Hey everyone, sorry for the delay, nothing but bad weather down through here. I've spent the last week chopping up fallen trees and putting out fires caused by downed electrical lines. Man, those old power lines were put up by Valley Electric back in the 60's and they're still standing...well, most of them are still standing.
Every now and again one or more fail due to old age or extreme weather conditions (or people fighting over who gets to throw the paper on the route)...yeah, that actually happened.
My neighbors were on the route and started argueing over who throws the paper and lost control of the truck they used.
Stupid thing is, they dad was more upset about the truck than the fact that he nearly lost two of his kids. I remember that because it was the first time I'd ever seen my Grandma Vivian mad at someone. (I was only six at the time)
She told him flat out that he ought to be on his knees thanking the Lord that them boys weren't hurt worse or even killed in that wreck. I saw the injuries on the others and to tell the truth, thinking back, it was a miracle that they weren't killed.
Ah, but enough about stories from my childhood, ya'll came here for the chapter.
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING OR ANYONE IN THE SPYRO UNIVERSE. ONLY MY OCS.
Chapter 41: The Abandoned Cistern
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_8-8-8-8-8-8_*_*_*_*_88-8-8-8-8-8_**_*_*_*_8-8-8-8-*_*_*_*_*_*
Zafra couldn't help but squeal as more old cobwebs and roots brushed over her flank. She resolved that, once they got back to the Mill, she'd make George walk down this way in dragon form and see how he liked it. Just because she was a dragon didn't mean that she thought nothing of spider webs and creepy, unlit passages beneath a city. It vaguely reminded her about all those stories Spyro would tell her about the undead apes he fought during and after the Night of Eternal Darkness.
She half expected to find some skeletons down here or worse, walking skeletons. She immediately regretted the thought as it conjured up memories of more stories, these told by James about the infamous 'Automen' during the Dalon Conflict.
What scared her the most was that she was intrigued by the abominations and worse, she had actually compiled notes and discovered a way to create them should the need arise. The thought of human bodies, walking around, their entrails replaced with metal components and wiring, all powered by a dark crystal, scared the living daylights out of her yet peaked her curiousity.
She immediately remembered another old saying.
'Curiousity killed the cat'
(Or in this case dragoness...), she thought forlornly.
The only silver lining was that she was not alone doing this. Caldor was ahead, focusing his mana on actually living up to his Light Dragon race by illuminating his scales. The patterns his scales cast upon the cold, musty stone walls almost made her forget that they were walking to an old abandoned part of the underground canal system where, during the 1918 flood, almost one hundred people; canal workers, inspectors, fishermen, and worse of all, the homeless, drowned when the South Canal flooded.
There was a large cistern near the end of the underground canal where water was pumped into Launces through special vents. George had sent her, Caldor, and a few others, to investigate whether or not the Cistern was still intact and it was possible to use the vents (which according to some blueprints she remembered seeing were wide enough for a dragon to pass through) to enter the inner sections of the city.
After the flood, an effort was made to locate and identify the bodies in the canal but sadly, as with all disasters, not all the bodies were found. Shortly afterward, a monument was built, several old cisterns were demolished and buried, and work began on the 1919 North and South Canals. It was said that a few of the old cisterns were kept intact for fear that any more demolition could cause sinkholes to appear.
Still, the fact that they were still there didn't mean they were maintained. As evident by the massive cobweb that Caldor was forced to burn away, his scales fading as he fired a light beam that left everyone in momentary darkness. The web had been so old and thick it almost looked like a cloud. Caldor gave a disgusted snort as he stepped over or on spiders, both dead and alive. One Resistance member, a young man, yelled when he felt something crawling up his back and insisted someone take a look.
When he turned, he heard someone gasp and draw a revolver before a slap echoed and then a gunshot. On the ground there, was a very large species of spider called Trench Dwellers. They were non-venomous but their unnatural size (this particular one was roughly the size of a 10 pound bowling ball) was enough to unnerve even the most wary of people.
The gunshot apparently broke the den of silence that hung over the place as suddenly, wherever the echo of the gunshot reverberated, various sounds now sounded.
Most common was the 'squeak squeak' of tunnel rats. That or the skittering sound of various insect colonies like roaches and such that were unused to having their peace shattered by such a violent sound. She then sighed and wondered why George hadn't allowed her to use her powers on the collapsed section they had already found and cleared.
Then she was struck by the logic of his reason.
