Chapter 7
Sara was in Zane's room packing his belongings for the trip. Zane watched his mom at the edge of the bed.
"Mom, do you know how long it will take us to get to Houston?"
"Probably two and a half weeks because vehicle travels slow."
As she placed one of Zane's shirts in his bag.
"How special I'm I?" Said, Zane
"You are a very special boy. A boy who someday maybe a hero!"
Zane laughed and was thrilled about hearing the word hero. Otis heard the laugher and came into the room.
"What is so funny?" Otis said
"I think Zane wants to be a hero and save the day" Sara mentioned
"In order for you to be a Hero especially a superhero, you must have big muscles and wear a funny-looking costume." Stated Otis
Zane placed his arms out to flex to his dad.
"Son, it appears you better eat four bowls of oatmeal to gain more muscle mass."
They all started to laugh.
"Well, it's getting late plus I have to finish packing Zane's clothes and mines." Stated Sara.
Otis approached Sara and whispered into her ear.
"Let me have a few moments with Zane?"
Sara gave Otis a kiss and told Zane she needed to go downstairs to grab a box to place more of his clothes.
"Ok, mom!" as Zane kept gangling
"My boy, Zane! I'm so proud of you"
Otis places his arm around Zane's shoulders and kneed in front of him.
"Do you understand again why you are heading to Houston?
"Yeah, Dad! They want to run more test on me"
"Yes, son! Your mom and I mentioned to you earlier, you are special. That is the reason for the test. I promise you, nothing bad will happen, my boy! I will be there within three weeks but will send out a telegram to check on you and your mom"
Zane nobs his head. The time was 1910hrs. Otis went down the stairs while Zane continued to pack his belongings to get ready for tonight's departure.
Richard was now back in his quarters in the underworld. He entered his bedroom and walked over to his dresser drawer. He pulled out an old 45 automatic pistol and slowly loaded three magazines with hollow-point bullets. He inserted one of the loaded magazines into the weapon and forcibly pulled back on the slide to make the pistol ready to be fired. He placed the weapon in his waistband and dropped his shirt over it. He walked out of his bedroom into the living where he sat on his couch while pouring a shot of liquor in a glass jar.
"I have to do this! It is my life and my family on the line!"
Richard continued to pour several more shots of liquor. He looked up at his wall clock and noticed the time. It was 1945hrs.
"Fuck! The time is flying by! I need to get my shirt together and get this boy!"
Richard got up and stumbled a few times while trying to make it to the front door of his quarters. He slowly unlocked the door and opened it. He stepped out into the tunnel and was still stumbling. As he was walking down the tunnel trying to hold himself up along the walls, he noticed a few rebel soldiers with rifles strapped across their shoulders heading towards the exit point of the underground.
"Hey, Dr. Jordan, It is Tommy! Are you joining us tonight for the assault to take back the surface of Richmond from the hands of those robotic forces?"
Richard was shocked to hear the news of a revolt. At first, he did not respond but he was thinking he needed to know the time of the assault.
"I was not informed about a revolt that is occurring tonight. By the way, what time will it be taking place?"
"Sir, it is happening at 2100hrs! Every man and woman who wants to fight was given instruction to meet at the exit point." Stated Tammy.
"You are all fucking fools! People are going to die! The Mega forces are too well advance. You heard what happened in India! They wiped out the entire underground with no fucking survivors. If I were you, I will turn around and go back to your quarters where it is safe. At least you can have your freedom here."
"Dr. Jordan, have you been drinking? The only person who will be going back to their quarters will be you! Let me start walking you back now." Mentioned Tammy
"Get your fucking hands off of me!" Shouted Richard
Richard turned around and slowly walked away from the group of rebel soldiers while they stood there and watched him stumbled down the tunnel.
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At 1955hrs, Otis, Sara, and Zane made it to the scanning area of the traveling tunnel for the awaiting digger vehicle to transport them to Houston. Their commute will be long, due to, only one route and one tunnel along with several security check posts.
"I love you, dear!" as Otis hugged his Sara while trying to hold back from crying.
"Love you too, babe! We will send you a telegram once we make it to Houston" said Sara
"Please, whatever you do, don't worry about me especially tonight. Everything will be fine, I promise." Stated Otis
Okay, I will be strong and have faith that things will go well and we can come back home to live above the surface." Mentioned Sara.
"Zane, you are the big man, now! Protect your mom, son! I'm counting on you. In the next few days, I will be with you and your mom" Otis gave both of them a tight hug.
Zane's brushy eyebrows lifted up while he was trying to hold back from crying. Sara's and Zane's identifications were scanned. They boarded the digger vehicle where armed soldiers were already standing inside. The doors of the vehicle closed. Otis waved to Sara and Zane as the vehicle gradually pull away from the scanning station. Once the vehicle was cleared, Otis exited the station making his way back to his quarters to get prepared for tonight's revolt against the Mega's Forces. At 2010hrs, Otis opened the door to his quarters and noticed a letter from his commander about the roll call gathering in Zone 3. He proceeds to hurry upstairs to get to his uniform ready.
"Almost there!" Richard continued to stumble in the half-lit tunnel.
"I'm going to knock on the door and just demand Zane to come out, run him up to Sgt. Wilcox and head home." Richard was telling himself.
