Beyond These Walls | Book 8 | Between Fury & Fear

by Robertson, Michael

William nodded down at their retreat. “It looks like they know it too.”

  “We’re not out of this yet,” Gracie said. “The dogs might be down, but we still have to think about the drones.”

  Chapter 13

  They might have been far from the ground on the tower’s roof, but at least they could see where they were heading. The moon shone as if it lit the way specifically for them. Exhausted, battered, and bruised, William ran with heavy steps, his mouth wide as he gasped for air.

  The gaps between the buildings only stretched a few feet. Easy enough when they weren’t twenty stories up. Every jump sent a flip through William’s stomach. He focused ahead. Don’t look down!

  They were several buildings away from the one they’d lost the dogs on. Every roof had a doorway leading back inside. Gracie chose this one to re-enter the dark stairwell.

  As he had before, William took up the rear, Matilda directly in front. The hum of a drone froze him to the spot. The machine’s brilliant white torch pinned him where he stood. “Shit!”

  The drone’s guns whirred. Red rings of heat. Bullets burst towards him.

  Matilda grabbed William’s shirt and dragged him inside. The bullets hit the closing steel door. “What were you doing?” she said.

  William’s words had left him. He shook his head. “I … I …” He should have run the second he’d heard them.

  “Come on!” Matilda dragged him down the stairs with her, the stampede of the others at least three to four floors below. “We have drones on our tail,” she called.

  Gracie’s reply snapped over the staccato beat of their descent. “Fuck it!”

  The drones weren’t stupid. They’d find them. But with no windows in the stairwell, maybe they could still get away.

  The open door let in enough light to reveal the floor number. They were down to the tenth floor when Gracie made her move. Like she’d done with the other buildings, she turned into a room with a balcony that faced an opposing tower. The one they’d only just crossed the roof of. Were it not for her leadership, they’d all be dead by now.

  William leaped last. An easy jump, his arms windmilled during his moment of weightlessness. The glow from a drone shone down on him. Splinters of brickwork sprayed from where the bullets chewed into the wall.

  Gracie led them to another stairwell. She took them down several more floors before they jumped across to another building.

  This time, William, as the last runner, got clear with no sign of the drones.

  A sparse layout of windows lit the next stairwell. Gracie led them past the ground floor to the end of the stairs in the basement. She charged through the final steel door. The others followed, but before William could run after them, Matilda subtly raised her hand in his direction. He knew her well enough to read her intention. Stay the fuck back!

  The door closed on William, but not before he saw why she’d encouraged him to wait. Twenty to thirty boys, girls, men, and women in red uniforms sat around a fire in an underground space, ramps leading out of there. One of the men got to his feet. Thankfully, he only carried a baton. They could fight batons. But could they fight twenty to thirty of them?

  William had to do something. He ran, retreating up the stairs. As he rounded the first bend back to the ground floor, a deep male voice echoed in the cavernous space. The man addressed his friends. “Well, well, what have we here, then?”

  Chapter 14

  William’s legs burned, sweat stung his eyes, and his lungs were so tight he had permanent stars swimming in his vision. But he climbed the stairs to the ground floor and out into the foyer.

  His steps heavy, his feet slapping against the tiled floor, William stumbled towards the road outside and waited in the open. They’d taken so many twists and turns he’d lost his bearings. Had they gotten clear of the area filled with mines? He’d have to take his chances. The hum of the drones in the distance told him everything he needed to know. The swarm was on its way.

  First, the low thrum of their engines, and then their bright white glow. As the whir grew louder and the lights shone brighter, William jogged along the front of the tower, watching over his shoulder for the drones.

  And he’d timed it to perfection. The drones rounded the corner and fixed on him just as he turned and sprinted away. The collective buzz of the flying machines came after him. They flew in a V formation. At least fifteen to twenty of them, they had him in their sights.

