Within The Abandoned Bunker

In the teeming rain, the asphalt pools with rainwater, but there’s nowhere for it to go. Even in a place like the Capital, all this water would have been harvested, whether to water plants, be recycled for drinking water, or be directed straight into the crystal-clear canals. Definitely not wasted like this, just to evaporate when the sky clears up.

Hugo’s shoes splash heavily in puddles he can’t avoid. Their dirt-proof materials do their best to keep them looking brand-new.

Not just his shoes, but his entire outfit is waterproof. Thank goodness; the icy cold rain would send chills right through his body, otherwise.

The red dot on Hugo’s map now represents Eugene. Despite Eugene’s head start, he won’t be able to outrun Hugo. But while Hugo’s an insanely fast runner, Eugene’s time in the military has taught him the tactics to avoid getting caught.

Not that it matters to Hugo this round, anyway.

Noah’s blue dot, over the other side of Eugene’s, struggles to keep pace with Hugo’s. He’s slower than both of them, but he makes it up in his martial art skills.

“I have an idea,” Hugo tells Noah. “Keep at it.”

Eugene’s not quite traveling in the direction Hugo wants him to, so he turns at a T-section, running straight towards Noah. He soon passes behind Eugene.

“What are you doing?” Noah’s panicked voice travels through Hugo’s earpiece. “We can’t catch him if we’re both on his left.”

Eugene’s dot turns sharply, moving in a completely new direction – away from both Hugo and Noah.

Excellent. He’s seen Hugo’s dot and has fallen for his maneuver.

“Change of direction,” Hugo replies. “Trust me.”

“I just hope you know what you’re doing...”

Hugo alters his course at the next intersection. On the side of the road, he can barely make out a diagram printed on a rusting, metal sign – this is the access ramp to an elevated highway.

He kicks his feet off the ground a little harder, gaining speed as he curves up and around the ramp. He’s catching Eugene fast, but can’t celebrate just yet.

The drone’s picked up something wrong with the structure of the highway. It quickly comes into Hugo’s vision. One of the pillars has collapsed, taking a sizable chunk out of the asphalt highway.

Hugo might be able to just make the jump.

As he approaches the hole in the highway, he grits his teeth. At this speed, it’ll be difficult to get the timing right. The gap gets closer and closer, until it’s right in front of him.

He kicks off the ground, throwing all his weight forward with his arms. But as he rotates his shoulder blades, a sharp pain shoots through his torso. He falters, mid-air.

He slams into the side of the asphalt on the other side, the weight of his legs dragging him backward. He tries to dig his fingers into the road, but fails to grab onto anything. His arms slide off the edge and he has no contact with any part of the highway. He’s freefalling.

Shutting his eyes tightly, he waits as the concrete below rushes towards him. Then, something metal tightens around his wrist. His arm almost wrenches away from its socket.

He dangles there for a moment. He tries to look up, but the bucketing rain instantly forces him to shut his eyes.

When he can manage a squint, the first thing he sees is a metal arm. From the cool metal, water flows onto Hugo’s warm arm.

With perhaps only a smidge of effort, Hugo’s pulled up and over the edge of the highway. “Thought you could use a little help,” a husky voice says.

The owner of the arm greets him with a familiar, expressionless gaze. He’s almost human. Aside from several noticeable, metal body enhancements, of course.

Seeing such an abomination of nature would frighten most people, but not Hugo.

But Hugo has no time to talk. He bows in thanks – not too small, but not too deep either – and takes off again, leaving the cyborg alone in the rain.

* * *

By the time Hugo reaches the highway's next exit, he’s caught up with Eugene. Eugene’s dot corrects its course, nestled in the middle of both Hugo’s and Noah’s. To keep it that way, Hugo takes the next highway turn-off.

It’s about the right timing, too; on the right-hand side of Hugo’s map, the concrete abominations fall away for a mess of holographic noise.

The underground structure on Hugo’s map comes into view. He finds the most direct route, and is about to veer off course when he hears Noah through his earpiece: “What’s the plan?”

Hugo blanks, not knowing how to respond.

“I know you don’t like following plans, but you have to actually make one yourself.”

Hugo braces and – as if doing so will give him an electric shock – turns off his earpiece by holding down a button. The map, the timer, and all the other information being projected in front of him fade away. Only when he’s sure it’s off does he make a sharp turn and dash straight for the structure.

He knows Noah will be making immediate emergency contact with Eugene. But they shouldn’t be able to find him with his earpiece switched off.

The high-pitched buzzing gradually becomes audible, cutting through the sound of pelting rain on the pavement.

Hugo slows as he approaches the shelter. The water pools at the bottom of the concrete steps. As he steps down, his left foot slides out from underneath him. He reaches back behind him to catch his head from hitting the steps. Close call.

He takes his brother’s ID card out of his back pocket and approaches the scanner on the wall. The scanner lets out a small beep. At that exact moment, the buzzing becomes dead silent.

