“Yes it did,” contradicted a woman walking towards them. She used her fingers to muss through the little girl's hair, dishevelling it, which seemed to annoy the man who had been working the imaginary lengths into place. Zack was sure that he could see a flicker of jealousy. “Just once though. I'm guessing it's Gamma Tower. We saw what happened a few days ago. They are dangerous.”
“Stop it, Lana.” The man hoisted the little girl up, swinging her across the other side of his body and out of Lana’s reach. He brought one hand up to her head and began stroking it. “You're scaring her.” He didn't wait for her to reply, and instead turned around and walked away to a nearby crowd who were examining the lift. But the woman had Zack's attention and she remained in front of him.
“Why do you think it's got anything to do with Gamma?” Lana looked him up and down as if trying to decide whether he was worthy of an answer. Perhaps she was considering that the answer she felt like giving wasn't consistent with New Omega policy. Perhaps it didn't comply with the Omega Manifesto, and that it might appear as if she had not committed herself to the unquestionable success of their society. The Ninth Creed. Zack looked down to his wrist as if to check the time, and even though it was nothing more than instinct and he hadn’t worn a watch in years, his mistake was enough to relax Lana and she began to whisper an answer.
“The last time that Gamma tried to get one of their little uprisings off the ground we had a power cut. It was only brief, maybe ten minutes. I don't know how they managed to organise it.”
“Who managed to organise it? What were they trying to do?” Zack asked. Lana took a cautionary glance over her shoulder to see who was in close proximity. She reached out and began to push Zack, and they both stepped closer to the door. After convincing herself that they were as alone as they could possibly be, she leaned in close to him.
“The residents of Gamma Tower. Somehow they cut the power and it resulted in some of them getting out.”
“They cut the power to Omega?” Lana was nodding as if not even she could believe the truth she was trying to tell him. “How the hell did they manage that?”
“That's why they're dangerous. They can achieve things that we can't understand. That kind of capability strikes fear into people.”
Zack was about to tell her that he found the idea of the Gamma Tower residents cutting the supply of electricity to Omega Tower not only unbelievable, but hilarious. After all, he had seen Gamma Tower. It was a pathetic excuse for a factory, crumbling in places, already fallen apart in others. And as if that wasn’t enough, he had watched it burn to the ground. Kind of. He had at least seen flames. The residents were brow-beaten and under strict Guardian control. They had spirit. He would give them that. But spirit can only get you so far. After that you need a certain degree of skill, and a truckload of luck. But something that Lana had said just a moment before was playing on his mind and it stopped him from saying anything.
They cut the power and it resulted in some of them getting out.
The door was still half open and he slipped through it and back into the stairway without a word to Lana. Under the glare of fluorescent blue light he took the steps as fast as he could until he arrived in the lobby with a red face and with sweat trickling down his back. If the last time they cut the power it was to get somebody out, there was every chance that the reason for the power cut now was exactly the same. He couldn’t waste any more time.
There were two small crowds gathered at the entrance to the lift. They were stranded in the lobby with absolutely no will to expend their energy by walking up the stairs. The cars were suspended somewhere en route. The residents had been rounded up from outside, and he could see the Guardians still occupied at the front doors, bringing in the last of the complainers who wanted to make the most of the evening air. Zack gazed at the panel next to the lift where he would usually expect to see a number illuminated. It was blank.
“Whereabouts did it stop?” Zack asked of the nearest Omega Tower resident.
“I wasn't really paying attention, but I think somewhere around level six.”
Zack completed a quick circuit of the lobby and confirmed what he expected; Serena was nowhere to be found. It was possible that they got out on foot before the power outage. Perhaps they were already walking towards the border. But why would they do that? What would be the benefit of going on foot when there was so much ground to cover? In order to cover a safe distance they would need a car.
The basement.
