Apocalypse - Lowlands

Apocalypse - lowlands

The charred ground crunched beneath Max's feet as he advanced through the lowlands. Nowhere in sight was there a patch of earth that was not the deepest black, cracked and split by the force of the cosmic waves that had left this place desolate.

Grey mist swept across the fractured earth, spilling from the deepest crevices. Inky black clouds swirled high overhead, obscuring all view of the afternoon sun.

It was as darkest night, even in the middle of the day.

Max’s breath was laboured as he marched forwards through these lands, the weight of his protective suit and gas mask beginning to tire his overworked muscles. The chrome silver hilt of his bio-rifle was pressed firmly against his torso, never used but always there, feeling necessary in his work for reasons he could not quite put his finger on.

From high up above in the skybound city the sounds of the Overseer rang clear and loud through a joint intercom system, his utterances speaking of the spirit of hope and obedience in the darkness that kept those remaining with something to believe in.

“Know this. Those brave souls who stalk this desolate earth shall not be forgotten. The findings you deliver allow us to peer forth into the future, building brick by brick a time when the skies will once again turn blue…”

The Overseer's raspy and passionate voice trailed off into the distance as Max scaled and dropped down the other side of a large hill, his words now giving a dream-like quality to the scene.

“Max? Where you off to now?” a muffled voice shouted from somewhere in the distance, over the hill. It was Connor, his retrieval partner.

“Down here”

Connor’s masked silhouette came into view at the top of the hill, grey light from the towering mega structure that hung over the lowlands and the mist sweeping across obscuring Max’s view of him. Thin steel wires pushed down into the earth from the many interlinking bridges above, disappearing into the lights that shone behind the skyborne fog that was always present.

The pair had been descending into the forgotten earth from the safety of their overworld for weeks now, yielding little to no results.

The people left of earth lived in cities above the ground, colossal and dark mega-structures stacking stories upon stories atop one another, spiralling out from large plinths of metal like a twisted metallic spider web.

There was no natural light now. No vegetation. A cosmic storm had wiped out nearly all inhabitants of the planet hundreds of years ago, leaving those that remained without means to harvest energy or grow crops.

People were left hopeless, save a small one-hundred mile area that produced something that could give energy to the select few who had managed to find it. A strange life-giving substance. This substance was known as Lebenskraft; a thick green oil that spilled from a type of emerald crystal found in the ground when broken down and crushed. Those that had found it harnessed its energy and survived.

Max and Connor were retrievers, those brave enough to venture beyond the city into the lowlands. To the people of the upper worlds, the ground level was hell, an almost unspeakable darkness. To Connor and Max it was no more than desolate wastelands and work.

“I don’t think it's best to lower ourselves any more than we already have friend. Something tells me we can only venture so far” Connor shouted through the protection of his gas mask. Max raised his own hand and wiped his visor clean as black soot siphoned from the wind swept lands above into the crevice he had found. Something peered from within, a dull yet persistent sapphire glow.

“Bring the toolkit. Something’s buried deep” Max shouted back at Connor, slamming his pointed shovel into the crevice and beginning to pry it open. He had always been told to ignore any substance that seemed powerful but did not glow emerald like Lebenskraft, but here, he could not stop himself.

“What is it?” Connor shouted, his voice layered with apprehension.

Max did not answer, prying back the layers of black earth to reveal a large rich crystal of a deep and vibrant blue.

“Something big” he said absently as he reached down, light now spilling from the crevice. His hand grasped the element, tightening around it and pulling as the earth beneath cracked and then released the stone.

“Mother of the skies” Connor said. The large crystal in Max’s hand spewed forth a light far more potent than any Lebenskraft the pair had ever seen, refracting forth across the small crater they stood in.

Max took a skraftometer from his toolbelt, raising the element to the sky as he took a reading.

“999” he said under his breath, dropping it in disbelief. They had been instructed to bring any stone of emerald green into the transmission bay - anything registering over a 10, usually.

“This powers the city for a year if they can break it down, maybe more” Connor said, kneeling to inspect the stone that was now half nestled within the dust.

“We could end all of this” he continued. Max sighed.

“Right now we should dump it and report back to base. No sense taking the risk”

Connor stood, a frantic look in his eye as he gazed back at Max.

“We’d be handsomely rewarded..maybe we show some bravery”

Connor picked up the stone and walked over to the crevice Max had pried it from, clutching the jewel to his chest and getting on his hands and knees to peer in.

“Connor..drop it..I agree with you but..we need to be smart, not stupid” Max continued.

