I Am Alive 08: Let There Be Light

Mei didn't eat the meat they offered, and neither did I. We took rat instead. I followed the blood trail and found myself facing off two men, wielding machetes. Trouble was, they weren't your usual idiots. These had two men and a woman imprisoned behind a padlocked gate, and chainsaws and ribs that suspiciously looked anatomically correct. For humans.

I hoped Mei had closed her eyes, because I didn't spare any pity on them.

***

We now are standing literally on the edge of the chasm that used to be the location of the subway lines. One train seems magically lies across the chasm. I say magically because when the Event hit, it must've been in the middle of its run. Whatever caused the chasm must've impacted on the train as well, and here it lies hanging, becoming some kind of a death trap version of suspension bridge.

Told Mei to close her eyes as we are not going directly into that train. I spy, from our vantage lookout point, a lot of items glittering down there. Yup, all the way down. Several handholds later, we are at the lowest point of the crater. I say lowest, but the crater still seems to keep on going down, without end.

Mei doesn't like this, me getting to dangerous places to just get items, but these are essential if we want to have the best chances of survival. Several times she screamed as I either leaped too fast or caught a handhold too slow. "I told you not to open your eyes yet!" I said.

She just whimpered.

The same thing happens now, as we enter the train. It's now a long vertical tube, so I need to go down slowly in order not to fall straight down. Mei screams again, and I scold her again. But here we are, safely on firm ground.

"But we are going into the dark again," Mei observes when I said my thoughts aloud.

No shit, Sherlock, I think, but not without humour.

Within the swirling foggy darkness, I think I see a figure running in the distance. But as I wait, I can hear no footsteps. It might've been an illusion. Oh well.

To our right is an open door. To our left, a padlocked gate. I shoot the padlock, collect several items including a battery. Luckily it's a small one, the kind you'd find in a motorcycle. It may come handy.

To the right door. There is a small enclosure, locked now, but within is a first aid kit. A generator sits beside it, its fuel not full but enough. But it won't start. This is where the battery comes in. When I put it in, the whole area lights up.

I love lights. Wish I could bring this along, but it'll be heavy. Some more items within this room and beyond. I have to bow down to get past the hurdles and notices a lot of rotted food and aluminium cabinets. Was this a break room? Who knows. Time to get moving.

Only a few feet inside and we encounter bodies lying motionless. Like in bad zombie movies, three suddenly stand up and move toward us. I am taken by surprise at first - should I shoot in the head? Should we run? - but then one of them starts talking.

"It's your lucky day!"

We'll see who's lucky today, punk. And we'll see who's begging to get killed later on.

***

When I asked Mei about Henry, she inadvertently described her mother as well. Henry was hurt and her mom helped him. I presume her to be a nurse. She must've gone through hell during and after the Event.

We met four idiots, I despatched them all in the usual manner, and walked on. Found several items, and a woman who somehow is trapped behind strong bars. She needs two cans of foodstuff, but I have none at the moment. We walk on, her voice fading as we turn at a corner. 

As we run up a flight of stairs, the air becomes a bit easier to breathe, fresher, for the lack of a better word. None of the wet smell I associate with sewers, that kind of fresh. We come to a door that leads into an underground parking. The beam marker says '21'. I hope that's not the level we are in right now

I scrounge the area for any items, and find a can of fruit cocktail. It's better than meat, I tell ya. It goes straight down and the syrup gives high energy to me.

Okay, there's the door. Let's see where it will lead us.

***

Darn kid. Mei is jumping and singing again. Obviously she's at home. Or where she's familiar enough to feel safe. Safe enough to be singing, I guess.

The radio buzzes. It's Henry, telling me to get my stuff and leave, because I am 'an honourable man'. I want to ask his location, because Mei will be alone here. Will she be all right if she's alone, even if she feels safe?

Henry's apartment is a sight for sore eyes. Somehow feels warm and safe. After days walking in foggy weather and air, the room looks like a meadow of daffodils. It also has light. Beautiful light, and Mei is playing with her doll. 

"Well, there is something you can get for us," Henry says through the crackly static. "A radio transmitter."

This isn't a game. I am not a knight in shining armour and Henry did not just give me a quest. I feel rage. "Why can't you get it yourself?" Tight control is almost broken. Nearly screamed at a radio.

The reply comes not from the radio, but from behind me.

"Because," Henry rolls in, on a wheelchair, "I cannot."

Goddammit.