Ascendant Unrest

by Matthew S. Cox

  Maya pointed at a valve sticking out of a narrower pipe above the toilet. “He made it himself. Gotta turn that.”

  “Oh.” Sarah stood on tiptoe to reach a small metal wheel. She opened the valve and running water flushed out the bowl. Satisfied, she closed it with a painfully loud squeak.

  “Is it okay if we wait for him a little?” Maya approached the bathroom.

  “Yeah. I’m tired anyway. That was a long walk.” Sarah wandered over and sat on the edge of the cot. Soon after, she let herself flop backward, arms to the sides, feet still on the floor.

  After using the toilet, Maya curled up beside her on the mildew-smelling cot. She pulled a coarse green blanket over them both and cuddled together. “We need a blanket. It’s cold and wet down here. We could get sick.”

  “Mmm.” Sarah’d already slid half into sleep, clearly exhausted from the ordeal of the past twenty-four hours.

  Maya reached an arm across her friend. She snuggled close, staring into the dark, determined to stay awake watching for danger. Maybe Pope had moved to that room she’d helped him open by crawling through a pipe since it had a lockable door. Once Sarah had rested, she’d try to remember how to get to that chamber. Worry that he might not even be there caused a lump in her throat to swell, but she swallowed it thinking of Diego. If they couldn’t find Pope, she’d take Sarah back to The Devil’s Hangover, and they’d hide there until Genna came home.

  11

  Walk Right In

  Maya snapped awake at a sharp jab in the side. Sarah elbowed her again, twice fast, and emitted a faint nasal whimper of alarm. Maya pulled the blanket down from her face as she raised her head, blinking away the heaviness of sleep. A glint drew her attention to the corner by where the room gave way to subway tunnel.

  The business end of a giant rifle covered in strips of tattered olive-drab cloth pointed at the bed.

  “Eep!” yelled Maya. “Don’t shoot us!”

  “Aww shit,” muttered a man. “Kids.”

  The rifle lowered, and a figure in a green poncho covered in similar strips of cloth walked out from behind the corner. Round goggles sat on his forehead, exposing eyes ringed by cleaner skin than the rest of his face. A spray of pewter-grey hair around his mouth stretched with a grin.

  “You just waltz right inta a man’s home?” He chuckled, walking over and setting the rifle on the table. “Cripes. Saw somethin’ movin’ in my bed. Sorry for scaring ya.”

  Sarah let out a heavy sigh and went limp, staring at the ceiling.

  “Pope!” Maya flung the blanket aside, leapt to her feet, and ran to him, ready to tell him about everything that had happened. The instant she clamped her arms around him, the feeling of being safe again shut her brain down, and she burst into tears.

  “Oof.” Pope caught her with his left arm while shrugging a backpack off his shoulder and slinging it onto the table. “Hey, easy. It’s okay. You’re okay.”

  She looked up at him but couldn’t do anything but babble while crying. Her want to tell him about Sarah’s dad, about the men who tried to kill them, the dosers, even watching that guy they took the car from get shot dead, all crashed together and tumbled out of her mouth in a series of incomprehensible noises.

  Pope picked her up and moved to sit on one of the chairs by the table with her in his lap. She let her head rest against his shoulder, covering her mouth and nose with both hands in an effort to collect herself.

  Sarah sat cross-legged on the cot and pulled the blanket around her shoulders like a cloak. She looked forlorn and frightened, a kitten abandoned on the side of the road with nowhere to go. Maya clenched her jaw against the crush of guilt that The Dad had been hurt because of her. How could she have been so foolish to think that video wouldn’t have had serious consequences, or that she could simply walk away from Vanessa? When Sarah looked at her, Maya wept harder.

  “I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

  “Well, this is going to be a heck of a tale I bet.” Pope leaned to the right, trying to catch Maya’s eye. “Who’s your friend?”

  “Sarah,” said Maya in cry.

  “Hello, Sarah. I’m Pope.”

  Her cheeks did something that might’ve been an attempt to smile. “Hi. Are you a priest?”

  He chuckled. “Naw. Just my name.”

  “That’s an odd name.” Sarah reached a hand up from the blanket and pulled her hair out of her face.

