Outside In

by Maria V. Snyder

  “I can see that little evil gleam in your eyes. You’re back!” he said.

  Riley’s broad smile shot through me and I couldn’t resist kissing him again. But this time, I pulled away so we could discuss plans.

  “Did you have time to make that pulley system?” I asked him.

  “One of Jacy’s men put it together.” He reached under the couch and pulled it out. “We didn’t know how thick the rope would be, so we guessed, erring on a bigger size.”

  I spun the wheels, examining the device. “What’s this lever?”

  “The brakes in case you accidently let go. We don’t want Logan smashed flat.”

  “Good idea.”

  When we finished coordinating our plans, Riley rummaged through the drawers of the desk, returning with a small pair of bolt cutters and a jar.

  He tossed the jar to me. “Sheep oil.”

  I peered at it in suspicion. “Did you have this before?” Riley had cut off a metal cuff from my wrist during our Force of Sheep rebellion, but he had claimed not to have the oil which was supposed to help with the pain.

  “I can’t recall.” He batted his dark eyelashes at me.

  “Look who has the evil gleam now.” I grumbled as I spread the oil around my neck, trying to get it under the control collar. “Okay.”

  Riley thought the back of my neck would be the best place to cut it off. I held my hair up. The cold touch of the metal sent shivers down my spine. At first, I didn’t feel anything, but when he grunted with effort, a sharp pain stabbed into my throat. I cried out and he stopped.

  “What’s the matter? I didn’t pinch your skin.”

  “It hurt.”

  “It doesn’t look like I even dented the damn thing,” he said. “I’m going to need bigger cutters.”

  A sudden and very unpleasant thought occurred to me. “Could it still be active?”

  Riley examined Zippy. “He’s working fine. Do you have the receiver and microphone I sent?”

  I pulled them from my pocket and also removed my sheep pendant. He took all the devices over to his desk. I peered over his shoulder as he tested each one.

  “They’re all broken.” He then put the tester’s two prongs on my collar as he stared at the display. “No reading either. It’s busted.”

  Relief surged through me.

  “I’ll have to have Logan help me make another pendant for you.” Riley swept the items into the recycle bin.

  I retrieved the pendant.

  “But it can’t send a signal anymore.”

  “Doesn’t matter. It’s still precious to me.” I looped it around my neck then tried to distract Riley with a passionate goodbye kiss, but he wouldn’t let me procrastinate anymore.

  Since we really couldn’t delay any longer, I climbed the ladder with reluctance and entered the air ducts again.

  The trip to Logan’s room didn’t take long. When I arrived, I peered down to check for his keepers. At first the significance of the mess below didn’t register in my mind. Logan was never tidy, but this seemed extreme even for him.

  The couch had been turned on its side. Computer parts and metallic gadgets littered the floor. The white stuffing from the ruined cushions had settled over everything like a coating of dust.

  But no sign of Logan.

  Logan was gone. After the shock wore off, I considered where he might be. If he had decided to “escape” from his room, Riley would have known about it because Logan would have sought him and Jacy out. But what if he couldn’t?

  I glanced down at the door. No wires hung from the locks, which meant Logan hadn’t escaped. Anne-Jade could have opened it from the outside. Again, Riley would know unless she was unable to tell him. But why would the room be in such disarray?

  The final and most likely scenario entailed Hank bringing Logan up to the brig on level five. It was a logical move. Logan’s knowledge and abilities made him a dangerous enemy. And from the mess, it appeared as if one of his keepers had discovered his stash of gadgets.

  Just in case Anne-Jade knew where her brother had gone, I searched for her on level four. She was slumped in her chair in the ISF office in Quad A4, staring at nothing that I could see. No one else worked at the other desks. An odd silence filled the room.

  Not wanting to scare her, I called her name before jumping down from the vent. Anne-Jade waved me over halfheartedly. Utter defeat looked at me through her eyes. I almost stepped back as my heart lurched in my chest.

