The situation changed far more drastically than Alina had expected, she had not anticipated that the government would be hunting them down already although she knew it would have come eventually. It was supposed to be when they were in a position where they would be able to actually effect change or so she had thought would happen but the reality was a different picture. Everything seemed to be falling over its head as she followed the others down this tight maze of dark turns the light from Sally's glow in the dark tube was so sparse that they all had to hold hands to keep track of the distance between each other. She heard squeaks every now and then, it was a surprising thing to hear that the rats which were not a common sight had managed to survive down here. She would not be surprised if it were the results of cannibalism.
How much further would she walk? Every sound that she heard and each drip racked her nerves. She kept wondering if the secret police had realized or were aware that they were down here? She had brought it up to the others a few times but Sally assured her it was not easy to identify from the rest of the ground and they would mostly think after searching the warehouse that they somehow managed to escape the circle outside and that would give them the time they needed to escape. The trek back to No Man’s Land was long and quiet.
Ryan’s hand had been gripped in her own, it soothe her and yet felt wrong. Thoughts of what she had perceived as a mere dream an omen now seemed real with someone she had them with. He was her strength at a time when the world was in pure chaos and although she had discarded it as unreal. The more she tried to rid herself of her feelings the harder they seemed to be thrown back at her. Now she didn’t know what exactly to do. She had a husband she reminded herself while gripping onto Ryan’s hand even tighter.
Alina felt his warm hand gripped his tighter and it made her feel safe at this moment.
Their shoes clacked on the ground as they moved forward with the only light they had which was a glow in the dark light that Sally held in her hand.
“We are coming up to a stop. Let me do the talking here.”
Noises started to sound from above and in front of them as Sally passed through a hole in a wall that came into what looked like an abandoned tunnel. They were many people here huddled together. It reminded Alina of No Man’s Land except the people here were well clothed and seemed to live a much better life. Her eyes gazed around at the area they were in. From the columns to the tracks that were on the ground ahead. She surmised that this had to be an old subway station, what was it still doing here? She wondered. Looking across she saw it had been sealed were they using the tunnels to get here?
“Who are you?” a voice sounded as men came forward they were armed with anything they could find from a wrench to a bat and a wooden panel. The country’s flag was inked in a red stain above them and some of the men wore smaller versions of it around their body like a badge. Besides that, they wore little to no clothes. It was almost as if they had walked in on them in a home setting.
Frank had shifted forward pushing Ryan ahead of Alina and instinctively grabbed for his gun but halted as Sally raised her hand to him.
“No, it's fine,” Sally said, turning her head slightly to Frank then back ahead. “ Hey, there is no need to be afraid.”
A man with a biggish nose stepped forward. He held nothing in his hand as the other men posture.“How did you know about this place? Are you working for the government? Are you one of those pigs?” He spat on the ground.
Sally raised her hands up. “ No we aren’t working for the government, Marissa told me about this area if I had some trouble.”
“Marissa, I ain’t see her in years what was the code she said?”
“Star is bright.”
The men looked at each other and whispered. “It seems you know the code Miss.”
The others in the back were watching intently from their make shift tents. Alina reckoned they had to be about twenty people living down here. Men, women, and children. “Sally, you can call me Sally.”
“Okay, Sally,” the man said, “ What do you want?”
“She told me to stop by and use it as a stop. I came here because I can't remember all of the instructions she gave me to get back to No Man’s Land and I didn’t want to get lost. Everyone here is like you we are all against the system that’s trying to keep us down.”
“What do you have to offer us? Nothing is for free.”
“Knowledge, the CFG2 they aren’t good don’t use them or take any of them the government plans to kill off the population.”
The men whispered amongst themselves as panic looks dawned on them.
“We have some of those here?”
“Can it actually kill us.”
“Yes, it can!”
“Sally,” Frank whispered.
“You don’t have the immortality in you the food already that your eating contains a lot of chemicals that weren’t designed for the human body and with what the government is planning to do. It’s a death sentence, we have to stop them.”
“Sally, stop,” Frank whispered again.
“We have to take them down and we need your help and the help of everyone that we can get to do it!”
The big nosed man step forward to Sally, he was mere inches of her. “How do you, where have you gathered this information from?” I got it from the source of someone who was working there her hands pointed towards Ryan. He is a researcher at the lab and the government wants him back. To do their experiment.”
