Citadel: The Concordant Sequence

by Matthew S. Cox

  “I have a laser pistol now. No one is kidnapping me again.” She folded her arms.

  Pet floated up to her nose. “But it is not smart to invite problems when you can sneak past them, O princess of guns blazing.”

  Kiera smirked, but wound up giggling. “Okay… okay. What else can this thing make?”

  “A fabricator can produce a wide variety of items, except for complex machines. Unfortunately, this unit is almost empty of base matter. Whoever was in this facility prior to our finding it used up most of it… likely on food.”

  “Crap.”

  She removed her new outfit, packing each item carefully in the satchel, and put on the poncho again. The soft hide against her skin felt like a hug from Dad. Wearing it felt normal, more comfortable than the ‘real’ clothes. Kiera plopped on the bench, sulking with her chin in both hands.

  “Ugh. I have gone primitive.”

  29

  Norz

  Kiera took advantage of a real, working toilet before crashing in one of the bunk beds for the night. Pet perched on the mattress beside her head, reading her to sleep after agreeing to wake her at 8:00 a.m. The soft murmur of the adventures of a pack of three teenage witches faded to silence. She stared up at the ceiling, unable to tell how long she’d been there. The windowless room would’ve looked the same at noon as it did at midnight. Only the primitive black fur poncho broke the illusion that she’d somehow found a spaceship. Closing her eyes again didn’t help, and after a few minutes, she rolled her head to the left, staring at her companion.

  “It is 7:42 a.m.,” said Pet.

  She pushed the blankets off and sat up. “Mom and Dad aren’t getting out of jail any sooner if I stay here.”

  “I can’t sleep either.”

  Kiera rubbed her eyes and raked her fingers through her hair. “You can’t sleep at all.” She stuck her tongue out, making Pet giggle. “So… how can I get into the Citadel without being caught?”

  Pet bobbed into the air, hovering near her face at eye level. “You could walk another few days. If you keep the wind at your left, you will be heading toward the Citadel. Or, you could enter one of the villages and stow away on the Passage. There are cargo pods along the outside, but I do not know if they are searched upon arrival, or even used. You could sneak into one of those, change on the ride, and sneak out once the Passage arrives in the Citadel. In the clothing you have made, you would not stand out.”

  She let her legs dangle over the side of the bed. “Both choices kinda stink.” The idea of bandits made walking alone for days scary, but sneaking on the bus that would go right to the gate might get her caught as easily as if she’d walked up to turn herself in. Anton told her to take the bus, so they’d be looking for her on one. “If I walk there, how do I get in?”

  “There are numerous vents, drains, pipes… many openings on the outside.”

  Kiera tilted her head. “Why don’t people sneak in all the time?”

  The cube giggled. “Because they don’t have a Pet to open the hatches.” Its light flickered. “I have located a likely entry. Waypoint set.”

  “You’re awesome.” Kiera hugged it before jumping down. “Waypoint?”

  “I thought you’d recognize the term from your games.” Pet wobbled side to side, ‘smiling.’

  “I do. It’s funny to hear it though.”

  She headed to the bathroom before using the fabricator to print out more ration bars. It produced ten before displaying a ‘matter store empty’ error. Grumbling, she ate one and packed away the rest. This trip, she’d been smarter, keeping her empty bottles, which she refilled at a sink. A locker offered up two more water bottles, fancier ones like what people often clipped to bicycles―with Citadel Corporation logos on them. Those too, she filled and packed before shouldering her satchel.

  One elevator ride later, she approached the crappy floor and sighed. Leaving this little island of modern life sucked in general, but having to cross this ruin sucked even more. Kiera sat and fished the sneakers out of the satchel.

  “Careful not to get them too dirty. A kid with muddy shoes will attract notice inside the Citadel,” said Pet.

  “Right… I don’t want splinters. Just gonna wear them to go over this crap. I got lucky last time.”

  “That is wise.” Pet bobbed.