He found the door just to the side of the lift and to his surprise it opened freely. His first few steps were quick, unconsidered and foolish. It was only when he heard the first unfamiliar voice that he stopped dashing forwards and remembered where he was. There was no doubt that it belonged to a Guardian or a Comrade. Then he heard it again, louder this time, approaching him.
“Yes, G-23 receiving. Over.”
G-23 was the person who Margareta was talking to when she was in Sarah’s room. G for Guardian? It was as good a guess as any. Zack slipped into a recess next to one of the doors with a sign which read STOREROOM. The footsteps of G-23 grew louder until eventually they faded, followed by the voice which trailed off into the distance. Convinced he was alone again, Zack peered out from his recess of safety. The blue lights above each door cast an eerie shadow across his skin, as if he was being scanned by one of Dr Watson’s machines. He heard other voices in the background, but they were distant and soft. One of them was female and therefore definitely not Guardian so he decided to waste no more time. Looking first left and right Zack stepped back into the corridor, and with soft footing and a keen ear he set off along the edge of the wall.
By the time he arrived at a second door there was a strong smell of antiseptic soap in the air and it burnt his eyes, making them water. He glanced through the window into what looked like a laboratory, but his curiosity didn’t limit his progress and he continued along the corridor, passing three more unmarked doors before he came to a set of steps.
He followed the signs to BASEMENT LEVEL TWO. The corridor was darker and the blue light seemed cooler. A chill passed over his skin as more voices approached which he pretended not to hear. He found what he was certain was the kitchen, and the scent of freshly cooked chicken smothered the medicinal smells that had been bothering him. He ignored the rumble in his stomach and continued along the corridor, the light ebbing and flowing as he passed underneath the icy bulbs.
Ahead he could see a bend in the corridor that skirted around towards the right. He rounded the corner, but as soon as he did he saw the familiar white uniform of a couple of Comrades walking in the opposite direction. He was thankful that it wasn't a couple of Guardians, but he doubted that meeting a couple of Comrades was much better. So he slipped back round the corner of the corridor, and with no other option, began to retrace his steps, past the kitchen, up the stairs to BASEMENT LEVEL ONE. As he turned the corner of another corridor, he realised that even under the glare of the blue light he had been here before. There was the same smell that he recalled from the health centre, and he would have bet his whole Delta water supply on the fact that this was the corridor that he had walked with Simon on that first day after leaving the health centre. If the health centre was along here, then, at some point he would find access to the VEHICLE BAY beyond it. He quickened his pace, but with each step he took his caution level fell, and half way down the corridor he saw two Guardians turn the corner. They were coming straight towards him.
At first Zack could see that they were engrossed in some sort of conversation, and they hadn't spotted him. Zack hurried to a white recessed door on his right. SERVICE QUARTERS TWO. Without any care for what was on the other side of it he tested the handle. It didn't budge. He inched his face forwards to see if there was a wall panel that he had missed. There was, so he slipped his wrist out in the desperate hope that his Omega tattoo might just open it. It was as foolish as it was desperate, because as soon as he stuck his arm out from behind the door, he hear
d one of the Guardians speak.
“Hey, you there.” Zack snatched his arm from view and tried the door handle again. Unsurprisingly the door remained locked. “Hey, you. Stop right there.” With nothing to lose Zack held his wrist up against the sensor again. He heard the pace of the Guardians quicken, their steps became louder and more urgent. He knew he had only a moment before they would be on top of him, and his chance at saving Serena and Emily, and perhaps even himself, were through. Think fast, he told himself. Find an excuse.
“What business do you have down here, Citizen? Turn around and face us.” Zack did as they asked. Their faces were cast in shadow, the blue light draining them of any life that they might once have had. They looked like old images of meth-addicts, their bodies ravaged by a self-imposed war between life and near death. One of them smiled, and showed an incomplete set of brown teeth. No matter what tower you were in, Zack thought, a Guardian was still a Guardian.
“I got lost. Took the wrong stairs in the confusion of the power cut. I can’t find my way out.” They looked at each other as if considering the plausibility of Zack's story.
