Authors: Nick James
39
Cassius laid on the accelerator, propelling the sports car up the side of the mountain pass. He’d found a gun under the passenger seat and used it to snatch a canister of water and a quick meal from a pair of Fringers on the outskirts of the nearest town. He’d dumped the guy’s body from the trunk as well. Less weight in the car.
Now he sped along a narrow road between miles of dry forest, much of it blackened by continual fires. The Northern Cascades—once a lush, snow-clogged drive to Seattle, now a thinning forest fire waiting to happen.
He felt strange sitting behind the wheel of a car. The warm breeze pushed against his face through the half-open window. Families used to take trips in automobiles before the Chosen Cities—radio blasting, hands sticking up out of the sunroof. Now everyone crowded onto the Chute system, except those lucky enough to afford a shuttle of their own. Driving felt all right. Freeing.
He drank from the water canister before dropping it onto the seat beside him. The motor puttered up the steep incline. He prayed it wouldn’t give out entirely. Still, if he had to get out and push the fraggin’ thing, he’d do it. The sooner he got to Seattle, the sooner this nightmare would be over.
Suddenly, he saw movement in the forest ahead of him. He slowed down slightly, peering out the dust-caked window.
Then, a heavy whoosh. The trees crashed to the left of his car, bending forward to let something through. He watched as a large, dark shape flew through the forest up into the air, casting a shadow against the hood of his car.
He slowed to a stop as a boulder the size of an oven smashed into the pavement, fracturing the already busted road and nearly pancaking the front end of the car in the process.
The trees settled back into place, swaying gently in the breeze. All was quiet and still.
Breathing hard, he stared at the giant rock blocking the center of the pathway up the mountain. He looked at the sky, half-expecting something else to fall. But the boulder hadn’t come from the heavens.
People
had done this. He wasn’t sure how, but he wasn’t alone on the mountain.
He grabbed the gun from beside him, surveying the woods.
Nothing.
With one hand on the wheel he backed up, swerving to the left. Shifting gears, he curved around the right side of the boulder, darting his head from window to window.
Halfway around the rock, a gunshot rang out from the forest and nicked the corner of his bumper.
He sped up immediately, rocketing around the boulder and back onto the road. A second shot shattered the passenger window. Glass spilled onto the seat. He ducked, car weaving as he tried to stay on the road with one steering arm and limited vision.
He glanced at the rearview mirror and watched as several gangly figures bounded out from the trees onto the road, running after him. He kept his head low and stomped down on the accelerator, flying up the hill as fast as the car would take him. The figures fired shot after shot, some of which hit the back of his trunk. Others ricocheted off the pavement. He longed for one of the government’s concussion grenades, or even a proper shotgun instead of the peashooter he held now.
He kept a constant, breakneck speed, whipping around a cluster of dying trees before straightening out once more. Then he saw it, half a mile ahead, stretched across the road. A wooden barrier. It was at least a foot thick, with two words carved in jagged marks on the bark.
Cascadia Territory
. It’d crush the car no matter how fast he was going.
Two choices: stop the vehicle and defend himself, or off-road it.
He glanced over to the right. The forest ended, replaced by a vast rocky basin—an evaporated lake, no doubt.
Without giving himself time to reconsider, he swerved to the right, flying off the highway and down to the basin. The car was airborne for no more than a second before smacking into the dirt. Hard.
His chest bashed into the wheel as the front tires bounced on the rock, but he managed to keep control and steer the vehicle safely into the basin. Once he was level again, he
gunned it, kicking up dirt and rock as he sped onward—a tiny red insect in the middle of a massive, empty hole in the Earth.
Lucky for him, the Cascadians hadn’t booby-trapped the basin. The chances of someone being reckless enough to try and steer their way through the uneven landscape were too slight. But Cassius had exploded twice in the past week. Nothing was too reckless anymore.