  “Did something happen to Logan?” I asked.

  “Not yet.”

  Unsure if I should be relieved or not, I asked, “What do you mean by that?”

  “Come on, Trell. You don’t need me to explain it.”

  “Did Hank take him?”

  She straightened and for a brief second the old Anne-Jade frowned at me. “How did you know Hank’s involved?”

  “He tried to recruit me to his cause.”

  She slouched back. “You should have signed up. They’re in charge now, you’d have saved yourself a lot of trouble.” A wry smile twisted. “Sorry. I forgot who I was talking to. Trouble is exactly what you crave. I just want peace.”

  Anger flared. I banged a fist on her desk. “I wanted peace, too. And you know what happened while I sat around mooning over our state of affairs. I don’t crave trouble. It’s just one of those unfortunate side effects when I finally decided to take action.” I leaned in close to her—almost nose to nose. “If Hank has Logan, then I know exactly where he’s being held. Are you going to sit around moping or are you going to help me?”

  “It’s too late.”

  “That’s such a load of crap. It’s never too late.”

  A spark of ire flashed. “What more proof do you need? My brother’s dead body? Would that convince you it’s too late?”

  “No. Not Logan’s. Not Riley’s. Not mine or yours. They haven’t won, Anne-Jade. They just think they did. Which gives us the advantage.”

  She laughed. “You’re insane.”

  “That’s certainly debatable. But give me another chance.”

  “Another chance to do what?”

  “Prove to you it isn’t too late.”

  She snagged her lower lip with her teeth and chewed. “I don’t have any resources. They took everything.”

  “Everything?”

  She nodded.

  “You mean you don’t have a few loyal lieutenants who would take a risk for you?”

  “Well…”

  I sensed a small victory. “And you didn’t keep a few weapons hidden away just in case?”

  “I might have.”

  “Might? When will you know?”

  Anne-Jade huffed in annoyance. “All right. I’ll make you a deal. If you rescue Logan and get him to a safe location, I’ll help you.”

  “I accept.” I shook her hand, sealing the deal.

  I turned on my mic and hailed Riley, informing him of Logan’s disappearance and my plans to rescue him. He had given me another microphone and receiver. They worked on a specific frequency so it was very difficult for Hank and the Outsiders to pick it up.

  “Do you have the diamond wire?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you need backup?” His voice held a nervous edge.

  “I’ll take Zippy.”

  “I’d be happier if you took a dozen armed men and women along.”

  “And I’d be happier if the Outsiders decided to leave us alone.”

  “Point. Be careful…please.”

  “I will.”

  The problem with using a diamond wire to aid in my escape became apparent right away. Wires ringed the bars covering the air vent to Logan’s cell. Wires that I assumed would set off a loud alarm if I sawed through them.

  I hadn’t called attention to myself just in case Logan had company. It was interesting how fast my ability to crawl through the shafts without making noise had returned. Either that or just the amount of time I’d been spending traveling through them had sharpened m
y skills.

  Logan sprawled on his back on the thin mat. His cell was a mirror image of mine. I called his name when I was certain he was alone. He jerked and scrambled to his feet.

  “Trella, don’t touch the—”

  “Bars, I know. I can see the wires.”

  He slouched against the wall and rubbed his face. “I think I’m stuck for good this time,” he said in a tired voice.

  He didn’t appear to be injured, but I knew what the Outsiders were capable of. “What happened?”

  “My keepers made a surprise visit,” he said. “I didn’t have time to hide all my toys. They were strewn all over. I guess I shouldn’t have been so relaxed about them. Another mistake caused by overconfidence.”

  “Another?”

  He waved a hand. His right one still covered his eyes. “The whole Outsider fiasco could have been avoided.”

  “How?”

  “If I had kept track of all communications, I would have spotted Hank’s link to the Outsiders.”

  “Why didn’t you?” I asked.

