The Rainbow Maker's Tale (38 page)

“You’re a bad liar,” she
muttered into my shoulder.

I laughed, hoping I was a
better liar than she thought I was.

Easing Cassie away from her
hiding place on my shoulder, I tilted her face up to mine. “Whilst
we’re talking about promises, I need you to promise me
something.”

“Anything.”

“You must promise that – no
matter what happens to me – you will get out of here.”

Cassie was shaking her head
before I’d finished speaking. I drew her chin up, so that my eyes
could find hers. “You
must
promise me,” I told her,
because I will not risk you, to save myself.

When Cassie nodded her answer,
I wasn’t sure whether I’d just exchanged a lie for a lie. I hoped
she was telling me the truth, and had no choice but to accept her
response as it was. I pulled her close in one last embrace.

“We’ll cut through the
Agricultural Sector from here, it’ll be quicker,” I told Cassie,
turning my attention back to the viewing screen. I navigated away
from the scanner readings for Park 42 and pulled up the information
for the Agricultural Sector.

If we took a route through the
food production and farming domes, it would be much shorter than
going back across the Red Zone, and it should be a lot quieter. The
scanner readings flashed on-screen and I saw – with relief – that I
was right. Only an occasional person registered on the few scanners
that covered the small paths between the domes.

I glanced at the time in the
top corner of the screen. By the time we got there, most people
would have finished work for the day or be inside one of the domes
beginning their shift. We should be OK.

“Once we’re clear, we should
try one of the parks bordering the White Zone, so we’re close
enough to get into Park 42 once it gets dark.” I decided, counting
forward in my head. “I can’t imagine the visitors will be there
overnight, and our bands should cause enough confusion to keep them
searching the populated areas for us first.”

“So you think there’s something
there?”

“I don’t know.” I dropped my
voice to a whisper. “But, whatever
The Collective
is,
judging by the number of people that have been in Park 42 today,
they obviously agreed with your parents about it being a risk. And
the service hatches they mentioned are the only option I can think
of for getting out of here.” Which was why I’d verified their
existence and locations today, whilst I was supposed to be
monitoring results in the biochemistry lab. “It’s all we’ve got to
work with.”

“Let’s go then!”

Cassie dragged up a half-smile
for me and it made me feel hollow inside when I realised how
precarious a position we were in right now. It was hard to say if
our position was made better or worse, by the fact that we seemed
to know things about what was happening, that our peers didn’t.

I steeled myself. This was no
time to be wondering and wallowing, we needed to move. Clambering
to my feet, I lifted Cassie to stand beside me, before dropping the
screen back into my bag and moving off.

Setting a quick pace, it took a
few short minutes to get from the Red Zone to the edge of the
Agricultural Sector. Normally, I liked the peace and quiet that
surrounded the vast domes of the greenhouses. In the past I had
spent many hours here, exploring the various units and peering into
the enclosed domes to see what was growing inside. Today the domes
felt ominous and foreboding as they towered over our scurrying
figures. Thankfully, the pathways remained empty.

Cassie followed close behind me
as we moved through the narrow lanes that squeezed between the
hard, plastic walls. As we passed by a filter in one of the domes I
was enveloped in hot, wet air and reminded why this route was
generally unpopular as a way of getting from one side of the
Quarter to another. It must have been a tropical environment inside
– perhaps growing fruit. I paid it little thought as we moved
on.

Cassie was panting as she
trotted behind me, trying to match my pace. I wasn’t deliberately
making it difficult for her, but every second we lost felt
important.

It was also guilt pushing my
feet along faster, because I knew I was going to break my promise
and leave Cassie behind. It was just for a short while
and
to protect her, but it was exactly what I had promised I wouldn’t
do. I’d even selected the perfect spot to do it: close to boundary
near my apartment, far enough from any alternative route Cassie
could use to try and follow me.

Calculating this – using her
weaknesses to get my own way – made me feel sick. It was a good
plan though. I might have called it foolproof, except I’d never
label Cassie a fool.

