The Biomass Revolution (The Tisaian Chronicles) (17 page)

“
We’re at a crossroads now. The CRK will surely throw everything they have at us. Every Knight will be combing the land above our heads and the tunnels, searching for our headquarters. We must stand united in the face of the enemy. We must fight as if tomorrow is our last day on this earth,” the Commander said, raising his hand above the wooden podium and bringing it down in a fist.

Obi looked over at Ran and Nordica
, who shared a bench in the front of the room. Ran watched the commander speak, a sense of hope evident in his gaze. Obi had seen this before, especially in new recruits. In fact, he could remember the same hope he felt when he had joined the ranks of the TDU.

But that was a long time ago,
under a different commander. Times were much different now, and Obi didn’t share the same sense of loyalty to Commander Heri that he had to Commander Leona years ago. Heri was weak. Sure, he could inspire through hollow speeches, but he lacked the bravery Commander Leona had shown in battle after battle.

I can still remember fighting next to
Leona in the Battle of Lunia, the fight which forced the TDU underground,
he thought, watching Commander Heri continue to spit out meaningless words.

Leona had saved the lives
of three TDU soldiers that day. Tragically, she was assassinated by a Knight who infiltrated HQ a few years later. She had been the one and only female leader in TDU ranks that consisted mostly of men.

Obi shook his head, trying to rid himself of memories that made him sick to his stomach. All he cared about
now was his men and their missions, not Heri and his hollow promises.

He was done worrying about the commander’s hopeless strategies that simply brought the TDU further from their goals. Instead, Obi focused on
bringing his men home safe and finding a way to achieve the goal of a better life for those inside and outside of Tisaia. He had always told himself the world wasn’t lost yet, and to this day he still believed it.

Commander Heri paused as his assistant Fukia stepped up to the podium and whispered something in
to his ear. Obi already knew it couldn’t be good. Fukia would not interrupt a victory speech unless it was important.

Obi
glanced over at his squad, who sat huddled around a wooden table. Creo looked back at him, obviously nervous.

“We have a
situation,” the Commander began. “Now everyone, please stay calm,” he said, beads of sweat forming on his pale face. “We have intelligence reports that the CRK have scouts in our vicinity.” The room exploded with chatter, as staffers and soldiers nervously began to fidget in their chairs.

“We have our own scouts monitoring
for updates. If it comes down to an evacuation, you all know the drill and the rendezvous point. Your superiors will keep you updated. Until then I think it’s best if everyone returns to their posts and prepares for the worst,” the Commander said, as he quickly followed Fukia out of the room.

Obi
waited behind and watched the area begin to clear. Through the crowd he could see his squad waiting for his orders. All it took was a simple nod, and the three followed the others out of the War Room. For a few moments Obi sat in silence, contemplating this new development, which he prayed was only a false report. Deep down, he knew it wasn’t—deep down, he knew the Knights had found them again.

Time
: 11:10 p.m. February 5, 2071.

Location
: Tunnels, Tisaia

Riya clicked on his night vision, turning the nearly pitch black tunnel into a static green. Lupa, Albri and the other four members of the squad followed suit, their goggles coming to life. At a distance the squad almost looked paranormal, their blue goggles glowing like floating orbs in the darkness.

The tunnel came
into focus as the team cautiously made their way down the narrow ledge of concrete. They were careful to avoid the standing water a foot below them, anxious not to draw unwanted attention.

Riya cringed as two rats scampered through his feet, prompting him to momentarily lose his footing. “I hate rats,”
he muttered, regaining his balance.

“Radio silence
,” Albri whispered into his mic, raising his right hand to signal the team to stop. After a moment of silence, he motioned his team forward with a short nod. Riya and Lupa continued on, hugging the bank of the tunnel’s east side, while the rest of the squad took to the west bank.

Lupa grimaced as he stepped on an old can, the aluminum crumbling under the weight of his armored boot. Albri quickly shot him a glance, his blue goggles glowing in the darkness. They had entered what
appeared to be an old camp. Several skeletons lay about the concrete walkway, dried up skin clinging to their bones.

Riya cautiously stepped over the
empty cans of food and tattered blankets. The scene was one he recalled from his time in the tunnels straight out of the academy. And he knew it wouldn’t be the last one his squad came across. They had entered the tunnels beyond the barrier, the tombs created as a result of Project 1200.

