by Mark Lingane
“But it’s my mother,” he cried.
He flew out of the library and out into the street, tears running down his face. Dizziness overcame him, the street swirled, and he collapsed, unconscious, on the ground.
33
THE CITY HAD gone into lockdown. People were either hiding in the makeshift defense quarters, or were on patrol around the gates. Everything was shut or broken to an extent that no one could get in. It would be days before reinforcements arrived and there had been constant sightings of cyborg patrols. The occasional shot had been taken at them, but they always managed to stay out of range.
Melanie and Sebastian watched the sunset from their usual position on the roof. Sebastian threw stones into the street below. Melanie idly kicked her heels.
“It’s not fair,” Sebastian said. “I only had her back for such a short time. Now she’s gone again and they won’t go and get her.”
“Before I say something good, I’m going to say something bad. They’re right. The city is weak. It has no power, no might. Attacking the enemy for one person is crazy and would only end up with the senseless slaughter of everyone.”
“So what’s the good part?”
“That was the good part. Maybe not. Sometimes, on special missions, a small force is better than a larger one. The smaller the better.” She smiled and gave him a wink.
“Are you saying we should go?” he said.
“Do you want to stay? Seems to me the longer we stay here the more likely it is the cyborgs will attack.”
“They’re really determined about something. It’s like they were fighting for their lives.”
“They really don’t like your family. It would be good to find out why. Something’s been bugging me. Out of all the places in this big wide country, how did the cyborgs find you in your town? How did they know you’d come here? It’s like someone’s been watching you and telling the cyborgs where you are. I think there’s been a rat in your nest.”
“I’ll bet it was my Aunt Ratty.”
“That would be a coincidence,” Melanie said. “Imagine if your aunt called Ratty was one. Maybe it’s something you should think about.”
“I miss my old home.”
“Really? You don’t like running and fighting for your life? Wondering if today’s the last day you’ll be alive?”
He looked sideways at her. “I often think about the people I’ve lost along the way and wonder what’s happened to them. I wonder if Dr. Filbert is okay, and how Merv and Sheila are doing, and what Bindi’s up to.”
“She was that girl you liked, wasn’t she?”
“I didn’t like her. She was, well …” He smiled. “She’s pretty excitable.”
She gave him a nudge. “Yeah, course she was. Wonder why.”
Time clicked by. They watched the guards patrol in the streets below.
“I’m sure I know the answer to this,” she said, “but when did you want to go?”
“Now.” He stood.
She rose with him. “I thought so. I’ve already arranged for food and stuff to be packed. Let’s meet in the school ruins in twenty minutes. Cheer up, kiddo, we’re going to save your mom.”
“What’s he doing here?” Sebastian said, pointing at Gavin. Both were unimpressed.
“Ah, well, I … Gavin’s good at planning,” Melanie said. “And we need a plan. We can’t just run screaming at the cyborgs and hope they don’t notice. He can plan.”
Sebastian gave her a long stare. “I’ve seen your plans. They consist of running, screaming at cyborgs. This is very suspicious.”
Gavin spoke up. “I was caught by them for a short while. I learned some things, valuable information we could use in times of duress.”
“Like what?”
“They have a problem with water.”
“I knew that,” Sebastian said. “What else?”
“I don’t want to talk about it yet. My head still hurts when I think about it.”
Sebastian sighed and shook his head. “All right, I know why you and I are here, and I can sort of understand why you want Gavin, but explain to me why we need Isaac.”
“He looked at me with those eyes and I couldn’t say no,” she said. “And we might need someone expendable if we get stuck.”
“Hey!” Isaac shouted. He was several beds away from the group, searching through the abandoned effects for anything worth taking on the expedition, and stuffing things into a pack.
“Just kidding,” she told him. “No, I’m not,” she whispered behind her hand to Sebastian.
“I heard that, too.”
She shrugged. “Isaac’s good at taking instructions. He’s packed everyone’s travel packs without complaining.”
“You only want to boss him around.”
“I don’t think we should get caught up in who does what,” she said. “It’s a dangerous journey and we should be working together.”
“And his owl?”
She sighed and shrugged. “You got me on that one. But if it keeps him happy, then what does it matter? Remember, he’s the expendable one.”
“Hey!”
They peered down the dark alleyway to the western gate. They had found a deep alcove next to a derelict shop. It was late, way past everyone’s bedtime. Most of the lanterns had been extinguished, and a serene tranquility had settled over the city.
“I think we could’ve timed our departure a bit better,” Sebastian said.
“How were we to know it would rain?” said Isaac.
“How about if someone had looked out the window? It shouldn’t have been hard to tell. Great big broiling clouds so dark they blacked out the night sky. The sound of thunder. Lightning.”
“You were the ones on the roof, looking in that direction,” Isaac replied.
“I want it recorded that Isaac’s the only person with a raincoat. He managed to pack one for himself but no one else,” Melanie said.
“I’m still injured and you didn’t exactly give me much time. Or a list.”
Sebastian shushed them. “We’ve got huge challenges ahead and arguing won’t help,” he hissed.