At 2015hrs, Richard finally arrived at the Parkers' quarters. He knocked on the door and waited. With no response, he knocked again and again. Otis did not hear the knocks at the door because he was racking back and forth on the slide of his 45 caliber pistol. Richard got frustrated and started to knock harder. Otis paused and heard the loud knocks coming from the door. He placed the weapon down on the bed and went downstairs towards the door thinking it may be a soldier with updated news. He opened the door and was taken aback to see Richard standing there with a flushed face wearing a long black coat.
"Dr. Jordan, how are you? I was hoping to hear from you soon. Come on in, Sir"
Richard entered but he did not say anything.
"Dr. Jordan, I received a letter from Houston about Zane. The government wants to conduct further research on our son. I just want to think you very much for helping us!"
Otis reached out to shake Richard's hand but he stood there emotionless.
"Dr. Jordan, are you okay?"
Richard continued to remain mute.
"Sir, do you want anything to drink" Otis waited for a response
"No....No!" Richard finally responded
"Where is Sara and Zane?" Richard had both of his hands in his coat pocket.
"Please, have a seat, Dr. Jordan. They already left for Houston."
Richard's face frowned and he yelled, "No!!!!!!" He took out his gun and pointed it to Otis' forehead. Otis' body completely became frozen.
"I need the boy, Otis! I have to turn him over to the Mega's Forces tonight or else my family and I will die. SO WHERE IS THE FUCKING BOY?"
"I.........told......you.....they left!" Otis tried to explain while Richard pressed the weapon hard against Otis' head.
"You don't understand Otis! I have been working for Mega's government for a while monitoring the underground government for any suspicious activities. Your boy has special abilities that may be an interest in the Mega's government."
"DAMMED.....YOU! I PRAY YOU FUCKING BURN IN HELL ALONG WITH THOSE EVIL MACHINES! I GUESS YOU ARE...................."
Richard struck Otis' head with the gun. Otis fell down holding his head in pain.
"NOW, WE ARE HEADING TO THE SCANNING STATION TO CALL BACK THE DIGGER VEHICLE!"
While Otis was bent over, he quickly got up and tackled Richard which both men fell down on the living room's floor. The gun fell out of Richard's hand from the impact. They began to wrestle and Otis was able to fight his way on top of Richard where he threw two punches to Richard's face. On the third attempted punch, Richard blocked Otis' hand and he twisted out of Otis' grip. He ran over where his gun dropped. Otis reached behind the couch and grabbed a wooden baseball bat. He hit Richard in the back of his head before he took possession of the pistol. Otis hit him so hard, Richard passed out on the floor.
"WHY, WHY..........WHY!" Otis yelled.
Otis kicked Richard on the side of his back while placing the weapon in his waistband. He dragged Richard's body to the foot of the couch and tied his hands and feet with duct tape. With Otis's head bleeding, he too passed out next to Richard.
At 2035hrs, there was a knock at Otis' door. The knock grew noisier and noisier. Then rebel soldiers kicked in the door and noticed the bodies lying on the floor. One of the soldiers checked Otis' vital signs while another check Richard's. Otis awoke and was in and out of consciousness. He told the soldiers about the incident with Richard and that he was a spy for the Mega government. Lt. Sparrow also arrived at Otis' quarters and was brief too.
"Soldiers, take Dr. Jordan to security room in sector 12 and remove that dammed fucking display chip at medical. Transport Otis to medical too!" Commanded Lt Sparrow.
"I need to fight tonight!" Otis said, holding his head.
"No, Lt. Parker! You are injured and I can't have a man who would not be fit to fight. Next time!" Lt Sparrow ordered.
Otis dropped his head on the stretcher and was rushed out of his quarters towards sector 12. Lt Sparrow ordered the rest of the soldiers to seal off Dr. Jordan's quarters for a security search until after tonight's raid. He looked at his watch and noticed the time was 2048hrs. He and the remaining soldiers ran down the tunnel heading for the war room where they were met by over 20,000 men and women from the underground cities. Lt Sparrow stood up on the stage with a bullhorn to address the crowd.
"I'm not going to make a long speech but we all know what our goal is tonight. I'm counting on everybody to do their part. These fucking machines have continued to remain in power for several years while we as humans rot in our own shit in hell. It ends tonight!!"
He ordered everyone to head for the entry point and as he walked off the stage. The crowd all cheered and applauded.
At 2110hrs, Sgt. Wilcox was charging himself in his office observing his display board. He waited a few minutes and gave Richard a benefit of a doubt before paging him. He then paged Richard and his display board flashed as being void. He tried again to page Richard but is still appeared as void.
"Well, it appeared Dr. Jordan did not come through with his commitment
." Sgt. Wilcox stated while he was rubbing his chin. He contacted the city's security forces and ordered them to Dr. Jordan's house. He also placed a wanted fugitive hit on Dr. Jordan's data file including his family. At 2115, security forces burst into Dr. Jordan's residence and killed his wife and children. The robotic security unit paged Sgt. Wilcox the status of the family and Dr. Jordan as being unfounded.
"That good news that the family is dead." Sgt. Wilcox leaned into his display board to observe the dead bodies.
"Keep me posted of Dr. Jordan's death."
He turned off his display board and went offline for program downloads. The security unit left Dr. Jordan's house. They entered their mobile sky vehicle to continue patrolling the city. As they passed the Mega Tower, a missile hit their vehicle blowing it out of the dark sky. The underground nation of United States' revolt finally started.