The Disparate One

The glowing moon rose from the horizon as their ambulance drove through the expressway. Soothsayer yawned as he stared at the barely lit road in front of them. Keeping his head on his hand, he glanced at Ray who he told to get some rest. Ray was curled on his seat, facing the window. He didn’t make sudden movements despite being fully awake.

He was pretending to be asleep because he really couldn’t shut his eyes. Soothsayer’s voice saying that he would be betrayed persisted in his mind. He kept his legs close to him, hugging it, as he stared at his own reflection on his window, seeing himself in the darkness.

At first, he was glad that he would get out of the facility alive, but through betrayal? Who would betray him? Could it be someone from the facility? Himself? Cal? What if Soothsayer was the traitor and he was bringing him to the facility where Cal was waiting for him?

After another hour rolling through the asphalt, Ray pretended to have woken up, yawning and stretching his arms out. He scratched his head when he looked at Soothsayer who showed no signs of fatigue. He wondered if there was more to be told which Soothsayer couldn’t. He glanced out of the window, admiring the moon.

A few minutes later, they pulled to a ramp and parked in front of a diner. Their ambulance squeezed through between the trucks. There were some drivers drinking coffee on the bar when they walked in and found themselves a seat at the corner. Thankfully, no one noticed that one of them was wearing a white general uniform, together with someone who was oddly wearing an eye mask.

After giving their orders, Ray calmly tapped his fingers on the table, staring out the window, recalling their recent conversations. He never expected Oxford to befriend someone who worked for the management, the management who separated him from his predecessor, the management who created this prison deep under the earth. He turned his gaze at Soothsayer who sat straight across him, suspiciously staring at him.

Ray opened his mouth, he decided to leave some of the questions he continued to drag to be answered by Soothsayer.

“Why did you join the management in the first place?”

The question made Soothsayer blink curiously at him.

“Because someone needed me.”

“Who?”

“Micro.”

Ray turned his eyes away when he heard the name. He sighed at his reflection on the window, seeing himself wearing the uniform which he still couldn’t figure out why he was wearing it.

“What did he need you for?” Ray resumed.

“To be prepared.”

“For?”

Soothsayer opened his mouth for a second but instantly shut it. It wasn’t because of their waiter coming back to serve their dinner, it was because of how he remembered everything that had happened and would happen during his lifetime. None of them touched their plates, both were eagerly exchanging curious gazes. Ray raised a brow, awaiting Soothsayer’s answer.

“A once-in-a-lifetime event,” said Soothsayer nonchalantly.

Ray retracted to his seat, the red leather squeaking on his pants. It was not exactly what he was hoping to hear, but at least it was answered, vaguely. As they ate their meals, Ray brought up another different question.

“Why are you helping me?”

Soothsayer was swirling his spoon around his soup, when he heard the question, his swirling gradually slowed to a halt. Images of Oxford pressing on his wound flashed before his eyes. The way Oxford said it as he answered the same question. He firmly looked at Ray, keeping his composure, and said:

“It’s the right thing to do.”

Ray stopped asking questions in the middle of their dinner when Soothsayer began refusing to answer. He couldn’t tell whether he was enjoying the soup too much or he just couldn’t say much, scared it might trigger something worse. Soothsayer dropped a few large bills on their check before heading back to the ambulance.

Ray kept the same curious look when they drove away, returning to the endless road, returning to staring at their own reflections on the glass. Ray tried to stay awake but his eyes overpowered him.

He woke up the next day when the ambulance sent him off from his seat, banging his head on the ceiling. Soothsayer didn’t chuckle. Ray quickly strapped his seat belt back on as he scratched his head, hoping his hand won’t be covered by his blood. Bright, warm light shone through the windows when Ray darted at the driver.

“You knew that would happen, didn’t you?”

Soothsayer nodded when they turned to the corner and he suddenly reached something from the dashboard, flicking a switch which activated their sirens. The ambulance’s wheels screeched as Soothsayer did heavy maneuvers. Ray’s mind was still getting back to its place when he looked around, seeing people on the streets running away. They were shouting and shoving themselves into nearby buildings.

Ray looked ahead and witnessed a pair of buildings on fire, one of which collapsed on itself, producing a giant wave of dust cloud consuming the nearby streets, it barrelled towards them.

“Get your head down, now!” ordered Soothsayer.

Ray ducked under the dashboard immediately and covered his head with his hands when he heard something shattered and hit and rolled on his back. It fell to the floor in front of him. Ray’s eyes widened when he stared at the giant rock of concrete, its reinforced steel poking out.

The engine began to roar through the darkening environment as the dust got thicker by every inch. Soothsayer turned on the vehicle’s headlights when he gripped Ray, keeping him in his place. Their ambulance swayed through the scattered and raining debris. One of its wheels hissed loudly a second later. The compartment inside was filled with noises of debris banging on the outer shell of the vehicle.

Their ambulance jumped over a hump, sending both of them an inch off their seats before crashing down. Another tire hissed. Ray gripped the seat for his life when Soothsayer slammed the breaks, put the gears into reverse, and stepped on the gas. The engine roared once more as they smashed through a building’s window and screeched to a halt. The engine gave its last cough and finally died.

