has also been in this situation and so I think you are feeling it too because of the connection. We need your help we are in grave danger. Please focus your mind on pushing something really heavy away from you. Imagine that this thing is frightening, that it will attack you, if you can't hold it away.”

“Ok Mae, I am picturing Natura! Will that do?”

“Ma'am we need to evacuate this sub, dress yourself in your wetsuit and prepare to dive towards the sea bed we can regroup there.” Another order from Luke meant for Mrs Jones.

At the last moment my sister has put the final piece of the jigsaw together producing a trident of power within us. Our rippling wave thrusts forward, pushing through the metal casing like air through a curtain. I am counting; one, two, three, four… boom, a blast of energy hits the rock and ricochets back towards the sub. There is the sad cry of ripping metal, then an enormous jolt that lifts the sub clean away. Craig is agog but is reacting as I watch. We are diving down, unfortunately we are a fraction too late to avoid the first missile. We take a direct hit to the tail end of the sub. Our rudder is sent hurtling into the passenger compartment, trapping the Grand Acer to the wall and seriously wounding two Mono guards who leapt in to protect Mrs Alder as it sailed past her legs. Most passengers are struggling to maintain balance and others are completely knocked onto the flooding floor. The impact has not completely ripped the sub in two; we are not taking on board water at an alarming rate. Willem and I have bought a little time and that is a seriously important commodity when you are recalculating your own survival, stuck as we were on that ledge, we would have sustained a direct hit. I shudder to contemplate who we would have lost in that scenario. Eventually we will have no option but to go into the water. The wetsuits will save us for a matter of minutes. So it is clear that we will need to choose both the right time and a realistic, effective plan if we are to survive. I have stopped, and once again find myself as a bystander trying to take in the damage, assess where I am needed, versus where I will be in the way of the natural chain of command. A quick glance informs me that Nurse Spendlove is bandaging Mrs Alder's leg, whilst others are moving to the drier end of the cabin. Craig is reassuring the passengers and it is evident that Willem is calculating not only what we as a trident are capable of, but also how we can use that power once more to regain some sort of safe passage up to the surface. Emerging then out of the cacophony of sound, I can make out a clear pleading wail. It is The Grand Acer, Nurse Spendlove makes a move to get to him, comfort him, but the sub groans with a deep despairing sadness, a virtual warning. We can't take the chance to reach out to him. He is bleeding too badly; even from a distance we can tell that he will not survive to see his girls again. We know this, yet even more harrowingly he knows this. I cannot allow him to fade away alone at the other end of a stark unforgiving piece of metal. I have to go to him, comfort him in his sorrow.

“Willem I am going to the Grand Acer, I am not leaving his side until the last moment.”

“Mae, have you completely lost your senses? That end of the sub is unstable, if your weight is too great for that mangled structure to support you, more than just metal will be lost into the ocean. I cannot let that happen, you are our hereditary link. The only proof I have that my great grandma survived.”

“Ok, prepare me for the cold and the ocean but I am going to that poor man.”

If I can edge slowly towards the back of the sub, I can test for the strength of the structure as I go with a heavy bag that I have found. It is full of supplies and is in effect replaceable and unfit for purpose, there is not one person on this sub that is feeling hungry right now! If it can't take the weight of the bag, it won't hold me. The screeching of metal continues as the aftershock waves roll around us but the floor holds firm. Pretty soon I am close enough to touch the Grand Acer. He is breathing heavily under the mangled metal. He can just reach my palm with his fingertips. I squeeze gently which brings him round from his hypnotised stare.

“Look after my babies, let them never be in any doubt that I loved them more each and every day. Don't fill them with the horror of my passing. They have suffered enough. Tell them simply that I have gone to be with their mother in a place filled with flowers, warm nights and love.”

His breathing became shallow within the next few minutes, the cold, shock and the blood loss helped to speed his passage.

Eventually he closed his eyes for the last time, sighed and passed away from the horror of this situation, to his adored wife and their shared vision of paradise. Tears rolled down my face joined by huge heaving breaths. He was in the end a father first; no one else had known that about him. Sitting as he was but half an hour ago with an air of superiority amongst an uprising. He was simply looking out for his family, just the way I am attempting to do.