  “Army. Everyone uses last names there. My parents called me John; friends, Jack. No one’s much called me anything for a couple years except Diego, and I won’t repeat his name for me to you two.”

  Maya sat up. “Will you please help us? You said if I ever needed help I should find you. We came here looking for you and you weren’t here and I didn’t know what to do and we were so tired we just sat on the cot and I didn’t even wanna fall asleep.”

  “Whoa, slow down. Aye. Right, I did say that. What sorta fix you got yourself into this time?” He winked.

  She swallowed hard and took a breath. “Genna’s away taking Xeno to Philly. I was staying with Sarah and her dad. Men attacked us at night and tried to kill us. We ran away. Her dad got shot… We’re afraid to go back because I think those men are still watching the building. They had a little drone.” Maya held her hands about cat-length apart. “It was hovering by our window right before the men broke in, and it chased us outside.”

  “Men tried to kill you?” Pope’s eyes narrowed.

  “Umm. I think it’s because of that video. I―”

  “I saw it.” He nodded once. “Hard to miss. You walloped that hornet nest good. That stuff you said ’bout what the Authority ought to stand for got heard by the right people. Lot of eyes in a lot of places they haven’t been in too long.” His expression hardened. “So what’d these guys look like?”

  Fleeting images played a slideshow in her memory, but the fog of terror left them blurry. “They had black on. Helmets, masks, stuff on their face. Not Authority.”

  “Hmm. Could just be mercenaries. You sure they were trying to kill you?”

  “Bullets came through the wall,” said Sarah. “But Dad was shooting at them. He has an alarm on the door.”

  Pope’s silvery-grey eyebrows climbed. “He have training?”

  Sarah nodded, letting the blanket fall and gather around her waist as her posture relaxed. “He was LRRP/D working with the 7th Cav around Pujon. He survived a missile attack on the camp and only lost his right arm.”

  “Damn. Pujon was a horror show.” Pope shook his head. “Glad to hear he got out. Did he get a piece of them?”

  “The Koreans or those men?” Sarah shuffled her feet back and forth on the concrete.

  “The ones who came after you,” said Pope.

  Maya looked up at him. “They were after me. Her dad got hurt because of me.”

  “No.” Sarah sprang from the cot and ran over to stand nearby, hand on her shoulder. “He knew about the video. Genna asked him to watch you because he’s Recon, but….”

  “But?” asked Pope.

  “He’s sick. Like an old man, but he’s only thirty-four.” Sarah’s lip quivered. “He was gonna go to the VA too. He’s been afraid to, but he changed his mind ’cause of what Maya said. An’ now… now he’s d―”

  “We don’t know that.” Maya reached up and grasped Sarah’s hand where it rested on her shoulder.

  “Right. So where do I fit in to all of this?” asked Pope.

  Maya pulled her stare away from Sarah’s eyes and gave him an earnest look. “We’re afraid to go home in case those men are watching for us. Mom’s going to be back soon, and if we’re not there, she’s going to freak out.”

  “She’s not gonna be too happy that you came all the way out here again.” Pope lifted her onto her feet and stood. “S’pose you haven’t eaten yet. I’ll grill up some rats and we’ll get going.”

  Out of nowhere, a thought frightened Maya into squeaking.

  Pope and Sarah glanced at her.

  Wide-e
yed, she pointed at the tunnel. “Oh, crap! I totally forgot about that place you asked me to help you open. I thought you were gonna stay there. We could’ve been waiting here forever.”

  “Ahh, that bunker.” Pope chuckled. “Didn’t work out. Remember the body we found?”

  She shuddered. “Unfortunately.”

  “Well, figured out how he got dead. Place’s ventilation system is shot to hell. Loads up with toxic fumes from the battery and power capacitor.”

  She stared at him. He didn’t know that when he asked me to go inside.

  “So, yeah… I’m still livin’ here. Now, time for you two ta eat something.”

  “We have a car,” said Maya. “It’s by Diego’s. Might get stolen if we don’t hurry.”

  “A car?” Pope blinked. “Who drove you out here?”

  “Me.” Sarah raised her hand. “It was a bit different than RoadBlasters.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not sure if that was actually safer than the two of you walking here.”

