The Southern Calt pt. 2

Akashi is selected to be part of an important mission to end the war...

Hey friends, if you haven’t read part 1 yet, here it is:

Now, let’s hop into part 2…

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In a dream of a memory, Akashi was called to the garden. The sacred space in the center of Cain. It hadn’t changed much since he was a kid. At 18, it felt weird being there. Wrong. He felt a pang of discomfort remembering the last time he was there four years ago, but pushed through it. Red temple walls dotted with state of the art facial recognition cameras that followed people as they strolled through surrounded the garden. At her usual seat, Akashi’s aunt sat drinking what could’ve been coffee or tea. He didn’t care enough to check or remember even if he did. He joined her at the table and sat down with a huff.

“Aunt, Gee.” He said, bowing his head slightly. She poured him a cup of whatever it was and gave him a steely stare.

“Enough of the formalities.” She announced.

“What are we doing here, Gee?” He asked.

“We need to talk…” He immediately tensed up.

“But skip the formalities? What’s going on?” He looked around. Since he had sat down, others had disappeared from the garden. It was just them in the middle. Eerie silence screamed in his ears.

“Nephew, the Southern Calt is -”

“It's really none of my business, auntie.” He tried to get up, but she put her hand on his shoulder. With a firm grip, she pushed him back into his seat. Her features were stern. Tired. Her face had begun to wrinkle under her eyes and along the furrow of her brow. Her hair was gaining streaks of gray in her brown ponytail. It looked dignified on her - the city’s lead detective should look wizened yet powerful. 

“Yes… it is.” She tried to smile, but it looked so fake even she felt uncomfortable and let it fall away. Pace sighed.

“Fine… what do you want me to do about that hell hole?”

“You’re of age, nephew. You know what you’re supposed to do.”

“What I’m supposed to do? Throw myself to the - to the - to the - to whatever is out there? Kill myself like…” He tapered off. Tears began to stream down his face. 

“Your sister served. Your father served. And your mother… she -”

“Served. Died. For the Calt. For the collective. Whatever’s out there, Gee… I can’t face that, I’m just a-”

“A troublemaker.” Akashi looked away. Ashamed and abashed. “A fool. A clown. A damaged boy. A child of war, right?”

“Come on, Gee…” She was on a roll, he saw it on her face. He tried to prepare himself for the verbal lashing he saw smeared across her gaze.

“No discipline, no care. Only worried about the next big scheme. The next high. I’m done bailing you out, Akashi. Your parents would be ashamed. I’m ashamed. I’ve done everything in my power to raise you right, but now my duty has passed. Now it's your job to protect the state.”

“Gee -”

“‘Not fit for battle. Nothing but a trickster, a joke, a blemish on his family.’” He sank lower, staring at the ground. “That’s what the placement papers on your draft form says, you know. I read it. They gave me permission to talk to you before the unit showed up to take you. Are they right?”

“I don’t know…” The tears came down faster..

“Child. Look at me.” He looked up. Her patience had run thin. Her face was stern, angry, and tired. Was she mad at him? Was she mad at the world? Or was she mad at the war like everyone else? “Show them you aren’t a blemish on our bloodline. Show them who you are. Who we are. I know. I know you’re better than this.”

.

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Months had passed, and they had slowly pushed up through the pass one scouting mission at a time. Collections of half built trenches rested behind rocks and fortified walls, protecting them from attacks. No bombs had been dropped since they began their push, leaving a certain discomfort in the air. Nothing supernatural had occurred since they lost Shiv, but stragglers, scouts, and sometimes patrols from the enemy led to firefights. Sometimes their enemy lost. Sometimes the collective did, sending them falling back, losing ground won over weeks of struggles. Akashi had grown quiet since he lost Shiv. He saw Brends’ eyes in his sleep. Worse still was when he saw it on the other end of his scope like the ghost haunting his rifle.

In the warming morning sun, the sand cooked under his lightweight combat boots, and he brushed his long tightly curled hair off his sweat-soaked forehead. Other soldiers had opted to shave their heads, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He looked through his scope.

“We’re coming up on the end of the pass. No signs of any resistance or movement, it's just uh… just sand. A lot of sand.”

“No signs of any buildings? Nothing? No encampment? No traps?” The commander asked, his voice clearly confused.

“Negative.” Akashi said. The commander responded with a disgruntled grunt of acknowledgement.

“Is the mountain pass coming to a complete end, or is there some form of natural ramp down?”

“The ridgeline of the pass is… it just sort of ends in a drop off. Gotta be a good 50 foot drop from the top. You’re not trying to get me to climb up there, are you?”

“No. Too dangerous. Standby for orders.”

