41.6688° N, 70.2962° W

Johnson Adams and Li Lisi had no other options but to become deserters.

Why? The two men were lovers and they could not keep the orphan they found as their daughter.

“A child cannot have two fathers.” That was the rule of their hometown. The two men either surrender their daughter or choose a lifetime of exile.

Homo sapiens became an endangered species centuries ago. And those who cannot reproduce were scolded throughout the underground world.

The last of humanity has reduced into bunker dwellers, subway tunnel wanderers, and even caved cannibals. They would kill for a generator, rob for car batteries, and kidnap for pleasure.

Wars, plagues, overpopulation, unchecked exploitation of technology and natural resources...

The reasons for homo sapiens’ downfall were unable to be recorded. They had lost the Net, their omnipresent and omniscient idol. Words passed down by the elders were that the Net could answer anything, predict anything, and even create anything.

Their faith had since resided in those mirrors and tablets that they put under their pillows. Almost every Sapien believed that their Net would return and restore humanity into its former glory eventually.

“So they did lie to us. The pollution, the wasteland.” Johnson whispered after he had carefully removed his gas mask and Eve’s. He did not want to startle the sleeping infant on his back.

He could smell the salt in the air and almost taste the bitterness of the ocean. The cool coastal wind carried sand from the beaches and brushed his face gently. A sensation he had just discovered at the age of thirty.

“Oh dear, this is unexpected. We’ve packed so much useless crap.” Lisi whispered back.

Fascinated by the views before their eyes, the couple was standing amidst a new world. It is a world not made of rusty pipes or dim candles, but a world made of warm sun and vibrant lives.

“Huh, this must be the paradise the old people talked about. We should go back down and tell the people in the future. They deserve to know the truth.” Adams suggested.

“No, dear. Do you think the old cowards in charge down there have no clue about the surface world? ” Different from Adams, Li never put faith in the lifestyle and the people underground. He had read every book there was, he had learned all the skills he could, and he mastered every language he heard.

“All my life I have been waiting for this moment, dear. We are going to build a shelter here. We are going to raise our daughter, and travel together. There has to be more of us up here, don’t you think?” Li took out his ax and started warming himself up for some woodcutting.

“Drink some spring water I bottled on the way. It has a sweetness and freshness to it. And no worries, I’ve tested the water with your kit. It’s drinkable.”

“All right, let me have a taste of freedom.”

“Huh, here you go. Save some for Eve.”

“Of course, you are not the only dad that cares about her.”

Rapid footsteps were made even louder by the fallen leaves and branches. Something was approaching.

“There is definitely more of… us.” Adams took a glimpse at the forest behind the beach and saw countless pairs of eyes staring at them. “Drop your ax and your canteen, Li. They are watching us.”

“Shit...they did not tell us about cannibals up here. I packed a pistol in your backpack, can you reach it?”

Baby Eve woke up and started crying. She was howling and screeching like a wild cub. Adams took off his backpack to check on her. Despite her being in his arms, the crying continued.

Soothing music played from a flute caught the infant’s attention. She stopped her screams and moved her head around, trying to locate the calm tunes’ origin.

A teenager dressed in animal hide and feather slowly walked out of the woods. He had a bow and a quiver on his back, a tomahawk on his waist, and a flute in his hands.

Baby Eve stared at the boy and laughed. She clapped her hands and leaned in the boy’s direction. Adams carefully walked towards the boy with eve in his arms.

“What are you doing? ” Li’s palms were sweating.

“I am trying to build a future for us. Peacefully.” Adams replied.

The boy stopped playing his flute and threw away his bow and tomahawk on the ground. He approached Eve, reached out his finger. The infant grabbed the finger with both hands and made some happy noises.

The trees shook as everyone in the woods dropped their weapons and slowly walked out. Some of them started playing the same tune with their flutes.

“Wait…I know this tune: Do-Do-Re-Mi-Do-mi-Re-Sol-Do-Do-Re-Mi-Do-Sol. I’ve heard it a million times underground.” Li took out his harmonica from his backpack and started playing along with the same tune.

The boy smiled at Li and started dancing and playing his flute simultaneously. Behind him, the natives slowly surrounded the strange family with their curiosity and hospitality.

Adams looked at the crowd: men, women, elders, and children. Different hair colors, different skin pigments. Some of them even had scales and furs on their clothing as accessories. Adams had never been this clueless in his life.

“Welcome to the United Tribes of America, underground dwellers.” A screeching, birdlike voice was projected into both Adams and Li’s minds. “Come, people. Be volleyed and thundered, it is a day to be remembered and celebrated!”

As if the whole crowd had heard the voice as well, the crowd burst into cheers and bliss. They carried the family with a wooden litter, grabbed their belongings, and began marching into the woods.

“What was that, did you hear it?” Adams stared at Li and asked.

“Yeah, I heard that too. I did not believe in this, but could this be the work of the Net? The old folks always said everything is connected and communicated through the net.” Li shrugged.

“But there is no tech here. No radios, no generators, no signal stations. How did the voice get into our heads?”

“The gods. They had foreseen your arrival and noticed us ahead.” A boy’s voice reached the couple’s minds.

“Wait, what? You speak our language?” Li stared at the boy and asked.

“No, but this is how we communicate. By the help of the gods.”Without moving his lips or making any sounds, the boy explained. “We were the survivors of the last civilization that had never left the surface. Then the gods came and fixed everything for everyone. The sun returned, the water purified, the animals revived and the people, enlightened.”

“I am truly out of words now. Gonna take some time to process all these.” Li leaned back and closed his eyes.

“Why are you so relaxed. What if they were going to sacrifice us to their so-called gods?”

“The gods had forbidden human sacrifice since the beginning. You are in good and caring hands. The Great Spirit wills that. ” An elderly voice tapped into their minds. That was the old man carrying Adams and Eve’s litter.

“Oh isn’t it just great? Everyone knows what we are talking about and anyone can join our conversation.”

“You will have your privacy back once the initiation ritual is completed. Nothing to worry about, outsider. The gods just need one drop of blood from you two. When the infant grows up, she will join us, too.” The elder answered Adams’s concern.

“If those telepathic beings they call gods wanted to kill us. We could’ve been dead already. As you said, this could be a peaceful new life for us. I say we see how everything plays out. We could be looking at our future neighbors here.”

The trip was pleasant enough for the family as they were carried up and down the hills and the woods. Oddly, no one, not even the children, nor the elders were tiring out from the trip. Adams silently observed everything and realized that either the human underground have grown weaker or the survivors here have grown stronger.

Furthermore, the crowd spoke different languages to each other but it seemed they communicated just fine. They chatted, laughed, hiked, and truly appreciate each other’s accompaniment. From eavesdropping through a psionic link created by the Great Spirit, the family found out from the natives’ conversations that, unlike the underground, there were no schemes, there was no disease, there was no famine and there were no murders.

“What do you think, Eve? Do you think paradise had found us?” Adams gently pinched Eve in her soft and delicate cheek, eyes filled with care, love and hope.