“I’m sure. It’s nothing that wouldn’t have happened to me anyways. I just got beat out by a couple of years.” The girl remarked bravely. “That’s all.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll fit right in with the rest of us—once the storm blows over.”
Tillie pursed her lips in frustration. “I’m not so sure anymore. I was positive we would meet the enemy head on—but that’s turned out to be such a dud.”
“The politics of war isn’t always how you imagined it to be, Tillie. Especially when it comes to the armies of the Third Watch.”
“We often play by a different set of rules, honey.” Teena was saying from behind her. “Yes, we take risks, we gamble, but we seldom sacrifice ourselves for that higher cause. Because a lot of us have been playing the long game for quite some time and we know when to attack and when to wait.”
‘Is that what this is? A waiting game—even with what we know firsthand?”
Charlie nodded.
“Even if we had accurate intelligence reports, we wouldn’t be able to move against the Third Watch. Our numbers are stretched thin as it is for a reason. What you’ve seen of Level One is pretty much all the freedom fighters you’ll ever come to expect.”
Tillie did a head count then. “So…seven of us—not including me?”
“More like five—if you exclude your mother and her friend.” Tayna Beck corrected.
Tillie did the calculations in her head. One, two, three…um…four?
Then she nodded.
“But with all the resources that I’ve heard the Underground and Resistance has—?” She started off reluctantly.
“—manpower will always be in short supply.” Tanya told her. “What we have been fighting against to liberate the nation from is a dark stain of extremism and prejudice lofted unjustly on those who actually fought, bled, and died in the Great War. In many cases, it wasn’t too dissimilar to an earlier period of human expansion in the last century after the second world war.”
“It just seems a bit worse now because everything is coming at us all at once,” Teena spoke up then. “But surprisingly, everything’s been holding up well.”
“If that’s the case, why doesn’t the armies of the Third Watch, the Seventh Arm, or the Tenth Legion just…I dunno bum rush us to death with overpowering force? Why the games?”
“Because as fractured as the populace is right now, doing so would create the impression—on some people’s minds—that the Regency Council or the Supreme Chancellor himself is becoming too aggressive with their newfound power. And that might tip things over in our favor—seeing how we are the oppressed.”
Tillie was a bit confused as well as angry with this newfound information.
“But then why do it? Why go through it at all?”
“Humanity has always had trouble adapting to change, honey. It’s been written in the pages of their history for as long as I can remember.” Teena explained at length.
“Even before the changes which allowed them to coexist with magical kinsfolk and people like you. But such coexistence often became a breeding ground for hate, suspicious, jealousy, self-loathing…I could go on.”
“I think you already did.” Charlie supplied with blunt honesty.
“Wars would often start because of gross misunderstanding, fear, paranoia—pretty much everything you would come to expect from humans. No offense, Charlie.”
“None taken. I’m not mad. Just a bit put off by some people’s assertions that I shoulder the blame for what’s going on across the country.”
Tillie reached out to the older boy then. “But I don’t blame you. I could never blame you. Or anyone else who is in this mess fighting for what’s right.”
“That’s nice of you to say that, Tillie, but if the shoe was on the other foot…and you were in my place and I was the witch—or sorcerer—?”
Tillie stopped by a rusted fire hydrant to catch her breath and conserve her energy.
“You would blame those who tried to help you?” She said with a bit of pain in her chest. But deep inside, she was starting to cry because everything was hitting her all at once. And she was starting to feel its effects.
Especially after what went on earlier tonight.
Charlie shrugged in the darkness—until Tayna produced a small enough pen light that couldn’t be seen across the street. She used it to illuminate everyone’s faces and bodies in close proximity.
Tayna noticed her immediate distress and moved in to help her.
“You okay?”
“Just a bit winded. I’m carrying about fifty pounds on my back. I’m not used to the exertion.”
At that point, a pair of hands appeared and helped her out of her constrictive problem by taking the loaded gunny sack away from her.
“I got it.” Charlie valiantly offered.
That just set the girl off even more and she lashed out at him through a haze of tears.
“No you don’t you fucking dumb ass! That’s mine!” She practically yelled at the top of her lungs—her voice carrying across the empty street.
“It’s okay.” He defended lightly. “I’ll shoulder the burden.”
Tillie started, but Tayna stopped the girl in her tracks.
“Easy,” she said. “He’s only trying to help. When was the last time you had a break in the action?”
Tillie sighed miserably. “I think…right before I wanted to ventilate Ashley Dietrich for betraying us. But I feel like I’ve been on my feet all night without let up. They are sore and throbbing. I thought a hot shower would make things better…I guess not.”
“I’ve got a collapsible litter in my disaster kit. But I’m not sure about the weight requirement though.” Reggie volunteered then. “And by the looks of things…we are about an hour and ten minutes away from the First Junction. And then fifteen minutes more before we are back on terra firma.”
Tanya nodded. “Okay. We’ll do things the hard way. Teena? Take Tillie’s pack. Charlie? Give Reggie that oversized camping bag of yours.”
