Beneath the surface

Treian O’Hagan-
Baumer
May 17th, 2178
I’m in. HMC actually accepted me. When I first got the notification, I thought
it was a glitch or maybe a mistake, but nope—it’s real. Part of me still can’t
believe it, but it's real. Helios Mining Corporation wants me! Tomorrow, I
leave for Helios.

Earth’s a wasteland now. Most people don’t even try to deny it anymore.
Climate change wrecked everything, and what’s left of the planet is a mess
of crumbling cities and poisoned air. Some people think they can fix it,
though, and that’s where Helios comes in. Helios is packed with rare
minerals and resources—stuff that Earth doesn’t have anymore. That’s why
HMC exists: to dig it up and ship it to Earth.

The thing is, Helios isn’t exactly welcoming. The surface is pure death—
storms, toxins, everything you can think of. That’s why everyone lives
underground in these massive cities carved into the rock. There are tunnels
everywhere, connecting the mines to the cities, and from what I’ve heard,
they go on for miles. It’s dangerous work, though. People die down there.
Collapses, gas leaks, accidents.

Honestly, it’s still better than staying on Earth. Helios might be harsh, but it’s
a chance to make something of myself. I’m not staying stuck in the ruins of a
dying planet. I’ll find my place underground, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll help
save what’s left of home.
May 19h, 2178
After two days of training, it’s clear that I’m fit for the job. They gave me
simple tasks at first, and I tackled them all. I think I’ll ace this job. Yesterday,
a miner named Kayaa came by to talk to me. She said that she thinks all this
mining is destroying this planet. I kind of agree because apparently that’s
what they did to Earth, and now Earth is pretty much destroyed. People still
want to rebuild it though, which is why we’re mining so much on Helios;
Helios is nutrient-rich and has a lot of natural resources.

May 20th, 2178

Today all hell broke loose. This morning, on my way to work, there was a
huge rumbling sound, and the airbus crashed. There were sirens, and the
last thing I remembered was the buildings falling, and I remembered what
Kayaa had said two days ago.

When I came to, a quarter of the city had crumbled, and I noticed things I
hadn’t noticed throughout my whole life. There was rot and broken concrete
everywhere! I guess Kayaa was right. My house is on the other side of town,
so I’ll still have a place to live and a car. But I had to walk all the way home,
which took about 4 hours.

When I got home, I quickly packed up my things because I knew I would have
to leave for somewhere safer, maybe even leave the planet, because I can’t
really live on the surface because of Helios’ toxic outer layer.

So, I packed up my things, got in my car, and left.

May 25th, 2178

I’ve been driving for five days now, thank goodness most of the charging
stations are still in service. I’ve decided my goal will be to make it to the
space station where they ship materials to Earth, and maybe I can sneak
aboard a ship or something.

I’m at least 7 days away from the space station, so it’ll still be a while before
I can leave.
Also, I noticed something strange. There are posters of someone that looks a
lot like me all around Helios. There’s a bounty of $500,000 on him. Also, the
guy is wearing the clothes I was wearing a couple of days ago, so either I
have a very close doppelgänger, or I’m a wanted man. Just in case, I picked
up one of those laser revolvers that are all the rage nowadays.

As I was leaving the weapons shop, I noticed some clean-cut guy

approaching me. He looked right at me and said, “Hey, I have something to
tell you, if you’ll pay me.” I wanted to know what he had to say; I figured that
it was about the wanted posters I’d seen, and either way, I’m a gullible guy.
So, I paid the guy $50, and then he told me his news.

“People don’t trust the ruler of Helios, Jarek Thalax, because of this whole
city crumbling thing, so he has started putting a large bounty on a new
miner’s head, hoping to pay the collector at least double the amount
advertised to get people to trust him again. So, bounty hunters all over
Helios are gonna be looking for you”, he finished.

“That’s crazy! He can’t just do that! What did he say I’m wanted for?” I
asked.

“He said you’re wanted for murdering over fifty men while trying to escape
Helios. Now, I wouldn’t want to miss out on the chance of getting a million
dollars, would I?”

Okay, I thought. Time to test out this new revolver. That probably added to
my bounty. No more clean-cut guy. Now that’s something you don’t do every
day.

I took my money back and left.

I better move fast, or else someone might get rich today.

May 27th, 2178

It’s been a couple of days now since that encounter with clean-cut guy, and
it’s clear that he wasn’t lying. Police have started shouting and chasing me
sometimes.

I'm closer to the space station now, though, and I probably only have about 4
or 5 more days of driving until I get there. Theres’s someone standing in
front of my car on the road right now, probably recognizing me through the
windshield. Just then, by luck, my car ran out of energy. He tackled me out of
the car yelling uncomprehendingly at me. He reached me quickly and threw
me out of the car - before I could pull the laser - then went up to my car and
filled it up with his Portable Energy Tank.

