Ash

by Shani Petroff

  I was impressed. If Oena was too, she didn’t show it. She just ordered everyone to get a move on. Once again we raced down the corridors. I ran as fast as I could, pushing my legs even faster. A few more minutes and we’d hit the exit. Ahead of me I saw Oena and Thom slam into something and bounce backwards, both landing in a tangle on the floor. I almost tripped over my skirts trying to stop myself from crashing into them.

  “Establish the perimeter,” Thom bellowed, stumbling to his feet.

  “What’s happening?” I said, looking around as Thom, Oena, Zane, and Raze all scattered. Link joined them, standing between the other convicts. Half of them were pushing against the walls, others appeared to be miming against thin air.

  Link was using both hands to press against what appeared to be a wall of air. “It’s a holograph trap,” he said, answering my question over his shoulder. “It makes walls appear like open space and vice versa.” I wondered how he knew about them as he continued palming over the surface. All of a sudden a surge of electricity crackled around us. Link fell to the ground, followed by Oena, Thom, and Raze, all dropping like ragdolls. I bit the inside of my cheeks, stifling a scream.

  “Electric field, “ Zane said, already pulling Oena away from it. “Get them away from the walls. Hurry,” he commanded.

  Dax and I ran to Link, dragging him several feet away. Next to me Sol helped Zane pull the others from the current. Holograph traps, electric fields? My father never mentioned any of this. I never even considered that the UV would need something like this—not since right after the Event.

  Dax looked near hysterical. “Wake up,” she said, shaking Link. “Come on, Link. Please.”

  I could feel my own panic rising and I reached over her, pressing two fingers onto his neck. “He’s got a pulse,” I said, relieved.

  “Just a bad zap,” Zane said. “I’ve seen worse.” He stood over Thom and nudged him with a boot. The big man groaned without opening his eyes.

  “They’ll wake up soon?” I faltered. I stood up from Link, facing Zane. Dax was still crouched over her brother. If they didn’t get out of here, they’d both be sent to the cells, maybe even removed.

  “Soon enough,” he replied. With a flourish, he pulled off one shoe, then the next. “Hopefully before the guards come round. Rather not have to take them all out on my own.” He looked around us, eyes gleaming. “Not that I couldn’t.” He slashed his shoe through the air at a pretend adversary. “Quite the misadventure, isn’t it?”

  “Is this some kind of joke to you?” I asked, angrily.

  Zane just waved me off. “When you’ve got nothing to lose, you find comedy in the strangest of places. A philosophy your kind will never understand.”

  I glared back. “How about you worry less about my kind, and focus on getting us out of here,” I said.

  “Fair point,” Zane responded, snapping his head toward Sol, who was frantically working with his tracker. “Siren boy,” Zane called. “How goes the computing?”

  “Working on it,” Sol said between gritted teeth. “I’m trying to bypass some pretty intense security right now.”

  Zane seemed unperturbed. “In that case, I should get back to what I was doing.” He shoved his hands into his shoes and began to thump them against the walls, humming along to the crackles of electricity each smack of his shoes made.

  “Back to your foolishness,” I said half to him, half to myself.

  “Just because you don’t understand something, doesn’t mean it’s foolishness. Not that I expect you to comprehend a Revenant’s ways.”

  The Revenants? I tried to hide my surprise but it didn’t work.

  “She left out a few details, did she?” He looked over at Dax, his approval obvious. “What exactly did she say to get you to come along?”

  “I knew what I was getting into,” I lied. I wasn’t about to tell this madman that I had no idea the Revenants were anything more than scary stories, that Dax made it sound like her friends were harmless nobodies, and that everything I thought was true and real was getting turned on its head. “Don’t let me distract you from your important work,” I told him instead.

  “You’re not.” He jumped up, then down, counting under his breath as he circled the space. “About fifteen-by-fifteen feet I’d say, with two false walls.” He pointed to the hallway that appeared to stretch out in front of us. “That is actually a wall, which is why Oena and Thom took a tumble.” He pointed in the other direction, toward the wall. “And this is actually a hallway. Tricky things, holographs. At least it’s roomier than my last box.” He looked over at Dax, practically leering at her. “And the company is infinitely better.”

