Hades. The First Steps (hadesjan cycle Book 1) Read online

  “I know that it is important honey, but maybe sometimes it is better to let go a bit.”

  “No! Every, as you call it, „letting go” is a higher risk for the employees. They are risking their life and limb. Do you remember that slide in the fourth shaft?”

  “The one in which two hundred and thirty people died?”

  “Yes, that one. Do you know what exactly happened?”

  “An explosion of fossil gases, some strange mixture, which the sensors failed to detect.”

  “That was the official version by the members of the Central Coalfield. In fact, some motherfucker was bribed to agree to allow further exploitation of ventilation pumps and air generators. They should have gotten rid of this junk ages ago. I personally signed a request for that. When work was in full swing, this piece of crap broke, back-up systems didn’t work, and two hundred and thirty people choked to death. Just because some idiot wanted to become a little bit richer. If only I could lay my hands on the motherfucker!” Igor was seething.

  “Accidents will happen and people will die in them. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

  “Yes, I know. But I can make sure that such accidents will never happen on my shift.”

  “Has it ever crossed your mind that thanks to that steadfast position of yours we may have been excluded?”

  Igor looked at his wife cautiously. “Us, excluded? By whom?” he asked surprised.

  “And when was the last time we went to a company party?” she replied with a question.

  “Vova Rumin’s birthday party!” he exclaimed without hesitation.

  “I’m not talking about a private party. Give me a company-related event.”

  There was silence. Igor was going through a list of parties in his head.

  “Tau Consortium’s fortieth anniversary party!”

  “Wrong example.”

  “Why is it wrong?”

  “During the president’s speech your headache started and we had to leave twenty minutes into the party. Come on, give me another example,” his wife was nagging.

  “Opening of the fifth borehole!”

  “Come on! You became so drunk that you took the doorkeeper for the president, then shoved a fire extinguisher on the bellhop’s back and chased him forty floors up, screaming something about a dust alarm. Fortunately for him, the guy was a marathon runner and lived!”

  “Oh come on, stop picking on me!”

  “I haven’t even started! Can you tell me who planted a bomb inside Rino’s, Unity foreman’s, company car?”

  “It wasn’t a bomb, but a small rocket. The jerk forced all his employees to work ‘rocket fast’ as he used to say.”

  “A rocket or a bomb, it doesn’t matter. Since the incident everybody has been calling him Rocket Rin. How fondly do you think he remembers you?”

  “He deserved that!” Igor spitted out.

  “It doesn’t matter if he deserved it or not. It means that your standards are too high.”

  “My standards, too high? All workers from my shift would follow me to the ends of the earth and you know it.”

  “Don’t you think this might be the problem? I know that fellow workers respect and admire you. Which is great, because you have deserved their respect. The problem is that you are not their fellow worker anymore. You are a cog in the machine of the big mining company management. I just hope that one day this cog will not sting a big fish in the ass and this person will not try to get rid of the thorn in their flesh ASAP.”

  “I am what I am, and I will not sell my soul! Not for all the money of all the corporations combined!” he screamed the words out loud. His wife took his face into her hands and moved her face close to his. For a moment they looked into each other’s eyes.

  “I know, my dear. That’s why I married you.”

  They were interrupted by an alarmingly loud signal of the intercom emitted from above the door and a warning yellow light, which meant danger.

  “This is the Military Leadership of the Orbital Station. Safety procedures have been violated. The whole unit needs to be evacuated immediately. In five minutes paralyzing gas will be sprayed. I repeat: five minutes, counting from the command „Now,” paralyzing gas will be sprayed into the ventilation systems. You must all proceed to the emergency exits. NOW!”

  Igor opened the door of the airlock without hesitation. He shook his petrified woman’s shoulders.