“And what about me?” The girl wanted to know.
“I think I know what she has in mind.” Charlie said—relieving himself of his burden. Then he reached down and grabbed Tillie by both hands and picked her up effortlessly in that second.
The teenage girl was astonished that he could do such a thing in the first place before she found herself riding piggyback on top of him.
“Woof!” She blurted out with surprise as he tucked her feet up against his sides.
“Let’s go.” The older boy said.
Tillie held on for dear life while he half-walked/half sprinted down the street in front of them.
“You okay?” She thought to ask in passing, not sure if she wanted to believe this was even happening or it was just a wild figment of her imagination.
“I’m doing fine,” Charlie offered up in his defense.
“Keep going straight for another city block, then turn right at the intersection.” Reggie said—keeping pace while looking at a small lit monitor in his hand.
“Then go another thirty yards until we reach Graves Street.”
“Got it.”
The party kept going despite the obvious handicap but so far, nobody ran into anything ominous along the way. This part of the city was definitely in the dark.
“Kind of spooky if you ask me,” Tillie was saying close to Charlie’s ear. “And a little romantic.”
There was a bit of barely repressed laughter from the older boy’s part, but he didn’t offer anything else in the meantime as they all made a mad dash for the end of the city block.
“Thirty seconds now,” Reggie said. “And the hard part to this journey will be over.”
“Then what?”
“There’s an old pneumatic transit tube system still in operation. We don’t normally use it unless we have to, but I guess tonight will have to be the only exception to that rule.”
“Transit tube? Those archaic things?” The girl huffed with d
isappointment.
“You’re the one with a Gatling gun—or am I mistaken on that front?” The man countered knowingly.
“Busted.” Charlie quipped with a bit of humor in his voice.
Tillie bopped her rider on the top of the head.
“Hush you.” She warned.
“Archaic or not, it’s our best bet. Unless you can walk?” Tanya postulated then.
“Hell no.” The girl griped. “I can barely feel my feet in these boots of mine.”
“Then the tube it is.” The woman returned evenly—having Reggie take point again and leading the party towards their new destination in the next ten minutes.
Charlie stopped at the front of an old access tunnel that had a plate steel cover door on it. Then he had Tillie jump down off of him so that she landed a bit lightly on her feet.
“I think blisters are the least of my problems,” the girl said—taking a seat on a metal pill box next to the access tunnel and massaging her legs. They had fallen asleep the entire way down—even if it was a short distance—but she was still privately amazed that Charlie managed to do the impossible by picking her up and carrying her.
She thought her 90 pounds would be a problem for anyone foolhardy to try the stunt. Even her own father couldn’t pick her up anymore and he was in the best shape that he could be before—
A loud clacking noise resonated between the space between them and the squeal of metal made things even louder by comparison as the plate door opened on its own and Tanya rushed everyone in—before closing it after them; plunging their world back into darkness.
“So much for taking my boots off,” Tillie moaned quietly before someone moved behind her to get access to a power panel and pulled a lever.
Overhead lights snapped on for the first time in ages—bathing it in a bright white light.
The girl rubbed her eyes a few times to get rid of the dark spots in her eyes before Charlie took a hold of her arm and gently steered her towards the first flight of stairs.
“Come on, Tillie.” He urged quietly and quickly. “We don’t want to be here if any patrols decide to show up. That door behind us is reinforced, but it’s not made to stand up to the punishment the armies of the Third Watch dish out on a daily basis.”
Tillie nodded—reaching out for his hand as she started down the first few steps—taking one at a time.
Charlie accepted her hand as he led her down the first landing and the girl got her first good look at an old subway level that went down a few levels. But the immense space and feeling of emptiness—punctuated by small talk here and there—lent to the feeling of misery and desolation on the girl’s part.
For the first time in her life, she was truly alone. Not having her dad. Not having her mom. Nobody else in her life that she once called family.
All she had was the company of complete strangers she only knew through loose association or other—while trying keep her feelings for Charlie a bit more bottled up than usual.
“This is so cool.” She whispered in awe, knowing what this was costing everyone.
The older boy nodded.
“It is. Used to be the old “D” line from one hundred years ago. But over the years, the Underground and Resistance retrofitted it for pneumatic transit. If you look carefully as you get down to ground level, you can still see one of the two old subway cars that once ran here.” He said—pointing out the way.
Tillie leaned over the railing, but she still couldn’t get a good view.
Teena came back up the stairs with a slightly annoyed look on her face.
“Come on you two. No more sightseeing. The tours can be done another time once we get inside the capsule.”
The teen girl looked at Charlie for confirmation and he nodded quietly.
“I’ll explain later.” He promised—taking her hand once more and leading her down the next flight of stairs. It didn’t take them long to catch up to the others as they descended even further down and the area before them was becoming more open as time went by.
“I see it now!” The girl exclaimed excitedly. “Wow. How long have they been there? They are covered with streaks of brown and orange rust and green moss on the doors and windows.”
