City Without Heroes

by Tanya Lisle

  Hey, try warning a girl before you do that! Esther called back as she rejoined them. God, is that what magic is like? How the hell do you stand it?

  Shut up and get back here, Penny said. Are there any guards or anything we have to worry about?

  Indira let her mind wander out into the halls and she could feel nothing around them. There were people sitting in the call center, though it seemed most of them weren’t even bothering to pay much attention as the day wound down. A new shift was moving in to deal with the weekend calls, Indira wondering if this was normal. She checked the lone man sitting in the guard room watching cameras, though he had yet to move from his spot except to take another drink from his coffee. Down the hall to the room, the men in the hazmat suits had just passed around the far corner.

  Looks like you’re clear.

  Hold up, Esther said, now back with Matt and Penny. She kept moving, going ahead and looking around with much different eyes than Indira had used. She let her fingers move through the air, her feet carefully stepping forward and backwards across the floor. Hey, did you happen to ever actually see anyone in this hall, Indira?

  Just the hazmat guys. Why?

  Esther shook her head and she could feel the disapproval and how annoyed she was coming off of her. It’s booby-trapped like crazy, Indira, she said. If they’re in suits, they might be able to bypass them, but we won’t. What are the odds that someone had to turn off the system in order to use this place? You wouldn’t have tripped a damn thing or seen it from whatever you’re doing right?

  Damn it, Indira said. How bad are they?

  Easy way to check, Matt said, the magic starting again without nearly enough warning. She could feel it and it was much worse than opening the door. This time, it stretched out far and wide, Indira having to pull herself back to keep herself from going mad staring into whatever was making the spell work. She pulled Esther and Penny away from it along with her, though she could still feel something of it tingling all around them as it spread into the hallway and beyond.

  What the hell was that? Indira asked, feeling almost breathless as she let herself connect to Matt once more.

  How about you get your ass over here and take a look for yourself, Esther said. You don’t get to sit there and watch a movie while we’re working off your info, Indira. I don’t care how hot he is.

  Do you have to put it like that? Matt demanded.

  Indira was about to argue that she was there when she actually got a look around them. The calm hall that she had been watching for the last few days was nothing but a lie. Sure, for her it still looked very much like a single hallway that led around a corner to a white room with many doors lining the left wall, but there was so much more than that here. The hall itself was only a projection, hiding walls and more hallways that branched off from it. She had been in a whole labyrinth, knowing there was more, but unable to leave the hallway before.

  Well, Indira said. I did not see any of this before.

  Matt’s magic appeared to have not changed anything, only made what was really there visible to anyone who was with him. It went beyond the walls and well into the rest of the underground, though it seemed that white room was still the most important thing in here. All the space she had seen the people in hazmat suits walking through were still there, but it seemed that there were other things in the walls watching anyone who came or went, and lights that she didn’t trust not to turn dangerous if they got too close.

  This was not what she thought it was. If it were just going to look in a room, it would be fine, but this was something else entirely. There were a lot of things around here that seemed itching to kill anyone who might pass through too recklessly. And Esther looked like she was looking for a challenge.

  I’ll go ahead, Indira said. I’m pretty sure the rest of this place is just a distraction, but just in case, maybe Esther should head back and start the car. Get ready to run if something goes wrong in here.

  Like hell I’m leaving.

  Of course she wasn’t. She was tempted to tell Esther she wasn’t going to make it if she stayed, but at this point, she wasn’t sure that wouldn’t make Esther charge in head first. I’ll check up ahead, she said. Maybe it would be all right. Maybe she was worried over nothing. I think. Hang on.

  You’re scattered, Penny noted. Are you okay?

  I’ll be fine, she assured Penny. She wondered if Penny would die too. Shiraz had warned her that she might not make it, though she hoped she could prevent that as well. She needed to make sure it was safe before they did anything. I just need to get a better look at what else is in these halls and figure out how to get you to the room. Objective stays the same. We just need to see what’s in that room and then all of you are going to come back out. We’ll decide what to do after that.

  Esther shook her head as she looked around. I’d be up for looking around a little, she said. Not often you get to explore a hidden labyrinth. And I definitely know this labyrinth.

  Just stay there, Indira insisted as she started moving through the halls towards the white place. With Matt’s magic, she could see men in hazmat suits moving through these hidden halls, in and out of the rooms that seemed filled with pods upon pods that she didn’t want to look into. Inside them, something buzzed. Brain activity, however shallow, echoed like a soft breeze through the air. It wasn’t that they were keeping their thoughts locked away, but like they barely existed at all.

  Behind her, she knew that they were moving. Esther was already half way down the main hall, easily dodging the traps she had been able to pick out, while Penny and Matt followed on a different, winding path in parallel.

  Dammit, she wasn’t going to be able to save them if they kept moving like that.

  Indira managed to spot the men in the hazmat suits well before they made it through the first door, their minds quiet but their intent clear. This was it. This was when Indira failed.

  Esther, on your-

  Left? Esther said before Indira could finish. She was already moving, knives in hand, to deal with it. You don’t have to watch for me. Check out the wonder twins. They need more help than I do.

