Scavenger Blood

by Janet Edwards

  “There’s a problem,” said Tad. “I’m looking on the Earth data net for maps of the local area including the subway tunnels, and the most recent one was made back in 2219.”

  “The tunnels can’t have changed much since 2219,” said Donnell. “The subway system was abandoned only a few years later.”

  “The tunnels won’t have changed much since 2219,” said Tad grimly, “but everything else has. This whole area was redeveloped when the Americas Parliament complex was built. Most of the old buildings and streets were completely wiped away and replaced with new ones. Even the name of the area around Union City was changed to Unity City when it was recognized as a new borough of New York.”

  “Wall mentioned there were places where the walls of new buildings either jutted out into the tunnels or blocked them entirely,” said Donnell. “Does all the rebuilding mean there’s no way for you to work out where the tunnels run?”

  “It means that I’ll have to overlay the map from 2219 on top of a more modern one, and draw the tunnels from one and the streets from the other.” Tad came to sit down again. “That will cause some inaccuracies.”

  Donnell and I exchanged glances. From past experience, we both knew that the inaccuracies caused by Tad having to combine two different maps would be less of a problem than the inaccuracies caused by Tad’s limited drawing ability.

  “Just do the best you can.” Donnell reached into his jacket and took out the envelope from Wall. “I’ll want you to include the information from this as well.”

  Tad looked nervously at the envelope. “Why is that covered in red blobs?”

  “The red blobs are sealing wax,” said Donnell. “There was a tradition of using wax seals on official documents, so there’s plenty of the stuff in Parliament House. We use it to make sure no one tampers with especially private messages.”

  He paused to examine the envelope before ripping it open. “I’ve never seen anyone use this much sealing wax on a message before. Wall is seriously worried.”

  Donnell took a sheet of paper from the envelope, and briefly studied it. “Wall’s made notes of several different entrances into the subway tunnels. If you can make sense of them, Tad, then add them to your map.”

  Tad nodded. “Once we’ve located Cage, I suppose your plan is for the three of us to go after him.”

  “I haven’t decided who’ll go after Cage,” said Donnell, “but you certainly won’t be included.”

  “You have to take me with you,” said Tad. “Even if I tell you where Cage is right before you leave Parliament House, he’ll probably move before you reach his position.”

  “You could keep us updated on Cage’s movements by using semaphore signals from the roof of Parliament House,” said Donnell.

  I coughed and pointed out the obvious. “We wouldn’t be able to see a semaphore signal when we were underground in the subway tunnels.”

  Donnell groaned. “That’s true.”

  “I absolutely have to be with you if I’m going to turn on the third rail in sections of tunnel,” said Tad earnestly. “Accidentally turning on the third rail in the section of tunnel where you were could be disastrous.”

  Donnell groaned again. “That’s true as well.”

  I frowned. “We can’t take Tad into a dangerous situation though. He’s the only person who has a chance of building new interstellar portals.”

  “I’m reluctant to put Tad in danger too,” said Donnell. “Not because of the interstellar portals, but because we’ll need him alive when we leave New York. I’m depending on him to negotiate us safe passage alongside the citizens’ settlements at Fence.”

  “If we don’t deal with Cage quickly,” said Tad, “then none of us will be leaving New York at all. We’ll be trapped here and die in the coming firestorm.”

  Donnell sighed and stood up. “I’ll leave making decisions about who goes to hunt Cage until we have definite evidence that he’s using the subway system. I have to go back to Reception now, and keep the peace between Queens Island and Manhattan.”

  He looked at me. “Blaze, make sure you get plenty of sleep tonight. We’ve just had an extremely hard day, but tomorrow could be even worse.”

  Donnell hurried off, and Braden stood up and went to the back of the room to check on Phoenix. Tad was already scowling down at a piece of paper, and drawing what looked like a lopsided version of the area around the Parliament House, so I went through the door at the side of the room to wash in the small bathroom. As I dodged my way past the rack of drying clothes that took up half the floor space, I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror and winced.

