Blood Red Road

by Moira Young

  The red hot’s gone. My stummick’s in knots. My knees is shakin. I drag in deep breaths, try to git air into my lungs. I thought I felt terror before, but never like this. Never like this.

  I look at Maev in the front row. At the Free Hawks, standin at the start of the gauntlet. They look confident. Strong. Hard. Maev’s eyes burn into mine.

  I’ve put my life in her hands. Lugh’s life. Emmi’s. What was I thinkin of, trustin a stranger? Even if she can be trusted, what if she cain’t pull it off? What if the Free Hawks ain’t the warriors she says they are an she’s jest a girl who talks it up an acts tough?

  I look over at the Cage Master’s balcony. Everybody in the Colosseum turns to face it. The whole place falls quiet.

  Vicar Pinch stands. Takes the red kercheef from the Cage Master. Raises his arm.

  I don’t dare breathe. When his arm falls, I gotta run. My legs feel like water. Too weak to move.

  At that moment, Pinch turns to the Cage Master. Leans in an whispers somethin in his ear. As the Cage Master listens, a little smile comes over his face. He moves to the edge of the balcony. Holds up both his arms.

  Ladies and gentlement! he cries. This ain’t no ordinary warrior! This ain’t no ordinary death! On such a historical occasion, your King demands a clear view of proceedings. Therefore! He decrees that the gauntlet will be run … here!

  An he throws open his arms. Opens ’em out to the aisle that runs from the Cage to right below his balcony.

  Pinch has changed the gauntlet run. He’s moved it.

  My whole body starts shakin. Sick rises in my throat.

  The crowd busts out talkin, yellin, protestin. The gauntlet’s always run in the same place, always without fail. People bid more to stand by it an be in on the action. They start to face up to the Tonton an the guards, pushin an shovin at ’em.

  No! shouts Epona from inside the Cage. She launches herself at the bars, screamin, No, no, no!

  Vicar Pinch smiles.

  I look at Maev. Her head moves this way an that—lookin at the Free Hawks, at me, at the new gauntlet run where people’s already crowdin in. I can see from her face that she’s frantic, tryin to think what to do. But it’s too late fer a new plan, too late fer the Hawks to move to the new spot. Anyways, the guards an the Tonton’s already in place at the top an bottom of the run to stop people pushin in.

  The cagekeepers take me by the arms an drag me over to stand in front of the new run.

  So.

  After all I bin through, it comes down to this.

  Me. Alone. No Maev. No Hawks. No plan.

  If I don’t think of somethin quick, I’m gonna die in the gauntlet.

  Nero calls. Over an over, urgent like I never heard him before.

  He’s perched on top of the Cage. As soon as he sees me look up, he calls agin an flaps over to land on the light tower. Back to the Cage. Then back to the light tower.

  Not so alone after all.

  It’s a long jump. Maybe six foot.

  But I ain’t got no choice.

  Pinch raises his arm agin. The red kercheef goes down.

  Suddenly, I make my legs collapse. I take the cagekeepers by surprise. They lose their grip. I slip free. I run. I spring at the Cage an grab the bars. I start to shin up the outside of it, fast as I can go. My bare toes give me good grip.

  One of the keepers leaps. Grabs my foot. Pulls. I’m hangin on with one arm. I kick out. Hit him in the face with my heel. His nose crunches. Blood spurts. He cries out, lets go, falls to the ground. I keep goin. Don’t look back.

  I pull myself onto the top of the Cage. Stand up, run across the top.

  Careful! Careful don’t fall through!

  Down below me, inside the Cage, Epona takes a runnin leap at the keeper who’s still there with her. Outta the corner of my eye, I see him go flyin. Good girl.

  I’m nearly at the edge closest to the light tower. I pause. Glance back. Tonton an guards is swarmin up the Cage now, after me. One’s jest about to pull hisself onto the top.

  I eye up the gap between the Cage an the light tower. I take two steps back. I run. I leap offa the Cage an launch myself into the air.

  I throw my hands up. Fingers scrabble. There! I grab warm metal. My body slams into the tower. A jolt through my arms, my shoulders. Jest made it. I pull myself up. Start to climb. Climb higher. Scramble through to th’other side of the tower. The Hopetown side. Down below me, shanty roofs, all crammed in tight together. People who’s on the rooftops to hear the fight better stare up at me, their mouths hangin open.

