Legacy

A day like any other, nothing was out of the ordinary. Or at least that's what I thought as I walked to my truck.

Quarter after eight, maybe today I'd be on time and the foreman won't rip a strip off me…

At least the weather’s nice, sadly I don't get to enjoy days like these. With my toolbox in hand and respirator on, I climbed out of my work truck at the site. In a few short minutes, I would be descending into the undercity below Kent.

The excavation of the old world couldn't wait. The Union demanded progress at all costs, so we dug, built and dug more.

...I'd always wondered what it was that we were looking for…

The foremen never shared information. They only ever shouted and told everyone to work harder, faster; you could take breaks when you cleared that wall. Maybe after the next wall? Perhaps we will get time off if we make a discovery?

Before long, the day’s over and I join the other men returning to the surface, passing the other workers as they descended into the darkness. Nothing of value was ever uncovered, just deeper concrete tunnels, more rebar and buried iron. The old world the higher-ups seemed to be searching for was gone yet they still ordered us to dig.

How long would this go on? Would we ever find a bottom? Or maybe hell awaited us when we got deep enough.

Beep beep

What? The tram alarms chirped? That meant the lines had been stopped up above; what would make them stop the tram to the surface?

"Attention! All hands, a foreman has died! All available workers must report to the excavation site and recover his body."

Just great! Not a moment's rest even after the shift ends! Fuck!

The tram descended back into the pitch-black depths of the undercity.

Near the bottom, a faint orange light flickered. The floodlights we used were all bright white, the only light source we used that was orange were the coil heaters for melting iron.

Something was wrong.

The tram creaked to a halt as the doors rattled open. I was right, something was wrong and it showed. The walls we had been cutting through were gone. Collapsed sections of the dig site had crumpled, while twisted iron and blood seemed to be scattered throughout the mess.

What happened here?

That's when I noticed it. The mine was completely silent. No voices, no machines, no vibrations of drills or hissing of torches. The hum of electricity from the tram was the only noise and even that seemed inaudible in the suffocating darkness.

The orange light flickered further in the tunnels where the walls had collapsed.

The doors behind me rattled closed as the other workers retreated into the shelter of the car.

Cowards. All of them.

The darkness pressed in all around me, grasping my shoulders and enveloping my being in a thick inky shadow that seemed to stick to what little light I had coming from my headlamp.

The alert from the tram played again in my head, over and over as my heart pounded in my ears.

Legs shaking, I descended further into the site, my pulse echoing in the darkness.

Finally, I arrived at the source of light, a small flame burning from a ruptured gas line. It seemed a piece of rubble had fallen and punctured the line.

Perhaps the cause of the collapse was in here, along with the foreman.

I have to find the foreman!

… why? The guy’s an asshole, why am I looking for him?

My head began to pound harder. ‘Find the foreman’ seemed to pulse in my mind. We must recover his body. He's important!

What is wrong with me? I've never liked him!? I don’t give a shit whether he lives or dies…

God, my head.

That's when a voice in the darkness whispered into my mind, "Why do you listen to them?"

Chills ran through my body as the pulsing in my head stopped.

My heart was beating fast; the feeling of dread and the need to find the foreman seemed to disappear completely.

The other voice touched my mind with its shrill tone this time a little louder than a whisper, "Are you sick of your life? Or perhaps are you sick of the life they have given you?"

Soft laughter surrounded me in the darkness.

At first, it sounded like men, but the voices shifted, blended, combining with shrieks of terror and joy.

As the shadows inked across the cavern walls, the lights dimmed and the voice spoke louder, "The masters on the surface control and suppress the masses. Millions just like you suffer and die at their command daily. Allow me to set you free."

With each word, my body pulsed, similar to the desire to find the foreman, but different. My body thrummed with energy, with each word the darkness got a bit lighter.

Am I not free?

The voice grew louder, no longer a whisper, the shadows pressed down on my shoulders with noticeable weight.

"Cast off your false gods! And take the power I offer. I will make you free!"

… who are you? And what must I do…

The voice boomed in my mind as if the world around me was shaking.

"I am Gabriel, the construct of power. I will grant you my legacy to change this world.”

The weight became crushing.

All energy left my body and I collapsed as the darkness consumed me.

The next time I opened my eyes the room was bright and sparkling like white jade.

Nearby pools of crystal-like substance rippled as other figures floated in the liquid.

This was a room in the union’s main government building in Kent. How did I get here? I can’t remember? What happened to that voice?

…what voice…?

What? Where was I? It's late; shouldn’t I be at work? The Foreman's gonna be pissed!

A sharp pain pierced the back of my neck as I tried to sit up in the bed.

The voice spoke, a very soft whisper. "Wake up Gabriel. You will be my legacy, my strong man, the rock on which I will build a new empire greater than the last."

My right hand burned with orange light as I stood up. A symbol of a sword with wings shining through my skin.

I looked out the window and the weather seemed to be nice. “I think I'll skip work for today.”