“Show these people to their room. And don’t be slow about it either. I have some garbage that needs emptying.” The man spat on the floor. As they left, Lena heard the man murmuring. “They said he’d be better than a robot. Less maintenance. If I ever find them…”
Lena’s stomach curled. She looked at the boy in front of them scurrying to show them their room. From the corner of her eye, she saw Tern, hands clenched. She placed a calming hand on his arm. The boy led them up disjointed stairs and down a hallway with the ceiling paint peeling.
“This is your room, ma’am, and sirs,” the boy said.
Lena turned towards him. The boy stepped back. His eyes refused to meet hers. “Thank you for showing us the way,” Lena said.
Gideon handed him some money. The boy shuttered but grabbed the money from Gideon’s hand.
“Can I ask you something?” Lena asked the boy. He stood still, his eyes fixed on the floor. Lena knelt down so she was level with him. “What is your name? It can’t really be Pig can it?” Lena kept her voice soft and friendly.
Silence fell between them, then slowly the boy brought his eyes up to Lena’s. Lena gave him an encouraging smile. The boy mirrored her with a smile of his own. “Ollie,” the boy said before quickly turning and running down the hall.
Gideon waved the key card over the entrance pad to the room. The door slid only halfway open before becoming stuck. Tern slipped his body through the small opening. Lena followed, then Gideon.
The room only smelled slightly better than the lobby, but the dust on top of the two beds and couch showed how little it had been used or cleaned. Tern sat down on top of the table.
“Did ya both hear wha’ I heard?” The corners of Tern’s mouth was tight and his hands gripped the edge of the table. “Tha’ boy is a slave here.”
Lena nodded and walked to the window overlooking the alley. She saw two children huddled next to broken machines. “What has happened here?” Lena asked. “My father spoke of this town as a thriving marketplace. This cannot be the Arc my father spoke of.”
“Your father always found the best in everything. Arc hasn’t been thriving since before Everleigh fell. The Priestess only cares for those who she feels will help her,” Gideon said. “The rest have fallen into despair.”
Lena caught the eye of the two children outside. They both had matted hair and their eyes had a haunted look. She pressed her hand to the glass. Gideon walked behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. They stood, silently staring at the scene. “You can’t save everyone, Lena,” Gideon said.
Lena turned to face the room. Tern sat his pack on the bed. Rummaging through it, he pulled out a large knife. Lena shrugged off Tern’s coat and handed it back to him.
“I’m goin’ ta check out the city. Be back tonight,” Tern said. He slid out the broken door.
“I’m going to try and buy us some different clothes and bring you back some food. Lena, stay here until I see what new information they have floating around on you. I’ll be back as fast as possible,” Gideon instructed.
Lena sat on the dusty bedspread and watched Gideon slip away. She felt useless. She walked to the window again. The children no longer sat in the alley which gave Lena a better view of the pile of junk sitting below. She thought about Ollie, how his life paralleled hers in so many ways. The junk looked like old service bots. She thought of Ollie again and made a quick decision. Walking out the broken door, she nearly ran to the alley. Rummaging through the old machines, she picked out various parts from the broken service bots and hauled them back up to her room. It took several trips before she found everything she needed. Pulling out a small utility knife from Tern’s bag, she got to work.
The hours now passed quickly. Gideon and Tern still hadn’t returned when Lena turned on the refurbished bot. “Clean the room,” she instructed. The robot zipped through the room, as its ultraviolet lights removed the layers of dust and sanitized all the surfaces.
Lowering herself to the bed, she smiled and leaned backward so her back rested on the now sanitized bedspread. It felt so amazingly good. She’d give the bot to Ollie. Pushing herself back up, she stood and slid through the broken door and walked back down the disjointed stairs to the lobby.
Ollie sat huddled in a corner by the side of the reception desk. The greasy man looked at her and smiled. His teeth looked rotten and drool dripped from the side of his mouth. “What can I help you with, Miss,” he asked.
“Oh, um, nothing. I was just stretching my legs.”
“Well, surely you don’t want to go too far. These parts aren’t too friendly to a pretty young thing like yourself,” the man said.
