“Lucy,” he said. “Do you need to go?”
“No,” Lucy said. “I went earlier.”
Jamie raised his eyebrows and mouthed “Come on,” with his lips. Lucy glanced from Jamie to Donny and back again.
“But like I always say, you should use a bathroom whenever you can,” she said, hopping down off the cart. “You never know when your next chance will be.”
“Hm,” Fatty said. “That’s a good piece of philosophy. I think I will go.”
He bent his arms to leap off the cart.
“Whoa,” Donny said, stopping him from going. “You had your chance.”
“What?” Fatty said.
As their argument ensued, Jamie took Lucy by the hand and led her into the forest.
87.
“WHERE ARE we going?” Lucy said. “You know I don’t really need the toilet, right?”
“I know,” Jamie said.
“What are we doing out here?” Lucy said.
Jamie found it difficult to explain. He wasn’t ready to share yet. He didn’t want to upset Lucy. She would likely be the most affected by anything Dr. Beck did or said. They were still mad at him for dumping them in the hyperloop train the way he did. It must have felt worse for Lucy. He was, essentially, her father and he had abandoned her.
“I need to check on something,” Jamie said. “You trust me, right?”
Lucy didn’t need a second to think about it. She smiled and nodded her head.
“Of course,” she said.
And that was it. No followup questions, no hesitancy. Just pure trust. It made Jamie smile until he realized the burden of responsibility. He had to ensure he deserved that trust and make sure she came to no harm.
He wouldn’t have much time to find the house. Donny wouldn’t wait forever. Not when there were Rages in the area. He’d come looking for him if he took too long.
They marched through the forest noisily. The forest back home wasn’t as dense as this one and there was too much nature on the forest floor. The sign had pointed this way. He hoped it was accurate.
The forest gave way to a wide open road. The “town” of Jury turned out to be just ten houses, five on either side of the road. There wasn’t even a local shop for daily items.
Jamie looked at each house and ran it against the description Dr. Beck had given him. A bright red brick building with a black tiled roof. A tree out front with a swing in it. Two of the houses matched the description, but only one had a second floor. It had to be that one.
A shiver crawled up Jamie’s back, his hair standing to attention. It was a regular house, in good condition. Kids toys lay outside in the front garden that were in desperate need of TLC. A small tree had taken unlicensed root along one wall and, unless Jamie had missed his guess, would eventually grow large enough to tear down its neighbouring wall and, potentially, destroy the entire house.
“Wait here,” Jamie said, unshouldering his backpack and handing it to her. “I’ll be five minutes. Let me know if you see anything.”
“Okay,” Lucy said.
She was clearly curious why he’d chosen this particular house from the others. Jamie approached the front door, relieved to find it unlocked. It was carved from expensive wood and then painted white and varnished over. A one-way window at head height. Jamie pushed it.
It creaked open on rusty hinges. He peered down the hallway. Clean, not a blemish on the hardwood floor. A little dusty, perhaps, the air musty, but in good condition.
The stairs rose like a tidal wave. Jamie took one heavy thudding footstep after the other. Halfway up, hand on the carved banister, he began to regret his decision. He looked back at Lucy, standing outside in the sunshine. His lookout. He never should have taken this risk.
But he couldn’t turn back. That floorboard with its hidden secret beckoned him. He had come this far, he reasoned. He should finish the job. He scaled the half a dozen remaining steps and reached the landing.
He stopped again, his experience and training telling him to listen. He quietened his mind but heard nothing. No rustling clothes, no low tortured groans in torn throats. He leaned forward and checked both directions. He had no idea how these houses were built, no instinct for where the main bedroom would be. Choosing at random, he turned right.
Three doors, one on each wall. Gripping his weighty wooden bat tight, he pushed the left door open first. He pulled the bat back and prepared to release it at a moment’s notice. A small upstairs bathroom. White ceramic and a metal tub.
He pushed the next door open, revealing a single open-plan space. It had a large bed with adjoining workspace. It looked like what would constitute a “master bedroom” to him. He edged into it, bat again raised.
Papers were spread across the floor. Most of the pages were wet, drenched from rain that spilled through the open window. Those that weren’t wet pirouetted across the floor from a strong breeze.
Jamie turned to the master bed. Wide, with stylish high-class silk blankets and pillowcases. The kind of thing Isabelle could have sold well. But to defile the bed of its bedding would be to admit he’d gone wandering in a house in the first place.
He moved to the foot of the bed and got down on his hands and knees. Checked underneath it. Nothing there. The floorboards looked in good shape. Those beneath the window had already become warped and disfigured by the rainwater.
Jamie felt at the floorboards. He ran his finger over them, searching, prying. He hissed and pulled his hand away as something bit his finger. He looked at it.
A splinter. He put his lips to it and tugged the fibres out. The smaller fragments were still in his skin. He’d have to take care of them later. He shifted to the offending tile. One corner stuck up. He ran his finger over it—carefully this time—and pulled on it. It rose a few millimetres. He hooked his fingertip over it and pulled harder. It came freely. Jamie lifted the board and placed it delicately to one side.
