Chapter 3: Asking Permission

The next day, Dariel met up with Lena at the cafeteria to tell her about what he was planning on doing.

“I’m going out to the surface with Mila.”

Lena paused for a few seconds, her eyes blinking in incomprehension at what he had just uttered. But once her mind had settled and had processed his words, she slammed her hands on the table as she leaned forward, letting out a loud thud.

“Are you serious?!” she shouted, her eyes wide in shock and disbelief. There was just no way he was serious.

However, apparent from his expression, Dariel was absolutely serious. He was fully intent on doing what he said. He was aware it was an absurd thing to do, but he must do it. Lena flinched when she realized her outburst as other people started staring at her. She quickly sat back down in her seat with a wrinkled brow, glaring at Dariel.

“Dariel…”

“I’m serious, Lena. I want to go out there. I want Mila to see the world, and not just her room, and this place.”

Lena placed a hand on her forehead, letting out an exasperated sigh.

“The safety of the surface is still uncertain. We don’t know for sure if the machines have any change whatsoever. They could kill you on sight for all we know.”

“But you said it has been relatively peaceful up there.”

“Y-Yes. But nothing is certain yet. Both of you could die out there…” She looked at him with an expression of intense concern.

“Honestly, Lena, it’s way better dying there seeing the world than here…”

She pursed her lips, her eyes showing pain. Dariel appreciated her concern for him, and it meant a lot. It warmed his heart to see someone care for him like this. They had been friends since they were children, and he understood that she was just scared for him and his little sister.

“... I…” Lena lowered her gaze. “I don’t like what you’re planning… But I won’t stop you. It’s just… You’re coming back, right?”

Dariel formed a small, yet reassuring, smile. “I intend to.”

She meekly nodded. “That’s good. Good… No one has left the shelter ever since its formation. Will they even let you out?”

“That’s why I may need your help to convince the top brass.”

Lena looked away, thinking of a way to help. “You should talk with your supervisor first. He’s a part of the council. If you convince him, you might get a chance.”

She was referring to the head of the shelter’s Sentry Corp, Dariel’s boss. Dariel pondered about it, it could work. His boss was a kind and generous man, he would be willing to listen to what Dariel had to say. Furthermore, he knew about Mila and her condition, and perhaps he’d understand why Dariel wanted to do this.

“Okay. I’ll talk to him. Coming with me?”

“... Alright, I’ll come with you. You might need me anyway.” She jokingly chuckled.

“That’s a relief. Thanks. But you’re not worried about your job?”

“Eh, not like we’re doing anything urgent. Just all observations. I’m not crucial enough to be missed for a couple of hours.”

“I see. Then we’ll go to the barracks after this.”

Once they were done eating, they headed straight to the soldiers’ barracks. It was on the upper floor, opted for a quick response in case an attack came from the surface. The floor where the soldiers were stationed was fully equipped with all the tools and facilities needed for training.

The number of soldiers, or more appropriately referred to as the sentries, numbered around a couple hundred. All skilled in their own way. Every day, many would train, while some would be tasked to patrol the shelter to ensure order. Despite how enclosed this place may be and their people, disorder was still to be expected. Fightings, quarrels, attempted murder, theft, just the ever common bad human behavior. Such things would never change, it would seem.

Dariel and Lena used the elevator to reach the upper floor. When they arrived at the barracks, one of the guards immediately recognized Dariel.

“Hey, Dariel. Finally back?”

Dariel wryly smiled. “Not exactly.”

“Really? How’s little Mila?”

“... The same as always. Although she’s still stubborn about putting down her phone.”

“Hahahaha! Well, can’t blame her for that. Anyway, if you’re not back, what are you here for?”

“Here to talk to the chief. Is he here?”

“Yeah, what for?”

Dariel smiled. “You’ll know when it happens.”

The guard slowly nodded. “Huh, if you say so. Get in.”

Dariel nodded, and he entered the facility. It was a spacious rectangular place which could store hundreds of people at once. In fact, it was just above the main entrance of the shelter. Majorly white and black in color, it was first used as a lobby for humans that evacuated here.

