Once Penchant had shown them the opening, the trio had moved some of the existing rubble so that a fallen wall jutted two feet above the entrance like overhead cover, making the area as nondescript as the surrounding ruins. Keryn had turned in circles, marking all the major landmarks under the spotlights. She prayed then as she prays now that she would be able to find the entrance again in the dark.
Nearly an hour passed, an eternity to Keryn, before she slipped wordlessly from underneath her blanket and stepped gingerly over the strewn bodies that inhabited the common room of House 12. Her body heat in the middle of the group was hardly missed; the bodies quickly shifted to fill the gap left by her departure. She was nearly to the door when a shadow detached itself from the wall. Stifling a surprised yell, Keryn visibly relaxed as she recognized the shaggy blond hair.
“You know you don’t have to do this,” Adam said, reaching out and taking her hand. “If nothing else, I could go with you.”
“No,” Keryn replied, shaking her head softly in the darkness. “No, you can’t come with me. It’ll be dangerous enough with just me being out after curfew. I can’t risk us both on my wild whim.”
“Then just…” he paused, his big hand fidgeting with hers nervously in the ensuing silence. He finally looked up, concern reflected in his blue eyes. “Then promise you’ll come back to me.”
Keryn reached up and placed her hand on his face, her fingers caressing his cheek as he leaned affectionately. He lowered toward her, his warm breath dancing in white clouds in the cold night. Keryn’s heart raced in her chest as she leaned forward, her lips brushing against his. Adam slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her into him, their kiss deep and passionate. Emotions suppressed for so long flooded through them both, finding an outlet in their shared kiss. Finally, Keryn pushed herself away, her breathing heavy and her cheeks flushed. Looking at Adam, she saw the same fire that she felt in her veins reflected in his eyes.
“Come back to me,” he whispered once again into the darkness before opening the front door, the lock already picked in anticipation. “And be safe.”
Without a reply, Keryn slipped out into the night and she heard the door click softly closed behind her. She stood for a moment with her back resting against the door, emotions flooding through her mind. Closing her eyes, she pushed away the memory of Adam’s burning eyes and thought again of the course she would have to take to reach the sewer entrance. She wished she could have brought the map with her, but she couldn’t risk it falling into the hands of the Terrans if she were caught. Instead, she would have to go on memory alone. Opening her eyes again, she took a deep breath and ran into the night.
Keryn knew the dangers as she set out into the night. If spotted, she would be shot on sight by the Terran patrols. But remaining unnoticed would not be easy. Aside from the roving guards, spotlights scanned the open areas, spotlights that were manned by armed guards in towers. Above all, Keryn feared the fighters that made randomized passes over the city after curfew, scanning continuously for violators.
As she passed from building to building, ensuring that she stayed as close as possible to the alleyways that ran between them, she cursed the lack of heavy snowfall. Any other night, it would have been near blizzard conditions, but not the night she snuck away. Looking behind her, she could already see the trail she left as she pushed through the thigh-deep snow banks and the lack of precipitation would not cover her tracks. Desperation set into her, the inevitability of her impending capture settling over her and driving her on at a reckless pace. Counting the streets in her mind, she knew it was only a few more blocks until she reached the forgotten department store, which she knew to be her only detour before escaping the city.
As she covered the next two blocks the snow began to fall heavy and thick, Keryn was glad to see that the heavy snowfall was filling in the tracks behind her. Already, the trail of her crossing the street after leaving House 12 was disappearing, consumed by the aggressive winter. Up ahead, only one more block, she could see the outlines of the department store. It’s windows shattered from the bombings, Keryn knew it wouldn’t be hard to enter, assuming she made it there. Reflecting her fears, she began hearing voices coming from a cross street between her and the store. She froze, shrinking against the building and crouching low into the snow drift. From the side street, four Terrans in full armor entered onto her street, laughing at one another’s stories, but deadly serious in their scans of the area. Keryn forced herself lower into the snow, ignoring the biting cold.
