Dystopia

Chapter 21

Oliver sprinted through the woods as fast as his legs could carry him. He had received a message from Eric, saying there was an emergency meeting in the underground tunnels.

As Oliver approached the entrance, he slowed sown and checked for preying eyes. But there was nothing more than the sound of birds singing their beautiful dusk songs. He put his foot through the bed of dead leaves and fell through them. The familiar cold, humid atmosphere hit him and he went down the tunnel in front of him.

As he walked closer and closer to the domed center of the tunnel, Oliver started hearing Ikay's voice. When he entered the room, he saw Eric's things laid around the floor. 

"So he has an evil twin brother?" Ikay asked.

"Yes he does, but for some reason Mathew thinks his brother is dead. He said he killed him." Eric replied.

"Well, it is scary to think of it that way, but what if he's saying the truth? What if he did kill his brother, or tried to?"

"That's impossible. Mathew wouldn't do such thing."

Suddenly, both males turned their heads from their discussion in Oliver's direction. Eric ran to him and wrapped his arms around him. Oliver, with no clue on what to do, simply stayed still with widened eyes.

"Thank you so much for coming, Oliver." Eric said once he took a step back.

Oliver smiled and nodded in a polite manner. He then looked at Ikay, who smiled and saluted him. Oliver turned to Eric with an inquisitive look and Eric prepared to explain.

Eric went to sit down in front of his laptop and Oliver and Ikay followed suit.

"So, first of all," Eric began. "I've discovered a series of tunnels underground that run all around the Commoner Elite and the Undesired. It's possible there's more networks all around the Isolone. Oliver,"

Oliver looked up at Eric.

"I need a favor from you." Eric requested. "Have you ever went past this dome?"

Oliver shook his head.

"Would you be willing to draw a map for us? Of the entire network of tunnels?"

Eric passed Oliver a white chalk. Oliver stared at it and wondered. Who knew what there was to discover beyond the dome, but it would certainly aid them in their venture of breaking free from the Governing Elite. Oliver nodded with confidence and Eric smiled as he tapped his shoulder.

"Perfect! Now, about Mathew, I've already started to device a plan to rescue him. I've started by learning about the security system that surrounds the White Wings Psychiatric Center. If I can block it or turn it off, the rest of the plan is just like walking in through the front door and walking out with Mathew."

Eric typed furiously on the laptop, his brown eyes trained on the screen with determination. He finished his typing and turned around the laptop. Oliver and Ikay leaned in to see a network of what looked like a plumbing system and a red flashing dot inside a structure.

"This," Eric pointed to the red dot. "Is Mathew. All of this that looks like the plumbing is a series of underground tunnels. I can see the tunnels here but these are just old records. We don't know if all those pathways are still there and if they're safe to operate through. This is why I need you Oliver to draw a map."

"Eric I must ask. Why are you so desperate to save Mathew already?" Ikay questioned.

Eric turned perplexed to I-121902.

"Don't get me wrong, I know he's our friend but it seems to me you can't think straight if we don't save him."

Eric collected his thoughts for a moment, and with a straight face he said:

"He's part of the plan to freedom."

Ikay leaned back with a raised eyebrow.

"Alright then . . . so what's the plan?" Ikay asked.

Eric leaned into his laptop and pulled up a map. Ikay and Oliver leaned forward and stared expectantly at Eric. There were a lot of moving parts in Eric's plan, and Ikay noticed he failed to take into account the place is crawling with military personnel and Watchers. He hoped that before Eric decided to execute the plan, he thoroughly thought this out.