And now that the people had all lived on the floors below, there was no other use left for this space. The Sentry Corps decided to use this floor as their own base of operations and training zone. Incidentally, there was another good reason for picking this area. It was because it was next to the main shelter entrance. If the machines would ever find them, they’d have to face the soldiers here as the first line of defense.

On the side of the open space was a two story building. The front was mostly composed of tall and wide windows. It was a simple yet good looking building, full of symmetry as how this entire shelter was designed to be.

Dariel watched the soldiers sparring in the open area, using dummy swords, and others their fists. The chief was a good leader, he would always have his soldiers spar with each other. He didn’t want them to get lazy and lose the sharpness of their skills. Even Dariel, as he was just starting, found it extremely hard and hellish training constantly. Even more so as a trainee, training was way rougher and harder.

“Wow, everyone’s working hard,” Lena said with a smile as she watched the soldiers work.

“We’ll be berated if we don’t train while here.”

“Well, I’m sure you can find a way to sneak and hide.”

Dariel frowned and glanced suspiciously at Lena. “You really shouldn’t. Is that what you do?”

Lena smiled wryly as she looked away to avoid Dariel’s eyes. “Nope…”

“Liar.”

She haughtily flipped her hair. “I’m quite a diligent young lady, just so you know.”

“Hmm. Maybe I should tip off your boss before I go out.”

“Noooo!” Lena clung violently to his arm. “Don’t do that! I’ll never forgive you for taking away my free time.”

“Free time?” Dariel chuckled. “So you are doing it!”

Lena froze before pulling away and puffed her cheeks. “I mean… um, just sometimes, you know, sometimes.”

Dariel narrowed his eyes on her. “... Yeah right. Anyway, I was joking. Enjoy your work time however you want.”

“Oh yeah!” She pumped her fist.

They arrived at the headquarter’s entrance. Once they got inside, Dariel approached a female staffer typing on her computer with a holographic display and flat keyboard. Dariel was acquainted with her, but he was very careful as he approached, forming a docile and friendly smile.

“Excuse me, miss.”

The woman, who was around in her mid-twenties, turned up a sharp gaze at him. “Oh, it’s you. How’s your little sister?”

“She’s fine, but… it’s not looking good.”

The woman paused her work. “I see…” There was a hint of sympathy in her eyes. “What are you here for? Shouldn’t you be with her?”

“I wanted to talk to the chief. Is he here?”

“He’s in his office. May I ask for what reason?”

“I would like to ask his permission and ask for help.”

The woman lowered her head, pondering for a moment. Afterward, she nodded her head. “Go ahead.”

“Thank you.”

And with that, both and Dariel continued further inside. They climbed up the stairs until they arrived at the sizable room on the second floor. Through the glass door, they could see the chief sitting down and tweaking his rifle.

Dariel knocked on the door before opening it. “Excuse me, chief.”

The chief turned towards him and promptly set aside his rifle, placing it on the side of his desk. “Dariel. You’re back. Come in.” The chief had a deep and powerful voice. He was a beardy man, short dark brown hair, and a muscular physique.

“Thank you, chief.”

Dariel first stepped inside, and when Lena entered next, the chief raised an eyebrow.

“Hello, Lena. Fancy meeting you here.”

Lena smiled kindly. “Hi, um, chief. Everything going well?”

“Of course. Boring, but boring is good. It means everything is safe. Anyway,” the chief shifted his gaze towards Dariel. “How’s your sister?”

“... That’s why I’m here.”

The chief’s eyes widened. “She’s not dead, is she?”

Dariel smiled, the chief had always been straightforward. “No. Well, not exactly.”

“Hm? Tell me, what’s that poor girl’s condition?”

Dariel smiled sadly. “... The doctor said… my sister does not… have long.”

“... Oh… There’s nothing we can do?”

Dariel shook his head.

“I see… That’s unfortunate… She’s still so young and small.” The chief lowered his head.

