by Nick Thacker
“Who did this to you? Come on, Asher, you know the answer to that. You did this to you. You —“
“Ravi, stop. I didn’t tell you my name.”
Ravi smiled, then laughed. “You’re serious? Come on, old man, everybody knows you.”
Myers shrugged; shook his head.
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
Myers thought for a moment. “Uh, let’s see — I’ve been running through what I thought was a desert for the past two days or so, came here, and —“
“Before that.”
“Um, okay. I remember my wife — Diane. My kids, two daughters.” He suddenly realized how much he missed them. Ravi was nodding, so Myers continued. “I — I was a, an accountant. A damn good one, too. Then… then a politician. Yeah, that’s right — I hadn’t even thought about that. So, I guess I was a good politician, then, for you to have heard of me?”
Ravi smiled. “Yeah, something like that, old man.”
“I was the CFO of Electronic Hardware Manufacturing for seven years, then I started campaigning for Congress — Senate. I won, and…” he shook his head.
“And?”
“I don’t remember. After that… nothing.”
Ravi’s eyes grew wide. “Wow, dude, they really scraped you there. Huh. So, you don’t, uh, remember running for office after that?”
“After Senate? Like, for Senate again? Or… President?”
Ravi was amazed. “Yes, like President. Of the United States of America.”
Myers opened his mouth to ask another question, but no words came out. The dream I’ve been having, he thought. He was celebrating his campaign victory.
“You won, old man. President Myers Asher, in the flesh.”
Myers was momentarily speechless.
“Look, I didn’t know you didn’t know. I thought — “
“I need to get out of here, son. I have contacts who will be —“ He thought of the memory of himself behind the desk. He was the President of the United States, probably in the Oval Office, handing a document to one of his subordinates. What was the document? Was it important? He didn’t know how memory worked, but he thought he remembered reading somewhere that memories tended towards important events, creating a tapestry of tiny events that wasn’t remembered in its complete form, as a whole, but in patchwork form. A person, a setting, and a general idea of a conversation was all an active memory needed to program a “complete” memory and provide its user with a believable recollection of the event.
Ravi held up a hand. “Stop. Shut up. Quit the patronizing bullshit. You ain’t anything down here, old man. Got it? You’ve been off the Grid and hidden away, and now here you are. A Relic, like me.”
Myers was growing more frustrated by the second. “You mean to tell me I’ve been ‘off the Grid’ — whatever that means — and I can’t even call for help? I’m the President of the United States of America, Ravi, and that means —“
“Like I said, sir, it doesn’t mean anything anymore. You haven’t been the President for seven years. When they decide you’re a Relic, that’s it. Done. Game over.”
Myers stood up, turned to the wall, and placed a hand out, feeling the hundred-year-old cold stonework beneath his fingers. He breathed slowly, eyes closed, trying to put the pieces in place. “You mean to tell me I’ve been missing for over seven years? How — how can that be? I’ve only been out here for two days.”
Ravi shook his head again. “No, that’s not right. You’ve been a Relic for seven years. You’ve only been here for two days. They hold you for some time, hiding you away, then stick you somewhere you’re not supposed to be.”
“A Relic?”
“Yeah, a castaway. Cast off from society. You weren’t needed anymore, El Capitan, so here you be. Hunted, middle of nowhere, left for dead.”
“But I don’t understand. How is it that no one’s come for me? No one’s looking for me?”
“Well, you’re wrong there. There are plenty of people looking for you, like that guy taking potshots at you last night. He’ll be back, and so will lots of others in a few hours, when word gets out.”
“Word gets out? How?”
Ravi started to look as frustrated as Myers felt. “Man, you really don’t remember anything, do you?”
“Nope.”
“Yeah, they’re looking for you — hunters and Unders, by now. That guy from last night will have logged you by now, telling the rest of them exactly where you are, how fast you’re moving, and how much Current you’re worth. My guess, you’re the top of the Boards, old man.”
Myers started to feel his head throbbing. He crouched lower on the wall, still using it as support. He groaned. “But… but I didn’t do anything wrong! Why? Why all of this…” he didn’t finish, instead collapsing back on the floor.
Ravi reached over and slapped him on the back. “Don’t worry, man, we’ll get you out of here. I’ve been through this a few times, and —“
“A few times?”
“Yeah. Hunted. I’ve been on the run, for, uh, three years, seven months, and nine days.” He tapped on the side of his head with an index finger. “The BSE helps a bit, too. Haven’t forgotten a thing since seven years ago.”
Myers let out an exasperated sigh. “Okay, fine. Whatever. You’re a cyborg who can remember everything, and a criminal. Now I am too, I guess, so what’s the plan?”
“Woah, hold on. I’m no criminal. Well, I mean, it’s a stretch to call me one. I guess, if you had to, you could say I’m a public menace. But I’m no criminal. Theft, a few good lifts here and there, just trying to make a name for myself, and all of a sudden I’m ‘out.’ Caught, Moral Aptitude Analysis, and that’s it. Cast out as a Relic.”
“And me? What did I do?”