“You were the one who brought us to it..now we have something, finally!” Connor said, still on his hands and knees, throwing his fist into the sky in victory. As he did, something rumbled from beneath. A shifting in the darkness.

“Drop it and move back!” Max said, his voice elevated with concern. Connor did not listen, leaning forwards as the ground hissed.

Steam rose, a burst of hot air lined with pale blue sparkles that seemed to connect to the stone. Fragments of the crystal, deep within the earth purging forth, ripping through Connor’s mask, shattering his visor.

“Connor! Move back you fool!” Max screamed, lunging forwards to Connor’s side as he threw himself backwards and screamed.

He clutched at his eviscerated visor, his shrieks of pain visceral, sending goosebumps across Max’s entire body.

Blood sprayed, lining his face. And then, silence. Connor’s pain had seemingly ended, and yet he lay flat on his back silent, breathing.

His shrieks turned to low, guttural rumbles, the growls of a wild animal. Max clutched at his rifle, feeling the handle, his feet crunching into the ground behind him as he backed off.

“Connor? What you feeling buddy?” he said, voice shaken.

Connor did not respond, instead sitting upright with an uncanny swiftness of movement. His body was rigid, his head pointing towards the ground still at an unnatural angle. Max backed away further as Connor got to his feet.

“You awake there Connor? Talk to me” Max shouted, his visor beginning to fog with his elevated breath, the sound of his heart thumping in his chest like the increasing drums of a distant war march.

Connor turned to Max in seeming response to his words, his face now a mask of blood beneath his ruptured equipment.

Where before his light eyes had portrayed character, his expression was now neutral, sombre even.

Max blew air from his mouth sharply. Connor’s face twisted into a maniacal rage, and he charged, screaming.

“Connor stop this you-” Max had lifted his rifle but was unable to pull the trigger before Connor made it to him, the gun now the only thing separating them as Connor pinned Max to the floor.

Max was face to face with the frenzied Connor, blood spilling from his mouth, eyes lined with traces of the blue mist that had spilled from the earth.

Max pushed back, seeing that Connor had been overcome by an unnatural rage, animalistic in his expressions and lethal in intent.

Max took firm hold of the hilt of his gun, ramming it into the face of Connor before kicking him hard in the chest. He fell back, giving Max precious seconds to stand and point his rifle at his retrieval partner.

“Stop this you fuck! It's me!” Max shouted. Connor stood, blood continuing to pour from his mouth, the blue specks within his eyes now glowing sapphire, seeming to fuel his rage further. He charged.

“STOP”

The sound of Max’s bio-rifle discharging a neon bolt of bullet infused with red plasma tore through the still air of the lowlands. Connor stopped, still on his feet, an animalistic yowl rising from deep within his chest.

As he took another step, Max discharged once more. The buller ripped through his lower arm and Connor made one final lunge.

The third bullet stopped in him in his tracks with a resounding crack, tearing through his forehead. Connor fell back limp.

“Shit”

“How many shots were fired?”

“We’ve been over this ten times how-”

“How many? Answering our questions when we ask you is the only way you get out of here, ever”

Max sighed.

“Three. I fired three shots”

He leant back, his hand running over his shaved head. His overalls were filthy, the bright orange now dull. Three weeks they had kept him in here, the ongoing investigations and trouble the retrieval had caused kicking up a major fuss in the overworld.

“We have to be sure you’re not changing your story is all”

“Have I changed one word since I’ve been here?”

The large guard interrogating Max nodded his head, standing.

Max leaned back, certain he would be cast into his cell as the interrogator left once more. He’d had no contact with the outside world, save a thirty second visit from Rachel, his oldest and closest friend. She worked in ‘the enforcement’, the overworlds police force, and had snuck in to see him. She had been nearly instantly told to leave, but this interaction had comforted Max daily since his imprisonment.

“You’ve done something big you idiot” she had said, the only words he could muster from her in such a short space of time.

“Maximus Carther. You’re free to go” the guard boomed. Max laughed as the chains connecting him to the table were released with a buzz and fell into the floor. He stood, walking through the many chrome tunnels, back to the public sectors, away from the prison island.

Soon, he was outside, under the dark skies once more. A final bridge of dull grey steel would take him back home. She stood, waiting for him. Rain began to fall.

“They tested that thing, found more of it. You did the right thing, Max. You did it for all of us” Rachel said, her raven black hair and green eyes overwhelming Max’s senses as she braced within the storm.

Max looked up to the sky, a slither of blue becoming visible beyond the dark in the distance.