The Darkest Dawning

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Short Story

In an apocalyptic world of dictators and poverty, is any life worth it? Follow Lysandra Vallas through her struggles in life. See her happiest moment...

(Chapter 5): The Second Flight

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By EJ1007

Chapter 5:

The Second Flight

26th December 2926

12:23 am

Another two years passed, and Eden was falling apart. After several supposed 'threats' from South Eden Marshall had started building up his army, and Fuhrmann had done the same in response. No-one was entirely sure who exactly had started it, but now a colossal arms race was underway.

With a focus on munitions and weaponry, life became increasingly harder for people in the slums. Work shifts had increased to lengths not seen since the beginning of the decade, and conditions were deteriorating fast. Lysandra was unable to see Kaelyn and Borislav as often as she once had, although she still managed to visit them at least once a week.

"Are you alright?" Asked Tom, who appeared to be suffering himself. His hair was greying, and bags under his eyes indicated a lack of sleep.

Times had not only been hard for those in the ruins. With all production focusing on arms and munitions, even necessities like food were not the first priority. Tom was fortunate as he was too old to be conscripted, and no women were allowed in the military, not that Lysandra would join if they were. Michael had been conscripted, but he enjoyed serving Marshall.

"I'm just tired" She said, which was pretty much the truth "Those weapon tests are keeping me awake at night"

"I know" Tom sighed "This entire place is falling apart"

It was true. With so much focus on the military, even simple maintenance was neglected, to the point where Dawning Square would start to literally fall apart.

"Maybe things will get better when all this war business is over" Suggested Lysandra, clinging to whatever hope she could find.

"If it ever ends" Said Tom darkly "It's no secret that Marshall has been looking into nuclear weapons, Fuhrman as well."

Lysandra stared at the floor, grim thoughts coursing through her mind. Nuclear devices were still looked upon with horror and repulsion by the residents of Eden, who knew all too well why the city and most of the world lay in ruins.

"If only we could leave. I know that the city's under lockdown, but there has to be some way out of here. Things have gotten so bad we might be better off out there..." She knew little of the world outside of Eden, but it couldn't be any worse than it was here.

"There might be a way" Said Tom, thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing" He replied, quickly "Let's just see how things turn out. Maybe your right, maybe things will get better..."

He did not seem too certain about that, and Lysandra felt the same. Eden was bleeding, and unless Marshall was removed it would bleed to death.

1:55 pm

Lysandra took the opportunity to visit Borislav, who was finally being allowed a break from work. Kaelyn was unavailable, as the sisterhood had been ridiculously busy of late, what with the frighteningly high death rate and general discontent among the poor.

She approached the man's house cautiously, glancing at the ruins either side. She would never have said that the place could look worse, but it most certainly did. Maybe it was the bodies that now lay motionless in the streets, or the strong military presence. Either way, only now could she appreciate how bad things must have been in South Eden when Borislav escaped.

She rapped on the door, and there was a pause before the man appeared. He looked unwell, with a hunched figure and an air of exhaustion about him.

"Oh. Is you Lapushka... come in, I guess"

She took a seat in one of the armchairs, watching him with a worried expression. He was definitely not being himself, and that scared her more than anything else.

"Are you alright?" She asked nervously "What's Marshall been making you do down here?"

"Am fine." He insisted "Marshall has been making us build aircraft, 'Jetstream', he calls it." The man groaned "And building it has been massive pain in the-"

"Why does he want an aircraft? South Eden is right next to us!" Said Lysandra, confused.

"Have no idea." Borislav shrugged, watching her uncertainly.

"Lapushka... I... need to talk to you."

"What is it?"

"I... don't think you should be coming here anymore." He was staring at the floor, avoiding her gaze.

"What do you mean?"

"Is... dangerous. Things down here are getting vorse, and I don't vant you to be involved. Vhat if that Michael finds out you are coming here, and tells someone? Is just too dangerous."

"But I love coming here. You're supposed to be my friend, and you want me to go away?"

He did not say a word, but continued staring at the floor. Lysandra became enraged. She felt betrayed.

"Fine then!" She growled, turning to the exit red-faced. "Maybe Kaelyn still cares about seeing me, unless she's decided to abandon me as well"

She could not bring herself to look at the man's face, but if she could she would have seen nothing but regret.