It wasn’t far now. The main
Agricultural Zone dropped away behind us and there were still no
signs of life anywhere, except for the snippets of conversation
drifting from the air vents on the domes we passed. Ahead, the
three storey buildings of the Green Residential Zone were visible,
instead of hidden behind the encroaching domes. I looked at the
neat rows, which ended abruptly at the exterior wall of the Family
Quarter.

At the next junction in the
pathways, I turned away from the route that would lead us towards
the main avenue that ran through the Green Zone. Instead, I led
Cassie off the path and hurried across the grassed area that
bordered the high boundary wall, separating the agricultural sector
from the residential area beyond.

Cassie followed close behind as
I moved along the wall. I stopped at the point where it met the
corner of one of the electrical control rooms, supplying a nearby
dome. Even though the wall was twice as tall as me, I knew that I
would be able to use the sharp right angle where it met the other
wall, to propel myself to the top. I knew this because I’d done it
quite a few times before.

As I drew near to the area I
needed, I sensed Cassie’s hesitation. I turned and found she was no
longer at my back.

“I don’t know if I can get over
this,” she said, her words reluctant – hand reaching for her
injured shoulder.

My stomach lurched as Cassie
drew attention to the weakness I had been counting on to prevent
her from coming with me. I swallowed the nausea and turned to face
her.

“When I get to the top I’ll
reach down for you.” I forced myself to speak around the dry tongue
that threatened to stick my mouth shut. When Cassie nodded –
accepting my lie – I had to turn away.

Standing with my back to her, I
focused on the spot just a few feet away from me where the two
walls formed a tight corner. Sucking in a deep breath, then
another, I ran through the steps in my head a couple more times
before I moved.

On the outward breath I sprang
forwards, covering the ground to the wall in two swift strides.
Inhale. My legs bent as I sucked air into my lungs then leaped
upwards to the side of the control room. As my right hand and foot
made contact with the solid surface, I pushed hard against them,
letting some air shoot out of my chest as I shoved myself higher
and backwards
in the direction of t
he
adjoining wall.

Left, then right; left and
up!

I pushed my way to the top of
the wall, breathing out with each step. Near the top I gripped onto
the bricks and pulled myself the last few feet, feeling the muscles
in my triceps burn as they supported the bulk of my body weight.
Finally, I managed to swing my leg over the edge and roll onto my
stomach.

I was up. Not wanting to risk
anyone noticing me climbing over the wall, I didn’t sit up. Cassie
stepped forward and I saw her inspecting the wall. I closed my
eyes.

Please forgive me
.

When I opened my eyes, I was
looking down at her. As Cassie’s gaze rose to meet mine she froze,
understanding something from my expression I obviously couldn’t
disguise. Her mouth opened, but no words came out.

“I’m sorry Cassie.”

“Sorry…?” She repeated, not
seeming to understand.

I swallowed hard. “I’ll go to
the apartment and come right back for you.”

“No, no…” Cassie’s head shook
from side to side, disbelief plain on her face. “No, you can’t do
this!”

I closed my eyes once more,
trying not to see her disappointment in me crumpling her beautiful
features. In the darkness of my eyelids her face was just as
vivid.

“You promised you wouldn’t
leave me!”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

Rolling off the wall, I landed
gently on the other side, on perfectly manicured grass. I was
already running towards my parent’s apartment when I heard Cassie’s
voice behind me shouting my name.

Her voice! The pain I felt in
that single word pierced me more painfully than any weapon I could
imagine. I couldn’t believe I would ever forget that noise. It
sounded like pure betrayal. My eyes were wet as I raced onwards,
and brushing the dampness away with the back of my hand I tried not
to see Cassie’s face in my head.

I’d lied to her. I’d left
her.

Would she be able to forgive
me?

* * *

Approaching the apartment
building from the rear, I paused to scan the area. Neither seeing
nor sensing anything unusual, I squared my shoulders and casually
sauntered around the corner towards the main entrance.