Underneath it was a dry shallow space. Cables crisscrossed a pair of copper pipes, feeding electricity to the utilities. Something lay in its belly. Jamie reached in and picked it up.
The cover was thick high-quality leather. It had no title. Jamie ran his hands over it. A piece of worn string attached to the back and wound around a knob on the front, clasping it shut.
Dr. Beck’s journal.
88.
“THEY’VE BEEN gone too long,” Donny said.
“Give him some time,” Isabelle said.
“Who takes this long to take a slash?” Donny said.
“Maybe a number one turned into a number two,” Isabelle said.
“Thanks for the image,” Fatty said.
“Fatty, I’ve got a question,” Donny said. “When someone as big as you takes a dump, what’s it like? Do you suddenly lose ten pounds? Or does most of it get stuck inside you and that’s the reason you’re so big? Maybe you should get an enema. You’ll lose half your weight overnight.”
“I’m not even going to dignify those questions with a response,” Fatty said, sniffing.
“Did I touch a nerve?” Donny said. “Difficult to do that with you, I suppose. With all that padding.”
“Leave him alone,” Isabelle said. “We all have our issues. You’re not perfect.”
“That’s debatable,” Donny said. “What you see is what you get.”
“That’s the problem,” Fatty mumbled.
Donny turned to confront Fatty. He’d been nettling him all day, spoiling for a fight. And it finally looked like Fatty was ready to take the bait.
“Here they are,” Isabelle said.
Jamie and Lucy walked calmly from the forest, hand in hand. No chance of anything being on their tails when they were walking so slowly. Donny spread his arms.
“What happened?” he said.
“Was a bit more, uh, difficult than I expected,” Jamie said.
“Spare us the details,” Fatty said tiredly. “Get on so we can get out of here. Your brother’s cranky again.”
“Wh
at you got there?” Donny said, nodding to the journal under Jamie’s arm.
“Just a book,” Jamie said. “Nothing important.”
“You’re the only person I know who goes to the lav to get reading material,” Donny said. “Most people take it with them.”
Jamie climbed onto the back of the cart and reached down to help Lucy up.
“Thank you,” Lucy said.
“No,” Jamie said. “Thank you.”
He’d never have been able to sneak out and get the journal if it hadn’t been for her. They shared a smile, the kind of smile only best friends could have, the kind of smile that said they shared a private secret.
Pop pop! Pop pop!
Gunshots somewhere in the middle distance. Donny arched his neck, gauging its proximity. Somewhere behind them.
“Somebody needs help,” Jamie said.
“They can take care of themselves,” Donny said. “So should we.”
He nodded to Isabelle.
“All set?” Isabelle said.
She clucked her tongue. Humperdinck leaned forward and continued on their journey. The journal felt heavy in Jamie’s hands. He clutched it tight and wondered what kind of secrets it contained. He wasn’t sure he looked forward to discovering them or not.
89.
“WE’RE HERE, folks,” Belle said.
The gang hopped off the back of the cart and approached the cliff face. It was a formidable-looking thing built directly into the mountain. No attempt had been made to hide or disguise it. It was covered in so many lumps and bumps it was difficult to figure out how it fit together. Nature had begun to reclaim the metal, wrapping around its edges. With time, Jamie was certain nature would envelop it completely.
“What have they got in there?” Fatty said. “A giant? Why did they need to build the door so big?”
There were small hacks and chip marks at the base of the door where others had attempted to break in. They’d made hardly any impact at all.
“You guys,” Fatty said. “Maybe we shouldn’t do this.”
“If we don’t try, who will?” Jamie said.
Fatty didn’t know how to respond to that.
“If Lucy can’t get in or it looks like something isn’t right, we’ll turn around and head back home,” Donny said. “All right?”
Fatty nodded, consoled. A little.
Donny turned to Isabelle, who fed Humperdinck a carrot and brushed his mane with her fingers.
“If you like to keep things simple, I suggest you turn away now and not watch what happens next,” Donny said. “I know what’s about to happen and I’m not sure I want to see it either.”
“You’re doing a poor job of making me not want to see,” Isabelle said. “Don’t you know people always do the thing you tell them not to?”
“Then watch,” Donny said. “You’ll love it.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Isabelle said.
Donny frowned. Outsmarted. Again. Isabelle put a hand to his cheek and tickled his chin with her fingers.
“Don’t worry, you’re still handsome,” she said. “Brains aren’t everything.”
Donny was too rattled by her touching him to take offense.
“You seriously think I’m going to turn my back while you guys crack open the door that no one has ever bested before?” Isabelle said. “I’ll watch, thanks.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Donny said.
Isabelle approached and stood with her hands on her hips.
“No weapons?” she said. “No powerful animals? What are you going to use? Prayers?”
“Are you ready for this?” Jamie said to Lucy.
“I think so,” Lucy said.
“This will be very different to the system back in the City,” Jamie warned.
“I know,” Lucy said. “I’ll be careful.”
She was touched he cared so much. And he did. Jamie made no bones about it.
Lucy looked at the giant door and moved to one side. To the keypad. The buttons were worn with use. How many fingers had tried random combinations to get into this place? Continue forever, and they would eventually be successful. But no one had forever to play with. People wanted things and they wanted them now.
