by R F Hurteau
“I can’t slow down,” Shane said grimly. “There’s going to be a train on this track in less than twenty minutes. The Maglev tops out at six hundred kilometers per hour, and it’s normally a ten minute trip, but it takes a bit for it to pick up speed. So I’m thinking the total distance between that station and the next is about ninety kilometers. Now, if we had forty minutes to begin with and ninety kilometers to travel, I either need to keep a constant speed of one thirty to make it or the train is going to run right into us.”
Eli vaguely remembered doing problems like this in school. He’s always hated those problems.
He hated them even more, now.
“I can see why all that math might be distracting,” he admitted. “But please try to stay focused.”
“Wouldn’t the train slow down for us?” Mabel asked from behind them.
Shane frowned. “They’ve crashed into things before. They’re automated. They have sensors, but at that speed it takes a long time to stop. Oh, man, I didn’t factor in how long they take to stop!”
“I doubt the transport can handle this speed much longer, anyway,” Eli said, dropping back into his seat in resignation. “It’s designed to putz around the city, not outrun a train.”
“Actually, this is a military prototype. That’s why I chose it.”
“So?”
“So this isn’t a civilian taxi cab, Eli. It’s built tougher, and faster. It’s even got an anti-grav unit installed…but it doesn’t work so great. Gah, my neck is starting to cramp up.”
“You just said military stuff was tough! Pull yourself together. Cramps are better than dead!”
Shane grimaced, but gave a curt nod. “Right.”
They were racing across a wide canyon now, a streak of blue far below. Ahead of them the bridge met the edge of the canyon and travelled a short distance before disappearing into the mountainside.
Gazing up at the high peaks, Eli realized that he had never truly appreciated the fact that the Maglev travelled through the base of a mountain in a matter of a few minutes. Just how wide were they, anyway? But his musings came to an abrupt halt as a familiar, terrifying sound reached his ears.
Mabel gasped, and Eli turned to see her staring across the chasm toward a rapidly growing point on the horizon.
The train.
“Oh, crap,” was all Eli could manage.
Shane was shaking his head. “We aren’t going to make it,” he told them. “We have to get off the tracks.”
“I don’t see how we’re—”
“Mabel,” Shane instructed, “If you aren’t buckled in, do it now. And hold on to whatever you can.”
“Of course she’s buckled in,” Eli shouted, “You’ve been going—”
The sound of Mabel’s buckle clicking into place cut him off and he looked back at her, appalled.
Mabel shrugged. “I didn’t think it really mattered at this speed,” she admitted. “If we crash, my seatbelt isn’t going to save me.”
“Try to stay focused, guys, this will all over in a minute, one way or the other.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Eli said, strapping his own belt and grabbing hold of the bar above his head. The Maglev was growing louder.
Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look...
“Hang on!” Shane said, “I’m going to pull us off before we reach the tunnel!”
“There isn’t enough distance to slow down!”
“It doesn’t matter. This is the only chance we’ve got.”
The whistling of the Maglev grew to a roar and Eli’s eyes snapped shut.
“Mabel!”
“I know!”
“Here we go! Initializing anti-grav unit!”
“I thought you said that doesn’t work so good—” Eli’s throat closed around the rest of the thought. He felt himself lift off the seat as they began to turn.
The weightless feeling continued for several moments, but it felt like an eternity as the transport came off the tracks and hit open air. It hadn’t looked like a great distance when Eli had seen it from the bridge, but now it seemed as though they were plunging toward the earth from somewhere high in the atmosphere.
There was a horrendous jolt as their tires made contact with the ground, the force of the impact jerking Eli’s head toward the dash. An airbag exploded in his face, forcing him back as the bursting of several tires rang out like gunshots and the windshield shattered.
Their inertia was still pulling the vehicle forward despite the tires and Shane’s desperate attempt to bring them to a stop as they careened into a spin that pinned Eli against his door.
Eli was just able to register the Maglev whizzing by them before the transport finally ground to a halt, the train disappearing into the tunnel behind them.
He struggled with the airbag, pressing it down until he could see, every part of his face throbbing from the impact.
In front of them lay the open expanse of the canyon they had just crossed, the nose of the transport inches from the precipice.
Eli couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak. He looked at Shane, who was breathing heavy with a look of disbelief on his face, then at Mabel, who was white as a sheet. A large red mark was fast becoming a lump on her forehead, but she seemed otherwise unharmed.
“I can’t believe you pulled that off,” Eli said, once he was able to think clearly again. He was looking at Shane with new-found admiration.
“I know,” Shane said, staring back with a black expression. “Neither can I.”
***
As they disembarked from the transport, Eli still couldn’t figure out what had come over him.
For a short while that day, he’d felt almost human. As if there really were hope for a better future. None of his normal pent-up anger or intrusive anxieties had plagued him.
And then he’d found himself on top of Miles, assaulting a member of the military.
It was an offense punishable by death, and they all knew it. For Shane to have risked his own life to help them escape was...was...
