Prodigy

  “Excellent job, Alex. See, all these lessons are paying off. You’re becoming a fierce warrior.”

  “Thanks,” Alex said gleefully, feeling happy she was making her mother proud.

  “We have about twenty minutes before yard time is over. Let’s finish it off with some laps then we’ll hit the showers.”

  ***

  The next day Alex was in line at the cafeteria to receive her food. With her tray in tow, she navigated through the rows of tables and sat with her mother.

  “Didn’t you get a piece of fruit?” Mara asked.

  “They ran out.”

  “Here, you can have mine.”

  “No, it’s okay.”

  “Please, I insist,” Mara said as she placed her orange on Alex’s tray.

  “Thanks.”

  The fruit had been in Alex’s possession only a few minutes before an arm reached across the table and snatched it off her tray. Alex looked up and saw the mountainous Olga standing smugly before her.

  “Can I have that back please?” Alex asked with detectable disdain in her voice.

  “No, I don’t think so. They ran out of fruit before I could get one. Luckily, you had an extra one for me.”

  Through her training with Mara, Alex had developed a mental fortitude that could withstand the intimidation tactics and incitement from a bully like Olga.

  Alex stood up and got right in Olga’s face. She had to tilt her head up in order to establish eye to eye contact.

  “I won’t ask you again,” Alex said with enough bass in her voice to show she was not afraid.

  “Yeah, and what if I don’t? You going to have your mommy fight your battle again?”

  Ordinarily, Alex was unconfrontational, but since spending time with her mum, all she could hear was her mother’s lessons echo throughout her head, urging her to be strong.

  Alex looked at Mara and without exchanging words, could tell what her mother was thinking. Just then, Olga shoved Alex. Olga took a step forward, as did Alex, and when they met, Alex quickly smashed Olga’s face with a slicing elbow. The attack completely caught Olga off guard and caused her to stumble backwards, clutching her bloody nose. Nobody had ever stood up to Olga before. Everyone in the cafeteria rose to their feet and formed a circle around the two.

  ‘To truly defeat your opponent, you must defeat their spirit. You must break their will and make them quit. Impose your will over theirs and make them afraid of you.’

  “Come on, hit me,” Alex said.

  Olga happily obliged with the offer and took her best swing. Being much faster, Alex telegraphed the punch and easily moved out of harm’s way. Alex retaliated and threw a quick jab that landed under the ribs. It was intended to be a liver shot, but Olga had a layer of fat that protected her.

  ‘Be unpredictable and ready for anything.’

  Olga clenched her fist, cocked her shoulder back, and swung at Alex with all her might. Just as Olga’s sledgehammer fist was about to connect, Alex used her speed to duck out of the way and throw a right hook that slammed into the temple of her aggressor. Again, the punch bounced off Olga, not inflicting the intended damage. It did more to humiliate Olga than anything as she was allowing her opponent to get the better of her.

  Just when Alex thought she was getting the better of the exchange, one of Olga’s minions emerged from the crowd and tackled Alex to the ground. The unexpected attack completely blindsided Alex.

  ‘When you’re under duress, you must rely on your instincts. Only then can you determine what kind of person you are and know what you’re made of. Are you a person with strong character, or are your instincts to give up?’

  Alex rose back to her feet, but could still hear the voice of her mother in her head. By now, two more of Olga’s friends had stepped in, making the fight even that much more unfair. Nevertheless, Alex stood her ground. Mara deliberately held back and did not get involved. She knew Alex could not only handle herself in this situation, but she would ultimately grow from the experience. To intervene would rob her of that opportunity to build character and become better.

  ‘You cannot think, you must only react.’

  The two women came at Alex at once, but she was able to fend them off with a flurry of punches and evasive movements. She danced around the two women and bloodied up their faces with crisp boxing, brutal knees, and elbow strikes. The spectacular combination awed the crowd and had everyone chanting Alex’s name. It was clear the two women were outmatched and had had enough.

  With frustration mounting, Olga shoved her friends aside and charged forward with an ogre-like punch. It was a last-ditch effort, but it seemed to have worked. Olga caught Alex by surprise with a heavy-handed right hook that landed cleanly on Alex’s jaw. Alex went down and was completely disorientated. She had no idea what had hit her, but assumed it was a sack of bricks.

  ‘Are you going to turtle up and go to your happy place, or will you stand your ground and fight?’

  The cobwebs in Alex’s head began to clear as she searched for her wits.

  ‘Never give up, there’s always a way out.’

  Before she fully regained her composure, Alex was back on her feet, facing down her opponent. She was seeing stars and could barely hear the faint echo from the crowd. Suddenly, the lights came on in Alex’s head and the roar of the crowd filled her ears.

  Olga’s size was actually a detriment since her large body required much more oxygen to fuel it. Even from the short exchange, Olga was exhausted. Her movements were laboured and sluggish, and her reaction time was seriously impaired as well. With her clothes drenched in sweat, Olga was breathing heavily.

  Alex was not at one hundred percent, but was still light on her feet. She feinted as if she was going for a takedown, which caused Olga to drop her hands. It was just enough time and created the perfect opening for Alex to land an impressive spinning wheel kick to the side of Olga’s head. This time, the impact did the intended damage.