The collapsed canal in question was built not only under the Grand Central Avenue, the busiest and most heavily used road in Launces, it was also built under the Midtown Keep and actually ran through the lowest level of the fortification. Any work whatsoever either under the Avenue or the Keep itself, would alert the Rotarians and then they'd be in a mess.
The only answer then was to scout the old canals, locate possible areas where there was no enemt presense about, and then start work to clear any debris and try to enter the city. once in the city, they could start linking up with other cells and begin their operations against the occupiers.
The only trouble was the OAC. Since the supply drop, they had become more frequent in their patrols. They investigated the rare 'Central Pass' that was issued to civilians in the city very thoroughly and stopped anyone suspected of being a Partisan without opposition. These people were then spirited away to the OAC HQ which was set up, of all places, in the Grand Cathedral in the Launces castle District.
The humans had balked when they learned that the enemy soldiers had ousted the local priest and had set up shop in the cathedral, hastily reapiring the wall where the northwest tower had collapsed when an aircraft had crashed into it. The historic district was in shambles but it served the OAC well enough. What George personally couldn't stomach was the fact that everywhere in Launces had a perfect view of the castle front and there, flying from the balconies and flagpoles were Rotarian flags instead of Syllian. The blood red banners on the balconies were garish compared to the blue, white, and silver banners that had previously adorned them.
He had won even more support from the Partisans with them by openly vowing to burn every last one of those banners and scatter their ashes over Mechanos' grave once the war was over. Those who didn't know his identity were already starting to warm up to his as a leader in the Resistance. Those few who knew who he was showed him absolute loyalty that made some of the newer recruits often ask what he had done to inspire them so.
Of course, no one ever said anything, they just smiled and said 'he has that type of charisma, you just can't help but believe in him'.
They had some of these new recruits with them now. Of their group of eleven, only Zafra and Caldor were those who knew the truth. The other nine were recruits from the local farms, soldiers who had decided to remain with the Partisans, and persons of interest who had been freed before they had passed through the Midtown Keep. It had been one of the POIs that had divulged information that before the attack, several officers and supply sergeants had been allocated supplies to place in nondescript places throughout the city.
One of those places had been the cistern they were now heading towards, Cistern 14S, the primary, and largest, of the south canal cisterns.
Zafra looked to the man who had given the information and decided to ask him about it.
"It's...Lawson, right? So what kind of supplies are we likely to find in the cistern?"
"I don't have anything concrete but, we could have anything from ammunition to C-rations, medical supplies, weapons, maybe even radio parts. They didn't keep any lists for the fear of them being discovered, and the only place that had a list of the supply caches was destroyed in a fire. What we find here may not be much use to us but I can't see letting the enemy find it later on." Caldor nodded.
"More of a case of us having it and not needing it instead of needing it and not having it, right?" Lawson nodded.
"Despite our new support from Royalis, I doubt they're going to risk a supply drop every night or every week. They lost four planes in that last drop and one of them was confirmed to have landed intact near the power plants. Chances are, any supplies we find we'll have a need for them before the week is out."
Zafra nodded and turned and nearly walked right into Caldor who had stopped. Before she said anything, Caldor pointed with a foreclaw to the wall. There, on the wall, was a faded sign.
LAUNCES UNDERGROUND CANAL CISTERN 14 SOUTH
AUTHORIZED PERSONEL ONLY
The words 'DO NOT ENTER' and 'ABANDONED' were marked over the sign, apparently as a testament that someone had in fact come down here after the flood to check for bodies. By the archway that was bricked up was a series of eight faded red Xs, one yellow X, and three black Xs. Lawson caught Zafra and the group's curious stares and pointed to them.
"Those were marks made by those who went into the canals to try and find anyone who had survived down here. The red marks mean that they found eight dead here. The yellow mark means a survivor was found, and the black marks mean known persons here but remains not found." Zafra looked at him and saw a glint in his eyes.
"How do you know that Mr. Lawson?" Lawson gave a pained smile and pointed to the yellow and black marks.
"There's a reason I'm so familiar with the canal system. I was the yellow mark." Many of the Partisans gasped as he said this and Lawson went forward and lay a hand on the marks.
"Rescuers found me in the elevated drain my mother shoved me into before the flood waters came through. The black marks after the yellow stand for my father, my mother, and my older sister. I lost my entire family that night when the canals flooded. I...I never thought I'd come back here. When Nick told me about our need for supplies I remembered that the supply clerk over me was one of the men in charge of the supply caches and he disclosed a few of them to me. The cistern here...it was my home for the first six years of my life." Lawson gazed at the partisans behind him and then the dragons beside him and sighed.