It was a struggle to move at a
normal pace. Adrenalin hammered through my body, while blood
pounded in my chest: the instinct to run was battling with my
head’s decision to act normally.

In and out, as quickly as
possible
… The phrase repeated over and over in my head as I
walked sedately up the stairs to my parent’s apartment. For obvious
reasons I’d already stopped thinking of it as
my
home.

The apartment door slid open,
revealing a dim and silent interior. My heart skittered for a beat
or two as an ominous feeling settled over me.

Don’t go in!

I ignored the warning that told
me not to cross the threshold. Logic was what I needed. I had to
follow through with my plan –
in and out, as quickly as
possible
.

I peered into the shadowy
corridor that joined the rooms of the apartment together.
Everything was quiet and felt empty. As we had left the Red Zone
park I’d checked the scanner reference points for my parents. One
had been at work – as I expected them to be – the other appeared to
be enjoying their first visit to Park 42.

Forcing my feet forwards, I
entered the apartment and began my search. Two, maybe three,
minutes passed as I raced between my bedroom, Father’s office and
the kitchen. In that time I filled an old workbag with the stolen
viewing screen; several hammers, of various sizes; and wrench and
spanner multi-tools that could perform several different functions
or accommodate different sizes. Last of all, I stashed a small
medical kit and some flasks of water inside the bag. There was no
transportable food in the kitchen, so water would have to do. I
could only hope we would be OK for a while without food, because I
had no idea what we might find beyond the Family Quarter if we did
manage to get out. Staying or leaving – both were terrifying
thoughts.

Hefting the bag onto my
shoulder, I wasted no time looking around the bland plastic space I
had lived in all my life. There were no real memories here for me,
no cherished moments or things to reminisce over: all that had
stopped when I was eight years old and learned that life on the SS
Hope was built on lies and questions. It was only recently, as I
opened up to Cassie and saw something more, that I had begun to
live. She had filled my hollow shell with life and awakened
emotions in me that I thought were dead. Cassie was literally my
life now. I turned my back on everything I had once been and walked
out the door.

“Cassie?” I whisper-shouted
beside the wall, glancing around to see if anyone was watching. It
didn’t feel like they were.

The grass behind the Green Zone
apartments sloped upwards slightly and so the wall was not as high
on this side. Stretching upwards, I pushed the workbag over the
top, keeping hold of one strap to lower it on the other side before
reaching my limit and dropping it the last half-metre or so. A soft
thud reassured me that it was unlikely anything had broken. The
same noise told me that Cassie had not caught it.

“Cassie?!” I called again,
beginning to panic.

Surely she would be more
concerned with getting out of here, than punishing me for leaving
her?

“CASSIE!” There was no
response.

Pacing three steps back, I took
a running jump at the wall, locking my fingers onto the bricks and
levering myself upwards so that my head and shoulders cleared the
top. I peered over, finding nothing but the bag I’d just thrown
over.

I swivelled my head in every
direction, wondering where she might have gone…where she could be
hiding… “Cassie?!”

Adjusting position, I moved my
right arm forwards to get a better grip and froze when a flash of
red caught my attention. In horror, I re-focused on the red spot
and I looked down to see the mark emblazoned on my skin. Spinning
in place to look behind me, my eyes raked across the grass I’d been
standing on a moment earlier, but I saw nothing. My wristband was
missing.

For a moment I couldn’t think
clearly of anything, blind panic took control. Disjointed thoughts
and half-ideas spun through my mind as my breath became gasps.
Gradually, clarity came back: Cassie had gone, my wristband was
missing…were the two things connected?

“No.” The word cracked in my
throat as comprehension crashed over me. I’d left Cassie behind –
broken my promise – but didn’t believe that she would actually
follow me: she was smart enough to follow my plan, even if she was
angry with me. The only thing I could imagine that would make her
come after me was if she thought I was in danger…which meant that
she knew I’d lost my wristband, and that it must have happened
before I went into the apartment…