  Like a tree that was about to topple, Olga was almost in a state of weightlessness. Still on her feet, her eyes rolled back into her head as she was completely knocked unconscious. When the burly woman began to fall, it was almost as if she was falling in slow motion. The whole crowd watched on in shock. Mouths were agape and people adorned expressions of disbelief. Olga hit the ground with a thud and her head bounced off the cement floor.

  As she lay motionless, the crowd went wild with cheers. Alex could not help but look over at her mum. The look on Alex’s face nearly broke her mother’s heart. It was as if she was saying, ‘Hey mum, I did it.’ The gleaming pride on Mara’s face meant the world to Alex. Mara was building her daughter into a confident leader who triumphed in adversity.

  Alex looked down at her feet and saw her orange on the floor. She bent down, picked it up, and returned to her lunch with her mother.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Alex was sound asleep when the first explosion went off. She immediately sat up and listened intently. The blaring alarm followed by yelling and screaming told her she was not dreaming. There was no indication as to what caused the blast, but it sounded like it had come from the cafeteria. Alex tried to put a story together in her mind that made sense. She figured it had to be a gas leak in the kitchen or an old pipe that had burst.

  Alex rose from her bed and peered out the window of her cell door. Under the moonlight that shone in through the glass ceiling, Alex saw some shadowy figures running toward the cafeteria.

  On the Northeast side of the prison, several guardians responded to the blast. They were not sure what to expect before they arrived as they only knew as much as the prisoners at that point. For many of them, they were out of shape and inexperienced with these types of situations. They were not battle-hardened warriors experienced in combat; they were operational supervisors that had grown accustomed to a sedentary lifestyle and orderly routine.

  The prison guardians gathered in the cafeteria just as another group were descending through the skylight
s. The infiltrators deployed a teargas canister, which disrupted the vision and breathing of everyone not wearing a proper gasmask. While the guardians were impaired, they were quickly immobilized, having their hands and feet bound. A second backup squad of guardians hastily marched toward the cafeteria with as much preparation as the first on-scene troops, but they too suffered the same fate. The pathetic and ultimately ineffective attempt to regain control of the situation was foiled by a group of well-prepared individuals who were dressed head to toe in black. Once the prison guardians were bound together on the floor, the midnight infiltrators initiated phase two of their plan.

  The invaders knew exactly where to go. With their gasmasks and night-vision goggles on, they ran down the corridor with their guns aimed high. They located the first door they were looking for and rigged it with a high-frequency blaster device. One of the men in the squad gave two heavy pounds with his fist and Mara crawled to the back of her cell and covered herself with her flimsy mattress. The frequency blasters detonated, shattering the solid door like it was glass.

  “Come on, come on,” one of them yelled.

  Mara tossed the mattress aside and darted out the door with no hesitation.

  The masked posse went down another corridor, taking care of any threats that came up. A second door was located and provisioned with explosives – the same way as the first. Alex heard two large thuds on her door and was signaled to get back. She too crouched down and covered herself with her mattress. The explosives were detonated and the blast reduced the door to rubble.

  Alex was taken aback by the sudden explosion as she was not quite sure what was going on. Her ears were ringing and her heart was pounding as several masked men stormed into her cell. She thought about fighting, but they did not seem to want to harm her. One of the men approached her and extended his hand. Sensing her reluctance, he tilted his mask up a bit to reveal his face.

  “Milo, what are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Now’s really not a good time to talk about this, Alex. Please come with me.”

  “I can’t go with you, I’ll be a wanted fugitive.”

  Alex was clearly thinking multiple steps in advance. She was not allowing the abrupt hype of a midnight prison breakout to cloud her judgment and make any impulsive decisions that she might regret. Another familiar face emerged from the mob.

  “Alex, we need to leave this place now,” Mara said.

  “But this isn’t the way,” she protested. “This is wrong.”

  “There’s no other way, Alex,” Mara pleaded. “They’ll never let us out of here. You have to trust me on this.”

  “Come on, Alex. I didn’t go through all this trouble just to debate with you,” Milo insisted.

  Alex thought about what her mum had said. If she stayed, the worst she was looking at was five years. If she escaped and went off the grid, then she would always be on the run, which was not an ideal alternative. If she were to become apprehended, then surely she would spend the rest of her life in prison. She reasoned the best strategy would be to remain in prison, pay her debt to society, and await her release.

  “I’m sorry, I’m not going with you guys. I don’t want to live my life on the run.”

  “Well, then I’m sorry too, Alex. Sorry for what I’m about to do.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Alex woke up in an unfamiliar setting. She looked around in confusion as she tried to piece together where she was. Around her was a number of smiling faces.

  “What happened?” she asked scratching her head.

  “Sorry, Alex, you were taking too long,” Milo said.

  “Milo, how could you? My life is ruined now!” she screamed in a panic. The outcome of her life flashed before her eyes.

  “Alex, before you go analyzing this to death, which I know you’ll do, just remember that we took you against your will. That way, if you ever get caught, you will not be held accountable.”

  “You realize they can track us, right? Guardians could be here any minute to take me in.”

