Ferrassie winced with each step. ‘I hope you’re right about this, Mud, and she doesn’t turn us in.’ She panted, trying to catch her breath.
‘Settle down, Rassie. Who’s she gonna turn us in to? Most of them are dead.’
Ferrassie’s words hurt. Shuqba understood though. Ferrassie had been through a lot and Shuqba had spent a lot of her life playing for both sides. Choose a side and stick to it, Karain would say.
‘I did work for them – not anymore though. I was wrong … about everything. Just because they created us doesn’t mean they own us. I can get us out of the city and to this community. If you’ll trust me.’
Amud held Ferrassie and kicked open the swinging door. ‘It’ll all work out. We couldn’t do it without you, Shuqba.’
Shuqba’s OmniScreen rang.
‘Is that Lars?’ Ferrassie pulled away from Amud, her face brightening. The odour of stale sweat radiated from her body.
Shuqba tilted the screen in Ferrassie’s direction. ‘No. It’s not him. It’s Graycie. My Demi friend’s little sister.’
Her relief was Ferrassie’s disappointment. Shuqba swiped to answer the call.
CHAPTER 41
The Demi-Settlements were eerily still. Here and there a hand or a foot poked out of a doorway. Outside a housepod a guy lay in the dirt, his face streaked with blood. Each yell, scream and groan gave Alida a jolt. Flapping tarps and creaking corrugated iron jerked her head all around. In the distance a chick staggered, stiff-legged like a drunk trying to make the long walk home early in the morning.
Alida’s vision flickered and screams filled her skull. She stopped and leaned against a shipping container. When her head cleared she pushed on, rounding the corner near the carcass of the hub.
A web of greys and blacks muddled her vision. She grabbed at a tilted fence pole, taking deep breaths and squeezing her eyes closed. Fingers grabbed the back of her shirt. She screamed and wrenched herself away, her vision returning. A chick fell on her knees, reaching for Alida. Blood trickled from her nostrils and drool spilled from her lips.
Alida backed away. The drooler dragged herself along the ground. She was hardly human. Alida wasn’t like that. Not yet. She was still herself, just with a dicey brain implant. She turned and bolted. The chick grunted and squealed. Alida looked back.
Two guys wearing the faded patchwork threads of Rewilders whacked the chick with metal bars, as though she were a bedroll infested with roaches. Alida froze. Blood bloomed on the drooler’s torn gown. Large clouds of dust puffed into the air, shimmering in the early morning light. The chick’s skull caved in beneath a blow and her squealing stopped. The guys straightened and rolled their shoulders. One of them spied Alida.
‘Over here. We’ve got another live one.’
They stalked towards her, their bloodied weapons raised.
‘Hey, hey!’ Alida shuffled backwards. Blood pounded in her temples. They wanted to kill her too? But she wasn’t one of these brain-damaged droolers. She was like them. Except they were Rewilders and she was a Demi-Citizen with a brain implant and this was their chance to take control.
She bolted. She knew these streets. Her only hope was that they didn’t. She zigzagged through the gaps between homes. She crossed one street and ran out into a second, knocking a corrugatediron sheet from the roof with a loud clatter. She swooped to grab a loose brick. Anyone who touched her would get a brick to the ear.
She slid between a housepod and the side of a shipping container. Three mutts dragged a small body from a tarp-covered cardboard shack. She gasped and bile rose in her throat. She side stepped the mutts, slid between two plasterboard shacks and burst out onto another street. Right into a soft floral wall.
Odeene.
Odeene grabbed hold of her in a bear hug and pinned her arms to her sides She couldn’t even raise the brick.
‘I told you this LeaderCorp implant rollout would end in disaster. If you had all listened to me none of this would’ve happened.’
‘Rack off, Odeene. Let me go.’ Alida kicked Odeene in the shin.
Odeene grunted and flinched. The old vulture was as sturdy as LeaderCorp’s wall. Alida stomped on her sandalled feet.
‘You’re a non-believer, child. You’ve made that very clear. If we’re going to rebuild civilisation we can’t have non-believers around messing it all up.’