Lena paused. Something seemed off. She looked at Ollie huddled in the corner, then back to the man sitting anxiously on the edge of his seat. “You’re probably right. Do you mind if the child walks me back to my room?”
“Not at all,” he sneered. “Pig, you make sure she gets there, or you know what’ll happen.”
Ollie nodded and jumped to his feet. He wouldn’t make eye contact as he shuffled toward the direction of her room. Lena followed close behind. The halls were empty and silent. A strange feeling hung in the air. Tense. But she couldn’t see any reason why it would be. The halls were also empty when they arrived at her room.
“Ollie, I have something for you,” Lena said. Ollie stood still. His eyes opened wide. “I can see I scare you. I understand. I, also, am a servant.”
He held her gaze in disbelief.
“Let me prove it to you. I used to fix service bots. Watch.” She called the bot to her. Ollie’s jaw dropped then pulled his lips into a smile. Tentatively he stepped forward. He touched it softly, sliding his hand across the surface.
“You did this fer me?” he said.
“Yes, just for you. I thought it could help you around here. Can I show you how to use it?” Lena beckoned him inside the room.
“That bot clean’ this room?” Ollie asked his eyes wide with amazement.
“Yes.”
Lena spent the next hour showing Ollie how to work the robot. By the time she’d showed him how to work all its features, Ollie had dropped all his barriers and was talking nonstop.
“Ollie, where are your parents?”
“Oh, them’s dead. Been dead since I were a little kid.”
“And have you worked here since then?”
“Wa? no. I only gotta work heres since I was caught stealing. ‘Fore that I was with friends.”
“I’m so sorry. My parents also died when I was a child.”
“Is tha’ how you ‘came a servant?”
“Yes,” Lena answered with a sad smile.
“I thou’ you was a soldier. You came in wearsin the same clothes under yer jacket. I thou you’s gonna hurt me like they did my parents. Ya must work fer someone in the Defenses, hu? How else woul’ ya get such clothes. Unless ya stole ‘em. But you don’ look like the type of person who’d go stealin’ anythin’. Do ya work fer that guy you were with? The one with the pockets full of money? Man if I had money, I’d buy the biggest loaf of bread I coul’. Maybe some ham too. Wouldn’t tha’ be nice?”
The sliding of the broken door caused Ollie to jump. Gideon stood on the other side. A large bag hanging from his shoulder, and a loaf of bread in his hand. Without a thought, he threw the bread to the young boy. Ollie didn’t say a word. Catching the bread, he jetted out the door. Gideon looked at the service bot sitting in the middle of the room.
“Looks like you’ve been busy.” Gideon stared at her for a moment. He pressed his lips together like he wanted to say something then released them. He looked around the room. “I got you some new clothes,” he said tossing the clothes to her.
Straightening the clothes out, she held them up to herself and smiled. Loose fitting cargo pants and a white flowing shirt with flowers embroidered on it. Just the type of outfit she would have worn as a thirteen-year-old. He also tossed her a jacket full of pockets. “Thank you, Gideon,” she said, unable to h
ide the excitement at having a new outfit. She saw Gideon chuckle and shake his head as she ran into the bathroom to change.
Chapter Fifteen
Lena sat on the newly clean bed, her legs crossed, chewing on a small piece of cheese rolled in meat. Tern and Gideon sat staring at the table. A holographic map was open in front of them.
“I got ta the other side of Arc. It’s patrolled by the Priestess’ Defenses more heavily the closer in we get,” Tern said. “I mean severely heavy patrols. They’re checking not only people crossing into the port but also anyone near its border. There’s a man there, at the entrance. He’s unlike any I’ve ever seen before. He’s huge. And his face is…well, it looks like it’s been re-shaped or somethin’ unnatural-like.”
Gideon stiffened.
“Do ya know who the man is?” Tern asked.
Gideon’s thoughts looked momentarily far away. He shook his head as if clearing it. Ignoring Tern’s question, Gideon said, “Then we’ll have to bypass the entrance. Any idea how we’re going to get into The Port?”