  By the time William had rounded the next bend, they’d halved his lead and were closing in fast. Another spray of bullets ate into a wall close to him.

  His steps clumsy, his stomach knotted. The bullets chewed into the asphalt just feet behind him. William charged around the next corner. A slope led to the space beneath the tower. A ramp of some sort. He let gravity carry him down.

  As one, the soldiers in red turned towards William, his own breathing the loudest thing in that moment.

  The man who’d approached his friends threw his arms wide. He had black bags beneath his blue eyes and scars on his cheeks. He shook his head. “What the hell is—”

  The angry swarm of drones flooded into the basement behind William.

  A girl in their group stated the obvious. “Drones!”

  William ran past his friends and shouted, “Follow me!”

  He led them back through the steel door, the crash of the slamming metal as it flew wide into the wall. Up the first flight of stairs, they ran to the foyer and out into the moonlit street beyond. The stutter of bullets echoed in the building’s basement. The screams of dying soldiers rang even louder.

  Although they continued to run away from the tower, they slowed their pace. The dogs would take a while to regroup, and the drones were occupied. They moved slowly enough for William to catch his breath. “You said the drones would go for Fury over anyone else.”

  Gracie smiled and patted him on the back. “That I did. Well done, William. Well done.”

  Chapter 15

  The longest night William had endured in a long time. Maybe the longest night ever. And they were still hours from sunrise. He ran with the others on legs that had no right carrying his weight. Every time his tired steps slammed down on the concrete, sharp bruising pain ran up the front of his shins. He’d whacked them when he’d fallen on the stairs, but the general abuse he’d subjected his body to had left him aching from head to toe.

  William ran at the back of the line again, Matilda and then Olga ahead of him. Max hadn’t been his usual self since Cyrus’ death, and this run through the city hadn’t helped. He did what the group needed of him, but his expression had remained unchanged the entire time. Blank. Distant. Dianna had kept up without complaint. Artan could run forever, as could Hawk, who would also fight anything in his path given half the chance. Olga refused to back down to Gracie’s pressure, and Matilda rarely came up short when tested. She conducted herself with humility, but she was the strongest person William had ever met.

  Gracie darted through another open and windowless space into another building, shards of glass popping beneath their steps. This one had machines like the café they’d visited when they’d entered the city. Attached to the walls, they were missing their fronts, their sun-bleached multicoloured wires spilling from them like intestines.

  A staircase in the corner, Gracie headed for it.

  “Not again,” William said beneath his breath. “More fucking stairs.”

  All the while, the pulse of gunfire rang throughout the city as the drones executed the soldiers. But screw them. Who knew what they’d planned to do with William’s friends. They deserved everything that came their way.

  The upstairs of the abandoned shop had one small window. Like all the others in the city, the glass had gone from the frame. Like some less trodden paths, shards of it remained, the fine dust glistening like glitter in the moonlight.

  Gracie peered out of the small window while William slumped against a wall. If he stayed still for too long, he’d seize. His body buzzed from where
sweat burned his many grazes. He reached across and held Matilda’s hand, resting the back of his head against the wall. Just as he closed his eyes, Gracie spoke.

  “Those marks on your map, William.”

  The lure of sleep had already wrapped its arms around him. William snapped out of it, snorting with a sharp inhalation. “Huh?”

  “Those marks on your map.” Gracie held her hand out to him.

  William pulled the map from his back pocket before handing it to Gracie. She unfolded it on the floor. “These marks.” According to the map, they were between two communities of similar size. Both of them had orange boxes. The communities that were farther south had boxes that were a deeper shade of red. “They show how technologically advanced each place is.”

  “How do you know that?” Artan said.

  “This map comes from our community. It’s one reason we’re not on here. We create maps to throw people off the scent. Although,” she smirked, “I’m fairly confident that if anyone else made a map of the area, they still wouldn’t include us. We’re one of the best-kept secrets around these parts.”

  “Based on whose opinion?” Olga said.