Alida drew back and drove her forehead into Odeene’s nose. Odeene bellowed and let go, her hands flying up to her face.
Alida slipped into a space between two shacks, too narrow for Odeene to follow, and ran. The gate was close. Would the Rewilders guess where she was heading? They had no reason to reckon she had a contact in plastic-land. She hunkered down behind a pile of wood and bricks and peered towards the gate. The nearest android raised its rifle arm to shoot a Demi who had crawled into no-man’s-land.
The shouts of Rewilders echoed all over the maze of streets and shacks.
‘Another one over here.’
‘The girl has to be around here somewhere.’
‘Be careful of the bleeders. One of ’em bit me.’
‘Odeene said she went this way.’
‘There’s a whole nest in here. Gimme some help.’
Alida flicked open her MindComm panel to call Shuqba. Fireworks filled her skull and her ears crackled.
Her head cleared. She tried to connect to her implant. Zero. It was completely gone. She wiped her dripping nose and her fingers came away with blood-tinged snot. Her hands shook. Was she going to cark it like Zave or lose her mind like the droolers? She squeezed her forehead against her knees. She had no way of contacting Shuqba now.
She was on her own and cut off.
She heard the familiar soft screech of the city gate opening.
CHAPTER 42
Shuqba and Amud had their heads together. Planning all their futures. Ferrassie didn’t fully trust Shuqba. She didn’t fully trust anyone anymore. Except for Lars and Amud, most of the time. He meant well – his problem was he trusted too easily. The sight of Shuqba reminded Ferrassie of her harassment by LC. On the other hand Shuqba had the tools and skills to get them out of the city. The free-Neo camp meant a fresh start. She could regain her strength and get her head straight.
Shuqba handed Amud her electropacifier. ‘Do you know how to operate this?’
‘Yeah. No worries.’
‘Keep it out of sight. Especially from Security Force Officers.’
‘Understood.’
‘All right. We’ll regroup at the armoured vehicle depot as soon as I’ve collected Graycie.’ Shuqba scooted off in the opposite direction.
‘The armoured vehicle depot!’ Ferrassie’s heart stuttered. She grabbed hold of Amud. ‘Lars might be there.’
Lars had coffee in the depot tearoom every morning before setting out in his truck. But if he was alive, why hadn’t he answered any of their messages? Why hadn’t he come to the medical centre to find her? If he was alive he would’ve come. She struggled to get a breath.
‘Are you all right?’
‘Fine. Worried about Lars.’ She leaned more heavily on Amud and they made slow progress down the street.
The sun had burnt through the turbulent grey of the early morning and the heat made her even more light-headed. The Neo medical centre was only two blocks from the depot. Ferrassie suffered every step of it.
Outside the workers’ barracks a large group of Neos surrounded a couple of coppers, like ants around dropped eats.
‘Let’s cross the road.’ Amud steered her away from the crowd of her former buddies.
He truly was an awesome bloke. She wished she could feel about Amud the way he felt about her. Little-brains claimed that Neos were soulless clones incapable of love. That was bullcrap.
‘Hey, Amud, Rassie.’ One of the cricket factory workers, Obi, darted across the street and fell into step with them. ‘Have you heard anything about what happened?’
‘Nope.’ Amud kept his head down.
‘No o
ne seems to know anything. The Security Force Neos know bugger-all.’
‘Sorry, mate. We don’t know any more than you do.’
‘Right. Cool to see you up and about, Rassie.’ Obi leaned around Amud and glanced at Ferrassie.
Ferrassie tutted and wiped sweat from her forehead. He hadn’t spoken to her in weeks and now he wanted to make nice.
‘Well, we’re all meeting in the dining hall in a minute to decide what we should do. So maybe I’ll see you both there.’ Obi shook Amud’s hand and scooted back to the barracks.
As Amud and Ferrassie reached the vehicle depot an armoured truck tore out of the gate in front of them. Two little-brain women sat like lords in the front seats. The rubberneckers on the street all watched them go. If they were alive, Lars could be too.
