Kings and Crowns: A Dystopian Thriller (Age of End Book 2) (2 page)

“He takes an interest in outsiders.”

They entered a vacant building. The rooms were filthy and rundown. As they walked down a set of stairs, the sunlight faded and darkness moved in. Crooked Tooth pulled a rod from his pocket and tapped the end. The tip illuminated, lighting the way. Vince and the others marveled at the sight. Light from nowhere. Like magic.

They continued along the path, and Vince noticed a flag hanging from the wall. In the center was a familiar image. A large tortoise climbing a pyramid. He nudged Saul. “Isn’t that the Rodin crest?”

Crooked Tooth turned around. “What did you say?”

“Nothing. I said nothing.”

The man glanced at the flag. “No. You said Rodin.” He gazed deep into Vince’s eyes. “What do you know about Rodin?”

Vince glared back. “Nothing. You misheard. May we continue?”

Crooked Tooth moved his gaze to Saul and the others, then turned around and kept walking. Saul shot Vince a look of concern, but said nothing.

They walked through a maze of underground hallways. Debris and dust occasionally fell as rumbles shook the ground above. They turned a corner and found themselves in an open room, illuminated only by a small glowing box at the center. The box displayed moving images behind the glass surface. More magic. A man’s silhouette was cast upon the light. His back was facing them as he watched the images on the box.

“How do we look on television?” Crooked Tooth asked.

“Like terrorists,” the man said without turning around. “We’re heroes, but they always say we’re terrorists.”

Crooked Tooth walked to the side and started making a mug of tea. The ceramic mug had a picture of a turtle imprinted on the front. “There isn’t much we can do about that, boss. They’re too stubborn.”

“No, there is something we can do. There must be a way to make them understand. I just haven’t figured it out yet.”

“I’m sure you will. You always do.” He raised the mug to his lips and slurped the hot liquid.

“Enough flattery, Jonah. How is the charge going? Why are you down here? You should be on the front lines.”

Jonah placed the mug down and walked up to the man. He leaned in and whispered into his ear.

The man finally turned around sauntered up to Vince. He had oily skin and rough stubble, and his hair was a wild mess. His eyes were wide and piercing. “So, tell me what you know about Rodin.”

Vince held firm eye contact. “I already told your friend over there, we don’t know what Rodin is. Never heard of it. He misheard us.”

“I see. I’m a little disappointed, but if you say so, I have no reason to question you. We’re all free to speak our minds here, right? As we always say, live free forever.”

Vince flinched at the phrase.

“Ah, so you
do
recognize it. Of course, it would be familiar if you were from Rodin, but you’ve assured me that you never even heard of Rodin.”

Saul stepped forward. “Who cares if we do or don’t know about Rodin?”

The man smiled. “I care a great deal, actually.”

“Yeah?” Saul said. “And who are you? Why are you so important?”

“I’m glad you asked. It is a very important question with an equally important answer. I am the face of the poor and forgotten, of the abused and cheated. An unsung hero of the City. I fight for freedom. For equality. I lead because I can. Because no one else will. I follow in my father’s footsteps and build from what my grandfather created. I lead the Crowns. I am Simon Hedcrown.”

FIVE

VINCE AND SAUL both reacted when they heard the name Hedcrown. The name of the famous inventor from Rodin, who had ventured into the unknown, never to return.

“Yes,” Simon said. “You heard correctly. I am a Hedcrown. I have Rodin blood.”

“How is that possible?” Saul asked. “Harry Hedcrown left Rodin hundreds of years ago. He vanished into the flatlands. There’s no way he could have survived.”

“But he did,” Simon responded. “Greene sent someone out to rescue him. A contact agent to bring him back to the City. And that’s when he formed the Crowns.”

“What are the Crowns?”

“We are the Crowns. We stand for freedom and fight against Greene. We strive to rescue every prisoner in his hold and provide them with the freedom they deserve. Live. Free. Forever.”

Alan stepped forward. “I guess our goals align. We’re here to stop Greene as well. We want to stop his tests and free all the test subjects.” He stuck out his hand. “I think we got off on the wrong foot. We should be working together, not against each other.”

