by Speer, Flora
“Good luck,” Carol said to them. “We’ll meet again soon.”
“Yes,” said Bas, smiling at her. “We will.”
Nik’s hand tightened on Carol’s shoulder. She knew he would not kiss her, but the glance they exchanged was worth a dozen kisses. For a moment she covered his hand with her own. Then Nik was gone, following Bas past the barricade, and Carol was alone in the kitchen with Lady Augusta. Carol was tempted to ask again if Nik and his friends would come safely through the next few hours, but she did not think Lady Augusta would give her a straight answer.
“It is time to go,” said Lady Augusta. She motioned to Carol to leave the house first.
Carol heard the barricade slide shut behind her. Quickly she went up the steps and climbed across the first mound of broken materials before she turned around to reach down a hand to help Lady Augusta up beside her.
Lady Augusta was not there.
“Is this a good sign, or not?” Carol wondered. She paused, looking around in case Lady Augusta had somehow gotten past her, but if she had, Carol could not discover her whereabouts.
There was an inch of fresh snow on the ground, and it was quickly being churned into gray slush by the two dozen or so civil guards who were pacing about the square with a false air of casualness that could not have fooled anyone. They were not deployed in a group but were moving individually, and they appeared to be greatly interested in the activity at the center of the square, as if that were the reason for their presence.
The noisy old machine was back and with it, the same bunch of workmen whom Carol had encountered on her first day in this future city of Lond. Beneath dismal gray skies, in bone-chilling cold, the men were in the process of removing the World Tree.
“I guess it’s like an artificial Christmas tree,” Carol said to herself. “They put it up at the beginning of the season, and then dismantle it when the holiday is over. I wonder if the branches unscrew from the trunk. Or if they have an attic to store it in.”
She did not watch the workmen for long. They did not seem to be working very hard or accomplishing much for their half-hearted efforts, and Carol had her own duties to think about. She was supposed to join Pen and Jo, and to operate under Jo’s direction. She could see her friends just a few yards away, talking to Lin. After a last glance at the World Tree and the workmen, Carol strolled over to the other women while trying to appear natural.
“Where is Sue?” she asked Lin, mindful of the civil guard who stood near.
“Gone to stay with my sister for a few days.” Lin responded with a wink the guard could not see, to let Carol know she understood the need to make their conversation sound ordinary, and that she also understood Carol’s concern for the little girl’s safety. “It’s a good thing, too. I have fallen behind in my work over the holiday.”
“You’ll be back in the rhythm of it in another day or two,” said Jo with just the right touch of indifference toward boring work. “Oh, look, the tree is about to come down.”
The men operating the machine were maneuvering it so that its long, rusty arm reached toward the trunk of the World Tree. The jaws at the end of the arm opened and then began to clamp themselves around the trunk, preparing to lift the metal tree off its base. Everyone in the square stopped to watch, including the guard who was standing near Carol and her three friends. This was the moment they had been waiting for, when the attention of the guards was distracted by a routine and unremarkable event. All around the square other rebels were silently poised for action, though they, too, appeared to be watching the removal of the tree.
Jo made a quick gesture with one hand and at her signal Pen moved toward the nearest guard. Carol could see that Pen was holding a stunner weapon in the hand that rested beneath the folds of her heavy coat as if she were seeking warmth. The charge generated by the stunner would not hurt the guard, it would simply make him unconscious for several hours. By the time he awoke the action should be over, and he would be given the opportunity to join the rebels. Nik had told Carol that many of the guards were as opposed to the present Government as anyone else, but were kept in line by threat of harm to their families if they did not follow orders. Nik believed the disaffected guards would go over to the rebel side as soon as it became clear that the Government was going to fall.
“Luc’s surprise is overdue,” Jo murmured, displaying the first sign of nervousness Carol had seen in her.
“Give him a moment or two more. Luc is dependable.” Lin’s voice was as low as Jo’s, but Pen must have heard her, for she glanced backward and wiggled her eyebrows at Carol. Carol grinned and held her breath, grateful for Pen’s tension-breaking sense of humor.