“Awhile.” Charlie answered cryptically. “Come on.”
Tillie nodded and the pair made their way down the last flight of stairs before being deposited on a platform.
But even from here, the girl could see the giant metal and plastic resin capsule that sat placidly on the reconstructed rail line—which was now a magnetic shunt that went on forever in both directions.
Reggie stepped forward to access the control plate mechanism on a small dais next to the capsule and entered a four digit code. The thing beeped a couple of times in response and the hatch opened with a pneumatic hiss of air and slid forward.
“Okay. Everyone pile into their forward compartment berths.” He told everyone at hand.
Charlie and Tillie was about to join them when he held them back with a hand.
“You two will take the single berth compartment in the rear. It’s big enough for the two of you. So you’ll have to share.”
“Share?” the girl echoed. “Share what?”
Charlie sighed noncommittally. “You’ll see,” he promised her and waited for the last member of their party to enter the capsule.
Reggie nodded to them and they entered single file—stepping over a large stair platform and into the rear compartment.
There was a moment of silence from Tillie Gunderson herself before she broke out into nervous laughter.
“We’re supposed to be in that?’ She said—pointing to an acceleration couch with body straps attached to the inner wall of it—separated by a cushion of material that reminded the girl of a mattress.
“Pretty much.” Charlie muttered in a disinterested tone of voice. “Hold on. Reggie’s busy securing the others in theirs. I hear a lot of talking in the interim.”
Tillie looked at the older boy with a set amount of curiosity in her face.
“Why the look, sour puss? I won’t bite.”
Charlie blushed in response. “It’s not that,” he told her. “You’ll just have to take my word for it when you see how this little arrangement is going to work.”
Tillie went quiet in that time. Then she leaned over and whispered: “We won’t have to be naked—will we?”
Charlie’s face exploded into the color of a ripe tomato upon hearing that come out of her mouth.
“What? No!” He blurted out in sheer embarrassment. Then he softly repeated: “No.”
Tillie smiled a little bit—having won a small victory on her part.
“Just asking, hot stuff.” She giggled then.
Charlie didn’t answer in kind as the two of them waited for Reggie to appear in the rear compartment. There was the sound of the hatch closing a few minutes later and then Reggie popping his red head in their generation direction five minutes later.
“Sorry that took so long.” He explained then with some personal embarrassment and frustration on his part. “Some of us aren’t made to be in those things. I won’t mention names however.”
Tillie grinned like a Cheshire cat, while Charlie was busy looking at something off to the side. Anything to keep his mind off what was coming next.
“Let’s get you kids situated. It won’t take but a minute.” Reggie offered—going over to the acceleration couch and rotating it in the upright position on its very own gimbal system.
“Charlie? You first.”
The older boy sighed in complete defeat and did as he was told—removing his boots and socks.
Then he climbed in to the couch—laying vertically as it sighed and adjusted to his weight.
“Straps on.” Reggie indicated.
Charlie nodded. “Right.” he echoed distantly—keeping his mind right where it was at the moment.
“That doesn’t look too bad.” Tillie sought to assure him.
Charlie gave her an irritated look
.
“That’s what you say now. Wait till you see where you’ll go. It won’t be pleasant.”
“I showered.” The girl egged on in a playful manner. “Is that what you’re worried about, man?”
Charlie hesitated for a second with one strap in hand—while he worked the other near his groin.
“That’s not the point.” He told her then. “It’s a matter of personal pride. Mine to be precise. I usually travel in this thing by myself. I’m not accustomed to having a passenger with me.”
“Because—?” the girl ventured with personal interest.
Charlie paused for a second.
“See the sling above your head next to you? Grab one of the fire blankets for me.”
Reggie questioned that idea up front.
“If you put that in with you, Tillie won’t have much room to move once she’s strapped in.”
“Can’t be helped.” The older boy groused openly as Tillie handed him the folded fire blanket. “I want to keep my dignity intact.” He then unfurled it over his body and tucked it as far as he could around his legs and feet.
Then he finished strapping himself in.
Tillie’s eyes grew wide as she saw what he looked like.
“You look like a canoli, dude,” she said with some laughter. “Or one of my dad’s famous beef and bean burritos at least.”
Charlie speared her with annoyed look. “Don’t laugh. You have to do the same as well. Except without the benefit of a blanket.”
Tillie rubbed her hands together with glee and anticipation.
“I can live with that.”
Charlie glanced at Reggie who just shook his head with visible pity on his part.
“Just roll with it, Charlie. The trip won’t last more than forty-five minutes to an hour and then you’ll be out of that couch in no time flat.” He assured him.
“Yeah, but without any shred of my dignity intact.” He continued to gripe.
Reggie turned to the girl and said: “Remove your boots and socks if you please.” He instructed.
Tillie was already way ahead of him on that front. She showed him a bare foot.
“Done.” She told him. “Where do I go from here?”
The man rotated the acceleration couch in the verse order where the last straps where situated.
Generation Witch Year One Page 25