Illumination

Jack yawned and rolled over, trying to force herself awake. The cobwebs of the nightmare still clung to her mind, making her shiver. That wasn’t real, she told herself as she sat up. Just a dream. 

The blackness that surrounded her before was now a light grey, implying that it was morning. Most of the area was blanketed in icy fog, but the blue light from the mordew flowers lit up the ground, which was covered in hard, crusty, dirty-white ice.

Jack moaned as she stood up, dusting ice crystals off her uniform. Ice pillars aren’t exactly the most comfortable sleep pods, she thought. What do I do now?

She looked around her. The columns loomed above her, massive and unforgiving. Now that it was a little brighter, she could see out past the pillars to the icy plain ahead. Jack gasped in astonishment. The plain was almost completely empty except for a few hills of packed snow and mossy grassland that stretched on forever. This beats all of my geography lessons, she thought with a grin, stepping out onto the plain and looking out. The white plains seemed to stretch on endlessly away from the pillars, an expanse of musty white that faded to grey as it clashed with the startlingly dark horizon line. Behind her, a line of icy rocks jutted out, dusted in snowy power and blocking her exit back towards the mountain. The air smelled cool, fresh, and damp, just like morning should. For a moment, she almost forgot how lost she was.

But, like all things, reality was unavoidable, and it quickly came crashing down on her head. Jack sighed and went back to retrieve her pack. But it wasn’t where she’d left it. Instinctively, she touched her shoulders to see if she’d put it on then immediately forgotten. Nope. It was completely gone.

Something’s here. Something took my pack, she realized, hands dropping to her sides in horror. Something’s toying with me.

The only knowledge she gained from this disturbing realization was that she needed to get out into the open, and fast. Jack looked back at the pillars as she stepped away from them, wondering what creatures were hiding in the maze of icy plateaus and hills where she’d come from. What if the Apex that was chasing me is here?

She paused for a moment, biting her lip. I can’t head back the way I came, regardless of whether or not it followed me. I need to head around. A low growl from her stomach reaffirmed this. All my rations are in my pack. I need to find it, and fast.

Planning the path in her mind, she stepped away from the circle of icy columns and set out across the plain’s border, holding back the hunger that was gnawing on her insides. Every now and then, she stopped to adjust the Radiator on her arm. The black spiderwebs of frost had faded to mere veins under the powerful, healing glow, but her arm still hurt to move and Jack dialed up the heat on the bracelet before moving on.

As Jack walked, the pain and worry from the last night slowly ebbed away. Robin, Liam, and Bailey are looking for me. Of course they are, she decided. Why wouldn’t they? She repeated this over and over in her head until it drowned out the fear that...maybe they wouldn’t look for her. Jack could just imagine it in her head. The General won’t want the mission to be jeopardized so they could look for a lowly mechanic like me. I might be expendable. The words, “don’t come” flashed into her mind and she shuddered. I never got to tell them. I wonder what they’re doing right now.

After a while, Jack saw the peak of the cliff rise above the plateaus that had been previously blocking her view. Wow, I ran farther than I thought. I guess I really do need to head around. She began the trek between the plateaus, feeling smaller and smaller every second as the walls around her grew and grew.

Jack traveled just long enough to begin to feel the tug of fatigue. The moment she did, the plateaus dropped off and she was on completely level ground again. She gasped at the sight before her. There was a river of fresh, clean water burbling in front of her. How is this possible? Her mind frantically tried to work out a logical explanation, but she couldn’t find one. How did I not see this before? Running water? On a frozen planet with no Sun and only artificial heat to warm us?!

Jack knelt down by the edge of the stream and took off the glove on her right hand. Shakily, she dipped it in the water and let out the breath she’d been holding as clear, warm water—actual water—rushed over her hand. This could be life changing for the colonies. I have to get back and tell the General. Jack couldn’t help but grin. But first, I have to make it back.

She looked around her for something to mark the location so she could come back. That’s when she noticed that the river was flowing into an icy, dark cave that was sandwiched between two of the plateaus.

Jack approached the cave nervously and brushed aside some dangling, soggy moss from the entrance. She turned up the intensity of the Illuminator on her visor and peered inside. No Apexes. Slowly stepping into the cave, she followed the path of the river down a series of intricately carved tunnels, bending down to avoid hitting her head. The path zigzagged and curved but never crossed with another trail, so Jack could always see the exit if she backtracked. This cave is definitely man-made. But why is it a secret?