I can now feel a weight in my head teamed with the sound of whispering, more like chanting actually. It is my sister. I think that she is praying. I also now realise that I did not close the line of communication. She will have seen and heard everything in my thoughts, feelings and imaginings. She has been dragged into reality. One that she is ill prepared for; she is me at the beginning of this journey although she has the misfortune to be experiencing it at warp speed.

“Lily listen, I am coming for you. You need to go with Julia and Elizabeth. Do not go to the preparation cylinder. It is not what you have been led to believe. You will need to trust me and those girls. They are working for the people I am with right now. You must promise not to say anything about what you have just experienced through me.”

“Mae, I don't understand but you know that I trust you with my life. The preparations have felt a little abrupt and military in the last few hours. I was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable. Come back to me safely. You are as always my first priority. I am you; you are me, forever that shall be.”

Suddenly I became aware of the danger we were in. Something had to be done effectively and immediately to avoid further losses. I looked around at the movement in the cabin. This was no longer measured and efficient. In its place was a developing vision of chaos. Some people were shouting orders and others obeying in blind panic. No one wanted to drown in here but no one dare take the decisive role towards an escape either. The options weren't welcoming; we would drown in here or die of hyperthermia out there. They were our stark yet real options. I took a moment to think and to communicate with Willem.

“If we go up, can we guarantee finding a gap in the ice? Is there an emergency dinghy?”

“Yes to both, we slept for most of the journey. Our sub was in the process of surfacing when we received a warning from the mainland guard. They questioned our intentions. We responded with a message that we were delivering you, but they heat scanned the sub and discovered more bodies than we had suggested. That's when they began the attack.”

“So Willem, those rocks that we nearly hit are in fact the mainland?”

“Yes I suppose they are.”

“If we wait until dark, could we inflate our lifejackets to get to the surface quickly and then climb the last rock face? Surely The Resistance will be looking for us if we don't arrive at the port in time. Failing that we could take the dingy and a couple of us could row to the Mono port. The guards will assume we drowned. They won't be expecting survivors from a double missile attack. My only question is why they were suspicious in the first place? I thought Intentionality was a peaceful place.”

The decision was made there and then. Willem and I would leave first just in case anything went wrong. Apparently the knowledge and evidence I hold within my brain is invaluable to the cause. I am also able to communicate with The Grid; Willem is able and willing to protect me. We would work to persuade The Resistance to come back urgently and mount a rescue mission. Meanwhile in pairs the rest of the survivors, eight in total would also leave the sub in ten-minute intervals, rising to the surface in the relative safety of the moonlight and there they would begin to paddle to shore in the life raft. Next would be Mrs Jones with Luke and so on. Craig and his guard would leave last. He was tasked with sending a non-stop mayday call to his team through the communication panel of the sub, we weren't convinced it had survived the collision, but even if there was a minute chance that they were receiving us it was worth attempting. The quicker we were out of the ocean the better, before any more of us and in particular those ready to lead a new government succumbed to the below freezing polar temperatures.

That just left the body of the Grand Acer. I vowed to return to reclaim his body and give him the burial he deserved when our mission was complete.

We sat for hours in the cold damp and eventually dark carcass of our sub. We had been able to stem the flow of water with the seat cushions however it was now lapping at our knees. It was time…

We had the luxury of the air lock to allow two passengers out at a time, without flooding the rest of the cabin, but once out of the sub the team really were alone in the freezing depths, guided by the rock face and the trajectory of the life vest in its attempt to race towards the surface.

All too quickly it was just the two of us in the air lock. I forced a smile and Willem squeezed my hand. We placed our foreheads together, took a deep breath each before Willem released the catch, forcing us both out into the treacherous waters and finally to the surface. Not the route I had followed in my childhood dream! I clung to both of my lifesavers, Willem on my right, my vest on the left. The sensation was strangely comforting, like moving on the travelators in The Nest. I kept my eyes closed, head down and listened to the gush of water as it moved past me at speed. Just before my lungs had burnt through my ribs and my brain had begun making its own escape plan, we surfaced with a boom and tidal wave. The euphoria was overwhelming; it streamed through my veins and into my voice box. I let out a cheer followed by a drowning cough as I gulped in a mix of seawater and air combined. We were alive, well and most definitely looking at the starry, night sky. What an entrance into the world. I had been reborn into a new world, though one where we would fight for our rights, NOT be told what they are. A world where I would fend for myself, but value what I had properly earned.

