Brief scenes flashed in Aeolus' minds; being dragged across the sandy floor, a white hallway, multiple white and red clothed people looking down at him. His brain flooded with imagery of the past, and predictive visions of the future. The question Am I dead? shot back through his brain. His life tried to play across his eyes, but admittedly, he could remember anything more than the sweat and blood of Vol, and the identical shift of 'walk here, walk there'.
All his feelings ran through his head like a train, bringing him conscious. A bright light empowered by white walls fueled the groggy squeeze on his eyes. He tried to turn his head both ways, regaining control of himself. A headache grew in the back of his head. He shuffled his hands around, only to feel the crinkling of paper in his right hand. He lifted a small note up to is vision.
You can pull that tube out when you wake up :)
Aeolus' head tilted, and he went to scratch his head. To his surprise, the left side of his head had some sort of metal covering a small portion of his skull, right where it curved off to the top of his head. He felt around the area of this cap, then moved to the center, grabbing on to a plastic tube. He ran his hands over, then looking to his left, followed the plastic tube to a large machine. The tall cabinet made sounds as if it was breathing, but any console seemed to be inactive. Aeolus decided to follow the notes advice.
He strained a bit, but the tube slowly came out with a gushing sound. No viscera followed with it, and the tube was clean on inspection. He heard a small whirring, as the airy feeling replacing the tube disappeared with the sound. Aeolus threw the tube to the side, then slowly slid out of bed. His bones went stiff, and the tension in his eyes spread around his face. He walked to the silver-outlined door, which promptly shot open upwards.
The walls jumped from a bright white to a somber grey along the metal corridor past the room, with a red line running through the center of the wall, matching the color of the solid floor. Aeolus looked down the right, hearing small footsteps echo across the walls. The metal gave every sound he a tangy effect, as the mass of thudding sounds turned into discernable running. Around a distant corner, a little girl came speeding out, almost hitting the wall, before running down in his direction. It was Scotty, but she didn't seem to be focusing on him.
Aeolus watched as she got closer and closer, glancing between her and the corner she turned from. She ran by, much quicker than she seemed to go at the start. She let out several tired grunts on the way down.
"Look who's awake!" She yelled as she passed him. Aeolus slowly walked out fully into the corridor. As Scotty reached the next T-split, she stopped and turned around. Aeolus stopped his approach, though he was only a few steps in. She cusped her mouth. "Other way, Droney!" She yelled out as she turned and ran down the left curve, with the sound of heavy winds in between two metal thuds.
Aeolus imagined himself running through open doors, maybe the ones where ever that girl had gone. He stood staring down the hall for some time. Bits of white sand crawled into the tunnels from Scotty's departure. Aeolus' ears filled with memories of engine and machinery, mixed in with the echoes of harsh winds bouncing around his brain. He took in half a breath, then sighed. Aeolus turned around and walked the other way.
Around that far corner Scotty came from, one last long hallway acted as a red carpet to an open archway waiting at the end, which bustling voices shot out from. The absence of anyone else down the corridors, and the still doors across the walls gave an image of a desolate base. As Aeolus approached the loud room, the image faded.
A large square table filled the majority of the room, the rest was filled with people. Aeolus stopped at the entrance, examining their vast variety. Everyone in the mines was more or less the same, nor was one shorter or taller than the other. Even everyone's hair was mostly the same at Vol. Yet here, everyone seemed different, even the red and black dyes of their outfits were altered from each person. Far from a silent crowd, and rhythmic stepping, the crowd was deafening.
There was no discerning any one conversation from his position. The symphony instead mashed calm and reasonable tones with excited gestures and angry inflections. A few in the occasionally spotted Aeolus, staring at him in confusion for a few moments, before returning to their debates. One tapped his friends shoulder, pointing at Aeolus, continuing to talk. Aeolus scratched his cheek, before making out Rhyder sitting at the far end of the table.
Rhyder stretched out his balled fists down the table, his body leaning in as he did. He glanced his head up, noticing Aeolus shuffling through the crowd, glancing over at him after every sift. Rhyder turned to the woman sitting next to him. Her blue and white dress starkly contrasted the other Strider's colors. Rhyder gave her a slight nudge on the shoulder, then she got up and faded into the crowd. Aeolus reached the table, and slide across the edges till he reached the empty chair.
Aeolus slipped into the empty chair, copying the relaxed lean of Rhyder. He took another look around, then down at the large table. It was about 3 feet up, flat to the ground, the entire top covered in small bulbs encased in glass. All the bulbs let off a faint light, pulsing between a blue and white tint. Aeolus tapped his palms on the table, the glass felt as thick as ice.
Rhyder chuckled, wagging his finger at Aeolus. "Looks like you're the talk of the town, Ae."
Aeolus turned his head back, peeking into the crowd. "Who was that?"