A loud sound echoed out above their heads — the slamming of a heavy door —and they looked at each other.
“Time to get, old man, or we’re scraped. Here, follow me.”
Ravi ran to the opposite corner of the cellar and moved a few boxes and another empty barrel. The wall on one side of the room housed a small door, one Myers hadn’t seen when they’d entered.
“How’d you know that was here, kid?” he asked as he stood again and moved toward Ravi and the door.
“This ain’t my first rodeo, old man, and I’m twenty-eight, if you want to stop calling me kid.”
“Yeah? Well if you want to stop calling me old man I’m… uh…”
“Right, you have no idea. Got it, old man. Here, get in.” Ravi swung the door open and motioned for Myers to enter. The smell of the cellar increased in intensity inside the cramped crawlspace. Mold, animal feces, and the sweet aroma of slowly rotting wood.
Myers crawled onward, until the shaft turned hard to the right. He heard Ravi close the door behind him, after carefully placing the barrels and boxes back in front of the access point. He shrunk down into a ball, pulling in his hands and feet, and then popped back up into a crouched position, now facing Myers.
“Quite the spry young chap, you are,” Myers said.
“Enough with the old man talk, old man. Move.”
Myers obliged, crawling forward. While his feet thanked him for the break, his knees quickly began feeling the brunt of the close quarters shuffling. “Where does this thing go, anyway?”
“Straight. And then left. And then straight some more. It’ll be another thirty minutes before you see the morning again, so get comfy.”
Myers groaned again. “Why can’t we just wait it out? That crazy asshole’s got to give up at some point, right?”
“No. That ‘crazy asshole’ has a job, and right now it’s to kill you and bring you in. The Current on your head’s got to be one of the highest ones he’s seen, so he ain’t gonna just get down here, look around, and shrug. He’ll tear this place apart before moving on.”
Myers felt the panic and headache set in again, simultaneously. “Great. So we crawl.”
MYERS
AND CRAWL THEY DID. WHE
N Myers finally emerged, through a drainage pipe into a ditch that must have been filled with water at some point in the past, his knees and hands were flaring up in pain almost as much as his feet had. It was with some irony that he realized he was glad he could now resume the getaway on his swollen, worn feet.
“This is it. Take it easy.”
“Wait —“ Myers turned to see the kid climbing up the steep incline above the open grate they’d exited. “You’re just going to leave me?”
“Listen, old man — Asher — this isn’t a team effort. I ain’t a courier service man. There’s nowhere I need to deliver you that won’t get me killed just as much.”
“So you’re just going to leave me here?”
“I didn’t survive for almost four years by helping guys like you out. There’s always another Relic coming, and there’s always another hunter waiting for them. You wanna make buddies and help each other out, be my guest, but I ain’t interested in getting myself dead.”
“Okay, then where do I go?”
“Start with getting yourself away from here.” Myers followed his finger. Ravi pointed out to the open desert.
Right where I came from, Myers thought.
“Get out there, away from the gates, away from the wall, and just run. Keep running until you can’t see the city anymore, then keep running. By then, I’ll be long gone.”
“What happens then?”
“Well, by then the next idiot like you will waltz through the gates and start looking around, and I’ll have had time to get out and into the next deserted city. Eventually I’ll find one that I can have all to myself, and then I can settle down, have a family, and get a job as an accountant.”
Myers wasn’t sure how much of the story was complete bullshit, but the slight toward him wasn’t lost on him. “Good to hear you’re taking this well, Ravi. Wish you’d at least help me make a plan and figure this out.”
Ravi’s eyes narrowed as he smiled. It was truly a terrifying face, considering the circumstances. “Figure this out? What more do you want me to tell you? You’re being hunted, I’m being hunted, and we will be hunted. There is no ‘figuring it out,’ old man. There’s me, there’s you, and there’s a thousand Unders heading this way hoping to bring us to the highest bidder. We stay together, that’s two sets of tracks they’ve got to follow. We do what I’m telling you to do, we get out of the city and move on.” His eyes flicked left, then right, quickly and thoroughly taking in the surroundings, checking for danger.
Myers wondered how many nights he’d done this — quickly assessing his surroundings and determining the best course of action, without having to be interrupted every five seconds by a scared, tired, old man.
Myers nodded, looking around. “Okay, got it. I understand. Good plan, Ravi.”
He turned and left, walking over the dried riverbed and toward the fallen rock wall.
He hoped Ravi would be gone by the time he had to climb over the chain-link fence.
“Wait. Old man.”
Myers stopped, then turned slowly. “Yeah?”
“You’re different. You ain’t like the others.”
Myers raised his eyebrows. Go on.
“You’re stronger. You ain’t afraid.”
Ha. If only that were true.
“You’re fine just walking away. No one I run into yet done that. They’re all scared of their own shadow, ready to pee themselves whenever I turn around.”
“Okay…” Myers tried to look impatient. Make him feel vulnerable.
“Well, I guess, uh, we could at least get to Umutsuz.”
“What’s Umutsuz?” Myers vaguely recognized the language — Turkish — but wasn’t sure what it meant.
