“Well, it’s not exactly like that,” Jorge replied. “I do have some important information that I think you’d like to hear, though. But perhaps we should introduce ourselves first? My name is Jorge Quintero; I haven’t yet been told yours.”
“I am the leader,” the man replied. “That is my name.”
“Just ‘the leader’?” Jorge questioned with a slight smile, curious how this man had come to be in control of the city. “You don’t have another name I can call you? Perhaps what you were known as before Yellowstone erupted?”
The leader looked at Jorge and returned the scowl that the Spaniard had worn earlier. While Jorge knew he had to choose his words carefully around the man, the leader also seemed to realize that he wasn’t going to get the information he wanted out of Jorge without giving a little something back.
“Very well,” the leader admitted. “You may call me Mason.”
“All right,” Jorge smiled, reaching over the table with his hand outstretched. The leader made him wait a while, but eventually he also held out his hand, taking Jorge’s and giving it a brief shake. “Nice to meet you, Mason,” Jorge said. “I have to say, I have seen a pretty decent chunk of this country over the last couple of weeks and this city is by far the most impressive. How are you managing to deal with the effects of the eruption so well? How have you gotten Phoenix back on its feet so quickly?”
“We have risen from the ashes,” Mason said, repeating the words Jorge had heard from the woman in the street earlier that day. “A phoenix cannot be destroyed by fire.”
“Right,” Jorge nodded, quickly realizing that the man in front of him wasn’t entirely sane and that he would have to battle to get what he wanted out of the conversation. “So…how have you done it? How did you manage to get everyone to fall into line?”
“I am a leader,” Mason replied matter-of-factly. “I lead and they follow. Now,” he paused and clapped his hands together for effect, one of his henchmen appearing as if out of nowhere with a carafe of wine and two glasses. No one said anything as the henchman poured the wine then stepped away again, disappearing into the shadows. Mason picked up a glass while offering the second to Jorge, waiting until they both had one in their hands before continuing to speak. “I think it’s time I asked you a few questions, don’t you?”
Jorge took a sip of the wine and lowered his head in response, nodding to the leader. The wine tasted incredible; richer and more full-bodied than anything he had consumed for quite some time, the liquid warmed his body as it flowed down into his stomach. It took quite a bit of self-control for Jorge to not gulp the entire glass down, forcing himself to stay restrained as he knew he needed to keep his wits about him throughout the ensuing conversation.
“What would you like to know?”
“Well,” Mason smiled, knitting his fingers together in front of his face. “I think that’s on you, isn’t it? What is the groundbreaking information I’m told you brought with you?”
Swallowing, Jorge prepared to speak. The ball was entirely in his court now. This was exactly what he had wanted from the second he and Mia uncovered the truth about the fracking operation and what had gone on there. He spared a brief thought for his former colleague and wondered whether she had found a way back to her parents’ farm from Lois’s house. He regretted leaving her behind, but this was his goal and now that he had a chance to spread the truth, there was no holding back.
Opening his mouth and starting to explain, Jorge let the words tumble from his mouth like a waterfall. There were times when he tripped over the words, trying to get so much information out in such a short space of time that he struggled to find the right thing to say. The leader listened carefully, nodding along and raising his eyebrows at parts which shocked or surprised him. He didn’t speak though, absorbing all the information as best he could while the Spaniard rambled on, finally able to share what had happened with someone who he hoped was truly important.
Despite everything he said, Jorge was still careful to keep the most pivotal pieces of information to himself. He replaced names with ‘someone’ and official figures with estimates, making sure that if the truth was leaked without him being the one to do it, the story would be incomplete.
“And you have evidence of this?” Mason asked once Jorge had reached a crucial point of his story, leaning forward in his chair and appearing intrigued. “Proof that the fracking site was responsible?”
“I do,” Jorge nodded. “There is conclusive evidence in my papers, taken from the site itself and confirmed by both myself and another volcanologist I used to work with. This is the truth. This eruption wasn’t just a coincidence or a natural disaster. It was a tragedy that could’ve been avoided. A catastrophe caused by the fickle hand of man.”
“There’s no doubt about it,” Mason replied. “This is very interesting information. People need to know about this. The truth needs to be revealed.”
“Yes!” Jorge answered enthusiastically. “We have to hold the people responsible for this accountable. We need to spread the word and track them down.”
“A manhunt?” Mason’s mouth morphed into a grin at the idea, the evil smile reaching his eyes as he looked at Jorge. “I’m sure my people can be persuaded into that.”
“Well, no,” Jorge backtracked. “A manhunt wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. I think we need to share the word with people who matter. Do you have any connections in other cities? Any way of reaching the government?”
“The government?” Mason repeated quizzically. “Those are the ones who are responsible for all of this—isn’t that what you just told me? Why would we want to let them know that we know? We have to act in secrecy now; we have to take them down without them knowing.”
“No,” Jorge shook his head. “That isn’t what I intended. We need to restore things to the way they were and then find the guilty culprit. That person will pay for this and people will know that we were the ones to bring them down. You and me. We don’t need a manhunt. We need to think about this logically.”