Soothsayer jumped out of the cabin and moved to the back, opening the doors. Ray was still shaking from the sudden turn of events when he hastily followed. He watched Soothsayer grab a crowbar from one of the cabinets and jab its end on the floor. He pried a slab and opened it fully with his hands.

Ray lifted himself by his toes and lifted his chin. He saw a small compartment filled with memory chips and an oddly looking helmet. Soothsayer blew on the helmet before bringing it out. Suddenly, he threw it at Ray who thankfully had the instinct to catch it.

“To bring Oxford’s memories back,” Soothsayer explained as he jumped off the vehicle.

“This is where you insert the chip,” he pointed at the tiny slot at the back.

Ray blinked confusedly at him and wondered how he found out he had Oxford’s chip. Was he watching him all this time?

“H-hey… how do you know I have Oxford’s... chip?” Ray’s voice slowly silenced. He looked at himself. He clicked his tongue and shook his head.

Soothsayer continued to walk through the lobby, turning to a bar where few belongings were scattered throughout the place. He headed straight behind the bar where he removed one of the bottles on the shelf. Ray caught a glimpse of the bottle, it was the exact same one that they had been drinking earlier.

Ray heard a deep bang and found a door forming in the middle of the shelf of alcohol. He stared at it as it slid inward and Soothsayer grabbed a pair of flashlights underneath the bar. He threw one at Ray who apparently didn’t catch it. The device smacked his head. Ray rubbed his head when he picked up the flashlight and followed Soothsayer walking to the secret door.

Both of them turned their lights on when the door closed behind them.

In front of them was a long staircase that led down. There were light fixtures on the wall, following the stairs, however, it was covered in dust and a thick sheet of spiderwebs. Their footsteps echoed around the shaft. He gripped the helmet as he could while Soothsayer calmly walked silently. At the bottom of the staircase was a platform that led to a small hall to the elevators.

This sight somehow reminded Ray of the facility. Same positioning of the elevators, alternate to one another.

“Are you afraid of heights?” Soothsayer suddenly asked when he stepped into one of the dark elevators.

Ray hesitated to step inside upon hearing the question. He looked frightened immediately.

“I-I don’t know…” whispered Ray, gulping, hoping Soothsayer won’t play a trick on him.

Soothsayer stood still inside the small space, staring at Ray, waiting for him to step inside. When he finally did, he inched towards the buttons and pressed one of them. The lift creaked and the cables wobbled. Aside from the heart-stopping movements and noises, nothing happened.

Soothsayer looked at Ray whose heavy breathing was audible. He was pressing himself on one of the corners, gripping the railings.

“I hope you aren’t.”

Soothsayer suddenly smashed his hand on the wall and the steel cables attached to the elevator snapped. Ray’s consciousness was left floating in the middle of the air when the elevator shot down with immense speed. Sparks from the guide rails glowed around them when Soothsayer pressed the emergency stop button.

The elevator screeched to a steady stop just an inch before hitting the pit. Soothsayer somehow managed to keep his composure while Ray was shaking on the floor, hugging the helmet, not caring if his body got hurt.

“Relax… you’ll get used to it, eventually,” stated Soothsayer before walking out into a dark, large space.

Ray huffed at him when his knees felt like Jell-O when he stood up. Stepping out of the deadly ride, he was awed at the sight around him. There were giant chandeliers hung from above. A few information desks. A long line of ticket booths and wooden benches. All were covered with a sheet of plastic. There were unique and quaint decorations placed throughout the place. Paintings from the medieval age and dark age.

Looking at the far front of the area were four large letters that sent shivers down Ray’s spine.

S.P.O.T.

He heard Soothsayer sighed nearby, staring in the same direction.

Passing the cloudy ticket booths, they arrived on a dark platform where few old-fashioned steam locomotives were slowly deteriorating. Ray felt unfortunate to see such a masterpiece abandoned to eat dust.

After seeing all these things, he had an idea of where they were and Soothsayer confirmed that this place used to be filled with employees rushing to sweat their bodies off in the facility. Soothsayer and Ray separated, but not too far. Ray was admiring the colorful glitter of different tiles on the walls. He found a part where the tiles formed a text in gothic font.

𝕿𝕰𝕽𝕸𝕴𝕹𝕬𝕷 8.

It took him a minute or so to understand what it was written. Ray heard Soothsayer speak in the distance, he was balancing at the top of one of the engines.

“Terminal 8.”

Ray stared at the text for a few more minutes, placing his hand on the cold, glossy surface.

Ray was sitting on one of the nearby waiting benches, watching Soothsayer scan each locomotive lined up in front of him. Each had distinctive designs. He was told to wait for some reason. His eyes followed the other man around without having a single context of what he was doing. While he was waiting for Soothsayer to do something new, he imagined what this place would look like if it was never abandoned.