  “Nadia! We have about a minute to take all the necessary stuff with us. Take the money and jewelry!” he ordered. Then he buckled a belt with micro-tools around his waist and made sure he had the documents in one of his pockets. He looked carefully around the cabin. Then he took out his daughter’s anorak from the locker, put it on the child and pressed the metal snap buttons. “Vierochka, listen to me. In a moment we will get out into the corridor and we’ll walk to the big door where you liked to play.”

  “All right, daddy,” her big round dark eyes were looking at him with confidence.

  “Whatever happens, stick to your mother! Don’t leave her even for a second!”

  “Okay, daddy,” the girl replied automatically. “Can Kirk go with us?”

  Igor tried hard not to swear. How for God’s sake could he have forgotten about her favorite toy? The green winged crocodile was lying on the lower berth. He gave it to his daughter. “Keep it tight darling. If you lose it, you will never find your crocodile again.”

  “Never?”

  “Never. The end. Finito. Game over,” he quoted his daughter’s favorite sentence, which meant the ultimate end of something.

  “Okay,” the child promised.

  The corridors were bathed in the orange light of the alarm signalers, and fluorescent indicators of emergency exits glowed on the floor. Overwhelmed by panic, curled up people were sneaking around. Sporadic crying could be heard through the loud wailing of the alarm signal. There was no sign of crew members anywhere.

  “The rats have left the sinking ship,” Igor concluded. He grabbed his wife’s hand, cuddled the child, and, with a determined expression on his face, started walking. Some other runner bumped into him, but just bounced off his massive back and swayed backward. “What a moron! Watch where you’re going, dork!” Igor murmured quietly enough for his wife not to hear. He knew how she hated swearing.

  He analyzed the remaining route to the exit. They had already made sixty feet of the main corridor without problems, then turned right to reach a small hall with a panoramic pane of technical glass. Now the window was covered with an armored curtain, which made it impossible to see what was happening outside. On both ends of the hall were emergency stairs leading to the technical level, where evacuation capsules were located along the walls, and, at the very end, their main destination: the gate. A crowd of panic-stricken people with horror on their faces filled the whole space. The human swarm was squirming, wriggling, pushing and shoving.

  “I am scared!” Nadia screamed into his ear.

  “We must go this way. We won’t make it on time to the other gate, it’s on the other side of the hull and for the crew only. But, to hell with them! No one is controlling this mess. We need to get through. We have three minutes left.”

  “I trust you, baby!”

  “That’s great, because I’ve almost crapped my pants.”

  “You?”

  “Yup. Now go or we’ll be late. It’s not nice to be late after such an invitation!”

  Fully aware of the danger and the time limit, he pushed his way through the crowd. The mindless mass was parting to both sides, pushed by his massive body. Two cunning passengers were smart enough to stand right behind him. They put their hands on him, supporting him with their own energy in critical moments when his body mass was not enough to move forward. Their problems started on the stairs; it was here that they wasted most of their precious time. Physical power was not enough; they had to adjust their movement to the slow pace of others. On the lowest step, some people fell down stopping the slow march completely. When they finally reached the last step, only one minute remained.

  “Let’s stop for a moment,” Nadia gasped. “Vierochka, how are you feeling?”

  “All right, mommy!”

  “Aren’t you scared?”

  “I cannot be scared. I have to take care of Kirk.”

  Igor looked at the two passengers who helped him to get through. Looking at him were the faces of two young men, practically still boys. They were both wearing the symbol of a silver sprocket on their collars.

  “Technical school graduates?”

  “Yeah,” they confirmed gasping for breath.

  “Okay guys, no time for introductions. Thanks for the help there.” Guzenko glanced at his watch. “We have about a minute to go sixty yards. We can do it!”

  “Unless they have a different time zone here or your watch is slow,” one of the boys replied with a grim voice. He pointed to the ventilation grills near the floor. “If I remember my chemistry classes well, the pinkish vapor is the standard paralyzing gas of the InCorp.”

  “Damn it, Pavel, you had an F at the end of the semester. Are you sure?” the other boy didn’t look convinced.

  “Go closer and sniff it. We’ll see if you pass out.”

