by Clint Stoker
“It’s either us or them. You can’t have both.”
Napal picked a crying baby and lowered the knife to its throat. Air jumped forward, shot his arm out and stopped the edge of the blade with his palm. The knife sliced through his tender flesh as he pulled the blade back to a safer distance. Then Air pushed Napal back with his free hand and stood between him and the infants.
“What’s wrong with you?” Napal glanced at the bloody blade.
“Let’s just leave without them.” Air balled up his wounded hand. “We don’t need to live forever.”
“You mean leave the rebirth for the next shift to kill? The infants die either way. We might as well take advantage of it.”
The wails seemed to swell louder. They were cold. Air turned to look at them again. The only truly innocent people in the city lay in a dark basement waiting for their execution. Napal approached the table again with the knife in hand.
“This is the only way,” he said.
By pure instinct, Air grabbed Napal’s wrist, with his good hand, and twisted his arm in a large sweeping motion. Napal dropped the knife but struck Air in the mouth with his free hand. “Stop!” Napal yelled. Air pushed him back to a standing position and threw a fist at Napal’s nose. Napal grunted against the impact. Blood sprayed from his nostril as his nose fractured.
Napal kicked Air in the stomach sending him back. Air fell to the ground but only to avoid colliding with the cart and it’s precious cargo.
“I thought we were in this together!” Napal scrambled for the knife. He gripped it so the blade ran downward. “I could have left without you!” He pinched at his nose. “You broke my nose.”
Air had nothing else to say. He was already trying to decide what he could do about the babies. “It’s over, Napal. Go on upstairs and tell them I hit you.”
“Don’t be stupid. I’ll do it myself. You won’t have to feel guilty if that’s what you’re worried about.” Napal inched forward with the knife.
Everything else happened so fast. Air had to protect the infants. He pulled open the front of his shirt and drew the gun. He didn’t notice the pain of gripping its handle with his severed palm. He fired two shots into Napal’s chest. Napal fell back and scuffled around on his back. His hands gripped at his chest like he could assess and mend the damage. As reality sunk in, he dropped the knife. Napal looked at Air with a furrowed brow then rolled his head back. Blood seeped from his back as his last breath gurgled through his lungs.
Chapter 20
Air stood frozen. He killed his closest friend. The babies wailed and squirmed on the cold metal cart. Air dropped the gun to the floor and knelt down next to Napal. The world seemed to spin around him. Napal lay dead on the floor. Now Air was alone with the rebirth but he didn’t know what to do. Air sat back and rested his head between his knees. As he considered his options, footsteps patted from down the tunnel. Air went for his gun and aimed into the dim pathway. A figure appeared around the curvature of the tunnel walls. “Fields?” Air squinted and dropped his gun.
“What happened?” Fields stepped out from the tunnel with a satchel over his shoulder and a stack of towels under one arm. “Are the infants alright?”
“What are you doing down here?” Air wiped a sleeve over his forehead but it was already saturated with sweat.
“We decided to stop the rebirth. Remember?” His voice reverberated across the basement.
“Right.” Air tightened his wounded palm and crossed it over his chest. The pain started to kick-in.
“I came from the hospital.” Fields dropped the satchel and picked up the first child.
“I hope you aren’t going to hurt them, Fields. I killed the last man who tried to. Don’t make me do it again.”
“I have no intention of hurting them.” Fields hushed the baby and carried it to the sink. “Is that Napal?” There was no easy way to ask.
“He was going to cut them, so I shot him.” Air looked down at Napal’s crumpled body. “I killed my friend.”
“Remember, you’ve already qualified for Hell. You did the right thing.” Fields took great care to wash the screaming child with lukewarm water.
“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?” Air stood up and studied Fields cleaning.
“Honestly, I don’t care how you feel anymore. I don’t care how anyone feels. I’m going to take these angels away from here.” Fields swaddled the baby in a clean towel and handed her to Air. “You might feel better about everything if you help me save these infants before they die of exposure.”