“Why aren't you up on your floor? It's late. The sun has almost set for the day. You know the Drifters are causing trouble outside, don’t you? You don’t want to be mistaken for one of them.”
“I was just out walking when the power went off. What happened?” He considered a change in tactics might help his cause. Divert them into thinking about something else. “I heard it was Gamma again. Is that true?” He recalled a quote that somebody once said, but couldn't remember who. Bullshit baffles brains. He hoped like never before that was true.
“We don't know,” said the other one. He reached towards his waist, and for a moment Zack thought he was reaching for his Assister. Instinctively Zack set his teeth together to brace himself, inching away from the door so he had somewhere to crouch to when he was struck. But as he took a step forward the Guardians both took a step back. Instead of holding his Assister, the Guardian was standing nonchalant and easy. They didn’t see him as a threat. “But they are working on it over in Epsilon. It'll be back up in a few minutes.”
Zack nodded, surprised at their lack of aggression, his teeth still tightly clenched. “Oh, that's good. Praise our good President.” Both Guardians nodded.
“Anyway, you shouldn't be here. We need to see you out.” With that, the Guardian with the missing tooth took Zack by the arm. He marched Zack forwards, and the other one stepped into line on Zack's right hand side, gripping Zack's other arm. They had only gone a few steps when Zack heard the crackle of static. They stopped as the first Guardian unclipped the walkie-talkie from his belt. He gave it a shake and brought it up to his ear. “I thought this thing had given up,” he said to the other Guardian while listening at the earpiece like a child would listen for the sound of the sea in a conch shell. He gave it another shake and bashed it against the side of his hand. Zack couldn't take his eyes off the Assister shaking at his side as he struck the walkie-talkie.
“Ma.....all stati.....” The static cut in an out, slashing the words as they filtered through. “Co....ue. Blocka....xits.”
“Can you make out any of that?” asked the first Guardian of the second.
“I think it sounds like Miss Margareta. I don't know what she is talking about, though.”
“I'll try the line to the desk.” The Guardian walked forwards towards the lift. He tapped at a small screen as if he was trying to punch in a key code. When it didn't respond he crouched down to investigate it further, as if a closer inspection might get it to work. “Nothing,” said the Guardian as he turned around.
His wide-eyed stare was too late to protect his fellow Guardian. Zack heard a thud behind him, and as instinct told him to run he saw the Guardian at his side fall to the ground. The second Guardian began dashing towards him. Zack cowered as he saw Duke charge forward, clearing the body of the floored Guardian as he leapt over it with the agility of a race horse.
“Zack,” cried a woman from behind him. Zack couldn’t focus on the sound of his own name because he was awestruck by the sight of Duke charging towards the Assister-wielding Guardian. Duke landed on his feet as the Guardian drew his Assister back ready to strike. Duke was big and cumbersome, like an oversized cupboard moving through a doorway. But he was more agile than Zack expected and as the Guardian swung the Assister through the air Duke dipped beneath it, almost dodging the blow. The tip of it caught Duke in the arm, and he grunted as the Assister made contact. But the pain was soon converted into strength. Duke’s right arm swung into an uppercut that struck the Guardian's jaw. A loud thunder-like crack rippled through the air, and the tension broke as the Guardian fell.
“Zack,” the voice cried again, closer this time. He flashed his eyes away from Duke long enough to see Emily standing at his side. She was pulling him away. “We have to move. We only have a few minutes left.” Zack glanced back to Duke who was standing over the Guardian like Mohammed Ali, almost begging him to stand back up for another justifiable shot. The other Guardian was out cold. Zack allowed himself to be pulled backwards, and after a few awkward steps he was facing the right direction, following Emily down the corridor.