  I jump offa the tower. People dive outta the way as I land on the nearest shanty roof. It’s crude, made of some flimsy wood. I go right through the roof an land on a table inside. It collapses unnerneath me.

  I’m dazed fer a second. I look up through the hole in the roof. Surprised faces look down at me. I leap to my feet an head outta the door. I grab a cloak from a hook on my way out an throw it over me. I need a pair of boots, but no time to stop an look now.

  Hidden inside the cloak, I quickly lose myself in the crowds fillin the streets. I keep to the edges, move in an outta doorways.

  I can hear the commotion back in the Colosseum. It’s startin to spread to the streets.

  My heart’s beatin like mad. An I’m jest noticin that my elbow an ribs hurt like nobody’s business. I must of banged myself up a bit when I landed on the table. Not to mention the poundin I took from Epona.

  Well, I sure gave Maev the diversion she wanted.

  Now to steal a couple of horses an meet up with Emmi.

  She knows the plan. While the Hawks is lettin out the fighters an settin Hopetown on fire, her an me’s gonna meet at the northeast corner. There’s probly gonna be a Hawk with Em. I’ll hafta git her outta the way. But once that’s done, we should be free an clear. We’ll leave through the hole that the Hawks’ve made in the palisade wall an head north, deep into the Black Mountains where we’ll find Freedom Fields, jest like Helen said.

  Where we’ll find Lugh.

  Jest then, somebody grabs me.

  Strong arms yank me into a stinkin alley. I throw wild punches. I twist an turn, tryin to free myself.

  Wait! Stop, you idiot! a voice yells. I’m a Hawk!

  I stop fer a second, pantin. The person pushes back their hood. It’s a girl I ain’t seen before. Six foot tall, light brown hair, hard eyes. Strong lookin.

  I’m Ash, she says.

  Oh, I says. Right.

  Didn’t have you down as the nervous type. She reaches unner her cloak an throws me a crossbow an a quiver. Right. This way.

  I hesitate.

  C’mon, she says.

  I’m exhausted. Sore. In no shape to fight her. I’ll play along now. Ditch her the first chance I git.

  The alley’s short. It ends in a high metal wall, battered an bent.

  You go first, I says.

  No, she says. You go.

  I sling the bow an quiver on my back an launch myself at the wall. I grab the top an pull myself up. Nobody in sight. I drop down on th’other side an Ash is right there behind me.

  We race along a narrow street with shanties crowded up close together, turn right, left, then right agin. White rays of light slice through the darkness. I got no idea where we are.

  There’s the sound of runnin feet. Voices. Shoutin. To our left.

  Fan out! somebody calls. Cover all the streets!

  This way! Ash dives into a ramshackle stone buildin. I’m right behind. She runs to the corner an lifts a wooden hatch in the earth floor.

  Follow me, she says. Close the hatch behind you.

  I wait fer a split second. Then I turn to run.

  She grabs my arm an twists it behind my back. She’s strong. Real strong. Oh no, you don’t, she says.

  Let me go, I says. I gotta find my brother. I try to twist outta her grasp, but she’s got me in a strong grip.

  I see, she says. The Hawks help you out, risk our lives fer you an yer sister an you cheat us.r />
  You couldn’t of done nuthin without me. I glare at her. I could of killed Epona, you know.

  The Hawks help you, she says, you help the Hawks. Then yer free to go after yer brother. That’s the deal you made with Maev.

  She yanks harder on my arm. I cry out. You don’t need me, I says. There’s enough of you.

  So you’ll leave all them fighters, she says, the ones stole by slavers jest like you an yer sister was, you’ll leave ’em in this place. That’s the kinda person you are. Somebody who don’t keep their word. Somebody who lets people down.

  No, I says. No, I ain’t like that.

  She waits.

  All right, I says. All right, I’ll keep my word. I promise I will.

  She lets me go. I straighten up, easin my sore arm. I’m sorry, I says.

  We look at each other a moment. Then she smiles. Her eyes don’t look so hard after all. She lifts the wooden hatch. After you, she says.

  I swing myself down into the hole, set my feet on a rickety ladder I find there an start down it. Ash follows me an closes the hatch behind her.

