Departure

by Ken Barrett

  “There’s a provisional council?” Rose asked.

  “It’s most likely just one of the many factions in the city,” he replied. “It’s a mess out on the streets. The only thing people can agree on is that they want to kill each other. Their council is probably just a grab for power.”

  “So, even if the Tribal Army accepts the terms of surrender, other neighborhoods will still fight back,” Rose said.

  “Yeah, probably.” He watched as the east city gate slowly eased open, then closed again. They waited anxiously for what seemed an eternity before the man with the white flag came into view.

  “That’s one brave guy,” his sister remarked. “Do you think they’ll listen to him?”

  He simply shook his head. The invaders should know about the fighting going on within the city, or at least guess that it was taking place. Therefore, they would know that the man with the white flag only represented a small portion of the total population, and any negotiation would be a waste of time. A better strategy would be to simply wait until the lasers up on the wall ran out of energy and the city was defenseless. The invaders could then knock down the gates and march in, then do whatever they wanted.

  The man walked slowly while holding the large white flag high above his head. “I’d be terrified,” Rose remarked.

  “Yeah, I can’t imagine anyone volunteering to walk out there like that,” he said, then watched in horror as the enemy railguns fired on him. One moment he was there, and in the next his body had been transformed into flying chunks of meat and red mist. The white flag he had been carrying flew high into the air, where it spun and slowly fluttered to the ground.

  The weapons of the enemy then ripped into the city wall. The body of the man who had stood above the gate begging for peace and mercy instantly shattered and flew away on the wind, and the sound system he had used to speak was torn apart and caught fire. The gateway shuttered under the bombardment of projectiles moving at several times the speed of sound, and yet somehow it remained intact. Those who were still on the wall either sought cover or ran toward their laser installations to return fire.

  Below them the windows on the east side of their building shattered under the impact of the supersonic barrage. Rose was pulling his arm and urging him to stand up and run for the stairway. They ran for their lives as the rooftop came apart around them.

  Once within the stairwell, they both leapt over the rail and fell all the way down to the third-floor landing. Liam hit the floor hard and grunted in pain as he rolled to his feet and followed his sister through the hallway door. He looked around in amazement at the lack of destruction; what the heck had just happened?

  They both eased down on the floor beside each other and leaned back against the wall. “Why didn’t they shoot lower?” Rose asked.

  He thought about it for a moment. “They probably couldn’t. The angle between the railgun and the top of the city wall prevented the fire from going any lower. We were really lucky.”

  His sister quietly laughed and shook her head. “Wow, what a rush.”

  Outside, the enemy’s railguns were still tearing apart the fourth-floor of their building. He looked up at the ceiling as it shuttered and threatened to come apart. “You know, I’ve been counting on Keith being out there with the Tribes, but now I think that hope is futile. If he was there, he would have stopped them from firing at our building.”

  “He wouldn’t have allowed the peace envoy to be killed either.” Rose sat silently until the enemy fire finally ceased. “That’s not good. If Keith’s not out there with the army, then no one’s coming to save us.”

  *****

  When they returned to the computer lab, the children were crying. Lisa was trying to comfort them and Rose immediately rushed to help. Liam locked the door, then limped to a chair and sat down; his leg was bleeding again. He leaned back and sighed, then saw Becky standing mutely in the open door to the breakroom; she glared at him with eyes that had a hard-manic look that was a little frightening. She was probably still dealing with her brother’s death though, so he let it go. A moment later she retreated back into the darkness.

  “What happened?” Lisa said as she knelt on the floor beside Rose and held her daughters close; their sobs were beginning to ease as they realized that they were still safe.

  “Someone tried to make peace,” he replied. “The offer wasn’t accepted.”

  “Oh; but what happened upstairs? It sounded like the building was about to collapse.”

  He gazed cautiously at the children and considered what to say. “The upper floor caught some stray railgun fire. We’re safe down here though, because the city wall protects everything below the fourth-floor.” He shook his head sadly. “I doubt there’ll be any more offers of peace.”

  “Was there much damage upstairs?”

  “Yeah,” he answered. “But like I said, we’re safe where we are.”

  “You’re bleeding Liam,” Suzy said quietly from behind her mother.

  “I’m fine, don’t worry. The bandage on my leg came loose, that’s all it is.” He groaned quietly as he stood up and limped toward the bathroom. “I’ll tape myself back up and put on some clean pants, that way I’ll look as good as new.”

  “But you and Rose aren’t leaving us, are you?” he heard Sally ask as he walked away.

  “Oh no,” Rose answered. “You’re our family now, and we’ll never let you go.”

  *****

  Freshly bandaged and wearing clean clothes, Liam stood out on the balcony with Lisa and Rose. Night had fallen. Sirens wailed throughout the city, while out on the streets people rushed madly about, either seeking shelter or running to defend the city wall. The clatter and hammering of railguns had started up again, and the air seemed to vibrate with the concussive sound. Rockets sailed like comets over the city’s defenses, exploding on impact and setting countless fires among the old tenement neighborhoods; heated ashen embers fluttered down from the sky like snow.