“You and me?” Mason looked at Jorge with the same evil smile on his face, making Jorge slowly realize that perhaps it had been a mistake to disclose so much information to the potentially insane man. “This is my city,” Mason continued. “I am the leader here, not you. There is no you and me. There is only my city: one leader and his followers.”
Quicker than a flash, Mason snapped his fingers and his henchmen appeared. They stood either side of Jorge, stopping him from moving, even though they hadn’t yet laid a finger on him. Jorge looked at Mason with wide eyes, waiting for an explanation over what was going on. The leader stood and smiled at him, shaking his head in an almost sympathetic manner.
“I’m sorry about this, Jorge,” he began. “But you need to understand that this is my city, and I can’t have someone running around spreading rumors, no matter where the information might have come from.”
“They’re not rumors!” Jorge argued, trying to stand as well but pushed back into his chair by one of the henchmen. “Don’t you understand how serious this is? We have to tell people!”
“And I will,” Mason replied with a smile. “I will do what is best for my city. You need to stay out of the way, Jorge. My friends here will escort you out now. I appreciate your time and the information you have shared with me. I will value it as I consider how best to proceed.”
“You can’t do this!” Jorge called out, struggling against the henchmen who now held him on either side, restricting his movement and stopping him from breaking out of the restaurant. “Let me go!”
“You will be taken care of,” Mason called after him as Jorge was half walked, half dragged away from the leader. “Keep your head up, my friend. From the ashes, the most incredible creatures can rise!”
Chapter 19
The five of them all let out a loud cheer in unison as Blake turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life. It was an incredible feeling. They had been tinkering with the truck’s engi
ne for well over an hour now, Leo offering instruction as they all pitched in, eager to get out of the city before it was too late in the day. Now—finally—they were about to get on their way.
“Great work, my friend,” Vic congratulated Leo, patting the teenager on the back in a manner of praise. “You’ve certainly got a knack for this kind of work.”
“Thanks,” Leo replied slightly bashfully, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck as he spoke. “It’s nothing really.”
“It’s our ticket out of here,” Chase grinned, punching his friend playfully on the arm. “Come on. Let’s get this old thing on the move!”
“Yeah, come on,” Blake called down from the cab. “There’s room for two more up here with me; the others will have to go in the back. There’s a window to the cab though—you won’t be rolling around with the furniture,” he laughed, enjoying being back outside and helping people with things. It made Blake feel like he was making a difference and even though he knew his help would’ve been valuable for Jackson, he felt like Chase and Riley both needed and deserved it more.
Chase looked at his sister, trying to quickly figure out where they should all sit. He knew one of them needed to be in the front to direct, but he didn’t want to leave either Riley or Leo on their own.
“I’ll go in the back,” Riley decided for him, starting to walk around the back of the truck. “Chase, you know the way home better than me.”
“Yeah, I’ll join you,” Leo commented. “I’d rather be in the back too.”
“Well, that was easy,” Vic laughed. “Looks like it’s you and me in the front my friend,” he smiled at Chase, stepping back so the boy could walk past him and climb up first. A couple of minutes later they were all ready to go, Riley and Leo buckled into a pair of fold-out seats in the main truck, positioned either side of a window just above Chase’s head. It wasn’t that bad after all—the cab was spacious and they could all still talk to one another. Chase just hoped the vehicle would hold out and they wouldn’t run into any trouble getting out of the city.
“Here goes,” Blake said as he eased his foot onto the gas pedal. “You kids will be home in no time.”
“I hope so, man,” Chase muttered beside him. “I really hope so.”
Everyone sort of held their breath as the truck started to move, Blake going slow as he turned out of the loading dock and away from P. J. Wilson Construction. The truck was incredibly loud in the quiet city and everyone was certain that it would be heard. They just hoped no one from the Authority was nearby, or at least that none of them cared enough to try and stop them from leaving.
Regarding the city as they slowly rolled through the streets, Chase marveled at how much of it seemed changed by the eruption. Yellowstone itself was hundreds of miles away and yet nothing was the same. A darkness entombed the city of Houston now, covering everything in a blanket of ash and filth. It didn’t matter what vibrant colors had once covered the walls; everything had now given in to the gray. It felt cold and empty, like the soul of the city itself had been taken from it. Like there was no one left to fight for it, like it was just going to fade away to nothingness.
Thankfully for everyone inside the truck, they knew that wasn’t true. There was a faction of people who were fighting for the city, trying to return it to its once beautiful and powerful state. Jackson and everyone else they had left behind at the office facility were determined to overthrow the Authority and not let them repeat the same processes with the children of the city. It was disgusting what they were trying to do, Chase, Leo, and Riley particularly aware of that. For Blake and Vic it was somewhat different, but they were all in agreement that the Authority couldn’t win. No matter what, they couldn’t let things deteriorate that badly.