“Don’t turn left,” she mouthed into the snow, knowing that her tracks would be easily discovered if they walked past her hidden location. To her relief, the soldiers glanced only briefly left before turning to the right and walking up the main road, heading toward and past the abandoned department store. When they were far enough away, she stood and shook free the clinging, wet snow before setting out toward the store once again. She fell into step behind the soldiers, using their worn troughs through the snow to cover her own tracks until she came to the front of the store. Breaking through the snow until she reached the shattered window, she slipped inside, moving nimbly between the display manikins, all of which had been stripped bare of their fashionable clothing.
The inside of the department store was dank and musty, the smell of accumulated moisture assaulting Keryn’s senses. She moved slowly, struggling to see in the deep darkness of the store and wanting to ensure she didn’t knock anything over that might give away her position. The trio had entered the store only briefly following the occupation, just long enough to hide their weapons among the discarded and forgotten items of the store. She remembered little of the layout, and regretted not making a map of this place as well. After a few minutes, however, she made her way to the back of the store, many of the clothes too far removed from thieving hands and still undisturbed. Locating a skirted manikin, Keryn reached below the long dress and inside the latticework cage that comprised the manikin’s lower half. Smiling, she felt the pistol, flashlight, and grenade belt still fastened to the inside of the cage. As she tore her pistol free from the cage, something rattled behind her. She turned reflexively, bring her pistol to bear. In the darkness of the store, nothing moved.
She walked slowly around the racks of clothing, checking for places where someone would have hidden, but wasn’t able to find anyone. Though she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was still being watched, she returned to her belongings, latching her ammo and grenade belt around her waist. Stepping cautiously back through the store, glancing in alcoves as she walked by, she made her way back to the front of the store and out the window.
The trek to the ruins where the trio had been working earlier that day was slow going, as she was forced to hide repeatedly from the roving patrols. Though she was now armed and more confident in her chances of survival, she had no interest in drawing the unnecessary attention that a gunfight would bring. Instead, she remained hidden in the snow each time until the patrol had passed before moving again toward the rubble field. Nearly two hours since leaving House 12, Keryn reached the ruins. Closing her eyes, she produced a mental picture of the area, trying to pinpoint the stone slab in the darkness. Confident that she knew the direction, she opened her eyes again and started moving cautiously through the rubble, always staying as close as possible to fragmented walls and piles on stone.
Keryn passed halfway through the field, but was still unable to locate the slab. What if the sewer had been discovered, she worried, fear creeping unwontedly into her mind. If it had been discovered, then she was walking into a trap. If it was a trap, she realized, then she was already too far committed to stop. She would have already been spotted and more than likely would have been killed already. The fact that she was still alive showed promise for her mission. Breathing deeply, she took a step but then froze unmoving as a red laser dot ran over the ground in front of her. It moved twenty feet ahead of her before stopping and slowly moving back toward her position. She stared in wonder as t
he dot moved toward her, now only ten feet away. Still, it rolled toward her position. When it was within five feet, the Voice erupted in her skull
Run, you idiot, the Voice screamed. It’s the tracker for an automated turret!
Keryn stood, hypnotized. The automated turrets had motion and heat censors. Even if she ran, there was a very high chance that she’d never make it across the field before she was torn apart by the automatic fire.
You don’t have to get across the field, the Voice yelled. You only have to find the sewer. Now run!
Breaking free of her daze, Keryn rushed across the open ruins, darting between low walls and piles of rubble. The laser tracker immediately shifted, following her movements, and flames leapt from the barrel of the automatic rifle as it turned mechanically in the turret. Rounds struck the ground around her as she ran, their detonations sounding like muffled cannon blasts in the thick snow. Stone and ice pelted Keryn. As she ran, the turret decimated the small amounts of cover she used to avoid the deadly barrage. Shifting back and forth, Keryn tried her best to avoid both the hail of gunfire and, covering her face, tried to keep the flying debris from tearing through her soft flesh.