  “Privacy. I didn’t want to spy on the Committee members or others.”

  “Exactly, Logan. You didn’t want to be like the Travas and Pop Cops, monitoring all our activities. You’re not to blame.”

  “I’m not helping, either,” he said. Clearly miserable, he massaged his temples.

  “Did you meet the Outsiders?” I asked.

  He straightened, dropping his hands. “They’re here?”

  “Only a couple. I’ve met them both.”

  “You? When?”

  “Long story. I’ll tell you later. First, we need to bust you out of here.”

  “How? The heating vent has the same trip wires. All you have to do is touch them and they’ll set off the alarm.”

  “How?” I asked.

  “There’s a weak electrical current going through the wires. If you touch it with your finger, you’ll block the current and that sets it off.” He began to pace. “But if you touch it with both hands, the current will travel through you and back to the wire. I could cut the bars… No. Won’t work. You’d be stuck holding the wires. No way for you to move once the bars and wires are cut. Unless we made a connection with a separate wire and some metal clamps, which we don’t have. Plus we would need one bypass for each bar, unless the wire is continuous.”

  I traced the wire. It wrapped around all five bars before continuing down the air shaft.

  “We still don’t have the clamps and wires,” Logan said when I described it to him.

  “I have Zippy and my tool belt.”

  It was as if I had told him his computer access had returned. He stood under the vent and explained in an excited tone what I needed to do to bypass the current. I performed surgery on Zippy, removing wires and various parts, following his instructions.

  Well aware that the Outsiders or Hank could come in at any time, we hurried. But it still took time to rig the bypass, cut the bars and pull Logan into the shaft with me.

  “Will it hold?” I asked, pointing to the loop of Zippy’s wire.

  “It should. Unless a cleaning troll comes by and rips it off.”

  “Let’s go.” I put a finger to my lips. “Keep quiet until we get there.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “To the roof.”

  Logan’s rescue had gone smoothly. That worried me as I guided Logan to the top of level ten. My safety rope remained in place—another good sign. I had the pulley hooked onto my belt and I found a few extra kilograms to attach as well.

  Before climbing up the Wall of the Expanse, I said, “Even with the pulley, I’m not strong enough to hoist you all the way to the top. So I’m going to use myself as a counterweight. As I sink down, you should rise up. Once you’re at the top, grab onto the ladder and climb up a few rungs. I’ll join you as soon as I can.”

  It had been five weeks since I had scaled the forty-five meters to the bottom rung of the ladder. Five hectic, muscle-bruising, energy-sapping weeks. And I felt every single one of them as I pulled myself from handhold to handhold.

  Sweating, panting and nauseous, I finally reached the last rung. I clung to it as cramps and spasms plagued my body. It seemed like I lost another week while waiting to recover.

  I secured the pulley to the rung, and threaded the rope through the wheels, dropping the end down to Logan. Vibrations traveled up the fibers as he tied it to his safety harness.

  My plan worked—not exactly as I had hoped since I had taken on too much weight and fell faster than expected, but without any dire injuries. Returning to the top was a test of my endurance; I almost gave up around thirty meters, but pushed on.

  We didn’t encounter any new problems during the rest of the trip to the ceiling. I opened the near-invisible hatch and collapsed on the floor of level seventeen.

  The daylights snapped on and Logan yelled in surprise over the sudden appearance of the Bubble Monster and his kid brother.

  “Transport vehicles like the Outsiders used,” I said to calm him.

  “Oh.”

  “Ignore them, look at the walls.” I didn’t have the energy to play tour guide so he explored on his own.

  From his cries of glee, moans of delight and pure ecstatic woots, I knew he understood the symbols and diagrams on the walls.

  When I recovered, I found him tracing an array of…glyphs. His mouth hung open and his finger moved along the raised metal with reverence.

  “Did you find out how to work the air plant manually?” I asked.

  “Huh?”

