SERIAL FICTION
Dome Nation — Red Five
Part two
You can find Part One here.
In a dystopian future, humans live among ice and snow. Those who can afford it stay in warm, enormous Dome Cities. Those who can’t survive in small villages gather scrap metal left from the War of the Machines in exchange for food.
In one of those villages lives a young boy named Bobo who dreams about flying. He wants to find a legendary “Red Five,” an aircraft that, as the legend goes, can bring cures for illnesses and save villages from Dome Soldiers.
Bobo and the other villagers worked in the field. The day turned out to be sunny and warm, making work easier than usual. It was only the middle of his first shift, but Bobo had already found a rather well-preserved copper wire, a valuable catch. Wires were highly valued in comparison to simple metal pieces.
As Bobo stretched his back, he spotted a soldier and an officer heading his way. The officer rarely visited the working site. His heavy, light-brown coat touched the snow lightly, leaving a faint trace on the surface.
“Citizen 79–22,” said the soldier. Bobo nodded. The officer took a step forward.
“Kid, you need to come with us,” he said.
“Why?” Bobo stood, blinking blankly.
The officer pushed a button on his mask and removed it, revealing an aged man’s bearded face.
“It’s your mother. She’s dead,” the officer put the mask back on and turned to go. Bobo stood still. He couldn’t move.
“No. She can’t be. You are lying! Why are you lying?” He mumbled.
The officer raised his hand, and the soldier tried to grab Bobo by the shoulder. But Bobo ducked and ran towards the village.
He sprinted as fast as his snow boots allowed, falling twice but jumping back up, disregarding the pain. Nothing mattered at that moment. He ran, breathless and with tears streaming down his red cheeks.
Reaching his shack, he saw Lisa crying on the porch.
“Bobo, it’s…” she tried to say, but he rushed past her as if she were invisible.
He pushed the door hard, and inside stood the village doctor in the hallway. His vision blurred with tears, and his head started spinning. Moving legs seemed impossible. Finally, he pushed himself into the room and saw his mother lying on the bed, her eyes closed.
“No, she’s just sleeping,” Bobo whispered, falling to his knees beside the bed.
The doctor entered the room.
“Mama, mama, wake up, they think you are dead. Tell them,” he tried to shake her shoulders gently, but she didn’t respond. “Tell them. Tell them,” Bobo kept repeating, tears falling heavily as he hugged her harder than ever. The doctor placed his hand on Bobo’s shoulder.
“Bobo, I’m sorry. But the sickness took her. She’s not suffering anymore.”
Bobo didn’t respond, kept mumbling, hugging his mother. The officer entered, taking off his mask once again.
“Kid. Pack your things. We need to move you to the communal shack. This house is being reassigned. Burn the body. We can’t risk an outbreak.”
Bobo remained motionless. The soldier tried to pick him up, but Bobo resisted.
“No! You won’t take her! I won’t let you!”
The soldier forcefully lifted Bobo and carried him outside.
“Citizen 79–22, resistance will be punished,” the cold metallic voice sounded again. Bobo wasn’t fighting anymore. He fell to his knees, unable to speak, cry, or scream. Lisa came to him. Sobbing, Bobo took out the red piece of cloth.
“You were right,” he said through tears. “They will never come.”
With those words, Bobo threw it onto the dirty snow.
Later that evening, Lisa visited Bobo. He was assigned a small bed in the common room and a small nightstand.
“Bobo,” she began carefully, but the boy lay on the bed, staring at the wall. Lisa was young, but she knew sometimes words didn’t matter. She hugged Bobo, and they sat like that for hours until they both fell asleep.
Lisa woke up in the middle of the night and found Bobo gone.
She noticed his parka was missing too. She quickly put on her jacket and went outside. The wind had begun to rise, its cold gusts felt like razor blades on her face. Lisa squinted and saw the figure of a boy sitting on a metal bench next to his old house.
“Bobo, you’ll catch a cold. It’s windy outside,” she said, sitting beside him. Bobo stared at the door.
“I don’t care anymore. All I wanted was to help, Mama.”
“There was nothing you could do. I’m sure she wouldn’t want you to get sick,” said Lisa.
“I feel small. So small. I feel helpless and useless,” said Bobo, looking up at the sky, tears in his eyes. Lisa took his hand.
“You’re young, Bobo, but you’re not small. We promised each other we’d grow up together. And you promised to take me on a flight, remember?”
Lisa rested her head on his shoulder. Bobo took a deep breath and shivered. Suddenly, something fell at his feet. Bobo looked down and saw a red piece of cloth. He reached down and grabbed it from the ground. Bobo’s eyebrows furrowed.
“The winds. The winds came,” he said to himself.
“What?”
