— You no longer have an escape, raise your hands and surrender. —I did what she said, and turned around.
— Well played, mustache. I would like to applaud, but I don't think you'll let me lower my hands. —I said as he took a few steps back, until he reached the edge.
— I see that you already understand your position. After so much trouble you gave us today and in the past, you are finally going to reap what you sowed. —He said while he gave the order with his hand for me to be arrested.
- I really congratulate you. —I said with a smile on my face.
He smiled too.
— Everything that goes up must come down, right?
I just laughed.
— You're right, everything that goes up must come down. —I put two fingers to my forehead and made a farewell gesture, as I let myself fall onto the cliff on my back.
—Catch him! —She screamed, but it was too late, she had already thrown me into the abyss.
I could see them peeking over the edge to see me, I was just so excited. Feeling the adrenaline in my body and being able to test what I built was nothing more than a great ecstasy for me. I took the gun I had made and fired it against the wall, it had a tip with a lag screw and the cable soldered to it. The tip stuck in and I pressed a button made from a screw which ended up turning on the motor, which rotated the rod rail. This caused the rope to begin to retract and ended up stopping my free fall. I pressed another button and this one caused the rail to rotate to the other side, slowly releasing rope.
Thanks to what I had put together, I was able to escape from the vanguard again. I ended up on the roof of a house in a lower town. I slid down one of the walls to get down. This district was made up of several metal houses, some buildings and had two very important places. The "Swamp Flower" orphanage and the large parts market. He had to go to both places, but first he would stop by the orphanage.
As I walked, people greeted me. Almost all the people in the lower town knew me. Since I was born, I was always here. He was the town's imp, although now he was someone they asked to help them fix what was broken. It's quite funny to think that before they avoided me because I was naughty and now they love me for being useful. I started looking at the houses, they were all made of different pieces of metal. Some had pieces of cloth and leather sewn together that acted as doors.
The people were wearing torn and dirty rags, in addition to having bandages or wounds on various parts of their bodies. That is a constant reminder of the situation in which we live. Some of us don't eat for several days or barely get clean water to drink. My smile disappeared momentarily, I remembered some things from the past that I want to forget. When I realized, I was already in front of the orphanage.
I approached the door and knocked a few times. It opened in surprise and a bunch of kids jumped on me. They were hugging me and pulling on each end of my things. I hugged them and got up from the ground. Once upstairs, I began to ruffle the hair of each of the children present. While we laughed without even talking. Footsteps began to sound, coming from inside the building in front of us.
— Children are fast. As soon as they heard the door, they ran towards you. —A girl, a few years older than me, with short black hair, wearing a green dress, came out of the orphanage. She was Katherine, the children's caretaker.
—How are you, Kat? —I said approaching him to give him a hug. She reciprocated it.
- I'm fine. —She broke away and looked inside the orphanage. From this, she could only see an abyss of darkness that she could not see beyond the threshold of the door.
—Has the power still not returned? Are they really okay?
—Yes, but I don't know for how much longer. —She lowered her head. —We can't continue like this, the children can barely move inside and we are going to run out of water because the pump we have is electric.
— I see... Can I take a look? —She nodded and guided me to the room where they had all the electrical connections.
He could barely see, but he was sure of one thing, the place was huge. Kat took my hand and told me to be careful where I stepped. I could feel several cables and pipes at my feet. At one point, Kat stopped.
- It's here. I'm sorry to bring you into the dark, but I have nothing that can generate light.
— Don't worry, I think I have a lighter in my bag. —I started looking through it and found a Zippo lighter.
When I turned it on, I was able to see the entire electrical system of the orphanage. I began to search through each cable, pipe and connection for the cause of the electrical failure. Until I ended up finding the root of the problem. The capacitor was damaged, which meant a major failure in the entire supply, since it is responsible for exchanging currents of the energy produced by the Toctinus.
— The problem is the capacitor. —I said as he gave the lighter to Kat.
—It can't be, they are very expensive. It will take me months to get one. —She said lamentingly and taking the lighter.
— They are... but I don't think they will be without power any longer. —Kat she looked at me confused, while she was rummaging through my bag. From this I took out the capacitor that she had found.
— Wait… is that a functional capacitor?
—It is, I got it from the big building in Engitory. I outmaneuvered the vanguard and they chased me to the cliff of the commercial district. —Kat was speechless. —I intended to sell it on the market. —Just let out a laugh.
—I can't accept it, much less like this. You put your freedom at risk to get it. —Kat she put her hand on her shoulder. I moved away and started taking things and tools out of her bag.
As much as Kat didn't want to, she wasn't going to let the children continue without electricity. I took a screwdriver and pulled the capacitor out of the connection. I placed the one I had gotten and the light came back on right away. I started to put my things away, but Kat grabbed my hand.
— Ersa, I can't accept it just like that. Please let me pay you.
—No need, Kat.
— Yes, it is necessary. —I sighed and took the capacitor that was useless.
—I will accept this little guy as payment. —Kat, at first she looked at me confused, but she ended up showing a smile.
