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The Red straddled one of the machines and motioned for me to get on behind. I did so with trepidation. I’d never ridden one but had seen some Blues using them to move around quickly. Too quickly sometimes, which had led to one having an unfortunate crash. I’d learned that day that combining red and blue made a lovely shade someone called purple.
Sitting on the wheeled transport, I sought something to hold on to. It took him sighing, “You better grab me, or you’ll fall off,” to realize that grasping the Enforcer was the only option.
My grip around his middle proved tentative, but once he put the vehicle in motion, and we lurched, I wrapped myself tight. I buried my face against his armored back. The grumble of the motor filled my senses and almost lulled me to sleep.
My relaxation didn’t loosen my grip. Even when he finally slowed and said, “We’re here,” it took me a moment to uncurl myself.
We’d arrived in the biggest cave I could have ever imagined, full of large vehicles and machines. People too. Enforcers moved about with purpose as did people in varying shades of blue. Noticeably absent—anyone in gray.
“Is this the Consulate?” I asked.
“Nope. Garage and staging area.” He swung off the vehicle. “The Consulate is above us.”
I slid to the ground and took a second to realize, that while high overhead, I could see the ceiling, lined with metal struts.
“Move!” He’d gotten ahead of me and noticed me not following. I ran to catch up and then scurried to keep pace with him as he strode to a door that slid open to reveal a box. He stood in it and waited.
“That’s a small room,” I remarked, hesitating at the threshold.
“I don’t have time for this.” He dragged me in and pressed a button. The door closed, and the box moved, leading to me plastering myself against the wall.
“It’s moving!”
“Because it’s an elevator,” he stated, as if I should know.
“What is an elevator?”
“Way of going up and down fast.” He snorted. “Definitely from the deep. It’s a wonder you can talk.”
The denigration in his tone grated. How dare he disparage my habitat? Even if he wasn’t completely wrong. “I can speak well enough to say you’re rude.”
“That’s not very gracious of you.”
“You’re the one making insults about my home.”
“That’s not a home. It’s a prison,” he muttered.
Before I could ask what he meant, the elevator stopped. It opened onto a room with more Enforcers in bright red than I’d ever seen.
They saluted the one I traveled with and, as one, yelled, “Commander!”
The bigger Enforcer said, “Have someone call ahead to let the Consulate know I’m arriving with one of the Marked. She got caught up in a terrorist event.”
“Yes, sir.” One soldier moved off, while the others stepped aside to let us pass. Without touching or a voice command, the doors opened as we approached. They closed right after we passed through, automated like those in my habitat.
We entered a bright, open space with a long counter manned by people wearing some of the palest red I’d ever seen, as if washed out by much white. They wore clothes and smiles rather than armor. They appeared benign but for the sticks hanging off their belts.
The bright space had a wall of lit screens so bright I squinted.
He noticed. “It’s sunny outside.”
Bysunny, he must have meant the lighting system was too strong. Someone should really dial it down.
The big Enforcer strode toward that bright wall. As we neared, a door I’d not really noticed opened. The commander stepped into the light, and I followed more slowly.
At the sight of a cave with no end, I didn’t just gape. I fainted.