  Tad had said I looked pale, which was a generous description of my weary face. My brutally short haircut wasn’t helping my appearance either. I had a wistful moment remembering the long hair I’d had as a child in London. My mother had carefully brushed it every morning, ending the ritual by kissing me on the forehead.

  I shook my head at the memory that was both precious and painful, and went back into the main hospital room. Tad looked up from his drawing, and held out a hand towards me. I went to sit in the chair next to him, and took his hand in mine.

  Tad glanced at where Braden was frowning at the treatment chart above Phoenix’s bed. “I keep hoping we’ll have more than five minutes alone together.”

  I shrugged. “Things are difficult at the moment.”

  We sat in silence for a few minutes. For the last six years, I’d had a routine of going up to the roof of the Resistance wing at dawn each day to salute the Earth Resistance flag. I was still doing that now on the mornings when Nadira was available to sit with Braden and Phoenix.

  Tad had been going up to the Resistance roof with me, so we had a chance to steal some kisses in the icy wind, but he was right that we never had time to spend more than five minutes alone up there. In the evening, we’d usually sit here in the hospital room for a while, holding hands like this, but we were always conscious of Braden and Phoenix being in the room too.

  I could understand Tad finding such a limited relationship frustrating. I’d been finding it frustrating too, but now I kept thinking about Raeni and Rogue. They’d been perfectly suited to each other, with Rogue’s wildness balanced by Raeni’s organizational skills and solid integrity. Once Raeni took the leadership of Manhattan, I’d thought they had as great a chance of happiness as any couple in the alliance, but now Rogue was dead.

  I normally found the warmth of Tad’s hand holding mine comforting, but now it just reminded me that Rogue’s warmth had gone from this world forever. If the most ideal of couples couldn’t find happiness, then a mismatched pair like Tad and me had no chance at all.

  “I need to get some sleep,” I said.

  Tad released my hand and started working on his map again. I walked the four steps to my bed, and pulled the partitions closed around it. I put my boots neatly under the bed, stripped off my wet clothes and dumped them in a laundry basket, then opened my cupboard. I reached for my night clothes, but changed my mind and chose a new set of day clothes instead. With Queens Island and Manhattan on the brink of war, I needed to be fully dressed tonight.

  I lay back on my bed. “Tad,” I called softly.

  “Yes?”

  “As soon as you’ve finished your map, put the light out, and get to sleep.”

  “I will.” Tad paused before speaking again. “Whatever happens in the next few days, promise me that you’ll be careful.”

  “I’ll be as careful as possible.”

  I closed my eyes and fell asleep almost instantly. My gun woke me with a perimeter breach warning just after midnight, but the orange colour of the dot on the tracking display told me it was just Nadira coming down the corridor towards us.

  The main ceiling lights in the room were off now, but there was a lamp standing on the windowsill near Phoenix’s bed, which gave a gentle glow to help anyone caring for her during the night. I didn’t bother to get out of bed, just pulled the partition aside a fraction, so I could watch
as Nadira walked soundlessly through the room. She was wearing her favourite red and gold silk headscarf, and the golden strands in the fabric shone in the lamplight as she stood by Phoenix’s bed.

  As soon as Nadira left the room, I fell asleep again, but this time I dreamed of Cage standing at a high window and looking down at Aaron’s hunting party. I didn’t know what a sniper rifle looked like, but the dream Cage was holding a fuzzy, sticklike object. He pointed it at Rogue, fired, and Rogue’s figure crumpled, falling silently to the ground.

  The dream sequence stopped, only to immediately restart, and this time Cage’s target was Tad. When the rifle fired, Tad collapsed with a whimpering cry, and I saw his skull had been torn open to reveal the silvery strands of his implanted web.

  I woke with a gasp, heard the cry again, and realized it was coming from Phoenix. I got out of bed, and was moving the partition aside to go towards her, when I heard Braden’s voice.

  “I’ll give Phoenix her medicine, Blaze. You go back to sleep.”

