New World Ashes

by Jennifer Wilson

  THE MANUFACTURED SUN was barely up when we arrived in the kitchen. Mae was busying herself with food while Mouse pushed around her breakfast. It looked like she was painting with grey mush more than she was eating it. In an attempt to set a good example, I took my bowl from Mae and shoveled in a bite. I had to choke down the chalky flavor.

  “High in protein today?” I asked Mae.

  She gave me one of her finest reproachful looks. “You’ll need it.”

  “Mmm, thanks.” I muttered around another mouthful. I tried not to snicker as Triven’s mouth puckered with his first bite. We were still grimacing our way through the remainder of breakfast when there was the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. Ryker emerged from the blockhouse carrying three small black bags. He looked exhausted, but that didn’t stop me from being critical.

  “Those don’t look like they are exactly filled with weapons.” I suspiciously eyed the three small packs dangling in his hand. My father’s journal would barely fit inside one, much less the food and weapons we had agreed upon.

  Ryker dropped the bags by the doorway. “These are just your day packs. There is some food and a few devices that may prove useful. The packs I have arranged for your escape are waiting for you at the final drop location.” He yawned, reaching for the cup Mae was offering him. “It didn’t make sense to have you drag them all over the city. They would only slow you down.”

  Triven and I exchanged glances.

  He had better not be lying.

  Ryker didn’t miss the silent exchange.

  “Please, haven’t we gotten past our trust issues yet?” He rolled his eyes, leaning against the counter across from me.

  Triven muttered something I couldn’t quite make out. Gathering my empty bowl, he moved to the sink to assist Mae with the dishes. Ryker watched him with appraising eyes. I tapped the rim of Mouse’s bowl, reminding her to eat more.

  “When do we leave?” I asked.

  Ryker refocused on me. “Your next host is expecting you in less than an hour. We are—”

  The dim lights in the house suddenly went red. Ryker shot bolt upright and Mae dropped a dish into the sink. Instinctively, I grabbed for Mouse who was already reaching for my arms.

  “What the hell—” I shouted but Ryker waved me off. He was darting across the kitchen. His fingers flew over a keypad making a screen on the wall glow to life. The entire room froze. Three military vehicles were parked outside of a house and soldiers were spilling out like silver ants into the street. From the center car stepped a young man with rich brown hair and white suit embellished with silver emblems. I hissed through my teeth as a string of profanities flew from Ryker’s mouth.

  Gage.

  It took less than a heartbeat to know they were not outside some random home, but the one we now took refuge in. Ryker’s fingers grazed the keys once more. The screen vanished and the lights turned back to a yellow-white hue.

  “Move!” Ryker barked in a hushed tone. He was already running to the hidden doorway. I bolted after him, Mouse’s head bobbing on my shoulder as I ran. Her fingers were painful as she clung to me. Triven and Mae were on our heels. Ryker unceremoniously threw the bags down the stairs and ushered us inside. Triven pushed Mae in first, then began to pull Mouse and I in with him. As my foot hit the first step, the doorbell rang. For one second we froze. Everyone’s eyes were on the front door. Triven put out his hand to me, but I didn’t go further down. Instead I turned to Ryker.

  He stood with his hand hovering above the panel, ready to shut us in. I took in his resolve.

  “You’re not coming.”

  “No,” he said. “I have to answer the door. I have to keep up appearances. This could just be a routine visit.”

  We both knew he was lying.

  Mouse was beginning to shake in my arms. I clutched her tighter as Triven and Mae came up closer behind me. Mae’s hand reached past us as the doorbell rang again. Ryker grabbed his aunt’s hand, kissing her knuckles. They nodded at each other, the simple inclination of their heads carrying a multitude of emotions.

  Ryker then grabbed my shoulders, giving me a firm shake. “When The Wall comes down I will see you standing on the other side.”

  “You had better pray you’re right, because if you’re wrong Tartarus is going to swallow you whole.” I said in a rush of words.

  He ignored me, turning his attention on Triven. “Keep them both alive.”