Tern cast Lena a wary look. Was Gideon hiding something? She shrugged her shoulders. “I ran its perimeter,” Tern said. “The place is secured tightly by a protective shield. The shield is like a bubble that the port lives inside. The city of Arc curves around all sides of it. Various spots in the shield provide an entrance. Those spots are guarded by the Defense. I touched the shield to see what kind of barrier we were dealing with. Woke up about an hour later. Still feel the zinging in my hand.”
Lena sighed and grabbed a pillow. “Any way of sneaking us past the guards?” she asked.
“I need ta observe more. I’ll find us a way.”
The broken door slid open. Lena jumped. Ollie ran through its small opening.
Tern grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him into the air. “This is a private room,” he said.
Ollie’s legs flailed. He struggled to catch enough air to talk. Tern tossed him to the bed like he was a toy.
Ollie gasped. “Ya gotta go,” he said. “Them’s guards are here. My master’s showing em a picture of ya. I think he must’ve called ‘em.”
Lena jumped to her feet. Tern grabbed the pack and rapidly started stuffing anything he could into it. He threw Lena her new jacket. She put it on at the door.
“Ollie, do you know how we can get out without being seen?” Lena asked.
“Can ya get me outta this cuff?” Ollie answered holding up a leg with a cuff attached to it. Lena examined it. It was cheaply made and not tamper-resistant. Lena nodded and grabbed her tools. It took only seconds to remove. He smiled at her and took off out the door. “Come on. An’ stay close. I don’ wan’ be loosin’ ya.”
The three followed at his heels. Turning a corner, Lena heard the pounding of soldiers’ feet entering the other side of the hall and then their sliding door being forced opened. Ollie led them into a hidden opening that revealed a small stairwell. “Theys ‘ill thin’ you gonna run in the street. But I’s go’ a better way.”
Coming to the roof, Lena saw why Ollie brought them this way. Even in the setting light, Lena saw the rooftops connecting with each other.
Ollie started running. “Stay close an’ don’ step where I don’. Lot’s of places ye’ll fall through. Did it once er twice myself.”
They kept on his tail, jumping from building to building. Lena lost count of how far they’d come. Several times Ollie had them lay flat on the rooftop as troops passed on the ground below looking inside the houses. Ollie pointed to a set of turrets. Windows free from glass or force field. He jumped over an alleyway and waited for the others to do the same. Then he led them to the turret’s opening. He knocked and waited. A distant knock echoed back. Ollie slid into the window’s opening.
He helped Lena inside and waited while their eye’s adjusted, then led them down a winding staircase. Opening a door, they stepped into an old hallway. The rugs running across the floor, though aged, looked like they’d once been magnificent. Lena felt the beat of distant music. Ollie took them down a hall to the left, then to large double doors on the right. The upbeat music was coming from behind the doors. Ollie knocked three times. One side of the large double doors opened. A hand grabbed Ollie’s arm.
“Ollie, it’s good ta see ya up here, ol’ pal.” The person who must have been his friend stopped suddenly and eyed the three. “You brought people. What were you thinking, Ollie?” The friend turned to the room and hollered three notes above the music. Lena heard frantic movement on the other side of the door.
“No, No. Wai’,” Ollie called. The sound of movement stopped. “Thes’ er my friends. Solders are lookin’ fer them. They need our help.”
“Please,” Lena said. “What he says is true. We don’t plan to stay long. Just until the soldiers pass. Please help us?”
Ollie’s friend looked at her skeptically.
“We’ll pay you,” Gideon said.
The friend opened the door and beckoned them inside. Lena eyed him as she passed. He wore torn jeans and a leather jacket. He wore his hair in an unnatural shade of black with bright blue streaks. Half of it stood up in a row down the middle of his head. He looked at them with an air of distrust.
“Your money,” the friend said. Gideon pulled out some cash and handed it to him. The boy slid it in his pocket and whistled over the noise of the crowd. “Your money will buy you an hour here,” he said. “Sit over there.”
“Don’ be so rotten, Bates,” Ollie said. “She took offs my cuff and built me a workin’ bot. She’s good.”
Bates glared at the group. “We’ll see,” he said.
