Part 1

Part 1

Prologue

We walked with other explorers down a long corridor of the sewer system. The water had long since dried up, so luckily I was sure my shoes wouldn’t get wet. They were my one and only pair left. Lace-up, high-top – and most importantly, leather. In the current state of affairs, they were considered a rarity, because if my years of wandering had taught me anything, it was certainly how to take care of my shoes. Our footsteps mingled with the sound of backpacks hung with metal parts. A piece of wire here, pliers there, a flashlight over there. Everything in the empty concrete tunnel with a diameter of eight meters sounded twice as loud. At least they drowned out my thoughts. God, I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired. Fortunately, the knowledge that we would soon reach Speranza kept me sane.

I had two companions on this journey. They always paired us up in threes—it was customary not to combine larger teams. Up there on the surface, all it takes is one anti-personnel mine, one angry ARC, or a broken rope in an elevator, and poof! You’re gone. You all disappear. So it’s better to disappear in smaller groups. One of them was as big as a wardrobe. Tall, broad-shouldered, dark-haired with bushy eyebrows. When he flexed his biceps carrying supply crates, he looked like the dam at the Alcantara power plant. I imagined that he could tear a wasp in half with his bare hands. I mean, I don’t imagine his biceps — not that anything. I just pass the time in my head during long and boring journeys. May they always be boring. The second guy is also a tough guy, one of a kind – a sharpshooter. Blond, short, with blue eyes. He has been on several surface raids. Once, he was the only one who returned from the whole group. The only survivor. To this day, he is reluctant to talk about it.

So you ask how I found myself in the company of such elite soldiers? The answer is very simple: when the commander saw me, he decided that I would need an escort of professionals because I couldn’t cope on my own. I’m not much of a soldier. Nor am I very bright. Nor… actually, I don’t know, I guess I’m just very lucky to be alive.

Even though we were in a cool concrete tunnel several dozen meters underground, the air was thick and warm. Hiding from the ARCs that roam the surface, we managed to settle down quite nicely here – down below. Apparently, the deepest human settlement is half a kilometer below sea level. Fortunately, on our way to Speranza, we didn’t have to go that deep. It is one of those “shallow” settlements, as we are only 100 meters from the surface. This is not surprising, as the terrain here is mostly volcanic rock, which, as we know, is extremely difficult to dig. We are near Mount Vesuvius. It is still active, although its last eruption took place over 200 years ago.

-Young man, are you alive?- asked Rupio (the broad-shouldered one).

-Sure, everything’s fine!- I replied, wanting to quickly get rid of his attention.
I don’t like talking to people. I’m a loner by choice. The only question is whether it’s my choice or the choice of the people around me. But don’t get me wrong, I can do something. I’m not that useless.

-Get the orders out, we’re approaching the gate- Sally grumbled. And he was right, because for a while now, the warm air had been mixing with the increasingly intense smell of oil. In the distance, I could see red lights flashing, marking the entrance hatch.

-It must be here- said Rupio, then took off his backpack and placed it between his legs. We usually had tall hiking backpacks, reaching halfway up our thighs. Putting them on the ground, especially in dirty sewers, was unbecoming even for scrap metal collectors like us. Inside, there were sleeping bags and food, and mixing them with the chemicals and oil at the bottom of the sewers would have disastrous consequences. In the meantime, Sally pulled out a map of the sewers and, with one quick movement, unfolded it and raised it to face level, illuminating it with a flashlight.

-It’s definitely here. I don’t know, maybe we should knock?- he joked, putting the map in his pocket.

-Or give the password to the base- I added, and a slide from my childhood of building forts out of pillows and duvets flashed through my mind.

-The password is ‘the lights are out- Rupio chuckled, then slumped down on the pipe next to him. I was afraid it would break under his weight, but steel can withstand a lot.

-Well, I don’t see a doorbell, so I guess we’ll just have to wait- Sally said, then sat down next to Zapora on the pipe. I also took off my backpack and leaned against a large tank. Although it was metal and partially rusted, it was pleasantly warm,
and I could hear the quiet dripping of water inside.

I don’t know if an hour or three had passed — my friends had fallen asleep sitting up. I was still pacing from one wall of the canal to the other, thinking about a solution. What if no one comes for us? They’re not expecting us, are they? Or maybe this tunnel is collapsed? Is no one really guarding the entrance to Speranza? Retreating at this point is out of the question – we walked for six hours through tunnels, and going back to the surface would exhaust us. And then I felt that pleasant feeling of “butterflies” in my stomach.

-I know!- I muttered under my breath, then jumped like a panther to my backpack and started rummaging through it. I have cables, I have a cell from “Snitch” ARC and a speaker, and a few parts from an old stereo system.

-Get up!- I hissed at the boys, then crouched down by the pipe they were sitting on.

-What’s up?- asked Rupio, surprised. -What have you come up with now?-

-Listen: this pipe is steel, right? And it goes into the wall towards the Speranza, right? And this is a speaker!- I showed them my new invention, which didn’t resemble anything at all. Unlike his big friend, Sally was quite smart and seemed to get it, because I saw a big smile on his face.

-And metal conducts sound!- he said happily, probably feeling like he was the co-author of my idea.

-Exactly! What’s more, the speed of sound propagation in metal is much higher than in air or water, and this speed is almost independent of frequency!- I said excitedly. I placed the membrane on the pipe running towards the manhole and turned on my device. The sound was a combination of a squeak and a hum at the same time. Most importantly, I immediately felt a vibration that could definitely be felt on the other side.

Less than three minutes later, the lights in the tunnel began to flash alternately yellow and red. Then we heard a sound so loud that we all ducked our heads at the same time. It was as if a speeding locomotive had parked next to us. After a moment, there was a loud hissing sound and I felt a movement of air on my legs. The hatch began to open.







Audiobook: Arc Raiders Audiobook – the Chronicles of Speranza – part 1 – Prologue