  The noise of the battle made it difficult to hear each other, so the terrace was a strange place for conversation, but it was the only place where the children wouldn’t overhear them talk. “They represented a Provisional City Council.” Rose said as she sat down on a chair that was a safe distance from the edge of the balcony. “I don’t know who they were, or who elected them, but it was a noble effort anyway.”

  “But their offer wasn’t accepted; did you see anyone even consider it?” Lisa glanced through the windows into the computer lab, where her children were happily chatting with Lucy, Irene, and the other spaceships as usual.

  Liam pursed his lips while shifting his weight uneasily between his feet. His leg was a pulsating agony but he struggled to not show his discomfort. “No. They shot the guy with the white flag before he got half way to their camp. They might have been worried that he was carrying explosives; it’s hard to say. But you’d think they’d at least listen to an offer of surrender.”

  Lisa sat down beside Rose. “Was Keith there? Did you see him?”

  “Yeah, he was there.” He and his sister had agreed to hide their suspicions that Keith wasn’t in the enemy camp and allow Lisa to believe that he was still coming to rescue them. Unreasonable hope was all they had to keep their group together.

  “Why didn’t he try to stop the shooting then?”

  He shrugged. “That’s hard to say; he was there, but we were pretty far away so we couldn’t see much of what was going on. Maybe he doesn’t have that much say over what happens, or it could be that he got there too late to stop it.”

  “I hope so.” Lisa sighed as she looked back through the window at her daughters. “We’re counting on him.”

  *****

  Later that evening, Liam sat at his desk and checked the database drop box, hoping for a response from Keith. It was still empty though, and there was no way to tell if his last message had been received. The uncertainty of a possible rescue deeply worried him, and he wondered if hunkering down and waiting was still thei
r best option. What else could they do though? If they were caught sneaking out of the city the invading army would shoot them on sight, just as they had done to the man with the white flag of truce. They were stranded with no way out, and yet he kept thinking that there had to be something he could do; but every avenue his mind wandered down was a dead end.

  He stood up and stared out through the window at the city. It was dark inside the computer lab; the lights had been cut off so that their presence wouldn’t be noticed from the outside. The bright glow of fires that punctuated the darkened city were slowly spreading unimpeded through many older neighborhoods; no one was even trying to put them out anymore.

  The onslaught from outside the city had finally eased, and the lasers on the walls were silent. He rummaged through his mind and recalled the specifications for the L-80 laser rifle and the R-20 hand held railgun, and realized that the city’s defenses required far more energy to operate than did the tribal artillery. That didn’t bode well for the defense of the city, where battery power was already running low. The inevitable invasion would probably happen soon.

  He returned to his desk and sat down to compose another message to Keith. If his first plea for help hadn’t been read, it was doubtful that the second would. What had happened and why hadn’t he answered? Totally relying on another person was distressing, and he realized that Keith may have other priorities than their rescue. All he had left was futile hope though, so he began to type:

  Keith. Our lives depend on you getting this message. There are six of us hiding behind locked doors in the tech center. As I told you before, we’re on the west side of the third floor. We are unarmed and have no way to defend ourselves. Food is becoming scarce within the city, and clean drinking water is even more rare.

  It’s chaos here, and I doubt the city will be able to hold out much longer. We’re in a state of anarchy, with warring factions battling each other for resources. Hand held weapons are becoming useless and even the laser cannons on our walls are running low on power, all of our batteries are nearly dead.

  Our building was almost destroyed today by railgun fire from your camp on the east side of the city. This was right after the peace envoy was killed. That was the first time that any of us had heard of the Provisional Council. However, at this point I agree with them that surrender is our best chance of survival and we all wish that their offer had been accepted. Please do everything you can to prevent our building from becoming a future target of your forces. We all could have died today.

  Becky is staying with us now. Her brother Ron was killed by a crowd of ex-Flatiron citizens. Becky is well but mourning her loss. Lisa and her two daughters are with us too. We’re out of possibilities and have no path forward other than our hope that you will somehow find us when your army finally invades the city. We’re counting on you. Liam.

  *****

  Rose, Becky, Lisa, and her children were asleep on cots in what had once been the breakroom, and Liam sat on the edge of his bed in a tiny space next door. His room was nearly pitch black and completely silent, and yet sleep wouldn’t come. He was too wound up and restless from the events of the day.

  A light tapping came from the doorway. “Liam?” Rose had come to visit him, just as she had sometimes done when they were very little and still living with their parents in Fort Collins.

  He smiled in the darkness. “Hey Sis, what’s up?”

  “Nothing I guess,” she replied and he felt his cot move as she sat down beside him. “I had a feeling that you were awake, and I wanted to talk.”

  “That’s good. I’m glad you stopped by,” he said. “That was a pretty rough day, huh?”

  “Yes, you can certainly say that.” Rose chuckled quietly. “I keep thinking; Fort Collins, then Flatiron City, and now here we are again. Do you think that disaster just sorta follows us around?”