Air held the baby girl in his hands stiffly. “Are they going to stop screaming?” he said.
“Eventually, yes.” Fenton pulled a bottle from the satchel and handed it to Air. “I’ll wash them if you’ll feed them.”
Air was so occupied that he didn’t hear Anna-Desi come through the tunnel. “What should I do?” She stood at the mouth of the tunnel with a chrome-legged cart. It was large and brimming with blankets.
“Help me wash and clothe them. Then we’ll take them back to the library.” Fields started on another child.
Anna-Desi rushed to the center of the room and reached for a baby boy. A brief smile overcame her until she saw Napal. She gasped and covered her gaping mouth with her hand and pointed at the fresh cadaver. “What happened?”
“Never mind him,” Fields interrupted to spare Air the explanation. “We need to be fast.”
She held the baby boy close and brought him to the sink to be washed.
Air looked at the baby girl in his arms. Her face was bluish. He took the bottle and pressed the nipple against her flailed lips. Her first day alive and she was already cold, hungry and miserable. He slid the nipple into her mouth. After a little coaxing, she latched and sucked. For the first time, as far as he could remember, he felt good. Despite all the terrible things he had done, he felt good. He marveled at her miniature expressions. She hadn’t done anything to feel guilty. She was pure. But the rest of the city would be so easily convinced. Millions of people would rather kill the five newborns than die themselves.
“They’ll know we stole them. You can’t hide the babies in the library forever.” Air held the little girl a little closer.
“We have to try.” Fields swaddled another baby and set him in the new padded cart and took another infant to clean.
“Can’t the city just make more babies?” Air set the baby girl in the cart next to the other wailing infant. “If they don’t find these babies, they’ll just kill the next batch.”
“Thankfully, they can’t. Each rebirth is a link in the chain. If we stop this rebirth, they won’t be able to start the next one.” Fields hushed a baby and pushed a bottle nipple in her mouth. “The rebirth starts everything going again. Without these infants, the city has nothing. It’s all over.”
Anna-Desi placed another baby boy into the cart and held a bottle for another. They cleaned and wrapped the remaining babies and put them in the cart together. Their cries grew softer as they were each fed and warmed. Most of them were asleep when a cranking sound ticked from the elevator like an omen from the darkness. Anna-Desi gathered together the towels and stuffed them in a plastic bag and tied it shut.
“The second shift is coming.” Air looked at Napal’s body then cocked his gun. “When the others find out what happened, the entire city will be after us.”
“Take the infants, Anna-Desi.” Fields dried his hands on his shirt. “Air and I will clean up here maybe we can buy some time.”
“Okay. Hurry.” Anna-Desi pushed the cart back into the tunnel and disappeared.
“Dex is going to want someone to blame for this. He needs a scapegoat.” Air circled Napal’s body with the gun in one hand. “It isn’t going to be easy. They’ll follow the tunnel. They’ll find out what happened. Maybe we can fight them off for a little while but I don’t have enough bullets to last long.” Air turned to the shaft.
A sharp pinch in Air’s shoulder made him jump. He turned to see Fields s
tanding with a silver syringe. His vision blurred and Air fell to his knees. Fields removed the gun from Air’s hand with little effort. Air lost control over his muscles and he began to collapse. Fields held Air’s head to help him gently lay on the cold concrete. The lights seemed to fade around fields. He looked satisfied with himself as he spoke the last words Air could hear.
“We’ll give Dex a scapegoat.”
