Walking across this tunnel proved to be a bigger challenge than walking in the previous one. As Holder had already mentioned, this tunnel was a lot older than the other one and moved directly under the kenjah's palace. There was water dripping down from various parts of the ceiling, and to make things worse, it apparently was sewage water. A proper sewage system is something even the greatest civilisation of all time couldn't build. I tried to stay as far away from these droplets as much as I could but in a tunnel this narrow, it was an impossible task. I ended up with droplets of crap over my suit and sometimes my headgear which sucked, for a lack of better word to describe it. We made our way through the tunnel which seemed to go deeper with every step I took. "We are almost at level thirteen minus and this tunnel almost runs parallel to the inner corridors of the kenjah's palace, except for the downward slope." Holder said over the comms.
The display in my head gear showed a rapid decrease in the temperature which was complemented by a rise in the moisture in the air. I could not feel either of them, thanks to the excellent atmospheric regulatory system of my suit which kept me as comfortable as possible. The walls of the tunnel started to turn to brick from soil and the tunnel became much more wider than it ever was. The ground too had stone tiles on them to make the tunnel more comfortable to walk in. Holder informed us that we were going to be at the end of the tunnel anytime now and that we needed to be as careful as possible. I was one of the first people to enter the tunnel and there were only a couple of people in front of me, the first one being Holder. Not more than a few minutes had passed by that I could see a faint light coming out from the distance. My monitor showed a slight increase in the temperature and an increase in the oxygen content in the air. This could have only meant that we were now very close to the exit of the tunnel.
"Everyone, take off the safeties of your weapons." Holder said, stopping right before the tunnel turned right with a steep curve. "Once we are out of the tunnel, we have a very high chance of being caught by the Palace Security. If they fire, do not think twice before returning fire. Our top priority is to get our prisoners out of here. We have already planned the safest route possible. The holding cells are very much near to the exit of the tunnel, so we will get in and get out in a jiffy. Are you ready?" Holder asked, raising his gun into the air. "Yes, boss!" Everyone said in chorus and Holder, led the way round the corner. I could see a round metal door with two pieces of glass on either side standing right in front of us. Holder turned the metal rod which was attached to the door, which made loud creaking noises as it turned. The door opened, as white light flooded the tunnel and the faces of the soldiers in their masks almost made it look ghostly. "Move out!" he yelled, as he walked out of the door. It turned out that the white light was from a light fixed on the ceiling and not from the exit. Strangely, I could not see anything in front of us except a big stone wall. That's it, nothing else. "May victory be with us." I heard a soldier whisper. The tunnel widened up and I ended up with a soldier I didn't know standing right beside me. "How far is the exit?" I asked him, wondering how far we had to go before we reached the exit. My back had begun hurting with all the bending we had to do in the tunnels. "The exit is right in front of us." He replied, smiling. "What are you talking about?" I asked him, looking around to cross-check just in case I had missed some kind of a door or something. But I could not spot anything except the door from which we had just entered from. "The wall right in front of us, it is a hologram. We can pass right through it. Anyone with a valid nano chip, which is embedded in your arm, along with the tattoo of your identification. The chip is almost invisible and is so small you can't even see it nor feel it." he replied. "But what if.." I began asking, when he cut me off before I could complete my sentence. "What happens when someone else tries entering into the tunnel by taking someone hostage or by gunpoint? No, it cannot happen. The system is too clever for that. The computer analyses everything, your heartbeat, your vitals and there is live coverage from your suit. And if necessary, the chip releases a chemical into your system with which the people back in the control rooms would be able to see what you are seeing." he replied, that grin of his still stuck on his face.