“Heard.” He kept his eyes trained on where the pass ended. He had never seen such open space in his life. All he had known was a world of metal and concrete in his home city of Cain. It ruled his world and he defined the hours of the day by the angle the sun reflected off the windows of skyscrapers. Now all he knew was mud, dirt, and air so toxic, his breathing apparatus crapped out after a few days if he didn’t clean it. He hadn’t seen land outside of the pass in almost a year. The Southern Calt became all he ever knew. This was his world. Now there was light at the end of the tunnel. There was an end to the hazardous mountain pass. He could see out into the desert. The cloudless sky was beautiful. The evenings were dotted with wondrous purple, and the days were a breathless blue. Akashi was so close. So close to the end of his journey. Once they made it out of the Southern Calt, they had the upper hand. The end of the war was coming, and Akashi knew he’d see the end of it. He had to.

 He continued watching the entrance for hours. The sun rose to its peak, then began to fall the other way. Finally, as the sun was preparing its decline, a voice interrupted his absent mind.

“Pace, come in.” he jumped and reached for his earpiece.

“Pace here.” He cringed that even he said it now.

“Listen up, we’re sending in a spec ops team from Sant. You’re going to lead recon. Find out where the enemy’s primary base is and get back. No games. No nonsense. Report right back. Need the best scout we’ve got on the job. Clear?”

“Soldiers from Sant? Sir, with all do respect, what kind of squad do you want me to -”

“Enough, Pace. I need someone I can trust supporting this mission. Remember, we’re a Cain-Sant collective. Some of our people in the trenches are from Sant. This is just a squad sent directly from people way over our heads. Get yourself in order and get the job done. Report back ASAP.”

“Understood, sir.”

The cities of Cain and Sant were at war for years before they joined forces to stop the Desert Barren dwellers. Akashi wasn’t alive for the rivalry, but old angers never quite died out. 

A group of soldiers were shortly at his location behind the final boulder before the exit of the pass. Their uniforms were similar, though without the sandblasted gray and tan as Akashi’s. They also wore helmets with built-in goggles - except for one of them. The helmets looked more like gear for some sort of stunt performance than for a war.

“So, you’re Pace, huh?” A woman said from under her helmet. Akashi nodded with apprehension. Shame the nickname stuck. “Our eagle eye. Keeping us safe… and a Cainsman no less.” 

“I’m just here for the collective. No hard feelings. You take that however you want.” He gave her a shrug. She nodded.

“I’m in charge of this squad. I’m Commander Saquoa. This is Rakhon, Stells, and Celie.” Akashi nodded to all of them.

“I thought there was only one commander on the front right now.”

“There was. We were placed in the mountains until redeployment today.” The burly man - Rakhon - with a gun almost as big as Akashi announced. Commander Saquoa shook her head. Clearly he wasn’t supposed to say that. She seemed to let it slide and moved on. The woman, Celie, was a stout figure with constantly fidgeting hands and eyes that darted around. Saquoa caught Akashi staring at her.

“Celie here is our scout. Too bad she doesn’t know this land as well as you or we wouldn’t need you at all.” 

“Two scouts are better than one.” She added, almost in a whisper. Akashi tended to agree with her - he thought back on Shiv and resisted a shudder that climbed through his spine and into shoulders. Akashi decided to move on.

“We should get moving so we can get a good look at what’s out there before the sun falls… also I’m itching to get out of this pass. The idea of an open space sounds so…” He took a deep breath in and smiled. The squad gave a collective nod in agreement. Akashi readied his rifle and prepared to make the walk to the mouth of the pass. The rest followed quietly.

Rakhon and Stells seemed fairly blunt minded. They both had hulking builds and wore their armor to regulation. They looked like they could’ve been twin brothers, though Akashi couldn’t make out their faces from the dirt and grime that covered them beneath their helmets. Celie was a small woman with a wide build and a serious face hiding the exhaustion beneath. Her armor was broken down to the bare minimum, leaving space for mobility. She wore a small cap on her head rather than the helmets of the rest of the squad. Saquoa was clearly in charge by the way she carried herself alone. She was a tall woman with short bobbed brown and tired gray eyes. Her armor was the typical commander’s uniform, leaving her better equipped than the others. Her skin was scorched to a blistered red, hiding what her resting skin color could’ve possibly been. Her body and face seemed attuned to the world, as she darted about looking for any sort of threat. Rakhon and Stells pointed their hulking guns up at either side of the pass. Saquoa and Celie quietly followed behind Akashi, eyes forward, Celie had a rifle much like Akashi’s ready, and Saquoa had a revolver in hand. 