“It’s the next city over. Hasn’t been deactivated yet, like Istanbul. If we get there, we can at least try to hitch a ride out of the area from someone leaving. I’d be, uh, willing, to bring you along.”
“Would you?” Myers asked, his lip turning upward ever so slightly in the beginning of a smile.
“I would. Keep your mouth shut and your eyes up, and yeah, I’d be okay with it.”
Myers nodded once. “Let’s go. Lead the way, kid.”
SOL
SOL WAS OUT OF OPTIONS.
His mark had somehow slipped him at the church, undoubtedly due to some oversight on Sol’s part. He bristled at the memory of it.
The night before, after watching for five hours and seeing no signs of life, he’d decided to examine the exterior of the church to see if Myers, in fact, had entered it.
He’d circled the building once, checking for openings, window gaps, or anything else out of the ordinary. When he came to the front door of the church, he noticed something peculiar.
It was closed.
When he’d passed the church in his usual rounds through this area of the city a few days ago, Sol had entered the church, looked around, and left, leaving the door slightly ajar. He hadn’t been back since, and he knew no one else had either.
He waited, watching the interior of the church through a broken section of stained glass window on the front of the building. After another fifteen minutes, he made his move. He entered, once again leaving the door open, and looked for signs of movement. He then checked the cellar door. If he had to hide inside this place, that would have been his first choice. The door to the cellar was shut, but he noticed some dusty footprints leading toward it.
Interesting.
He’d been in the cellar before — when he’d first arrived in the city, he’d set up a rotation throughout these lower quadrants that took him by the church, and he’d taken the time to explore the inside of each of the buildings on the route. At the time, there were no footprints leading down into the cellar.
He was in the cellar. Perfect.
Now it would be a waiting game — the man in the cellar had nowhere to go but up, back into the sanctuary of the church.
Where Sol was waiting.
He checked his ammunition out of habit, once more pulled up the Board and checked the Current on Myers’ head, and then decided to spring the trap.
He left the door to the church open and moved toward the rear exit on the left — there was one on each side of the altar. As he neared the altar, he reached for one of the dusty Bibles still present in the pews and brought it up to his shoulder. Crouching down beside the rear door, he turned and prepared himself.
Sol threw the Bible as hard as he could, using the height of the sanctuary’s ceiling to really get some distance.
The Bible smacked against the door, slamming it shut.
He waited. Myers would hear the door slam, know he was caught, and try to escape by ducking behind the altar and backstage area to get to one of the rear doors.
Right where Sol waited.
That was the plan anyway.
Instead, Sol waited for Myers to exit the cellar. He waited two minutes, then another three. Finally, he decided to check the cellar for activity.
Sol remembered the feeling well. He’d entered the cellar, looked around, and let out a long, low whistle.
He’d been duped. There was no one here. Not a soul had entered the church since yesterday, and now Sol had lost his mark.
He’d lost everything.
He wasn’t sure what to do about it, but he knew he needed to prevent Myers from leaving the city. If he did, it was anyone’s game. Even if he didn’t, too much time had passed. He was now one of many hunters chasing the most wanted Relic on the Board. The Current on Myers would only go up, bringing that much more attention to Sol’s city.
Sol made his decision.
He had to get Myers, and bring him in. It was now or never. He left the church and cellar and headed back to his house, a small apartment he’d found when he first entered Istanbul.
Sol opened the door and stepped inside.
“Solomon!” his wife ran up to him and pulled him in. “You’re back early. How did it go?”
He shook his head as his daughter entered the room.
“Daddy!” The voice of the young girl sent a pang of regret through him. I’m not going to let you down.
He knelt down to give her a hug, squeezing her tight, then stood, still holding her.
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.”
His wife’s lips tightened into a line. “Okay. Okay, that’s fine. It’s going to be okay.” Her words were phrased as a statement, but he could hear the question behind them. He heard the panic set in before she’d even finished the sentence, and he reached out to grab her.
“Shannon, I —“
“It’s going to be okay, right?”
He nodded, holding his family in his arms. “We’re going to be fine. I need to get back out there. There will be others. Soon.”
They’d been through this before. Shannon understood, but she still wasn’t happy about it.
“Do you have to? Won’t there be another? We can wait, and —“
“Shannon, come on. You know.”
He set their daughter back down, and took his wife aside. “We have to, Shannon. There is no other option. After this —“
“What? After this, what? We move on, go to yet another city, yet another —“
“No. This is it. After this, we’re done. It doesn’t matter anymore.” Shannon didn’t know the full situation and plan — couldn’t know the full plan. He stuck to the story he’d fed her.
“How?”
“We get a vehicle. There’s one we can buy.”
“There’s not enough.”
“There will be. Trust me. But I have to go.”
She nodded, wiping away a tear. “Be careful.”
He nodded.
Solomon Merrick spent the next hour eating, restocking his gear, and preparing for his journey.
MYERS
MYERS FOLLOWED A STEP BEHIND Ravi as they exited the city wall and chain link fence. They crossed the same flat terrain Myers had traversed only a day ago.
“You think we can pick up the pace?” Ravi asked.