Simon nodded. “If that’s the case, I completely agree.” He signaled for the others to lower their guns. “I apologize if Jonah frightened you. He can be a bit aggressive, but it’s a good quality to have for an operation like this.”

Jonah stood in the corner and watched them, leaning against the wall and sipping tea from his turtle mug.

“What’s going on up there?” Ella asked. “The dust was crazy. I couldn’t see anything. All I heard were explosions.”

“Yes. We’re charging the Spire. That’s where Greene hides. The tall tower you probably saw when you came in. It’s protected by three walls, each equipped with cannons.

“Cannons?” Rupert asked.

“You don’t know what a cannon is?” He chuckled. “Wow, you guys really
are
outsiders.” He pulled out his gun and held it up to show them. “Do you know what this is?”

“Yes,” Vince said. “We encountered one earlier. It shoots thunder.”

“Thunder? Ha! That’s priceless. No, my friend. It shoots bullets.” He opened the barrel and pulled one out. “These little metal balls. A cannon is a bigger version of this. About ten times as big.”

“Holy crap!” Alan said. “I’d hate to run into one of those.”

“Yes, they are very dangerous, but we counter them with our homemade bombs. That’s how we took down the first wall.”

“So you’re just going in with brute force.”

“That’s really our only option. There’s no way for us to sneak in.” He paused for a moment, then pointed his finger towards Vince. “If you’re from the outside, how do you know about Greene? How do you know about test subjects?”

Saul answered without thinking. “We
are
test subjects.”

Vince glared at him. That was not information he wanted to share, not yet.

Simon stumbled back. “What? You’re saying we have a group of escaped subjects?”

“Just Vince and I. The others are friends. And we didn’t escape. They tested us outside of the City, without our knowledge.”

“Fascinating. They have subjects in the outer world. What did they test?”

“We have the power to drain life from the living. Plants, animals, that kind of thing. It extends our life expectancy.”

“Perfect!” Simon exclaimed. “You embody our motto. Live free forever. Two of Greene’s prisoners defy his orders and live a free life. You represent everything the Crowns stand for. We need to spread the word. Make you the face of the Crowns.” He turned to Jonah. “Make an announcement. We’ll throw a rally tomorrow morning. That’s where we’ll introduce them to the people.”

Jonah put down his empty turtle mug and left through the back door.

“Wait,” Ella said. “We don’t want to go around broadcasting our presence. We want to stay quiet. Catch Greene by surprise.”

Simon shook his head. “There’s no catching Greene by surprise. He has eyes everywhere. He already knows you’re here, and I’m sure he knows we found you. We need to take advantage of the situation before he has time to react.”

“How do you think he
will
react?” Rupert asked.

“I don’t know, but there’s no point in waiting to find out. What are your names?”

“Vince Vigo.”

“Saul Shepherd.”

“Rupert Howlett, and my falcon, Fred.”

“Ella Weaver.”

“Alan Trotter.”

Simon glanced at them from a distance. “And you two are Greene’s subjects.” Vince and Saul nodded. “We need to get your names out there. Vince and Saul, the two who escaped Greene’s hold and now live as free men. We’ll have your faces on posters and television. Hell, I’ll shout your names from the rooftops. By the end of tomorrow, everyone in the City will know who you are.”

“This is a bit much,” Saul said, “isn’t it?” He was still clenching the pain in his stomach.

“Not at all. We must not squander this opportunity.” Simon’s eyes wandered down to Saul’s stomach. “Are you hurt, friend? I see a lot of blood.”

“I’m okay. I was shot earlier, but I’m healing up pretty well. I should be good to go in a couple of days.”

“We’ll get someone to look at it, just in case. We can’t have the new face of the Crowns keeling over in pain. We need to show your strength. Your ability to overcome hardships and oppression.”

“Believe me, I’m no role model. I’m not someone people should look up to. I’ve done things I’m not proud of.”

“But you’ve changed,” Vince said. “You’ve done so much good. You stopped Barnabus.”

“Barnabus Carbul?” Simon asked. “You stopped him?”

Vince nodded. “Yes. He was the one watching us. I guess you could call him our contact agent. He went on a killing spree, but Saul put his life at risk to stop him. Barnabus is dead now.”