Rhyder took a deep breath in. "Correspondence." He turned his head to Aeolus, and smiled as Aeolus turned back to him as well. "Right then." Rhyder stood straight up and grabbed the front ends of his jacket. He puffed it out a bit, before rising up with his hands on the table. "Alright, let's get started!"
His voice boomed out, unique from any other in the room. Everyone turned towards the center of the room, as the lights dimmed, making the faint light from the table seem much more bright. He dug into his jacket pocket, taking out a glass container from his pocket. Aeolus could spot a small red object in the middle of the glass. Rhyder gently placed it on the table, then sent it sliding all the way to the middle of the table.
A dark man sifted through the crowd, ending up of the left side of the table. He took a seat, double tapping his finger on the table. The area around his finger lit up for a moment, before a keyboard rolled out from the surface, hidden underneath. He appeared to type away furiously, though no noise came from the keys.
In the middle of the table, a circle of light weaved around the glass container, and hundreds of small projectors on the roof began to whir on. A much larger projection of the container suspended above the time, rotating around. Though, it seemed whatever angle you looked, it showed the same frame.
"Thank you, Romilly..." Rhyder nodded towards the man, before scratching out his tangled hair. "Following a..." Rhyder looked around the room, then briefly to Aeolus. "...Successful raid on the city, we managed to uncover a rather intriguing piece of Fea Tech. As you can see, it's..." He hesitated a bit, before swinging his hand forward, and his teeth clenched. "It's gross." The room filled with scattered laughter. Rhyder lowered his hand, scanning around the room. "But more importantly, it gives a similar techno-signature to many other pieces of hardware we've 'acquired'. This might prove our theory that all FEA tech runs on the same key."
Aeolus' eyes shot up. He examined the gooey red mass in the hologram, his heart spurting out occasionally.
"So then..." Rhyder spoke out, much more quiet. "It's all from here."
A man from across the table rose up from his seat. He was covered in metal armor, yelling profanities. "They have no means of actualizing this tech! It's a lie." The man insisted.
Romilly coughed from the corner. He spoke with a higher voice than he looked, yet it still waved over others similarly. "You've never heard of Automara?" He said.
The woman in the blue dress spoke out, revealing herself at the doorway. "You know this illegal, right? No way it was an import."
"Yes, that's-" Romilly continued, but Rhyder insisted at him, then continued his thought.
"That's made here, love." He pointed up to display again. "Come on! They bloody copying the drones, you don't think a little mind-fuckery is within their grasp!" His voice got louder. "FEA has only upped their tech in the last year. We are the ones falling behind." He turned to Aeolus, then to Romilly, and gave him a nod. "This is how we win!"
The lady at the doorway laughed, then sighed. "So, what do I tell Leon then, hmm?"
"You fucking tell her th-." Rhyder yelled out, before narrowing his eyes. A small figure came running into view behind them. The lit tunnels shone out compared to the dark room, as Scotty ran into the room. Romilly flipped closed the panel, and the lights slowly came back on, while the hologram faded. Scotty's gasps ran through the air. She took out a metal tube and put it up to her mouth, gasping for air. "Scotty!"
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
"They..." She dropped her metal device, and reached down to grab it. "It's them! They..." Scotty continued panting, breathing into the device once again.
"What?" Rhyder yelled.
"FEA! Fucking FEA! They're coming up to the valley!" She yelled back, taking another hit on her metal inhaler.
Rhyder stood straight up, and began waving his hands around. "Alright, you know what to do!" He yelled around the room. Aeolus was about to shoot up, but Rhyder placed his hand on Aeolus' shoulder. He looked down at him, giving him a head nod, before sitting back down. The room quickly cleared out, as Striders yelled and slapped each-other on the chest and back.
"Aeolus..." Rhyder's voice whiplashed back to collected, as Aeolus' head spun from the war-cries heading out, and Rhyder's flat expression. He noticed Scotty sneak against the flow, opening black door behind them. "Hey, look at me." He snapped his fingers. Aeolus frantic movements stopped, locked to Rhyder. "You know FEA, don't you?"
"I- Of course."
"You know what they can do, yeah?"
"Y- listen I'm sure you can work something o-"
"Do you get it?" Rhyder's eyes narrowed. "Do you even understand?" He sighed, looking over his shoulder at Scotty. "Still fucking washed, eh?" He muttered, before turning his body to yell behind him. "Scotty!" A small whimper could be heard just behind them. "Take Aeolus with you, yeah?"
"What!?" Scotty screamed, stomping out of the small closet she was in. "The..." She flung her hands around. "The drone!?"
"Yeah! Why not." Rhyder turned his smiling face towards Aeolus. "Could be fun." He patted Aeolus and the back, then rose to his feet. Aeolus followed suit.