  He was so crude. At least Dax didn’t notice him eyeing her.

  “Guards are coming down corridor C,” Sol interrupted. “I’m setting off alarms throughout the building to buy us more time. There’s not much more I can do though. If I could just access that box I could get into the mainframe.” Sol pointed to a small outlet on the other side of the current.

  “Rubber can hold the current off, right?” Dax asked. “We can use shoes to make you an opening. It’ll be small, but it should let you reach the box.”

  “Smart,” Zane said, and then turned to Sol. “How much time do you need?”

  “A minute, maybe,” Sol replied.

  “I’ll give you thirty seconds.” Zane turned to me. “Hand over your shoes. Yours look to be the best made in the rabble.”

  I didn’t bother to argue. I gave him my shoes. He stuffed them inside his own shoes, and once again shoved his hands inside. “Ready?” he asked Sol.

  “As ready as I’m going to be,” Sol answered, moving to stand beside Zane. I wasn’t quite sure what they were up to, but they seemed to understand one another.

  “These won’t last long. You’re going to have to hurry.” With that Zane shoved his covered hands toward the current, pushing through it, to create a small open tunnel. The shoes that were protecting his hands immediately began to blacken.

  Sol reached through the opening and tapped his tracker to the outlet.

  Smoke billowed up around Zane and Sol’s faces. “Gonna hit flesh soon,” Zane warned.

  Beside me I heard Thom cough. He sat up blearily. “Something on fire?” he asked me.

  “Ahh, Thomas,” Zane called cheerfully. “I’ll be the one on fire in a moment if the boy doesn’t hurry it up.”

  “One more second,” Sol said. I could see him tinkering with something, and then he shouted. “Got it!” He and Zane both tumbled back from the wall, Zane cradling an arm, Sol still tapping into his tracker. Then just like that, I heard the crackle silence. Zane threw a shoe—my shoe—toward a wall. It sailed right through.

  “Gather the fallen and let’s move,” Zane said. He picked Oena up. I heard her groan. I ran over to Link, who had woken up, and seemed to be getting his strength back. Dax and I helped him to his feet. Next to us, Sol pulled Raze up. Thom, thankfully, was already walking on his own.

  “Come on,” Zane said, plunging through the holograph wall.

  “We’ve got you,” I told Link.

  “I’m okay,” he said. I helped him to his feet and, after a wobbly start, he stood on his own. Everyone seemed to be getting their strength back.

  “You sure?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” he said, locking eyes. “Thanks.”

  I nodded. This was probably the last time I’d ever see Link. Once we got to the door, he’d run with the others into hiding. I had so much I wanted to say, but none of it really mattered anymore. He was about to be out of my life for good. I could feel the tears starting to form, so I just gave him a small smile and ran ahead to catch up with Sol and the others, making sure not to look back.

  Just as the exit came into view, several guards stepped around the corner in front of us. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Zane slid to a stop ahead, pulling out both of his guns. He shot one guard, then the next. They jerked backward from the impact, blood splattering over one
cream wall as they fell. I tried to look away, but I couldn’t. I stood there frozen. I wanted to help, but I didn’t know what to do. Zane dropped, rolling behind a corner, as a third guard pulled his gun. With Zane out of the way, he aimed at Sol.

  My reflexes kicked back in. “No,” I screamed, diving at Sol and pushing him to the floor. I heard a boom in response, and then a searing ache stabbed my side. I fell to the ground. Pain like nothing I had ever experienced ripped through my stomach. I struggled to get to my feet, but my legs no longer seemed to function. A rush of activity surrounded me, but it was all a haze, like watching an outdoor film under a cover of mist. There was Sol and Link running to me. Another loud boom. Raze holding a smoking gun. A third officer falling.

  Blood was pooling around me. Someone held a cloth over my stomach. It dripped a brilliant crimson red.

  I reached down and touched my side. It was wet and slick, but it didn’t hurt anymore. It didn’t feel like anything.