He took a quick right to avoid an outcropping ahead of him, which led him up a mound of rocks that sent the car flying through the sky once more. He landed with a crash, bumping his head on the ceiling.
Once he was a mile beyond the barrier, he headed back for the highway, climbing up over the gentlest slope he could find and tearing through the backyard of what used to be a ski cottage. He rejoined the roadway at a downward slant. Beyond was the West Coast. Within minutes, he’d be off the mountain.
No more bullets or boulders. He’d made it, though the small victory didn’t mean much. The mountain pass would be nothing compared to Seattle. Things were going to change down there, one way or another.
He watched the speedometer soar until he was in triple digits again. The Cascadians were long behind him. He didn’t look back.
40
After an hour of driving over relentless potholes, our van slows to a stop. The inside of the trailer reeks. In all the run-for-my-life excitement I didn’t realize the smell until we were about twenty minutes out of town. It’s like a skunk took a bath in two-month-old milk. Once we get out of here we’re gonna smell like this for days.
Even worse is the heat. It’s like a dark, smelly sauna. We’re breathing each other’s air, leaving puddles of sweat on the already dirty trailer. A meager stream of air flows in from the cracks in the doorway. I need someone to let us out. Like, now.
The van slows to a stop. I hear footsteps approach outside, then a soft muttering from up front.
“It’s the Cascadians,” Avery whispers.
I nod. “Bobby said something about a toll. We better not be part of it.”
Eva and Skandar exchange confused looks, but don’t press us for information. I steady the Pearl with my ankles, making sure it doesn’t bang against the metal and make any unnecessary noise. “If Barkley opens the door and turns us in, then we run. No questions … just bolt into the forest.”
Eva smirks. “Look who’s giving orders now.”
We wait and listen. I hear George’s voice, but the words are muffled. There are at least two others outside. One is a woman.
The conversation lasts a few minutes and ends with the slam of a door. The engine rumbles. I breathe a sigh of relief. Getting over these mountains is the first thing that’s gone right all day.
Skandar stretches his arms. “Anybody else think this place needs some in-flight entertainment?”
“Here,” I hand the Pearl to him. “Hold this.”
He cradles it in his arms, staring at the radiant glow coming from within. The van lurches forward. We’re heading down.
“I don’t know what we’re gonna find in Seattle,” I start, “but if you really wanna help, the best thing you guys can do is cover for
me if Alkine shows up.”
Eva shakes her head. “He’s not here to stop you, Jesse. The cat’s out of the bag.”
“Has he told you anything? About a lab?”
She shrugs. “Listen, what you heard at that meeting is all I know. As far as I can tell it’s all he knows, too.”
“There’s a lab,” I mutter. “I saw it in my dream.” I wind my fingers around the chain necklace. “It’s where I was given this key. I think it happened right before Alkine found me. I remember Seattl
e, covered in mist.”
“The chemicals from the bombings,” Avery interjects.
I nod. “And I remember the lab. Everything in between is blank
.”
“So you’re going to try to find this place?” Eva stares at the key lying on my chest. “You think it still exists?”
“It’s all I’ve got to go on,” I reply. “Maybe the key opens the door. Maybe there are answers inside. Why else would I be r
emembering it now, after so long?”
Skandar frowns, holding the Pearl in front of his face. “Meanwhile, there’s gonna be a whole army of Pearlhounds looking for this thing.”
“I’m not worried about them.”
Eva laughs. “
Jesse Fisher
not worried about an army of government soldiers? Do I need to remind you about what happened back in Syracuse? And that was just
one
of them. A trainee, no less.”
“Yeah,” I start, “
that
was back in Syracuse. Besides, you’ll hold t
hem off.”
“Hold them off?” She grimaces. “What do I look like, a freaking tank?”
Avery scoots closer to me. “You owe him, Rodriguez.”
“For what? For saving his butt for nearly three years?” She crosses her arms. Apparently the generous, guilt-ridden Eva has left the trailer.