  “Try to keep yourself alive.” Triven retorted.

  Ryker reached out, stroking Mouse’s terrified face with his hand. “The cameras will go live in seven seconds. Don’t do anything stupid! Whatever happens, stay hidden.”

  With one last glance at me, he pressed the wall panel and the heavy door slid shut, locking us in.

  I began counting down.

  Six…

  Mae touched a panel on the wall and a screen came to life.

  Five…

  Our necks simultaneously craned to watch the image flickering to life.

  Four…

  Ryker stood at the front door, his hand on the doorknob. He was poised perfectly, undoubtedly ticking the seconds in his own mind.

  Three…

  Through the screen, we could hear Gage banging impatiently with his fist this time.

  Two…

  One.

  There was an infinitesimal pulse visible on the feed. One would barely notice the change if not looking for it. The video was live. It was one time the unchanging uniforms came in handy, no one would notice the blip in the feed. Ryker pulled the door open, his face feigning surprise at finding The Minister’s protégé on his doorstep.

  “Gage, what a pleasant surprise.” Ryker bowed his head slightly to his juvenile superior, slipping again into the role of the devoted soldier I had hated so much.

  Gage shoved his way past Ryker, inviting himself in. Mouse’s trembling amplified as he crossed the threshold. I clutched her tighter.

  “This is no time for pleasantries, Major.” He rebuffed. “Get inside and shut the damn door!”

  The flanking soldiers rushed to follow his orders. Two remained on the porch while the other four soldiers entered Ryker’s house. They lined the wall in a stripe of silver, their weapons held to their chests at a casual alert.

  Gage, however, was restless. He paced the hall, stopping with his back directly in front of the hidden doorway. He was so close and yet no sound traveled through the secreted entrance.

  I shifted my gaze away from the screen, my eyes boring into the metal door. Less than six inches separated us. An impulse slammed to the forefront of my thoughts. I wanted so badly to tear through the door and break his neck. Mouse’s breaths were coming in tiny convulsions now. Her fear only fueled my rage.

  Mae’s eyes flickered to the door as well, her weight anxiously shifting. It was apparent she wanted to back away down the steps. I turned back to the screen.

  Ryker kept an aloof air, his well-trained reactions under control. Somehow he managed to look like an entirely different person.

  Loyal soldier.

  Vengeful rebel.

  He played both parts so well.

  “We have received intel that the rebels may be making a move today.” Gage’s eyes glittered as they bore into Ryker’s.

  Mae and Triven both swore under their breaths behind me.

  “The Minister has called you in immediately,” Gage continued.

  A low growling noise was growing in the back of my throat.

  Ryker saluted, “I will put on my fatigues and meet you at the Tower straightaway.”

  We watched on the screen as Ryker moved to open the front door for them to exit. But they would not be so easily dismissed. Gage signaled and two of the soldiers stepped into Ryker’s path, blocking the door. Ryker stopped mid-stride. It looked like he was debating taking out the soldiers obstructing his way.

  “The Minister wants to see you now.” Gage’s voice was nearly shrill in his command. He shook his head, adjusting his tone to a mo
re confident purr. “Unless you have something more pertinent to tend to, Major.”

  Something was wrong. We could see it even through the screen. Ryker’s face was too calm, his body overly rigid. This was not how The Minister usually called on his soldiers.

  This was not protocol.

  I shoved Mouse into Triven’s arms and whipped back to the door with the rash intention of exploding from our hiding place. This wasn’t a friendly house call or a leader requesting his best soldier’s service, they were taking him in.

  There were only four soldiers and Gage… I could easily incapacitate—Triven’s fingers wrapped around my elbow, causing me to pause mid-thought. My hand was already on the door. When I glanced back, he shook his head. Mae touched my arm gently, nodding in agreement with Triven. Ryker’s words hung over us like a net.

  Stay hidden.

  He knew this might happen. I pulled my hand away from the cool metal of the door and turned rigidly back to the screen.

