2040

  "Gaberial Sanchez, what have you gotten yourself into?"

  She asked herself this question while sitting in the military tent just outside the Dungeon of New Midian. To say the last week had been eventful would have been an understatement on almost a biblical level. Since she signed the papers, it had been nearly nonstop.

  Upon signing the agreement with the still unnamed government operative at the time, she was allowed to contact the outside world. It turns out she had been held in seclusion for 23 days, and as the man indicated, quite the political storm was raging around her. The Federal Government was locked in battles with both internal and external organisations.

  The man only identified himself as Mr Grey. To be sure, it was a fake name, but that was the only thing he would respond to.

  The first thing she did when given access to a phone was to contact her supervisor/editor in the IPC. The entire group had been actively trying to find out where she was and what her condition was, and finally, being able to talk to her was a great relief to many. The IPC lawyers were in full litigation mode, fighting the US government for every scrap of information and access to her. They were supplied a copy of her agreement, though it was heavily redacted in many areas, which only increased the legal war waging in the background. The IPC was trying to allow her to give a full interview, but she was being heavily monitored and was only allowed to supply previously approved sound bites and answers to vetted questions.

  The First Amendment and freedom of the press were being fought for; she was a bystander to it for all she could do. She was unsure if she should cry or laugh at the irony. From just trying to report this story, she had become part of it in a most unexpected way. In the darkest times in the cell, she was forced to ask herself why she had gone. Was it for the story or her own vain glory?

  Next, she contacted her family, and before she knew it, everyone from her Abuela down was trying to talk to her. She had a large extended family, which was quite tedious as they all weighed in with their thoughts and suggestions. She knew it was from a place of love, but it still did not make it any more annoying to be put through. They had gathered at the Abuela's home and were awaiting news when she had called.

  She was not allowed to leave where she was placed for the moment, and her movements were heavily monitored and restricted. What she could do during this time was to use her journalist training and instincts to try to ascertain what they weren't telling her. It wasn't until the last few days that she had been returned to the encampment that she could learn even more. They had extended the exclusion zone as well. She had learned to spot unit patches by counting the Rangers, and one armoured brigade was here.

  Something had happened while she was locked away, which she already knew. Still, she had learned from contact with the outside world and overhearing some limited conversations is that the military had indeed taken some form of aggressive action. As to what she did not know, the results were not what they expected, and this had thrown off any further attempts until they understood more.

  She realised that the government was split into three broad camps. The first was to contain and study the location. It was made up mostly of scientists and those who believed they could control that place for their ends or just learn everything they could.

  Next, of course, were the military and hardline elements of the government that just wanted to bomb it out of existence. The type who flattened a place then salted the earth and called it peace. They had briefly taken charge and took some form of military action with the President's approval. She needed to discover what had happened and why they had suddenly backed off. It must have gone badly in a significant way.

  The final group was the largest, she believed, and was now in charge. They were, and we need to understand more, so there are no rush actions yet. She reasonably thought they had a strong military bent to them but were smart enough to know that they needed to know more before taking action. Too many unknowns were a dangerous thing.

  Once again, dressed in fatigues, she packed up her gear, ready to go back to the gateway. It was early morning, and she had just been fed military rations. It was not the best food in the world, but it filled you up and kept you going all day, so she was partly thankful for that. As far as she could see, all of her equipment had been returned to her undamaged, and she was packing up after checking everything over once more. They had also supplied her with energy bars and water canteens to help her through the day.

  Grey was around somewhere, and he had popped in to see her this morning while she was eating to confirm a few things. He had a list.

  The government wanted the full history of this place and more significant insights into what was running it. He, however, said something very strange to her, which he was still trying to understand. In the nearly nine hours of recording she had done in the first interview with the Keeper, there had been times when the audio and video had broken up and unwatchable. He did not elaborate on what sections they were, but she felt they were somehow important.

  "Ma'am, it's time to go." One of the soldiers guarding her popped his head into the tent and informed her.

  "Thanks. I am ready." She stood up and looked around the tent again to ensure she had everything before leaving the flap. Everywhere she went, she had an escort of four heavily armed soldiers. What she found concerning was that not one of them had a single rank or unit emblem on their uniforms. Their eyes told her that these were not the guys you messed with.

  They escorted her through the camp. They were moving at a good pace, but she could still look around as they moved. The camp was even larger than before, and ringing the perimeter of New Midian was a series of towers. They looked like mobile phone towers you saw around the country, but they had more antennae facing towards New Midian and what looked like cameras.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  At the edge of the perimeter, they found Grey waiting for them.

  "Ready, Ms Sanchez?" He asked.

  "As I'll ever be." It was the only answer she could give him. She forced herself to stay focused on him as there was so much happening around them, and she wanted to observe it all.

  "That is good to hear. Please remember to ask the questions we have supplied. Please work them into the conversation wherever you can, as we would like them to seem as natural as possible."

  "I understand." She wanted to rebel on the screen but knew that she could not do this right now, but she could dream. She had to wait and watch for any opportunities.

  "Then good luck, Ms Sanchez."

  The razor wire before her moved aside, and she now had a direct route up the slight rise to the gates. As before, they will open and be ready to welcome anyone who enters. As she walked forward, she could hear the aircraft flying around the perimeter in the distance. She could smell the engine fumes from the countless vehicles driving back and forth around here. The trees have been cut back even further, expanding the perimeter with no more cover. As she approached the gate, she noticed the strange black stains and burned grass around the edge of the wall.