  It’s black. I cain’t see a thing. The cool earth smell of bein unnerground fills my nose. I feel my way to the bottom, ten rungs. Ash jumps down beside me an lights a torch.

  Where’re we goin? I says.

  You’ll see, she says. This way.

  We crouch over an head down a low tunnel. Pretty soon, we reach the end. The tunnel ends in a brick wall. There’s weapons piled up along with a crowbar an some glass bottles filled with what looks like water an rags stuffed in their tops.

  Hold this. Ash hands me the lit torch. Keep it well away from them bottles. She picks up the crowbar, sticks it in between the bricks an starts workin one free.

  What is this? I says. Are we breakin in somewhere?

  I sure hope so, she says. Otherwise we’ve jest spent the last three days clearin out this tunnel for no good reason. We’re talkin in whispers. The first brick’s free. Take it, will you?

  While I pull the brick free an put it on the ground, she starts on the next one. So this was already here, I says. How did you know about it? Where does it lead to? The second brick’s loose. I take it away.

  There was a big escape from this place about ten year ago, she says. The fighters dug theirselves out. One tunnel from the men’s cellblock an one tunnel from the women’s cellblock. They filled in the tunnels afterwards. If they’d bin smart, they would of collapsed ’em.

  Third brick done. So we’re breakin into the cellblock, I says. My cellblock?

  That’s the idea, she says.

  An yer gonna tell me that there’s a good reason why we ain’t jest takin out the guards an cuttin through the fence to let ’em out? I says.

  There’s a full guard shift on duty, she says. They must of bin nervous that the fighters ’ud try somethin unner cover of all the activity in town. You should always have a Plan B.

  I’ll remember that, I says.

  Shhh, says Ash as I take away the fourth brick. She blows out the torch. She nods at the hole an we look through.

  We’re lookin straight into the female fighters’ cellblock. In fact, we’re lookin down into my cell.

  My cot’s directly below us. My cell door stands open. The girls in the big main cell’s all mainly sittin or lyin down on the floor. They ain’t got no cots, not even blankets. At the far end on eether side of the main door, there’s two cellblock guards sittin on chairs.

  We can work the last few bricks free with our hands. We’re silent, quick about it. When we got a hole big enough fer us to slip through, she takes a blowpipe outta her belt an slides a dart into it.

  Jest then, one of the girls in the main cell sees us. Her eyes go wide. I shake my head. She gives a little nod.

  Ash lifts the pipe to her lips. Takes in a big breath. Blows.

  It’s a hit. The guard to the left of the door cries out. He slaps a hand to his neck an falls offa his chair. Th’other guard jumps to his feet, but Ash sends another dart flyin. He don’t make a sound. Jest crumples to the ground.

  Very neat, I says.

  Let’s go, she says.

  She slides through the hole an jumps down. While she gits the key ring from the guard’s belt an unlocks the main cell to let the girls out, I toss the weapons down onto my cot. Bows, quivers full of arrows, slingshots, bolt shooters.

  Help yerself to weapons, girls! Ash says. Then wait fer us by the door. They come runnin into my cell an in a minute or two they’ve scooped up all the ammo.

  Now, says Ash. We’re gonna take four of the bottles an leave the rest there. Be careful.

  I hand the rag-stuffed bottles down to her an she sets ’em gentle on the ground. Then I jump down outta the hole. Strange to be back in my cell like this.

  Ash takes two of the bottles an I take two. Th’others should be lettin the men out, she whispers. She cricks open the main door of the cellblock. She waits fer a moment, then she slips outside an starts up the outside steps, real slow an careful.

  She comes runnin back down an throws the door wide open. Git outta here! she says.

  The girls don’t wait to be told a second time. They go runnin past her an don’t look back. When they’re all gone, when the cellblock’s clear, Ash grabs a lit torch from a wall sconce an says, Let’s git this party started.

  I follow her out the door an up the stairs into the exercise yard. She holds up one of her bottles. She grins a wicked grin. Wreckers called these cocktails, she says. Two should do the trick. Throw it, then run like hell.

  I hold one of my bottles out.

  My pleasure, she says. She touches the torch to the rag an it catches light right away. Quickly she lights her bottle. We toss ’em down the stairs. Then we run like stink. Two seconds later, there’s a huge bang. The ground shakes unner our feet.