“Can you feel it? The winds are strong enough!” Bobo exclaimed with a hint of hope in his voice. Lisa stared at him, confused.
“Lisa, it’s time! The winds are strong enough to fly!” He shouted, his voice echoing through the empty street. He jumped to his feet.
“Now?”
“Yes! Why should we wait? We have nothing here!”
“But what about the village? Where will we fly? We don’t have any food!”
“Go home and gather all you can! I’ll meet you at the hollow!” Bobo was ecstatic, gripping the red piece of cloth. Lisa smiled back and nodded.
As Lisa climbed the ice hill toward the hollow, the sun was about to rise. The wind had grown stronger, and she could barely walk. Bobo was waiting on top of the hill. He had already dragged the plane there.
“Lisa!”
He waved at her, but his voice was lost in the blizzard. He ran to her and helped carry the bag filled with humble food and warm blankets. They tied the bag to the plane and turned it in the wind’s direction. Bobo grabbed the metal beam with a steering wheel on it. The wind was so strong, it was hard to keep the plane grounded.
“When I say, we run and then jump from the hill! Hold me tight, and whatever happens, don’t let go, okay?” Bobo said.
Lisa nodded and wrapped her hands around him. Bobo threw a glance at the piece of red cloth tied to the steering wheel.
“We’re coming,” he whispered and cried as loud as he could. “Go!”
Four legs ran through the snow, pushing the plane frame forward. At some point, the wind caught the wings, and Bobo felt the ramp becoming lighter. As they reached the edge of the hill, he pushed as hard as he could, and they lifted off the ground.
They were flying.
Bobo laughed, and Lisa screamed with excitement, holding Bobo tight. Their tiny plane glided through the air like a ship on waves, up, down, and up again.
“I told you it would fly, Lisa!” Bobo yelled.
The plane flew straight, but soon it was clear they were heading towards the mountain.
“We’re going to crash into the ice!” Lisa squeaked.
“No!” Said Bobo and pulled the steering wheel. The flaps went down, and the plane flew up. Lisa held onto Bobo tighter. When they were high enough, Bobo pushed the wheel back. The plane dived and slipped through an opening in the mountain, the structure shaky but holding.
They flew for minutes, or maybe hours.
It felt like ages.
Finally, the sun appeared, filling everything with bright light. The mountain was behind them, and Bobo searched for any sign of Red Five.
Nothing.
He knew to return, they’d have to wait for the wind to change direction, which could take days or weeks. But he didn’t give up hope.
All of a sudden, far between the rocks, he saw a red spot. Bobo held his breath. It couldn’t be. He steered the plane downward. They were still moving fast, and landing might be dangerous.
“We need to jump!” Bobo screamed.
“I’m scared, Bobo!” Lisa cried.
“Don’t be! The snow is soft here!”
Bobo let go of the ramp, and they fell. Seconds later, both were neck-deep in snow. Years of living among billions of white flakes taught them how to navigate the snow, so it wasn’t hard for them to climb out. Lisa watched the plane fall a few meters away.
“Did you see it?” Said Bobo, holding Lisa’s hand and pulling her up.
“See what?”
“The red wing, it was the red wing!”
The wing was only a small part. When Bobo and Lisa finally reached the crevice, they saw the rest. The machine was breathtakingly large, with four wings, four engines, and a radiant red color. On its side, it had a sign.
RED 5. MEDICAL
The giant rested in the stone and snow, one wing sporting a large hole from a harsh landing.
“It must have crashed,” said Bobo as they approached. “That’s why they never came.”
Lisa and Bobo went inside.
It was dark, but spacious enough to fit their entire village. Cabins filled with bags, pills, and ampoules greeted them. One room resembled a dining room, with a large table and scattered chairs. Another room held a real treasure — a pedal-operated snowmobile.
Lisa discovered a storage room. When she opened a heavy metal door, she couldn’t believe her eyes. It was filled with cans and crates, meat, fish, and strange small green spheres. She had never seen such food before, and so much of it. It was enough for two villages to last decades.
While Lisa explored the lower deck, Bobo ascended the stairs.
There, among wires and screens, he found the bridge. And the crew. Six people, all wearing red coats. The cold had preserved their bodies from decay, suggesting they perished in the crash.
Bobo took out the red piece of cloth.
It was the same material as the crew’s coats. He retrieved one from the floor and shook off the snow. It was firm and crunchy from ice, but he managed to squeeze his hands into the sleeves.
The coat was twice his size. With some effort, he opened the chest pocket. There was a small metal badge with the name “Tyson” on it and some words inscribed on the back.
The boy stood at the control panel, wearing a frozen red coat, reading aloud.
We need no reward and ask for no pay.
We are here to help those in need.
We heal the sick and feed the hungry.
We believe in humans because humans believe in us.
We are Red Five.
The End
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