They passed the door labelled HEALTH CENTRE where his journey in Omega Tower had begun, and where it was now ending. On his right there was a series of doors, all labelled SERVICE QUARTERS and his mind flashed to the likes of the girl who served him dinner and who had snuck him a copy of Omega Today. Maybe this was where James or Pedersen lived before their deaths during the uprising of Gamma Tower. But he didn’t have long to consider it because they soon turned a corner and burst through a set of double doors. Serena was standing in front of him wearing a satchel across her shoulders. She let out a huge sigh of relief as she saw Zack approach, and she raced over, flinging her arms around him as if she hadn't seen him in years.
“Oh, thank God, you're all right,” said Serena as she grabbed him. The urgency of the situation was infectious, and Zack could feel his own pulse racing. He pulled Serena from his body with her face gripped in his hands. He kissed her salty cheek before pulling her back in for another embrace.
“Yes, I'm okay. I came to warn you. Sarah gave us up. She went to the authorities. They came looking for us.” He looked at Emily. “I'm sorry. I think she has told her everything.”
“Who did she tell?”
“The woman who I met in the Presidential Suite. The frosty looking one called Margareta.”
“It doesn't matter now,” Emily said brushing her hair from her face. She tossed the long braid over her shoulder. She dashed away from him, yanking open one of the metal store cupboards on the far wall. She reached inside, and after a few moments she pulled out another satchel identical to the one that Serena was wearing. Duke burst through the double doors, and Zack could see that Emily was relieved to see him as she arrived with the satchel. She held up the bag and motioned for Zack to slide his arms and head through the strap and he did as he was instructed without question. There was a third bag on the floor which Duke picked up, throwing it across his body, expertly sliding his arms through the strap.
“You have to go with them, Zack. It's not safe for you here if Margareta knows. You can't stay here.” She stepped backwards, barely making eye contact.
“What about you?” he said as he stepped towards her, bringing their bodies only inches apart. She didn’t back away and she finally looked him in the eye. He saw the fear on her face.
“I'll be fine. Now go, all of you.” Duke began moving towards a far door marked TO GROUND. Serena cautiously followed, but Zack moved even closer to Emily. The same sweet smell, the same angelic face and golden hair hit him. Yes, what he felt was something that he had avoided for many years, certain that he didn’t deserve it, certain that he had lost the opportunity to show it. But with Emily closer to him than she had ever been before he could no longer hide as he reached up and brushed his fingers through her hair. She wasn’t just another person. He wanted he
r, and he wanted her to want him. He got the urge to stay, to protect her. What might they do if they found out what she had done? “Go,” she begged, but there was hesitation in her voice. She wanted him to stay and he felt it.
Duke was already at the door waiting for them. “Let’s go, Delta,” he shouted.
“Zack, what are you waiting for?” Emily looked down and checked her watch. “There are only two minutes before power comes back on. They won't be able to override it again.” She pushed him away, but he was certain that he could hear tension in her voice, as if it had been stretched, pulled apart. “Go, I said,” but he was already pulling her in close to him. His nose touched hers. “If you stay they will kill you,” she whispered. “I don’t want that. I couldn’t, I just couldn’t.” Tears glistened in her eyes.
He took her face in his hands and pulled her body in close to his. He knew he had to go. If he stayed this is where it would end. “Tell me you are with me first.”
“What?” She blinked and a tear rolled from her eye across her cheek, quickly streaming away and landing on Zack’s tunic.
“Tell me. I need to know that you are with me. I just need to hear it.” He could feel her breath on his skin and smell the sweet scent of fruit.
“I'm with you.” Perhaps she didn't even understand what he was asking of her. But those words made him feel that he had somebody. Somebody who had tried for him in ways that he had failed others. He reached forwards and kissed her, his lips moving over hers, his fingers in the lengths of her hair that had become loose and free. She tasted of connection and spirit, of passion and life. She was in that moment all the commitments he had made and all of the commitments he had failed to keep. In those seconds, because that was all it was, she was everything, and he knew that if he never had another thing in his life, he would always have this.
The Dawn: Omnibus edition (box set books 1-5) Page 39