  “I wouldn’t count on that, look around at where we are,” he said with a smile.

  Alex looked around, but did not recognize the décor. “What is this place? Where have you taken me?” she asked.

  “Alex, welcome to Incarus,” Mara said.

  Incarus was an underground village formed amid a repurposed subway system. The village was comprised of a network of people who coexisted among an extensive labyrinth of tunnels and makeshift dwellings. The poor ventilation and moisture caused the entire place to reek of a foul stench.

  “It stinks down here,” Alex said.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

  “I don’t find that comforting.”

  “Come on, let me show you guys around.”

  They left the small room and descended down a dark tunnel in the abandoned subway system. As they were completely engulfed in darkness, Milo gave a voice command to his access pod and instantly a bright light lit the way for them.

  “Afraid of the dark?” Mara teased.

  “I have technology to solve this problem, why not use it?”

  “What if one day you can’t rely on your technology, then what do you do?”

  Milo didn't have an answer.

  The beam of light shone outward from the access pod attached to Milo’s arm, enabling them to see their footing. Milo raised his arm, shining the circle of light onto the graffiti-laden tiled walls.

  “The graffiti is a nice touch, did you guys do that yourselves?” Milo remarked.

  “No, it was here long before we arrived and I suspect it will be here long after we’re gone.”

  “You know, when we all become extinct and some new civilization discovers this place a few thousand years from now, they’ll probably draw the erroneous conclusion that we’re all a bunch of taggers.”

  Alex and Milo admired the site as if they had discovered a time capsule from the past. The old subway system showed its age at every turn. The century old bricks were cracked and crumbling, and the furnishings were far from modern.

  Their footsteps echoed off the walls, drowning out the other noises that lingered in the distance – dripping water, creaking pipes, and squeaking rodents.

  “How many people live down here?” Alex asked.

  “Exactly 150. Once we have more than 150, we divide into two separate colonies.”

  “Where does the new group relocate to?”

  “There are many abandoned places all over the city. In fact, there are entire cities of yore that have been discarded like trash.”

  “Why 150 though?” Milo asked

  “That’s Dunbar's number.”

  “Who’s Dunbar?”

  Alex was familiar with the theory and offered to explain it to her friend. “Robin Dunbar was a British anthropologist who theorized that groups of individuals should limit themselves to 150.”

  “Why?”

  “It has to do with the size of the human neocortex, it can only process stable interpersonal relationships with 150 individuals, so groups larger than that begin to become unstable and may eventually break down.”

  “Interesting.”

  When they arrived at the next station, a row of lights hung overhead, illuminating the way. They were spaced out every twenty feet, but some of them were burnt out or broken, which allowed dark shadows to conceal many nooks and corridors.

  “This is the main hub of Incarus,” Mara said, eager to show off what she and her companions had worked so hard to build. Alex and Milo were astonished at how the place could even exist in such a modern climate.

  They came upon the first room on the tour. Mara flicked on the light and said. “We call this room the vault.”

  Inside the large room was a mountain of neatly stacked bills, reaching as high as the ceiling and as far back as twenty metres.

  “What is this stuff?” Milo asked.

  “This is what our money used to be, they’re called dollars.”

/>   “Is this paper?”

  “Although it was sometimes referred to as ‘paper money’, it’s actually made from cotton.”

  The group seemed oddly fascinated by it. Mara waited by the door as Alex and Milo slowly walked in and inspected the outdated currency. Alex picked up a stack of bound hundred dollar bills. The yellow wrapper, which bundled the bills together, had the value of $10,000 stamped on it. Alex’s eyes scanned the room. Based on the height and depth of the large mountain of money, she determined there was well over three trillion dollars there.

  “Why do you have all this?” she asked.

  “A long time ago, when the banking system failed, a new currency was introduced – the unit. It was a unifying global currency that made these old bills obsolete. Once everything switched over to this new eCurrency, large stashes of these bills were forgotten about or abandoned. We happen to be scavengers, utilizing anything as a resource, so we collected as much as we could and brought it back here.”

  “What do you use it for?” Milo asked.

  “We burn it.”

  “So was this a lot of money back in the day?”

  “With this amount of money, you could probably buy an entire country.”

  The tour continued. They arrived at the next room and Mara flicked on the light switch. A large warehouse-sized room lit up, displaying rows upon rows of books. The expression on Alex and Milo’s faces showed they were genuinely impressed, which was a difficult thing to do.

  “You guys are looking at the largest known library in the world, thought to be the last of its kind. Inside you’ll find periodicals, medical journals, text books, fiction, non-fiction, maps, you name it.”

  “Wow, this stuff belongs in a museum,” Alex commented.

  “Speaking of old documents, I brought the papers from Mara’s apartment.”

  “You did? Why didn’t you tell me before?” Alex said.

  “I forgot. Besides, there wasn’t really an opportune time before.”

  Milo reached into his bag and handed the papers to Mara. “I believe these belong to you.”

  Mara had a peculiar look on her face as she studied the lost documents.

  “I have no recollection of these,” she said. “You say these were found in the floor of my old apartment?”

  “That’s what I’m told.”