  We stop, turn an look behind us. Flames come shootin up the stairs, outta the cellblock.

  Wait’ll them flames hit the bottles in the tunnel, she says. Then we’ll really see some action.

  The female fighters is jumpin up an down, shoutin an huggin each other an cheerin. They pound Ash an me on the back. We look around. There’s Free Hawks everywhere an dead guards lyin on the ground. The male fighters is all streamin outta their cellblock now.

  There’s about six Hawks climbin all over the fence around the compound, snippin at it with wire cutters an rollin it back so’s everyone can git out. Other Hawks stand near a weapons pile an throw bows an spears an slingshots to whoever’s runnin past.

  I can see flames shootin up all over Hopetown. Maev warn’t foolin when she said she was gonna wipe it offa the face of the earth.

  I’m lookin fer one person but I cain’t see him nowhere. Silver gray eyes an a crooked smile.

  I grab one of the men runnin past. Where’s—? He pushes me off.

  I grab another. I’m lookin fer Jack, I says. He’s a new fighter. They brought him in a few days ago. Gray eyes, came in with long hair, down to his shoulders.

  I know, he says. He jerks his head back to the men’s cellblock. Try the Cooler. They threw him in there yesterday.

  My heart leaps into my throat. The Cooler. Jest like in the female cellblock, the men’s block has a metal punishment box sunk into the floor. I grab the man by the shoulders. He ain’t still in there? I says.

  Well I didn’t let him out, he says an runs off.

  Ash! I yell, lookin all around me to see where she is. Ash! There’s somebody trapped in …

  Then I see her.

  She’s lightin another cocktail.

  Aimin it at the door of the men’s cellblock.

  Ash! I scream. No! Don’t!

  I start to run towards her. But I cain’t go fast enough. It’s like the whole world slows down to a crawl.

  Ash pulls her arm back. She throws the lit bottle down the steps of the men’s cellblock. She turns, runs towards me. She holds up her arms in victory, a big grin on her face.

  Aaaaash! I yell. The ground shakes, the
flames come shootin up the stairs. I grab her arm. There’s somebody in there, I says. He’s locked in the Cooler.

  Her eyes go wide. It’s too late, she says.

  No, I says. It cain’t be. I start to run, pullin her along behind me.

  Jest then, there’s the most almighty blast. We’re sent flyin into the air. I land hard on the ground. I lift my head. A great plume of black smoke billows into the sky. Ash scrambles to her feet, gives me a hand up.

  That must of bin the bottles in the tunnel! she says. The whole town’s burnin! You cain’t go in there, Saba! It ain’t safe!

  I cain’t leave him there, I says. Where’s the keys?

  That was Ruby’s job. Ash looks around. She sticks her fingers in her mouth, gives a sharp whistle. A short girl by the weapons pile lifts her head.

  Ruby, Ash yells. I need the keys!

  Ruby runs over an tosses ’em at us. I catch ’em one-handed an start to go. Ash grabs my arm. It’s too dangerous, she says.

  Let go, I says.

  She swears. Who is this guy? What’s he to you anyways?

  Jack, I says. His name’s Jack.

  She lets go an I’m runnin towards the burnin cellblock.

  Saba! Ash screams. Come back! You got no boots on!

  I don’t stop.

  Smoke pours outta the door of the men’s cellblock. I wrap my cloak around my head to cover my mouth an nose. Then I plunge inside.

  Darkness. Hard to see. Smoke fills the air. Burns my throat, my nostrils, stings my eyes.

  It’s ezzackly the way it was in my dream. The fire dream. I’m here. It’s happenin.

  Jack! I shout. Jack! Where are you?

  No answer. Hungry flames lick at the wood beams in the walls an ceilin. Embers pop an hiss.

  He’s in the Cooler. The guy said so. But where is it? I know it’s sunk into the floor, but how far along the cellblock? Halfway? At the far end? It could be anywhere. He’ll be cooked to death in that metal box if I don’t git him out.

  I move ahead real careful, feelin my way with my hands an bare feet. I keep my eyes closed aginst the smoke. I ain’t never bin in here before, but I’m hopin the layout’s the same as in our cellblock. A ember lands on my cloak, hisses greedily as it burns a hole. I rub it out.