  Indira didn’t say anything as Penny and Matt protested. Instead, she watched, trying to pick out what felt wrong about tonight. There were so many more guards wandering the halls than she’d ever seen before, and not just because she had been unable to see all these other places. It was not actually that many, but she was overwhelmed trying to keep track of them. She couldn’t seem to concentrate on any of them individually and they slipped her attention, appearing moments later somewhere else feeling like some new figure. This hadn’t happened before.

  I don’t like this, Indira said. There’s something different about tonight.

  Is it getting sticky? Esther offered.

  That was it. Indira realized that presence that usually watched her whenever she was here wasn’t following her this time. It was possible that it had been the thing that kept her from seeing all of this before, but she wondered where it was now. Where that presence had made things sticky before had gone now things were slipping out of her attention. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate on the things that were coming for them. It felt like there were less and less with each passing moment, but Indira couldn’t tell. Everything felt slippery, people passing in and out, with only Esther, Penny, and Matt in focus.

  Until it all became clear. Esther made it to the corner, Indira following her there, and everything snapped back into place. There was nothing along here but the concrete walls and a single door that still shone white from amid the white tendrils that spread out like a web from it.

  I hope no one minds, but I think I got all of them, Esther said.

  We’re close to that room, Indira told them. If I get too close, I’m going to have a lot of trouble getting out. Esther, help me watch their backs in case anything comes. Penny, Matt, you go ahead. There’s a room just over there and I want to know what’s inside it before we do much else. I think we a
lready learned a lot doing this and we don’t need to do anything else.

  Whatever you say, Indira, Penny said. She didn’t sound happy about it, but she and Matt pressed forward into the web, leaving Indira waiting at the corner with Esther. She let herself drift up above the halls to watch for anyone who might be coming, seeing more hazmat suits moving in what seemed to be very specific patterns. They walked past the ones Esther had left unconscious on the ground without so much as a second glance as they continued on what seemed to be a set route.

  How’s the date going? Esther asked. Penny and Matt felt distant now that they were in the white, but she trusted Matt at least to make sure Penny didn’t go too far. It was going to be all right, Indira told herself. All they needed to do was take one look and they would be able to get everyone out of there in one piece without anyone dying.

  Good I think, Indira said with a bit of a laugh. I haven’t really been paying much attention though. We caught a movie. Or we’re currently catching a movie?

  How was his dad? The question held weight to it, but Indira didn’t press into it, trying to pay attention to everything else around them. It felt like they were going to get out of this without any casualties.

  Not as scary as I thought he’d be. Indira let herself think about it, but that unsettling reminder of just how little of an impression her conversation with the supposedly most terrifying man in town came back to her. I can’t actually remember him. That’s weird, right?

  Esther stayed quiet a moment, looking back down the hall. Was Aunt Tess there? she asked, though she wasn’t paying attention to their conversation anymore.

  Then Indira caught it. The panicked blabbering of both Matt and Penny coming out of the white and rushing towards them. They weren’t running, though Matt was pushing Penny as quickly as he could to get her out of there. Scattered thoughts fell into their psychic connection, telling her no; they weren’t going to do anything about it now.

  “We’re getting out of here now, Penny,” he told her firmly, forgetting that they were supposed to remain quiet. Indira could feel his mind buzzing with an intense desire to break down and panic. He couldn’t process what he had just seen any more than Penny could, though while he was anxious to move away. Penny wanted to go back.

  “We can get them!” Penny insisted, though Matt was together enough to keep his magic pushing her as they made their way back to join Esther. “We can’t just leave them there like that!”

  “We can and we will! We’re not rushing into this again, Pen! We know what’s there and we’re coming up with a proper plan. I don’t even know what we saw in there.”

  Esther grabbed the struggling Penny from Matt and pulled her along, sharply whispering for both of them to shut up. Both of them looked more than a little shaken, but Penny kept trying to break away and get back to the door. The way back out was mercifully clear now, between shifts of men in hazmat suits coming out to patrol. Both Penny and Matt were dipping into hysterics on the edges of their mind. That hysteria crept in like madness and started to settle, Indira careful to not allow it to bleed into the link. Penny and Matt tried to push it back, but Indira could already tell they were going to have a problem. The white clung to their minds, clouding their thoughts and trying to pull them back.

  Esther, can you drive? Indira asked. Matt’s not going to be able to handle it.

  “There’s nothing there,” Matt said, more to himself than to Penny. “Nothing there. No reason to go back, Penny. We aren’t going back again. We’re never coming back here ever again.”

  “But I saw her. She’s there! And everyone else. So many of them! We can’t just abandon them. We have to. We’ll go back! We can get them.”

  “We’re never coming back.”

  Esther looked worriedly at the pair of them, getting between them and pushing them back out through the side door. Both were shaking as they moved and the fight left them as soon as they reached the fresh air. The white panic gave way to confusion as they breathed in the night, though their limbs continued to tremble.

  “What was that?” Penny asked, her voice barely a whisper.