  I got back into bed, and lay listening to the murmur of voices at the end of the room for a few minutes before falling asleep again. I stayed solidly asleep until my gun woke me with another warning about a perimeter breach. I studied the tracking display, and saw the green dot of Donnell was coming down the corridor.

  I relaxed, thinking it was morning and Donnell was coming to talk to me before breakfast, then used my gun to check the time and tensed again. Dawn was still over two hours away. If Donnell was coming to talk to me now, then something was badly wrong.

  I rolled over to sit on the edge of the bed, tugged on my boots, and then hurried out into the dimly lit corridor to meet Donnell. The moment he saw me, he spoke.

  “We need to move the off-worlders up to the sixth floor of the Resistance wing right away.”

  I blinked, and urgently shook my head. “It would be dangerous to move Phoenix when she’s so ill.”

  “Not as dangerous as keeping her here.”

  Chapter Twelve

  I didn’t delay to ask questions, just led the way into the hospital room. Donnell slapped the light switch next to the door, and the room went from semi-darkness to dazzlingly bright. A wordless cry of protest came from the direction of Tad’s bed.

  “Wake up and get dressed, everyone!” I shouted. “We need to move to the sixth floor of the Resistance wing.”

  “What?” Braden’s voice had the blurred edge of someone still half asleep.

  “Wake up and get dressed, everyone,” I repeated. “I’m already dressed, so I’ll help Phoenix.”

  I hurried towards Phoenix’s bed, and saw she was sitting up and looking around, her eyes wide with fear.

  “You stay sitting still, Phoenix,” I told her. “I’ll find some clothes you can put on over your night things.”

  There was the clatter of one of the wheeled partitions being thrust aside, and a semi-clad Tad appeared. “Why are we moving?”

  “Groups of Manhattan and Queens Island people have been coming into Reception all night to hurl insults at each other,” said Donnell. “Wall keeps ordering his men back to the Manhattan wing of the building, but there’s been no sign of Raeni at all, so I’ve been doing my best to keep Queens Island under control myself. The arguments have got much worse during the last hour though, and it’s clear Shark, Malice, and Viper are stirring up the trouble in Manhattan, while Major, Nero, and Lion are leading the abuse on the Queens Island side.”

  Braden came to join us, pulling a top over his head. “Those men are all Cage supporters, aren’t they?”

  “Yes,” said Donnell. “It may look as if they’re attacking each other, but I think they’re actually working together to build up the anger on both sides. Things are on the edge of exploding into open warfare, and we’ve got the extra problem that it’s been snowing heavily for the last three hours.”

  “Why is the snow a problem?” asked Tad.

  Tad knew incredible amounts about many things, but there were moments when he showed his total ignorance of something basic. Snow was one of his especially weak areas, because winters on his home world, Adonis, weren’t cold enough for it to snow. I explained the obvious to him.

  “We can’t dig a grave during a blizzard, or when there’s thick snow on the ground.”

  “I’m useless,” Tad muttered to himself. “Yes, of course. If the snow makes it impossible to bury Rogue, that’s a huge problem.”

  “There’s no chance of this situation calming down while Rogue lies unburied,” said Donnell. “Nadira and I have decided to get the hospital patients through Reception to their own wings of the building now, rather than risk them being trapped in Sanctuary by fighting in Reception.”

  “Do we have to go through Reception to reach the other wings of the building?” asked Tad. “Couldn’t we go upstairs and through the Parliament Chamber instead? I remember that’s right above Reception and has security doors linking it to all the wings of the building.”

  Donnell shook his head. “There’s no way to get to the other wings of the building from the higher floors of Sanctuary. In the earliest days of the alliance, the security doors to Sanctuary were left unlocked because it was common ground.”

  He pulled a face. “Then there was that murder in Sanctuary eighteen years ago. People discovered the murderer had used the Parliament Chamber route to sneak into Sanctuary unseen. Both the security door leading to the Parliament Chamber, and the one to the Banqueting Hall above that, were welded shut to make sure that no one could ever do that again.”

  “I see,” said Tad, in a deflated voice.

