Subterra Heart

Chapter 33: Connor Rocha

There had been a time crunch to get Tess's shae band hacked and updated before the transport to Heart Central left. Manny made quick work of it, but he warned Connor that it wouldn't hold up under too much scrutiny. At best, Connor could probably be able to get a round trip to and from Central, but he should avoid using the band as much as possible. Manny had also given Connor the answers to the time of Tess's death declaration and Connor's own status. Connor mulled over this, irritated and troubled, as he stood in line to the ticket booth. He wasn't able to think for too long though, as he was the next one to be called forward.

"State your name and travel purpose," said a weathered-looking woman with a flat voice.

"Tim Ritty – personal visit to Heart Central," replied Connor.

"Isn't it always," muttered the ticket lady. "Round-trip or one-way?"

"Round-trip," said Connor.

"Set or open-ended return date?"

"Open-ended." Connor had no idea how long he would be in Central.

"Do you have an up-to-date passport?"

"Yes," Connor lied.

"Alright, that'll be two-hundred eighty kreds for a round trip to Heart Central – open return date." The ticket lady picked up her scanner. "Band," she said.

Connor grimaced at the price, but still held out his good wrist with the shae band. He hoped that Tess had at least that much in her account – and that Manny's work with the passport and fake identity would hold up. The scanner beeped with no trouble, and the ticket lady started typing away at her terminal to finalize the transaction.

"So what happened to you?" she asked, nodding at Connor's bandaged hands and bad arm. Marina had re-set it in its sling earlier.

"Eh," Connor shrugged. "I was just doing something really stupid."

The ticket lady grunted, still typing. "Fair enough. And are you traveling with Mrs. Ritty?"

"Yes," said Connor. The ticket lady nodded and finished with her clicking.

"Alright, you'll be in transport car 29, compartment 105. Your transport leaves from station 10 in eight minutes at 15:30."

Connor gave her a quick nod of thanks and darted off. Eight minutes! That was barely enough time to get out of the ticket room and into the station itself. He shoved past queuing travelers, flying through the crowd and ignoring irritated shouts. Down a set of stairs and into the station room he ran. It was a wide cavern lined with burnished bronze and held up with tall, obsidian pillars. He went down an arched hallway marked "Stations 1-10" and squished between a mob of people who were coming and going, up more stairs and down another set, around a corner, past a scanner that "beeped" him in, and finally through the glass set of transport doors on Station 10. Connor bumped into an elderly man who gave him a dirty look as the transport doors snapped shut behind him.

"Sorry," muttered Connor. The transport jolted forward, and he steadied himself against the wall.

The inside of the transport was a wide metal tube, just like all the others he'd been on. Unlike other transports however, this one wasn't crammed full of tightly pressed bodies. And it didn't smell like sweat either. The entry was mostly clear – enough for Connor to see the grey metal walls and floor inlaid with bright copper designs. Only the old man and a few other stragglers populated it. The old man gave one final "huff" and hobbled off to the left, disappearing down the length of the transport. Connor glanced after him and looked up. There was a sign that read "Transport Car #30, Compartments 100-109." On the opposite side of the entry was another sign that read "Transport Car 29, Compartments 100-109." He took a deep breath and headed to his right.