When the rumbling started, Carol thought at first that the noise was coming from the machine standing next to the World Tree and that something was wrong with the machine. She realized her mistake when smoke began to pour from the end of every branch of the tree. Flashes of red and blue light followed the appearance of the smoke. From where Carol stood it looked as if the metal fingertips of the tree were hurling out miniature bolts of lightning. The noise was certainly loud enough by now to be mistaken for thunder.
Carol did not know precisely how Luc had created this show of light and sound, but it produced exactly the effect Luc and Nik had intended. The men who were working on removal of the World Tree began to back away from it, talking anxiously among themselves and looking frightened. Then the rusty machine waiting to lift the tree began to belch and shake, and the workmen moved more quickly, putting distance between themselves and the machine.
With the eyes of most people in the square directed toward the machine and the World Tree, the moment for action was at hand. Pen released the safety catch on her weapon, aimed it at the guard in front of her, and leveled him with a single burst. The buzzing noise the stunner made reverberated unpleasantly in Carol’s ears for several seconds after Pen was finished. The guard lay unmoving. Jo reached down and grabbed his weapon, taking it for herself. They left him where he fell, comatose but unharmed. All across the square similar incidents were taking place and, for a moment or two, no one appeared to notice what was happening. Carol saw Nik not far away, leaning over to take the weapon from the guard he had personally sent into involuntary sleep.
“Start moving the bystanders out of the square now,” Jo ordered. “Anyone who isn’t going to fight along with us will have to leave or risk being hurt.”
“Look!” Lin pointed, laughing. Fiery golden pinwheels were shooting out of the World Tree from all angles.
“When Luc said fireworks, he meant it,” Carol remarked. “What a brilliant idea to distract the guards.”
“Not for long,” Pen noted. “And don’t let Luc’s contribution distract us from our work. I see a couple of elderly women over there who ought to be sent home where they will be safe. We only have stunners, but the guards have killing weapons and they won’t hesitate to use them on anyone who gets in their way.” Pen started forward and Carol went with her.
Out of the corner of her eye Carol saw one of the civil guards who was standing near the World Tree pull out his weapon and adjust the setting. Taking aim, he fired at one of the twirling pinwheels. A flash of electric blue light enveloped the World Tree.
Carol had not gone two steps more before a violent explosion roared through the square. She was so stunned by it that she could not move, could not have saved herself if it were necessary. She saw the machine beside the World Tree disintegrate into a thousand pieces of jagged metal that rained down on the square, carrying with them injury and, in some cases, death. And then, with a second roar that shook the ground, the World Tree itself exploded.
“Come on!” Pen yelled, pulling at Carol’s arm. “Let’s get those old women, and the children, out of here.”
“Lin?” Carol shouted. She looked around, expecting to find Lin right next to her. But Lin was lying facedown over the stairs leading to a ruined house. A long shred of twisted metal protruded from her back. Jo bent over her,
then lifted her head, weeping.
“There is nothing we can do for her,” Jo said, not bothering to hide her grief. Bravely she tried to pull herself together. “We knew there would be losses. Let’s keep them to a minimum by getting those innocents away so we can come back and join the fighting with clear consciences.”
They tried, pushing terrified, crying old people and mothers with young children toward the avenues that led to safety. It was not an easy task. There were a lot more people running into the square than attempting to leave it and it was difficult to open a path, but eventually everyone who was not to be directly involved in the revolt had been convinced to go home. Then Carol, Pen, and Jo hurried back to the square, where the civil guards were doing their best to restore order. They were not succeeding. In fact, the guards were quickly losing control of the situation. One by one they went down, felled by the stunner weapons in the hands of Nik’s friends.
Carol did not know when the serious weapons fire began, but all at once the air was full of the buzz and crackle of killing side-arms and around her in every direction people were screaming.
“Get down!” Jo pushed Carol hard and she hit the pavement. A split second later a large, solid building stone directly behind her burst into tiny fragments.
“What happened to the World Tree?” Carol cried. “Why did the machine blow up?”