  “Nadira has gone to organize the evacuation of the other two hospital rooms,” said Donnell. “She says the patients there aren’t in a serious condition, and each division has at least one person with nursing experience who can care for them. Since Nadira belongs to the Resistance, and has sixth floor access, she’ll be able to continue caring for Phoenix herself.”

  “But Phoenix can’t walk to Reception,” said Braden, “let alone climb the stairs to the sixth floor of the Resistance wing.”

  “We’ve obviously thought of that,” snapped Donnell. “Nadira says that if any other patients were this ill, she’d stay here with them and trust in the alliance rules of respecting the safety of hospital patients in Sanctuary, but given the level of hatred against off-worlders ...”

  “Cage tried to kill us,” Phoenix joined in the conversation, her voice faint but determined. “His supporters may try to kill us too. I’ll manage the walk to the Resistance wing somehow.”

  “There’s no need for you to walk anywhere, Phoenix,” said Donnell, in a more soothing voice. “We’ll take you to the Resistance wing in a wheelchair, and then carry you up the stairs.”

  He paused. “Nadira will be bringing the wheelchair here in a minute. Blaze, make sure you take Phoenix’s medicine with you. If she’s due another dose soon, then you’d better give it to her now.”

  I’d been on my knees, checking the clothes in the cupboard next to Phoenix’s bed and thinking through the problem of getting her dressed. Now I grabbed a coat, stood up, and turned to call back to Donnell.

  “I’ve got Phoenix’s medicine and treatment chart in my pocket. She isn’t due another dose of medicine for three hours.”

  “Good,” said Donnell. “Tad, where’s the information from Wall, and have you managed to draw a map yet?”

  “Yes. Everything’s here.” Tad seized a pile of papers from beside his bed and thrust them at Donnell.

  “Thank you. Finish getting ready as fast as possible. You’ll all have to leave your possessions here to be collected later because every second counts. I need to get back to Reception now.” Donnell didn’t wait for a reply, just strode out of the room.

  I carefully formed six words in my mind. ‘Gun command tracking display maximum range.”

  My gun responded with a confusing mass of lines that showed most of the ground floor of the Sanctuary wing. The three turquoise dots of the off-worl
ders were right next to me. The other two hospital rooms were empty, but there was a straggling group of about twenty dots heading down the corridor that led through the storage area to the entrance to Reception. That group included the orange dot of Nadira and the two yellow dots of other nurses. The green dot of Donnell was moving rapidly towards them.

  I turned to Phoenix. “I don’t want to use up all your energy getting you dressed, so the plan is that you’ll just wear your coat over your night clothes. First of all though, we need to get your socks and boots on. I’ll help you turn to sit on the edge of your bed.”

  Tad came over to stare anxiously at Phoenix. “Wouldn’t it be easier for Phoenix to wear slippers?”

  “It’s important she wears her boots,” I said firmly, and pointed a finger at Tad’s feet. “Get your own boots on too.”

  Tad frowned. He’d a habit of asking questions at the wrong moment, so I expected him to do that now, but he just hurried off.

  It seemed to take an endless time to get Phoenix sitting on the edge of the bed and put her socks on. As I was picking up her boots, Braden came over.

  “I’m fully dressed, and have my boots on. Can I do anything to help?”

  I nodded. “You support Phoenix while I put her boots and coat on.”

  There was the sound of distant shouting, and Braden threw a nervous glance towards the door. “What’s happening out there? Shouldn’t Nadira be here with the wheelchair by now?”

  I spared a second to study my gun’s tracking display. Nadira’s group had stopped in the storage area of Sanctuary. The green dot of Donnell was ahead of them now, and moving towards Reception at running speed.

  I eased Phoenix’s left foot into her boot, and spoke in what I hoped was a calm, confident voice. “Nadira will come soon.”

  “But what if she doesn’t come?” asked Braden.

  “Then someone will need to carry Phoenix to the Resistance wing.” I put Phoenix’s right boot on. “Do you think you could manage that, Braden?”

  “Yes.”