Chapter 12:

Into the Underground

Memory 262


To the outer world, everything was going smooth and in order. They were kept ignorant under the false hope of a better future. Even if I got to know about this when it was already too late, even if I am late, it’s still better than remaining blinded from the truth. In all this madness I recalled the time when everything was simple for me, waking up without a care in the world, living by the day. It was peaceful and relaxing in its own way. It’s been months since I contacted Mika. I hope she is doing alright.

Soya was the one who got us here, in the undergrounds; A place where all the reckless resided, that’s what they call themselves. It wasn’t a smart name but it sure did define their way of living recklessly. There was no boss or captain, only mates who worked together to destroy the big bulls infesting the world. We met a certain individual named, Aja. He didn’t serious at first but when he started speaking, we got to know that everyone in the undergrounds was a victim. Victim of the system.

“You see, people believe and trust others who are in authority, they rely on them and their decisions. I mean, as a kid, we believe in our parents or elders who are more experienced in life than we are. An adult can be a trainwreck, but we still rely on them. Even if they’re a mess, they have experienced what’s good and what’s bad, and maybe from that, they will help us tackle situations we have never been in.” Aja glanced over the cracked window, from where he could see people outside working their hardest to help him and themselves. It was as though he had found a family he once lost. He got lost in the thought.

Soya tried calling him, “Aja, Aja!” He got out of his thoughts and took a breath.

“Sorry, I got lost there for a second, what I meant to say is that these people are like our parents. We don’t doubt or question them. That’s how you survive in this world, make enough fuss and your whole life will turn upside down.” Aja sighed as he picked a photo of his wife and daughter. “You see those girls; she is her mother.” He points out in the picture. “And this little one, my daughter.” He gushed, “Aren’t they lovely...” Aja stated.

Aja looked at Soya with a gloomy face. “Of course, they are,” Soya responded.

Aja took another look at the photo and peek at Xiba and me. “They are both dead now.”

Xiba and I felt upset hearing that. “Everyone here lost something because of the corrupt. But this time, we aren’t gonna question them, but instead make them regret that they never answered.”

“I am confused about various stuff, how do you all come together? How are we going to change anything?” I questioned, looking directly into his eyes.

“That’s a fair question. I was a head scientist in a factory where we used to produce vaccines. Those vaccines were mainly created for newborns and young children. One day I found out that there were certain nanobots in our vaccines. Upon inspecting some other samples, I found that every batch had them. I notified the sample inspector but he didn’t change anything. I tried writing a letter to the head organization but never heard anything from them. Our director in charge tried to talk me out of it, but I still tried to find out what was going on. I gave a sample to my friend who specialised in nanotech and he gave me a shocking report. It reported that these bots were used to slow down neuron growth by controlling the nervous system, which could help them modify our perception and even change our thoughts according to their wishes.” Aja got tired standing up and sat down on the worn-out old couch behind him. Soya, me and Xiba were listening silently. He continued.

“I became a whistle-blower, I tried everything in my power to change it. Suddenly my wife and daughter got sick, they never had a history of any disease or illness. They were admitted to The Alpha Hope hospital. The last thing I remember was receiving a call from an unknown guy who whispered, you will regret it. I was confused at that time, but soon I realised it was nothing but a threat. I never got to see my wife and daughter again. They reported both of them dead and said they weren’t able to save them.” I could see anger on Aja’s face, losing your only family like this is the worst thing that could ever happen to anyone.

Aja sighed and stretched his arms. “They tried killing me too, but somehow, I got lucky and escaped. Here we are, I met many people like me and worked on a serum which disabled these bots. We have managed to disable many bots, without even getting noticed by anyone. Our people work together and were planning to expose them but I am glad we met you before executing that.”

“Same here, I want to help you, plus essentially our goals are the same. To end the authority.” I clenched my fists, I beamed filled with hope once again. “Nothing will stop us now,” I whispered.

Xiba was looking perplexed about something, I tried asking her. “Hey, what’s up? You, okay?”

She came closer to me and whispered, “I need to tell you something.” Slowly.

“Now?” I asked. She answered, “Yes.”

“Excuse us for a minute,” I said to Aja and Soya.

Xiba gave me a piece of crucial information which could disrupt things, it made me feel sick about the situation we were in. I insisted that she had to confess it and confront him, revealing the truth behind the death of Aja’s wife and daughter. I couldn’t imagine what Aja will feel about it who has already accepted the truth and moved on.

We entered the room and continued talking about our plans, I told Xiba to take it easy for now. She has had her share of grief and suffering and there is nothing she could do to change things.