  I’ll get them home, Esther told Indira. She put an arm around each of them and pulled them back toward the car. Finish up that hot date of yours. You can check in on us later.

  Indira watched them go, waiting until they were a block away before she let out a breath. Alive. They had all gotten out of there alive. She breathed a sigh of relief, vowing to check in on them as soon as she got home again. For now, she went back to where that warm arm was draped around her shoulders, to the smell of popcorn and the profile of Kyle Hollins enthralled with the explosive climax of the movie.

  Chapter 22

  Making Curfew

  Once the explosions were done, the day was saved, and the credits rolled, Kyle didn’t remove his arm from around Indira’s shoulders and Indira didn’t try to get up right away. Everyone had gotten out alive and the plan had worked, even if it didn’t quite go as planned. Soon enough, she would be able to ask just what was in that room and she could start figuring out if there was a good way to rescue Uncle Ness without killing anyone. For right now, though, this was her reward.

  Kyle hadn’t noticed her going missing for the majority of the movie. He was just happy this seemed to be going well, if Indira leaning into him was any indication. As the credits changed to a simple text crawl, he smiled and they stayed where they were for a minute longer as the crowds around them started to file out.

  Indira liked this moment, especially after everything else from tonight, though part of her was still thinking about the strange hall underground and the mystery room. She took all of the feelings that lingered about what had happened and what it had done to Penny and Matt, and pushed them away to deal with later.

  “This was nice,” Indira said. She smiled up at Kyle as she pulled away. Kyle let her go, starting to gather his jacket as Indira did the same.

  “You have good taste in movies,” Kyle said with a smile. “Although I think next time maybe something where we can talk a little more? I mean, if there’s a… I mean…”

  “Next time,” Indira said, touching him lightly on his arm to get him to stop worrying so much over it. “This was fun. And you don’t talk during movies, which is always a plus. But we should probably get going before my parents kill me for breaking curfew.”

  There was a quick surge of panic that went through him as he wondered if they really would before he laughed along with her and followed her out of the theatre. She let him catch her hand as they walked and wound her fingers between his. They took their time walking back to his car.

  “Sorry about before, by the way,” Kyle said again. “Mom and dad didn’t-”

  “I told you, it’s fine,” Indira said reassuringly. “Your mom’s really nice. She gave me tea and didn’t ask if I was a Muslim or anything like that. Don’t worry, you’re good on that one. And your dad wasn’t even that bad.” Kyle raised an eyebrow at that, clearly expecting something much worse, but he dropped that thought as he opened the car door for her. Indira got in with a laugh. “Thank you. But try not to forget your wallet next time, okay? I’d rather not do that again.”

  Kyle flushed, pleased at the idea of a second date being approved so soon after the first. “So what did you think of the movie?” he asked. He started the car and they drove back to her house, Kyle driving slowly through the streets of Whitten so he could spend just a little more time with her.

  Indira gleaned what he thought of it, mixed with assorted nerves. He was buzzing with excitement and she was able to prod his mind just enough so that she knew the key parts of the movie. Kyle didn’t know to hide anything, which made her a little sad that she had missed missed a pretty entertaining movie. On the bright side, she had no qualms with downloading it and watching it on her own this weekend after she made sure everything was all right with Penny and Matt.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to drop you off closer?” Kyle asked as he stop
ped a block away from her house. “I can give you a lift the whole way to your house.”

  Indira shook her head and smiled. “Trust me, it’s better this way,” she said. “See you on Monday.” She left him there, Kyle not really sure what had just happened. He was wary about whether or not he’d be able to do this with her again, or if this was a test he had failed. Indira made no effort to stop that line of thinking, assuming it was better to leave him just a little confused before she went off to check on the others.

  As she walked, she let her mind wander off to see what was going on. They should be almost home by now, but something felt very off with their link. Instead of connecting, she encountered static and something that felt distinctly off. It was probably nothing, but she walked a little faster just in case.

  Indira got to the front door to find it locked and her parents car not in the driveway. Her dad had been taking her mom out a lot more now that they weren’t in danger of being kidnapped or having the establishment crashed by some heroes fighting. She really should have just asked Kyle to drop her off here. Who knew, she might have even kissed him for it. She smiled to herself at the thought of his blush if she’d done so and let herself in.

  She kept trying to jump into the link, but the more she tried to press, the more there seemed to be something genuinely keeping her out of it. Something was wrong.

  The lights were off in the foyer and she went to turn them on as she pushed her way through whatever was trying to keep her out. She didn’t care if somehow Penny or Matt didn’t want her back in, didn’t care if Esther had somehow managed to figure out a way to keep her out. They had already gotten out of there alive and now that her date was over, they couldn’t just cut her off and worry her like this.

  Her mind filled with chaos as she broke through. There was panic and white noise echoing through her mind almost immediately and Indira dropped hard to her knees, head resting against the wall and hands pressed into her knees as she tried to make sense of the onslaught of mental chaos. She was seeing directly out of two pairs of eyes as they panicked and took in everything, trying to make whoever might be listening to their brains understand just how messed up everything was right then.