In all of his years combing the tunnels
, Riya had only come across one live person. The man was in his seventies and claimed he was not part of the TDU; he had argued extensively he didn’t even know who the TDU was, or what year it was, for that matter. Riya wasn’t sure what happened to him, but he presumed he traded the darkness of the tunnels for some prison cell deep beneath Lunia.

Riya shook the
memory out of his mind and continued on, watching Lupa, who cautiously made his way through the green darkness ahead. They came to another platform marking a break in the tunnels and Riya’s heat signature sensor blared to life. His monitor was picking up a small red bleep of life. Albri saw it too, motioning again for the team to stop. He waited several seconds before firing off a quick hand gesture, commanding his squad forward. Lupa and Riya were the first to head out, hugging the concrete walls as they proceeded down the narrow platform. 

Suddenly
, another two signatures popped up on their displays. They both stopped immediately, using a blur of hand motions to signal contacts. Both Riya and Lupa stayed as close to the wall as possible as they waited for Albri to give them orders.

Silence washed over the tunnel as the squad waited in the darkness. For Riya
, it was the stillness that killed him.

He took a deep breath, as
Albri gave him and Lupa the green light to engage. Riya looked at his display before proceeding. The heat signals weren’t moving. A knot tore into his stomach, his mind trying to tell him what he already knew. The contacts weren’t rats. No, rats moved when they were scared. Rebels hid.

Riya nodded at Lupa as he followed him slowly onto the platform.
God, I hope this isn’t an ambush,
he thought, raising his assault rifle and training it on the northern tunnel entrance. The sound of his clanking armor echoed in his helmet with every step. His armor was never as loud as he thought it was, and he knew his helmet amplified sounds while his ears further scrutinized his every move.

Riya
watched Lupa jump gracefully from the tunnel ledge to the platform. He quickly followed suit, crashing on his armored knees, his rifle still trained on the heat signatures ahead. Within seconds he was back on his feet, making his way closer to the targets. Behind them Albri and company watched nervously.

Lupa stopped suddenly. It was dea
thly quiet, the tunnel almost completely void of noise, save for a small drip of water from a loose pipe somewhere above them.

Riya took a knee and brought his rifle to his goggles, glassing the tunnel with the crosshairs in his scope before peering back at Lupa. He was still crouched against the wall. His white outline reminded Riya of one of the statues lining the courtyards outside the State office buildings.

And then one of the red heat signatures moved. Without hesitation, both soldiers fired two shots at the mobile targets, the bullets penetrating the thick concrete walls of the tunnel and sending fragments of rock and concrete into the air. A trail of smoke bled out of their barrels as the Knights waited for a response, but once again, silence washed over them.

They dropped their rifles
to their sides, signaling to the rest of the team to proceed. The heat signatures must have been rats. 

The squad
cautiously filtered out of the tunnel, jumping onto the platform one by one to join Riya and Lupa. Albri made his way through the soldiers and stopped in the middle of the concrete platform, taking a knee to examine his tablet. 

“
According to this map, we’re standing on a platform that isn’t supposed to exist. The only option is to head north. It will take us deeper into the tunnels,” he said, calmly.

“I want Loi and Bria on p
oint now. Ai, you, Riya, and Lupa watch our six.”

The Knights nodded and hea
ded for the north storm drain, but before Ai had time to jump off the platform, an explosion ripped through the ground, sending him flying through the air.

“Ambush!” Riya screamed, diving for cover.

An eruption of gunfire filled the dark tunnel, tails of fire spitting out of the Knights’ assault rifles. Ahead, Riya could make out two men firing rifles from the north tunnel and another two from the south.

Riya kneeled, firing at the men in the nor
th tunnel first, and turned to finish his clip at the attackers behind him.

In a matter of
seconds the room was filled with chunks of rock and smoke as the Knights emptied their weapons into the darkness. The firing from the attackers grew silent.

“Cease fire,” Albri
said over the com.

Riya
’s armored chest heaved in and out as he pulled out his spent clip. He cocked his head to make sure Lupa was okay before turning back to the tunnel.