  “No, of course we will go now.” Ryker’s voice boomed as he bowed his head again. Even though his head sank in Gage’s direction, his eyes were on the door hiding us. He knew we were watching. “My life is dedicated to The Minister and the betterment of The Sanctuary. One life for the many. My plans can always be changed to ensure the safety of our people.”

  His final glance to the hidden door was nearly imperceptible, but we got the message. We were to continue without him. Ryker did not want to be saved and no one should pursue him. He was going and we should be too.

  The soldiers once blocking his way now opened the door, letting him out. Ryker strode from the house like a dedicated soldier and a parade of silver fell in step behind him. Only Gage lingered. His soulless eyes swept thoroughly over the rooms, lingering on the few dishes abandoned in the sink. With an animalistic sniff of the air, he swept from the house, slamming the door behind him.

  None of us moved for what felt like an eternity. Mae’s trembling hand was covering her mouth in horror. Slowly gathering herself, she swallowed a few times. Her tones were still hushed when she spoke, but her voice did not waver. “Plans have changed. We should go. Right now if you want to make it out of here.”

  26. SACRIFICES

  HORROR SPREAD TO each home we visited like the plague, each host going pale at the news of Ryker’s apprehension. We assured each person that he left under his own will and there were no formal allegations brought against him. But it comforted no one, not even us. Mouse had been crying slow heavy tears since we left Ryker’s kitchen and I couldn’t stop looking over our shoulders.

  It had been twelve hours and seven safe houses since Ryker was taken. There still wasn’t news. While no one knew his fate, none of the others had been seized… yet. As the hours passed, more soldiers were teeming in the streets. Even a few unexpected patrols were trolling the underground system we were using for travel. There had already been two close calls, leaving everyone shaken. Reason should have warned me to wait until the waters had calmed, but my need to distance ourselves from this place was even stronger. Besides, there was no guarantee things would calm down. The waters were just starting to simmer and if we waited, we might be boiled alive.

  The thought of ending up back in Fandrin’s grip kept chasing me from safe house to safe house like a dark phantom. I would seriously consider death before I would allow him to take me again. The only thing that would be worse than death was if he got Mouse and Triven too.

  Not a single rebel had let us out of their basement blockhouses for fear of a random inspection. Several homes had been raided already, but to our advantage none were actually rebels’ houses. Zeek had done a good job overriding the systems. The Minister’s soldiers were always off by a few residences, rifling through neighbors’ homes and arresting citizens at random. Three homes were raided near ones we had hidden in.

  “If someone had turned on them, surely we would have been found already. Right?” I asked Thaddeus. He and Petra were our second to last stop. I again flipped the knife I had been toying with, unable to be still.

  We were gathered in their safe room, watching on a screen as their neighbors were dragged from their house under suspicion. Petra had left the room to fetch us water, unable to watch anymore. Triven and Mouse were reading a book without focus. They hadn’t turned a page in over ten minutes.

  “I wish that were true, Phoenix.” Thaddeus chewed his thumbnail, his eyes glued to the screen. A hushed cry broke from his lips. His neighbor had just been tasered for not moving fast enough. Thaddeus turned away from the screen. He shook his head and ran his hands through his hair before addressing Triven and me. “Ryker was very careful about moving you three. There were twenty-five houses you could have gone to today. We didn’t even know for sure you were coming to ours until you appeared at our door.”

  Triven handed the book to Mouse, joining our conversation. “How many of you knew we were moving today?”

  Defiantly, Mouse dropped the book and came to stand by me.

  “About half of us. Ryker gave two other dates to the rest of the rebels. Just in case.” Thaddeus replied.

  “What about the video feed? Did everyone know it was going live today?” Triven asked.

  “Only four of us knew about the video. The other rebels knew that we were making our first move soon, but they only knew to watch for our signal.” Thaddeus answered. “That may be why the soldiers aren’t looking at specific people. They may know of something happening, but aren’t sure what that is.”

  “For claiming you trust your people, you certainly don’t tell them very much.” Triven’s tone was not as accusing as his words sounded. But I knew what he was thinking of… his mother. When Arstid had acted without confiding in the rest of the Subversive, it had cost people their lives.