  “You can drive on the way back if you want,” said Sarah.

  Pope gave her a stern look with a playful smile. “Yeah, that’s not up for debate.”

  She tilted her head. “Can I ask you a stupid question?”

  “Go for it.” He rummaged his backpack, removing a few dead rats, which he set on the table.

  “Why do you have grey hair but you don’t look old?”

  Maya couldn’t help herself and giggled.

  Pope opened the lid on a large white box with a glowing blue light on the front. Ice lined the inside; he dropped the rats in one by one. “Just lucky, I guess.”

  “You’re not old,” said Sarah.

  “Depends. You think forty-one’s old?” He shut the cooler.

  “Yeah, but I’m nine,” said Maya.

  “Not like old old. Book is old.” Sarah fidgeted.

  “Right.” Pope grabbed his rifle. “Get the sense you’re in a hurry. ’Less you’d rather eat first.”

  Maya shook her head. “Too worried to be hungry right now an’ we can eat at home if it’s safe. Can we go now?”

  Sarah’s grateful smile eased her guilt.

  Pope hung his backpack on a peg, slung the rifle across his back, and headed toward the tunnel. “Let’s go then.”

  After Sarah grabbed the Hornet from the cot, he led them back down the weaving tunnels. Maya had to work to keep up with him but didn’t complain or protest, barring a grunt of exertion or two. When they reached the point where the round concrete tunnel became pitch black, he flicked on a flashlight. Numerous turns and passages later, a shaft of daylight illuminated a section of old sewer tunnel in front of them.

  Pope overacted a sigh of disappointment, gesturing at the bright cone shining down from above. “You left the tunnel open.”

  Maya raised her arms a little and let them flap against her sides. “Sorry. We could barely move the lid.”

  “You’re one determined and resourceful kid, Maya.” He chuckled, shaking his head, and climbed up out of sight. Maya followed, raising a hand to guard her eyes from the blinding glare in the opening above. Sensing her friend’s eagerness to go home, she let Sarah go next, then scampered up behind her. Pope reached down and lifted Sarah up and out, doing the same for Maya when she climbed to the top. She squinted, cringing at the painful light for a little while until her eyes adjusted. The tunnel had been so dark, even a glum, grey day hurt.

  The heavy, overcast sky seemed to leech the color out of the world, but fresh air on her face brought on a wave of energy and made the idea of a two-hour walk a welcome one. She turned in place, gazing up at the vast expanse of silvery-dark clouds. The Hab sat too far away to even show as a darkening in the haze.

  Both girls jumped at the clang of Pope reseating the cover over the shaft. The sound hit her in the lungs like a physical blow. Maya managed to keep from screaming and stared at him. He patted her on the head.

  “Holler if I’m going too fast.” He frowned at her feet. “You two need some shoes.”

  “See?” Maya made bug-eyes at Sarah. “I have some, but they’re in the bedroom. We had to run fast.”

  “Ground’s pretty tame from here to the Spread. Worst part is the grass. Stay in my trail, it’ll be easier.”

  Pope took off at a brisk stride that forced Maya to jog. With him plowing the tall grass aside, crossing the meadow was easier, but after only a few minutes, she started to lag behind. Sarah tolerated the pace better: longer legs, and she’d had a much more demanding life. Pope slowed enough to keep her fast-walking, a pace she found much easier to hold.

  “That message of yours made it to the whole Eastern Seaboard,” said Pope some minutes later.

  “Yeah.” Maya jumped over a small puddle. “They told me.”

  “They’re auditing the Baltimore Authority. You got the attention of the provisional governor.”

  “What’s that?” asked Sarah.

  “They still haven’t figured out how to arrange stuff. Provisional governor’s the one in charge of the Eastern Commonwealth States. Basically tryin’ to keep the US together. Provisional means as soon as they figure out if they’re going to have a president and stuff again, he’s no longer in charge.”

  “Oh,” said Sarah.

  “I thought Vanessa would be gone.” Maya frowned. “She’s still there, like nothing we did mattered.”

  “That woman had Baltimore so tight under her thumb I’m amazed the Authority is even investigating at all.” Pope laughed. “Gotta be a political crapstorm flying around behind closed doors.”