— Oh… before I forget. Have this, it's for the kids. —I gave him the cake I had bought. Her smile grew even more pronounced.
— Come, let's eat together. —I accompanied her and we gathered all the children from the orphanage, in its garden. Once we gathered everyone, we began to distribute the cake.
Everyone was happy, and began to eat the cake quickly. Once they finished it, they went to play. They were very happy for the gift he had given them. Seeing them like this filled me with hope. A hope that they grow and can be more than I am. Without warning, a little boy with brown hair in blue overalls approached me, it was Toby.
—What's wrong, Toby? —Kat said, but he was just looking at me.
— Ersa, how can I be as cool as you? —I looked at him a little surprised, I was anything but cool. I just smiled and crouched down.
— Toby, you're never going to be as cool as me. —Toby made a face of anguish and sadness.
- Why not? —She said between sobs.
— Because you're already cooler than me. —I picked him up by the armpits and started spinning with him. We were both laughing. Seconds passed and I put him down, he ran away and started playing with the rest.
— I can't believe you get along so well with children. —Kat said, as she smiled.
— I learned to deal with them, and I really like them. They help me remember my life before the incident. —I showed a somewhat nostalgic expression. Kat saw me a little confused but she didn't look into the matter further.
Shortly after that, I left the place heading towards the market, I intended to sell the capacitor. Luckily for me, the orphanage was very close to the market and it didn't take me long to get there. Once again, I witnessed the quality of life in Pueblo Bajo. This time seeing how the condition of the people was getting worse and worse. The contamination of the Toctinus, the chemical waste of the "supraterrans". My steps, doubts, insecurities, problems, feelings, worries, all increased as I looked at the people. I am grateful to have been born strong and to be in one piece, but I cannot tolerate seeing others like this. I hope that, one day, all this will end.
I continued walking, this time without thinking about anything other than selling the capacitor. With every step I took, I began to hear a crowd of people talking. I closed my eyes and started calculating how much they could give me for the broken capacitor. I ended up concluding that I could get between twenty to forty medallions; enough to live two weeks.
When I opened my eyes, I could already see the entrance to the market. Upon crossing its threshold, I could see several wooden tables, with vendors and their wares, scattered throughout the place. There were many people who were going to sell and buy, this was the way to be able to live one more day here. I began to walk among the people, I saw how some were fighting over a product or having small clashes between them because of the little space there was.
— Breaded heptopods! Do you want a young one? —A street vendor approached me, I simply refused by waving my hand and continued with my journey.
In the distance, I could see a stand without customers or vendors. This was attended by an old, fat, bearded, bald man with a patch over his right eye, which was fraying. He was wearing black overalls with a white shirt and was wearing welding glasses like mine, but with black lenses. To this day, I wonder "Why does he wear a patch, if he is wearing welding glasses?" I approached him with a smile and raised my hand to greet him. And he took off his glasses, revealing a disgusted face.
—Hey, Pedro! How's business going?! She—she looked away when she saw me.
For as long as I can remember, this old man has always helped me. Either buying what he found and serving him or lending me medallions. Even though he acts so grumpy, he is a good person who cares about everyone. I got to his table and he was still looking away from him. I sighed and gave a small cough to get his attention.
- What do you want? —She said without even seeing me.
—I have something that might interest you, although it doesn't work. —I started searching in my bag.
— Why do I want something that doesn't work? Long at once. —I just smiled. I took out the capacitor and put it on the table.
—Are you sure you want me to leave? I offer it to you because I know you will be able to repair it. —He brought her hand to his beard and began to scratch it.
—Interesting, they are quite expensive so I will pay you well for it. —He reached under the table and pulled out a bag with medallions.
—Fifty medallions, what do you think? — I took the bag with my hands, it was more than I expected.
- Done deal. —We shake hands.
— Well, it has been a pleasure doing business with you. See you another time, Pedro. —He simply let out a growl.
I walked around the market for a bit more, to see if I could get something useful, but that wasn't the case. I stopped searching the place and entered a narrow alley. This took me directly to the district in which I lived. He looked at the walls in poor condition, counting every crack he saw. With each step he took, the echo became more and more pronounced. I could barely make out a green patch at the end of the hallway.
After a long walk, I managed to reach my destination. In the middle of the place was a large bioluminescent green lake. I could see fishing boats taking various creatures out of the area, either to eat, sell, or use as bait for larger prey. Around the lake, there were several wooden houses. Some had small docks with boats tied to them and others were on the small hills that formed throughout the place.
There was a white wooden house with a yellow roof. This was in terrible condition and seemed to be uninhabited. It had broken windows, the door had several holes that allowed you to see inside, the ceiling was missing boards, and the walls were full of mold. That was my destiny for the moment. That house is Miss Lynn's home.
When I got home, I gently knocked on the door and a short woman with white hair and a somewhat wrinkled face came out. She wore a dark green tunic with black dots, along with a white apron, stained with black ink, and a white scarf with a red stripe on her head. Her almond-colored eyes contrasted very well with the white streaks of her head.