  “Trusting someone and keeping them safe do not always go hand-in-hand. Sometimes the less people know the better. If they appear as pawns they will be treated like pawns if captured.” Thaddeus took a steadying breath. “Sometimes the few must make the decisions for the many. But they must also be willing to take the fall if things go wrong.”

  He, like Ryker, was one of those few. It was the same strategy I had preached to the Subversive. Cutting off the limbs of a beast did little. It was the head you wanted.

  We fell quiet.

  A devise on Thaddeus’s wrist dinged. He glanced down, his forehead pinched.

  “I have to go.” He said with a tight jaw. “I am expected at work and must keep up appearances.”

  The hair on the back of my neck rose as he used the same words Ryker had. Keeping up appearances was going to get them all killed. Routines and habits made you an easy target to find.

  “Petra will see you safely to the next house. Send my brother my love.” Thaddeus raised his hand as if to shake mine, but thought better of it. He shook Triven’s, patted Mouse on the shoulder, then tipped his head to me and left.

  An hour later, we were once again skirting through the white tunnels lined with doors. The shoes Mae had provided us were nearly silent on the hard floors. Only Petra’s made a soft noise as she led us. The cameras were off as planned, but we moved with haste nonetheless. Mouse ran beside me like a soundless ghost, her tiny hand clasped securely in mine. Triven’s hand hovered over the small of my back as we moved. There was an unspoken pact in our physical contact. We would not be separated. Not here. Not again.

  “Less than two minutes out.” Petra whispered back to us.

  The seemingly infinite tunnels reminded me of a book I had once stolen from the library. It was about a labyrinth constructed to hold a beast called a Minotaur. Many lost their lives in the endless maze.

  I suppressed the thoughts of our fates being the same.

  Up ahead I could see a six-way split in the tunnels. The junction looked like a hexagon with a path leading off each side. Petra decelerated her pace as she came to the opening, her hand extending behind her to slow us down too. Chest heaving, she leaned into the room checking that the surrou
nding tunnels were empty. Her head snapped back as she swore under her breath.

  They weren’t.

  She pointed at her eyes, then to mine and down the tunnel to our left. Passing Mouse to Triven I crouched to the ground and leaned out around the corner. Slowly I pulled back. Still crouching, I nodded at Petra confirming what she’d seen.

  Two armed soldiers were standing at the end of the tunnel next to ours. It would be impossible for us to pass through without being seen. I glanced at the camera pointed at us.

  It was still off. Otherwise they would know we were here.

  At least we were invisible for the moment. I looked up at Mouse and Triven with a sense of dread. My sacrifice had worked once before, it could work again. Death before their capture. Unsheathing the knives from my boots, I rose. Triven reached for me as Mouse’s mouth stretched in a muted scream of protest, but it was other hands that reached me first.

  Petra grabbed my arms pulling me toward her. Her lips brushed my cheek as she pulled me in. At first it seemed like a loving embrace, but as her lips met my ear, words spilled out. “Second tunnel on the right. First two lefts then a third right. Be safe.”

  Before I could react, she yanked one of the knives from my hand, threw me into the wall and bolted into the hexagonal room.

  I staggered in shock. Jaw open.

  Petra paused for two seconds in the hexagonal junction, ensuring the guards saw her.

  They did.

  “Halt!” A female guard screamed from the end of the tunnel. Feet could be heard pounding down the pathway toward us. Without a second glance Petra took off down the hallway across from us. I just saw her dark head disappear around the first bend when arms wrapped around me pulling me to the side. Triven’s arm pressed me against the wall as the two guards in pursuit bound into the crossroads.

  “We have an unwarranted civilian in the tunnels. Sector Fifteen-A. Requesting backup. Suspect is female, dark hair, approximately five-four. Not able to get a facial recognition on her. Be advised she is armed. Cameras are still down! Again, all available units respond. Light it up!” The male counterpart barked into his earpiece. “Repeat, LIGHT IT UP!”