by Gideon Mills
The four of them got into a car, with Ihor driving. Marcus and Amita sat in the back.
“Four or five hours,” Ihor said.
Being in a car for that long sounded horrendous. Amita wasn’t sure they could do that in one sitting.
“That sounds like an eternity,” Amita replied as they closed the doors.
Marcus laughed. “Four hours in a car is just like four hours outside of one.”
“I know. Don’t be silly. But cars are tight and cramped. We can’t walk around.”
“You’ll be okay,” Marcus said.
None of them had been on a trip this long. The only good thing about it was that the highway was in good shape. It was much better than the roads on the street level. It reminded Amita of the upper levels of Detroit. They were maintained and freshly paved.
The farther they got from Detroit, the more sun they saw. As it turned dark, the stars filled the sky. They were absolutely amazing. Never in a million years had Amita expected to be blown away by the night sky, but she was. It was so clear and bright. The stars shone bright and allowed them to see.
Sitting out around a campfire and looking up at the sky with Marcus flashed through her head. That would be so much fun.
Marcus had taken over driving, and now, she sat next to him up front.
Ihor and Sam were in the back. Sam was sleeping; she did that more often now. Amita didn’t blame her. Sam had gone through so much. Ihor was busy typing away.
“I would love to spend the night with you under the stars,” Amita said.
“That would be incredible,” Marcus said. “A night with just you, me, and the stars.”
“Amazing.” Amita let her mind drift thinking about it.
Before Amita knew it, they were pulling to a stop. She looked around them. They had a similar setup in Chicago as they had near Detroit. Amita vaguely remembered Ihor saying they wouldn’t go directly into Chicago today. They would send in a few people in the morning.
The Resistance had lost contact with the people here shortly after freeing Marcus. The Mara Corp was doing its best to separate the Resistance. Jonathan feared that the residents in the city wouldn’t want to help. They might feel like they had been abandoned.
Amita hoped that wasn’t the case, but with Keres’s ability to spread lies and mislead people, Amita had a deep-down feeling this was going to be an uphill battle.
She got out of the car. And the others did to. They took off, leaving Amita there.
Cynthia greeted Amita. “You have a good trip?”
“It was all right. Long.”
The older woman smiled. “It can be. I’ve only ridden in a car once that long before. The helos to the other cities were faster. And the airplanes, those are true feats.”
Not many people had been in an airplane. During the war, most had been shot down, and people nowadays just didn’t travel much. At least not in the New Republic. That made Amita think of life outside of here, and she vaguely remembered hearing names of other countries.
“I have a question,” Amita said.
Cynthia smiled. “Just one?”
“Hey. Maybe a few but for now just the one.”
“Go ahead, dear.”
“Why don’t we ask one of the other countries for help? I know there are more.”
“Keres has the borders super tight. It’s not easy to get in and out. We are the most secure country around. We don’t trade with any of the other nations. We don’t talk to them. Nothing. They most likely wouldn’t aid us.”
“Oh.” That sounded terrible. They needed to fix the New Republic and fast. “Is there any way to try?”
Ihor and Marcus joined them. “No. We don’t even have the same internet as the rest. So I can’t.”
“Wow.”
The Mara Corp really had them on a tight leash. Amita was completely blown away. This was even worse than she had realized. Amita despised her mother even more.
“Plus,” Ihor continued, “for all we know, we have the most advanced tech around. They might not be able to help.”
That scared Amita all over again. If the Mara Corp had all the technology and no one could help, would they be able to win? Amita shook her head. This was just one problem, and they would be able to find a way to solve it.
“Okay,” Amita said. “We can do this.”
“We sure can,” Marcus said.
With that, they settled in for the night. The place they were at wasn’t much, but it was a roof over their head. That was all that mattered. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. They were going to see if they could build their own little army to match Keres. The first step was getting Chicago to help.
40
Into the city
The next morning, Marcus walked around the room refreshed and ready to go. Amita lay on the bed. Jonathan wanted to send a group of ten into the city. Well, two groups of five, one that was non-mods and one that was a mix of mods and non. Jonathan wished to see if either group could find help and the Resistance fighters who were already there. They hadn’t settled on who was going yet.
Amita walked next to him. “If you go, I go,” she said.
“I’m completely okay with that.” That was an understatement if Marcus ever said one. He never wanted her to leave his side.
“Good.” She smiled. It was breathtaking.
Marcus and Amita had half of what they talked about on the ride over, the stars but with four walls around them.
It would have been better without the walls, but it was nice. They had fallen asleep in each other's arms. Marcus would never tire of that. She felt right in his arms. It was like she was supposed to be there, a perfect fit.
They arrived at the house Jonathan and Marcus’s mother were using as their base. It was the best one in the area, and the only place with a full roof.
In the buidling, Jonathan talked to Marcus’s mother.
“You and I can’t go,” she said.
“We need a face for the Resistance,” Jonathan said.
“We have a few, and there are two of them.”
