Now! I’m a Chief Digger, damn it!”
“Chief Digger 138?” Graham said.
The little man turned. His face was swollen, red and purple. He had a cut across one cheek.
“What happened to you?” Graham said.
“They beat me,” Chief Digger 138 said. “They threatened my family.”
“It’s okay,” Graham said. “It’s not your fault.”
“I told them what I told you,” Chief Digger 138 said. He addressed both Graham and Carlos. “Both of you.”
“Now they know there’s an exit tunnel?” Graham said.
“They already knew about it,” Chief Digger 138 said. “I could tell by the smiles on their faces. They already knew!”
“What do you mean they already knew?” Graham said.
“They’ve been gathering information about the surface for years,” Chief Digger 138 said. “Like our ancestors. Looking for weaknesses. Ways to exploit you. They’ve been studying you for years. Maps. Everything they need to attack. They never intended for us to return to the surface.”
“Carlos told us,” Graham said. “They’re going to use the diggers to sink our cities.”
Chief Digger 138’s face screwed up and he beat at the prison door again.
“They don’t stand a chance,” Graham said. “Not against our modern weapons.”
“Are they designed to fight underground creatures?” Chief Digger 138 said.
“No,” Graham said.
“Then what makes you think they’ll be effective against us?” Chief Digger 138 said. “They’ll think they’re natural disasters, nothing more.”
“We have to get out of here,” Graham said. “We have to stop them.”
“How?” Carlos said. “I’ve been in here twenty years. There’s no way out.”
Stray stones rattled across the floor and bumped against walls and their shoes. The room felt like it was shaking.
“What’s going on?” Graham said, pressing himself against the prison door.
“It’s the far wall,” Chief Digger 138 said. “It’s about to blow!”
“What do you mean it’s about to-?” Graham said.
Boom! A rush of small rocks and dust descended like a curtain. The rumbling had stopped, and when it began to settle they could make out a large square-shaped shadow with a few bumps on it. A dancing ball of light grew larger as it moved toward them.
“There might not be a way out of here,” Chief Digger 138 said. “But someone can make a way in.”
The dust settled, revealing Chief Digger 138’s wife and kids straddling a digger.
“You stole it?” Chief Digger 138 said.
“No,” Chief Digger’s wife said. “We just borrowed it.”
They beamed with big grins.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
After three hundred years, today would mark the crowning achievement of all their hard work. His engineers had backward engineered the power converter with ease and assembled their own. Innovation might not be their forte, but copying and improving on an old idea? That was easy.
The guards brought out the power generators and assembled them in long lines throughout the town. They were bizarre devices, something Carlos cooked up years earlier. Someone would sit on it and pump a pair of peddles around in a circle, generating power. This power was then funneled into the diggers via cables. A pair of guards were in charge of each set of cables to ensure they unwound without kinks or blockages.
Leader stood on a castle balcony overlooking the town square. The locals were packed in, watching him.
“Brothers and sisters, today we shall take our rightful place up on the surface,” Leader said.
He paused, expecting them to cheer. None did.
“This is what we and our ancestors have been striving for our whole lives,” he said. “This is our moment to rise from the depths and continue our plans for domination!”
The people had blank expressions. The look of the dumb masses. They’d spent too long staring at blank dirt walls. Leader wished he could give them the vision his eyes saw, of the little man reigning supreme over the Surfacers. Didn’t
“Chief Digger 138?” Graham said.
The little man turned. His face was swollen, red and purple. He had a cut across one cheek.
“What happened to you?” Graham said.
“They beat me,” Chief Digger 138 said. “They threatened my family.”
“It’s okay,” Graham said. “It’s not your fault.”
“I told them what I told you,” Chief Digger 138 said. He addressed both Graham and Carlos. “Both of you.”
“Now they know there’s an exit tunnel?” Graham said.
“They already knew about it,” Chief Digger 138 said. “I could tell by the smiles on their faces. They already knew!”
“What do you mean they already knew?” Graham said.
“They’ve been gathering information about the surface for years,” Chief Digger 138 said. “Like our ancestors. Looking for weaknesses. Ways to exploit you. They’ve been studying you for years. Maps. Everything they need to attack. They never intended for us to return to the surface.”
“Carlos told us,” Graham said. “They’re going to use the diggers to sink our cities.”
Chief Digger 138’s face screwed up and he beat at the prison door again.
“They don’t stand a chance,” Graham said. “Not against our modern weapons.”
“Are they designed to fight underground creatures?” Chief Digger 138 said.
“No,” Graham said.
“Then what makes you think they’ll be effective against us?” Chief Digger 138 said. “They’ll think they’re natural disasters, nothing more.”
“We have to get out of here,” Graham said. “We have to stop them.”
“How?” Carlos said. “I’ve been in here twenty years. There’s no way out.”
Stray stones rattled across the floor and bumped against walls and their shoes. The room felt like it was shaking.
“What’s going on?” Graham said, pressing himself against the prison door.
“It’s the far wall,” Chief Digger 138 said. “It’s about to blow!”
“What do you mean it’s about to-?” Graham said.
Boom! A rush of small rocks and dust descended like a curtain. The rumbling had stopped, and when it began to settle they could make out a large square-shaped shadow with a few bumps on it. A dancing ball of light grew larger as it moved toward them.
“There might not be a way out of here,” Chief Digger 138 said. “But someone can make a way in.”
The dust settled, revealing Chief Digger 138’s wife and kids straddling a digger.
“You stole it?” Chief Digger 138 said.
“No,” Chief Digger’s wife said. “We just borrowed it.”
They beamed with big grins.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
After three hundred years, today would mark the crowning achievement of all their hard work. His engineers had backward engineered the power converter with ease and assembled their own. Innovation might not be their forte, but copying and improving on an old idea? That was easy.
The guards brought out the power generators and assembled them in long lines throughout the town. They were bizarre devices, something Carlos cooked up years earlier. Someone would sit on it and pump a pair of peddles around in a circle, generating power. This power was then funneled into the diggers via cables. A pair of guards were in charge of each set of cables to ensure they unwound without kinks or blockages.
Leader stood on a castle balcony overlooking the town square. The locals were packed in, watching him.
“Brothers and sisters, today we shall take our rightful place up on the surface,” Leader said.
He paused, expecting them to cheer. None did.
“This is what we and our ancestors have been striving for our whole lives,” he said. “This is our moment to rise from the depths and continue our plans for domination!”
The people had blank expressions. The look of the dumb masses. They’d spent too long staring at blank dirt walls. Leader wished he could give them the vision his eyes saw, of the little man reigning supreme over the Surfacers. Didn’t
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