by Meg Buchanan
“Paeroa?” the guard asked after Jack had passed his Com over the pad.
“Yeah,” he said. “Two day’s leave.”
“Lucky you,” said the man and hit the icon to release the gate.
Now to get to the train and get an hour’s sleep. Then he’d be home.
The engine ground to a halt shaking him awake. It was so dark in the carriage it took a moment for him to remember where he was. The noise and the rocking motion of the old train had been oddly comforting so he’d slept all the way. He looked out the window at the railway station. One light bulb lit the centre of the platform and other than that darkness closed in around it.
He’d forgotten how dark it was at home. At the OutPost and in the City, there was always light. A silver glow that let you see everything around you. Here the dark closed in deep and mysterious.
He stepped down onto the platform. A five-minute walk and he could get into bed and sleep properly. Sleeping upright didn’t cut it.
He headed down the main street to the pub his mum owned and where he’d lived all his life. As he got used to the dark, he could see things he’d been surrounded by as he grew up. Life had been pretty good until his dad had left. But after that, even though it had been lonely with just the two of them, he and his mum managed.
A block from home he saw a group of kids, no, they looked nearer his age, milling around on a corner. Maybe they’d been to a party and were on their way home. Or they’d been drinking at the pub, they had that full of themselves drunken sway he’d seen plenty of times.
One of them noticed him. “Hey, look at this, a tin soldier, you don’t see many of them on their own.”
Jack slowed and watched the group turn all their attention on him. Six of them and all looking like beating up someone would be a good end to the night.
“We don’t like your sort here,” said another. “How did you escape from the City?” Now the group moved towards him, menacing.
Jack stopped walking. “I don’t want any trouble. Back off.”
“It’s Fraser.” Jack didn’t recognise the guy who spoke, but he probably went to school with him. “Traitor. We heard you’d joined Vector.” And he was too drunk to realise what a bad idea attacking him would be. For a start Vector didn’t approve of Locals beating up their Troops and secondly Jack was pretty sure if they did attack him, he’d win. In the last year a lot of time and money had been put into making sure he knew how to kill.
He lifted his hand palms up. “Back off,” he said. “I just want to get home and get some sleep.” He watched them, hoping they’d turn and leave but pretty sure they wouldn’t.
The kids here hated Vector as much as he did, and this would look like easy revenge to them. Beat up the traitor. Revenge themselves on the Administration for what had been done to them, or if they hadn’t made it to University yet, what would be done to them.
The widely spaced streetlights cast shadows on the pavement giving the confrontation a ghostly feel.
The guy who had seen him first walked towards him. “You won’t be getting much sleep tonight, Fraser.” He stopped just out of reach.
Jack stood balanced ready to counter whatever happened next. If they came at him one at a time it would be easy. All six at once might take a bit more effort.
The guy stepped up and took a swing. Jack stepped back twisted, grabbed the arm as it swung past his shoulder and snapped it.
“Fuck,” said the guy holding his ruined shoulder. “Take him down.”
The group of five edged up closer. He watched the progress; he’d win but people were going to get hurt.
Who would he deal with first? Take on the one on the left first, shove him into the others and then pick them all off one by one.
Then he heard a familiar voice behind him. “Now boys, time to take your mate and move on. I’ll forget what I just saw.”
Fitzgerald? How the hell did he happen to be here at exactly the right moment?
The cop came up beside him. The group stopped edging towards him and seemed undecided about their next move.
“If you don’t back off now,” said Fitzgerald, authority in his voice, “I’m going to have to arrest you all.”
The hesitation was still there. Then the respect most people in town had for the local cop won and they picked up the injured guy and started to leave.
“Get him to the hospital,” said Fitzgerald and watched the group shuffle away.
When they were out of sight, he turned back to Jack. “A nice warm welcome for your first leave.”
Jack nodded. “I should have realised.”
“Yeah,” said Fitzgerald. “Next time don’t wear the uniform. I might not be here to protect you.”
Jack snorted. It wasn’t him that needed the protection. Fitzgerald must realise that.
Chapter 9
ELA WOKE SLOWLY, not sure where she was. She looked around the room. Still at the Station. Then she remembered how last night’s mission ended and tears misted her eyes again. Jake and Tom had been killed. She’d been talking to them before they left and then suddenly, they didn’t exist anymore.
She sat up and pushed the blankets off her legs. Curly had decided to leave her and Nicks training until this morning. They had two days to learn how to do it, and they’d spent a couple of hours last night planning.
She was still wearing the clothes she went to school in yesterday. She sat up, swung her legs over the side of the bed and looked for her shoes. They had to be somewhere. Under the bed. She slipped her feet into them and stood up. She hoped the station had showers. She couldn’t start her day without one, and a change of clothes. They must have both here, some of the kids lived here all the time. Nick and Curly definitely did.
Her cloak was folded on the end of the bed and she considered putting it on. Then thought better of it. No, it probably was an even worse idea to look like an Elite today after Jake and Tom.
She wandered out into the main hall. Everyone was up and looking bleary-eyed. A few kids sat watching the monitors, and the rest were wandering around.