We paddled, clinging to our life vests, towards the relative security of the shore. Our journey took a lot longer than I anticipated because of the tide. Initially I couldn't help but relish the sharp feeling of the water on my face and the keen taste of salt that lightly stung my lips, the divine fresh fragrance of rotting fish, seaweed and ice. However that novelty was short lived as the stark reality of imminent death through hyperthermia hit me like a wave in a storm. How was I going to travel that distance, with only my lifebuoy and rudimentary swimming experience? Would my wetsuit really limit the death of my extremities? Would I be eaten by unknown underwater creatures?

Willem had of course already worked out to the second, the amount of time we would be safe, enveloped as we were in the frozen water, together with the speed with which we needed to paddle. Our swift, direct route through the waves would allow us to stay alive, but would also mean that our arrival on the rocks, rather than the beach would result in an immediate climb with frozen fingers and numb toes. Not the ideal tools for gaining purchase on the slimy, ice laden surface.

Still we made it. My suit is pretty much shredded, due to a mixture of clumsy attempts to move my legs upwards and the shards of rock, which protruded from the wall. We know from the human voices, which could be interpreted as screams or cheers, that some of the others have surfaced safely; but to look would be to lose focus. We don't know who is thrashing, failing, and ultimately dying in the icy water and who is succeeding. I hope that the flailing is no one. Everyone in our party is valuable to the cause, not to mention cared for by a family member, praying like Lily for their safe passage.

We have stopped to rest for a while at the top of the cliff. The sky is dark, cloaked in mystery and incredibly beautiful. Every area in front of my eyes is decorated with clean, bright iridescent white diamonds of light. The icy ground is shimmering amongst the dark rock and the sky is aglow, spotted with torch like star beams. Never have I felt so open, lost or vulnerable yet free.

My thoughts have wandered on several occasions to the Grand Acer and his watery grave. Strangely I am concerned for his feelings.

Will he be lonely?

Will he be safe?

Are there afterlife beings that may be able to guide him to his wife?

Could there be the possibility of those mermaids from the old stories of the world before the Evo-shift, finding him and bringing him to life? They may assume that he is a lost sailor.

Of course I know that this is delusional positive thinking at best, the ramblings of a person about to lose the plot at the worst. What else do I have at this moment but hope?

“I can see that you are cold Mae, come closer, can you see the lights? They are coming from the landing pier and further along is your first view of the perimeter fence. I thought you may need a reason to continue with your awesome effort.”

“What is that glorious glow? The one with the golden hue topped in a rosy pink halo? I want to go there. It looks warm and inviting, opulent, precious yet protective.”

“That is the glow of Intentionality, the city that never rests. As you can see its presence is felt for miles around. Natura demands a twenty-four-hour work ethic. The Acers are devout followers. Many scientists work the night shift for months and as a result the lighting has been developed to replicate that of the daylight. Most Acers never see the night sky in its true natural beauty.”

“I thought they had the best that the world could give, but they are contained just as I was, aren't they? I was to leave one prison only to swap it for a slightly bigger one with a different view. This has to change Willem; we survived the Evo-shift to ‘live' long, prosper even, not to just exist.”

“My plan is to trek towards the pier tonight if you can make it. There, we will wait for the arrival of The Resistance search party. I know of a small container nearby. It is well equipped with emergency survival resources, not the height of luxury but we will be hidden and able to regain our strength. I don't intend to find the others. Craig and Luke will help them; they both know how to navigate this barren area and will get the survivors to the safety of The Resistance headquarters, through the tunnels. We are better off remaining separate until we are sure that our paths have not been tracked.”