  Something had happened, and she suspected it was related to the military action, but now, she had other things on her mind. The gates were open, and she could see part of New Midian, but there was no sign of the Keeper right now.

  With a deep breath, she crossed the threshold and entered the courtyard of New Midian once more.

  "Abuela is right; you are such a fool sometimes," she muttered as she cautiously stepped into the courtyard. Around her, New Midian was clear to see, as the day was unclouded and sunny. In the distance, several miles away, she could make out the cathedral in the distance, which the Keeper claims is the heart of this place.

  She found it odd that he called it a church every time he mentioned it in their conversation. The more she thought about it, the more she realised he was telling her what it was, not what it had become. Around her, the weathered stonework was being covered by grass as nature tried to reassert dominance over this place. The place looked like a giant, overgrown graveyard.

  No, it was a giant overgrown necropolis. The Keeper's dream had become a reality.

  "Well, I am honestly surprised." Came a voice to the sight of her. It was so expected yet surprising that she still screamed out in fear. Suddenly turning, he was standing there once more.

  The Keeper was tall and broad, as she had last seen him, with brown hair and a beard. His tailored jet-black suit and red shirt were no different from the last time they had spoken. The fashion of the suit cut was not like the current style or one she remembered.

  "Don't do that!" she yelled at him, panting, trying to get her heart rate back under control. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

  "Occupational hazard, I'm afraid." He said with that same slight smile on his lips. She knew he was laughing at her and some private joke simultaneously.

  While she was composing herself once more, he walked around the courtyard. He looked outside the gates at the people watching him. His appearance generated a lot of new activity. He turned his attention back to the stonework around him. She looked at it well, noting the cracks and weather look of everything. Grass and other weeds were growing everywhere, adding to the air of age. He stopped his circuit at the plinth, where the inscription explaining what was required to claim this place's "reward" was inscribed.

  "So, they have let you return, Ms Sanchez."

  "Yes, there are those who want to know the history of this place and are trying to understand you better as well."

  "Well, I find that curious after their recent actions."

  "I heard that some form of military action was taken against you. They had me sequestered the whole time, and I still do not know what they did. I half expected to come here and find that they had bombed the place." She added the comment about bombing the place as a bit of a quip to lighten the mood.

  "Actually, they did." Was his deadpan response.

  "What!" She screamed, realising he was telling her the truth.

  "Two days after you left, The US military launched an aerial strike upon my domain. The results were not what they expected. As you can see, New Midian still stands."

  Gaberial Looked around at what she could see for signs of damage. "I can't see anything. Do they bomb further in?"

  "Yes, they aimed for the cathedral at the centre of my domain."

  She looked out across the area and could see the building in the distance. From the angle she could see, it had no damage.

  "Before you ask, the building only suffered minor damage in the form of a few broken tiles on the roof," he informed her.

  "How?" She asked, clearly perplexed at what he was saying.

  "Something I've been aware of quite some time, and I told you about it in the first part of our last conversation. The spatial bubble around my domain warps space to allow it to exist. The missiles fired struck the bubble and detonated. The energy and debris were scattered away from the cathedral."

  It took her several seconds to process what he was saying. "So, it's a shield? Like in the sci-fi films."

  "In many respects, yes, you could call it that." He thought about her question before answering. "But back to business. Why have you returned?"

  "I've returned to finish what we had started. You claimed you gave me only fifteen years out of one hundred and seventy." Her answer wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth either.

  "Really? At your own curiosity or your government's behest?" She could see he wasn't buying her tale.

  "Both." She answered honestly. He nodded, and she thought he believed her. She had found that being honest yielded more from her interviews than lying to get the story.

  "Well then, Ms Sanchez, shall we begin? Or, more appropriately, shall we continue?"

  She quickly started to unpack and set up her equipment once more, her stomach containing butterflies as she was strangely excited and once more repulsed at what she would hear. As she set up her recording devices and attached an info drive, she saw that he was paying more attention to her equipment than before.

  "What is it?" She asked.

  "When you were taken into detention, was this the same equipment that the government confiscated from you?"

  "Yes, why do you ask?" She looked at her gear, slightly confused.

  "I suspect that they have made some additions to it and are listening to us even now."

  At first, she thought he was being paranoid, but then her instincts kicked in, and she thought over what she said. She mentally kicked herself for not seeing the obvious: It wasn't a case of whether the government would do such a thing but how many they had put in. That indicated how much she was of her game that it had not occurred to her.

  "Fear not, Ms Sanchez. We shall continue." He smiled again to reassure her as she spiralled into a paranoid rabbit hole, wondering how much the government was monitoring them.

  "Ahhh… right." She finished setting up and decided not to start with the usual spiel but to jump straight into it. "And recording."

  She moved around and made sure that they were both within the angle of the camera being recorded.

  "When we last spoke, it was 1885." She started.

  "Late 1885. US Marshall McLeod had just died with his party within my domain." He reiterated the crucial facts of where they had left off.

  "Yes, and you had made some deal with a local businessman named Myers." She was getting herself back up to speed to where they were.

  "Almost unpleasant, man, to be sure, but yes, I had to make a deal with him."

  "Was that the end of the events of that year?"

  "Apart from a few minor issues, that was pretty much it. 1886 arrived not in a blizzard this time but in a clear starry night and a lovely sunny day…..."