Dystopia

Chapter 13

It was a rainy day in the Undesired Elite grounds. Oliver had been out on an expedition in the forest searching for the nests of those blue and white colored birds. He had been out for far too long and he was soaked wet. He shook his head, but the rain was thick and pouring down. The tip of his nose was red and cold, and his brown hair was plastered to his face

He needed to find a place to hide until the rain ceased. He squinted his eyes as the humidity in the ground rose. Oliver ran through the forest panting, desperate to find a dry place. He stopped to catch his breath and caught his breath. Frustrated, he picked a rock from the ground and threw it at a cushion of leaves and twigs in the ground.

The rock fell through it and Oliver heard it collide against concrete. The sound rebounded for a few seconds until it stopped. Oliver approached the bed of leaves and crouched in front of it. He dropped a twig in it and heard it hit ground. He pushed his hand through and pulled back in panic as he felt there was no soil underneath that bed. It was hollow, cold, and damp.

Oliver removed all the dead nature and parted his lips slightly at the sight. It seemed to be a very profound opening. Oliver turned around to make sure he wasn't being seen, he then sat down on the edge of it, but the ruined ground trembled beneath and crashed down.

He fell with a thump into the obscure abyss. Oliver groaned and lifted his body from the cold, humid cement ground. He exhaled and was able to see his breath puff from how cold it was. He really couldn't see anything, and he couldn't understand where he was. What was this place?

There was a pile of rocks collected on a corner. The pile was tall enough to lead outside. Oliver decided he would climb his way out once the rain ceased.

Later in the night, Oliver stole some candles from the dining table of the orphanage. He returned to the spot he found earlier. It wasn't raining anymore, the only sound in the forest was that of water droplets meeting the ground and chirping of nocturnal insects. It smelled fresh and there was a cool breeze blowing.

Oliver went down into the opening again, but this time, he lit a candle. He held it up and looked around. Several underground insects scattered back into the darkness when the light touched them. There was a wall behind him, but in front of him, the tunnel continued.

He took a step forward, and the sound bounced across the walls. He stopped, feeling the fear of not returning rise through his body. Olive's breath picked up slightly, but he shook off his fear as he walked forward. The only sounds were the drops of water falling and hitting the ground, and Oliver's footsteps.

He didn't know how much farther it could go. Oliver hissed as a drop of melted candle hit his hand. He dropped the candle and it landed on a large tree branch, lighting it up. He gazed at the bright, roaring fire and picked it up from the base. 

Oliver held the torch high and ventured into the darkness. How interesting to find such an invention. At first, he thought the structure was a product of the present technology. But as he walked further, he noticed some artifacts and objects he didn't recognize. It then occurred to him that this was actually a structure from the Ancient Times. 

Old papers were stuck to the walls, some were as old as the year 2030. The degraded technology was also primitive. The tunnels stretched for miles and Oliver thought back to the people he'd met at the Choosing Ceremony. Perhaps this underground system could be useful to meet them without there being a gun pointed at their heads.