  Kiera balance-beam walked across the collapsed floor, leapt to the solid area at the other side, and scurried out. The blast of furnace air made her glad she’d kept the poncho on instead of the full outfit―she’d have saturated it with sweat in seconds. “Holy cow. It’s hot.”

  “It’s 107 degrees. You have seen warmer days, but you have recently been in a climate-controlled space. That makes it feel warmer.”

  “Yeah.” She repacked the sneakers in the satchel after swatting dust off them. “I think I’m going crazy.”

  Pet glided along beside her. “What makes you say that?”

  “Being primitive doesn’t bother me anymore. It’s the world for real, right?” She glared at the dirt. “I don’t care about anything but wanting my parents back. I don’t even really miss video games.”

  “Would you play them if you had them?” asked Pet.

  Kiera smiled. “Yeah, but I’m not like gonna get all messed up over not having them. Do they still exist inside the Citadel?”

  “Yes. Life inside there is not so different from before Cloudfall, only with cooler gadgets.”

  “You said cooler!” Kiera gasped.

  Pet hummed to itself, gliding on ahead. “I did.”

  She said pets adapt to different personalities. Kiera grinned. She likes me!

  Punishing heat battled the constant wind on and off. Every so often, a gust made her stumble to the right or whipped her poncho up over her head, but for the most part, the heat became tolerable again after a few hours. She nursed her water supply sip by sip while walking, listening to Pet narrate the book for an entire day.

  About a half hour before sundown, she took shelter in a deep gulley between dunes that kept her out of sight, and ate the second ration bar of the day. Using the soft silt for a bed, her poncho for a blanket, and the satchel for a pillow, she slept under the open sky. Pet sat on her chest under the poncho, staying close to comfort her.

  She awoke with the first signs of daylight, ate, drank, and found a spot to go to the bathroom. Within ten minutes of opening her eyes, she resumed walking. Pet continued reading to her along the way, reassuring her now and then that no robots had come close enough to detect.

  Late that afternoon, a village came into view off to the left. Shiny silver trailers, old semi-trucks, huge tents, and numerous more modern-looking boxy dwellings made out of plastic formed a ring around a familiar device. Their water collector looked bigger than the one from Exxo, but also more rickety. It fed a steel trough rather than a round fountain basin. The rotating parts inside the vanes squeaked like an orchestra of tone-deaf mice trying to sing.

  Kiera crouched low behind a dune, peering over it at the villagers. As far as the people themselves went, they looked similar to the residents of her village. Most appeared Hispanic, but a handful of other ethnicities were present, exactly like Exxo. However, their clothing had a noticeable difference in style despite the materials being similar. Anyone looking at her would know her as an outsider right away. No one here had anything made of dog leather, and this place had a bizarre fascination with long strands of beads or baubles.

  Great. As if red hair wouldn’t stand out enough.

  “You shouldn’t go in. I doubt they would hesitate to hold you prisoner so they could give you to the robots,” said Pet.

  Kiera ducked down, kneeling, and glanced at her friend. “Do you think they know? Did the robots go to every settlement or just mine?”

  “This is Norz, the closest village to the Citadel. The prefabricated huts come from there, purchased with credits. Most of the people here have work permits. It is certain that they are aware the administrator is looking for a girl with red hair.�
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  She grumbled. “I could really use water.”

  “We could wait for dark and sneak in?”

  Kiera shook her head. “That’ll waste too much time. I’ll try sneaking now. I have firelight.” She winked. Of course, she hoped she didn’t have to shoot anyone. Hopefully, threatening people with it would work.

  One advantage of a poncho: no sleeves. She took the laser pistol out of the satchel and held it between her knees long enough to pack her hair into the hood and down her back to keep it hidden. If the wind blew the garment up, her cover would be ruined, but she didn’t plan on being in town too long. She stood, grasped the pistol, and held it tight to her chest under the poncho while fast-walking over the silt to the edge of the village. Pet ducked into the satchel to hide.