As they began walking, Akashi couldn’t help but think that he had no idea there were squads in the mountains surrounding the Calt. He supposed it must’ve been need-to-know, and why would he ever need to? It made sense. If they could find a break somewhere in the mountains, any sort of opening into the desert, then they should push the advantage. The problem was the history of the mountains housing fiends, monsters, and just general aggressive animals. It was better avoided because of the difficult terrain alone, but there was always a chance for an opening. 

“So… you ever run into anything -” His voice cut short. They made it across the pass and into the open of the desert. Akashi’s mouth dropped open as he saw the desert sprawled out in its entirety around him. It seemed untouched by all the war. There was nothing but the beautiful blowing sands over great rolling dunes and a clear sky all around. “Can you believe this place?” He said in awe.

“Shithole harbors sorcerers and animals. I can believe it.” Stells grunted.

“Can it, Stells.” Saquoa snapped. “What’s it look like to you, Pace?”

“Not sure… there's nothing here. Nothing I can see at least… hold on.” He reached into the deep pockets of his uniform, and pulled out a small circular pad the size of his palm. Akashi was excited to finally use this. A month or so prior, a supply convoy dropped off some tech. It was the most modern supply drop off he had seen since leaving home. It made him feel like the real world still existed. Better yet, it gave him hope. He took the pad and set it down on the sand. He clicked a button in the center and prongs came out from either side, piercing into the sand. A hologram appeared from the pad. It began tracing out a map of the underground, a glowing needle point stitching the land beneath them into existence. “Well now, how ‘bout that.”

“What’s this?” Saquoa was looking at the tracing confused.

“It's a tunnel system. Pretty complicated one too… they’ve gotta be coming from beneath, maybe even their entire  - but - hang on, what’s that?” There was a strange darkness forming around the intricate tunnel system. The tunnels themselves were as complex as the inner workings of an ant hill, the system appeared labyrinthian, but the scanner couldn’t account for a number of things including who and what sort of equipment lay beneath the surface. What it could account for was something more than sand. Something on the edges of the tunnels. Something the scanner was picking up as dark, roiling, and seemingly all around the tunnel system. All beneath them. “We’re getting some sort of interference.” Akashi announced, gesturing to the darkness on the scanners. Saquoa, in a sudden jolt forward, stomped down with her heel onto the device, the hologram flickered out of existence. Akashi stared at her in horror. That was their map. That was how they figured out their next move.

“What in the name of -'' The sand began to rumble and shake under their feet. He looked down. “Sinkhole!” Akashi yelled. He turned to run as the sand drained under them. Rakhon and Stells ran without hesitation. Stells turned and reached out his hand to his officer. Saquoa took it, but right as their hands connected, a hole opened up in the desert, swallowing Saquoa, Celie, and Akashi.

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Akashi jolted up from the steel floor of the tunnel. Saquoa was rubbing her head and calling up to the rest of her squad. Celie had a flashlight in hand and was shining it further down the tunnels. There were dim electric lights along the ceilings. They shined a dark foreboding amber that felt more like a warning than a welcoming light. They barely lit anything beyond their glossy glow. Akashi rubbed his eyes and looked around.

“Go back to the front commander in the Calt! Let him know what happened! Comms are down for. I think we’re being jammed! Just get help!”

“Yes ma’am!” Stells yelled back. The surface was a skylight ten meters over their heads. Akashi stood next to Saquoa and squinted to make out the shadows of Stells and Rakhon against the desert sky.

“Are the meathead twins gonna save us?” Akashi asked, exhaustion seeped through more than sarcasm.

“They’ll do better than lead us into some sort of trap.” Saquoa began collecting herself. “Celie, how’s it looking?” Celie grunted then shrugged.

“Dark. Tunnely. I’ll need to look ahead some more to know for sure.”

“How could I have possibly known this was here?” Akashi continued, ignoring the new topic at hand. “And by the way, why’d you destroy the sensor? That was our way through!”

“It was an accident.” She said, her voice seemed stale and oddly rehearsed. “The rumbling of the collapsing sand must’ve thrown off my balance… but you’re right. We should’ve been more cautious about leaving the Calt. We entered foreign territory with no idea what we were doing or after. We were overzealous. Too excited about getting out.” She sat down on the cold metal floor. “I’m not sure how we’re getting out of this one.” Akashi felt oddly vindicated. Even in the darkness of the tunnel, at least he was right. He walked over to where Celie peered into the darkness.

“To hell with the mission, we’ve gotta get out of here.” Celie mumbled to him.

“What are you talking about?” Akashi glanced at her.

“Do you really think when the top brass finds out that their entire operation is underground they’ll rescue us?” Akashi had a bloom of realization in his mind.

