by Natalie Reid
“Alright,” the man named Benny muttered. He turned back to Jessie, saying, “Follow me.”
As the two started down the tunnel, Jason called out to her. “If you ever change your mind, there’s a telephone in a small shack just on the border of the north and east end at Axel Street. Pick it up and just start talking. Someone’s always listening.”
She gave him a solemn nod and continued to follow Benny. As they walked down the tunnel, she could see the faces of the eleven other people holding purple lights. They stared at her as she past, a mixture of disappointment, resentment, and even confidence. She saw the confidence especially in the older people she passed. It was clear they thought she would change her mind soon.
Once the two had passed far enough down the tunnel so that the purple lights had faded into the distance, she asked Benny where he was leading her. His lantern squeaked as he turned to glance back at her. “It’s another entry point into the city. This one comes up into the basement of an apartment complex. No one is ever around, except for Resistance, so it makes it one of the safest entry points.”
They passed an intersecting tunnel, but he ignored it and kept going.
“How many entry points are there?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Oh, about a dozen. Some of them we’ve had to board up because they’ve become too dangerous to use.”
“And these underground tunnels stretch all across the city?” she asked in amazement. “Why has no one ever found them before?”
Benny stopped walking and eyed her suspiciously. “You know, for someone who doesn’t want to join the Resistance, you sure ask a lot of questions about us.”
She looked up to the ceiling and the walls of the tunnel. They were not perfectly circular. In fact, they were jagged and looked like part of a cave. She ran her hand along the rock of the mountain, a mountain that used to stretch up thousands and thousands of feet, but was now nearly missing, blown away to make this city. She wondered if it was possible that the first people that had built Aero City hadn’t also built a tunnel system beneath its foundations. Maybe they had even intended it as a warmer transportation system, but somehow it was covered up and reduced to a well-kept secret.
After several minutes of walking, they arrived at what appeared to be a dead end. The only thing that told Jessie otherwise was the lever jutting out of the rock, and the fact that the ceiling of the tunnel disappeared a few feet before the end, like a chimney.
Benny walked over to the lever and pulled it down. Immediately something sprang to life and began moving. A gray cement slab soon appeared through the hole in the ceiling and thundered down to the ground in a muffled crash. Benny gestured for her to climb on, and the second she was standing on the circular lift, he pulled the lever to send her back up.
It was a little less unnerving riding on the lift a second time, for at least she knew what it was that was moving her through the air. Still, glancing up in the heart of a rock mountain to see a growing hole leading out into a modern city was a bit of a sight.
Travelling silently and swiftly, she made her way out of the apartment basement she found herself in and onto the streets. It took her only a minute to get her bearings and start heading towards the apartment on the north side where she was supposed to meet Tom. As she walked, she placed her hands in the pockets of the black jacket she had stolen, and tilted her head down.
When she was across the street from the derelict apartment complex, she noticed a figure lurching in the shadows in the alley between her building and the next. She forced herself to ignore it. Just because someone was there didn’t mean they were there for her.
She walked across the street and was about to enter into the building, when someone called out her name. She stopped dead in her tracks, feeling her blood freeze in her veins. She knew that voice. It belonged to the man that had ruined her life.
Jessie spun around and ran towards him so quickly she was nearly just a blur. Before Ritter could even put his arms up to defend himself, she had punched him square in the jaw, twisted his arm behind his back, and shoved him up against the side of the building.
She gave his body another harsh shove so that it was battered by the wall, but Ritter managed to tilt his head.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he warned
For a brief moment, she thought that a Task Force squadron might have snuck up around them, and she just didn’t notice through the anger thundering through her head, but a quick survey of their surroundings told her this wasn’t true.
Jessie looked down to Ritter’s belt and saw his gun holstered there. She swiftly grabbed it and pointed it at his head. Her mind was shaking in adrenaline, but her arm remained deadly still as it extended towards him.
“Tell me why?” she strained out.
“Why we did this to you?” he asked, not a hint of fear pervading his voice.
He turned his back away from the wall to face her, and she placed the barrel of his gun on his forehead.
“Why did you kill him?” she demanded.
“Who, the Potentian?” he replied, as calmly as if there had been no gun pressed to his head at all. “You already know the answer to that. What you should be asking is why I’m here, and why I’m alone.”
She squeezed the gun harder in her hand and pressed it further into his head so that he hit the back of the wall.
“Jessie,” he said calmly. “You and I both know you’re not capable of—”
“Don’t tell me what I’m not capable of!” she yelled at him. “You watch a little boy choking to death, struggling to breathe and reaching out to you in panic and all you can do is watch as the life drains from him. You see that and tell me that doesn’t change a person.” She steadied her hand on the gun, pressing it as far as it would go. “You tell me that I wouldn’t pull this trigger.”
The corner of his mouth flicked up into a smile, and his eyes danced with the mirth of mockery. “You aren’t going to pull that trigger, Jessie. You aren’t going to touch me or harm me in any way. In fact, you’re going to help me.”
