Infiltration

It was a rare day off for Squad Delta, and it came at the worst time. While other Scavenger units were off fighting against the Dwellers, we were cooped up inside the Cube, still on bed rest. Our squad was in shambles, there was no denying that. Seven of us failed to make it out of the abandoned Cube. Even so, this was my chance, and I wanted to fight.

The Dwellers, which ripped my family away from me 13 years ago, were finally found again. Before they emerged 13 years ago, killing my parents and countless other Scavengers, the Dwellers had remained dormant, completely unseen for 50 years prior. Most people thought they went extinct. That’s what we were taught in school. The Dwellers, which destined the Earth to this desolate future, eventually died out. We, the remainder of humanity, had won.

Except, we hadn’t. The Dwellers were still around, lurking underneath the Earth’s surface. And clearly, they were ready for a fight at a moment's notice.

I crossed the catwalk from the dining area towards the residential area. Amber trailed slightly behind me.

“Where are you going?”

“Where does it look like? I’m going back to my room.”

“At a time like this?“ My response caught her completely off guard. There was an active fight happening between our people and the Dwellers, and I was going to my room.

“They told us to sit this one out, so I’m sitting it out.” My annoyance with the order slipped through in my response. “I’ll be napping. If our squad is needed, we’ll be called over the PA system. Otherwise, I don’t even want to think about this, it’ll just make me mad.”

I continued across the catwalk, arriving in the seventh district of the Cube, the residential area. 

Room 404, the place I called home. The fourth room of the fourth block of the seventh district. In a compact area like the Cube, space was at a premium. The seventh district was by far the biggest occupant of space, responsible for housing 10,000 people. Other than the Governor’s Mansion, every person or family was assigned one room. That was all the space the Cube could afford. Families got bigger rooms with more beds, while those of us who lived alone got small rooms barely large enough for one bed and a standing dresser. It wasn’t much, but we made do. Homes were predominantly for sleep, with all day to day activity taking place in other districts.

I returned to my humble abode and hopped right onto the bed. I closed my eyes, and slowly my mind drifted off towards nothingness.

Knock. Knock. Knock. I jolted awake at the sound of three succinct knocks at my door. I glanced at the clock sitting on my dresser, 7:00 PM. I was out cold for five hours. I guess our squad wasn’t needed for the fight after all.

I yanked the door to my room open. Standing there was a teenage girl, around 15 or 16 by my best estimate. She had soft, porcelain skin, and a bob cut that was dark as the night sky. Other than myself, I didn’t know of anyone with dark black hair. It was a strikingly unique combination, something I had never seen before. Of course I didn’t know every resident of the Cube, but I would remember those distinctive features. Given her age, we would have attended the same school for at least a couple years.

“Uh, can I help you?” I was still groggy from my nap and my speech was sluggish.

She stared blankly at me. Something felt off, but I couldn’t place it.

“Are you okay?” I asked as she stood in the doorway without saying a word.

“Can I come in?” She finally asked. Asking to come into a stranger's room? That was undoubtedly a strange request and raised a red flag.

I stepped to the side and motioned her inside. I closed the door once she stepped into my room.

“So who are-“

I froze in place as the cool blade of a knife caressed the skin of my neck. I let my guard down. How stupid.

“Give me your weapon. Now.” Her voice was cold yet lacking somehow. Like my days as a new recruit in the Scavenger unit, she had confidence but there were still nerves about her. As though she were not cut out for this life.

“I don’t have a weapon,” I replied calmly. “You should know that. We keep all our gear in the armory. No one walks around in the Cube with a weapon besides the police.”

My neck twinged in pain as the blade broke my skin. She dug the knife in, not enough to cause serious damage but more than enough to keep my attention. I needed to act, and fast.

I threw my arm up, knocking her arm upward. I felt the blood trickle down my neck as the blade made a small cut up the side of my neck. Painful as it was, stopping the bleeding was my second priority.

My left hand made firm contact with her shoulder, staggering her back. The knife was dislodged from her hand and crashed to the floor. With a swift kick to the chest I knocked her to the floor. Bang. The painful sound came as her back slammed into the metal frame of my bed. I reached down, grabbed her knife, and pointed it directly at her. So much for her confidence. Even with the upper hand to start she didn’t stand a chance in a fight.

Keeping my eyes trained on her in the small room I walked over to my dresser, grabbing my bath towel sitting on the top. I pressed the towel against the right side of my neck where blood was still pouring.

“Just who the hell are you,” I said as I applied pressure to my wound. As she tried to stand, I moved the knife closer to her. There was no chance I would let her get up now. “Talk. Now.”

She spit at my feet. I looked at her in disgust. Who was this brat?

“Cut the crap.” I placed the knife directly against her throat, just as she had done to me moments ago. “If you want to live, you start talking.”

Our eyes stayed locked as though we were having a mental standoff. Neither side wanted to give an inch or break the gaze. Finally, she caved.

“Just kill me then.”

Now wide awake, this was my first time looking at her closely with full attentiveness. Not only was her skin fair and her hair black, her clothes were completely unrecognizable. Unlike anything I had ever seen in the Cube. A pit formed in my stomach, and it was quickly filled by rage.

“Don’t tell me,” I grit my teeth in anger. “You’re a Dweller.”

She flashed an evil smirk. “That’s right. The days you monsters roam the surface of the Earth are numbered.”

I pulled the knife away from her throat. I stood over her, almost shaking with rage. The Dwellers, these devils, the ones that took my family away from me. They were back. Now was my chance to make them suffer.

My foot met her stomach with a deep thud. She reflexively coughed as I knocked the wind out of her.

“That all you got?”

This brat. I kicked her again, this time across the face. Blood began to pour from her mouth. “I can do this all day, just keep talking.”

She was helpless, but I didn’t care. She just tried to kill me after all. And, she was a dirty, worthless Dweller.

I drove my boot into her stomach again. She spat blood across the floor.

“How the hell did you even get on board?” I still had questions I wanted answered. Knocking her unconscious would prevent that from happening for obvious reasons.

Hunched over she continued to cough, struggling to breathe. I removed my jacket and used the sleeve to wipe the blood away from her face. My change in demeanor was drastic enough to give her emotional whiplash. One minute I’m beating her to the brink of death, and the next I’m helping her. Frankly, my behavior even astonished me. So much for being able to do this all day.

“This is getting us nowhere fast,” I remarked to myself. I sat her up against my dresser. “Get yourself together.”

I paced back and forth in my small room as I waited for this Dweller to catch her breath. Even though I was the one who inflicted the pain, I grew impatient the longer she took to come to her senses.

“I snuck on board during the fight. Didn’t think I’d get this far.”

How did she make her way through the decontamination zone without being spotted by security? If Dwellers could board the Cube that easily, they were even more dangerous than I thought.

“And what were you going to do now that you’re here?”

“I… dunno.”

I let out a long sigh. “So you rushed into an unknown situation without having any sort of plan? That’s reckless.” As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I realized those were the exact same words Amber would often use to lecture me. I was one to talk.

“I don’t need a lecture from a Surface Walker. Just kill me already.”

Surface Walker? That must have been the name the Dwellers gave to us still living above the surface.

“I’m not going to kill you, yet. You could be very useful to us.”

“Who do you think you are?”

“I’m Ray Alder, proud survivor of humanity, and your worst nightmare. I will see to the end of the Dwellers, and you’re going to help me.”