  “I’ve never believed in destiny or any of that hogwash, so I think it’s just the times we live in; there’s no safe place left in the world.” He closed his eyes and sighed in the darkness. “I sent Keith another message tonight.”

  “Do you think he’ll read it?”

  “I don’t know, but right now he’s the only chance we have of staying alive. I don’t want to say that to the others, especially the little girls.”

  “If he’s out there with the army, I know he’ll do all that he can to help us.” Silence fell heavily around them. “Keith’s a good guy.”

  “Do you miss him?”

  “Yes, I do. It’s a little weird being around Becky though; they were going to be partners.”

  “Does Becky know about you and Keith?”

  “No, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

  “I think she’s pretty messed up about her brother, so I doubt Keith is on her mind very much; and it’s been what, a couple years since they’ve seen each other?”

  “I guess so.” The hush again rested between them for a long moment. “How long do you think we have until the army invades the city?”

  “A day or two at most,” he said quietly. “We have enough food and water to make it until then, so all that’s left to do is fortify the room as best we can. Barricade the door and maybe block the windows… I’m not a soldier, so I don’t know what else we can do.”

  “I don’t want to be like Becky. When the time comes, I want to be with you big brother,” she whispered.

  He smiled sadly in the darkness. “Yeah, me too little sister.”

  Chapter 23: Deception

  “Liam, Lucy’s not talking to us this morning,” Suzy said. She and her sister were sitting in their usual spots in front of the communication portals. “Is she sick or something?”

  “Oh, I’m sure she’s fine, but let me take a look.” He left his sleeping chamber and headed across the room.

  “It’s probably the electricity,” Becky said before he was half way there. “The lights won’t go on, so the power must be out.”

  He stopped and glanced at the row of communication portals. “Well, that’s not good.”

  “Why?” Rose asked. “We’ve been keeping the lights off at night anyway, and the girls can go without talking to Lucy.”

  “It’s not that,” he answered. “I want to know when the ships in orbit actually leave, just to be sure that everything went as planned.”

  Rose frowned. “Is that important?”

  “Yeah, it kinda is,” he said. “I wonder if there’s a solar power generator anywhere in the building?”

  “There’s probably one in the basement,” Becky said. “I have keys to the door, so we can go down and have a look around if you like.” She leaned casually against the doorframe of the breakroom where she had sequestered herself for the last few days. She was probably still dealing with the loss of her brother, so her offer of help might be a sign that she was finally coming out of her shell.

  “There’s a basement?” he asked.

  “Sure. I’ve been locked up in this building ever since we got here from Flatiron; exploring the place gave me something to do. Anyway, I’ll take you and Rose down there, just let me finish getting dressed. We can all carry the generator back up here together.” Becky returned to her darkened room, and called over her shoulder, “Just give me a few minutes.”

  Once Becky was out of hearing range, Rose spoke up. “Are you sure this is a good idea? Becky doesn’t seem to be very stable.”

  “Yeah, I know, but maybe she’s finally feeling better. Anyway, there’s no other choice, so I’ll go with her by myself,” he replied. “She’s the only one that knows how to get into the basement, and I’m the only one that knows what equipment we need.”

  “I don’t like this,” Rose said. “I’m coming too.”

  “No, you’re not. Someone needs to stay with Lisa and the kids. Becky and I made it out to the motor-pool and back, so we can do this. We’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

  “You’re my brother, so worrying is just what I’m gonna do. Get over it.”

  Becky walk
ed to the hallway door and waited. “Are we going, or are you two gonna stand around and cackle like a couple of old crones all day?”

  *****

  “Are you sure you’re not coming with us?” Becky asked his sister, who stood just inside the hallway door. “This generator thing might be too big for me and Liam to carry alone.”

  “We’ll manage fine,” Liam said. “Solar generators are designed to be portable because they’re used for emergencies most of the time.”

  Rose glanced at Becky warily, then looked back at him. “Are you really sure? I have a bad feeling about this.”

  “It’s just a short walk down to the basement. I don’t know how long it will take, but we’ll be back as soon as possible.” He smiled, hoping to reassure his sister.

  Rose nodded. “Just come back. I’ll be waiting right here for you.” She stepped back and closed the heavy metal door, and he heard the latches clank into place a moment later.

  Liam turned to Becky. “Looks like it’s just you and me again. Which way do we go?”

  “The fastest way is down the front stairs and through the lobby. The door to the basement is just a little beyond the cafeteria entrance.”

  “Well, the sooner we get started, the faster we’ll get back, so let’s go.”

  “What happened to this place?” Becky stared up at the dislodged ceiling tiles, beyond which sections of the fourth-floor had been torn away. Looking up through the holes they could see harsh white daylight.

  “You don’t remember?” he asked. “Rose and I were up on the roof yesterday when a group from inside the city tried to surrender. The army outside blasted the shit out of everyone, and the upper floor of our building got in the way.”

  “Oh.” Becky continually glanced up at the ceiling as they made their way down the hall. “I guess I must have been asleep or something because I don’t remember any of that. I’ve been in a bad place ever since we let my brother die.”