  Matilda spoke before Gracie could reply. “So Fear and Fury are only orange?”

  Gracie shrugged.

  The white glow of a drone’s light shot past the window. Artan pointed at where it had just gone. “Drones and dogs only warrant an orange box?”

  Again, Gracie shrugged.

  Max’s eyes remained glazed when he said, “What does a community with a red box look like?”

  Footsteps entered the ground floor of the building.

  Gracie jogged on tiptoes to the top of the stairs. Hawk closed in behind her and drew his hunting knife. William reached them last, his movements stiff.

  Two soldiers dressed in blue. Fear’s army. They’d entered the building from the opposite end to the group. They were clearly heading for their drones. Had they been following their flying machines the entire time? A shot of adrenaline tightened William’s stomach. Had they been on his tail when he’d lured the drones into the basement of the tall building?

  “Come on, man,” one soldier said to the other. Two boys of a similar age to William and his friends. The one who’d spoken had his hand on his comrade’s back. “We need to join the others.”

  “I need a piss. You go and I’ll catch you up.”

  “Fine.” The other soldier ran out into the street.

  The remaining soldier heaved, his entire body snapping forward at the waist. His bark echoed through the room and ended with a splash of sick hitting the hard floor.

  William turned away and pressed the back of his hand to his nose. He couldn’t blame the boy for his nerves, but he didn’t need to smell it.

  Gracie spoke in a gentle whisper. “He’s probably a rookie. No doubt this is his first taste of battle. He’s probably shitting himself. Not that I blame him. Life as a soldier in this city ain’t easy. Especially when you’re dragged into a fight, and especially when you belong to Fear’s army.”

  “What’s the difference?” Dianna said.

  “From what we understand, Fury’s citizens choose if they want to fight in their army. The citizens of Fear have no such luxury. If you’re old enough, or sometimes you only have to be large enough, they dress you in a blue uniform, put a baton in your hand, and send you to war with a hearty slap on the back.”

  The boy downstairs heaved again.

  “Hawk!” Olga lunged for the stocky hunter. She missed, grabbing air where he’d been seconds before.

  Hawk slipped down the stairs.

  The soldier’s next heave got cut short, Hawk gripping him in a headlock.

  Gracie’s face twisted, her skin puce. “What’s he doing?”

  “Am I his fucking minder?” Olga said.

  A scuffle played out, and a few seconds later, Hawk emerged, the muscles in his right arm bulging from where he dragged the soldier up the stairs.

  Even Max’s expression had changed, his jaw hanging loose.

  Hawk dragged the soldier into the middle of the room and dropped him on the floor.

  When the blue uniformed boy opened his mouth to scream, Gracie shoved Hawk aside and kicked the kid in the head. The crack of her connection whipped around the room. Fear’s soldier fell limp.

  Gracie bared her teeth at the still-grinning Hawk. Veins stood out on her neck, and her eyes bulged. “What are you doing?”

  Hawk’s grin fell. He looked at the others. While they might not have levelled the same rage on him, from the way his expression sagged further, he realised he’d done something wrong. He pointed at the soldier. “I thought I’d eliminate the threat.”

  “What threat?” Gracie hands slapped against her thighs from where she’d thrown up a hard shrug. “He was puking his guts up. All you’ve done is blown our cover.”

  “But I-I—”

  “You what, Hawk? Is there really a sane justification for what you’ve just done?”

  “I wanted to protect everyone.”

  “But you’ve done the exact opposite.” The ginger girl tapped her temple. “If you used that small brain of yours and thought for a second …” Her cheeks bulged with her exhale. “We were in hiding up here. We could have rested and waited for this to pass.”

  Just the mention of rest dragged on William’s frame.

  “B—”

  “What do we do now when someone comes looking for him? Because they will.”

  “I thought a hostage would come in handy.”

  “We’re trying to get out of this city. What do we want a hostage for? We want nothing from them.”