There was a slam as she stomped into the cold air outside, falling backwards against the door, fighting back tears. Visiting him had been one of the few things that she enjoyed, and now he wanted her gone.

She pulled herself shakily to her feet, dragging her body back to Dawning Square. The one thing she did not need was waiting for her at the entrance.

"Lysandra? Are you ok?"

Michael approached her, carrying a rifle and wearing the grey camouflage of the military. She had no desire to speak with anybody at the moment, but it was the only way to get rid of him.

"What do you think?" She snapped, yelling into the young man's face. He stared at her for a second.

"What's the problem?" He asked, sympathetically

"It doesn't matter!"

"Yes it does" He persisted "Now tell me."

"I was visiting somebody" She said, wanting to get rid of him as quickly as possible.

"In the ruins?"

"No, on the moon... Of course in the ruins you dope!" She shouted, rolling her eyes.

"What?! You mean you were visiting the-"

"Visiting the what? The filth?" Lysandra yelled, not caring if she was overheard anymore. "I've had friends here longer than I've known you. The people here are no different to us, grow out of it."

She had never intended to get into such an argument with him, but was still upset from her visit with Borislav. The words gushed out before her mind could even register them.

"But Marshall says..." Started Michael, before Lysandra interrupted him.

"Screw Marshall! That Nazi's the whole reason we're in this mess!"

That did it.

"Lysandra, calm. down." He snarled, face intimidatingly close to hers.

She said nothing, but turned and stomped back inside Dawning Square, her mind racing. What had she done? Not only had she told Michael that she visited Borislav and Kaelyn, but she had announced for the whole skyscraper to hear that she despised Marshall. What if somebody had heard? What if he told someone?

She rushed to her apartment and threw herself onto the lounger, face down, shaking with tears.

Everything was wrong, everything.

After a few minutes she felt the weight of the couch shift, and knew that her uncle had come. He knew enough not to say anything, or to disturb her. At times like these the best course of action was to leave the girl alone. It was not long before Lysandra grew tired of crying into the leather, and turned on her uncle instead.

After ten minutes she had calmed down a bit, and Tom decided that it was safe to talk.

"What happened?"

Speaking slowly, she explained her argument with Borislav, and the confrontation with Michael.

"... I just want to leave" She finished "Get out of this hell-hole."

Tom was quiet for awhile, and then leant in, so that his voice was barely audible.

"I might know a way"

"A way to escape?" She asked, urgently

"Maybe. A couple of years ago me and some likeminded people found out about an ancient subway, directly beneath Dawning Square, that goes far beyond the borders of the city. At first it was just a curiosity, but with everything that's been happening..." There was a flash of determination in his eyes that Lysandra had never seen before.

"We've been trying to get it operational, and when things here finally turn... maybe we'll have a chance of escape."

She was gobsmacked. Although she had often kept secrets from her uncle, she had never really thought about what he might be keeping from her.

"How long until it's ready?" She whispered

"We're nearly finished. But we're not going to use it until things here reach their climax. Hopefully when that happens Marshall's troops will be too distracted to put up a fight"

Lysandra nodded, she could wait. A part of her felt as though it did not want to leave after all, clinging to the happy memories. If she could, she would go back to her teen years, back when Dawning Square was bearable, maybe even... beautiful, in its own way.

"What about the people in the ruins? Will they be able to get out?"

"After we've left, of course" Said Tom, uncertainly "But we don't want to notify them about it before, or they'll crush each other in a rush to escape, and Marshall's troops will notice that in an instant. You can tell Kaelyn and mister Beletsky, yes" He added, guessing what the girl was about to say. "I know you've had a... disagreement, but I know you wouldn't want to leave him behind."

Lysandra smiled, the first she'd given in awhile, pulling her uncle into a hug.

What would she do without him?

2nd January 2927

5:49 am

Just two days into the new year, Marshall declared all out war on South Eden. Troops were gathering and tearing down the division, and Tom and the others working on the subway project decided that it was finally time to put their plan into action.

Lysandra was woken by her uncle in the early hours of the morning, told to take anything that was important to her before leaving.

