Evenfall (128 page)

"Alright," he said after a moment. "I'll explain the route as we go but there's an area I know we can head. We'll have to turn the lights off among other things we can discuss closer to the area, but ultimately that will lead us to Santiago's nearest passage. He's a lazy man and barely ever watches his territory so the odds are high in our favor that we'll pass through without incident. Even if his people happen to be there, they're easily bribed and unless someone else in the van speaks Spanish more fluently, I can talk to them. They won't even bother looking into the van or asking questions; they'll just try to talk us out of more of our money. That will actually take us out between 85 and 54 so we won't even have to cut over any major roads. Even with the JKS aftermath the authorities barely have any presence in that area; they don't expect anyone to come from or go straight into desert between two major highways. There are barely any cities in that direction, and they're understaffed enough that they don't consider it to be a high priority. Getting out of Monterrey would take us," he thought about that a second, "probably about twelve to eighteen minutes if we allow travel time and possibly having to deal with Santiago."

Kassian nodded and glanced over at Archer, who met his eyes in the rear view mirror. "Understood."

When they stopped at the next intersection, Archer leaned over and cut the flexicuffs without saying anything. Boyd looked over at him in surprise and automatically dropped his arms to his lap and rubbed his wrists when they were free. Archer slipped the switchblade back into his belt without a word and Boyd stayed silent, although he gave him a sidelong, grateful look.

After that, his expression automatically turned remote as it always did when he was serious and concentrating on anything related to a mission. He turned his attention to navigating them quickly and unseen through Monterrey. Archer followed his directions without question, though it probably helped that this time Boyd gave him plenty of warning and was not demanding anything.

The city was obviously still on alert around them and more than once they had to pass by a few streets that seemed to have a lot of activity even just half a block away. Each time, Archer simply continued driving without drawing any attention to them and they were not stopped. Boyd's directions led them away from the areas of the city that seemed more well taken care of and clean. When they turned down one street, even the streetlights seemed to disappear one by one until the streets were almost entirely dark and the only light that could be seen was from the sky and the occasional flickering candle or lamp from a house. The buildings huddled around them, half-broken and never properly mended, and at first no one was seen.

They were passing through a particularly desolate neighborhood when a large group of people appeared from the darkness silently, sliding into existence like ghosts. They walked right up to the vehicle even as it kept moving; their clothing was ratty and dirty, falling off their too-thin bodies while they held their hands out imploringly. Archer continued to drive slowly but there was a point when Boyd told him to take a right, yet the people were crowding the street, making it impossible for them to keep going without hitting anyone.

Boyd made a soft noise of discontent then glanced over his shoulder at Kassian. "Is it alright if I handle this?" he asked and waited for Kassian to flick his gaze out to the group of people then return to him with a nod.

"Please stop for a moment, Archer," Boyd said before turning to roll his window down just enough to let their beseeching voices drift in.

It was almost eerie; in the dark of the night, they seemed like ghosts who had appeared from the edges of vision to crowd around the van as if hoping it would lead them back to life. There were women and children mostly although a few of them were older with grey hair. They raised their voices in supplication when they realized he could hear them and they saw that they'd stopped.

He knew this group of people; they stopped passersby, pleading for help, mercy and hope, and if they were given any of it they swarmed in, taking everything. It wasn't that they were cruel or bad people; they were simply desperate, without proper money or food or even shelter, and anyone who drifted into their territory risked falling prey to them. They were also charged with guarding some of the exits; the smuggling groups brought them what resources they could in return for them warding off anyone who just happened to be passing by.

It had taken him several months of earning Jorge's trust, but eventually he had brought Boyd straight through this sort of area, what Jorge called 'the land of the lost.' The people had run their hands along his skin, his hair, whispering things just behind him while fingers caught on his clothing then disappeared when Jorge barked something in Spanish. Jorge told him that if he ever ran into them, there were certain rules to follow. Never give them anything, never take anything from them. Never get out of the car, never walk alone. Never anger or insult them.

"We are not here to harm,"
Boyd told them in Spanish. Jorge had told him the code words to use if he was ever in this situation although he had warned that sometimes, even with that, it wasn't enough. Sometimes they still came closer and sometimes they didn't let go.

"My children are hungry,"
one woman said, moving closer to the van with her hands upraised, her expression desperate.
"Please, do you have any food?"

"We need help! My children are dying!"
another woman cried out, holding a malnourished toddler to her chest as she rocked back and forth. The child's head rolled with the movement, making him seem dead except for the way his quiet dark eyes watched Boyd's every move.

Behind and around them, nearly twenty other people raised their voices and hands, begging for everything from food and water to shelter and clothing. They spoke of their dead and dying families, their need for help.

Boyd carefully stayed out of their reach without seeming rude and turned his attention to the women who spoke.
"We were given this path in a dream,"
he told them quietly.

The people in back continued to cry out but the two women in front fell silent; although their expressions did not change there was something that was more alert about them.
"What were you told?"

"That by your grace we would pass safely,"
Boyd murmured
. "And we should look for Cristobal."

The first woman watched him with unreadable dark eyes that gave away nothing.
"Do you see him?"

Boyd didn't even bother to glance past the woman; he simply shook his head.
"He has gone before us to clear the way."

The woman stared at him for a long moment before she nodded curtly and backed away. The others saw her and one by one fell quiet until the street seemed to echo with the sudden silence. The women held their children back and they moved off the street, giving them plenty of room to pass through. Boyd thanked the woman before he rolled the window up and, after glancing at Archer with a nod, they continued on their way. As they drove down the street the people watched them, dark eyes shining unblinkingly from the shadows until the people seemed to fade into the darkness as if they'd never existed.

