18 'The Wall of Calcutta'
After pulling myself out of the hell of a Nightmare i had, I realised it was already 5 in the morning- Meaning, I am near to be late reaching my destination.
I turned on my Pda, and found a bunch of messages from Ishan, each saying where i am right now.
"Damn it."
*Buzzz*
My phone buzzed all of a sudden, and this time it was Niloy's message that he can't find me at the Howrah Bridge.
"Poor man, you can find me there only if I am existing there.", I sighed.
Anyways, I answered the two about the situation and told them to wait for a while.
Hurried and Careless at my outfits as usual, I grabbed the clothes I got my hands on and popped out of the Hospital.
walking down an alleyway of governmental buildings, I found myself a levibike* from a closed rental shop's front; I should say I just grabbed the bike in a way called more badly as a theft.
Afterall, breaking through the systemized lock of a bike isn't a problem for a person like me anyways.
Building up speed through the long and clear underway, I opened the maps, and turned on the Localised position system*--
[Kolkata City, Kalyani Military District, Kolkata;
Population 6M, INCU government former HQ]*
A popout came out of the levibike's userscreen, telling me my location and the destination I want to set.
"Set Howrah's Tragic Bridge, Calcutta"
[Your Destination is set, Enjoy your ride.]
And with a thundering sound, the bike automatically increased it's speed, taking the advantage of the clear and unopposed route it had in the front of it.
To be said at basic, It was at auto-pilot.
Means, I really don't need to even steer or keep it steady.
So, I did what I do when I am above the dark tunnelstreets* of the Underground city- enjoying the light and appreciating the bright sky; glowing tauntingly in the hue of the burning Sun.
.
.
After burning the Hydroline in my bike for about a few minutes through the Military's residential roads, I finally reached the Wall of Bengal*- the Tsunami barrier of the Kolkata's upper-city.
High and steady, marked with the stubborn strips of time and repair- that's how it was before me for about a century now.
From my past life, to this life- This wall had a real impact on both.
Everything had a story, and so it had one.
In the midst of Reunification wars of 2301, I once came here in the Kolkata city- then, as a citizen of the Shanghai Government.
The wall was new then, bright like the daylight. When it was the sunset, the Western part of the wall made it early to set down the sun to it's sleep-
And I, then a mere youngster- fancied this thing to my heart.
.
.
I stopped the bike, and parked it beside the concrete road.
I had chosen a point where no gaurds were to stop me, nor a sentry was to pass from the wall in the dampest morning.
Looking at the top of the Wall- around 14 metres in height above my head; I heard the sound of the sea-- something which I was too familiar in my both lives.
I approached the wall, touching it's dusty and damp concrete structure- rugged and coarse, irregular to it's most.
"It should be near here."
My eyes ran around the wall, stopping at a bright red concrete block of the Wall, next to my position.
I reached that block, and scratched off the dirt gently off it's crust- revealing a letter 'S6' written in red, of the size of my palm.
'...Three, Four, Five...Six!', I counted the steps, taking my steps back from the wall.
"Here it should be.", I spoke out, partly in excitement; partly in hurry.
Six steps back from the wall was a rumble of concrete and rubbles, just a feet away from the road towards the Calcutta underway*.
I closed towards it, examining if I can really move that rubble by myself.
Fortunately enough, It was morning; and unfortunate enough- my one hand had a recent fracture.
'Heh...', I took a sigh, and pushed the rubble with my one hand.
.
.
With a Material scratching sound, the rubble moved and whatever under it was, was revealed.
-Guess what?
A square slab fixed on the concrete with a metal ring like thing attached to the top of it.
I knew what it was.
It was a smuggler's path to the other side of wall, or what they better say as the ruins of the Old Calcutta- half submerged in sea, half in death and misery of tsunami-ridden infrastructure.
Smugglers used these type of routes in the Saggittarian occupation times. In the current times of INCU's re-libetation, Many of these were closed for security purposes- but as some were too uncommon and unknown by people, some routes like these still survived till today.
.
.
I pulled the metal-ring up, with which, the square slab came up, revealing a line of stairs going down towards a dark end--
Lighting the flashlight fixed on my jacket, I threw a Glow-beetle* down the dark and deep stairs with a seemingless end.
The way lit up with the dim but considerable light of the Glow-beetle, which now made my vision easy to see through the Dark path.
"So, Here it is- intact, even after all these years.", I murmmered; and took a good look around me for any living human.
It was clear.
I went down the stairs, the way closing as I get down completely.
The Darkness, was suddenly gone- as a strip of white light was now going by both sides of the stair-wall, which seemed to go down for at least another Ten or Thirteen steps at it's most.
On the walls, I can see scribbles of the smugglers who passed down here, going in and out in the chaos of Wars and death.
The smugglers', which were then- fair enough to be said as- the 'arteries of human trade' in the Dark era of Alien Regimes.
After going through another few steps, I found my Glow-beetle, and took it back into my pocket.
An useful gadget it was, indeed- works both as a light, as well as the indicator of any toxicity hidden in the darkness.
Expensive it was indeed, but I well think it's worth can be considered just by it's price.
As I got down a bit more, I reached a corridor like structure, more like the street-tunnels of of the Calcutta's EndoCity*.