Based on the text’s font earlier, he assumed this was built somewhere in the middle ages, but something quite stood out from his idea, the steam locomotives, and the elevators, basically this entire place. He tapped his fingers on his lap when he jumped in his seat from the sudden ear-piercing hiss.

A large beam of yellowish light appeared from one of the awakening engines. Ray furrowed. Did A soothsayer really just wake up a train? He walked towards the noise where, upon squinting through the light, found Soothsayer pulling some levers above. While also holding what seemed to be a manual. Ray doubted they would reach the facility in one piece.

“Come on board! Use the bridge!” shouted Soothsayer, waving to the nearby structure connected.

Ray walked alongside the train where he found something glistening on the tracks. It was somewhat tangible. He kneeled and carefully reached for it. The glistening shattered by a ripple when his fingertip touched something wet. It was water. Utterly clean. He stared at the metal wheels, seeing a semi-transparent demarcation of water. Half of it was swimming.

Ray’s hand retreated instantly with a questioning look. He moved to the adjacent track and saw the same thing. This clarified that all the tracks were submerged. Why would there be water deep underground?

Ray glanced up to the ceiling arching around him. He saw no signs of leakage. The ceiling was built out of cement and thick bricks and metal beams. It looked like it could survive a powerful earthquake or a direct hit of a nuke.

The loud hiss made him jump again, reminding him of what he was about to do. He climbed up the stairs, crossed the bridge, and jumped to the engine where he met Soothsayer murmuring, eyes glued onto the page.

“Please tell me you know how to operate this,” Ray said, peeking out of the window, gazing at the distance between him and the platform, “There’s also water on the tracks, I think a few feet deep.”

“Hmm… well… It is an old place after all. Don’t worry. It’s not like it will derail us on our trip,” said Soothsayer calmly, keeping the manual in his hands when he turned one of the knobs.

Seconds later, the entire car shook. Ray nearly fell from his feet but luckily his left hand quickly clung onto the window frame. The train began to hiss in sequence when its wheels turned. The sound of splashing water echoed beneath them.

Soothsayer grinned at the walls of gauges in front of them, their needles twitching but not going over the red marker.

Must be good, he thought.

Ray sat next to the window as their locomotive slowly chugged around the terminal, going around the entire loop that either directed them to the tunnel or to do another loop. The tracks in the distance screeched and the water rippled on the vibration as it changed.

They entered the tunnel where the noise of the coughing engine intensified. The pipe at front spewed out smoke as Soothsayer put the engine at full speed, shoveling strange-looking stones into the furnace.

Ray carefully peeked out again, seeing the pilot shoveling water, forming a giant roaring wave, turning the locomotive into a ship. It reminded him of the time when they were on a cruise ship, peering over the railing on the bow.

Soothsayer did the same thing with the window on his side, it surprised Ray that the eye mask remained on his face.

“That’ll do the trick for the rest of the trip,” he said, throwing the manual back where he found it together with the shovel and plopped on the front seat.

Ray kept his gaze on Soothsayer who was looking out of the window. He thought about Soothsayer’s story on how he met Oxford. Then his own story on how he met Oxford. He sighed against the blowing wet wind.

Oxford. He continued to think about him. Not just him, but his colleagues, Fier, literally everyone in the facility. He was saddened to discover how they were being treated. Break a rule and you either lose your memories or be in someone else’s stomach. He felt empathic all of a sudden.

He assumed Soothsayer knew everything about the works of the management when he first joined them. He finally understood why. He joined the management to meet Oxford. To start a rebellion. To help him. Then leave him after all those years. Just to meet Ray. Though… for what?

Their locomotive pushed forward despite the sudden rise of water level, submerging half of the engine. Fortunately, the wheels remained on the tracks, the catch, they had to slow down.

No words were exchanged between them for an hour or so. Ray could tell their trip would last a day or so since their speed was dramatically slower than what he used with Oxford. The thought of getting hungry for the entire trip or getting bored didn’t come to his mind. He was focused on his rippling reflection on the water outside.

Thinking about Sion’s suspicions about him. Could he really be Micro? What would he feel if somehow that was right? Was he allowed to be happy that he built such a monumental feat, aka the facility? Or should he be ashamed of himself after discovering that he built a horrifying monumental feat, aka the facility?

He carefully brought out Oxford’s memory chip, figuring what could be in it aside from the memories he had with him. Could the answer be already in his hands? Now that he remembered where he found it, he was disappointed at himself for not putting Sion’s name on the search bar. Or better yet, his own name or Micro’s. He doubted nothing would come up.

He slid the chip back into his pocket before gradually dozing away in his seat, hugging the helmet.

The train was back to its maximum speed when the water level had decreased. Soothsayer remained in his calm state despite passing a particular area which brought horrifying memories.

He looked away from the endless sight of skeletons scattered on the tunnel, each bone waved with the water as they passed by. He kept his ears unblocked despite hearing the screams of past innocent souls being crushed by the power of the facility. He sighed when he gazed at Ray who was asleep. He brought out his phone and dialed some numbers. He raised it to his ears and spoke nonchalantly.

“He’s back.”