Solara's Journey- BOOK OF ELI
I do not own the rights to the movie: Book of Eli, the characters, or plot. That pleasure lies unto Writer Gary Whitta and Directors Albert and Allen Hughes.
My story is a continuation of the events after the movie which I have written solely for my own recreation.
Note to reader- This chapter contains a murder scene. Proceed with caution.
Chapter 10: Into the Underground
Solara told her mother to stay with Red and Carnegie, whom had fought consciousness since her arrival.
Claudia hugged Solara, "Be safe, baby girl."
"I will mom." She turned to Kit. "You, stay here okay?" Solara knelt and rubbed Kit's ears.
"Solara," Red stood. "Can you wait?"
Eli and Tom paused at the doorway.
Red's remaining eye was bloodshot and eerie. Many of his neck veins were noticeably visible and Solara knew that he was still rather weak. His features were thin, gaunt, and made Red look pathetic. "I'm sorry for all that you've been through; I wanted you to be with me and I went about it the wrong way. Take this." He handed her a green RATION CARD. "Russ kept these for food, water, and trade. You might be able to use it for something."
Solara took the card and visibly repulsed when Red trailed a finger against her hand.
"Red, help me treat Carn's bed sores." Claudia called.
She joined Tom and Eli, closed the door, and moved the bookcase. "Have the toxin gases began?" She asked Tom.
"Not yet, but the dust storm is bad. Get your goggles on and follow me to my shop. We can access the underground from there." Tom directed.
They left the shambled theater wearing the storm gear. From the porch, they could see how the street caused the wind to funnel violently through the village. Pieces of walls, ceilings, and belongings traveled with the dust. Any daylight that was visible cast a strange pattern through the sand and debris. As if a higher power had given them a path. Solara smiled. "Come on, follow me."
Eli joined hands with Solara and Tom.
Tom's engineer shop had also been through a transformation. The contents were picked over and the place reeked of gas.
Eli couldn't remove his goggles without his eyes burning. "What does Russ have you working on now?"
Wires of multiple colors hung from wheels, gears, and metal objects. Bottles filled with amber liquids lined the shelves. Ropes. Tools. Keys. Maps. "Come to the back room in case Russ or his hijackers show up." He led them through a maze of shelves to an alcove in the wall where dozens of rubber spheres rested on groves to hold them in place. "They're filled with a mixture of glycerin, glue, and gun powder. Carnegie kept the glycerin stored in the school where Russ has made his hijacker station. The rubber balls keep the mixture in stasis."
"You drilled into rubber balls, filled them with the mixture, and contained it by duct tape?! Are you insane?! What if it exploded here! This is enough to blow up the entire village." Eli yelled.
"Russ is planning something for these."
Solara interrupted. "Okay, okay! How do we get into the underground?"
"The old storm drains." Tom said.
"I thought they were destroyed when the rats brought the Black Death." She said uncomfortably. "The disease wiped out most of the elders and children. Carnegie himself ordered that the drains be filled or collapsed."
"He wanted to keep one accessible. Just in case." Tom shrugged.
"Gas masks on, let's go." Eli said.
They grabbed three long, hooded ponchos to keep themselves hidden from the crowd. Then Tom uncovered a steel grate and the three of them lowered down into a smelly, damp drain. Roaches and a couple of small mice scurried past. They followed the drains as they twisted. Most bends had other tunnels leading off, but Tom said that those paths were caved in with rocks and broken pipes.
Eli tugged on her hand. "So what is the plan?"
Solara suddenly raised her sword and drew down so quickly that Eli froze. Just when he thought that they had gotten past their initial born suspicion, she was going to kill him! His mind had just unfroze when Solara brought back a bloodied blade and chuckled at his expression.
"Just a deadly water moccasin. Nothing serious." Solara giggled softly. "Jeez, your face."
"We're nearly there, put your hoods up." Tom called back to them. "Cover your weapons. Russ and the hijackers have declared that they're the only ones who can be armed at these meetings."
Eli stared a moment longer at Solara; not quite able to believe her tenacity and spirit. The three crawled up a piped ladder, and entered into the basement of the old school gym. Up a concrete hall, they walked softly until they melted into a crowd of people gathering at the front. Here, a stage was in place where a few hijackers handed out RATION CARDS or trade items.
"Welcome! Welcome!" Russ entered from the back of the stage. "Come forward with your RATION CARDS to receive clean water and food if you haven't already done so!" The greasy hijacker took in the crowd of people gathered around him. He felt powerful and strong. "For those of you whose homes have been destroyed by the dust storm, you're welcome to stay within these walls. In trade, you will join my crew for future outings."
He waited a beat before continuing. "Most of you now know that the water supply was ransacked by some of Carnegie's crew. One of the culprits was killed."
Eli tensed under his poncho. Solara took his hand and silently prayed for Eli's dead friend.
The crowd of fifty clapped. Russ held up his hands for silence. "What you don't know, is that we found two others. Bring them up!"
Another hijacker yanked hard on a thick chain until two filthy prisoners appeared. They were bound stockade style; necks and wrists secured by boards and locks. What the crowd could see of their skin, was raw and bleeding. The chain yanked violently until the two prisoners were in front of Russ.
Eli started forward, but Tom and Solara held him back.
The crowd cheered.
"Now, why don't you tell us where Carnegie is hiding?" Russ asked the female prisoner. "He has my wife."
Solara gripped Eli's hand.
The female prisoner spat. "Never!"
"One last chance." Russ taunted.
The crowd leaned forward in anticipation. Russ took an ankle blade and in one swift thrust, put it through the prisoner's throat. She coughed a bubble of blood, fell, and drug the male prisoner down to the ground with her as she died. "No! No! Mary! Please! Stay with me!" He bellowed. "You bastard!" The male prisoner lunged at Russ, but the weight of Mary's body kept him from progressing forward.
"This man was an outsider. The others in his crew are under Carnegie's control. Now you all know that he was an outsider before coming to your village." The crowd audibly agreed. "What you don't know is that his crew came from a land where water, food, and shelter are plentiful. And we don't need to find Carnegie to find this land. Because," Russ gestured to the prisoner, "he is going to tell us exactly where to find him and then he will tell us where to find this new land."
Eli could hardly contain his anger.
"Never! I'll never help you!" The male prisoner yelled.
"Brute!" Russ called. "Bring her!"
Another hijacker brought a little girl with red hair forward. Solara had never seen a person with red hair before and neither had the crowd.
"Daddy?" The little girl cried. "Mommy!"
The child screamed and lunged for her parents. Solara's heart ached for the child.
Russ whispered into the girls' ear and she immediately quieted.
"Please, don't hurt her." The man begged.
"Where is Carnegie?" Russ patted the child's head, but everyone knew the question was intended for the prisoner.
"The theater." He hung his head.
"Good. Now, little Bessie is going to remain under my care until we're all ready to travel." The crowd hummed in question and Russ grinned over them. "Yes! That is right! We're leaving this place. The water supply is nearly tapped out. And the dust bowls are too much for this village. Before long, the toxin gases will start. Most of you are not equipped to survive them. But if you stay with me here at the school, you will be safe. And once the storm has passed, we will leave to make our home in a new land. Ripe with food and water!"
Eli and Solara looked at each other in horror.
Tom whispered quietly. "Go the way we came. Get them. Hide them in my shop. Go now!"
Eli and Solara slunk backwards until they were able to creep through the drains.