  “Madden, Madden, stay with us.” It was Sol. “Open your eyes. You’ll be okay.”

  “Hang on, Maddy.” This time it was Link’s voice.

  I opened my eyes to see them both crouched on either side of me. They were both so handsome, one light head, one dark. I wanted to keep looking at them, but my eyelids felt heavy.

  “We need to get her to a hospital,” Link continued.

  “We don’t have time for a hospital,” Zane said, his voice growing further away. “They’ll be more guards here any minute. We’ll all be dead—not just her, if we stay.”

  Dead? Was I dying? My head felt cloudy, it was hard to stay awake. Maybe this was my punishment for defying the system. For hiding my destiny.

  “I’m not leaving her,” Sol said.

  “Me either,” Link said.

  “Suit yourself,” Zane said. “I’m not sticking around to be caught again.”

  “Dax, go with them,” Link instructed his sister.

  “Not without you,” she replied, kneeling down next to him. She was so close I could touch her. “Madden, I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

  I didn’t want them to risk their lives for me. I needed them to be safe. I struggled to keep my eyes open. I knew my voice was weak, but I had to find it. With all my strength I reached out for Dax, grasping her hand in my own. I couldn’t die. Not without telling her the truth. It would save her. Hopefully it would save them all.

  Zane and the others rushed out. Part of me wanted to follow, but I couldn’t, and not just because Link was staying. It was my fault Madden had been shot. I was the one who talked her into this, who said it would be safe, that no one would get hurt. Now here she was dying in front of me.

  “Hold on,” I whispered as she grasped my hand harder. It was covered in blood. Everything around her was. Stay strong, I instructed myself. I didn’t know what to do. Sol was cradling Madden, telling her it would be okay, but I wasn’t so sure. The color was draining from her face as he pressed his jacket against her side. It was covered with blood. Link ripped off his shirt, balled it up, and swapped it out to cover the wound. Dark red saturated the gray material. “This isn’t helping,” Link muttered. “She needs surgery.”

  “Let’s try to get her out of here,” I suggested.

  Link shook his head. “We can’t move her. Dax, go. Make a run for it. I’ll stay with Madden.”

  “I’m serious, Link. I won’t leave if you’re not with me.”

  “Stop,” Sol said not taking his eyes off of Madden. “Both of you go. We need to stick to the plan. This was a botched kidnapping. I’ll make sure she’s taken to the hospital and that the right story gets out.”

  Link looked from me to Sol. I knew he didn’t want to leave Madden, but I also knew he wouldn’t risk me staying by his side. “Fine, but I’m not waiting for them to just stumble upon you.” He raced over to where one of the officers had fallen. I closed my eyes as he punched something into the man’s tracker. I had only seen one dead body before. Aldan’s. Now I was in a room with three dead guards and a dying future minister. Oena had been right. There was nothing glamorous about the Revenants’ life. It was dangerous. Link and I would be lucky if we were able to get out before the guards arrived. I checked my tracker. We had three, four minutes tops before the other officers arrived.

  “We need medical attention, now,” Link was saying. “Get ready to airlift to UV General. It’s a gunshot victim.”

  I hoped they would get to Madden in time. Just a week ago I hated the future minister, thought she was the biggest hypocrite in all of Spectrum. I’d been wrong. “You’ll make it,” I told her. “You have to.”

  “Dax,” Madden said, her voice so slight I had to put my head down to her lips just to hear her. “You need to know… if I don’t make it. You’re the minister. Not me.”

  She had to be delirious. “What?”

  Madden strained to speak. “Our destinies were swapped.”

  “Dax come on,” Link said, grabbing my arm and pulling me to my feet.

  I stood motionless.

  “Dax,” Link yelled.

  “Go,” Sol said, giving me a pointed look. “You heard what she said, Dax. You have to make it out.”

  “What are you talking about? What was she talking about?” I had a million questions, but there was no time for answers. Guards were heading toward us, their footsteps growing louder. If I didn’t move, Link was going to carry me out of there.

  “Let’s go,” my brother ordered. “And keep your head down in case there are any hovercams.”