Hugo grabs the handle of the metal door, lowering it apprehensively. He gives the door a light push.

The door doesn’t budge, and the buzzing starts back again.

Hugo lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He scans the ID card again and lowers the door handle. This time, though, he takes a step up to the door, slamming hard against it.

The door budges open with a loud scraping sound, caught on the concrete floor. The buzzing doesn’t start back up again.

Hugo rams the door again – then a couple more times – until it’s free of the concrete. It swings open with a throaty moan.

Darkness.

A breath of stale air wafts past Hugo. His heart rate, which had calmed since he slowed down, picks up speed. He pulls back his sleeve to reveal a slim, white metal smartwatch. At the press of a small button on the side, a bright light pierces the darkness.

The inside of the concrete space is empty. As Hugo takes cautious steps into the space, his light picks up nothing but walls. It’s massive, stretching almost a hundred meters into the ground. It looks like some kind of bunker.

Hugo turns to his right and spots another metal door. Reassured by the fact that no one – or no thing – is inside the space, he steps away from the entrance and towards this new door. Engraved in the middle of it is the military’s logo.

There’s another ID scanner next to the door, but Hugo can’t hear any buzzing. Crossing his fingers inside his mind, he raises his brother’s ID to it. Then, he pulls down on the door handle and slams his side into the door.

It doesn’t budge.

Damn, he really thought this would work. In annoyance, he tightens his hand into a fist and slams the pass scanner. All of a sudden, a high-pitched buzzing hits Hugo’s ears. It’s softer than the one on the entrance door, but he’s certain it’s still there.

As fast as he can, he raises the ID card to it and yanks on the door handle. The buzzing stops and he swings open the metal door, this time with ease.

This room’s much smaller, but the air’s just as stale. The light from Hugo’s smartwatch picks up chairs, desks, and computers sitting on top of them.

He creeps over to the closest computer. They’re not exactly the modern, glass-free holographic computers people use nowadays, but they’re not quite computers from the old world either. On the side, Hugo recognises the logo of a defunct electronic manufacturer.

Hugo turns his attention to a big control panel along the back wall. Several sturdy, glass screens connect to one large array of switches and buttons. He walks over, shining his smartwatch’s light over them.

Some of them have characters inscripted on or above them – a writing system he doesn’t recognise. If only he had brought his smartphone with him, he could’ve translated them in a second.

Hugo sweeps his light back over them one more time, convinced that this is as far as he’ll get. But he notices something – it’s a small, raised pad, similar to the scanners next to the doors.

He places Eugene’s ID card in a slightly-indented slot on top of the pad, and a whirring noise fills the room. The lights flicker on. They’re quite dim, but it’s bright enough for Hugo to see without his watch. The control panel also turns on, booting screens appearing on each of the monitors.

Within seconds, they finish booting and auto-login. A mess of convoluted text and digital folders intrigues Hugo. He can’t read any of it; they’re in that outdated writing system.

No, not quite all of it.

Some of the text reads eerily familiar to what’s used today. In the top right, the text displays numbers and characters that look like the ones currently used for dates. A symbol appears next to it, seeming to signify that the control panel has just been connected to the network.

That’s not what makes Hugo most curious – one of the folders reads like the characters for ‘missile’, another for ‘shields’, and another for ‘communications’. His brother’s ID card has granted him full access to the military’s weapons system. And, at this moment, it seems like Hugo has complete control.

As the thought dawns on him, a tremendous amount of adrenaline rushes through his body. He scans his eyes over the switches and buttons underneath the monitors, looking for a trackpad or anything that he can use to explore the system.

He glances back at the monitors again and his eyes land on the characters for ‘missile’. This time, the text is attached to a different folder. It’s followed by characters that could potentially combine to read as ‘missile system’.

He wouldn’t dare meddle with any of this, but the ability is right in front of him. If he knew how it worked, of course.

Engrossed by the control panel in front of him, he doesn’t hear anyone enter the bunker behind him. But he does hear – at the last second – the rush of air over clothing before he’s pinned down, with his face on the desk. His arms are forced behind his back.

He turns his head – the only thing he can move – to see someone’s torso and legs walk up to the control panel next to him. A hand reaches down and lifts the ID card out of the slot on the scanner. Hugo recognises those hands.

Hugo’s yanked up off the desk by his wrists. The bunker lights fade and the power shuts off.

“Thanks.” Eugene stands in front of Hugo, deadpan expression and staring daggers. He dangles his ID card next to his own face. “I’ve been looking for this.”

He’s illuminated by strong light from a sturdy, white drone. A bit bigger than his head, it hovers at Eugene’s eye-level with the help of four propellers.

Hugo struggles free and turns to see Noah, half-covered in darkness, looking just as annoyed as Eugene.

“I can’t believe you…”

Hearing Noah’s disappointment twinges something in his chest, but the feeling goes as quick as it comes.

Hugo believes his behavior’s justified. Sure, he might’ve stolen from his brother and ditched his best friend on purpose. But Eugene wouldn’t have let him explore this place, and Noah would’ve told Eugene the second Hugo brought it up.