—But if it's young Ersa, what brings you here, boy? —The old woman showed a warm smile. She was gentle and kind to everyone, no matter what they did or said.
— Good afternoon, Mrs. Lynn. Did you have tetropodes left? —She nodded and entered her house, only to come out with a bag in hand.
— Here you are, two tetropodes. There would be ten medallions. —I gave her the medallions and she gave me the tetropodes.
—By the way, how are Charlie and the others? —Charlie was my best friend, although we didn't see much of each other anymore. He had started working in the family fishing business, while I began to dedicate myself to collecting and selling things.
- He is okay. A while ago he and my husband went fishing. Lately, they are managing to catch more fish than usual. —She said, letting out a small laugh.
- How about you?
—I'm fine, in everything. There is the occasional day when he had a bad time, but not more than that. —I said with a smile.
-I'm glad to hear that. Well, I better get back to cleaning the tetropodes. Have a beautiful afternoon. —He entered the house.
-Thanks all the same. —I said, as I walked towards my house.
I lived on the other side of the lake, it was a desolate part where you could only see a blue tarp on three small metal walls. Even if it was something improvised, it was my home. Having that was better than sleeping outside, although it was still missing a wall that faced the lake. I was thinking what I could use as a wall, while I was walking along the lake towards my home.
Once I arrived, I saw all the machines and devices I put together from scrap metal. Among these, I had a water purifier that did not work. I needed to get a motor to make it run. I left what I had bought in a wooden trunk I had and began to walk around. Luckily for me, not far from my house, I found a boat engine whose fins and rudder had broken.
I took it home and put it next to the purifier, grabbed my tools and started installing it. It was somewhat difficult to handle, as it was very large compared to the damaged motor of the purifier. I took a screwdriver and pliers to start disassembling both devices. The minutes passed, and he had finally managed to make a connection between both gadgets.
I put all my tools aside and started the engine. It took a while to start, but it did. I quickly took one of the tubes that the purifier had and threw it into the lake. It began to suck water. I went to the opposite side of the machine, on which there was a tap. When I opened it, clear water began to come out. I couldn't help but get excited and celebrate the fact that I now had clean water again. I turned off the engine, after filling several bottles with water.
I plopped down on a dirty old mattress I had. And no, I didn't use it to sleep. I just liked lying there, since bugs come up here at night and I wouldn't want to have a cockroach on my face when I woke up. Minutes passed and I got up. I grabbed some scraps of wood that were scattered and stacked them. With a piece of metal and the welder, I made a spark on the wood and set it on fire.
On top of the small campfire, I placed a metal easel with a small saucepan. I took one of the tetropodes and began to separate the tentacles from the head. These I threw over the container on the fire and kept the head. Once they were cooked, I took them off the heat. I was grateful for the food and began to devour them. Although it was only four small tentacles, he was already satisfied. I took a hammock out of the trunk and hung it, tying it to the walls of my dwelling. I lay down on it and stared at my canvas roof.
It was a difficult life. Some days were harder than others, I won't always have food to eat. Much less do I know if I will still be alive tomorrow. I don't know if the few people I know will be good or bad tomorrow, much less if they won't die. I let out a sigh and rested my left arm on my forehead. After all, this is the life of the underground. A small knock on one of the walls echoed. When I turned to look, there was a supraterran in a white suit standing at the entrance to my house.
This one had blonde hair. His eyes were a shallow green and he had a smile of someone who had no difficulties in life. I stood up from the hammock and raised my fists. I didn't know what he wanted and much less if he wasn't someone from the vanguard, but all I knew was that he wasn't going to lose without a fight. The man gestured with his hands for me to lower my fists.
—Calm down, Ersa. I'm just here to talk. —Something told me he wasn't lying, but I still didn't let my guard down.
—What does a superterran want from me? —I frowned and let out a snort.
— I just want to propose something to you. This might interest you, or don't you want to know Rilim?
I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head.
— You see, I am one of the deans of the great Astirte school. My name is Alexis Teccia. I wanted to suggest you study there.
I let out a sarcastic laugh.
- Yes Yes. As true as it is, why would you accept it?
Alexis took a document out of his suit pocket and handed it to me. At first I hesitated to take it, but curiosity ended up winning over me. They were the registration papers, these said that I would be awarded a 100% scholarship.
—I still don't convince you? Scholarship recipients receive a monthly salary of two thousand medallions. You could give them to the girl at the orphanage.
I frowned.
—How do you know about her? —I raised my fists again.
— I hate to admit it, but I followed you almost all day. Leaving that aside, I'll leave you the documents. If you go to Rilim, tell the guards "I come as a guest of Alexis", they will escort you to my abode. —He turned around and left my house.
I was completely confused, why did he want me to study in the most prestigious academy in the entire world? I let out a sigh and looked at the documents again. Although I didn't like the idea, the salary money they would give me would help Kat and the children. I closed my eyes for a moment and heard a girl's laughter, then I had already made a decision. She would study there, just so she could give that money to the orphanage. I don't want anyone to go through what she went through, I don't want to see that again. I don't want to see... how someone close to me dies.