After that point, they didn't run into anyone else. The streets were empty and silent around them, the buildings looking dark and foreboding. Boyd instructed Archer to turn his headlights off as he talked him through a rather complicated route that wound through side streets and alleys until they finally arrived at the base of a large, crumbling wall.

"I'll be right back."

Boyd silently left the vehicle and, with a glance around to see if anyone was watching, ran up to the wall and after a few moments of searching in the dark, found the edge of the gate they would have to pass through. Despite looking derelict and completely abandoned, the gate opened soundlessly. It was maintained that way because it hardly made sense to have an entrance to a secret passage that squealed horrendously any time anyone tried to use it.

He slipped through the shadows back to the driver's side as Archer cracked the window just enough to hear his whisper to pull forward and leave the lights off until he could shut the gate behind them. The van's tires made a soft noise as they rolled across the pavement and within moments the van was encased in the even darker tunnel. Boyd shut the gate behind them then got back in the vehicle.

They were encased in darkness that Boyd had barely been able to see through enough to even get back to the van. There was no way they'd be able to navigate without some sort of light, so Archer flipped the headlights on and started driving again. The walls rose around them, stone blocks that didn't seem to match up properly with vines growing along the sides. The tunnel was tall enough to hold a van and wide enough for a few across but it would have been pushing it to try to get a tall bus inside. The ceiling was low enough that they could see it barely illuminated by the fading edges of the headlights. More vines hung from the arched ceiling, appearing suddenly from the gloom like pale green tendrils of spiderwebs that trailed along the windows and made soft sliding noises along the roof of the van.

It was utterly silent inside, like the shadows were eating away slowly at sound itself. Time seemed to stretch and slow, dragging out endlessly in the hidden passage completely removed from the realm of the rest of the city. Taken in context with the ghostly people earlier, it seemed like they were passing through a forgotten land between death and life.

Boyd watched ahead, searching for any sign that Santiago's crew was around, while Blair stared out the back doors and whispered suddenly, "This place is creepy."

"Let's just--"

Before Kassian could say more, a sudden high-pitched gasp caused him to stop in mid-sentence and everyone's eyes snapped down to Sin in surprise.

At first it wasn't immediately clear what was wrong with him-- it was difficult to see him in the gloom, difficult to make out his features as strange wheezing sounds and strangled gasps escaped his mouth. But then Kassian flicked on the dome light and Sin's face was illuminated, seeming pastier than it had less than an hour ago. His eyes were still not open, eyebrows not so much as twitching, but he continued to gasp as though he could not breathe. Before anyone could comment he began to twitch and jerk violently.

Boyd's eyes widened at the sight and Archer snapped one arm out between the seats just in time to stop him from trying to jump into the back. Archer's other hand remained on the wheel and he suddenly pulled the van to the side and parked it.

"What's wrong with him?" Boyd asked in rising alarm, trying to get back there but Archer just grabbed onto him and held him in the seat. Boyd twisted to look back at what was happening. Archer kept him still despite his automatic attempt to struggle away, to get closer to Sin while he watched him in horror.

"He's having a seizure," Harriet barked, expression twisted in confusion and concern as she automatically moved to cradle his head. Sin's whole body began to jerk, muscles spasming wildly as a sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead. "He has a high fever-- he's had one but it's worse now an--"

"Can't you do something?" Michael asked, eyes narrowed as he stared down at Sin in alarm. Behind him, Blair's eyes were wide and slightly haunted as he stared at Sin.

"No." She shook her head, looking helpless. "We just have to wait until he--"

Sin's movements grew more violent, more intense and chaotic, and for a moment it seemed that he would rip his arms out of the splints, that the movements were so uncontrollable that he'd injure his tentatively set bones even more. But then suddenly-- with one final, wheezing gasp-- all motion stopped and he collapsed against the gurney again.

But this time, it was wrong. This time the stillness was unnatural and when his head lolled to the side like a broken ragdoll, everyone froze.

"Fuck." Kassian scooted forward instantly from his position at the back window and shoved Harriet out of the way, frantically checking for a pulse as he grabbed at Sin's wrist. "His fuckin--" He broke off and leaned down lower, eyebrows knotted. "He's not breathing, his heart stopped."

"What the fuck!" Boyd yelled immediately, frantically trying to get past Archer's grip. "Help him!"

"Begin CPR!" Kassian looked up at Michael, who had the best access at the moment. But Michael hesitated, eyes focused on the blood that stained Sin's lips and his eyes flicked back up to Kassian uncertainly.

"Now!" Kassian shouted, voice bouncing around the silent vehicle strangely. When Michael still did not move, Kassian growled in disgust and jumped up-- shoving him violently out of the way as he began attempting to resuscitate Sin himself. He pinched Sin's nose between his fingers, breathing air into his mouth before pressing down on his chest hurriedly as he struggled to get the oxygen flowing again.

Nothing happened and Kassian swore softly, tilting Sin's head back and holding it in place with one hand as he moved to seal their mouths together once more. He breathed in, glanced down at Sin's chest, and then breathed again before sitting up to do another hurried set of compressions. Once again, nothing happened, and he became visibly agitated.

"Come on you fucking punk," he snapped at Sin impatiently and began mouth-to-mouth for the third time.

No one moved, no one spoke, and everyone just watched Kassian work.