There, the Voice cried excitedly. There’s the sewer!
Keryn peered through the darkness as she ran. Directly ahead, the stone slab the trio had pulled to cover the sewer entrance slowly emerged from the gloom like a beacon of salvation. Feeling rejuvenated, Keryn sprinted the rest of the distance, the turret’s continuing fire still close on her heels. Dropping to her knees, she slid underneath the low overhand, never once in her life assuming she’d be so excited to see a sewer. Reaching out, she found the entrance, the hole a deeper black amidst the darkness. Above her, the rounds slammed into the thick stone slab, vibrating the ground beneath her. Taking a deep breath, she slipped into the sewer’s entrance, her feet dangling as she tried to locate the rungs of the ladder. Finally, her feet struck the first metal rung, and she lowered herself into the consuming darkness. After climbing nearly halfway down the ladder, she heard the gunfire above her subside, both the motion and heat sensors losing her signal.
After climbing for what felt like an eternity, Keryn finally sloshed into the stagnant water in the sewer pipe. Without constant water flow from the surface, the waste had pooled in the pipes. The smell assaulted Keryn’s senses, the air hanging thick with the scent of dust, bile, and human waste. Gagging from the scent, she focused hard on controlling her stomach contractions. If she started vomiting now, it would be a long time until she was able to recover enough to move on, time that she wasn’t sure she had. When she felt under control of her reflexes, Keryn unclipped the flashlight from her belt and turned on the narrow beam. Flashing the beam down both directions, she grew content that nothing waited in ambush within the pipe. The light did, however, dance across objects floating in the water, items she preferred not to analyze too deeply for fear that the urge to vomit would return. Recapturing her mental compass, Keryn turned to the right and set off, sloshing through the knee-deep waste.
She knew before she set off that the edge of city was no more than three thousand feet away from the rubble they had been clearing during the day. On the surface, that would have been an impossible distance. In the sewers, however, she felt more freedom of movement than she had in the past two weeks of occupation. Covering the distance quickly, eager to be free from the city, Keryn’s heart sank when she entered a round chamber, a stagnant pond filling the center of the room. She had assumed that the tunnel would run straight all the way to the edge of the city with a drainage pipe releasing the waste into the wilderness. Looking around, though, she found two large pipes bisecting the room, one leading off to both her left and right. Directly ahead, the direction she needed to be heading, she saw only a small pipe covered by a grate. She cursed herself for making such a foolish assumption.
Climbing into the stagnant water, her breath caught in her throat as she sank to her waist, the frigid water quickly soaking through her clothes. Shivering uncontrollably, she moved through the water, feeling the muck under the surface pulling at her legs while she walked. Halfway through the pond, she paused and flashed her light down the two bisecting tunnels. As far as her light would reach, the tunnels continued straight and true, no side passages apparent from where she stood. Following either side passage would lead her further away from where she needed to go and keep her trapped within the city limits. Turning instead toward the grate ahead, she pushed her way through the rest of the water. Her feet and legs ached from the cold as numbness spread through her limbs. She needed to get free of the water soon or she would freeze to death.
Reaching out, she pulled on the grate, which rattled in her hands but didn’t pull free of the wall. Glancing around its side, her shoulders sagged as she saw the lock holding the grate firmly in place. She shivered in the cold water, trying to find a solution to her problem, but all her thoughts seemed to move through a thick fog, coalescing but hard to grasp.
You need to get out of water, the Voice said, though its words echoed from far away. You’re slipping into hypothermia. Quit worrying about whether or not they’ll hear you and just shoot the lock.
Pulling her pistol free with shaking hands, Keryn tried to hold the barrel steady as her breath passed through lips that were fading quickly toward blue. Squeezing the trigger, her hands shook the trajectory off course. The round struck the corner of the lock, but it stayed closed. A soft sob escaped her lips.