  I pulled down the brim of my cap and followed him out the door. Once we rounded the corner, it was a straight shot to the side entrance. Link and I sprinted side-by-side, our tread light over the carpeting. We reached the door and didn’t stop, dashing out into the trees behind the building. My mind kept playing over what Madden had said, but I forced myself to push the thoughts aside. I needed to focus on making it to the Tombs alive.

  Up ahead, Oena, Thom, and Zane slipped down the same entrance we’d arrived through. As they disappeared I ran even faster. “Come on,” I yelled to Link. When we reached the entrance it was still propped up. I yanked it open, and Link and I climbed down into the Tombs.

  Zane nodded as we joined them. “Good,” he said. “Gang’s all here. I was afraid you weren’t coming. Let’s go.”

  I yanked my glasses and cap off and stuffed them in my bag before following. We ran in silence for over an hour, winding one way, then another, but always heading more or less down. It was dark and I strained to hear anything beyond the sound of our feet pounding over the ground, but the tombs were silent. Zane called back several times with warnings of rubble or holes to avoid, his voice hushed but still carried. Eventually the tunnel stopped. A mound of rocks and beams barred our way—it looked as though the cave had collapsed going forward. I wondered if we had somehow taken a wrong turn along the way.

  Zane didn’t seem concerned, though, nor particularly winded. He leaned against a boulder, blending into the darkness. A moment later the others caught up, and Zane flicked on the dim light of his tracker.

  “Secret entrance,” he said softly, beckoning us to follow as he disappeared behind a boulder twice my height. “Come on and stay close. This part is tricky.”

  He flashed the light over the rock, revealing a thin black opening. Even in full light I’d have missed it. I squeezed in after him, trying to ignore the images of rockslides and cave-ins my imagination was conjuring. Link followed right behind, and a few minutes later we emerged into a large cavern. Several dark shapes filled the space. Subway cars, I realized, as Zane walked toward one.

  He wrenched open a door and bounded inside. A blaze of light greeted me as I followed, and I was momentarily stunned. It looked like someone’s house. A couch and round table sat at one end. Bunk beds were built into the other side of the room. Several metal poles ran from ceiling to floor throughout the space, one of which Zane grasped. “It’s good to be home,” he yelled, laughing freely as he spun himself arou
nd.

  He stopped mid-rotation, his face maybe six inches from my own. Brown curls framed his face and his mouth stretched into a satisfied smile. “Now that’s what I call a successful mission,” he said. “Nice work on your part.”

  I stepped away from him, not sure what to make of the theatrics. “I don’t think I’d call it a success,” I said. “Madden was really hurt.”

  He shrugged. “A little blood loss is good for the soul. Builds character.”

  Link joined my side, crossing one arm in front of the other. He was bigger than Zane, but only just. “Madden helped us escape, and we left her in a pool of blood. You think that’s something to joke about?” His voice was low, the warning obvious.

  Zane held up his hands. “Peace, Link. No harm meant.” He broke away from the pole, sliding open a drawer I hadn’t noticed. “No one will let a future minister go untended. Still, if it makes you both feel better, I’ll check.” He pulled out a plexi, tapping his fingers over the surface. A moment later he nodded. “Airlifted, stable condition. She’ll be fine. As will we, now that we’re free.”

  He reached out a hand to Link. My brother hesitated, but finally nodded. I let out a breath of relief as the two shook. Zane grinned, then turned to his sister, sweeping Oena from the ground and twirling her around the room.

  Oena shrieked with laughter, and like that, enthusiasm infected us all. Thom whooped from beside me and Oena squeezed my shoulders. “We did it,” she said. Even Raze was smiling.

  “Yes we did,” I said, turning to Link to give him a fierce hug.

  He hugged me back before pulling away. “I still can’t believe this. How in crilas did any of this even happen?”

  “I told you I knew people who could help,” I said. “Are you angry?”

  “Shocked more than anything. You saved my life. I’m grateful for that, I am. But Dax, what you did was crazy. You could have been caught. If you were, you’d have been warded at best. More likely removed.” He looked down at his hands. They were still streaked with blood. “Madden was shot.”