After a while, the tunnel opened up into a larger cavern tall enough for Jack to stand in. The river flowed into a hole dug into the ground, where it fell down to who knew where. Yeah, that hole’s too perfect to be natural. Which means there must be water under the ground. Jack’s eyes widened. Where there’s water, there’s bound to be life.

It was just then that she noticed a strange symbol drawn in white on the opposite wall of the cave. It looked like a Sun with a strike through it and was blurred to the point where it almost looked unintentional. But as Jack approached she realized that it had been drawn by someone. Someone who lives here. She slowly reached out and touched the symbol with her finger.

“Krkkh—welcome, Jacklyn Ferris-Amundsen,” a voice suddenly blared. Jack nearly jumped at the sound. It was so familiar that she could almost convince herself that she was back in the colony, heading to her dorm after a long day being teased at school. This is crazy. First those pillars, then a real river, then a man-made cave, and now this.

A loud, grinding sound interrupted her reverie. A large pillar of stone just behind where she was standing was sliding to the side, revealing...stairs.

“No way,” Jack muttered out loud. Before, it had all felt like a dream. Now, she knew it was reality.

She tentatively turned and began to descend down the stairs. Looking down, she could see that they went on for a while, curling and spiraling in a blue, misty fog that even her Illuminator couldn’t penetrate.

What am I doing? Her brain stopped her before she could get halfway to the ground. I have no idea what’s down here. I need to focus on getting back to the colony. Then I can come back and show everyone what I’ve learned. Jack hesitated on the stairs, clicking her boots together. The sound they made echoed off some far away walls and hummed in the air.

After a moment, she shook her head to clear it and continued to take the stairs one at a time, looking up every now and then to make sure that the trapdoor was still open.

It felt good when Jack’s feet touched the ground. Looking down, she was surprised to see real grass, green and clear of the ice that normally covered it. The ground smelled mossy and fresh and there was a touch of humidity in the air that made Jack’s skin prickle. This is unreal. Yet as she breathed in the earthen scent, she couldn’t convince herself otherwise.

Jack took off her boots and wiggled her toes in the dewy grass as she walked, not entirely sure of where she was going. Eventually, she came upon the silhouette of a giant, wooden door towering in front of her, engraved with the same symbols that she’d seen on the ice pillars earlier that day. At this point, I wouldn’t mind if a giant mole rat opened it and asked me to tea, she thought drily to herself, placing her hand on the door and pushing with all her might.

After a moment, the door swung open wide enough for her to squeeze through. Jack gasped as the mists parted to reveal a beautiful, lush utopia, filled with all sorts of exotic trees and plants that would never be able to survive on the surface. The air buzzed with strange creatures that Jack recognized from her ancient history textbooks, except they were here and it was all so real. Tears came to her eyes as she reached out and ran her fingers over the bark of a tall, sturdy tree.

She stuck her tongue out to taste the hot moisture in the air and watched as a monkey gibbered to its friend in the canopy above her. There was so much life and it was so perfect. How did this get here? This is clearly man-made. A dark cloud passed over her mind. Is the General hiding this?

“Jack?” a voice came from behind her. An infuriatingly British voice.

“Liam?!” Jack didn’t even have to turn around to know the voice. “How?”

Indeed, it was him standing behind her, cheeks flushed red. His mop of caramel hair fell over his face, but his left eye (the only working one of the two) still peered out at her. “I’m so glad I found you. We’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

Jack’s tongue felt swollen and dry in her mouth. “You...knew to look for me here?” She reached out and gestured helplessly in the air.

“No, we followed the trail that you led us.” Liam paused and looked around, awestruck by the paradise around him. “This is beautiful…”

“Yeah,” Jack agreed, but her mind hovered on something he’d said. “Wait, did you say trail?”

“You left a trail made out of items from your pack. It’s what led us here.”

A horrible realization dawned on Jack and her eyes widened. “Liam, get down!” she hissed, grabbing his arm and pulling him into a bush.

“What are you doing?!” he swore, rubbing his arm and glaring at her confusedly.

“Saving your life,” she whispered back and pointed at something big lumbering towards them from out of the brush. “How did this thing get down here? It can’t climb stairs, right?”

“Robin and Bailey are right upstairs too,” Liam muttered, watching as the Apex emerged from the bushes. “Which means that there must be two or even three Apexes working together. One to leave the trail, one to distract the others…”

“...and one to kill us,” Jack finished, peering through a small gap in their hiding spot. This Apex was even larger than the one that had chased her before, and it squinted against the bright, natural light as it crashed through the undergrowth. Its skin was blistering in the unusual humidity and it seemed a little squeamish at the feeling of grass under its webbed paws.