Just then, Holder announced that he would be going to the other side, something I understood only because of the information the soldier had provided me with. Reneesh too was listening to the whole conversation and the look on his face showed that he was impressed with all the technology these guys had. Once the World Wars and the solar flares had begun, there was not much scope for technological advancements and even the technology we already had begun disappearing. It almost was as if we were moving backwards in time, with regard to the technological field. I keenly watched Holder as he moved towards the wall. One second he was right here, and the next second, he completely vanished into thin air. I watched as each of the soldiers in front of us followed suit. No matter how many times I've watched it, I still found it very interesting to watch people get through the hologram. Soon, it was my turn. I stood facing the wall, and I walked right towards it. I felt a strange cold shiver running up my spine as I passed through the hologram and walked into another soldiers in front of me. I squinted as my eyes got adjusted to the sudden change in the light. I touched the hologram, from where I had just entered to feel nothing but the textured wall which had lines running all over it. It felt as if there was nothing there at all. Some more of the jacked up technology, I guessed.
Soon, the whole group had made its' way into the corridor, which was a curved one with ventilation vents on the walls, instead of the ceiling. The vents were so narrow that nobody could even dream about fitting through them and breaking into the palace. A huge red symbol on the wall read, which contrasted with its white color, Minus L30, which I guessed meant Level Minus 30. Holder motioned us to follow him as he walked towards his right. We, along with the soldiers, cautiously followed him as we made our way down the corridor. We saw no signs of guards anywhere and weirdly, no cameras too. We made our way into another corridor which had a huge barricaded door at the far end of it. Holder quickly fired two shots at the guards who were taken by surprise and could not even move before they were shot down. Holder motioned for one of the soldiers who rushed to the door and started hacking into the security systems. We waited for a few minutes before he finally opened the door and Holder, along with the front- line soldiers fired shots, killing all the guards inside. I entered the hall, to find Konrad and Anna, sleeping in the first cell. Konrad was sleeping on the floor while Anna had dozed off on the chair. The both of them looked pretty beaten up and looked very tired. I walked in and fired my weapon on the lock of the cell and opened the door, which opened with a loud groan which woke the both of them up. Konrad jumped to his feet immediately, but when he saw me standing there, his muscles loosened and broke into a grin, running towards me and hugging me. "I knew you would come for us! I knew it!" he said, giving us a wide smile. Holder had sent out a party to search for the other prisoners. Anna just sat on the chair, looking at me, tears rolling down her cheeks. I walked towards her and knelt down, putting my hand on her face. "Are you alright, Anna?" I asked. "I am not alright. Definitely not alright!" she screamed back, crying. I held her chin, looking into her eyes as I comforted her. "You'll be alright, yeah?" I said, confidently smiling at her. "Rithvik, you have to listen to me very carefully." Konrad said, walking towards me. Reneesh was standing right next to us. "Remember our doubts that the Kenjah had a spy among us?" he said, his face looking very serious. "Yeah." I replied. "Well, the Kenjah told us who he is. It is Montwik, Rithvik. He set everything up. I think this is a trap." He said, looking very worried. "That's impossible, man." I replied. "He helped us a lot. The Kenjah was probably just messing with you. We have to go c'mon." I continued. "You have to tell the others about it." He said. "Rithvik's right. We have to get out of here first. The longer we wait, the lower chance we have of getting out unnoticed." Reneesh said.
"Alright, we have gathered the rest of the prisoners. Let's move before someone finds out about what is happening." Holder said, as he readied his weapon. I helped Anna get up and I took one step forward as the lights went out all around us. It was pitch black and all the soldiers one by one started switching on their lights on their suits.
"Well well well. We have been waiting for you, Captain Holder. And you too, Captain Rithvik. You've finally come right to the place we wanted you to. Well done." said a voice, which no undoubtedly the Kenjah's, echoing all around the hall.
YOU ARE READING
Mission Orion: The Travel through Time
Science Fiction[HIGHEST RANK: #1 IN SCIENCE FICTION] The world is ravaged by a nuclear war. Borders were redrawn, powers had shifted. But the worst was yet to come. The sun was soon becoming a supernova, wiping out the planets. There was no other option left but...