Marcus groaned. “I am no face.”
“Neither am I.” Amita blushed. She did that a lot recently, and Marcus loved it. “Nobody asked me.”
Cynthia turned to Amita and Marcus. “Just go and talk.”
“That is what I want,” Marcus said. “Just to talk. None of this ‘face of’ stuff.”
“Agreed,” Amita said.
“Very well,” Jonathan said. “Amita and Marcus can go. As can Nickolas. Plus that young Anna. Along with Harry.”
Marcus didn’t know the two people who would be going with them who weren’t modified, but from the look on her face, Amita knew at least one of them. That was a relief for Marcus, since he didn’t want to venture in with complete strangers. If they knew most of them, they could at least trust each other.
Thirty minutes later, Marcus stood next to a car with Amita and Nickolas when a young blonde approached them with a man. The man was older with flecks of gray in his hair. He had a hardened look to him. Marcus wouldn’t be surprised if he lived on level two and was actually trained to fight.
“Anna,” Amita said.
“Amita,” the young woman said. “This is going to be so much fun.”
Marcus hoped Anna was right, and it would go well, but Marcus couldn’t shake the feeling that this was going to be a long and fruitless day. Coming out here just went too easily. Too smoothly. Nothing in life progressed perfectly. If that were the case, his body wouldn’t be this way.
They jumped into the car and drove into the city. The buildings weren’t a glorious as they used to be. It was weird to see buildings without levels above or below them. Marcus hadn’t realized how much he was used to the way Detroit was until now.
Chicago felt like a foreign nation, a completely different world to him. People walked the streets. Marcus tried to place where it was in the levels to Detroit and couldn’t.
Men and women with mods were walking around
, which in and of itself was a shock to him. Marcus thought that people with mods only lived in what he called Mara Corp cities, the many-layered ones throughout the New Republic. They were here and mixed in with the non-modified. They walked as if they didn’t fear the Security Force. It amazed Marcus and made him worried that they wouldn’t even care about the Resistance. From what Ihor said, they felt informed.
Once they traveled deeper into the city, Marcus could see why. In the center, it was closer to the street level. They saw people on the streets and men walking around with weapons as if a makeshift Security Force.
This was the place Ihor said to go. They parked and exited the car for a walk around. One of the men with a gun eyed them but moved on. The look frightened Marcus a little. They were still wanted people back in Detroit. If their images had been sent out wide, the people here might know them.
“You there.” A man walked to them who appeared to be one of the locals, not part of the makeshift Security Force.
Marcus turned to the man. He was older and grizzled. Marcus scanned him.
Jacob French: Security Mara Corp sub
Stats:
Intelligence: 2
Strength: 2
Cunning: 1
Speed: 2
Modification: none, not eligible
“You aren’t welcomed here,” Jacob said.
“Why not?” Amita asked.
He got close. “You are part of the Resistance, and they left us. They allowed those men to arrive and lock us down.”
“They didn’t abandon you,” Amita said. “They were cut off by the Mara Corp and were trapped in Detroit.”
Jacob rolled his eyes. “I don’t buy that. None of us do.”
That day ended up being a lot of that over and over. People refused to talk to them, or blamed them for the arrival of the guards, as they called them. The guards forced them to live in this part of the town.
Only those who entered now could leave. Marcus didn’t get it. They didn’t wear Mara Corp uniforms, but that didn't mean they weren’t a part of it. Keres must be doing something behind the backs of the people at the company. That wouldn’t surprise Marcus. Keres was a sneaky and slippery lady with many plans.
The question was whether this was related to what they were doing or just a coincidence. Marcus wasn’t sure what to think right now. All he wanted to do was to get some help to attack Detroit. That was going to be tough. It was hard since no one was willing to talk to them.
After several hours of walking and being scorned, Marcus was ready to give up when a group formed a semicircle around them.
Marcus had flashbacks to the day he’d met Amita for the first time. He had been dared to visit the street level by his friends William and Luke, two brothers that, come to think about it, were Amita’s cousins.
“I don’t like this,” Amita said.
Neither did Marcus.
Nickolas ground his teeth. “They’re looking to fight.”
“Oh, no. Oh, no,” Anna said.
Harry turned to Nickolas. “Take the left. I got the right.”
“If it comes to it.”
Marcus and Amita looked at each other. Both had proven that they could handle themselves too. If these people wanted to fight them all, Marcus was tempted to let them. He was still figuring out what he could and couldn’t do with the mods his brother had done to him.
“You aren’t welcomed here,” several said.
“Okay,” Amita said. “We will leave.”
“Get them,” one said.
Under her breath, Amita said, “Run to the car.”
Marcus agreed. That was a good plan. Best to leave and not fight. While Marcus could handle the people, that would just prove the locals right, that the Resistance didn’t want their help. The Resistance was here to gain support, not kill it.
Amita and Marcus ran to the car. If they had wanted to, Marcus and Nickolas could have beaten them to the vehicle and been ready to go. But Marcus wasn’t leaving Amita behind, and she was staying with the other two, so they all stayed together.