Shoot! Why didn't I remember my PET?

The guy got in my car and sped off, leaving me tied up with no way of
getting to the station.

May 28th, 2178

Luckily, I was only an hour away from the town of Karmanos, so I stopped for
the night. I decided that in the morning I would go and steal a car from
somewhere in town.

I’m leaving my hotel room and looking for a car. I found one that has no one
in it, and it’s in the outskirts of Karmanos, so there won’t be many witnesses.
But I just realized that I need the person's fingerprint or face to activate it.
So, I'll wait for the person to come to their car.

I’ve been waiting for an hour or so, and finally the person came. I’m hiding
behind their car. Grab them, make them unlock the car, throw them out and
drive away. Done. No police on my tail, either. I'm only 2 days away from the
Space Station now, and there shouldn’t be much activity between here and
the station, because there are only one or two towns in this area of Helios.

The only thing that happened was that a hitchhiker told me some
information about the collapse of Loxinlas, the capital of Helios and the city I
was living in, after I let him in my car. “People are calling this ‘the collapse’
and it’s spread to the surrounding towns of Loxinlas. And people are trying to
flee to the space station to get off-planet”. “I am heading to the Space
Station too, but I have enough money to afford a private ship, so I should get
out without a problem”. The hitch hiker said his name was Jamal. I guess I’ll
drive him all the way to the station, but with everything collapsing, I can’t
shake the feeling that reaching it might be the most dangerous part yet.

May 29th, 2178

Only a day until we reach the station now, and we are at the last town that’s
on the way. Jamal bought us fancy rooms at a hotel for the night.
We got back in the car and as we were driving, a guy driving next to us
smacked right into my car and then got out, pulled me out, then I saw a pale
fist going towards my face, and everything turned black.

The moment I woke up I knew I was screwed. My captor was driving the car,
and Jamal was tied up next to me in the backseat, too.

May 30th, 2178

I should’ve arrived at the station today. I should’ve. Now, I've been captured.
And it looks like this random guy who says his name is Mr. Edger, is taking us
away from the space station, towards the town that I just left, Karamanos, to
turn me in and collect my bounty.

Only a couple of hours now until we reach the town. The whole ride I've
been planning how I could possibly escape, and now I’ve figured it out. I
need to start screaming, but since Mr. Edger duct-taped my mouth, my
scream will be muffled. Hopefully, he’ll still hear me. Part two of my plan: he
stops the car and as he’s coming to the backseat to shut me up, I roll out of
the car and just roll on the ground to get away. Not a particularly good plan,
but it's the only thing I can do. Done.

Now Mr. Edger is chasing me, and I'm rolling on the ground like a crazy
person. I quickly turned a corner, dove into the ditch and covered myself
with mud. I waited for at least 20 minutes, and when he didn't come, I rolled
up the ditch and onto the road. I rolled along the side of the road for a little
while and finally came upon a sharp rock on the side of the road. I rubbed
my ropes on this rock for a couple of hours, and finally, just before nightfall,
my ropes snapped off.

I don't have any money or water or equipment, so I guess Mr. Edger took
everything. I’m at least 7 or 8 days away from the space station if I have to
walk, so that's not happening.

I found a car parked on the side of the road, and someone was dead asleep
in it. I opened the door, held their thumb against the sensor, drove off with
them hanging out the door. I kicked them, and now have the car all to
myself, and I've created a human speed bump in the middle of the road.
Done.

After an hour of driving, the highway got completely packed, and cars were
stopping. I guess I was ahead of the rush before, but now I'm smack in the
middle of it. It would be faster walking on foot at this point. Good thing I stole
an off roader. I drove off the side of the road, around the jam. Turns out it
was some accident. I sped off. But before I could get far, I felt a rumbling and
the whole road collapsed behind me, sending hundreds of cars crashing into
Arkyama, the city directly under us. I was just far enough ahead that I didn't
fall in.

I guess Kayaa was right. All this mining for earth is really impacting the
planet. The layers between roads and cities and cities and other cities had
become too thin. All those cars escaping the crumble was not helping either,
with all that weight stacked up against just a few hundred feet of land.

The rest of the journey to the Station was uneventful, and on the 14 th day, I
made it to my destination. Unfortunately, there wasn't a spaceship in sight. I
was too late. Everyone who could fit in the ships had already left.

June 1st, 2178

My whole plan, completely ruined because of stupid Mr. Edger.

But, after looking around for a little bit, I found one small spaceship. But just
then a car came and pulled up next to it. I recognized the car. It was Mr.
Edger! When he stepped out, I quickly ducked. I was close enough for him to
see me. But, when I peeked back up, Jamal got out of the car, him and Edger
talking. He wasn't tied up. I snuck closer to try to hear what they were
saying. “I need that money. If we find him, we take him to any police officer
we see, and split the money,” said Mr. Edger. “Why can't I just kill him and
turn him in dead? It won’t take that much money off his bounty, and it will be
easier to deal with”.