"This is the first time since that night that I've returned here. I always held the hope of finding my family's remains and giving them a proper burial but once the main tunnels were sealed I couldn't act on it. I don't have much hope of finding anything now after all these years but, if this place can help the Resistance, I can put my personal feelings for this tomb aside and help however I can."
Caldor nodded and then balled a foreclaw into the dragon equivalent of a fist and punched the bricked up opening hard. Zafra grimaced as the sound of shattering bricks and mortar ended the silence in the tunnel. Caldor turned to give a smile when suddenly the entire wall fell forward with a collosal THUD! that sent dust and debris into the air and peppered the group with pieces of brick. Zafra coughed and looked at the now smiling sheepishly Caldor and sighed.
"Nice one Demolition Dragon. It'd be a miracle if you didn't wake the dead with that." Caldor sighed and then poked his head through the now opened cistern and gave an appreciative grunt. Lawson stepped by him and gazed around at the dusty, ancient stone walls and breathed the stale old air deeply.
"Home sweet home." Zafra came through next and then gasped at the size of it.
"This is a cistern? I thought it'd be...you know...smaller?" Lawson chuckled at that.
"There's a joke in that statement but I get the feeling you're not the type who appreciates crude humor. Anyway, yeah, cisterns are usually small but this one was unique. It was not only a branch cistern that supplied the farmland and inner city with water, it was also planned to be expanded to allow for more water. Costs went too high and the project was stopped halfway through the renovations. After that, people started coming in and making their homes in the unfinished and abandoned alcoves here and there."
"Didn't the workers here try to kick them out?" Lawson shrugged.
"A few times but, once they realized that we didn't mean no harm plus, we helped keep the place clean, the supervisor allowed my father and others to work here. Our alcoves were our homes, there were facilities: showers, kitchens, toiletries, inside the control rooms. A few times we actually averted a few mishaps that would have shut down the canal system for a while. We became part of the canal, kinda like the stories of the raft fleets of old. Floating towns moving up and down the Blue, Whitecap, and Moon Rivers."
"Except you stayed in the canal system until the flood." Lawson nodded.
"Yep. Now then, if I recall...yeah, this was the what the workers called 'A' Deck. It was the highest part of the cistern and was usually twenty feet above water level. The first alcove here belonged to the Rostone family. Mr. Edward Rostone, he was a wizard with a spanner, a pipe wrench, socket wrench, and knew his way around the plumbing here like no one else. In fact, whenever there was a malfunction, he was always the first choice for the damage control team." Lawson looked down and pointed to the old, rusted floodgate that was halfway lowered and was severely buckled and damaged.
"He drowned right there trying to shut the floodgate. His sacrifice bought his family and many others enough time to get out before some coward engaged the clamps to keep the manhole covers in the city from being blown off due to the water pressure."
He continued as he went down the walkway and then pointed to the last alcove on the left.
"That alcove there was the one that my family had. My dad, he was a technical expert. He'd served in the Army as a sniper and then as an engineer when lost his left eye. He knew what went where, how well it worked, and how hard to push it before it broke. My mom, she worked in the kitchen with some of the other women, making lunches for those working graveyard shifts, making breakfast for those just coming on the morning shifts. The kids like me and my sister, we got a chance to explore the canals and all the unoccupied alcoves. We'd all band together and 'map' the canal system. Sometimes we'd all pick teams and play War or Resistance in the tunnels."
"Now you're doing it for real." Lawson turned to the woman who'd spoke and nodded.
"Yep. It's kinda ironic really. I was always on the losing team and now I'm on the team that's going to kick the Rotarian's asses so hard they'll have to fart through their collars." A series of guffaws, Hell yeahs, Oorahs sounded off and he turned with a smile and then pointed to the bridge-like structure straddling the canal.
"That's the primary control center. Back in the early days of electricity, it had the basics. A few lights, some switches, and a few loudspeakers. Most things were still operated by hand. That's another thing they were trying to improve when the stopped work. When the place flooded, the wiring shorted out and all the lights, few as they were, flickered and went out, leaving the place in darkness. Thanks to Caldor, here, these old walls are seeing light for the first time in over a decade." Then a young man came up and looked at him.
"Is that why you asked me to come with the group Mr. Lawson, because I apprenticed as an electrician?" Lawson nodded.