“For lying to him,” Avery responds.
She rolls her eyes. “Coming from you, that’s rich.”
Skandar darts his head around the side of the Pearl. “I never lied to you, mate.”
Eva sighs. “That’s because you’re incapable of lying, Harris. It would require a level of self-awareness that’s completely beyond you.”
He glares at her, confused.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say. “If you’re with me, be with me now. We’ll talk about everything else later.”
“If there
is
a later,” Eva mumbles. I pretend not to hear her.
Other than the occasional attempt to get a conversation going, we spend the next hour in silence. My mind attempts to formulate some sort of a plan, but it’s impossible. I have no idea what I’m getting myself into. If there’s a lab—if there’s
anything
—I don’t even know where to look.
And all the while Skandar plays with the Pearl like it’s some kind of toy. I know what’s really inside—a concussive force strong enough to flatten an army. I’ve seen it happen, triggered by my own hands. I’d never heard of a Pearl exploding before last night. These things have been poked and prodded, dropped off buildings and transferred to reactors, but never once exploded. Until I caught one.
The van comes to a sudden halt.
We freeze, careful not to make a sound. My heart thumps double-time, urging my body to get out of the tight space.
I hear the driver’s side door open and shut in one motion. We’re here. We must be.
Someone shouts, followed by a flurry of voices. George’s isn’t am
ong them.
I press my ear against the wall. Just like back on the mountain, the individual words are too muffled to make out.
A loud blast rips through the air. The trailer wall vibrates with the echoing sound. I stumble backward, slamming my el
bow on the metal.
Then it’s quiet again. I listen for George’s footsteps to come around the side. I wait.
Nothing.
Instead, the voices come back, murmuring at the front of the truck. The hairs on my neck stand on end. Avery squeezes my arm, sensing my tension.
Footsteps make their way from the van’s cabin to the side. Suddenly, I realize that we’re trapped. There’s no way to open the back door from inside the trailer. If this is who I think it is, then we’ve just cornered ourselves. Big mistake.
The footsteps tread around the van until they’ve reached the back door. I hear breathing, followed by the jangling of keys. The lock turns and clicks open.
We scoot back as the door rises, a crack at first. Even with my heart in my throat, I relish the breeze that streams in from outside. Polluted Surface air has never felt so amazing.
But as the door continues to pull open, my worst suspicions are confirmed.
This isn’t George or his son. It’s not Alkine.
It’s a mini army of soldiers wearing Unified Party combat gear.
They’ve got guns.
And they’re pointing them directly at us.
41
The soldiers’ faces are shielded by government gas masks, their bodies hidden behind thick, genderless uniforms. They’re completely anonymous.
The ones in front reach in to grab us but the leader motions them to stop, stepping forward and extending a gloved hand.
“The Pearl. Surrender it.” The voice sounds robotic and alien from behind the gas mask.
I glance over to Skandar, who clutches the green orb close to his chest.
“Count of three,” the soldier warns. The mass of weapons beep and whirr as they lock onto our chests. “One … ”
I turn to Skandar, motioning for him to toss the Pearl to me. He shakes his head. “I’m not letting them have it.”
“Two … ”
I dart over to him, yanking it from his arms. The soldier stops counting and watches me scoot forward.
“Place it in my hand.” The soldier takes a step forward.
I look up at the gas mask, searching for a face behind all the hardware. Eyes, a nose … something.
They don’t know who I am.
The thought strikes me out of nowhere. If they knew that Madame wanted me, they’d forget about the Pearl altogether and pull me from the trailer without hesitation. Of course, it doesn’t change the fact that as soon as they get the Pearl, they’ll drag us all off to a Security Center anyway. If they don’t shoot first.
Not gonna happen.
“Get behind me,” I motion to the others.
Avery grabs Skandar and Eva by the shoulders and pulls them to the empty boxes at the front of the trailer. Eva tries to fight her way back to me, but Avery pins her down.