  The three men looked around at each other.

  “Any suggestions?” Igor asked.

  “Let’s get the fuck out of here!”

  “Guys, run!!!” They turned to the gate they could see at the end of the long corridor.

  “Take your daughter on your shoulders. The gas is the most intense near the floor. It goes up slowly. If the girl inhales this stuff…,” an unspoken threat was left hanging.

  “Anything else?” Nadia asked looking at her husband, who had just easily shoved the child onto his shoulders.

  “Let’s run sticking to the middle of the corridor, we have the biggest chances to survive there. Theoretically, this gas is not lethal, but it is really toxic and it takes a long time to get over inhaling it.”

  “Move it!” Igor ordered.

  He started to walk quickly from the first steps he took, holding his wife’s waist with his right hand. The people running behind them had the impression that the woman was being carried, rather than running herself. Occasionally, she managed to touch the floor with her feet. They were lucky because the gas had been filling the servicing channel under the floor for a few seconds before it moved upwards. After a dozen of steps, their ankles were deep in vapor. The people running closer to the walls started coughing. They were the first to stagger and then fall to the floor with their mouths full of vomit.

  The gate was closer with every step, but more and more people were fainting in spasms. About ten yards before reaching the gate, they smelt the scent of almonds. With a hacking cough and their eyes stinging, they reached the brightly lit arrival hall.

  “Stop! Don’t move!” a raspy voice clearly accustomed to giving orders halted them in their place. “Hey you, big guy! Put the girl on the ground.”

  “What’s going on?” Nadia asked. “My eyes hurt and I can’t see anything.”

  “Easy, honey, the gas has irritated your eyes. It’ll be ok in a few minutes,” Guzenko replied, lowering his daughter. “Baby, are you all right?”

  “Daddy, you were running so fast! Can we play like that again?”

  “I’d rather not repeat it,” the young man moaned.

  “Shut your mouths, assholes! You’ve been arrested and you are under the military Fleet supervision. Got it, morons?”

  Their eyes were watering less and less, and after a few blinks the dark shapes started changing into military uniforms.

  “Hey, big guy! Pass the kid to her mother and whizz along the blue line. And the lady will move along the red one.”

  “Wait a minute! What lines for fuck’s sake?” Igor was irritated. “I am a civilian worker on a contract. I’m not subjected to any military jurisdiction. I have my professional privileges granted and I want them to be respected.”

  “Professional privileges? Picky, ever heard about something like that?”

  “Yeaaah, Steve.” The soldier’s face spoke volumes about the emptiness of his head and the rare presence of flashes of independent thought inside it, which he hardly ever experienced. “I guess what he’s saying is he and the chick are exclusive.”

  “Hey, what is this deviation called? Let me think…ah, yes…FAMILY!” both of them burst out laughing meanly. “Don’t worry, they’ll treat your illness quickly here! Ha ha!”

  It was too much for Igor. He threw himself onto one of the soldiers. He hit him hard with his fist, sending the guy to the floor. He didn’t manage to do anything else, because the other uniformed man beat his knees with a shocker.

  “No!” Nadia screamed, trying to prevent another blow.

  Next, the soldier struck his hands, with which he was covering his head. An electric load from the shocker paralyzed Guzenko’s muscles. The man was lying motionless, and only his eyes showed the fury inside. The wife covered him with her body, as if it could protect her husband against further blows. The uniformed beast grabbed her by the hair and dragged her away, making her fall on her knees.

  “Hot blooded, I like those,” he looked in the eyes of the grounded man. “Tonight I’ll introduce her to my personal shocker!”

  He started to drag the furiously fighting woman on the floor in the direction of the red line. Other soldiers were laughing, pointing them to others and screaming some encouraging words. Then, a terrible ear-piercing shriek could be heard. The child, seeing the tortures of her loved ones, became hysterical and started squealing rather like a wild animal than a human being. The girl was standing in place, hugging herself with her shaking hands, madness in her eye.