"You catch on quick kid. Yeah. The reason I had you tag along is because, well...I know the way into the city but remember that coward I mentioned who sealed the place down? Well he also triggered the electrics that powered the hydraulics and sealed off this cistern from the rest of the system in some half-baked, misguided attempt to save the city. All he did was save a section of canal that was never reopened and put more pressure through the main facilities."
"Is what you're saying what I think you're saying?" Lawson nodded to Zafra, Caldor, and the others.
"Yep. I didn't just recommend the place because of the supplies. We get those old floodgates open, we've got our road into the city. Plus, with the size of the facility, the cistern has the potential to become our new HQ, should the event arise." Zafra looked at Lawson excitedly.
"Can you get the system working again?" He looked and nodded.
"Yep. First though, we need to restore power to the substation here. Once that's done, we check the old hydraulic lines and make sure they're intact and then we can open the old gates. Be warned, I was not lying about that section of canal being sealed off for a decade. Once we get that gate open, there's going to be a boatload of stagnant water, dead fish, and God only knows what else."
"Any idea where the short happened?" Lawson motioned over and then pointed at an alcove on a lower level.
"The substation that was responsible for regulating power was on 'B' Deck. However, the replacement parts were kept in a watertight safe in the secondary control station." Zafra nodded.
"Alright, and where's that?" Lawson looked around and sighed.
"It was originally part of the main control system but, like I said before, it was part of the improvements that were never finished and had several weak spots. Spots that gave way when the flood came through. Debris from the center is probably strewn all down the canal." Caldor looked back, his tail ticking showing he was agitated.
"What are the chances that the safe is intact then? Wouldn't the flood have either destroyed the safe or perhaps washed it down another section that was sealed?" Lawson shook his head.
"Unlikely. It was a huge safe, like those you find in a bank. If the waters did get it, it could only have been pushed a little ways along the route." Zafra nodded.
"Alright, everyone, you have your flashlights, one group will go with Caldor along the dry canal, the others will go with me along the top and we'll see if we can't spot the safe."
At that moment, one of the Partisans aimed his light down towards the ruined section of the control center and pointed.
"There! I see something metallic!" Zafra saw where the light was aimed and jumped down towards it, flaring her wings as she came down to the dry canal. As she landed, she heard a faint rattling and gazed slightly to her right and let out a scream.
Caldor immediately came down, his scales rediating light and his fangs shining as he prepared an attack simultaniously.
"What is it?! What's wrong?!" Zafra eased towards him and pointed with her tail to where the safe was. Lawson came down using the old rusted ladder and came to the safe.
"It's the safe alright, but what made you scream, Lady Zafra?" Following the point on her tail, he eased around the safe and fell to his knees in shock.
There, lying halfway pinned under the safe, was a human skeleton. The only identifiable item was a gold locket around the neck.
"E-Elsie...It's...my sister..."
Caldor came around and sighed and muttered smething before examining the skeleton.
"Looks like the pelvis is crushed...She may have been trying to get out of the canal when the station collapsed. The safe must have pinned her to the bottom as the water rose." He immediately rrealized what he was saying and who was nearby and quickly gazed away.
"I-I'm certain she didn't suffer...most likely the injury to her from the safe falling on top of her was what killed her...It is highly unlikely that she was pinned under the safe alive and drowned...yes, highly unlikely..." Lawson nodded at the gesture and placed a hand on the skeleton's skull.
"I appreciate the thought Caldor, I really do...but dead is dead. Quickly or not, my sister was killed by a person's cowardice. I suppose it is some consolation that the bastard met the same fate. The operator, he realized his error in sealing the cistern and tried to reopen it but by that time the electricity had been shorted out and the entire place was dark. He likely never knew the second control room was failing until he was drowning. Plus, it gives me a small sense of closure at least. Now then, since we have found the safe, I suggest we move it to the substation and allow Mr. Watt here to get to work restoring power to the cistern." He then turned to the rest of the group and Zafra.
"Lady Zafra, for the safety, and health, of the group and yourself, please return to A Deck while Caldor, Watt, and I try to restore power."
_*_*_**_**_*-8-8-8-8-8-8_*_***_*_*_*-8-8-8-8-8_*_*_**_*_*_-8-8-8-8-8*_*_*_*_*
As Zafra and the group waited at A Deck, Caldor, Watt, and Lawson went into the substation, Caldor's scales illuminating the room and allowing for an easy examination of the old electrical components. Thankfully, most of the wiring and other components had held up rather well with the exception of a few shorts and a blown dynamo. Once that was replaced and started, the backup lights came on in the substation allowing the group to see what they were doing. Watt was looking over the electrical panel when he noticed something.