Chapter 21
Starving refugees huddled around makeshift fire barrels and huddled under scrappy blankets. They numbered in the thousands, but when Air closed his eyes, they seemed to disappear. They were all so quiet. Air rode in the second truck of the convoy through the misery. The biting stink of death and compost floated, like thick smog, in the stagnant air. He held a small portion of bread in his hand. They had given it to him miles before, but he didn’t feel like eating. People swirled around the convoy like a boat pushing through, otherwise, placid water. An old woman stood by the side begging for food. It took all her strength to project a raspy “please” from her lungs. They ignored her. As a last desperate attempt, she cried and threw her body against the side of the truck as they passed. A city official spat at her from the passenger seat. She fell down onto cracked mud and drooled as she sobbed. Air tossed the piece of bread to her. Before she realized it was food, the crowd engulfed her. Their shouts trailed off as they fought for the morsel.
“You think you’re helping, but you’re not.” A dark-eyed city official frowned.
Air said nothing. He tucked the blanket tighter around his wife’s body and guarded her.
“Dex,” said the man.
Air didn’t bother to look up.
“My name is Dex.”
“So I heard.”
“A little gratitude might make your situation a little easier.” Dex leaned over, paused as if to demand eye contact.
“The Founder doesn’t care about gratitude and neither do I. It’s just a trade. That’s all I’m here for. He’ll get what he wants and I’ll get what I want. I don’t owe you anything.”
Dex laughed. “In an hour from now I’m going to own you. So If I were you…”
“If I cared, I wouldn’t be here.” Air stared up, dried blood flaking from his temple.
Dex paused then, looked down at her shrouded body. “You care about her though, don’t you?” Dex lifted the edge of the blanket with his toe revealing her messed hair.
Air stood up and kicked Dex’s leg away. In the same motion he drew a serrated knife from his pocket and pushed it firmly against Dex’s throat. “Don’t touch her!”
The color flushed from Dex’s face. He grabbed the side of the truck to steady himself. “I won’t, I…”
“Knock it off.” Another city official leaned out from the passenger-side window.
Air sat closer to her body and pulled the blanket back over her head. The city officials laughed from the cab of the truck and Dex rubbed his throat.
“Why does he have a knife?” Dex called to the officials in the cab. “Someone should take it away.”
Air tossed the knife out the side and sat staring at her again. Dex stayed quiet until they reached the city walls. Armed city officials stood at the entrance. They were each wearing berets and pressed uniforms adorned with metals. Refugees camped out ten yards from the guards. A sparse line of refugees trailed from the table.
“We’re here, get out,” Dex commanded, “and take your cadaver with you.”
Air stood up. His sore legs reminded him of the nightmare he had just been through. He took his time to lift her body into his arms. Her limbs were stiff. He stepped out of the truck bed and walked toward the end of a long line leading to the city wall. His tear ducts tingled. He fought to gain control over his emotions and stood at the end.
“Please, please…” A man, at the head of the line, was pushed back and escorted away by a guard. “I can help.” The man pleaded as the guard corralled him away from the line. The guard prompted him back further by the point of his rifle. As soon as the man backpedaled across an imaginary line, the guard turned and marched back to his post. The rejected man fell to his knees and shouted back at the guard, begging for another chance. A cluster of refugees huddled around him offering condolences.
Air turned to see another guard approaching. “What is that?” asked the guard. He had a thick red beard and stood shorter than most of the people.
“This is my wife… I’m here to speak with the Founder. Can you tell him I’m here?” Air held her closer in his arms as if she needed to be protected.
“You’ll have to wait. Everyone is here to see the Founder.” The guard stopped a few feet away. He cupped a hand over his mouth and nose before he would move closer. “Did she die of disease?”
“No. A gun shot. I brought her for the procedure.”
The guard studied Air’s face. He squinted then his face lit up. “You’re Air Dressler.”
Refugees standing in line turned to gawk. Bewildered expressions flooded over them. Some smiled, others just watched emotionless. A harsh voice from the camp behind flared. “Traitor! Liar!” The outburst seemed to sum-up the opinions of all the onlookers.
“You came here for the procedure?” The guard smiled half-way and lowered his brow.
“It’s for her.”
The guard thought for a moment. He walked to the table at the origin of the line and spoke with a couple guards. They laughed. One of the guards went back through the city entrance. The red bearded guard walked back to Air with a smug grin on his face.