“Oh man,” Shane groaned, walking in a slow circle around the transport to inspect the damage, “they are not going to be happy with me.”
“What’s the punishment for destroying Next Level property?”
Shane’s frown deepened. “A lot less than for aiding and abetting someone running from the law.”
It was Eli’s turn to frown.
“About that,” he said. “You...didn’t have to. What I mean is—”
“He’s trying to say ‘Thank you.’” Mabel finished. “I don’t want to think about what they’d have done to Eli if we stayed.”
“Yeah, but now what?” Shane asked. “I was only thinking about getting you out of Miles’ hands. I have no idea where to go from here.”
“Wherever here is,” said Mabel. “Even if we wanted to get back, how could we?”
“Don’t worry,” said Shane. “This canyon is a tourist trap for city folks. If we head that way,” he pointed, “We’ll come to a ranger station. From there we can arrange transport.”
“But to where? We can’t go home. We just committed a felony. A couple, probably.”
Eli didn’t answer right away, but the solution was already forming in his mind.
“Shane,” he asked, a sense of urgency overtaking him. “You said this was a military transport. Are there any supplies on it?”
Shane’s brow furrowed. “Sure, they always keep some emergency stuff handy.”
“Food? Water, shelter, stuff like that?”
“Yeah, here, see?” Shane rounded to the back of the vehicle and, with some difficulty, lifted the trunk. Several heavy-looking backpacks sat, unscathed by their brush with disaster. “For training exercises.”
“Mabel,” Eli said, rounding on her. “I want you to take one of these and go.”
“What?”
“Listen, we don’t have a lot of time. I’m sure Miles’ will have people waiting at the next station. When we don’t show up, they
’re going to come looking for us. You need to take these supplies and head for the slums outside the dead zone. Lay low for a bit. Give things time to cool down. After that, contact our parents.”
Mabel just stared at him, wide-eyed with disbelief.
“What are they going to be able to do, Eli? Come home and make everything all better? You think they wanted to leave us behind? They had no choice.”
“They’ll find a way to make it work,” Eli insisted. “I’m sure of it.”
Shane was nodding. “He’s right. If you two travel at night and hide during the day, you should be able to make it undetected. There are plenty of passes through these mountains. They made them when they were building the Maglev tracks, but no one uses them anymore. No one would suspect you’d head that way.”
“Right.” Mabel had gone still, staring at the mountains with apprehension. “Because they’re called ‘dead zones’ for a reason. The people in those slums are barely surviving, they’ve been pushed to the outer limits of habitability.”
“You have a better chance of surviving in the slums than you do if Miles gets ahold of you,” Shane said with dark sincerity. “He’s vindictive. He’s not going to show mercy. I don’t need to tell you the penalty for what happened back there.”
Eli looked from his sister’s frightened face to Shane’s determined one.
“What are they going to do to you?”
Shane’s eyebrows rose and he gave a crooked, pained grin. “Don’t worry about me,” he said. “I can handle myself.”
But Eli was shaking his head. “No. I did this. This is my fault. I want you to take me back with you.”
Horror flashed across Shane’s face.
“Uh, I’m sorry, but did you not see what I just did to get you away from the city?”
“If I don’t come back with you, you’re going to be the one paying the price for my mistake.”
“Eli, I’m a member of the military, not...” he swallowed, cutting his own thought short.
“Not what?” Eli demanded. “Some lowly corporate orphan, like us? You’re right. You have rank, and maybe that helps with a lot of things. But if anything, you’re going to be punished more harshly for what you did because of that rank. No. I’ve decided. Mabel will head for the dead zone, and I’m going back with you. You can turn me in. Hopefully, that’ll be enough to satisfy Miles.”
“No!” Mabel shouted, finding her voice. “You’re crazy if you think I’m going to let you do this.”
“There isn’t time to argue about it, Mabel,” Eli said. “If Shane turns me in, he’s off the hook, and it will buy you time to get away from here.”
“If you’re going, I’m going, too.”
Eli groaned in frustration. “Mabel, please. Miles doesn’t care who hit him. We’re nothing to him. I won’t let you get dragged into this because of me.” He steeled himself, looking to Shane. “Give her whatever might be useful.”
Shane studied his face. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
How could I possibly be sure about anything right now?
“Absolutely.”
Shane started transferring supplies from one bag into the other, packing in as much as he could fit.
Eli was watching him when he felt Mabel’s hand slide into his and give a gentle squeeze.
“Eli, they could kill you.”
He forced a chuckle. “How often do you see capital punishment handed down for minor infractions?”
“There’s nothing minor about what we—”
“What I,” he corrected her. “What I did. I’m most likely facing a life of indentured servitude at worst. And really, could it be any worse than working for Farway?”
Mabel’s eyes narrowed. “This isn’t a joke, Eli.”
He released her hand and took her by the shoulders, willing her to understand.
“I need you to do this for me, Mabel. I need to know you’re safe. I could never forgive myself if you get caught up in this. I’ve already cost our family so much suffering. I’ve...”