“So, you have some kinda trick up your sleeve is what I heard.” Aja was curious to find mine about my abilities. He added, “I can help you control and harness them better.” Aja told us that he was a mixed martial arts enthusiast and loved that sport since he was a kid. He offered to help me harness my ability properly, like a fighter. But I didn’t know what exactly he meant by that. He sent me into a pit. There were spectators and it was truly looking like an underground area. The place was under the new city of Amal. The undergrounds where once a city project was proposed got abandoned as the population declined, now every kind of people resided here, the damned, the loser, the hopeless and the leaders of revolutions. I, for one, wasn’t cut out for a place like this.

“I think you all should cheer a bit less, you know. It’s not a pay-per-view.” I shouted.

I heard Aja blaring at me from the top. “Yeah, you are right. It’s not a pay-per-view but a free-for-all, enjoy as much as you can!”

“Fighters ready!!!” Said the announcer through a megaphone.

Oh, okay, let’s just face it then. How hard can it be fighting someone in the underground? I thought.

The fighter jumped from the crowd into the pit and it seemed he was ready to kick my ass. Everyone was cheering for him.

Gravast! Gravast! Gravast! Gravast! “Looks like he is pretty popular here, hah?” He was a 190-centimetre-tall giant, his body was in great shape, and he seemed like a trained fighter. He had long hair which had tied in braids.

“Let, it, begin!!!” The announcer screamed. Aja told me they fought here as a means of passing the time but it all looks too serious. Here we go! He was rushing towards me. I didn’t want to look like an idiot so I too rushed toward him. He somehow managed to jump in the middle of the run, he was coming at me from above. I also pulled a slick move and used my powers to jump. That turned out to be a big mistake. He changed his stance in mid-air and got his knees on my face before I could do anything. My jump didn’t help and even added to the impact as I came flying down with a knee plastered to my face. It was brutal. I could hear the crowd go, aww!!!

I thought I must use different moves instead of imitating my enemy all the time. If they can use that move certainly, they could counter it too.

“How’d you like that.” He gushed, keeping his knee still on my face. I pushed him backwards and released myself. It wasn’t going to be an easy fight especially when my opponent is so agile.

“I thought you were a fighter; guess you are just a scared kid.” He was trying to agitate me. To his credit, I was getting frustrated, but then I recalled that if I went crazy, it can be fatal for both of us.

Control Edra, control, I said to myself. “I can do this.” I took one deep breath and got ready to deliver my move. He was coming at me again, but this time the story was a bit different. I was going to try something unexpected. Soon as he got near me, I turned myself around, which made him slow down. All that I needed was a vulnerable moment to knock him out. He probably thought I was going to use a horse kick.

I shook my left leg slightly just so that I could confuse him and used my right arm to hit him on the head as I turned clockwise. He was fast and was able to cover his head with his elbow just before the hit. My punch was strong enough to push him sideways. He felt the impact and sneered looking at me.

I smirked and winked before landing my next blow, I slid my left leg beneath him and it launched him in the air, I took the opportunity and used an elbow chop on his torso. It landed and he fell to the ground with a thud. I felt good about myself as it happened. I was celebrating, “Who is the real fighter now?! Whoo-hoo!” It didn’t last long. He got up fast and started punching and kicking wildly, he was like a beast.

I was using my elbows as cover to absorb his punches but he was brutal, he didn’t even stop for a moment. Did I strike a nerve? I thought.

At last, he broke cover and started hitting my face like a punching bag, that hurt a lot. The more I tried standing up to him, the more aggressively he fought. It was time that I gave in, but he didn’t stop there and knocked me with a flying roundhouse kick in the end. The next thing I remember was, waking up in Xiba’s lap. She was looking at me like I was a baby. I got up fast and looked around, Aja and others weren’t around. What just happened, I wondered.

Xiba chuckled and asked me the same, “What just happened, Edra?

“I got knocked out, that’s what happened,” I relented. Xiba was oddly smiling and looking happy, does I getting my ass handled by someone I barely knew make her day? That was my thought.

“Hehe, that was fun to watch. When are you fighting again? She was pulling my leg.

“Whenever you are down for it,” I responded. Xiba was up for anything, even if I challenged her to a brawl, she probably will answer with a yes and a smile.

Xiba took a brief look at my body and asserted, “When I think about it, we never got to face each other. Maybe I’ll be able to kick you in the face next time.” She was always there to lift my spirit and she was a good listener as well. Can’t ask for a better companion than her.

“By the way, Aja was saying he will give you some special training. You wanna meet them or you would like to take some more rest?”

“Let’s just meet them, it’s not the first time I got knocked out,” I averred.