“Report
,” Albri whispered into his mic.

“Negative on heat signatures,” Riya
said, desperately trying to hide the fear in his voice.

“Riya, Lupa, check on contacts,” Albri responded.

Within seconds the two were
running towards the north tunnel while Albri and Loi went to check on the south tunnel. Bria headed towards the area he had last seen Ai.

Arriving at the end of the platform
, Lupa and Riya looked down into the tunnel water below. The bodies of two men lay warped in the murky water, a trail of red liquid seeping from their cooling bodies.

“
Two casualties,” Riya said, over his com.

“
Two here as well,” Albri responded. “What’s Ai’s status?” A brief silence followed, and static crackled.

“He’s gone; took a rocket right in the side. There isn’t much left but twisted armor.
”

Albri grimaced, pausing before he brought his hand up to his com. “
Roger. We’ll get a crew down here to retrieve his body. In the meantime, we move on. We have to be close to their HQ. Bria, call in reinforcements and let Supreme Knight Morr know our location.”

“Roger
,” Bria responded.

In seconds the team was moving
, reloading their weapons and brushing dust off their armor. There was no time to mourn Ai, and everyone in the squad knew it. They were Dark Horses and had a job to do. Ai would get the proper funeral and respect he deserved when the mission was complete.

Riya led the smaller team into the north tunnel,
firing two quick shots into the TDU member’s skulls as he walked passed them, ensuring they were dead. He wasn’t nervous about attracting any more attention with his rifle; the entire squad knew the TDU would more than likely be aware of their presence by now. The challenge was going to be infiltrating and destroying their HQ before they packed up and moved to another location.

Somewhere in Riya’s gut
, he felt lucky. Part of it was probably due to the fact he hadn’t ended up mangled like Ai, but it wasn’t just that. He couldn’t deny the tingle of excitement racing through his body. It could have been adrenaline, or it could have been the scent of the elusive TDU. Whatever it was, he was just glad the knot began to loosen as he made his way through the darkness. If Albri was right, then they were close to the TDU’s headquarters. Whatever danger lurked in the darkness he was prepared to face it. He wasn’t just a Knight; he was a Dark Horse.

Chapter 7: A Note from the Past

“
Learn from yesterday, love for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

~
Albert Einstein

Time
: 5:00 p.m. February 9, 2071.

Location
: Lunia, Tisaia

A weak sun emerged out of the dreary clouds, attempting to shine down on the cobblestone streets of Lunia below. Spurious admired the melting snow, watching a river of water empty into a storm drain below before looking back at Lana.

“God
you’re beautiful,” Spurious said, gazing into her eyes. Lana shot a shy smile back at him, a tint of blush apparent on her cheeks. 

“Thanks. You always make me feel pretty. I’ve never been with anyone that has been able to do that,” she replied.

The two had been seeing each other off and on for weeks now, an hour here and an hour there. For Spurious it helped keep his mind off the death of Paulo, and his conversation with Leo, who he was hoping to avoid. Today Spurious had a special plan. He was taking Lana to his old flat.

“You know, one thing I don’t know about you is where you grew up,” Spurious began as he guided her by hand through the crowd.

“That’s because I don’t think I’ve told you.”

“In fact, you haven’t told me where your family is from at all, or where the
y are now,” Spurious continued.

Lana stopped and dropped
his hand, kicking a rock across the street.

“
There are a lot of things I haven’t told you because I want to protect you. So far, I have felt comfortable telling you most everything, but there are some things that should just be left unsaid. Look around you, you know where we live.”

How stupid, she is an immigrant
.

“Don’t worry, Lana; you don’t have to tell me anything about your family. I haven’t told you anything about my family either, but today I’m taking you somewhere very special—I’m taking you to the place I grew up.”

Lana turned away
. “
You grew up in Rohania?” she asked, studying the cracked walls of stone buildings and the citizens who littered the dirty streets. The scene brought back a wave of memories of her own childhood - a childhood she tried to forget. Oblivious to their conversation, the crowd of Rohanian residents continued about their daily routines. Spurious stole a glance at Lana once again. Her olive skin looked dark, even in the dull gray afternoon.

“Shall we go?
” he asked. Lana smiled, taking his hand.