“Can I use your knife?” Lucy said.
Jamie gave it to her. Lucy slipped the point into the seam and pressed down on the hilt. The cover popped up. Lucy handed the knife back and reached into the metal box, coming out with a bunch of wires. She sorted through them.
“Huh,” Isabelle said. “That’s new. No one ever tried messing with the wires before. I guess because no one understood how they work.”
She nodded to Lucy.
“Where did you pick her up, anyway?” she said.
“That’s a long story,” Donny said.
“We’ve got time, don’t we?” Isabelle said.
She turned back to Lucy. And then her mouth fell open.
Lucy had tugged the top of her index finger off and pulled at a wire inside.
“Oh my God,” Isabelle said.
“You’re a believer now?” Donny said. “Maybe we should cart you off to the underground commune.”
“I. . . I. . .” Isabelle said.
“Never seen anything like it, right?” Donny said. “That’s because there’s no one else like her out there.”
Lucy held both wires for a moment, considering, took a moment to calm her mind, emptying it. Then she made the connection.
“Argh!” Lucy said, stumbling back.
Jamie caught her before she could fall. He laid her down on the ground.
“Fatty, cut the wire!” Jamie said. “Cut it now!”
Fatty took out his knife. All fingers and thumbs, he almost dropped it. He held the wire and put the knife to it. Applied pressure, about to sever it—
“No, don’t,” Lucy said.
Her voice was not her own. The fringes of it were her, but it now consisted of a deep, crackling sound, like she was speaking through lightning. Her voice was deep, powerful.
She got to her feet without Jamie’s help.
“Are you all right?” Jamie said.
“Yes,” Lucy said. “I’m fine. I’m inside the mainframe.”
Her eyes were distant as if she were seeing something none of the others could. She stepped forward and moved her hands as if wading through long grass.
“There’s so much here,” Lucy said. “So much information. So much knowledge. There’s too much to process.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Jamie said. “Just open the door. Can you do that?”
“Give me a minute,” she said.
Isabelle’s mouth, if possible, had fallen wider.
“Why aren’t you shocked by this?” Isabelle said.
“Because I’ve been inside a City before,” Donny said. “I’ve seen the kinds of things our ancestors could do. And someone told me what Lucy is and what she can do. I have to admit, I wasn’t sure I believed him. Until now.”
“How is this possible?” Isabelle said.
Donny shrugged.
“Before the Fall, things were very different,” he said. “It was a world of possibility.”
“And yet somehow we became like this,” Isabelle said.
“That’s nothing,” Donny said. “Wait till you hear how the Fall really happened. That’s really going to knock you on your ass. And what’s out there, waiting for us.”
“I’m not sure I want to know,” Isabelle said, still unable to take her eyes off the little girl with the wire in her finger. “My life just got a whole lot more complicated.”
“I did warn you,” Donny said. “It’s not too late. You can turn back.”
Isabelle blinked, slowly turned to Donny.
“How can I?” she said. “What would my life be like now after witnessing something like this?”
“Never the same again,” Donny said with a nod.
He knew the feeling.
“I think I’ve found it,” Lucy said.
Her eyes were squinting as she turned her head to one side and pushed at something with her left hand. Something clanked on the other side of the giant door. Something big and heavy. Then the mysterious shapes and dials began to shift and move, rusty and slow. The puzzle of shapes moved as one. The wheels spun and the bars slid aside. Dust fell from where it had accumulated. A bird took wing, nest disrupted. Then a great groaning sound as if a monster resided inside. The door swung slowly open on massive hinges.
Jamie pulled Lucy and Fatty to one side.
“Move!” Donny said.
He and Isabelle turned and ran. The door was swinging open in their direction. To head to the side would result in getting splattered. They turned and ran away.
Humperdinck snorted and danced left to right, unsure what to do.
“Hump, run!” Isabelle said.
The command had an immediate effect. Humperdinck took off, half the cart’s contents spilling to the ground in the process. For once, Isabelle didn’t care.
Donny and Isabelle, out of time and space, leapt, entrusting their lives to luck as the door swept up behind them, carving an arch through the dirt, rock, and stone. It groaned its last cry as it came to an abrupt stop.
90.
“ARE YOU all right?” Jamie said.
He helped Lucy onto her feet. At some point, the wire had disconnected from Lucy’s finger. It was strange to see that but it didn’t turn Jamie’s stomach. It was a part of who Lucy was. It didn’t hurt, so it didn’t matter.
“I’m okay,” Lucy said.
“I’m fine too,” Fatty said, dusting himself off. “Thanks for asking.”
The dust was still settling after the door’s opening swing. Two figures lay on the ground, unmoving. Jamie’s insides turned to water.
“Donny. . .” he said.
On unsteady legs, he took off.
91.
JAMIE WASN’T the first to reach them. Humperdinck’s powerful nose sniffed and snorted Isabelle’s face, blowing her hair back. She groaned under her breath. Seemingly confident of her condition, Humperdinck turned to the other figure. He flopped his exceptionally long tongue over Donny’s face, covering him in lathering sloppy saliva.
After The Fall (Book 2): The City Page 19