"This isn't...!" Scotty's faced scrunched up. "Ugh! Fine! Come on, droney." She started running out to the corridor. Rhyder looked at Aeolus, nodding his head forward. Aeolus quickly pushed his seat out and jogged behind Scotty. Romilly stood in the doorway, watching them both with wide eyes.
"And don't let that girl out of your sight, yeah?" Rhyder yelled as the two left out. Romilly crossed his arms and started walking towards Rhyder.
"Was it the chip?" Romilly asked Rhyder.
"God, if I know." He laughed.
"They follow Beck here?"
"No, she's always good for that."
Romilly ran his tongue through his cheek, then started to the ground. "So, can you trust him?" He looked back up at Rhyder.
Rhyder chuckled, running his hand across mouth. "Well..." He began nodding his head. "I guess we'll find out."
Aeolus and Scotty ran down the familiar way they both came from, taking that mysterious left curve at the end of the tunnel. A few feet around the corner, a grey auto-door shot up. The sudden wave of dust slapped Aeolus in the face, and he slowed his run for a moment. He lifted his hand up over his face, and followed Scotty down long metal stairs. As some of the wind resides, Aeolus looked around at the apparent catwalk they were running across. It was only a inevitability he looked down.
"I- uh." Aeolus whimpered out. Scotty scoffed ahead of him, and kept running. About 30 feet below them, the sandy ground ran behind them at a moderate speed. To either side of them, giant wheels drudged around. They were at the bottom of the hull of the large base, right in the center. At the bottom of the stairs, a circular metal bridge wrapped around an also circular open area. On the bottom of the base above them, a large spire hung down, its width matching the opening made from the ring of the walkway.
Scotty got the bottom of the stairs. "Oh come on!" She yelled up at him. The heavy winds picking up made even her screams barely discernable. Aeolus quickly ran down to the bottom of the stairs, and they both leaned over the railing on the ring-walk.
Aeolus peeked over at the drop, the echo of creaking wheels bouncing through the hole. His mouth opened as his chest bounced in and out. His heart picked up too as a loud blaring emanated from the door behind them.
"You're not afraid of heights, are you!?" Scotty yelled and laughed out. Before Aeolus could respond, Scotty grabbed him by his jacket and threw him off the bridge. She was surprisingly strong for a kid her age. Just over three and a half feet, it's a wonder that she even managed to get him over the railing.
Despite his harrowing screams, Scotty soon followed Aeolus down the opening. The sand below them was surprisingly soft, and pressed in with their fall. Aeolus was spitting out sand, coughing and wiping his face. Scotty laughed maniacally, her face covered in dark yellow and white streaks. "How else did you think we were gonna get down?"
"How about any other way!?" Aeolus screamed through his coughing. Scotty skipped over past Aeolus, patting the sand behind him. She hooked on to a solid object just under the surface, and fished it out until the lack pulled up a trap door. Underneath, an eight foot opening revealed a stairway heading down, with small lights embedded in the walls.
At the bottom of the winding stairs, and at the end of a short tunnel, they arrived at a man-made dugout. It was a long garage, with cars, trucks, and spiked tanks lining the walls. Every few vehicles, there was a ramp going up into a large tunnel, illuminated by a floodlight on either side. There were carved out sandstone pillars every so often, a natural support for holding up the cave. They had to be at least 100 feet underground, so the sand wasn't the issue. Scotty walked up to a familiar car in the middle of the garage, Rhyder's low-riding car, though the sides and the front were now decked with thick metal slabs. It made the chassis appear lower than it was, the dissonance of its past speed hitting Aeolus.
Scotty giggled, as she jumped in the drivers seat through the window opening. Aeolus opened the passenger door and got a better look at the ragged inside, covered in mismatched clothes. Under the wheel, besides the ignition, a sting hung down. Scotty grabbed the string and pulled it, revving the engine. She pulled it a few more times before the revving turned into a roar. Scotty screamed in delight, and slammed on the accelerator. They raced through the cavern, approaching a ramp at the end of the tunnel. Aeolus held his breath as the car just barely fit into the tunnel. In about 2 seconds, Aeolus received a face full of sand as it flew through the open windshield. The car flew up out of the ramp, spurting as it landed on the rough sandstone ground.
As the low-rider came to a halt on the sand, Aeolus peeked out the windows to see two slopes going up on either side, to the north and south. The large roving base stood at the top of the south top of the valley. The cavern they drove through was level with the bottom of the valley, the gap they rode out of slamming down as a larger yellow trap door closed. Aeolus turned to the front, squinting his eyes at the reflection from a clear metal surface in front of him.
"What's this?" Aeolus asked as they got out of the car, and walked into a metal gray tower. It was a barebones lighthouse of sorts, welded out from old parts from the base. At the top of the 5-story tower was a large metal dish that rotated on a telescoping platform.