“Thank you for taking me here today.
I’m excited to learn more about you,” she said, softly.

“Trust me; it’s worth the journey and the risk.”

“There isn’t a risk, is there?” Lana asked, biting her lip.

“Does that excite you?”

Lana smiled, revealing her perfectly aligned teeth. “You excite me, Spurious,” she said, grabbing his arm and following him through a dense gathering of patrons waiting outside a food stand.

Spurious laughed and continued to pull her along. For some reason he was only slightly
nervous. He wasn’t quite sure why he wanted to bring Lana to his old flat, but something inspired him. Perhaps it was losing Paulo, or perhaps he simply wanted to share a part of his life with Lana. He had looked for a way to tell Lana his parents helped create the TDU, but was terrified she would not understand. And deep down, he knew he wasn’t ready to share this piece of his past with her. The day wore on, and before he knew it, the white stone marking his old building was in front of them.

“This is it,” he whispered.

“Where are the windows and the doors?” she asked.

“
I’ll tell you in a few minutes, come with me,” he said, extending his hand to her again.

The
y darted across the busy street, Spurious pulling Lana towards the narrow alleyway. They entered hesitantly, avoiding heaps of trash and rotting wood. He scanned the street for anyone who might be following them before disappearing into the alley.

The alley was illuminated only by a sliver of sun that began to fade as a cloud passed overhead. Spurious scanned the shadows for the gargoyles that marked the entrance to the ancient building.

“There,” he said, under his breath, leading Lana carefully through the narrow passageway. A pair of gargoyle heads emerged out of the shadows. Spurious anxiously dropped her hand and reached for the wooden door.

“Stay where
you are. It could be dangerous,” he whispered to Lana.

Spurious pushed on the massive frame of the door, but it wouldn’t budge. There was something blocking it from within the building.

“Damn,” he said, shoving his body against the frame of the door and pushing with all of his strength. The door moved slightly, but not more than a crack. Spurious stopped, wiping beads of sweat off his forehead.

“Be careful
, Spurious. There might be nails.”

He walked down the alleyway, jumping over piles of wood, looking for something that could pry the door open. As he
searched, a ray of sun finally broke through a cloud pattern and illuminated an object under a pile of trash. Spurious bent down, picking up a rusted piece of metal piping.

“This should work,” he whispered
, inserting the pipe into the small crack. He pried the door back, creating a gap wide enough for them to slip in.

“
Let’s go,” Spurious said, once again taking her hand and cautiously pulling her through the dark gap.

“It’s going to be dark in here,” Lana
speculated, entering the dark building.

“That’s ok
ay. I figured as much, so I brought a candle and some matches.”

The two stopped and Spurious reached into his knapsack
, pulling out a large white candle and a small book of matches.

“Here
, light this,” he said, handing her the candle.

The
tiny flame quickly grew into an impressive orange blaze, illuminating the interior of the building. The inside was just as he remembered it; the walls lined with solid oak, not the cheap stuff that rotted after a solid rain. The first floor hallway was filled with broken lamp shades and pictures hanging loose from their hinges on the walls. On the floor were yellowed newspapers in front of the doors of residents now lost to the past. 

A sense of nostalgia washed over Spurious
, who stood staring down the ghostly hallway, his face turning pale.

“Are you al
l right?” Lana asked, noticing his quick change of demeanor. 

Spurious shook his head
. “I’m fine, I just haven’t been here for a long time and it brings back memories. Sorry, I didn’t realize it was going to have this effect on me.”

Lana
squeezed his hand. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

He smiled.
“It’s okay, really. I want to do this. I need to do this.”

The flicker of the candle illuminated the hallway
, sending orange light dancing across the walls of the building. At the end of the hall a broken door leading to the stairs hung loosely off its hinges.

“Careful,” Spurious warned as
they made their way through the open door. He stopped to examine the condition of the steps under the weak light. He didn’t want to end up falling through the stairway or breaking his leg on a step.

The stairway looked safe
enough, and Spurious held the candle up farther, cautiously climbing the steps, guided by the orange glow. The first step moaned under the weight of his foot, but held. “I think it’s safe. Stay close."

Lana nodded and followed Spurious up the flight of stairs. By the time they had made their way to the third floor
, his nervousness had mostly subsided.