As soon as they’re safe, I close my eyes and focus, hoping that Portland wasn’t a fluke.
My body’s not screaming bloody murder like it did back in the alleyway. I know this is a crap shoot, trying to control something I don’t even understand, but I continue on, feeling the Pearl’s energy meet my own.
“Weapons at the ready,” the soldier orders. I do my best to ignore the sounds of the battalion.
I hold the Pearl in front of me, feeling it grow warmer with each passing moment. I press in on it with my hands, squeezing between my fingers, and imagine a straight line from my chest down through my arms and into the Pearl.
And then it happens. I open my eyes and watch the Pearl drift away from my fingers, floating toward the open trailer door. The closest soldiers take a cautious step back.
I squint, eyes fixed on the hovering Pearl. When it reaches the back end of the van, I ball my fingers into fists.
The Pearl explodes, shooting a wave of green energy out into the city. The soldiers topple over in its wake, pushed to the ground like paper dolls. The sides of the van bubble out in an ear-piercing grind of metal. But behind me, it’s still. Like last time, my body deflects the energy.
I claw my way forward, watching as a pair of legs disappears up over the top of the trailer, soaring into the air and out of sight—just like in the Portland alley. I catch sight of the figure just in time. It curves up past the layer of chemical smog and out of sight. Definitely humanoid this time.
My fingertips pulse like they’re ready to shoot lightning bolts. I feel like I could single-handedly power an entire Chosen City.
The others stumble out from behind the pile of boxes, mouths agape.
Skandar moves to the edge of the trailer, staring down at the sea of unconscious bodies before looking over at me, dumbfounded. “Jesse, you’re the man.”
Eva moves to his side. “Have you done this before?”
I ignore her, and turn to Avery. “It didn’t hurt this time.”
She nods, flashing an encouraging smile.
Eva steps down from the trailer, laying her hand on the unmoving shoulder of the nearest soldier. “Jesse, you just destroyed a Pearl.”
I scoot closer to the edge. “Now you can see why I have to find answers. The Unified Party’s not gonna like what I can do.”
Avery joins me. “Neither is the Tribunal, for that matter.”
“You’re like a human bomb or something,” Skandar whispers.
“I have to have a Pearl,” I reply. “But I can sense them … control them. I brought one straight to me in Portland, without even realizing what I was doing.” I step out onto the pavement, trying to ignore the bodies below me. “And I think there’s something inside.”
“Inside what?” Avery follows me.
I turn to face her. “Pearls. Something or … someone. I’ve seen it twice now, with both explosions. Flying up out of the energy, there’s a figure. It’s like I’ve hatched something.”
Skandar cranes his neck to look at the sky. “I don’t see anyone.”
“It’s gone.” I stare at the wispy layer of clouds above. “If it was ever there.”
Avery backs away, curving around the trailer until she comes upon a pair of bodies lying on the ground beside the cabin. She crouches, pressing her fingers on George’s neck. “They’re stunned. Both of them. They won’t be waking up for a while. I hope they get some good dreams out of this.”
I sigh, relieved that the soldiers hadn’t killed George and his son. Without them, we’d have never made it over here. Without a word, I make my way through the pile of soldiers, stepping over limp arms and dodging legs. The air’s thick with remnants of chemical smog. Not enough to be lethal—at least for a couple of hours—but enough to keep a deep, sulfurous smell in the air.
The van had stopped on top of a maze of crumpled roadways and overpasses surrounding the city. Colossal slabs of concrete rest in heaps around us, crushing anything beneath them. Colorful bits of vehicles lie smashed between boulders—confetti on an ever-dark background.
We stand on one of the only remaining elevated highways. The ground’s caved in from the dividing lines on, joining the pile of jagged boulders below us. The road itself has a nasty slope to it. A narrow strip of concrete travels down into the city to my right. It’s the only accessible route.