"M-Mr. Lawson? I can't read any of this!" Lawson came forward and sighed.
"I should have remembered that Lord James had all these panels and gauges made in Schildhaven. This is all in their language."
On the panels there were a series of red and white lights. The red were marked 'Gefahr' and the white were labeled 'Klar'. Lawson quickly ran through his memory and found the translations easily and then pointed at the lights.
"It's the same setup used on submarines. They call it a Yule Tree. Red, Gefahr, means Danger or Damage to Sections, Klar on the other hand means Clear or No Damage." Watt turned to him.
"White for green?" Lawson nodded.
"Yeah, okay we have...all white lights lit...that means there's no other damage to the systems. Alright, get over there and start the primary dynamo, it's an old crank start so you gotta put some muscle into it. Once it's going, you flip those three levers in numerical order." Watt looked at the levers and back to Lawson.
"Which is?" Lawson came over and tapped each lever saying the number.
"Eins, One. Zwei, Two. Drei, Three. Once those are flipped, grab hold of these two wheels, spin them both counter clockwise until the gauges read Bereit, Ready. Once that's done, give me the signal and I'll flip these four switches and that should, hopefully, turn the lights back on and allow us to use the control room." Watt nodded and went to the dynamo.
"On your count Mr. Lawson!"
"On three! One! Two! THREE!"
Watt grabbed the crank and started turning it as if his life depended on it. Slowly, the gauge on the dynamo marked Elektrizitätstarted climbing upwards.
"Mr. Lawson! Passing...uh...zehn prozent!" Lawson turned to him, a smile on his face.
"That's ten percent Mr. Watt, no need to call it out, just crank."
Having now learned what the marks meant, Watt devoted himself to turning the crank harder. After what seemed like an hour, he gazed and saw the needle push past what he assumed was one-hundred percent.
"Full power Mr. Lawson!"
"Good man, now throw the levers!"
A whirring sound had started as Watt left the dynamo and moved to the levers. When he pulled the first one, there was a slight increase in volume and pitch from the dynamo. He ignored it however, and pulled the second and then the third, the dynamo getting louder each twice more. He then ran to the wheels and started turning, the gauges before him started rising as the dynamo gauge had done earlier.
As they reached full power, he stopped and looked to Lawson who nodded and grabbed the first switch.
"Readying Primary One!" He threw the switch, and lo and behold, lights started coming on in the canal. He went down to the second.
"Readying Primary Two!" This time, more lights came on and the substation was lit up with light. Caldor, seeing his ability was no longer needed, elected to conserve his remaining mana and watch the two humans at work.
"Readying Secondary!" Caldor heard something and glance to see lights coming on in the control room over the canal. Looking back, he saw Lawson reach the last switch.
"Activating Auxillary Dynamos!"
As soon as the switch was thrown, sparks erupted from the panel and Lawson bit back a startled curse the the last lever sparked and small flames leapt from the housing.
"Watt! Grab that extinguisher over there! We've got a blown fusebox!" Watt ran over with a rusty blue extinguisher and sprayed a rather foul-smelling water/foam mixture onto the panel. After a moment, the flames died down and finally subsided. Lawson gazed at the panel.
"Shit! I should have anticipated that that might happen..." Caldor looked to him.
"What was that?" Lawson grimaced as he gazed at the charred panel and switch.
"The Auxillary Dynamos. They're supposed to keep the power going in the event of a primary failure. Basically, if the dynamo here dies, they're supposed to kick in and pick up the slack. Well, as long as the primary doesn't konk out we're in as good a position as we can be. Let's get to the control room and I can unseal the canal. Once that's done, perhaps we can get inside the city and see what we're up against."
At that moment, Zafra came down, a worried look on her face.
"Guys, before we do that, we've got trouble. Miles just came running in saying that they recieved information about some type of weapons launch. Something called V1."
_*_*_*_*_88-8-8-8-8-*_*_*_*_*_*-8-8-88-8-8_*_**_*_*-8-88-8-8_*_*_*_*_*
Whew. Okay everyone, finally got that chapter done with. Now I can take a short break before getting back to the story. My brother has the only working chainsaw around here so I've been having to use a woodcutting axe to clear the fallen trees and trust me it is hard work.
I can't believe my dad did this on a daily basis when he was growing up...add that to the list of things that continually amaze me about him.
Next Chapter: The Talson Express