“Come with me,” he said.
The refugees began to chant from the camp ‘Traitor, Liar!’ Guards shouted back. They made a point not to tolerate the crowd. Another guard fired his rifle overhead. Air quickened his pace through the gate as panic unfolded behind him. He heard the refugees’ cries but he told himself to forget them. They weren’t important anymore. She was his first and only priority.
“Set her down here.” The guard pointed to the ground just inside the wall.
Air set her down like he was putting a child to bed. He tucked the blanket around her then turned back, ready to receive more instructions. It was his first good look at the city. Large cranes hoisted steel beams up vertical skeletons. Workmen bustled around the bases of smaller structures, pouring concrete, hammering panels of wood.
“The Founder wants to talk with you,” the guard smiled. He seemed amused in some kind of sick way.
Another gunshot whizzed into the sky. The guards filed in from outside the city walls. A refugee sprinted though the gate but the red-bearded guard shot him through the forehead before he could do anything else. The refugee fell just inside the entrance face down and motionless.
“So you’re killing innocent people now? I thought your self-righteous credo would hold-up for at least a year.”
“He killed himself,” said the guard, “They all know if they cross these walls without being invited, they’re dead.”
“If that makes you feel better…”
“It does, actually.”
“Isn’t everyone invited? You’re doing an awful lot of advertising that says so.”
“Everyone’s invited to try out.”
“Try out?”
“There isn’t enough room for every free-riding idiot in the country to come. Everyone who can make a contribution is accepted.”
“That isn’t right.”
“You’d rather everyone starve to death? We have to make a decision somehow.”
“It shouldn’t be your decision to make.”
“Yeah? Who should decide… God?” The guard laughed and walked away as he lit a cigarette.
The guards’ words seemed to repeat in Air’s mind. He felt a painful burning sensation in his forehead. It ached unlike any pain he had felt. It was more imagined than real. It stung like a prophecy of pain, a promise of death. Air saw the face of Thomas, the dead boy he had led into battle. He saw him fall in the ditch again, grabbing his throat.
---
“Sign here when you’re done reading the articles.” The Founder sat back in his chair across the table. He was pleased with himself.
Air looked down at the papers before him. “I do this, and she gets the procedure.”
“It’s that simple.”
Air thought for a moment. “I’ll sign if you let me see her once after the procedure is finished. Just so I can explain things.”
“Absolutely not. She’s already dead to you. Once you sign on, you aren’t part of any family but the city. You cut all ties. You work with the residents, you celebrate with the residents. Either you’re all in or you turn around and take your dead wife with you.”
Air flipped the pen between his finger and thumb. First priority. “I’ll sign if you have her taken back to a safe place outside the city. She never wanted to come here.”
“I have no quarrel with that. But once you’re in, you can’t change your mind. There is no going back. If you cross me, I’ll kill you.”
Air rubbed at his forehead. A sharp pressure throbbed in his skull. “I understand.” He lowered the pen and signed his name.
“Welcome to the city, Air.”
Chapter 22
Air opened his eyes to see Dex standing over him. Air lay on his back still in the cleaning basement. His forehead tingled from a diminishing pain. Air rolled his head to confirm that Fields had left him alone to deal with the repercussions. He slammed his palms on the concrete.
“He’s alive!” Zeke shouted from behind Dex.
Dex and Zeke pulled Air to his feet. Air winced as blood rushed to the deep wound in his palm. He looked down to see Napal on the ground. Adrenaline seemed to flood his body. He had accepted death, but not like this. He wasn’t going to let Dex purge him in a basement. He pushed Dex and Zeke away turned to defend himself.
“Easy, Air,” Dex lifted his hands as if to help smooth things over. As if Air was an unsettled animal that needed taming. “We caught him.”
Air held his sliced palm against his chest. He looked at Dex and then at Zeke, expecting more explanation.