“This plan of yours depends on the belief that I am able to trek across that barren landscape, Willem. I have been spoilt my entire life. What makes you think I am fit enough?”

“I am continually amazed by your resilient ‘will' to survive Mae. You will make the trek because you have no other option. It won't be a stroll around the travelators, along those clinical corridors but it will be real, an adventure.

“We will change things this way. I can feel the gathering support and now that we know Natura's true colours, we are even more certain that she must be stopped. We will find The Resistance waiting for us. I am certain that they will not leave without you, as their secret weapon, but just as a backup, you could attempt to contact Lily. She has the Grand Acer's daughters with her remember. They are capable of using the internal communications within The Grid to access an outside line. I can pass on to you the authority code; with it they will be listened to and trusted as informants.”

This is a very good idea, one that gives us extra options. I like options, I haven't had them before. A secret container with ‘survival resources' also has a strong appeal at this moment, whilst I am in fact standing encased in ripped rubber, with my teeth chattering.

“I shall communicate with Lily but let's be very clear about how much information I am to relay, before I give her facts that may get into the wrong hands. She is still cloaked in a world of privilege and deceit. I am sure the events in the sub have awakened her suspicions but remember even WE weren't truthful with the facts during that emergency were we?”

“True, but she is your sister Mae, she is gifted and highly intelligent. She is capable of putting the evidence together and of working out what needs to be done to keep you both safe. Lily has had to do that her whole life. It is she that is a skilled deceiver; she has needed to be in order to cover for your disabilities plus of course your shared twin-to-twin communication. Tell her what she needs to know. She is in too much danger to be told half-truths. She is also the only advantage we hold at the moment.”

We decided to begin the hike while I composed myself. How was I to inform my sister that our life's goal was all one elaborate lie? A lie so grand and powerful that even the workforce and surrounding city failed to notice. A lie built on greed derived from the success of the elders we had modelled ourselves on.

By the time we had forged ahead, away from the ice covered rocks, over heathlands and onto what should be the making of an old road system, I was ready. We had discussed how I would show Lily a vision of what I had experienced in The Grid room. I would then explain that Willem and his group were willing to change this way of life…to improve the status of the Monos. I know that is also close to her heart. Finally I would tell her to relay our destination to Elizabeth and Julia, who must in turn contact The Resistance.

However, I didn't get time to execute this well planned tale because along the road came the recognisable hum of a vehicle. Willem duly threw me into the verge. I hit my head as the Jeep trundled past, searchlight a blaze but thankfully scanning the opposite side of the broken road. Two thoughts could be assumed from this passing; the Jeep was a Resistance vehicle and therefore we missed our opportunity to be saved or… more likely it is a guard vehicle and we have gained the upper hand. Without being able to communicate we are unsure of our next move. That Jeep will be forced to turn around in a few hundred metres. Dawning on my slack thought processes is also the worry that if it is a guard Jeep, searching for survivors from the sub ‘accident' they will see people still thrashing in the water and send for back up. Our efforts will then have been futile.

“Willem we have to signal to that Jeep. It will search and find those last few survivors rendering our plan obsolete. We can't secretly take over The Grid if half of our main players are imprisoned within the walls already!”

“I told you Mae, it might just be a regular patrol.”

“Can you honestly live with taking that risk? Clearly the guards are not peace keeping this evening, I know this because I am standing in a torn wetsuit on dry land in the middle of nowhere, having narrowly missed drowning in a submarine wreck caused by the very guards who are meant to protect the people of Intentionality!”

“Ok, put like that I am willing to consider options. You have five minutes to come up with a plan.”

“No Willem! I don't think you are seeing the bigger picture here. If that Jeep goes over the brow of the hill it will be too late. I am going to cause a disturbance followed by a quick getaway. There is a huge trench to the right of us, after rearranging their travel plans; I will launch myself into it before the passengers can respond.”