  With any luck, the Norz would disregard her like the people of Exxo had. It soon became apparent a small figure in a black fur poncho shocked these villagers more than walking naked into Exxo had affected the people there. Everyone stared, though no one approached or called out. Maybe they’re curious why a kid’s traveling alone?

  She hurried over to the water collector, feeling conspicuous. When she reached the trough, she tucked the pistol between her legs again to hold it, keeping it concealed under the poncho. She struggled to take the cap off a plastic bottle with shaking hands, and fumbled it into the water. Fortunately, the trough only went as deep as her elbow, so she reached down to grab the cap while filling her bottle. The weight of people staring at her continued. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at perhaps twenty adults watching her. Some had stopped walking in the middle of the paths between buildings, others peered from the windows of huts. Few of the local children paid her any mind, and kept darting about and playing as though she didn’t exist.

  The bizarre notion that she’d have attracted less attention with nothing on than wearing a dog-fur poncho with the hood up on a blazing hot day, got her giggling from nerves. Of course, without the poncho, her hair would give her away. Even with it, her pale skin might be too conspicuous.

  I feel like some kind of fugitive.

  She hurried to fill three bottles and took out a fourth. Before she could stick it in the water, a shadow fell on her from behind. Kiera whirled, grabbing the laser pistol. She started to pull it out from under her poncho, but froze in shock when she realized who smiled down at her.

  Legacy reached out and patted her shoulder. A roundish scar marked his arm where he’d been shot, but other than the addition of his carrying a metal staff, he looked the same.

  “Y-you’re alive…” She tucked the gun out of sight again and hugged him.

  The old man patted her on the back. “Indeed.”

  “Uhh. Sorry for leaving you there. I would’ve helped, but I was kinda tied up.” She stared down and twisted her toes into the dirt. “Literally.”

  “It is I who should be sorry for not suggesting we hurry away from those fools.” He rubbed his jaw. “They will regret their choices if I find them again.”

  “You won’t.” Kiera spun back to the collector and refilled her last bottle. “Find them again, I mean. I think I need to get out of here fast.”

  “Indeed. Your cloak is wild dog hide. Such garments are not of the Norz. Seeing a child alone from another tribe has them on edge.”

  “I’m in trouble,” she muttered, packing the last bottle.

  He put a hand on her shoulder. “I know this. It is why I have come here. Allow me to assist you.”

  Kiera held the pistol against her chest, following Legacy out of the village into the dust. Once they’d gone far enough that she could no longer see the trailers and huts, she pulled the laser out from under the poncho and stashed it in the satchel. Pet took the opportunity of an open flap to bob into the air.

  “Oh, my… what is that?” Legacy stared in awe.

  “Her name is Pet.” Kiera pulled down her hood and fluffed her hair out from under the poncho.

  “Hello,” said Pet. “I am a one-petabyte personal companion unit. Kiera is my friend.”

  Legacy transferred his staff to his left hand and reached out to cup the floating cube, but hesitated before touching it. “A true marvel. Perhaps his avatar. Where did you find this?”

  While they walked, Kiera told the story of her journey to the supposedly cursed ruin, the robots, and everything that had happened. She explained how the three bandits kept her tied up for an entire day, and of her escape in the middle of the night.

  “Waste of air.” Legacy grumbled. “Men like that steal life from others by simply breathing.”

  Kiera closed her eyes to weather a sudden spike of pain at missing her family. “You don’t have to worry about them… they’re all dead.”

  “Oh?” He blinked. “You didn’t….”

  She shook her head. “No… my dad.”

  “But your father―”

  “New parents.”

  The story of what happened at Norven’s filled the next twenty minutes. Legacy listened with eager intent, a scary glint of glee in his eyes when she described her father stabbing King to death, and again at her description of Norven returning with blood spatter on his face.

  Quiet hung over them for a while after. Kiera stared down at the silt, watching her feet sink over and over into the soft ground.

  “I am sorry you had to witness that,” said Legacy. “But perhaps because you have seen it, you can be free of your fear that they will find you again.”