“We now have the added challenge of not slipping on the wet cobblestones,” Melanie said.
They watched the gate. The fat sergeant was sitting behind the desk. He was surrounded by various weapons and was staring intently at the far door.
Sebastian concentrated, and the sword nearest the door toppled over. The guard shouted a long string of expletives, but stayed resolutely behind his desk.
Sebastian nudged Melanie. “He sounds like you,” he whispered.
“I do not swear like that.”
“Yes, you do,” the three boys replied.
“I had a reason. I was sick.”
“Yeah, sick in the head,” said Isaac.
He gave Melanie a bleak look when she punched his shoulder.
She lowered her fist. “You remind me of why I’m glad my sister’s a thousand miles away.”
“Shh!” Sebastian hissed again. “We need to get closer.”
He closed his eyes and concentrated. The weapon right next to the guard fell off the desk and clanked to the floor. The guard shrieked, but failed to move.
“This is stupid,” said Melanie. “He’s not moving for anything.” She stormed into the gatehouse. She stood there with her hands on her hips, glaring at him.
“What are you doing here, young lady?” He jumped up, shaking his finger at her. The button from his trousers flew off, his belt buckle snapped open, and his trousers fell around his ankles. He shrieked again and ran into the storeroom.
Everyone dashed into the gatehouse.
“We need a key,” hissed Melanie.
“No, we don’t,” Sebastian replied. He concentrated. He could feel the weight of the cogs in the lock. He clarified their alignment, and they clicked into place. Sebastian was through and quickly slammed the gate shut. The lock snapped into place. The others crashed into the gate.
“Hey,” cried Isaac
as the others crushed him against the bars.
“Sebastian, what the hell do you think you’re doing? You won’t last one night out here without me. I mean us,” Melanie shouted.
“I’m sorry. You can’t come. It’s too dangerous, and you said the smaller the better. If Nikola can do it, then so can I. I really am sorry, but I couldn’t live with myself if you got hurt.”
Melanie’s line of expletives challenged a French sailor.
“This isn’t your journey anymore. Goodbye.”
“Wait until I get my hands on you,” she shouted, but he was gone. He ran out past the odd hill, with the sand quickly turning to mud under his feet. The hill provided temporary shelter as he worked out his direction. He could sense the beast beneath.
“I’ll be back,” he whispered.
I’ll be back, came the echo.
Sebastian was simultaneously worried and cheered, and he didn’t know why.
34
“LET US OUT. You can’t lock us up,” Isaac shouted from behind the bars. The desk sergeant laughed. They were kids. What harm would a couple of hours do? So he’d chucked them into the drunk tank to give them a scare.
Melanie rattled the rusty and heavy manacles against the rough iron bars. The clattering did nothing to distract the sergeant.
She glanced over to the two teslas chained up with her. “Can’t you get us out of these?”
“It’s sort of only Sebastian who can do that kind of thing,” Isaac said.
“You must be able to do something. Surely you, Gavin.”
“I don’t know how he does it.”
“How about both together?”
They shook their heads.
“I see,” she said. Her eyes darted over to the guard. He was a fat man, constantly snacking and writing in his book.
“Mr. Sergeant,” Melanie called out. He ignored her. She repeated the phrase in several different voices and accents, each more annoying than the previous. Finally, he broke.
“For crying out loud, what is it?”
“What time is it? It’s really important.”
“Eleven-thirty.”
“Oh, great. Thanks.” She quietly sat on the bench next to the boys. They stared at her.
“What are you—” Isaac started to whisper. Melanie kicked his leg.
The sergeant returned to his book, but started to fidget. He eventually slammed the cover closed, and rose.
“What’s so important about the time?”
“Nothing. What time is it now?”
“Time you stopped being annoying.”
“Too late for that,” whispered Isaac. His face went red as pain speared into his toes.
Melanie finished off her stomp with a twist, making Isaac yelp.
“You know we’re a decoy.”
“What?”
She stood and leaned against the bars, peering at the ceiling. “There were four of us. You wondering where the other one is yet?”
“Why would I care?”
“No reason, I guess. But I bet you’re dying to know what he’s taken.”
She placed her toes against the bars, getting into a brace position. The sergeant slowly peered around the room, then on the top of his desk. He smirked at her.
“Nothing important’s gone missing.”
“Except the keys,” she laughed. The sergeant’s face fell into a shock as his hands leaped to the side of his belt. He calmed as his fingers slipped over the jangling collection. He smiled and shook them in front of her.
“Not those ones,” she said, as she turned and pretended to reach into her pocket.
The sergeant craned to see what she was going to produce. She watched him carefully as he stepped closer to the bars.
She snapped her hands around his wrist and pulled his arm into the cell. His head crashed against the bars. She repeated the process, then wrapped her manacles around his neck and pulled tight until he stopped struggling and slumped onto the floor.
“You killed him!” Isaac cried.
“Stop being so dramatic. I didn’t kill him,” Melanie replied. She knelt and pulled the key ring off his belt.