“That stupid guard who shot at the tree ignited all of Luc’s fireworks at once,” Jo answered. “Luc was there, near the tree, firing the fuses. I don’t know how he could have survived those explosions.”
“Oh, God, not Luc, too,” Carol whispered. Then: “Where is Pen? She was here with us a moment ago.”
Carol looked around. She could see Nik crouching behind some stones with Bas beside him, so she knew they were still all right. She did not recognize anyone else, but perhaps the other rebels were as well concealed as Nik.
“Car, I think Pen is hurt,” Jo said. “Let’s try to reach her.”
Crouching down they ran to where Pen sat on the ground. White-faced, looking as if she was going to be sick, Pen clutched at her left shoulder.
“This wasn’t done by a stunner,” Pen said through gritted teeth. “One of those cursed guards got me with a killing weapon. I’m just lucky he wasn’t a very good shot.”
“Can you walk?” Jo asked her. “Car and I will get you back to the house. You will have to take care of yourself after that, because we are needed here.”
“I can manage,” Pen grated, wincing when she tried to move her left arm. “I know where the medical supplies are stored and I know how to use them.”
“Let’s go, then. Car, you help her up and I’ll provide protection. I’m sure to be better with a stunner than you are.”
Carol wrapped an arm around Pen’s waist, steadying her. Pen groaned once, but stifled any other sound of pain. Together the three of them stumbled toward Marlowe House. Meanwhile, Carol could hear weapons firing in the far distance outside the square, a sure sign that the revolt had spread to other areas of the city.
“Do you hear it?” she said to Pen. “We aren’t alone. The other dissident groups have joined us, just as they promised they would/’
“We need their help,” Pen gasped. She stopped dead, forcing Carol to stop, too. The two of them stared in disbelief as four armored vehicles as big as twentieth-century tanks rumbled into the square. They bore the Government’s markings. Formidable-looking guns bristled from every side of the vehicles.
“Oh, no,” Pen cried. “What has happened to the demolition teams? They were supposed to eliminate the Government’s heavy arms.”
“Obviously, something went wrong.” Carol tried to pull Pen toward the house and safety.
“Al was with one of those teams,” Pen said in a desolate voice.
“Perhaps they were only delayed for a while,” Carol suggested, trying to offer hope. She was aware of how badly Pen was sagging against her, and she began to worry that Pen’s shoulder wound was more serious than they had previously realized.
“Come on, hurry,” Jo urged. “There is a major battle shaping up and I want you inside, Pen, before it starts.”
Out of the armored vehicles leapt dozens of men, reinforcements for the few civil guards who were still standing. The new arrivals fanned out across the square, shooting as they went. Amid the confusion, the smoke, the cries of the wounded and the shouted orders, an all-too-familiar figure in a plain brown uniform stepped down from the lead vehicle as coolly as if he were once again leaving a limousine to attend a fashionable party.
“Commander Drum.” Carol felt a cold hand tighten around her heart. “Pen, come on. Move it, will you?”
“I can’t. My legs—too weak.” Pen fell to her knees. “Leave me. Take shelter, Car. You, too, Jo.”
“Are you crazy?” Carol screamed at her. “We aren’t going anywhere without you.” She cast one more quick look in the direction of Commander Drum, and then she tried to hoist Pen to her feet.
“I can’t.” Pen’s voice was growing fainter. “My entire left side is numb.”
“Al warned us the guards are using a new kind of bullet in their side-arms,” said Jo, talking fast. “According to him, it inflicts paralysis as well as a wound. Pen, we will have to carry you.”
“No! Leave me, please, Jo. I can’t help the revolt, but you and Car can.”
“Shut up, Pen. We aren’t going to leave you.” Carol still had her arm around Pen and now Jo supported Pen’s other side.
“We’ll never get her down those steps to the house,” Jo panted as they dragged Pen along. “But Nik and Bas have taken shelter, so let’s join them.”
The men were hunkered down behind a pile of large stone blocks. As Carol and Jo dragged Pen toward them, Carol saw Al race across the square, dodging the guards’ fire all the way. He leapt over the stones to join Nik and Bas. Just as he took cover, two of the armored vehicles exploded into pieces.