  “And why are you bleating, you stupid brat? We’ll find you an uncle to take care of you soon,” hissed a soldier through his broken teeth, trying to keep her mother under control.

  Just when he thought he had overcome her resistance, the situation became a little bit more complicated.

  “Stop, you motherfucker!” he heard a calm voice.

  The howl of protest came from one of the young guys who ran after the couple with the child. The young man leaned over Picky, who was still recovering from the blow. He relieved him of the heavy pulse rifle. “Thanks man. My head is killing me,” the soldier on the floor moaned.

  “No problem. The pain will go away soon.”

  “Yeah? Do you have any drugs with you?” the soldier asked.

  “Yes, I do,” replied the boy, hitting his temple with the butt of the rifle. Then he strapped the belt over his shoulder skillfully and wrapped it around his forearm. He took a proper shooting position and pointed his gun at Steve. The hall fell silent.

  “Let the lady go, you dirty scum!” he ordered.

  “Wait, man, why so nervous? Let’s talk!” the other Star Trooper was trying to calm the boy down.

  “Let her go. Now!” he heard a command.

  “Okay,” the soldier put his hands up.

  The released woman got on her feet, ran towards her daughter, and embraced her strongly. Then, they both rushed towards Guzenko lying on the ground. The man was still unable to control his body movements. All he could do was whisper some words of comfort to his ladies and passively watch the goings-on.

  The buzz and noise in the arrivals hall stopped immediately. They were being watched by a few dozen olive-green-clad Star Troopers, and a mere dozen of the more fortunate survivors, who were lucky enough to get out of the gassed ship. The only person who reacted was a massive man holding the rank of sergeant.

  “Stay in your positions!” he ordered and moved a few steps forward.

  “Don’t come too near, Sergeant. I can accidentally pull the trigger,” the young man said. “I’ve sniffed some of that paralyzing gas of yours on the ship and I can’t fully control my hands. You might be the victim of an unfortunate accident.”

  “But you are in no danger, young man,” the sergeant hastened to say. “Those two idiots most certainly abused their powers. They will be punished for that!” he looked at his soldiers. “Or you know what? Just shoot them!”

  “Excuse me?” the fresh tech school graduate was flabbergasted.

  “Go on, shoot! You’ll do me a favor. I’ve always had problems with those morons. I know I’ll have some paperwork to do but the discipline in the company will get better for sure!”

  “But… Sergeant!” protested Steve, who turned pale.

  “What, you stupid prick? I think you were briefed about what was allowed and what wasn’t, weren’t you?” the sergeant glared at the subordinate.

  “Yes, sir! But….”

  “Don’t ‘but’ me, you idiot! If he doesn’t blow your brains out, I’ll take care of you myself!” the short officer promised threateningly. He turned to the young man who was still pointing his gun at one of his men.

  “It’s a waste of time to be standing here like that. In two hours I’ll be off duty and I could do with a good beer. Are you shooting or not?” he tilted his head to look at the gun carefully.

  “No!” the young man gave away his rifle. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t want to fall out of the frying pan and into the fire, Sergeant. I just couldn’t stand idly by looking at this mess.”

  “I do get your point. I also have some problems with that,” the soldier nodded his head understandingly.

  “You wouldn’t shoot anyway,” he added.

  “How do you know that?”

  “Can you see that switch on the right side of the butt, right above the trigger guard?” he pointed to a small switch with a green dot.

  “I can see it.”

  “It’s a safety. You cannot shoot if it’s in this position. You have to move it down, just like that. Now, you can see a red indicator, which means that the gun is unlocked and ready to shoot. Watch!”

  BOOM! A bang of a gunshot filled the room. The bullet hit Steve’s torso, which was protected by a bulletproof vest. The power of the shot lifted him up a few yards above the ground and threw him onto a wall. The limp body slid down to the ground.

  “And? Will you remember this lesson?”

  “Yes, I will.”