Try again, the Voice came as little more than a distant whisper. Don’t give up.
Holding the pistol to the lock once again, Keryn allowed the muscles in her chest to constrict, limiting the shaking in her extremities. Pulling the trigger a second time, the bullet slammed into the core of the lock, shattering the brittle metal. Scrambling, she pulled the remains of the lock from the hinge and, throwing the grate open, climbed inside. Though the tunnel was little wider than her shoulders, Keryn was glad to be out of the freezing water. She lay in the tunnel, her face collapsed into the slime-encrusted floor of the pipe, and she panted heavily into the darkness.
Please keep moving, the Voice pleaded, now so distant that its words rolled over her like emotions rather than sound. You are so close to your freedom.
Pulling her flashlight free from under her body, Keryn pushed herself ahead through the murky tunnel. The filth of the pipe coated her clothes and collected oily on her hair and skin. Though exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her, she kept pulling herself through the tight tunnel, her breathing labored and lower extremities burning in the cold. Stopping, trying to catch her breath, the flashlight rolled from her limp fingers, its beam coming to rest pointing at the wall. Moaning from the strain, Keryn lifted her head to find the flashlight. To her surprise, she found herself able to see in the cramped tunnel, far beyond the reach of the flashlight. Picking up her light, she pointed it ahead of her and was barely able to suppress a cry of happiness. Her beam reflected off of piled white snow, its drifts beginning no more than ten feet ahead. Scrambling forward, ignoring the scrapes and tears she received in her hurry, Keryn clawed through the accumulated snow and dropped, unceremoniously, from the end of the tunnel and onto the piled snow a few feet below.
Laughing, Keryn collapsed into the snow and stared up at the inviting distant stars. After nearly four hours of hiding, being shot at, freezing, and climbing through human waste, she was finally free of Miller’s Glen.
CHAPTER 16:
Yen’s eyes narrowed as he entered the War Room, the dim lights casting heavy shadows on the faces of the Officers assembled. The atmosphere was greatly changed from the strategic conference that had previously been held around the round table. The laughter and camaraderie that had been shared between the Warrants and Officers of the Revolution was replaced by a brooding darkness worn on the faces of all assembled. Captain Hodge looked up from the table as Yen entered, her face hidden behind her folded hands. Worry lines cut creases across her forehead and spread like spider webs beneath
her eyes. She looked as though she had aged greatly over the course of the night.
The muted conversations quickly died as the last of the staff assembled, the door to the War Room sliding silently closed as the last entered and took her seat. All eyes turned toward the Captain, who had placed a ship-wide call requesting the immediate presence of all Officers and Warrants. Though all eyes remained locked on Captain Hodge, she sat wordlessly at the head of the table, her feathery wings quivering slightly in rhythm with her quick breaths. Yen squirmed in his seat, uncomfortable as the anticipation built in the room. Knowing why the meeting had been called did little to alleviate his impatience.
After long moments of silence had passed, Captain Hodge dropped her hands heavily to the table. “We have a problem,” she stated bluntly, her voice devoid of the airy singing that normally accompanied her words. “This morning, Eminent Merric failed to report to his duties as the ship’s Tactical Officer. All of you are aware that this lapse is highly unlike the Eminent. Though repeatedly called throughout the morning, he failed to respond to any transponder calls. We pulled up the ship’s tracking system, which should have identified his exact location based on his unique transponder signal.”
The Captain paused, drinking in the sight as the Officers and Warrants around the table leaned closer. “We were unable to find his transponder signal anywhere on board. As I’m sure you are all aware, that can only mean one of two things: either Eminent Merric is no longer on board,” she paused, scanning the gathered faces, “or his transponder has been destroyed. We already checked the records for the airlocks. None were used in the past seventy-two hours, meaning that Merric did not leave the ship.”
Yen looked at those sitting around him. Their faces all reflected the same expression that he had so carefully crafted: a look of utter surprise and dawning realization of the Captain’s implications.
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