1000 Feet Under

“Faust, hurry! We’re gonna miss The Lift!” Maldi scampered across the cramped dirt path, dodging limbs and bags in every direction, all the while pulling her less-enthusiastic brother behind her. 

The air was steaming hot just like any other day, and Maldi’s cooling patches were starting to lose their effect. She made a mental note to change them once she got to school. 

People grumbled as Maldi squeezed her way to the front of the crowd, waving her hand at the officer who was about to close the heavy metal gate to a giant cage. 

“Wait! Two more!” she yelled. 

The officer kept a stern face and stretched out a hand. 

“ID,” he commanded.

Maldi fished through her pockets, pulling out her Student ID along with her brother’s.

The officer scanned the cards under a device.

“Maldi Fisches, 11. Elementary No. 6. Ground 13. Cleared.” a mechanical voice beeped. 

“Faust Fisches, 8. Elementary No. 3. Ground 13. Cleared.”

The officer nodded.

“Don’t be late next time,” he warned.

“Yessir,” Maldi answered, hurrying onto The Lift.

The children in the cage, about 30, felt themselves travel through the layers of the Earth. Then, it came to a stop.

“Ground 13,” the voice spoke again. “350 feet below surface. 45°C. Please remember to equip with cooling patches.”

With that, the gates screeched open, revealing a short pathway to multiple flat, one-story white buildings. 

Maldi walked towards a building with the number six painted on the door, waving goodbye to her brother who walked towards an identical building with the number three.

She bumped into her friend Yumi, who was buried nose deep in a book again.

Maldi rolled her eyes and leaned over her shoulder.

“Whatcha' reading?” 

Yumi looked over at Maldi with an excited look and sparkles in her eyes.

“This awesome fiction book about what people thought life would have been like before The Heat! It’s suuuper interesting. And funny. Look, here it says there used to be miles and miles and miles of water. Like, miles and miles and miles! And that’s not all, the water contained salt too!”

“Pffft,” Maldi giggled. “The people who wrote this must be crazy! Where would all that water even come from?”

“I know right?” Yumi chattered on, “Maybe if we had even a quarter of that amount, we wouldn’t need our injections anymore.” She looked sadly at the red mark on her arm. 

Maldi laughed and patted Yumi on the back.

“What else does the book say?” she questioned.

Yumi beamed, having forgotten about the injections.

“Well, apparently, they talked about this thing called sky, and mountai-”

“Yumi! Maldi! Hurry up!” their teacher stood at the doorway of their school.

Once Maldi entered the building, she waited in line to renew her cooling patches, then headed into the classroom. As she settled down, the teacher began the lesson.

“Okay students, let’s start off the day with History. Can anyone tell me why we are currently living underneath the surface of the Earth like we are today?”

A student beside Maldi raised her hand. The teacher nodded at her.

“It’s because of The Heat. The Heat is what is making us live in the Earth’s crust.”

“Good. Does anyone care to explain what exactly is The Heat?”

This time, Maldi raised her hand.

“It’s because of something we call “The Change of Climate”, caused by us humans. The major causes of The Change of Climate include rapidly increasing temperatures in the last 200 years, deforestation, overpopulation, the ozone layer depletion, and water pollution.”

“Perfect.” the teacher agreed, “Yumi, mind going more in-depth of some of what Maldi just said?”

“Because of all the greenhouse gases building up in the atmosphere, the earth’s temperature was rising, which was called ‘Global Warming’. And we kept cutting down trees, which were supposedly tall blocks of wood that provided us with oxygen.” Yumi recited.

The teacher nodded. 

“Very good. Exactly. That is why we have resorted to living underground and avoiding the scorching heat from atop. This is also why we must apply cooling patches on our vital points at all times to avoid any type of possible sickness or even death, if you go above Ground 3. The lack of water is what makes us need our daily injections, one every hour. As the human body is about 60% water, the injections are the only way to keep us healthy without draining our limited water supply.”

The teacher gestured toward a station towards the back of the room, where dozens of needles filled with a clear liquid laid prepared.

  “The Heat started roughly 200 years ago and definitely took us by surprise. As a result of this, almost 75% of the global population was completely wiped out, leaving only about 2.5 billion people left on the Earth. I’m sure all of you already know this, but can anyone tell me what all the pipes and vents located on every Ground does?”

Several hands shot up into the air. A single voice called out.

“They’re our lifeline! Even though we're living underground, we still need oxygen to breathe! The pipes suck in air from the surface and bring it now to us, the inner machines cool down the air and purify it, then the vent pumps out the air for us! Swoosh! Woosh! This is how we’re still alive! Yes, I know, I’m so smart. Praise me.” a blond-haired boy wore a big grin and jokingly stuck his nose high in the air. 

The teacher gave a small smile.

“Yes yes, Kyle, you are very intelligent. Now please sit down. Let us continue with our lesson.”

Maldi stepped into The Lift again with Faust. School had just ended, and they were on their way to see their father. 

Their underground living system went from Ground 1 to Ground 50, with a total depth of 2500 feet. Each Ground was roughly 50 feet high. 

From Ground 10 and above, people would have to wear protective equipment. All the schools were located from Ground 11 to 15. Offices and daily life took place in Ground 16 to 30. All their water, food rations, emergency supplies and such were stored from Ground 31 to 40. As for Ground 41 to 50… no one really knew what was there. Some say it’s a cemetery of some sorts, where they stored corpses. Others say it’s a lavish paradise only for high-ranking officials to enjoy.

“Ground 20. 1000 feet below surface. 23°C. Please remember to equip with cooling patches. Injection hour in 5 minutes.”

Maldi and Faust got off as hordes of people streamed in. They walked down a busy street lined with short, grey, stocky buildings that were identical. Entering one of those buildings, they greeted the women at the front and walked down a hallway.

“My beloved children! You’re finally here! It’s been years since I saw you guys!” Their father, a tall man with dark hair, dramatically embraced them. 

Maldi laughed while Faust squirmed in the hug. 

“It really hasn’t been that long, Da-”

BOOM. CRASH.

Maldi let out a yelp, looking around frantically, trying to find the source of the sudden noise.

Screams echoed from the streets, and their dad rushed out of the office with Maldi and Faust in tow. 

Horror.

Fear.

Panic.

Emotions flashed through Maldi’s body as she watched, paralyzed, the Ground above them caving down. 

Chaos.

People trampling over each other, trying to save themselves.

Hysteria.

Lost children in the crowd, sobbing for their parents.

Loss.

Bloodied bodies buried under hundreds of pounds of dirt, while loved ones screamed nearby, clawing through the soil in a feeble attempt to retrieve their bodies.

...what was happening? Maldi’s mind couldn’t understand. Their world faced disaster once… why did it have to happen again?

  There was a sound similar to one of a roaring beast, and Maldi barely had time to grab onto Faust’s hand before the Earth fell on her, burying her 1000 feet under.