“Okay, steady around here, my friend,” Vic commented as they started trundling along one of the main roads of the city, angling toward their way out. “Jackson said the Authority has a lot of scouts on the roads in and out of the city.”
“I know, I know,” Blake nodded. “I’m not stopping though. They’ll have to run us off the road if they’re that desperate.”
“They won’t actually do that,” Riley piped up from the back. “Will they?”
“Of course not,” Chase replied immediately, shooting Blake a look of annoyance as he spoke. He knew that Riley wanted to be treated like an adult, and she had certainly earned that right over the last couple of weeks. But at the end of the day, she was still just thirteen and Chase would never forget that. “How is it back there?” he asked, turning slightly in his seat. “Comfortable?”
“Yeah, it’s fine,” Riley mused. “Might be a better view, all things considered.”
Chase laughed, as his sister was probably right. Even though she was sat staring at construction equipment, it still beat the sight of the city through the front windshield. It was a ruin. As they started to drive out of the center, the buildings became more disheveled and broken, many of them having collapsed from the weight and density of the ash layer which lay thick on their roofs. Much like the farmhouse, a lot of these buildings weren’t new enough to withstand the effects of the eruption.
The ruin seemed to get worse the farther out of the middle of the city they traveled. It made sense seeing as most of the population had fled to the center, lured in by the sustenance that the Authority provided—in return for their children, of course. It left the outskirts abandoned and crumbling, houses vacant, windows smashed in and doors left wide open. Chase wondered whether it was the previous inhabitants who had left them that way, or whether the Authority had torn through on a hunt for supplies. After everything he had experienced them doing so far, he strongly believed it was the latter.
Entire streets had crumbled to the ground, places that would’ve once been alive with families and children playing now deserted, nothing more than a pile of bricks and mortar. It was like the city had been flattened in places, crushed by the falling sky that had claimed Houston so entirely. It looked like it too. The gray coverage of dust was everywhere, kicked up by the tires of the truck as they rumbled along the road, making the haze they were forced to drive through even worse. Irritatingly, the faster Blake drove, the more dust was kicked up and the worse the visibility became. As a result, their truck was limited to going just fifteen miles per hour, practically crawling out of the city as they left the buildings behind them.
“Ah,” Blake exhaled as he turned onto the main interstate out of the city, the one that was best for cutting across country to the farmhouse. “We might have a problem here.”
“Oh man.” Chase slapped a palm to his face, instantly frustrated at himself that he’d forgotten. “I can’t believe it.”
The side of the road they were driving down was completely gridlocked from people trying to escape the city. Chase and Riley had seen it for themselves as they’d driven in all those days ago, marveling at how one route into Houston was completely empty, while the other was impassable. Chase couldn’t believe he’d forgotten all about it, knowing he should’ve warned Blake so they could have planned their route of the city better.
“No drama,” Blake remarked in a relaxed tone. “Nothing saying we can’t drive on the wrong side of the road now, is there?” He grinned, slamming his foot on the brake and putting the truck into reverse. It didn’t take long for him to have the truck spun around and looping over to the other side of the interstate, driving easily out of the city with not a single car blocking his way.
“Sorry, man,” Chase apologized once they were on their way again. “I should’ve remembered about that.”
“Yeah,” Riley poked her head through the window from the back. “Me too.”
“It’s cool,” Blake smiled. “We hardly lost any time at all. Don’t worry about it, guys.”
“How long do you think it’ll take to get home?” Riley asked, her head still hovering just above Chase’s right shoulder. “Will we make it today?”
“Probably not,” Blake replied after a brief moment of thou
ght. “Even though these roads seem clearer, I don’t want to push this old truck too much. We’re screwed if we damage the engine in any way.”
“Yeah, that’s not a good idea,” Leo confirmed. “Slow and steady wins the race, remember, eh?”
“It won’t be that much longer though,” Chase interjected. “We’ll get there tomorrow, right?”
“I would think so,” Blake nodded. “Providing nothing major gets in our way.”
“Like what?”
Riley’s next question was laced with even more pressure. Blake looked across the cab at Vic, the Ukrainian man mostly silent for the majority of their drive so far. But now they exchanged a look, both knowing that even though they had made it out of Houston, their journey was far from over. The city walls—as dangerous as they seemed—were likely still a good thing. Outside of them, not only were the effects of the eruption left unchecked, but everyone who still lived out there was as well. Jackson’s scouts had done more than just follow up on the Authority, reporting back about groups of outlaws who seemed to be living just outside of the city walls and other factions of security who tried to keep them in line. The world was rapidly changing as a result of how the eruption had pushed them back in time and sadly nowhere was safe anymore, no matter how it might seem.
“Hard to say,” Blake replied eventually. “We’re better off not guessing though, I say. No point getting worked up over something that might never happen.”
“Exactly,” Vic nodded, knowing that his input was needed in the conversation too. They had to placate Riley—and Chase and Leo to an extent—the last thing they needed was a panic on their hands. “We’re safe in this old truck for now; let’s just focus on that, eh, my friends?”
Escaping Darkness (Book 5): Debris Page 13