“It was you that created this virus?” the man asked.
The others all turned to look at Ryan, with a rage in their eyes.
“No, Ryan said as he stepped back, it was done before me by another team of researchers in the lab. What is planned to come is a lot worse than what is here. The government held me, hostage, by holding my family as collateral. He paused. “I have to get to them.”
The people spoke to each other in loud voices each clamoring over the other. What packages that they had they threw away. On it was the faint markings of the CFG2.
An old man walked towards them the others made a path for him to pass. “That’s enough there is no more need for the questions. Thank you for the information, Sally it is hard to take in but we will need more food for the coming days would you help us rob a supermarket. Whatever we gain from there would not only go to us but many others who depend on food. If you agree to help us we can all work together to stop this. He stepped forward and with his other hand gestured to the man before leaving. When the man walked away, he spoke again, “we would also need weapons judging from how you carry yourself I know you’re a police and that one on the left too.” He pointed his finger at Frank. “It is no concern of mine.” His eyes trailed on the blood still fresh on their arms. “ I believe something happened up there and I believe your story, Marissa is my sister, and for her to send you here. This means that she expected some form of trouble. Come sit with me at my tent and explain to me everything that’s happened. The man guided them and the group followed.
#
The sky was dark and the wind blew an icy chill. The bag in her hand was caught in it as it followed the direction it carried. There was not a single soul on the road and instead of a supermarket, their eyes were on a local gas station. The mask on Alina’s face felt tight and she struggled to adjust it as it made it hard for her to breathe.
How had it turned to this? Alina thought she could laugh at herself if it wasn’t going on before her. This crazy scene unfolding before her. How many idiots did it take to rob the grocery store Alina looked left and right to get her answer, ten. Although Ryan didn’t say it she saw it in his face that he was thinking the same thing as her. The fools weren’t even wearing masks at all rather they decorated themselves in anti government wear these wild ones.
There was no order as the fiends rushed almost at their own accord towards the gas station with the pitiful weapons they had in their hands. The old man and Sally wanted to arm these fools with guns? They were more likely to shoot the man next to them or themselves than the target.
“Let's go,” Frank said, following behind them.
Alina followed behind them as she watched them enter the gas station the clerks seemingly running away as the menacing force approached.
“Don’t let any of them get away,” Frank said, “ make sure they don’t get their phones.”
The men grabbed the clerks and placed them together, one after another they were put side by side. Alina passed them as their phones were seized and whatever else the wild ones thought was of value to them as the shoes on their feet.
He was trying to find semblance in the chaos but there was none to be had as Alina watched them rushed inside the store. Hollering like a wild pack of Hyenas on entering they had started to clear everything they consider of value into their bags. The place looked ransacked as if the Vikings had landed.
Alina started to grab anything around her and place it into the bag that was in her hand. Next to Ryan was doing the same as he kept a watchful eye over her and the men that were around them. Sally kept close to the counter while Frank remained outside watching over the people that had been tied up. Every second that passed Alina expected to hear a siren blaze, a man with a shot gun or any other form of death itself. Her heart beated loud in her chest that she, herself heard it.
Calm down, calm down she said to herself in her head. She repeated it over and over again as her hand shivered. It was hard to grip things, it was hard to concentrate. She didn’t want to be there, she wanted to be somewhere else.
The clerk behind the counter was pleading for his life. He prayed in so many different languages as the wild ones tossed him from one to another. They had found a gun the thing she was dreading a gun in one of their hands but Sally was quick to take it away. Instead holding it in her hand, in a more comforting manner.
Sally had smashed his phone under the sole of her shoes.
“It's okay Alina,” Ryan said to her as the howls of the men around her sounded. “ Everything is going to work out.”
What felt like a lifetime it was finally over but when Alina checked her watch it wasn’t long before the place was picked clean.
“Let's go,” Ryan said to her as Sally aimed her gun at the clerk as they left before she followed.
Alina ran following the others back to where they had first come instead of leaving in a calm manner the men around them made noise and shouted as if they were trying to get caught or shot.
Cars passed on the road and each one she heard as they ducked into the darkness. She assumed to be the police coming for them, coming to kill them yet nothing came no one came and before long they were back in the tunnels again. The task was done and now the favour had been paid as Alina ducked her head into the tunnel she saw the night sky light up, it was bright like day, and hovering over the city was a peculiar looking thing.