“Chief,” Dariel clenched his fists. “I want permission to go out of the shelter.”

The chief’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief. It was an absurd thing to say and ask permission for. It was insane.

“Out? You mean to the surface?”

“Yes.”

“And why would you do that?”

“... For my sister. She’s been stuck in this place her entire life, most of it is in our home. So, before her…” He lowered his head, a pained expression on his face. It hurt him to even utter the possibility. “Before her inevitable departure, I want her to see more than what we see here.”

“And you want to go to the surface for that?”

Dariel nodded firmly. “I want her to see the Earth. I heard from Lena that it is a beautiful place. I want Mila to see that beauty. I want her to feel happy, proud, let her see with her own eyes something new and special… I want her to see the sky, the grass, the stars. I want her to experience life.”

He wanted for his little sister to feel something different, something truly special. For her to see everything this world had, the green of the land, the blue of the sky, the twinkling of the stars, to feel the fresh cold breeze. Things that they would only see in videos or other learning materials. He wanted his little sister to experience all of those firsthand.

The chief leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh. “Does Mila know about your plan?”

“Yes, she wants it.”

The chief chuckled. “The wonders of a child.” And he formed a serious expression. “But the surface is dangerous.”

“I know.”

“The machines could kill you both.”

“I know the risks.”

“If I may,” Lena chimed in. “You know where I work, chief. But lately, we had barely seen activities from the machines. So maybe there are no monsters around here.”

“Be that as it may, you can’t leave it to chance. Where do you even ultimately intend to go, Dariel? I’m sure you won’t just immediately go back or randomly go to places.”

Dariel smiled. “I want Mila to see the upcoming falling stars. The best spot to watch it is my intended destination.”

“Falling stars?” the chief muttered.

“Woah, hey, you didn’t tell me about that! The best place to see it is far from here, you know! You might definitely encounter some machines!” Lena exclaimed in shock.

“Still, I’m going.” His voice showed complete conviction.

The chief groaned. “Dariel, you’re excellent in combat. But that is against fellow humans. You, we, all of us, never had an experience facing an actual machine. We study them from records, but that is never enough.”

“I’ll do everything for my sister.”

“You’re firm on this?”

“Yes, chief.”

The chief let out a resigning sigh. “I don’t want to stop you. But for a human to be sent up there, never been done before. My permission alone won't be enough.”

“The council, yes. That’s why I’d like to ask for your help in that regard.”

“You wanting your little sister to see the world above won’t be enough to convince a lot of them. They don’t know you or your little sister. This will end in failure if we don’t give them a good reason.”

“...” Dariel had nothing to answer. In the end, his reason for leaving the shelter was for a personal reason. They would never let such a selfish reason to risk the shelter.

Lena placed a hand on her chin. “What if we say it’s also a good opportunity to do some actual recon?”

The chief turned an intrigued look at her. “Continue, Lena,” he said.

“As I mentioned, things have been different up there for years. And our tools could only be brought so far. An actual human to check how things are on the surface. To see what the machines are doing, how safe it is for the humans, how much things have changed. And see if we humans could finally go back to the surface. I think it will be better than sending our drones for recon.”

“So we gather important data about the surface.”

“We take a peek at the surface because of hope,” Lena said. “This is a chance to see how much hope we actually have.”

“Hmmm.” The chief pondered deeply, his brow frowning as he did so. “That could work. Very well, I’ll speak to the council about this. For now, Dariel, you wait. This will take some time.”

“T-Thank you, chief! I owe you.”

“Nah, no need for that. I’m doing this freely for your little sister.”

“Still, thank you.”

With their business done, and the chief agreeing to help, both Dariel and Lena left the room. Dariel let out a relieved sigh. He turned towards Lena with a wide and grateful smile.

“Thank you, Lena. Couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Yeah, yeah. But if you do go out, be careful.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Good. To the falling stars, huh? Make sure to take pictures and videos, alright?”

“Sure. Oh yeah, tell me more about the falling stars. Especially the location I mentioned.”

“... Okay.”