She clenched her jaw tightly, trying to control her emotions so that she was still in charge of the situation. However, the expression on Ritter’s face told her he had something up his sleeve that was bound to turn the tables around.
“Why would I do that?” she asked through gritted teeth.
“Because I have something you want,” he answered simply. “Something you’ve longed for…oh, for a very long time.”
He paused, giving her imagination time to run wild with possibilities. She took a step closer to him in anger, and only then did he continue.
“I know where your mother is,” he whispered.
She gulped down hard and her eyes turned fuzzy with tears. She knew he could be lying, but she wasn’t strong enough to hide her reaction. He had been right. She had longed for that bit of information ever since she had evolved. She had stared out the window to her room for countless hours, wondering if her mom was still out there somewhere, alive and waiting for her. She had wanted so long just to catch a glimpse of her face or even the smallest piece of information that might have told her where she was.
The gun had fallen slightly from Ritter’s head as she processed this, but she soon pressed it back in firm control. She made sure her voice did not shake as she asked, “She’s still alive?”
“As far as I know,” he replied casually.
“Where?”
He smirked and shook his head. The barrel of the gun moved from side to side as he did this, as if to say he wasn’t scared in the least about it going off.
“No, for that information, you’re going to have to do something for me.”
“I’m letting you live. That’s already asking a lot.”
“You know that’s not how it works. You need my help to get to her. If I’m dead, you won’t have my cooperation, and if you don’t do what I ask, you won’t have it either. Now get this gun off me before you draw attention to us and this whole
thing is blown.”
She took a step back and lowered the gun several inches, but still kept it pointed at him.
“What have you done with Tom?” she asked, secretly shaking on the inside as she imagined the worst kind of fate Ritter might have inflicted upon him.
His eyebrows shot up and he gave out a dry laugh. “Haven’t caught on, have you?” He leaned towards her, saying, “You don’t think little Tommy boy could have gotten you out of BLES all by himself, do you? Could have survived this long on the run?” He shook his head in mockery. “He only did exactly as I told him to. Kept me informed of every place you went, every squadron you were tailing. Though, I am impressed. I didn’t think he’d be able to keep it a secret this long. Guess you must let your guard down when it comes to him.”
Jessie felt a twist of pain in her chest. She had thought that Tom had saved her because he wanted to; because she meant something to him. Had all that really been a lie? Somewhere, deep down, she had her suspicions that Tom hadn’t saved her by himself, that he had received help from somewhere. But partnering with Ritter…she could not believe him of that.
“I don’t believe you,” she said, shaking her head.
He let out a single, sharp laugh. “Well, don’t take my word for it! Ask him! He’s hiding right over there.”
Ritter pointed down the alley towards the dumpster. She couldn’t see anything, and at first she thought it might have only been a ploy to get her to look away so he could grab the gun. But he made no attempt at her weapon, and before long a figure stepped out of the shadows.
Upon seeing Tom’s face, she shook her head in a desperate attempt to disbelieve what her eyes were seeing. “No. No, you can’t…”
“Jessie, let me explain,” Tom said, coming towards her.
She shot him a look to stay back, the gun halfway pointed between him and Ritter. “This whole time you were working for him!”
“Please, just hear me out!”
“Now’s not the time for that,” Ritter broke in. He shifted his head to address Tom. “Now run along. I need a word with Chance.”
Jessie felt a small part of her break as she watched him obey, turning down the alley and disappearing like a loyal dog carrying out his master’s orders.
“And if you don’t put that gun away, I’m going to take it out on him later,” he warned.
She felt numb as she finally put it away, stuffing it behind her jacket between her shirt and pants. She didn’t know how to react to all this. First her mother and now Tom. How was someone supposed to cope when their entire life just got flipped on its head? The only thing she could think to do was to keep her eyes carefully fixed on Ritter to make sure he didn’t try to move towards her.
“Relax,” he muttered, sticking his hands in his jacket pockets and leaning against the wall. “I know better than to try and attack you. You’re like a racking maniac with your speed.” He gestured to his bruised jaw to prove his point. “Besides,” he continued. “You and I are partners now.”
“Just tell me what you want,” she spat out.
He studied her face and then glanced to the left towards the street. “You know, it’s funny. I’ve been receiving reports about people disappearing into thin air in a field over in Old City. Almost like magic.”
“Do you enjoy making people wait?” she asked. “Just tell me what you’re trying to say and skip the theatrics.”
“You were with the Resistance,” he stated bluntly. “And either you just underwent the shortest initiation process known to man, or you declined their invitation to join. My bet’s on the latter. You seem to have a thing with moral high ground. Unfortunately, you’re gonna have to get over that because I need you to join up.”
“That’s why Tom had to keep you a secret, isn’t it? Because you didn’t want me to draw suspicion when I met with them?” She shook her head as she realized why Tom had insisted she lose Task Force in Old City. It had all been a part of Ritter’s ploy. She bit down hard on her lip, trying to bite away the hurt she felt at what Tom had done to her.
“And what do you want me to do?” she asked sharply. “Spy for you?”