Today she’d be learning how to wire a shield into Humicrib’s brain. Unbelievable. She and Nick would get into Humicrib then creep down to the basement and wire in the shield.
The new plan didn’t actually seem that much different to the old one. They still had to get into Humicrib, then find their way down to the basement.
Nick found her. “Showers down the hall. Just help yourself to a towel from the cupboard. I don’t think I’ll be able to find you any clothes though.”
Ela shrugged. “That’s all right. I can manage two days in the same outfit.” She hadn’t tried it before, but it must be possible.
She needed to send a Txt to Amon cancelling the run they were supposed to go on. She suspected it was going to take her a while to learn what she needed to do to get that shield in place.
Nick turned back and grinned again. Even with the scar, he really was lovely looking. She could see why he never had any problems getting female company. He was taller than most Locals and wider in the shoulders. In fact, a perfect specimen. Strange that he’d been let join DoE when he left school. It was a wonder he wasn’t forced to go to University and so Humicrib could collect his DNA for the gene pool.
She smiled back. They were friends. He might be attractive, but in another life, he was Jack’s best friend. She hadn’t heard from Jack in over a year, but she was sure Nick still saw her as Jack’s property, and in the Local’s code one friend never moved in on the other’s territory.
“Do you want something to eat?” he asked.
“What have you got?” It was a joke between them that you couldn’t get any real food to eat in the City. It was all sachets and ready meals. So, when Nick slipped secretly back into the Hinterland, he’d always bring her something fresh. Something from his parent’s garden or Jacob’s greenhouse or orchard.
Strange how differently Locals ate to the way the Elite did. They cooked their own meals. They didn�
��t buy sachets of readymade food.
He handed her the paper bag that had been sitting on the table.
She peeked inside. “Apples. I haven’t had a real apple for ages. Are they all for me?”
“Knock yourself out,” said Nick.
She considered offering the apples to the others in the control room, but she was the only one here who ate the food the Elite were given. The Locals never ate it. It was so full of progesterone it would completely destroy Humicrib’s breeding programme. Everything the Locals in the City ate was carefully produced in the Hinterland and monitored by the Department of Eugenics where Nick used to work, to make sure it had no Genus6.
It was real food.
“Don’t eat them now though, save them for later. We’ve got something better in the canteen.”
“What?” asked Ela as they wandered through the corridors to the canteen.
About twenty kids were eating there already. The old staff canteen in the Station had a full kitchen with cookers and dishwashers and all the crockery and cutlery you’d need to feed a big group. One of the advantages of taking over something that had been built before the Administration demolished the City and rebuilt it. Almost nowhere had a kitchen now. She really only knew about them because of going to stay with Jacob. Most people just had a fridge, a dishwasher, a few cupboards and somewhere to sit.
Nick sat down beside a kid she hadn’t met before. The kids monitoring the VidScreens changed constantly. Nick had told her that the students at the University came to the Station in shifts. They wanted to be part of it but couldn’t afford to be away from the University for too long without raising questions. The lecturers were Local and turned a blind eye to unexplained absences but they couldn’t push the boundaries too much.
“Ela, meet Tig,” said Nick. “Tig’s a new recruit, he’s just learning the system too.”
Ela smiled at the kid. He looked as tired as she felt.
“What have you been learning?” she asked.
“How to hide mainly,” said Tig.
Ela looked at Nick for an explanation.
Nick nodded. “With new recruits, the first part of training is how to stay off the radar.” He lifted his arm, so his sleeve slid down off his wrist and showed the wrist shield he wore. All the Locals wore them when they were somewhere, they weren’t meant to be. It stopped the Locate implant in their wrists from sending out signals. “First, we drum into them how to avoid being noticed when they go off grid.” He picked up his Com. “And how to use the HazeApp so no one notices when you disappear. Just how to be safe and not get caught really.”
Ela nodded. She had been put through that training too when she first started coming here. She’d forgotten. She’d even been taught how to load and fire a gun. They had a shooting range down here. Another advantage of taking over an old underground railway system. Plenty of long tunnels.
It was before Nick was in charge. It had been James. At first, she’d been treated with a lot of suspicion. She’d had to get Jacob to vouch for her, and even then, she’d had to prove herself.
When Nick and Curly had been so damaged from the Interrogation they’d suffered, she hadn’t started training as a doctor then, but she had been the one who had cared them. It had been something to take her mind off Jack suddenly disappearing the way he did and never contacting her, even to say goodbye. She’d come here and sit with them and talk and change the dressing on Nick’s cheek and give him the antibiotics he needed.
James had suddenly disappeared too, just like Jack had, and by then Nick had recovered from his injuries and slowly became accepted as the new leader.
She didn’t know how he could bare to live down here three levels under the City. When she first met him, he’d spent all his time out in the bush hunting with Jack and searching for RogueSeeds for DoE.
Now he didn’t seem to do any of the things he enjoyed doing. He lived underground and ran the Cell for Jacob. He organised and trained an army of kids in preparation for some future she wasn’t sure would happen.
Curly had a tray with three bowls of stew. The sort of food Jacob cooked for her when she was visiting him. It always amazed her that the Local kids could cook. No one she knew could.