Amud helped Ferrassie through the pedestrian entrance in the chain-link fence. Vans and trucks crowded the lot.
Amud stopped outside the squat black office building. ‘We should wait here for Shuqba.’
Ferrassie pulled him closer to the entrance. ‘I’m checking it out. Lars could be in there.’
Amud hung back. ‘If he is in there, it probably means he’s dead or lost his marbles. I don’t think we … you gotta see that.’
‘I gotta know, Mud. You don’t have to come with me.’ She leaned against the door.
‘I’ll wait outside.’ Amud pushed open the door and the reek of faeces wafted out.
‘What is that?’ Amud gagged.
‘The plumbing?’ Ferrassie wasn’t keen on telling Amud how she’d seen on a tube once that most folk crapped themselves when they croaked.
She clenched her jaw and entered. Amud watched from the doorway. The reception room was bright and empty except for a couple of closed doors and an OmniScreen mounted on one wall.
‘Welcome to the armoured vehicle depot headquarters. We are currently experiencing an emergency situation. I suggest you return at a later time,’ the BIS said.
‘BIS, I’m looking for Lars Vandershell. Was he here this morning?’
‘Yes. Mr Vandershell is still on the premises.’
‘Where, BIS? Is he alive?’ Could he be alive? Could she be permitted one miracle in the whole of her miserable life?
‘Mr Vandershell is currently in the tearoom to the right of the reception area. I’m afraid I can no longer detect his vital signs or interface with his IntelliEnhance.’
Her heart shrivelled to nothing. It was better not to feel. At least not until she was stronger and safer. She’d lock her grief away inside until then.
She started towards the tearoom door. Amud stepped inside and grabbed hold of her. ‘He’s dead, Rassie. You don’t gotta see that.’
She pushed him away. ‘Yes I do.’ If she didn’t see for herself she might forever wonder if BIS had got it wrong, had some sort of glitch.
Amud groaned. ‘Fine, but I’m coming with you.’
Four abandoned mugs lined the bench along the tearoom wall. Three bodies lay sprawled on the floor, knocked-over stools beside them. One of the bodies had blue-black hair. Ferrassie collapsed to her knees and turned the face towards her. Dried blood coated Lars’s skin and muddied his bright blue eyes. She cradled his head in her lap.
Amud stood over them awkwardly.
‘Can you give me some time alone with him?’
‘Sure, sure. I’ll be outside. Call out if you need me.’
She held onto Lars and closed her eyes. She was the one who was supposed to croak. He was supposed to mourn her. At least he hadn’t seen it coming, hadn’t known the dread of certain death. She remembered a song she used to sing on her low days in the cricket factory. An old pop song full of angst and pain. Her voice cracked. She hadn’t sung in such a long time and being crook had left her throat raw. She paused to take a breath. Shuffling footsteps came through the open doorway behind her. So, some lucky numbskull had survived.
The shuffling got closer. Ferrassie turned her head. A littlebrain body-modder or some kind of transgene punk with tiger stripes tattooed across her cheeks and sharpened teeth. She didn’t look right. There was blood on her face and her eyes rolled around unfocused.
‘Can you give me some time with my buddy here? I’ll be gone soon.’
The lady grunted. Grunted like a feral. Or like she thought a Neo didn’t even deserve a proper response.
The feral grabbed Ferrassie’s coveralls and jerked her backwards. ‘Hey! What’s your problem?’ Ferrassie struggled to lift Lars’s head from her lap. ‘Let go of me.’ She got out from beneath Lars and tried to shake the lady off.
The feral growled. Shuqba and Amud had been yakking about some nutso little-brains roaming around. Ferrassie had thought she was immune to all emotion until fear pierced her walls.
‘Amud,’ she yelled.
The lady lunged and sunk her teeth into the side of Ferrassie’s neck. Ferrassie flailed her arms and legs. Then she lost contact with them. They seemed so far away. Her brain whirled. The door in front of her burst open and Amud bounded in with the electropacifier in his hands. Hot blood slid down her chest and between her breasts. She let out a gurgling scream. The room darkened. The feral bellowed and shrieked and the pressure on Ferrassie’s neck was released.
