Project Devilgama

One

"Hey, wake up." A man spoke outside the vehicle.

The black metal door at the back of the Transporter was swung open, letting a glint of sunshine hit the corner of his eyes. On the long padding, Mhaz still cuddled to his side, grasping nothing but his own shoulder. But he was awake and certain that the vehicle had been put to a halt. And all the facts only shed a sliver of unfeeling freedom to his stubborn heart confined inside the metal box.

He could have at least see the man who stood behind the opening and what he was up to, then give him some uneasy emotions. No. He couldn't care less. He felt lazy. It was like he had almost forgotten what had happened and last night was another normal sleep he used to have. But he knows that he had been obliged to get up, and only then he could determine that man's motives, hostilities, goal and the list goes on inside his mind. He put himself in a sitting pose and saw the man in a brown lab coat standing right before the opened metal door.

"Come down," That man said, "Come on, we won't do any means of force so it's up to your initiative."

He chuckled lightly and began to stride toward the opening. He could see the broken dawn out there. He hopped down the Transporter and saw before his eyes, in mesmerization, a large complex of buildings standing on a flat expanse of concrete. And almost all of them have the basic shape of trapezoid prisms, a striking resemblance to a military base despite none of the officers nor the workers appearing militaristic.

The place was sprawling. Vehicles similar to the one that carried Mhaz came flying below the blue sky. They swept on his surroundings and was flooding his ears with immutable hums. Several of them had been parked in neat rows, and one person came out of each, led by a uniformly coated person like he did. Their ages aren't bound to any standard, as he could see both the elders and the young, adults and teens.

Devilgama – That was the short word he saw written in blocky letters placed above the gaping square opening of one building right, as if telling him to eternally remember what this place called. Devilgama. He could tell how bizarre that name was.

"Welcome to Devilgama, Mhaz." The men spoke again.

Mhaz couldn't ask what that meant despite he wished to. A completely intact majesty was a rare sight to Mhaz in this period of post-destruction scarcity. He didn't know the way should he respond, so he softly nodded as his gaze flew across the buildings in this complex. He walks behind the men, following his path. People in different roles move across the yard sporadically, doing work the objectives are obscure to him. He could feel a breath of fresh air as he walked, and safety, despite the quite rough start and strange people.

The two entered the wide opening. Workers and officers jogged in and out alongside him, all randomly. Inside the building, one thing was notable; a huge bank of elevators with myriad of sizes spanning the back wall. People were entering them in pairs. The man led Mhaz to one of the available elevators, then stood inside as the door slid close before them.

"The door is closing." A monotonous, almost robotic voiceover echoed inside the elevator.

The interior of the elevator was lined with silvery metal and translucent glass, from which warm crème light shone. The man tapped on the small screen beside the door, and as the classic, put in their supposed destination; the 19th floor under the ground.

"Well, sorry for that." said the man.

"What?" Mhaz asked.

"We didn't start pretty well, isn't it? Anyway, my name's Hannev."

Hannev. Mhaz realized that he didn't pay attention to the badge attached to his coat, on which his name written. But it wasn't a huge matter - he tried desperately to figure out how could the man know his name. He was never a famous person, rather elusive. "So, what are you doing? Assign me something to work on?" Mhaz spoke a question, "The war hasn't ended, has it?"

"It hasn't."

"Then ..."

"You will see, Mhaz."

The elevator took a long time going on a descent. Mhaz wondered how deep this vertical square tunnel went, for, in the usual business of his days, each second is one floor passed. He could guess that he is now inside a sort of bunker. A huge and deep devil bunker, he joked in his mind. Hannev stood calmly beside him, in silence. And Mhaz was unconcerned for a time. It was as if he had accepted the uncertain deal and moved along with the people which grabbed him to this place. Whoever, he started to think that they are saviors which have set him free from something abstract, and he knew it is probably the most naïve thought he could have at this time.

It's been roughly five minutes of sliding down below the surface. The elevator stopped, and its double doors slid open.

"Follow me." Hannev took a step out of the elevator, "You know, this place would be your home. We have provided all the necessities for all the people delivered by the Transporter, including you. Then, we would do something together."

"What's that?" He asked in pure curiosity, following his lead.

The two moved along a corridor. Mhaz noticed that the 19th floor is as busy as the first floor, surprisingly. He saw people stroll in pairs. And several people in brown walked past him, moving in and out of the rooms on the side of the long corridor.

"The world is ending. Could we save the whole future of humanity in this stupid reality?" The man said.

Mhaz shook his head in confusion. He understood the first sentence, but the last few words gave him one substance to mix inside his brain. Hannev slightly increases his walking pace as they approach a T-intersection. "Forgive me. Let's keep walking, man."

They took a left turn.

Moving along the corridor, he has seen many closed rooms on his side. Rooms with numbers and codes, unknown to him. After the intersection lies a patch of the park on the right. His eyes were glued to the park through a wide pane of clear glass that barriers it. Types of machinery with skinny armatures took care of the plants, and white lamps lined up the tall ceiling, which might be the only source of light they could provide. Mango trees grew to their mature size, their fruits dangling, and they don't seem to overcrowd the room. A small fountain was posted in the middle of a square pool, and schools of carp swam in the greenish water. He walked several distances past the park, then down a low staircase.

He was presented with another space, in the middle of it lies another park of the same kind. It was surrounded by rows of uniform rooms with numbers and codes. It reminded him of the dormitory for the college students or a bank of apartment rooms. The two walked to the right, the frontmost room in the line.

"Put your hand here." Hannev took out a handheld device resembling a tablet. "Then do the same to the screen next to the door handle."

He did what the man ordered, then intuitively cranked the handle open.

"Welcome home." The man said, "It was a one-way trip, Mhaz."

He was sighting around his new room when Hannev suddenly draw the door back behind him. He had only turned his head halfway through when the door is being pulled shut in a quick move. His reflex immediately directed his hands to flare out, to reach the handle. But, everything he did was too late. And click-clack, the door had been locked.

He pulled his arms up in qualm. His chest feels stuffed and the air was heavy. He felt the entire world shrinking into one room and realized that it would become the only thing he has for an undefined time. The way he pictured this enormous complex switched to concentration camps with fancy prisons and futuristic slaves, or worse, lab subjects – he couldn't decide. He took a seat on the bed, blowing a thick breath out of his pair of lungs. The worries of not being able to see the sunlight again are battling with the thoughts of perished earth outside. Nothing was ever normal, no days were ever safe. He tried to calm himself down with the chaos of the world above him.

He lay on the bedding. Between two pillows, he embedded his head. And his hand scrambled the pillows to cover his heating face, hoping it could smother the burning anxiety inside his mind. But, he won't put himself to sleep again. Enough of the worries of the warheads, as dozens of layers of Betons have shielded above him. He surely understands that he should explore his new, little chamber. Just, not now.

It ... should not be that worse.