“What do we do now?” Liam breathed, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

“We run.” Jack made a scissors gesture with her fingers and pointed towards a path that led around to the door. “Don’t make a sound.”

The two of them silently stood up and backed away, careful not to step on any twigs or leaves. The path that Jack had pointed out wound around where the Apex was sniffing and then shot straight for the door.

“Come on.” Liam and Jack crept quickly down the path, squatting low to avoid being seen by the Apex as they passed. They came so close to it that Jack could hear the ragged chuff-chuff of its breath and smell the rank odor of Apex sweat. She gagged silently and covered her mouth.

They reached the door and found that it had closed shut on them. They were both completely in the open now and looked back nervously at the Apex, who was still sniffing at the ground and lumbering along. On three, Jack mouthed to Liam, bracing her hand against the door.

One...two...three!

A loud creak split the air, painfully drawn out and painfully obvious. Jack and Liam froze in their tracks, the door halfway open, and glanced back.

The Apex had turned around and was staring straight at them. Its lips curled back into a snarl and it tensed, ready to spring.

“Go, go, go!” Liam cried. The two of them burst through the doorway and sprinted towards the stairs as fast as they could. The Apex shrieked and barrelled after them, smashing through the door with a sickening crash.

Jack reached the stairs and began to take them two at a time, her legs burning. Soon Liam caught up, the Apex on his heels, and joined her. “Watch out!” she called as the creature snapped at his leg ferociously. He dodged and passed her with a grateful nod, clutching his chest tightly.

After an eerily quiet moment only broken by her own heavy breathing, Jack paused to look down at the Apex, who was lumbering up the steps. Slowly but surely. I guess they can climb stairs. It looked up at her from a few feet below and wailed angrily, showing off multiple rows of teeth.

“Jack, the trapdoor closed!” Liam called from the top. He turned and pounded on it frustratedly and yelled, “Robin, Bailey, open up! We’re trapped!” Jack leapt the few remaining stairs and joined him, pushing against the stone slab with all her might. But it was too heavy for them to move.

“We’re not gonna make it,” Jack puffed, searching for something to hold onto. The Apex was only a few feet away, its claws clicking menacingly on the stone steps as it scrambled up. “Look!” Next to the slab, just out of reach, was another white symbol painted on the earthen ceiling.

Liam looked around wildly for a moment, then reached down and pulled off one of his boots. Squatting down on his knees, he took aim and threw it at the symbol.

“Thank you for visiting. Goodbye—krkh—Liam Griffiths,” the mysterious monitor said. Jack felt the stone slab loosen under her fingertips. The two of them reached up and pushed with all their might. The slab finally gave way, sliding off to the side. Liam and Jack leapt up through the hole and then pushed the stone slab back into its place.

A few seconds later, there was a thud as the Apex hit the trapdoor. Then, there was a silence so thick and perfect that Jack held her breath, not daring to break it. Slowly, she exhaled, her shoulders slumping, and sat down on the cold, stone floor. The air was so bitter yet chilly in the cave that it felt like a shock after the warm pleasantness of the tropical cavern. “Quick thinking,” she commented with a slight smile, pointing at Liam’s bare, calloused foot.

“Thanks, I guess,” he responded, shaking his head slowly and firmly. “Hey, where’re the others?” He pointed down the tunnel. No one in sight.

“I don’t know. Maybe they went back and hid in the buggy when the Apexes came?” A hot prickle of unease slid down Jack’s spine. “Let’s go back and look.”

The two of them limped out of the cavern and down the tunnel, throwing glances back at the trapdoor every once in a while, which quivered but stayed shut. The river burbled alongside them, quiet but noticeable amidst the pounding of their heads.

After a minute, just when they were about to reach the opening, Jack stopped and turned around to face Liam. “Did the General try to keep you from looking for me?” she blurted out.

He looked at her, lips slightly parted, and brushed a lock of hair out of his face. “No...why?”

“Oh, um...no reason,” Jack lied. “It’s just kind of unusual that we’re sent out on direct orders from the General herself and then stumble upon this place.” She kneeled down and placed both her hands in the river, feeling the warm water rush over her hands and wash all the dirt off. “It was so beautiful.”

“It was,” Liam breathed, a smile flitting across his face. For a second, he seemed to relax and his eye twinkled. For just a moment, he seemed lost in a memory. But then, Jack watched as his face tightened and he went back to his usual seriousness. Liam shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Come on. We need to get moving.” He reached out a hand to help Jack up and they continued out of the cave.