He shook his head. Now was not the time.
“Go,” he told her. “Just go. Get out of here. Keep out of trouble, call mom and dad. Draw beautiful pictures. The slums, they aren’t the city. But they’re not a death sentence. And it won’t be forever. And at least you’ll be free. I know you can make it out there. If anyone can thrive under pressure, it’s you.”
Mabel bit her lip as hot tears spilled down her cheeks. Shane returned to their side with a pack in his outstretched hand.
“We need to get going,” he said.
“I love you, Mabel,” Eli told her earnestly as she threw her arms around him.
“I love you, too.”
Wiping her nose with her sleeve, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
“I’ll find a way to get you out,” she whispered. “I’ll find a way. I promise.”
“Okay,” Eli agreed, watching her as she slung the pack over her shoulders. She began toward the mountains, glancing back with longing in her eyes. He smiled at her, giving an encouraging nod.
Okay. The last thing he would ever say to his sister. It seemed so inadequate.
But she had offered an empty promise, and he had accepted it because he knew it was the only way she could bring herself to leave him.
He couldn’t recall a single other time in his life where Mabel had lied to him.
“Let’s go.” Shane grabbed his arm and tugged.
Eli turned and followed, the surroundings no longer appearing in sharp detail. Everything was blurred, somehow. Like when they’d been racing along the tracks.
Now, it seemed, they were once again racing toward death.
He didn’t feel the same, though. He didn’t feel unease and fear. He followed Shane with a single focus.
“Checkpoints.” The hot sun was unforgiving, beating down on the back of his neck as they trudged along. “Where can we find some?”
“All over. There should be one at the ranger station.”
“Good. I want to keep Miles’ eyes on us. Give Mabel time to get farther away.”
Shane nodded with understanding.
“Alright,” he said, his voice a bit hollower than Eli had ever heard it.
He followed the older boy on a long, circuitous trek that seemed to circle the entire city. He was tired and hot and thirsty, but none of that mattered.
When Shane came to a halt, Eli watched him with detached curiosity. Shane seemed hesitant.
“What is it?” His dry throat made his words raspy.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Shane pressed. “Once we hit a checkpoint, they have us. They’ll be on us quick after that.”
Eli nodded, at peace with his decision.
“I don’t want you to take the fall with me.”
“I’d probably get a slap on the wrist.” Shane waved his hand with unconvincing indifference. “You, on the other hand...”
“It was stupid, and it was my fault,” Eli told him. “I’m not going to run. Let’s just get this over with.”
Perhaps Shane spoke on the journey after that, perhaps not. Either way, Eli wasn’t paying any attention.
He was thinking through all of the what ifs of the morning’s events.
What if he had not let Mabel talk him into accompanying Shane to the ball game? What if he had been able to walk away, ignoring Miles’ provocation? What if he had let Shane take the fall, leaving with Mabel and making for the slums?
But there was a common element among all of his “what if” scenarios. None of them focused on his responsibility for his actions. They all placed the blame on others. Shane, Miles, Mabel...
Oh, Mabel.
They’d always been a team, the two of them against the world. How would she fare now, without Eli watching her back?
He wasn’t worried that she was too weak. His sister was anything but weak. But she’d always put everyone else first, and that compassion could easily lead to her doom. This was not a world that
looked kindly on such traits.
What if she ignored his advice, refused to burden their parents by dragging them into this mess? What if she decided to try to make it on her own?
What chance did a fifteen-year-old girl have in the slums?
No. She would make the call. Mom and dad would find her, and they’d do what needed to be done. Take another job somewhere, learn to live with less. They’d done it before, they could do it again.
Besides, now there would be one less mouth to feed. Eli had accomplished that much, at least.
But what about before that? He shuddered to think of her out there on her own. She had always been so naïve, so trusting.
And yet...and yet Eli had always hated being labelled because of his status. He had to believe that the people out there were not what the media portrayed. Not shady criminals and violent hooligans. They were people, down on their luck, trying to survive. People who would, he could hope, embrace Mabel and help her. Life at the edge of civilization had to have made them tough. Maybe it could do the same for his sister.
He would never find out. Eli wasn’t fearful that they would take his life for his momentary lapse of judgement, even though the law said they could.
But he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that a lifetime of incarceration in some form or another was the only future Val Int would have in store for him.
Yet somehow, he was at peace with the choice he had made. He’d given Mabel her best chance, and with any luck Shane would be able to get on with his life.
He looked the blond boy up and down slowly, studying his stiff gait and solemn expression. Shane had shown him what a hypocrite he’d been, quick to judge while bemoaning how he was judged himself.
The world needed more Shanes, especially in respect to the military. People with genuine hearts, who saw others as human beings instead of whatever Val Int had designated them to be.
Eli would be the one to take responsibility for his actions, for once in his life. And maybe that would pave the way for Shane and those like him to be a force for good in the world.
The ranger station came in to view. They approached it in silence and entered the little café area.