  Artan stepped between the two. “It’s done now. The question is, what the hell do we do with him?”

  “Jason?”

  The soldier’s partner had returned to the shop. Gracie shook her head at Hawk while pulling her knife from the back of her belt.

  William reached the top of the stairs by the time Gracie stepped from the bottom. The blue soldier turned her way, his mouth hanging open, his response silenced by the hard crack of Gracie’s knife entering the top of his skull.

  They joined Gracie downstairs. She levelled her blood-soaked blade on Hawk. “Next time, use your fucking brain, yeah?”

  “I just—”

  “You screwed up, Hawk,” Matilda said. “Accept it and shut up.”

  Hawk frowned and stumbled back as if Matilda’s chastisement had a physicality to it.

  “Now maybe we can still get out of here.” Gracie lifted the dead soldier, hooking a hand under each armpit. Olga helped, the two girls heading towards the stairs. “If we can get this soldier upstairs, at least it’ll take them a while to find him. It might give us the time we need.”

  The room lit up with a bright white glow. A drone fixed on them. Its guns whirred.

  “Shit!” Gracie dropped the corpse. “Follow me!” She ran through the back of the shop.

  Adrenaline came to William’s aid again. Driven by a hard surge, he followed his friends out of the derelict building.

  Chapter 16

  The glow from the drone’s brilliant white beam sent the group’s shadows streaking ahead of them, stretched-out versions of their fleeing selves. At least it drove away William’s fatigue. He could push through that, but maybe not the numb buzz in his shins. How long before that pain got the better of him? At some point it would hit him with both barrels, and he’d grind to a halt. Hopefully, that moment would come after they’d found safety.

  Gracie set a demanding pace with her zigzagging run. An example of how to avoid being shot.

  At the rear again, Matilda directly ahead of him, William ran left and then right, all the while trying to keep up with the rest. Each sudden change in direction could be his last, his legs wobbling, threatening to give. The sharp chips of asphalt spurred him on. They sprayed a stinging attack against his calves and the backs of his thighs from where the drone tried and failed to execute him.

  Gracie led them le
ft down a tight alley.

  Seconds after William entered, the place glowed with the drone’s bright white glare, but the sharp turn made it crash into one wall and then the other. The battle for control halted its fire.

  William reached the end and turned left. Another main road, but at least the alley had slowed the drone. Gracie led them into another shop like she had the route mapped out in her mind.

  William ducked the spray of plaster from the wall on his left. The drone too far away to hit them. It clearly realised the same. The bullets stopped again. Why waste ammo? It had to run out at some point, right?

  Matilda called back to him, “You okay?”

  His lungs were tighter than ever. His response would rob him of the breaths he needed. The gap grew between him and Matilda. He waved her on when she turned to look at him. “Just keep running!”

  The high street behind them, Gracie ran for another gigantic building. Its entrance made from a steel frame, the remains of the windows it would have once held lay spread out in a glistening mess on the ground. Fifty feet wide and as tall, this place must have shone like a jewel in its day.

  The floor was made from dirty white tiles, each one a foot square. Many were cracked, and many more were missing.

  “Why have we come in here?” Artan shouted.

  Gracie pushed on. A conversation would slow them down.

  The drone shot through a gap in the steel frame, entering the building behind them.

  Gracie turned right into what looked like another shop. They’d entered an indoor high street. They followed her, a few of the drone’s bullets shattering the ceramic tiles.

  Old racks with pegs. Another clothes shop! William had only seen a small part of this city, but he’d already passed through enough clothes shops to serve this community ten times over.

  The drone’s whining buzz of its propellors. The slap of their steps hit the hard ceramic tiles.

  The metal frames forced them in a weaving run. It helped them avoid the intermittent bullet fire. William took a sharp left, stumbled where his right leg buckled, and slammed into another rack, knocking the eight-foot frame so hard it crashed to the ground.