I move to the edge of the highway cliff, staring down at the remains of Seattle. Several skyscrapers stand like skeletons around the edges of the city, chunks missing from all sides. Most buildings are toothed stumps now, poking up from the carpet of rubble lying in piles around them. Farther away, water seeps in from the coast, creating dark, disease-ridden rivers between islands of junk. A gray smog hangs over the city—an incessant, unmoving drizzle replacing the once-red chemicals from the bombs. I can’t see much beyond the water.
Far off to the right, surrounded by a septic sea of green, are the remains of the famous Space Needle, reduced to a pointed spire. There’s not a hint of vegetation in sight. No
trees, no bushes, no grass. The clouds keep their distance but the dark mist drifts into the city like a runny watercolor.
I try to picture the city that once was. People lived here—and worked and went to school. Then came the Scarlet Bombings. No warning. Not one person knew what had happened.
One moment they were going about their normal business, the next they were dissolved into nothing. I can’t imagine being dissolved from the outside in. Can’t even go there.
The others join me at the edge of the cliff, staring out at the wreckage. Nobody says a word. Words can’t really describe it.
After a moment of silence, I turn to face them, speaking softly. “We’ll need weapons.”
Eva nods. “There are plenty back there with the soldiers.”
“Find a pair of com-pads, too. You guys need to stand watch up here.”
Skandar groans. “Man, that is not cool. I wanna do something.”
“If anyone shows up, I’ll need to know,” I say. “If all four of us are down there, it’ll be too easy for them to take us by surprise.”
Avery grabs my hand, clutching it tight. “I’m going with you, Jesse.”
I nod. “Avery and I will go down alone.”
Eva glances at our hands, muttering. “Yeah, I bet you will.”
“Please don’t argue,” I reply. “For once.”
She sighs, reaching over to Skandar and pulling the com-pad from his belt.
“Hey!” He scowls.
She ignores him, tossing the device to me. “You don’t want Pearlhounds tracing you. It’s safer to use Skyship-issue.”
“Fine.” I clip it to the side of my frayed pocket.
“I don’t like this, Fisher,” she grumbles.
“Yeah?” I let go of Avery’s hand. “Well, you’re gonna have to deal. All this time protecting me, you should be pretty good at it. Protect me now by standing watch.”
Skandar frowns. “No offense, buddy, but maybe you need us down there. I mean, that Pearl trick was mass impressive, but you’re running on empty. We can help.”
“You’re more helpful up here,” I say. “You can see everything. Once we get down below the smog it’s gonna be a mess.”
“Jesse’s right,” Avery starts. “We need eyes above the city.”
Eva sighs, crossing her arms. “You’re right. For once in your life, you’re actually right.”
I smile. “Right when it counts, huh?”
She lays her hand on my shoulder, shaking her head. “Just … be careful down there. Keep in contact. If you need us, don’t hesitate.”
I nod.
“Come on, Harris.” She turns to the pile of soldiers. “Time to get suited up.”
Skandar pauses for a moment, then steps forward and smacks my arm. “Good luck, mate. I hope you find what you need.”
Then he’s off, joining Eva beside the van.
I meet Avery’s eyes. She smiles, weaving her fingers between mine. “You ready?”
I reach up and tuck the silver key under my shirt. “Let’s go.”
We stumble down the road, careful not to wedge our feet in any of the cracks.
Five steps down and the screeching of tires on pavement interrupts us. Something screams from the top of the highway.
I spin around to see a red sports car come speeding down the uneven road like an out-of-control monster. A cloud of dust trails its pathway, kicked up into the already coarse air.
I don’t have time to think—to
move
, even. The strangeness of seeing an old-fashioned car in such nightmarish terrain knocks me off guard. For a moment, all I can do is
stare.
But as the vehicle draws closer, shock turns to dread. I recognize the driver immediately. No mistaking the gritty expression on his face.
It’s Cassius, and he’s headed straight for me.