**Edited by WEI**
Chapter 3
Into the Darkness
I already know. It's not an empty room. It's an elevator to the secret tunnels. Only a second or two passes before the floor starts to descend. The walls are the familiar concrete I've passed through a thousand times when descending into the hidden city, but this elevator is moving faster. Two minutes go by and I know, at these speeds, I've passed the entrances into the manmade hidden city. Then the blurred concrete stops and the walls look to be raw rock and earth. She was right. The secret, deeper tunnels aren't manmade. The concrete marked our descent through the manmade hidden city but this shaft isn't concrete, isn't human. No soldier could miss the light shimmer of the walls. It's an effect created by a clear Elori sealant applied to keep the raw dirt and rock from coming loose. The compound is as thin as paint, but stronger than titanium. The hidden city has its own secrets. Siama always believed they hadn't told us everything. Lately she's been furious that they haven't told us their secrets and are about to send us off to war.
The elevator is racing now, faster and faster. At high speeds, the shimmer starts to look like hundreds of streaks of lightning racing down the walls. I kneel, fearing that if the elevator shakes, I'll fall into the wall. I look around for a grip but see nothing. I keep my eyes on the wall. It's truly racing now, hundreds of miles per hour. I kneel lower to bring down my center of gravity and keep my balance. I feel my blood pressure rise, my heart pump faster, and my muscles turn to the ready, flush with blood and ready for anything. Fuckin' RB, it takes the lightest signals of increased awareness and turns the human body to fight mode. I can feel the difference in my thinking, my brain wanting to shut down all advanced cognitive function areas and increase blood flow to the receptors that affect reaction time, balance, agility, and spatial reasoning. I steady my breathing and keep control. Stay straight, it's only a slight trigger, nothing you can't handle.
My attention snaps back to the elevator. I look around again. Still nothing to hold on to, but I notice small holes in the floor... even small indents. There had once been railings, seats even? It never ends. So there will be a last test, and this is an agitator to make the RB kick in. Creative. They are paranoid that eventually the RB will interfere with my ability to overcome their every simulation. This is a better attempt than usual. It lacks the bluntness of other agitators; loud bangs, a simulated explosion nearby. This is just subtle enough let the RB kick in gradually, unnoticed, unchecked. I close my eyes. Breath. Breath. Breath. She'll be there. Breath.
I survey the floor again. It's flat and even. I won't slide. I lay down in the center and put my hands behind my head; my raised arms will open my lungs and the familiar relaxed position will send the desired signal to my brain. Relax. I am relaxed. You do it too. I open my eyes and look up. Beautiful.
The streaks of light are almost majestic. It's an odd coincidence that not only their world, but even their tunnels, are beautiful. How is it that such beauty is the home of dark, violent creatures? Their world offers abundance in every necessary resource, and yet a race that lives on the most beautiful planet known to man almost killed off our entire species, without provocation. Why? The question has plagued me for years now. We don't understand them.
I'm pulled out of my thoughts, startled by the sudden disappearance of the walls, leaving me in darkness, and staring at the bright circle of the tunnel's exit racing away. All else is black. I look around. The platform is falling through open space. I'm not slipping from my position on the platform, so this is a controlled fall. This is fine. This is planned. My heart pounds but I will it not to.
I look up and see the enormous tunnel now resembles a faint, shimmering star. It hits me; this is a cavern. It's huge! My god, it's bigger than any cavern of theirs I've even heard of; the entrance must be a mile away already. I squint at the ceiling and look for the glimmer but see none. From this far away though, it might not be visible. I look at the platform, but it's hardly visible without the light bouncing off the sealed walls. I try to ignore the feeling that I'm in a black void falling endlessly. What could they have possibly needed to build such an enormous cavern for?
The platform begins to rapidly slow. I immediately hear the buzz of the platform's electric hover propulsion revved up to full deceleration. Above me is still dark, but I know the hover propulsion gives off light so I make my way closer to the edge. I see a dimly lit floor far below, but it's getting closer by the second. Decisions, fast.
I look for cover but there's none within the lit area. I look for movement, but see none. I listen and, even without gear, can hear the evenness in the echo; I'll be landing in the center. Fuck, if this is a simulated breach, I'm blind and dumb. The ground is getting closer, maybe 15 seconds. Then I see it. An arrow etched into the rocky floor of the cavern. Next to it there is her call sign, Sia. I realize that when the platform lands, the propulsion will shut off and the light will be gone. I align my body to point in the same direction as the arrow. I want to think about what this cavern was used for but there's no time. The platform comes to a halt and a second later there's only complete darkness.