  I snapped my fingers in his face. “Air plant. Outsiders. Remember?”

  “Yes, but…” His gaze returned to the wall. “These markings… They’re incredible. They’re our history! They’re blueprints for our whole world! I’m sure there are schematics for the whole network. Our ancestors or the builders put this here in case we lost the computers, or forgot why we’re here. It’s… It’s…” He stroked the wall again.

  “Focus, Logan. Will it help us?”

  “Oh yes.” He shuffled along the wall, exclaiming over various symbols.

  “So you found the data for the air plant?”

  “No.”

  I yanked on his ear until I had his full attention. “Logan, we need to reclaim the air plant. We don’t have much time. You can drool over all this later. How can I help?”

  He described what the schematics of the air plant would look like. I searched the south and then west walls, while he continued with the east. He moved faster than me and had looped around the room, reaching the north wall before me.

  The series of beeps alerted me. I would never forget that sound. Running as fast as possible, I still couldn’t reach him before he finished entering the code.

  “It’s just like—oof!”

  I tackled him to the ground.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. The squeal of metal filled the room. “Oh.”

  Logan had opened the large door on the north wall. It was big enough to fit the huge transport vehicle. That same vehicle that could probably fly through Outer Space. Which meant that Outer Space must be waiting on the other side of the door.

  The noise rattled my teeth and vibrated in my bones. Not wasting a second, I dragged Logan over to one of the legs of the transport.

  “Hang on,” I said, bracing for the absence of air, the skin freezing cold and the floating sensation.

  The door finished moving with a bang. Daylights clicked on beyond the entrance, revealing an empty room with walls covered with more symbols.

  Logan cocked his head. “Why are we clinging for dear life?”

  “I thought Outer Space was on the other side. That door reminded me of when Cogon and I had opened Gateway.”

  “Sorry. I guess I should have told you.”

  “Told me what?”

  “This door leads to a spaceport.” He walked into the room.

  I followed him. The area was much larger than I had first thought. It appeared to be as long
as two Sectors, but only one Sector wide. Three doors at equidistant intervals were on each of the two long sides, including the open one. And one door at the end.

  He gestured to the doors. “There are seven bays that contain two transport vehicles. The Scout and the bigger Cargo vehicle. They can come out here, then the doors all close and…” He pointed at the ceiling. A huge hatch occupied the center. “Fly out to Outer Space.”

  “How do you know all that?”

  “I read it on the wall.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

  “I thought you saw something.”

  I drew in a deep calming breath. “Let’s keep looking for the air plant information.”

  Keeping Logan focused, I hustled him along the port. We searched the next two bays, but didn’t find anything until we opened the third bay. Then he cried out with more excitement than the last ten times. He had found the information on how to manually run the plant.

  I gave him a spare receiver and microphone, letting him explain it to Riley. Then we decided he should remain up here to explore and learn everything he could. I would tie a bucket to the rope so I could use the pulley and send up supplies, food and water.

  “How are you going to get into the air plant?” Logan asked. “Hank’s people are there.”

  “Anne-Jade has to make good on a promise.”

  “But she doesn’t have any weapons or manpower, and you don’t have Zippy.”

  “We’ll work it out.”

  “Good luck. You’re going to need it.”

  Anne-Jade had hidden a few stunners, and she also had a number of anti-stunners for our force. To tell the truth, it wasn’t much of a force. Word had already spread throughout Inside that the Outsiders were coming to reclaim control over us. While many worried, more seemed grateful, claiming the Outsiders would solve all of Inside’s problems. Hank and Bubba Boom hadn’t needed me to be their prophet after all.

  At hour sixty, week 146,026, Anne-Jade led a group that contained three of her lieutenants, ten of Jacy’s goons, Sloan and Riley. I scouted ahead, crawling through the ducts over the air plant, counting how many maintenance workers—seven—and reporting their locations back to Anne-Jade.