She owned few possessions that she really cared about, and nothing of her parents other than her mother's dress. Looking at it uncertainly, she decided that she couldn't just leave it, even if it was not the most practical thing to wear. She put it on, accompanied by the necklace Kaelyn had given her for her sixteenth birthday. Above these, she wore a thick coat, to compensate for the piercing cold outside, and Borislav's scarf. Ready, she gave the apartment one final glance before leaving. While it had become a place of torture in recent times, she had as many pleasant memories of Dawning Square as unpleasant. She might even come to miss it, or at least what it had been.

The skyscraper was devoid of guards, as the soldiers were preparing for their siege, which made things far easier for Lysandra. She thought about Michael, who had obviously kept her secret hidden, and regretted yelling at him a week ago. She had been in a temper, and he had not deserved it. Just as he did not deserve to die in a war that was Marshalls, not his.

Kaelyn was waiting for her near the entrance, hood and all, with a man and a woman standing nervously behind her. Lysandra recognised them as Kaelyn's parents.

Kaelyn's father was tall, with dark hair and an Asian appearance, while the woman had the same red hair and bright eyes as her daughter.

"Did you ask Borislav?" Asked Lysandra, hopefully. Kaelyn nodded, and then shook her head.

"He said that he was tired of running, and that he doubted this would work anyway." Kaelyn looked almost as sad about this as Lysandra felt. "But he said that he wishes both of us a happy life... whatever happens"

"...Alright." Said Lysandra hollowly, trying to hide her disappointment and failing miserably.

"Well... let's go then."

She led Kaelyn and her parents around the side of the building, where a small hatch had been unearthed. It was narrow and well hidden, allowing only one person to traverse it at a time. Lysandra went first, letting the others to follow.

A rusted ladder led down the small chute, which opened up to a wide, curved tunnel, cracked and worn. It was damp and dark, with the only light coming from a few electric lanterns brought down by Tom previously. He had found a way to reconnect the power supply with that of Dawning Square, which would get the train working as well as the lighting, but such a huge drain on the Skyscrapers power supply would not go unnoticed, so he was reluctant to start until the last possible moment.

She walked along the edge of the track, followed by the other three. The floor was uneven and too narrow to be walked along comfortably, covered by the remains of paper that had once decorated the concrete walls. Soon the train itself came into view, grey and rusted, but apparently still functional. It was nothing short of a miracle that it still worked after all these years.

Her uncle was there, alongside her aunt and several others from Dawning Square, including Elvira Summers, her old teacher. It was ironic that the one who had preached Marshall's doctrine to her was one of those trying to escape. Then again, Lysandra could not blame her. Dawning Square had changed.

"Hello" Said Tom kindly, shaking the hand of Kaelyn and her parents "I'm Tom Smith, and it's great to have you coming with us"

"Kaito Hato" Said the man "This is my wife, Gwen." The woman beside him smiled nervously.

"And this is Kaelyn isn't it?" Said Tom, looking at the young woman "I remember her from Lysandra's sixteenth birthday"

"Thank you for letting us come" She said, bowing, the beads she wore dangling to her feet.

"The more the merrier" Said Tom "But where is Mister Beletsky? I thought he would be joining us"

"He didn't want to come." Said Lysandra quietly.

"Oh." Tom frowned "I'm sure that he'll be fine here... he's a strong man."

They all knew the unspoken truth: only one fate awaited anybody who remained in Eden.

"Well, you'd best be getting inside the train" He said, after an awkward pause, leading the four to the rusted vehicle. There were only four places at the very front of the train, where Tom would have to pilot it, so Kaelyn's parents went into the second carriage with the others, allowing their daughter, Lysandra, and Victoria the three free spaces at the front. The interior was peeling and rusted, but it was sturdy, and the glass, though covered with grime, was still transparent.

"Alright" Said Tom, when everybody was settled in. "Let's see if we can get this thing working."

He moved to the generator at the corner of the platform, and with a heavy tug pulled a lever on its surface. There was a flicker of life and the roar of an engine... before a flurry of sparks marked the machinery's return to lifelessness.

Tom cursed, running back to the cockpit.

"One of the wires outside has cut! I'd fix it myself, but I need to be here when the train comes back online"

"I'll get it" Said Victoria swiftly, pulling herself back onto the platform and running through the subterranean tunnel.