The manacles sprung open and she threw the key to Gavin. She reached out and slipped the cell key into the lock and wrenched open the door.
Isaac struggled with his manacles, but finally had them falling away. Melanie was already at the gatehouse exit.
“Come on, you two. We’ve got to catch up.”
“You want to go after him, out there?”
“I have to get him. I swore.”
“We know. Constantly. What’s so desperate that you need to run into the middle of an enemy fortress? The only person who knows the way has gone.”
“You stay here if you’re afraid.”
“Melanie, this is serious. People get killed being heroes. I really don’t want that to happen to me. We need to get more people, like Nikola and stuff.”
She pursed her lips as she glared at him. Gavin looked from one to the other. He could feel the tension.
Isaac continued, “I understand an oath is an oath—pinky swear and everything—but you heard him. He didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Annoying as he is, he’s my friend, too. I understand.”
“You have no idea.” Her head fell forward. “There are things in our past we have to forget, things that make us want to leave. Do you know what it’s like to do something so wrong that the only action left is to run, because staying only reminds you of the pain you’ve caused? I made a promise. This time I will not fail my brother.” She slapped her hand over her mouth. She looked out toward the west.
“Your brother?” Gavin said.
“I mean Sebastian. I don’t have,” she swallowed as she paused, “a brother.”
Isaac threw his hands in the air. “You and he are obsessed. It’ll be the death of both of you. Please, let’s get some soldiers at least.”
“You can stay or you can come.” She walked away. Isaac lunged after, grabbing her shoulder. She spun, full of fire and fury. “But you will not stop me, ever, from being by his side when he needs me.”
Isaac suddenly found a knife pressed against his throat.
“Melanie, calm down,” Gavin said.
“Okay! All right. Joshuz!” Isaac’s hands shot up in the air. “Melanie, it’s me, Isaac. I’m not the enemy. And I’m definitely not a soldier. Can we at least plan?”
“Planning is for wimps, and boys. Probably the same thing. Come, Gavin.”
She pulled the hapless boy behind her.
Isaac stood in the doorway, watching them trek out into the plain. It wasn’t a place for him. He was a man of the city. Out there, it wasn’t a city. Out there, death was waiting.
Out there, was his friend.
He screamed in frustration as Melanie and Gavin disappeared into the distance. The sergeant started to groan.
Melanie turned as she heard running footsteps. “What kept you?” She pulled her cloak collar up against the elements.
“I had something to do. I just want it on record that this is singularly the most stupidly suicidal idea, ever.” Isaac pulled his flat cap down as far as it would stretch.
Sebastian staggered back as the force of the wind nearly lifted him off the ground. He couldn’t see a thing. The wind howled across the plain, accompanying the driving rain.
“I feel like I’m in Spain,” he shouted.
Sebastian reflected that leaving the others behind, although terribly brave and chivalrous (at least in his own mind), was a bit dim in the grand scale of running a covert operation. He trudged onward, trying to keep his mind clear to sense the direction toward the Hive. He felt bad about leaving Melanie behind. She was the first person who had ever treated him with a bit of respect and friendliness, and his repayment had been to trick her.
He found it increasingly difficult to maintain his traction on the slippery surface. Something heavy landed on him, causing him to tum
ble forward. Then he was flipped into the air and crashed face-down in the mud. An arm pressed against his neck and a punch landed in his back. He scrambled around, trying to identify his invisible attacker. His face was forced deeper into the mud and he fought for breath.
The stars swirled above as he was lifted up and thrown around by his collar. He landed on his back, the wind knocked out of him. Then a face appeared directly above him.
“Melanie, what are you doing here?” he gasped.
“I’m here to beat the living daylights out of you.”
She lifted him of the ground and punched him across his jaw, smacking him back into the mud.
“Stop it! I’m sorry you’re angry at me.”
“I’m not angry at you.”
“Then why are you shouting and hitting me?”
“You stupid boy. I’m … I’m in … I’m not leaving you.”
He staggered to his feet, shielding his eyes from the rain. “You can’t say that.”
“You bet I can. One step behind. It’s what I owe you.” She punched him again. He tumbled and rolled up onto his knees.
“Stop hitting me! This is insane. You don’t owe me anything.”
He stared up into her ferocious face. She knelt in front of him, clasping her hands in her lap.
“Beyond sickness, beyond mistakes, beyond friendship, we crave forgiveness and redemption. I need you so I can be strong.”
“Melanie, you’re the strongest person I know.”
She placed her hand on her arm. “Not here.”
She placed her hand on her head. “Nor here.”
She placed her hands on her heart. “Here.”
She grasped his hands. “My body wasn’t the most important part that needed to be healed.”
“What happened to you?”
“You did. A beautiful, if dim—”
“Hey!”
“—boy who didn’t care about who I was or what I’d done. You reset me, gave me another chance.”
Sebastian stared into her eyes. She was so sad, like never before. He couldn’t guess what she’d done, or how deeply she’d been scarred, but he knew, right now, she needed him as much as he needed her.