“Did you see that?” Carol yelled into Pen’s ear. “Al is all right. You’ll be with him in just a minute.”
Pen did not answer. She was by now nearly a dead weight, unable to help herself, but Nik had seen the women. At once he left the safety of the stones to run toward them.
“One of those new paralyzing bullets got her,” Jo explained. “I don’t know if shell recover or not.”
“You two get behind the stones,” Nik ordered, taking his sister into his arms.
Staying as close to the ground as they could, they all ran for the cover of the stones. Pen cried out when Nik laid her down, then was still. Now it was Al’s turn to hold her. He knelt, rocking her, whispering what comforting words he could.
“We can’t stay here,” Nik said. “Al, what about those other two vehicles?”
“They should blow at any minute,” Al said. “When they do, I’ll take advantage of the confusion to carry Pen into the house. Sorry for the delay on the vehicles, but I’m not as clever at demolition work as Luc was.”
“He’s dead,” Jo said. It wasn’t a question, just a bleak statement of fact.
Al nodded. “When the tree went up, Luc went, too. He couldn’t get away in time.” Even as Al spoke, two loud explosions rent the air.
“That will be the other two vehicles,” Al said to Nik. He picked up Pen, holding her close. “Cover me till I get her inside,” he said, and started for the steps leading down to the servants’ entrance and the familiar kitchen.
Al had not gone three steps before a loud buzzing noise sounded. With a cry of pain, Al stopped abruptly, dropping Pen. Al fell next to her, and they lay there like two inert bundles of rags.
“Pen! No!” Heedless of the danger to his own life, Nik was out of the shelter of the stones, kneeling next to his sister.
To Carol’s eyes, what happened next happened in terrifying slow motion. She went to Nik, to crouch beside him and try to help him drag his sister to the steps that led to safety within Marlowe House. Jo and Bas stood with their backs to Nik, Carol, and Pen, firi
ng away at the guards who were trying to kill all five of them.
Al was dead; Carol could tell that much without touching him. But she did not have time, even in slow motion, to think about Al’s fate. They had to get Pen away to safety, for she could not help herself.
Nik was pulling Pen into his arms, lifting her, preparing to make a dash for the steps, when Carol heard Jo scream. Turning, she saw Jo go down on one knee and then onto her face, while Bas fired at the man who had shot his love. Then Bas was lying across Jo’s body, his leg so badly wounded that Carol wondered if he would ever walk again. Carol looked up from Bas and Jo to meet the eyes of their opponent.. . and the hair at the back of her neck rose in terror.
Commander Drum’s cold, impersonal glance skimmed past Carol, not recognizing her because of the knitted mask she still wore, disregarding her in favor of Nik and the burden he held. Nik could not defend himself, not with Pen lying helpless in his arms. Carol saw the flash of deadly amusement in Drum’s dark, shadowed eyes, and knew he was going to kill both Nik and Pen with one blast from the long, gray metal weapon he held so carelessly in his right hand.
Never had Carol imagined that anyone could enjoy the act of killing but, watching Commander Drum, she could not deny he was relishing the thought of what he was about to do. Still in slow motion, the dreadful scene unfolded with terrible deliberation.
Apparently understanding that there was no time in which to escape, Nik did the only thing he could. He turned away from Commander Drum. As he turned, he bent over to shield Pen’s body with his own and thus take the full force of the blast himself. Commander Drum lifted his weapon, taking slow, careful aim.
Nik. He was going to kill Nik. Her love. Her only love. And Pen, her sister and friend.
Carol did not have to think about what she was going to do next. A deadly joy blossomed in her heart. What she did, she did gladly, willingly, out of a pure and compelling love and a belief that Nik and Pen deserved to live.
“Stop!” Carol leapt forward, placing herself squarely between Nik and Commander Drum. She spread her arms wide in a protective gesture. If he wanted to kill Nik and Pen, Drum was going to have to go through her body first. “I won’t let you do this! You must stop!”