  Maya trudged over bent grass for a few minutes, dreading and looking forward to being home in equal parts. “I know it doesn’t make financial sense for her to come after me, but I’m scared. I got this idea to protect everyone. Only problem is it’s hard. I want to give the Xenodril formula to another pharma company. She’s only releasing Fade because no one else has Xenodril.”

  “Makes sense. Got the formula?” asked Pope.

  “No.” Maya sighed. “That’s the hard part. But it’s in their computer.”

  Pope chuckled. “Planning on walking in and taking it?”

  “No, not again. I think Zeroice can get it for us. Mom’s going to ask her boss about it when she gets back.”

  “Hmm. I imagine if hackers could’ve gotten it, they’d have it already. Ain’t much out there that’s as valuable as that.”

  The urge to cry squeezed at her throat. She stared down as she continued to follow along in his trail. Her defeated slouch brought her head below the level of the grass, leaving her walled off from the world behind the unending green. Dumb. Yeah. If he could’ve stolen that formula, he would’ve done it already. Like I needed to suggest it.

  With each passing minute, the constant fast pace sapped her energy and made talking at all less and less appealing. The rhythmic swoosh-crunch of Pope’s march and the rustle of the grass everywhere around her conspired with her waning energy to make time blurry. The occasional buzzing insect cruised by, disturbed to wing by their encroachment. She didn’t even bother swiping at the bugs that landed on her unless they remained for more than six steps.

  Eventually, Sarah’s gait became as much a stagger as a walk. She put on an angry face and kept going, even faster. Maya pushed herself up to a jog.

  A short while later, Pope stopped and whistled. “Wow. What did you two do to that car?” asked Pope. “Looks like you drove through downtown Songnim during the third bombardment.”

  “She learned to drive from playing a video game,” said Maya.

  Sarah shrugged. “We got here, didn’t we?”

  “So how did you two wind up stealing a car?” Pope swatted a few bugs from his fatigue pants as he emerged from the tall grass into the sandlot around the Spread.

  “Someone else stole it,” said Sarah. “Guy ran into Mr. Nori’s noodle place with a gun to rob it. We just hopped in the car and took off.”

  Pope laughed. “Imagine the look on his face when he ra
n outside with the money and his car was gone.”

  “Mr. Nori shot him,” said Maya, a fatigued wheeze in her voice.

  “Oh.” Pope shrugged. “Well, run into a store waving a gun, expect to be shot at.”

  He hopped in behind the wheel, sniper rifle wedged atop the passenger seat with the butt on the floor and the barrel jammed into the roof. “Not going to drive straight up to your building. If it’s being watched, I don’t need them seeing us coming. Also, don’t want a bored blueberry giving me attitude over who’s car this is.”

  Maya climbed in back. The cushioned seats felt awesome. She melted into the upholstery and gasped for breath. Sarah rolled in next to her, pulled the door closed, and flapped her dress to fan air at her chest. One safety pin went flying into the front seat.

  “Hey,” shouted Diego from the door, a shotgun not quite aimed at the car.

  Maya grumbled at having to move but leaned up to the door, opened the window, and waved. “It’s okay. We’re back. Thank you for keeping the car safe.”

  He tilted the shotgun back across his shoulder and nodded, a trace of an evil eye sent Pope’s way. “De nada. You two be careful.”

  The car felt like an altogether different creature as Pope backed around a k-turn and pulled away from The Devil’s Hangover. No herky-jerky acceleration and no being thrown into the door. After a momentary pause to watch for an approaching car, he pulled onto the road leading back to the Habitation District and leveled off at 80 MPH. Parts of the car’s battered shell rattled in the wind.

  “Guess I was doing it wrong,” muttered Sarah.

  Maya took her hand and smiled. “You got us here.”

  Her friend returned a sad smile and looked down at the Hornet in her lap. It made Maya think of The Dad coming out of nowhere and teaching them both the basics of handling it. She closed her eyes and wished for him to be okay.

  The drone of tires on paving proved mesmerizing, though Maya couldn’t sleep. Her legs ached from fatigue, but her brain raced. A few minutes into the trip, an Authority drone went by overhead. It paid them no mind, racing back along the road toward the Sanctuary Zone.