“You might be onto something there… the minute they see a possibility to end the war, they’re gonna bomb this place to the realm of the fiends. Whether this place is the base or not, we should… we should find a way out and fast. If the rest of your squad gets to the commander first -”

“We’ll be fighting against the time we have before the bombs drop, and whatever’s in these tunnels too.” Saquoa said, joining them. Celie nodded.

“So… should we get moving?” Akashi asked. Saquoa nodded.

“Celie, take point. And keep it quiet.”

“Ma’am.” She responded. Celie led them through the tunnel. Akashi stayed close behind, his rifle raised. Saquoa kept her heels to his with her revolver aimed behind them.

“Keep it quiet from here out.” She whispered. “Any communication - well, you know the collective signal sign language.”

“Heard.” Akashi responded.

The tunnel was winding and seemingly endless. The tight corridors sloped downwards, deeper into the sands. The sharp inclines of the rough metal walls left the lights dangling at an angle. The soft scent of sulfur hung in the air, and strange oozing sand dripped between poorly soldered gaps in the junctions. There was a skittering echo off the walls, as though a creature was slithering along the outside of the tunnel. The deeper they went, the louder it became. As time went on, it became just part of the tunnel itself.

“Why would this tunnel be here? It doesn’t seem like a base at all.” Akashi asked, breaking the silence.

“Sorcerous types. They’re all a bunch of tricky freaks… can’t trust ‘em. Of course they’d live in a labyrinth.” Saquoa replied. “Now shut it, Pace.” 

“Disagree, commander.” Celie spoke up. She leaned against a wall where the corridor took a turn, “This isn’t something a sorcerer would make… more likely a military installation of religious zealots. Or maybe it could be maintenance tunnels for something. Or a system that connects them to different points of interest. We did fall in by the entrance to the Calt after all. Think about it -”

“Celie, I don’t care. Mouths. Shut.” Saquoa commanded. Celie shrugged and shared a knowing look with Akashi. They continued deeper into the tunnel, meeting intersections and regions caved in with sand. The tunnels didn’t seem as stable as Akashi would expect. They seemed old and poorly maintained. Maybe they were made for an emergency. Maybe they weren’t ready for an invasion. They must’ve underestimated their enemies to the north. They underestimated him. 

As they prepared to round another corner, Celie collapsed to the ground in a sudden shaking contraction of her entire body. She let out a scream of terror, her hands clawing at her ears. Saquoa’s voice bit the air. “Damn it, Pace, get her mouth shut.” Akashi slid down to his knees beside Celie and forced a hand over her mouth, pulling her clawing fingers away from her head. Her voice vibrated against Akashi’s hand, her terror pushing through him. 

“What is it, Celie? What’s wrong?” Akashi asked her, in a loud whisper. Her eyes were fully dilated and her screams intensified in response. They stayed that way for several minutes. Akashi felt the world around them shaking, but he wasn’t sure if it was just the force that her body shook with just pushing through the world around him. Akashi resisted the tremors pulsing through his body as he tried to come to grips with reality.

They were traveling deeper and deeper into the tunnels, unsure of what was around every corner. The further they went, the more lost they were. Was this better than the Calt? Could he blame Celie?

Celie’s scream came to an end, and her wild eyes began scanning the tunnels. Akashi moved his hand away from her mouth. “There’s something here. Something’s coming. Something’s coming. We need to get out.”

“What? What is it? What’s coming?” Akashi asked.

“The darkness. From the realms - there’s something. I know there’s something. We need to run. We need to get out.” Celie pleaded, her eyes wide. Saquoa sighed.

“Let’s take a breather here. Pace, keep watch. I’ll take care of Celie.” Akashi nodded and stepped away from her. As he began his short scan around the tunnel, Saquoa grabbed his arm. “This isn't like her. The tunnels must be getting to her - claustrophobia - panic - I don’t know. I need at least one of you to keep a level head. Can you handle that, Pace?” She asked. Akashi nodded again. He had run out of words to say. Celie’s panic took everything out of him. Was she really panicking though? Or did she see something - feel something he couldn’t? Celie took in a shaky breath and let out a whimper.

“We need to get out. We’re never going to make it out…”

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Hey friends, here we are at the end of another part. I’m trying to make each section of this serial shorter than the last serial I posted. Let me know how you’re feeling about that! Are the slightly shorter sections better, or would you prefer longer weekly posts? Also, this is shaping up to be my longest serial yet - in terms of word count, not parts, though it also will be in parts as well I think. There’s a lot of stuff I want to add. More dimensions that the original version didn’t have have been swirling around my mind and I’m feeling pretty good about it. Regardless of all that, I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!