"Hurry!" Tom called after her "Marshall will have noticed the power surge- he's probably sending troops here as we speak."

The woman made a break for it, following the wires around a corner and climbing the narrow chute to the surface as quickly as her limbs would allow her. Throwing herself back into the dim morning light, she scoured the ground for the faulty wires, trying them around each other before forcing the two ends together. There was an explosion of sparks and she was thrown backwards onto the hard ground, which trembled as the subway below roared to life.

She could see soldiers approaching, and quickly ducked into the chute, throwing herself back into the tunnels and shaking off the pain. The lights were active now, as was the train, which she ran to as fast as she could, leaping back into the cockpit.

"They're coming! Move it!"

Tom pulled on a lever with all of his weight, and there was an ear-piercing creak as the rusted wheels were forced into motion. No sooner had the vehicle started to move than the first of the soldiers reached the tunnel, shouting to each other and shooting wildly into the train. There were screams from the carriages further back as bullets shattered the windows. The train began to pick up speed, moving faster.

But not fast enough.

Lysandra could only watch as one of the soldiers, still fast enough to outrun them, lobed a grenade into the second carriage. The resulting explosion threw the worn vehicle off of the tracks, Lysandra, Kaelyn, Tom and Victoria thrown from the cockpit by the force just seconds before the entire train collided with the side of the tunnel.

She hit the ground hard, mind a blurred, pained haze as she groped for something to pull herself up with. Kaelyn was screaming.

"Mum! Dad!"

Lysandra looked back at the carriages, which were now no more than a crumpled, burning wreck. Even in her state of mind she realised that no-one could have survived that. Thrown from the cockpit before the collision, they had been the only ones with any chance of survival.

Victoria rose laboriously to her knees beside her, while Kaelyn remained on the floor, shaking with tears. Lysandra noticed that the soldiers were walking towards them, saw who was leading them.

It was Michael.

"Lysandra?"

It sounded as though it was the hardest word the boy had spoken his entire life.

"It can't be..."

"Traitors!" Yelled another of the soldiers, smashing Lysandra across the face with the butt of his gun. She winced through the pain, refusing to show weakness.

"They should be killed like the rest of them!"

The soldier raised his weapon, pointing it at Lysandra's face.

"No!"

She turned to see Tom through her blurred vision, pulling himself to his feet and limping in front of her.

"I was the one who arranged this. If anybody dies here it should be me" His voice was strongest she had ever heard.

"Fine then" The guard spat, turning to Michael. "You know this girl, so let's see if you've got your priorities straight." He gestured at Tom "Shoot this man"

Michael looked uneasily at the man who stood before him, and down towards Lysandra, whose eyes met his, begged him.

He gulped.

She watched his eyes, filled with bitter nothingness, as he raised his gun. And pulled the trigger.

Tom stood there for a moment, blinked, before falling onto Lysandra, who grabbed him limply. Blood poured rapidly from his chest, dyeing her hands crimson.

She wanted to do something. To get that gun and shoot Michael herself. But she could not. She was frozen, in shock and in fear. Victoria remained on her knees, face unmoving, body tense.

The one who acted was Kaelyn.

She had gotten to her feet, removing a set of rosary beads from her neck and approaching Michael.

"You killed him."

Her tone was not one of rage. It was far worse.

"You killed my parents!"

She swung the beads like a whip, metal crucifix glittering in the light before slashing across Michael's face, sending him staggering backwards. The other soldier stepped forwards, kicking Kaelyn with such force that she was thrown several feet backwards before hitting the floor.

"What shall we do with these ones?" He asked, gruffly

"...Leave them" Spat Michael, holding the side of his face, which trickled with blood

"They aren't worth the effort."

He turned and left. Just like that.

Kaelyn remained where she was on the floor, staring at the wreck of the carriage. the roaring flames danced in her pale eyes.

Victoria had regained control of her body, and had dragged herself beside Tom. The man looked to his sister, to his niece. He had only one thing to say.

"I'm... sorry. I failed you..."

"No" Said Lysandra firmly, voice faltering. "You never have."

She pulled the man closer, tears running steadily down her face.

She was still holding her uncle long after his life had gone.

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