Lena’s eyes adjusted to the shadowed room. Tattered sofas and chairs scattered the area and a large, but dusty, chandelier hung in the center of the room. Kids and teens wearing dusty and tattered clothes stared at her suspiciously, each clasping some type of weapon. Around twenty people sat or stood in various parts of the room. Not one looked much older than her.
Lena felt the pounding of her heart against her ribs. Her mouth felt dry. Taking a breath, she licked her lips. “What is this place?” she whispered leaning into Ollie.
“We like ta call it the gazebo. Fancy, ‘eh?” Ollie said. “It’s our home. Was my home, too, till I got caugh’ by the Defenses and sold ta pay fer wha’ I stole.”
“The Defenses sold you?” Lena couldn’t keep the disgust out of her voice as she stepped back to analyze Ollie.
Ollie just shrugged his shoulders and hopped on top of an old chest of drawers. Lena felt Gideon’s shoulder brush against hers as he stepped closer to her. Bates stood to the side of the dresser Ollie had hopped on. His hand rested on his hip, the movement pushing back his jacket to reveal a handgun.
Lena didn’t need to hear the words to know he was threatening her. But why? She turned to Ollie. “Ollie, who are all these kids?” she asked.
“The question is, who are you?” a sharp female voice called from the middle of the group. Lena turned towards the voice. The shadows hid the girl’s face. “And why are hoards of soldiers looking for you?” The girl’s articulated words sounded clean. Too well spoken for this rag-tag place.
The way she spoke seemed familiar to Lena. More than familiar, her voice was a memory. A memory Lena would never forget. Lena took a step closer to the girl talking.
“And why should we risk our lives to protect you?” the girl said, stepping from the shadows. Her shiny black hair hung past her shoulders covering her right half eye. The left side of her head looked either shaved over her ear or didn’t grow around the scars that covered that part of her skull. Her left arm was prosthetic from the elbow down, the clear covering buzzed with electricity. The girl wore a combination of tattered clothes that she made look stylish. She wore a small hat on the side of her head, and a short sleeved jacket that cut off high above her waist. A belt draped sideways across her body. The room echoed as her boots hit the wooden floor. Bates moved to the girls side. As she came into the light, Lena gasped. The girl stopped with a sudd
en jerk as recognition filled her eyes. Silence pulsed throughout the room then shattered.
“Suki?” Lena cried at the same time the girl called, “Evangeline?”
Bates stepped between them. His hand clenching the gun still in its holster. Suki placed her hand on his arm calming him. Her eyes turned to Lena, then Gideon, then back to Lena again. Her shoulders relaxed and she broke out into a huge smile. “Evangeline, Gideon?” Her eyes blinked as she shook her head in disbelief. She took another step forward into even better light. She carried herself with confidence. Lena couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Suki, her schoolmate in Everleigh—probably her best friend next to Gideon—stood directly in front of her. Suki was the very girl who had drawn the Defenses away from Lena in order for her to escape the attack on Everleigh. Lena had spent the last three years wondering if Suki had survived the attack, and here she was, standing right in front of her. Before Lena knew what was happening, Suki had closed the gap between them and wrapped Lena in a tight embrace.
Chapter Sixteen
They sat next to a window that overlooked a large and dead courtyard. Broken tiles and benches littered the once magnificent enclosure. Dead grass and branches gave everything a dirty brown look, but Lena had a feeling this place wasn’t as it seemed. As soon as Suki had released Lena from her hug, she ordered some of the kids who were in the room to do something called maneuvers. They acted quickly and didn’t question Suki. She also ordered extra alarms.
Lena quickly filled her in on what happened to her after leaving Everleigh. She left out most of the details, only explaining that Gideon had helped hide her at the Defense Training Facility, that the Priestess had found them, and now they were on the run hoping to make it to The Port. Lena wanted to tell her every detail, but didn’t feel like she had the time.
“The Port is closed,” Suki said. “No one is getting in right now.”
“Do you know of a way we can get in? Tern is seeking information on where the Priestess may have taken one of their prisoners, and we are meeting friends there.”
The Children of The Resistance (The Mir Chronicles Book 2) Page 8
