An electrifying first day

“Why would we be going inside a zkwich!” Oliver mocked.

“To kill it!” Caio afirmed.

“And to retrieve the Picorium,” Greg added.

“You guys are feeling okay?” Oliver said, looking at them skeptically. “That’s what handlers do, using remote-controlled robots. You’ve never been to a raid before?”

“I’m so sorry to break it for you,” Greg coldly cut. “That’s nothing but entertainment.”

“Break what?! I’m going to be a handler you know?” Oliver said, taking a few steps away from the group. “I won the Ninth Annual Robo-contest of the Grid! We design the robots that one day will be crushing zkwich down!”

A semi-circled door slid open on the wall facing the group, letting the sea breeze in.

“It’s almost here!” A man shouted as he peeked over the edge of the boat.

“GoMindfull please tell me everyone around me has gone nuts,” Oliver said.

“My name is KeyWee,” KeyWee replied. “Your right to possess a GoMindfull was revoked when you were exiled.”

“Okay, KeyWee,” Olver sighed as ropes started falling from the roof next to the edge of the opened door. “Tell me.”

“It’s about to contact,” The man announced as he firmly grabbed the wall. “Almost here, almost…”

The boat shook making the squad crouch to maintain balance.

“ZH squad, going in!” a man shouted as he grabbed one rope and jumped over the edge. Many others followed, Oliver looked at the scene terrified.

“The answer is no. Those are members of the ZH squad, they’re just doing their job,” KeyWee explained. “Now, you better do the same if you don’t want to get another discharge.”

Oliver saw Caio attaching his pickaxe to his back’s harness before jumping off, so he did the mase and walked reluctantly to the ropes.

“What exactly does a ZH squad member do?” Oliver asked, testing the rope before a bearded screaming man passed by him and jumped over the edge, without grabbing a rope. “Professor Karimov?!”

“As its name implies, zkwich hunters take care of these unpleasant creatures before they can cause any damage to the protected vessel,” KeyWee explained as Oliver peeked terrified over the edge and saw no signs of the professor or anybody else. “Grab a rope, the obedience bracelet indicates an upcoming discharge if you don’t follow the squad.”

Oliver looked back at the lonely place, then looked down.

“I’m staying here!” He declared, crossing his arms and sitting, awaiting for the discharge. “Number one Handler Lynx Cook is going to arrive at any second and get rid of whatever’s down there.”

“As you wish,” KeyWee replied but didn’t turn off the visual indicator of grabbing the rope. “Discharge in three, two, one.”

“Aaagh!” Oliver groaned as the discharge hit.

“He will arrive at any second,” He said to himself with conviction, clenching his teeth.

“He won’t,” KeyWee replied.

Oliver’s hands began to shake uncontrollably as the electricity continued flowing. “Please come!” The smell of burning skin reached his nostrils. No robot was in sight. Oliver threw himself over the edge and grabbed a rope as hard as he could.

The discharge stopped, and Oliver was able to improve his grip on the rope, his right ankle still exuded a burned-wire scent. The rope lowered him quickly but gently onto the sandbank moving against the boat.

Oliver landed in the lonely sandbank, the rope retroceded as soon as he let go of it. The sand shifted uneasily under his feet.

“Look there’s the conduct foramen,” KeyWee indicated with a visual sign a hole to Oliver’s left. “Jump, or you’ll get another discharge.”

Oliver had enough electricity for a day so he followed the instructions. He slid down the sand until he reached a two-meter-tall cavity. The absence of darkness surprised him, he was inside a sandbank, it should be dark but the walls of the cavity glowed golden, allowing Oliver to see the awaiting ZH squad.

“Yo! We thought you were fried already!” Caio said, hitting Oliver’s shoulder, looked down at the ankle, and mocked, “Well, just a little bit.”

The man who shouted a lot back in the boat approached Oliver. “Squad Leader Quispe, glad you made it through the first filter, kid,” The man said stretching Oliver’s hand. “Let’s get moving,”

The group advanced along the only possible path, a tunnel that Oliver had to crawl into as the sand kept shifting beneath him.

“You’re not telling me you’re still expecting the handlers to come right?” Caio asked ahead.

Oliver kept crawling muted.

“Nobody explained you anything?” Greg questioned, turning back to confirm Oliver’s conflicted expression.

“It’s his fault for arriving along a zkwich,” The girl who gave him the suit replied even further ahead of the line. “I couldn’t give him the orientation tour.”

“For real Sylvie?” Greg mocked.

“I mean… I wasn’t going to give him a tour while a zkwich attacked us and the obedience bracelets fried our brains!” Sylvie anxiously complained as Caio and Greg cracked up. She turned back and apologized, “I do remember your name. Oliver, right? Nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you, Sylvie,” Oliver replied. “So, what was that orientation tour about?”

“Let’s begin by saying that there are usually three types of handlers,” Caio explained. “The first ones spent their days animating the fake action scenes cast during the raids. I’ve never met one, don’t ask me more.”

“The second type is public figures, like Lynx Cook,” Greg continued. “They just have to look perfect all the time to keep romanticizing the job. And the third…”

“The third type is a bunch of rats whose only task is to ensure we're not having too much of a good time,” Caio interrupted.

“They’re called auditors,” Greg added. “And, yes, they’re a pain in the lower back.”

Oliver continued crawling silently until the tunnel opened into an irregular cavern with many bifurcations.

“So we’re going to divide into teams…” Announcer Leader Quispe when a pile of sand lunged for him.

“Watch out!” A squad member warned as Quispe evaded the pile. More sand piles started to arise in the surroundings. “AB wave! Attack!”

Oliver stood in his place as chaos broke out around him. Leader Quispe lifted the sand pile over his back and used his pickaxe to cut a dark cord connecting it to the floor. Caio held another sand pile steady as Greg removed his hand inside it. Greg pulled a hand-sized purple glowing pod from the sand. The pile turned frantic and Greg had to help his friend keep it immobile. Sylvie darted ahead and cut the pod from the dark cord. The sand instantly scattered.

Oliver observed how different teams used various unpolished techniques to immobilize the sand piles. The woman who called Oliver a sloth finished the last rebellious pile and tied the pod to her belt.

“We're still far from the nucleus,” Leader Quispe mumbled as he rapidly studied every member of the squad until his eyes fixed on Oliver.

“There's no way,” Greg said as Quispe walked decidedly toward them.

“Did you take the pill?” Quispe demanded.

“I didn’t know I had to take a pill,” Oliver stuttered.

“I had no time to take him to the health cabin, Sir,” Sylvie nervously replied as Quispe sighed.

“Well, kid. Now thanks to your colleague’s incompetence,” Quispe continued. “You’re just like a lantern for the ABs.”

Oliver nodded as if he knew what Quispe was talking about while everyone around looked at him as if he were a ghost.

“You’re going to keep attracting waves, I cannot risk my squad,” Quispe explained, shaking his head. “I'm sorry kid but you're going alone from now.”