Simon’s surprised expression turned to joy. “I can’t believe it. Carbul was on our top list of targets. You guys really
are
on our side. Fighting for the Crowns before you even know they exist.”

“Barnabus was a monster. No one’s going to miss him.”

“Greene will certainly miss him. He was basically Greene’s right-hand man.”

“Really?” Ella asked. “He almost seemed scared of Greene.”

“Everyone’s scared of Greene, but some are closer to him than others. Barnabus was one of the guys that had been around forever. Many have come and gone, but he stuck by Greene’s side. He was as loyal as anyone could be.”

“A leader who rules with fear always fails,” Rupert said. “Lead with love, that’s what I always say.”

“And you’re one hell of a leader,” Alan said. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Simon continued with his original thought. “Regardless, we need to push you boys out into the public. Everyone in the City will know your names. Vince and Saul. The ones who live free forever.”

A panicked Jonah entered the room. “Simon, we’re losing too many men up there.”

“Have we breached the second wall?”

“No, sir. They have too much firepower and our bomb supply is running low.”

“Goddamn it! It took forever to make those bombs. I was certain it was enough to get through all three.”

“I’m afraid not. We’ve barely even scratched the second wall. They’re shooting us down like flies. It’s a bloody mess out there.”

Simon turned his back and mumbled to himself. He stomped the ground and punched the air, gritting his teeth and screaming obscenities. They all watched his tantrum build. His face grew red as he yelled even louder. His muscles clenched. His veins bulged from his neck.

After a few seconds, he gathered himself, regained his composure, and turned to face the others again. “I apologize. A lot of planning went into this operation. It is disheartening to learn that it was all for nothing.”

Jonah tipped his hat. “Not for nothing, sir. We took down the first wall. They’re more vulnerable than ever now.”

“That is true. The first wall is down, but we have to move fast. Greene is sure to repair it quickly. If we sit around, we will lose our progress. We need to make more bombs. Jonah, tell the others to scavenge for materials.”

Jonah began to leave.

“Wait. Is the rally ready to go?”

“We’ve announced a rally for tomorrow morning.”

“Good. Now get moving.”

Jonah left.

Simon turned back to Vince and Saul. “In the meantime, let me show you and your friends around.”

Alan observed the room they were in. “No offense, but it doesn’t look like there’s much to show.”

Simon chuckled. “Please. You haven’t seen anything yet. Come, follow me.” He clicked off the television and led them to the back. There was an empty hallway with a curtain at the far end. “When my grandfather founded the Crowns, it was just him and a few other people. His closest friends.”

As they walked, they heard a rumble of people, growing louder from behind the curtain.

“He built a strong foundation with those people. They formed principles that made sense, that attracted others.” They reached the curtain, and Simon grabbed the end. “He would smile if he saw how far we’ve come. How much we’ve grown.” He pulled back the curtain to reveal a massive underground network of people.

They marveled at the sight. A series of tunnels holding hundreds of men, women, and children. People shuffled along, crowding the passageways. Salesmen stood at their booths, calling out prices as crowds passed by. Children pranced around a statue at the center of the square, chasing each other with innocent joy.

“Wow,” Ella said. “There’s a whole society down here. All of these people are against Greene?”

“Yes,” Simon said proudly. “And this is only one of our bases. There are many more just like it, hidden throughout the City. Greene knows they exist, but he doesn’t know we do business down here.”

“There are so many people,” she said. “How is Greene still in power if they all oppose him?”

“We are a large group, but we are still the minority. By quite a margin, actually. You’ve only seen a sliver of the City.”

“That’s amazing. It’s so much bigger than Snow Peak.”

“Snow Peak? Is that where you’re from? Sounds cold.”

They strolled along the path, weaving through the crowds of people. The tunnels were lit with the same magic Jonah had used, encapsulated in tall metal rods.

“What are those?” Alan asked.

“That, my friend, is a lamppost. I take it you’ve never seen electricity before? It powers the whole City. Greene has a generator in the Spire. He sends electricity all across the City. We may hate the guy, but it’s damn hard to live with no lights.”

Vince walked past the magic that had entranced the others. He was more interested in the statue that stood in front of them. The plaque underneath read:

Harry Hedcrown
Leader. Hero. Friend.