“
We’re almost there. Just one more flight of stairs and we’ll be there.”

“Do you think there will be anything left in your old flat?”

“We’re going to find out in a few seconds. Here, hold this,” Spurious said, handing the candle down to Lana, who stood a few stairs below.

He reached for the hallway door
’s handle, twisting it with ease. Spurious swung the door open, swallowing a mouthful of musky air and breaking into a deep cough.

"Are you
sure you’re okay?"

Spurious stopped in front of the hallway trying to regain his breath and make out the numbers on the doors simultaneously. "Yeah
, I’m fine," he finally replied.

“Which one did you live in?
” Lana asked, grabbing Spurious by his forearm softly.

“
I’ll show you, follow me.”

The hallway was
pitch black, with only the glow of the candle to guide them. The windows at both ends of the hallway had been boarded up and appeared to be spray painted black to prevent any light from coming in. Spurious examined the flat numbers door by door, each time raising his candle to the small black numbers. Some of the numbers had fallen off or were cracked, but Spurious knew he would recognize his old door when he saw it.

Halfway down the hall Spurious stopped, handing the candle back to Lana.
Is this it?
he wondered, rubbing the exterior of the wooden door with his hand.

“I’m home again, Lana!” Spurious exclaimed, nearly bumping the candle out of her hand with excitement.  He reached for the handle, opening the door and revealing a dark and musty old room.

“Not exactly the way I remember it,” he
said, taking a deep breath and entering the flat, with Lana close behind. The floor boards creaked loudly, prompting them both to jump in surprise. The aged wood was smudged with water stains, and thick cobwebs clung to the ceiling like white veins. Spurious continued to scan the room with his candle, but he knew there would probably be no trace of his former life. He kicked a pile of old newspapers and fliers that must have been left behind, nothing that would reveal anything about his parents.

“Well this is it,” he
said, relieved in a way.

“What do you think happened to all of your old furniture?” she asked.

Spurious shrugged. “Repossessed by the CRK, stolen by stragglers. Who knows?”

The flat
was simple, consisting of a living room and kitchen with two small bedrooms and a single bathroom branching off on the west side. Curiously he walked to his old bedroom first, excited to explore his old room.

He stepped over the door
lying like a skeleton on the floor. Spurious craned his neck cautiously into the darkness, holding his candle high so the orange glow lit up the walls of the room with warm light.

In the east corner a small mattress lay on the ground.
It was torn in the middle, guts of cotton pouring out like a nasty flesh wound. Mold had also found its way into the room and badly stained the mattress.

The west corner revealed a small wooden chest that was
harnessed to the wall. He immediately recognized it and rushed over to an ancient box.

“This is where my parents used to keep all of their personal items. They must have thought they were safer in my room, because no one would have
looked for them in here.”

Lana walked over to Spurious
, putting her hand on his shoulder as he leaned down and opened the chest. It was empty, except for a cloud of dust that rose into the air, prompting Spurious and Lana both to cough.

He
reached inside the box and felt around. Somewhere in the bottom was a secret compartment where he had seen his mother put coins, keys and other special items. His hand combed the smooth wooden bottom of the crate frantically until he found a small crack. Pulling out his pocket knife, he inserted the blade into the sliver and lifted up a small hatch, revealing a secret compartment.

“Wow, what’s that
?” Lana asked, startled.

Reaching inside
, Spurious felt around. His fingers came to rest on a small object. He froze, looking up at Lana.

"Well
, what is it?” she asked.

Spurious slowly pulled out a
small piece of paper, yellowed with age.

“What’s it say?”
she entreated.

Spurious
moved to the small bed, placing the candle on the ground. Lana hurried after him and sat cross-legged on the soft mattress. Through the warm glow of the candle light, Spurious read the note aloud.

“December 13, 2050

The Biomass Wars have ended life as I knew it. The countries I loved as a child have all but disappeared. All I can do now is pray for the souls of those caught up in the bloodshed and chaos that knows no boundaries.

My hope is that our son
, Spurious, will grow up in a better world. Now that scientists in Tisaia have created a new form of Biomass, it may be possible. Yet I know our new government is fragile. There has been talk of legislation that will ban all immigrants from our country.