"You have no idea how hard it was to get the ball-bearing right on that." Scotty murmured, as she pulled out binoculars, aiming them up at the north hilltop. She brought her binoculars down for a moment to leer at Aeolus. "That means 'Be careful'."
"When I give you the signal, you got to face the dish towards the car." Scotty slowly gave her instructions, scanning the top of the hill. She remained silent the rest of the time, as the desert winds began to pick up again. Aeolus glanced back up at the rover, his hands still lightly on the dish. Red lines seemed to haphazardly cover the hull.
It had been about 5 minutes, but the silence made it longer. Despite being familiar with silent work, the open space made Aeolus uncomfortable with the tension.
"Um..." Aeolus spit out, clearly his throat, looking out towards the hilltop. "So, Rhyder? Interesting guy." Scotty subtlety nodded her head, her eyes still scanning the hilltop. "Were you born here?" Scotty stopped, then nodded her head again.
Aeolus clicked his tongue, looking back down at the low-rider. "So..." He continued. "Is Rhyder, like, your-"
"Ok." Scotty quickly put her binoculars down and turned towards Aeolus, her eyes drooped down, her lips curled. "You know we're under attack right? You know what that means?" Aeolus held his breath, his eyes wincing up. He slowly motioned to shrug his shoulders
"It means, Droneshit, people are trying to kill us!" She sighed out, then returned to her binoculars. Aeolus awkwardly turned to the top of the hill. "And speaking of that..." Scotty muttered.
Not a second later, faint and distant engine rumblings were heard coming from the north. Aeolus quickly stood to his feet and grabbed on to the dish. Scotty flew one of her hands behind, waving it around towards Aeolus.
"Wait..." Scotty whispered. "For..." A swarm of black cars and vans could be seen spilling over the horizon at the top of the hill, slowly inclining down. "The ..." Helicopters entered the picture, slowly diving into the valley as well, but not too far. Aeolus started jittering, even the smallest movements causing the sunlight to spaz. The loose bearings creaking as he shook.
As Aeolus began to grunt, and his heartbeat shook his body, Scotty screamed out. "Signal!" Aeolus jolted back to clarity, and rotated the light down into the valley, where Rhyder's car was parked. The metal dish flew off with Aeolus grabbing on to it. He flew to the ground with it, a large bang whirring out, stunning Aeolus.
"You Idiot! You-" Scotty yelled out, before starting to gasp. Her breathing became erratic, and she started to wheeze. Deep engine whirring could be heard from the valley, but it wasn't from the hill. Aeolus struggled to get up, his ears ringing from the impact with the metal floor. Scotty gasped for air, barely hanging on to the railing.
Aeolus rushed over to Scotty as she dropped her binoculars and the rest of her body fell to the ground. He quickly ran over and fell with her, putting his hand behind her head before it hit the metal.
"Fuck, I really..." She let out a wet cough between her wheezing. "I really hate this shit..." She flung her hand to her pocket, but was unable to grip it. Aeolus darted his gaze down, seeing her inhaler sticking out from her pocket.
He caught his breath, and grabbed the device, and put it up to her mouth. Scotty managed to fling her hands up to the inhaler, and pressed a button of the top, sending a pulse of air down her throat.
"Are you-" Aeolus stuttered. "I mean, are you dying?" Scotty chuckled a bit, taking a second hit,
"Panicking, some sort of..." Scotty coughed out blood and sand. "Allergy. Don't- don't worry about it." She looked up at Aeolus, her whole body shaking. She scoffed, rolling her eyes, still stuttering and clattering. "Thank you, I guess." She quickly scurried back over the ledge of the tower, wiping sand from her face. Aeolus got up as well, watching the top of the hill from where he was. The various black vehicles looked like they were about to dive down into the valley. Scotty laughed, then turned down into the valley.
"And here they come." She whispered to herself.
As if on cue, 30 trucks and cars burst out of the sand, flying up towards the north. A few Tanks burst out of the south slope as well. The madness caused a massive updraft, as sand began to quickly rise and blow about. Before it covered the sky, the sand floating in the air dropped down into a spiral. A mix of updrafts from the engines, the wheels, and the jet-stream sent massive amounts of dust flying up, and a giant smoke-screen inside the valley.
"Let's go!" Scotty grabbed Aeolus, as they headed back for the stairs. A deep whirring quickly approached them from behind, and Aeolus snapped back. Spinning blades jumped into view from the sand, and Aeolus turned around and pushed him and Scotty to the floor.
"Scotty!" Aeolus yelled, as she turned around, screaming as the helicopter dove down into the ground, the flaming metal fireball shooting into the base of the tower. The bottom half split off from the top, and shot out into the chaos. The top tipped downwards, falling straight down. The initial impact launched them both off the tower.