Yet, something doesn’t quite add up.

“How did you find me?” Hugo asks.

“We’re connected on here, remember?” Eugene, curling up his top lip in amusement, pulls back his sleeve to reveal his own smartwatch. “Who’s the idiot now?”

Hugo crosses his arms in a defensive stance. That damn family tracker app. But he won’t accept he’s in the wrong. Or give Eugene the satisfaction of telling him he’s right.

“Hand over your earpiece,” Eugene demands, thrusting his hand out. “We’re going home.”

Hugo tentatively raises his right arm to his ear and takes out the earpiece. His ear instantly feels empty. He trods over and slaps it firmly in Eugene’s hand.

“Careful!” Eugene objects harshly. “Do you want me to get kicked out?” He turns away and stomps out of the control room.

The drone follows him, leaving Hugo and Noah in near darkness.

Noah stares directly into Hugo’s eyes. “You always act without thinking about anyone else, don’t you?”

And, in this moment, Hugo feels a wave of shame rise to the surface of his skin. More shame than he’s felt for as long as he can remember.

* * *

The rain becomes a drizzle as they walk through the concrete maze. The drone’s nowhere to be seen, flying high in the slowly brightening sky. And only Eugene wears an earpiece – to navigate them out, of course.

Hugo plods a few feet behind Eugene and Noah. He knew he’d ruin their fun, but didn’t realize it would make things strained.

All three of them stop by Eugene’s target shrine on the way back from the bunker; they’d left their robes there and had to pick them up.

These synthetic green robes, draping gently over their gray underclothes, are designed to keep them immensely warm in the cold but cool in the heat. All while being entirely waterproof and lightweight. Ah, the benefits of modern technology. Not just great for electronics, but for all aspects of everyday life.

“Did you know that bunker was there?”

Hugo freezes slightly.

Noah asked the question – to Eugene, of course – but no one had said a word about it since they left.

“No,” Eugene replies, carefully choosing his next words. “They don’t tell us about things like that.”

“About the location of old bunkers and other secret military places?”

“Yeah.” Eugene’s deep in thought. “Even if they did, I rank too low. Especially to get full access like that…”

He’s right. A low ranking member of the military obviously wouldn’t be granted access to the weapons and defense system of their whole society. It’s suspicious. And if there’s no foul play involved, it’s a massive oversight. For the military to be using the same scanning systems they used years ago, it almost seems insane.

“Maybe even they’ve forgotten about it,” Noah suggests, almost like an afterthought.

Eugene stops in his tracks, looking at Hugo dead in the eyes, making Hugo snap out of his thoughts.

“Are you gonna tell me how you found that bunker?” Eugene hasn’t talked to Hugo the entire way back. But it seems like he can’t help himself anymore. “You couldn’t have been able to tell just from the map.”

“The high-pitched buzzing noise,” Hugo replies honestly. He doesn’t want to cause any more trouble today by omitting the truth. “It was louder when the outer door was locked.”

Eugene and Noah give him puzzled looks. They have no idea what he’s talking about.

“You know.” Hugo tries to explain himself. “Like the noise when we closed the door to the control room on the way out.”

They couldn’t get the door to the entrance closed because of the raised concrete, so Eugene was quite emphatic in making sure the control room door was locked shut.

And Hugo knew it was locked because – as soon as the metal door was sealed inside its frame – the buzzing started up again. Hugo didn’t mention it at the time, but he should have.

“Just what are you talking about?” Eugene says, losing his patience.

Noah takes a step towards Hugo. “There wasn’t any kind of high-pitched noise when we closed the door, Hugo.”

It might’ve been quieter than the entrance door scanner, but Hugo’s certain the noise came back. And was more than loud enough to hear.

At least, for someone like Hugo to hear.

He exhales in irritation and storms around them, looking for the exit of this dreadful place. Behind him, he hears Eugene sigh.

They march for a few more minutes in the light rain, Eugene giving occasional, blunt directions from the rear.

As the concrete comes to an eventual end, agricultural farms fill a lush, green valley in front of them. Fields of fruit trees, vegetables, and rice paddies fill Hugo’s vision. Among them, high-tech machines tend to the crops – picking, planting, and monitoring.

From sheds throughout the valley, Hugo can see massive, white flying wind turbines being launched. The weather sensors must have detected a permanent improvement in the weather for the rest of the day.

Scattered amongst the farms, ecovillages of sustainable houses and greenhouses sit quaintly on the land and nestle into hills.

About 30-minutes away, the three of them will walk to the last stop of a solar-powered high-speed train line. Hugo can see it from here. The train line shoots – like a bolt of lightning – far into the distance, where curves of white metal form an elegant, high-tech metropolis.

As if sensing their time in the old world has come to an end, the clouds part and a golden streak of sun beams down onto the valley. ‘Sunny with a chance of rain.’ That’s what they say about the society of New Kansai.

And, at least for now, they’re correct.