“No! I’m leaving this planet now. Here’s your money for bringing me here. If
it means that much to you, then go get him!” yelled Jamal.

I’m going to wait until the ship gets moved over to the launch tube, then try
to sneak in.

After waiting for a while, the spaceship finally moved over to the launch
tube. I waited, crouched low behind a stack of crates near the launch pad,
eyes locked on the small spaceship as it slowly made its way towards the
launch tube. The distant hum of its engines grew louder, the metallic grind of
the tube’s walls echoing through the air. I must move now.

Just as I crept forward, a muffled voice caught my attention. I froze. It was

Jamal, speaking urgently into a comm device, his voice low and strained.
“You’ve got to hurry, Jarek,” Jamal said, eyes scanning the horizon nervously.
“The whole planet’s falling apart. I’m waiting at the station like you said, but
—”

A crackling voice answered through the comm. “I know, I know,” Jarek

Thalax’s voice came through, tense and impatient. “I’m on my way now. The
collapse is worse than expected. I’m coming in hot, but give me a few
minutes, all right? Wait for me.”

Jamal sighed and rubbed his forehead, clearly on edge. “Fine, but you better
be here soon, Jarek. I want to get going before the space station falls to the
collapse, too.”

I waited in the shadows, watching as Jamal slipped the device into his
pocket. Minutes passed, and then the ship’s engines roared to life again.
Jarek Thalax’s personal plane was descending from above, landing on a pad,
dust getting stirred up by the slowing engines.

Jarek stepped out. The man who had put all this on me, who made all these
people chase after me, because of his stupid ‘trust bounty’. His cold gaze
locked on Jamal, and they exchanged a brief nod before heading to the ship.
The moment they passed into the cockpit, I moved.

I darted behind the spacecraft, sliding into the narrow entryway just as the
hatch shut behind them. I barely had time to find cover before the interior
lights flickered on. The ship’s hum intensified as the launch sequence began.

Through the small cabin window, I saw Jarek and Jamal exchange a tense
glance before Jarek pulled out a small communication device and punched in
a code. The ship’s exterior hatch opened with a hydraulic hiss.

Now I make my move.

The ship lurched as the launch tube’s magnetic beams pulled it inside. The
tube was a long, dark corridor that propelled the ship forward with such
speed it could break through Helios’ toxic outer atmosphere without getting
shredded by the deadly winds. It was the only safe way off the planet— you
had to go fast enough.

I wasted no time. As the ship accelerated, I moved quickly, slipping into the
cabin and finding a seat just as the tube started to rumble beneath us.

Jarek and Jamal barely noticed me at first. Both were busy strapping in, their
faces tense, their eyes fixed ahead. It didn’t take long before they realized
they weren’t alone.
“What the hell?” Jarek snapped, his voice cold with surprise. “What are you
doing here?”

I stood up slowly, my body tense, ready for anything. “I’ve come this far,
might as well finish it.”

“You think this is funny?” Jamal growled, his hand twitching towards a
weapon.

A tense silence filled the cabin, and then—without warning—Jarek lunged

forward, grabbing me by the arm. “I don’t know who you think you are, but
you’re not getting out of here alive.”

I didn’t get a chance to respond before the ship’s alarms went off. A sudden
shudder ran through the walls as the ship blasted through the toxic layer of
Helios’ atmosphere. The entire cabin jerked violently as the winds outside
howled with fury.

The ship shook again, a gut-wrenching lurch that sent us all tumbling. But
what came next was far worse.

A deafening boom echoed through the cabin, and through the viewport, we
saw it—the last of Helios, crumbling away into the void. The ground beneath
the cities collapsed, and everything we had known about the planet
disappeared in an instant.

Jarek and Jamal stood there, staring out in disbelief, their faces pale. There
was no more Helios, no more hope for getting the resources to try to restore
Earth.

We sat there in silence for a long while, the three of us. Jamal, Jarek, and me.
None of us spoke at first.

Then I asked who Jamal really was. And he told me. “I was head of the
mining operation, me and Jarek have been friends for a long time. Whether
we like it or not, we are in this together now. And whatever comes next…
we’ll face it together, I guess. We should still throw you out though,”
explained Jamal. “You won't have to,” I said. “I was wondering if we could
stop at Earth and drop me off. That’s where I'm from. I probably won't
survive; Earth is more destroyed than people think.”

The life of a worker at HMC isn’t all what people think it is. It just makes you
a bad person. It's thousands of people in caves all day. Now that I think
about it, Helios wasn’t such a good place after all, even if it might have
saved Earth.
I wonder how many people have died because of this man sitting next to me.
Probably thousands.