The car wasn’t far, but the mob stayed with them. Getting in the car and driving away might be tough. Maybe even impossible.
At the car, they fumbled to get in and leave. They started it up, but it was too late. They were surrounded. The people were pushing and kicking. The car rocked as they tried to get in.
“This isn’t good,” Amita said.
That was an understatement. This was frightening, even more so than the day when they’d met. Who was going to save them this time? It would take a miracle to stop them.
“Halt!” a voice sounded, one that was vaguely familiar. Marcus tried to place it but couldn’t.
The swarm around the car parted to let a man who was heavily modified walk through.
The man reached the car and tapped the window. “Well, I’ll be,” he said. “Marcus?”
Looking up, Marcus realized why he knew the voice. It was an old friend. They had gone to high school together. Last he heard, Bishop Moon had been a Security Force member. Though Marcus could have sworn, he heard a rumor that Bishop had died in a brawl on the street level three years ago. He was tall with a thick build and all the mods one would expect from a former Security Force member.
Marcus exited the car.
“What are you doing?” Amita asked.
“He’s an old friend. Bishop,” Marcus said. “I thought you were dead.”
Bishop laughed, a deep bellowing one like he had in school. “That was the point.”
“Well, color me confused.” Marcus scratched his head. “Why?”
“If the reports are right, I’d say you know why I did it.”
“Ah. You learned how corrupt the Mara Corp is.”
He nodded. “Indeed. Most of the Security Force members know. I was one of the lucky ones to not be completely brainwashed.”
From the sounds of it all but two, Bishop and the one who had helped Amita and his mother. The rest were lost causes.
“I’m glad,” Marcus said.
“So am I. What you doing here?”
Marcus smiled. “Trying to get help.”
Bishop nodded. “Ah. Going to be tough.”
“Clearly.” Marcus gestured to the mob. “They trust you.”
“Yeah. Let me talk. Come back tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Marcus got back into the car, and Bishop cleared out the area for them. The drive back was easy. Hopefully, tomorrow would go better.
41
Riot
Back at the camp, Marcus exited the car and walked to the command building. He’d decided to call the place that since the home was where he would find his mother, Jonathan, and Ihor. Striding in the house, he found the command center filled with commotion. People were running around, screaming and shouting. Marcus had no idea what was going on.
Amita leaned toward him. “Something must have happened.”
Marcus nodded. Even though Amita had yelled, he barely heard her. Marcus weaved his way through the crowd to find out what was up. Ihor had installed a line of computers, and on them, a video played. It was of Detroit and, from the looks of the video, the street level. Marcus’s eyes were glued to it, as were most everyone else’s. The city was in flames, and people fought the Security Force. The coverage showed buildings being destroyed. The sight was painful to watch.
“We should be there,” Amita said.
Marcus didn’t disagree, but they were just two hundred people. They wouldn’t be much help. The riot wasn’t organized, so they wouldn’t succeed. All it would achieve was death and destruction.
“As much as I would like to, we wouldn’t help.” Marcus thought about it more, and he was sure they wouldn’t.
“How can you say that?” Amita appeared dismayed and confused.
“That is too unorganized. Too chaotic. More people would just make it worse. If they wanted to help, really help, they would already be with us. Those people just want to break stu
ff. Throw a tantrum.”
Amita nodded. “But, still. Maybe we could have channeled it. Made it more.”
“A big maybe. Best to stick to the course.”
Amita closed her eyes, and her lips moved, but Marcus couldn’t hear her. Then, she made the sign of the cross and opened her eyes. She had been saying a prayer for the people of Detroit.
They continued to watch. There would be no surprise that this was slanted coverage, filtered through the Mara Corp and made to influence people to distrust the filth beneath them.
Marcus hoped that it would backfire and enrage the people. This might work to their advantage. As if the universe was reading his mind, the coverage switched. Now, it was showing a different city that was also rioting. Saint Louis was fighting back too.
Amita smiled next to him. She patted his arm and leaned against him. This was going their way. The people at least were fed up with the Mara Corp. Rioting wasn’t the best way to deal with the oppression they were under. In some ways, rioting made the grip that the Mara Corp held worse. Keres would use the riots to tighten the knot on them.
But the riots showed Marcus that the people were ready for a change. They needed the right people to guide the New Republic, to make it better. Looking around the room, Marcus wasn’t sure if that person was here or not, but these people were going to try. Never in his life had he felt a part of something more important. This was the beginning. The real beginning.
42
Clearing her head
Amita left the house and the ruckus. The coverage was interesting to watch at first, but the news dragged on and on. When the station switched to another city, Amita knew the riot was intentional and that they were helping. But all that death, and the pain those people felt, hurt her.
She stood outside waiting for Marcus. He had said he would be right here. The night air was crisp and refreshing. It was still amazing to see the stars at night. Witnessing the world without the levels blew her mind.