  She shrugged. “I guess. I haven’t had nightmares about it, so maybe I’m okay. I’m still scared of bandits grabbing me.”

  Legacy patted her back. “As long as you stay away from the northeast, where the New Dominion rule, it is unlikely that will happen again. Most bandits would steal your possessions, but not steal you.” He chuckled. “I doubt they would even bind you, as the rope would be too valuable to leave behind.”

  Kiera frowned. “The idiots said that too, that the rope was worth a lot. I ripped it up.”

  “Heh. Good for you.” He winked. “If I were you, I would’ve told them how close they came while you were hiding in that cabinet.”

  She laughed. “What happened to you? I thought you’d died? I’m really glad you’re okay.”

  He gestured at a huge slab of concrete sticking up out of the ground up ahead, most likely part of a collapsed parking garage buried with only the top floor visible. Tilted at an angle, it formed a roof over a small area of ground. “We can shelter in there for the night. It will be dark soon.”

  “Okay.”

  They diverted course toward the ruin. Once inside, he set up a small camp with a tiny e-stove and took plastic-wrapped hamburgers out of his backpack. Kiera stared in awe, even though they looked withered and tiny. Legacy tore open the corner of each packet and poured in a little water. Soon, the burgers took on a more normal appearance and he threw one into a tiny frying pan. He added water to other packets, resurrecting freeze-dried buns from the dead. She scurried outside to relieve herself, grateful to Pet for hovering close to keep an electronic eye out for threats.

  By the time she returned to the shelter, Legacy had the second burger in the pot, and offered her the first. She sat next to him and accepted it.

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” He smiled. “Sorry if I don’t have any red flavor gel.”

  “Do you mean ketchup?” She chuckled. “Where did you even find burgers? Is this thing as old as I am?” She sniffed it. Smells like beef.

  Legacy chuckled. “I have my secrets. My cave is quite well stocked.”

  “You have a fabricator?” She chomped a big bite off the burger.

  “Hah. You are full of surprises, little one. Yes… you are correct. I came a little better prepared this time.”

  She mumbled with a full mouth.

  “To answer your earlier question, I regained awareness some time after you had been carted off. The ground told me that you had tried to flee, but been captured. I followed the cart tracks to a large ci
rcular mound of rubble, but no one remained there. Alas, I was too injured to keep searching, so I stumbled back to my cave for medicine and rest. It seemed best to hope he guided you, so I remained there to await another message… which I received days ago. For months, he said nothing.”

  “Message?” She forced herself to take smaller bites so the burger lasted longer.

  “He told me to make haste to the village of Exxo… but when I arrived, you were nowhere to be seen. The locals spoke of the metal men seeking you.”

  Kiera nodded.

  “I tracked you into the woods, but lost your direction. Again, I returned home. Within minutes of me reaching my cave, he told me to travel to the Norz village, certain you would be there.”

  “Wow.” Kiera looked up at the sky. “That’s kinda eerie. Wait… how does he talk to you?”

  “In my cave… on the enchanted tablet. His words become light.”

  A computer. “You talk back to him by pushing letters, right?”

  “Indeed. You are wise beyond your years, little one.” Smiling, Legacy shut off the e-stove and flipped his burger onto its bun. “He told me that you had accessed the ancient systems. When you touched the old knowing, the false king became aware of you, and of your threat.” He raised his hands skyward, one clutching the burger. “You who are the Child of Earth shall redeem it.”

  He’s still nuts, but he’s nice. She leaned against him, grateful for the sense of protection he offered. His ‘cave’ has to be another Citadel Company hideout. Probably has a computer in it. “I need to get my parents back, but I have no idea how to ‘redeem the Earth.’ I don’t have magic powers.”

  The old man chuckled while chewing. “He is sure you are the one.”

  “How?” Kiera yawned and stretched her legs out. Ugh. I’ve walked more in a week than eleven years. “Who is this ‘he’ you keep talking about?”