“No, actually. Something a little more down your line. Hopefully this time you’ll get it right.”
He paused once more, and she stared him down in calm patience. She knew he was trying to get a rise out of her. Then he lifted his back from the wall, and his expression seemed to gradually change. There was no mocking humor behind his eyes, no taunting jeer of an enemy. There was just a weary sort of anger that dulled his expression and set his entire demeanor into a rigid sobriety. He stuck his hand inside his pocket and pulled out a small, square picture. “I need you to save a little girl they have down there. Find her, get her out, and bring her back up to me.”
“Who is she?” she asked, looking down at the picture. The smiling face of a little girl looked back at her. She had black hair that was done up in two pig-tails, and had a tan line on her neck from where a Potentian Band had recently been removed.
“She’s my daughter,” he admitted, stuffing the picture back into his jacket.
The sudden confession and the somber tone that had taken over his speech surprised her.
Ritter walked passed her and started slowly down the alley. He muttered for her to follow, and she stared at him in contemplation. What he just said went against everything she knew about him. How could she trust that this girl was even his daughter? Maybe he was putting on an act to get her to help him. Every time she’d seen him, he’d try to use her emotions against her. Now he knew the one thing she would agree to do would be to help save a child. She couldn’t trust that he was telling her the truth.
But then she remembered the Resistance attack. He had saved two young girls from being trampled on. He had done it without knowing that she or anyone would be watching. And could she really pass up on the opportunity to see her mom again? Jessie closed her tired eyes and slid a hand across her forehead. With a shake of her head, she jogged to catch up with him.
Wordlessly he led her through the streets until they stopped in front of an Expedition Depot. This one seemed to be filled with objects from the outside world that were of trivial or no value, so not many people were found inside. Ritter led her around to the side of the building where a faded statue of a large bird had been discarded. The bird was standing with its claw on a shield, and its wings stretched half-way behind its back. The feathers on it were ruffled and huge, and gave the impression that it was not like any ordinary bird on earth. Jessie didn’t know if one like it had existed before the Contamination, but she knew they certainly didn’t exist now.
Ritter stopped in front of the bird and reached down for the shield. There was a raised circle in the middle, and he pressed it in and turned it. The shield clicked, and the bird’s beak fell open. The hole it created was just big enough for Ritter to stick his hand inside. Reaching in, he pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. He raised it above his hand and a pen rolled out.
“Check this bird every night,” he advised her. “If we need to meet up, I’ll leave you a message. If not, I expect you to write about your progress. If you go for longer than two days without writing to me, or I suspect that you’re trying to double cross me in any way, then I’ll set my men on Tom, and you’ll never see him again. Got it?”
She stepped closer to get a better look at the hole inside the bird’s mouth, and then nodded.
“Good. Now, if I were you, I would wait at least a day before trying to go back down to the Resistance. Maybe even get yourself beat up. You have to convince them of your desperation.”
“I know what to do. I don’t need your help,” she retorted.
He grabbed her arm and gave her a little shove so she would look up at him. “And don’t even think about joining up with your military friends,” he warned. “I know they’ve been trying to help you. They are a liability that you don’t need right now. Stick to the task at hand.”
“If I find out you’ve hu
rt them,” she said, clenching her jaw and staring daggers at him. “The deal’s off.”
“I won’t touch them if they don’t get themselves caught. Now that’s a good deal from me… partner.”
Jessie jerked her arm out of his grip. “I’ll do what you want, but don’t ever call me that.”
He placed his hands in his pockets and resorted back to his casual smile. “Hey, there’s pressure rising in this city like there’s a racking bomb about to go off. And when it does, you’re gonna want me on your side.”
She stared back at him, cold as winter, before trudging off and disappearing down the street.
* * *
A new meaning came over the phrase “the dead of night” as Katherine stared in fixed terror at the shadow standing by her window. The very air in the apartment seemed bloated and stale like death itself, and a spicy scent of fear mixed in with the cold stench of the east-end.
This time, instead of dashing out the window, Jessie took a step closer to the bed. Ritter’s gun was still pressed into her back, between the fabric of her jacket and her shirt. With every movement she took, she was acutely aware of it. She could feel as the metal shifted with each step, and could even hear the slightest rattle, assuring her that it would be there if she ever felt inclined to reach for it.
“What do you want with me?” Katherine asked.
Jessie glanced to the night sky outside the window. Soon she would be with the Resistance, and she wasn’t sure if she would be able to come here anymore. Whatever she felt she needed to do here, she needed to do it now.
She took a deep breath. “Your son is dead.”
The older woman shuttered. “Why…” Katherine shook her head. “Why are you tormenting me?”
“You weren’t with him when he died!” she cried out. She rushed to the side of the bed. “You didn’t see…”
She stopped herself when she saw Katherine’s eyes grow large.
“You’re human?” she asked.
Jessie turned her face away as if ashamed to have her humanity discovered. “You don’t know what you did to him,” she said, speaking out towards the wall on her left. “You abandoned him there and left him to die a horrible death.”