“What are you studying,” she asked Tig.
“I’m going to be a scientist,” said Tig.
“What branch?” she asked.
“Genetics.”
“Useful.” All the Local kids were doing a degree so after they got too old to donate their DNA for the cloning programme, they could get a job.
When they weren’t any use to Humicrib anymore they were sterilized and got sent home with a degree and a couple of kids Jack had said. Breeding stock for the next generation he’d said cynically.
When the stew was finished Curly collected up the plates, took them to the kitchen and came back balancing three plates of apple pie.
“Apple pie?” said Ela. And it looked like it had ice cream on it.
“The best use for apples,” said Nick
“Smells amazing,” said Ela. She took two of the plates and gave one to Nick.
Jack sat at the breakfast table. Fitzgerald come into the kitchen and gave Patsy a kiss on the cheek. The same old cat his mother had had for years wound around their legs.
He still couldn’t get used to his mother and Fitzgerald living together. He didn’t even know they were a thing until the night he killed Vincent. Patsy had been shot in the hand, and Fitzgerald had picked her up and held her until the doctor arrived. He’d kissed her on the forehead, and that kiss had nearly knocked Jack back down on the floor when he’d just found the strength to stand up.
Now bloody Fitzgerald had moved in. That was going to take a bit of adjusting to. But the cop had always treated him well, even when he was younger and getting into trouble. But he wasn’t sure he needed him as a stepfather.
“Thanks for last night,” he said as Fitzgerald joined him at the table.
Patsy brought a couple of slices of toast over and put them in the toast rack. “What happened?” she asked.
Fitzgerald grabbed a bit of toast and slathered butter on then jam. “Our Jack here was about to get pounced on by the Local thugs.”
His mother looked at Jack puzzled. “You were about to get mugged?”
Jack shrugged. “It was the uniform they were objecting to. I should have used my brain and brought a bag with something to change into. Could have got changed on the train.” It would have been a bit difficult hauling a bag with a change of clothes into the Viaduct with him, so he’d thought he’d be fine walking the half kilometre from the railway station to the pub in the middle of the night. Anyway, now he was safe, dressed like a Local, back in jeans and Swandri the way he usually dressed at home. And the way the rest of the population dressed.
“Poor Jack.” His mother slid her arms around him and gave him a peck on the cheek. He’d forgotten how his mother would suddenly hug him. For a whole year now, he’d been in a world where no one ever hugged or touched.
Patsy sat beside Fitzgerald. He touched her hand and she smiled at him. The signs of the closeness between Fitzgerald and his mother irritated Jack.
He used to like Fitzgerald. “Is Mon still here?” He hadn’t seen his dog for a year. Last he’d heard Patsy was talking about getting Jacob to look after him.
“No, Jacob took him. He’s happier on the farm. I didn’t have time to exercise him properly.” Patsy started to butter her toast. “Coffee will be ready in a moment.”
Fitzgerald handed the jar of jam to Patsy then looked over at Jack. “I couldn’t let you get mugged on my turf. I promised your father I’d look after you.” Patsy’s fingers touched Fitzgerald’s as she took the jam and there was that smile that passed between them again.
Jack couldn’t help himself. “Did you promise him you’d look after his wife too?” he asked.
“Jack!” said Patsy. “That’s not fair.”
The expresso machine released a h
iss of steam. Jack stood up to get the jug and nearly tripped over the cat. He bent down and gave it a pat ignoring Patsy’s reaction.
His mum turned to Fitzgerald. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into him.”
“It’s all right,” said the cop. “It must be a bit strange seeing me here.”
“No, that was just rude,” said Patsy.
Jack poured the three mugs of coffee then brought them over to the table. He put a cup each in front of Patsy and Fitzgerald and sat back down in his own place.
Maybe he shouldn’t have taken that swipe at Fitzgerald. No reason for Patsy to be lonely and it wasn’t like his dad was coming back. And if Fitzgerald hadn’t stepped in last night, he’d be either battered or in trouble with Leach for inciting trouble with the Locals. He wouldn’t have won either way.
He looked over at the two of them. “Sorry, I’m just a bit over everything.”
He saw his mother look at Fitzgerald, then back at him. “Because of getting attacked?” she asked.
Jack shrugged. “That’s part of it. Everyone thinks I’m a traitor. I don’t like it. But mainly, yesterday Vector killed a couple of kids. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. What happens when I have to kill someone just to stay in Vector?” He bit into his own slice of toast. “I’m going to see Jacob this afternoon. I’m telling him I’m not staying in Vector anymore. I want out.”
His mother reached across the table and took his hand. “It’s just for a little longer. Jacob says the information you pass on is important. And he’s nearly ready to make his move. Just hold on a bit longer.”
“What’s his move?” Maybe his mother and Fitzgerald knew what Jacob was planning, they were both part of the Cell Jacob ran. They were part of the resistance.
Fitzgerald shook his head. “I only know a little bit. It’s something to do with seeds Mike is growing on in Australia.”
“Dad?” asked Jack puzzled. He knew about the seeds Jacob distributed to be grown on around here, and the SeedVault, but he didn’t know anything about his father being involved in any of it.