Gathering all of my residual power, I began pushing a wave of thought at the huge boulder just beyond the Jeep. It was positioned on a slight incline. I assumed that with luck as it wavered; it may roll in front of the path on which the Jeep was travelling. I just wasn't strong enough to push on my own. I realised that pulsing my power would in effect rock it much better. As I did this Willem joined forces, causing a much greater effect on the boulder. It rolled like a ball on a shiny gym floor. We both simultaneously released our pressure, slowing the momentum of the rock just in time for the Jeep to notice but not enough time for it to brake. There was a screech, a twisting of metal and a gust of dust, followed by a lot of shouting as the guards escaped just before the engine lit up the sky with a plume of orange flames.

Willem and I launched ourselves into the trench only to realise too late that the gap was in fact a hole. We fell in slow motion, turning in the air within the small space both landing with a thud on our backs, which echoed around the cylindrical walls of The Grid service tunnels!

Result!

However my joy was short lived as I realised that Willem was breathing through gritted teeth, rocking steadily and worse still cradling a rather misshapen wrist.

Great, serves me right for celebrating a success. I should have known an idea of mine would only end in a negative.

“I am so sorry Willem it's entirely my fault. Are you in a lot of pain, do you think that it's broken?”

“Mae, you are going to need to communicate to Lily. It's not my arm that I'm struggling with as much as the large piece of metal sticking into my leg. You were right though. I spotted the uniforms of the guards as I leapt into the trench. They were not from The Resistance search party. Your quick thinking may just have saved the lives of those in the water, including my mother and father. I am so very grateful for your bravery. The Jeep should not have exploded like that, I can only assume therefore that they must have been carrying explosives on board.”

Come to think of it, there is a lot of blood pooling around Willem. How did I not notice that? One thing is certain; we have no emergency medical supplies. We are completely obvious, sitting as we are in the middle of a long straight stretch of tunnel, injured and lost.

I do now need to bring Lily into the picture. If the plan with Elizabeth and Julia is on track, Lily will be in these underground passages somewhere.

“Mae, before I pass out, I need to tell you the code and remind you that you are still wearing your tracker. They will be able to use the signal emitted to find us.

“The code name is Morris Ward. He was a very influential Mono during the days just after the Evo-shift. He took a group of explorers to the south in an attempt to find help but he was never in contact again. The hope is that he settled somewhere, forging a new frontier.” Willem's voice trailed off then into a whisper, brave as ever, he tried to smile and reached for my hand to give it his signature ‘everything's going to be alright' squeeze. However it clearly won't be if I can't figure out how to stop the blood escaping.

I have begun a futile attempt, trying to rip my suit with my frozen fingers. I think that I have watched a film about emergency first aid after the Evo-shift. I think that I need to wrap it just above the metal on Willem's leg. I need to reduce the flow of blood. Luckily I have located another sharp piece of metal on the floor; I presume that they are both from the ceiling collapse. If I am uncharacteristically careful I may be able to use it to cut the suit and not me in the process. Next I shall look to steady his arm and then when he is comfortable I shall contact Lily.

I have become so cold that my hands are trembling. I have no awareness of where my fingers end and the thick rubber begins. But Willem looks very pale, his breathing is shallow. The rubber is just long enough to wrap around his leg, which I will attempt to tighten by twisting a long nail around in a clockwise direction. Willem is groaning in pain but I am convinced that this is the correct thing to do.

I have covered him in a piece of ceiling structure, its hard and curved and won't keep him warm but it will hide him well if I have to go for help. He has finally given up the fight, his body has taken over, in his unconscious state I can see how young he is, just my age, yet with so many people relying on his success. It's my turn now to take over.

I steady my thoughts and begin contacting Lily, she is alert and thinking at warp speed, I can tell by the barrage of pictures coming at me.

“Lily, it's me. I am ok but Willem is badly hurt can you hear me?”

“Oh Mae, thank goodness for that. I have lots to tell you, I did what you said. A boy came to see the girls this morning, said he had been sent by a leader called Luke. They were given orders and a letter from their father. As soon as we heard from you in that sub, we were rushed underground to the tunnels. I have of course been beside myself with worry about you. Why haven't you been in contact since you begged me to send you those thoughts? I assumed you were dead and was really uncontrollable until the girls contacted The Resistance again. Julia has a code to get an outside telecom line.”