When they reached the opening, a blast of frigid air hit Jack in the face and she gasped in surprise. That tropical room really threw me off, she thought to herself, rubbing her exposed arm and grimacing. “I’m okay. You?” she said in response to Liam’s concerned look.

“I’ll get by,” he muttered, gesturing at his stiff foot. “Push comes to shove, I wrap it in a Radiator.” Liam pointed at his pack, which was hanging loosely off his right shoulder. Jack’s stomach growled at the sight of the supply-filled bag. I need to eat soon, she thought. Eh, maybe I’ll steal some of his rations.

“Jack!” a voice called to her left. She turned and saw her brother sprinting towards her, a grin on his face, arms outstretched. Bailey followed closely behind.

“Robin!” she called, dashing to meet him and wrapping him in a tight hug. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Good to see you too,” he mumbled into her uniform collar. Despite being three years older than her, he was still a little shorter due to an unfortunately painful growth spurt that had happened when Jack was fifteen.

Jack took a deep breath in and wrinkled her nose as she caught the smell of smoke coming off of Robin’s uniform. “Have you been smoking?” she asked disdainfully, pushing away with a teasing smile.

“About that,” he began, his grin fading as he looked down at the ground. “It’s not me, it’s the buggy.” At this, he turned to face the other three. Bailey nodded, resigned, but Liam looked as confused as Jack was.

“What happened?” she inquired nervously, unsure if she wanted to know the answer or not.

“The Apexes chased us down into a gorge. We tried to radio both of you but your signals weren’t picking up. We thought we were goners, so we tried to turn around and ram the Apexes...and maybe scare ’em off so you two could escape. They scattered as we drove at them…” he began, then cringed and blushed. “...and then we crashed into the opposite wall.”

“You crashed the buggy? On your first day driving it?!” Jack said, raising an eyebrow.

“Never mind that. What matters is that we’re stranded,” Liam cut in. “By a weird, tropical cave and a ticked-off Apex.”

“Not really,” Robin began awkwardly, trying to ease the tension with a warm smile of his. “There’s a nearby black market that sells parts—I could pop over and you guys could all fix the buggy.”

“I’m not going near one of those black markets,” Liam sniffed.

“Will it get the job done?” Bailey interrupted, gaze sharp.

“Theoretically, yeah. The damage doesn’t look final to me,” Robin informed them.

“Then let’s do it. We need to get back to the colony and find out more about...whatever this place is. Whoever built this—because this is clearly built, could still be here. I need to know who they are,” Jack decided, looking around at the rest of the group. They all nodded, except for Liam. “Come on, help us out.”

“Okay, okay. Just don’t put my name on a plaque or anything when we’re done,” he gave in, stuffing his hands in his uniform pockets and looking down at the ground.

“That’s the spirit, Li!” Robin cheered, crushing his friend in a signature bear hug. Liam remained stoic, closing his one eye until Robin let him go.

Robin paused and thought for a moment, then said, “I guess we’ll have to walk there. Good thing I have a map!” He pulled out a thick roll of parchment from his pack and kneeled down, spreading it out on the ice.

“Woah,” Bailey gasped. Jack couldn’t help but agree with her. The map was huge, and so detailed that it almost hurt to look at. Robin had written in thousands of names in tiny, black letters that looped and curled around the page. The map showed the entire sheet of New Earth with cities and colonies marked on it as well as points of interest. The text almost dominated the entire map and Jack could barely see where any of the points were underneath all the labels.

“So this is what you’ve been working on,” Liam breathed, kneeling down and helping Robin hold down the map’s corners. He knew about this? Jack wondered as she also bent to help her brother. Only Bailey stayed where she was, gazing down at the map like a hungry cat. If cats had survived past the Great Extinction.

“I can’t pinpoint exactly where we are,” Robin said, pointing at a small triangle on the map. “But we came from this cliff and went south, maybe for two miles. The market’s over here. So it’s eleven miles...southwest of us.”

“But if your logic is off, we could be walking for hours in the ice deserts. I say we ask him.” Bailey thumbed her finger at Liam, who was staring at the map intensely, arms crossed.

“No, he’s right. As far as I can tell, at least. If we walk fast, we can make a round trip in about four hours, plus the time we spend at the market,” Liam calculated. “Let’s not dawdle, or else we’ll be stuck out in the open at night. I dunno about anyone else, but I personally don’t want to run into those Apexes again.”

Robin rolled up the map and stuffed it back into the pack, taking out a compass in the process. “So southwest is that way,” he decided, pointing towards an open stretch of ice that was barely discernible through the blackening sky. “Ready?”

The four of them nodded and set off across the packed snow, leaving the strange cavern behind. But not for long.