Ferrassie was floating on a lake of her own blood. Was she dying? Really dying this time? She’d had no idea it could happen so quickly. Death was a persistent bastard. Why couldn’t it fuck off and leave her alone for a while? Amud shouted from somewhere far, far beneath her, his voice becoming duller and duller.
CHAPTER 43
Shuqba met Graycie at the bottom of her building. There was colour in the little girl’s cheeks. Her eyes, although red and puffy from crying, were free of their sandy crust, and she was no longer as skeletally thin as Shuqba remembered her. Her hair had been arranged in an elaborate braid that hugged her scalp and fell down her back. She chewed on the collar of her silky blue pyjamas and clutched her beaten-up toy panda. Shuqba hugged her. It would be too much to ask the child to go back upstairs to change. The pyjamas would have to do until they could pick up more appropriate clothing.
‘Alida’s waiting outside the city for us. I’ll call her. She’ll be so pleased to hear your voice.’
Shuqba pulled out her OmniScreen and initiated a call to Alida.
This individual is no longer contactable. Please contact Intelli-Enhance Support for help.
Shuqba frowned. It could mean anything. Alida’s implant could have failed or there could be a problem with CorpNet.
Or Alida could be in trouble.
There was no advantage in speculating. The best course of action would be to commandeer a van and get outside the wall. Shuqba shook her head at her own negligence. They should’ve made more specific plans.
Shuqba hauled Graycie onto her hip and ran. Alida could be waiting, fretting because she couldn’t contact them. A group of Neo SFOs outside the workers’ barracks watched her and Graycie pass with questioning expressions. Shuqba ignored them and turned into the vehicle depot yard. There was no sign of Amud or Ferrassie.
‘Amud,’ Shuqba called out. ‘Amud!’ She crouched to let Graycie off her hip.
They held hands and walked towards the wide-open office door. Sobs and cries came from inside.
Shuqba put her hands on Graycie’s shoulders. ‘I want you to stand right here and wait for me. All right?’
‘Yeah.’
Shuqba’s hand went to her nose to block the odour of blood and faeces. She ignored BIS’s hails as she crossed the reception and entered the tearoom. Bodies lay all over floor. In the middle of it all Amud sat in a pool of blood with Ferrassie in his arms.
‘No!’ Shuqba pressed her eyes closed and opened them again. ‘What happened?’ Ferrassie was pale and grey, her neck glistening with bright-red blood.
Shuqba pulled Ferrassie from Amud’s arms. ‘We need to stop the bleeding.’ There were deep, jagged tears in Ferrassie’s neck. ‘Amud, find me something to wrap around the wound.’
&nb
sp; It wasn’t like Officer Nguyen with the implant malfunction. There was nothing she’d been able to do about that. This was an injury she could fix. Ferrassie had escaped from organ harvesters, recovered from a deadly fever, managed to evade certain death at the medical research centre and been rescued from Neo Control Officer Noon, twice. She was meant to survive.
Amud blubbered about a Sapien biting Ferrassie and pointed to one of the corpses on the floor. Shuqba pulled off her own shirt and pressed it to Ferrassie’s neck. The blood was sticky and coagulating. It wasn’t even flowing anymore. A small hand touched her shoulder.
‘When there’s no more breathing it means they’re dead. Like Mum and Mother and Father,’ Graycie said.
Shuqba sat back on her haunches and pressed her fists into her eye sockets. Graycie was right. She hated that the child was familiar enough with death to be right. Shuqba stood and wiped her bloodied hands on her slacks. Ferrassie had died before Shuqba even entered the room. Bled out. Most likely through her carotid artery. It would have been quick. Even if she got Ferrassie to a med droid, there was little they could do to bring her back. A Neo would never be a priority anyway, not with all the Sapien corpses littering the city.
Graycie and Amud needed her. And so did Alida, if she was still alive. She walked over to Amud.
‘Come on. Let’s bug out.’ She put an arm around his shoulders.
‘Rassie’s coming with us,’ he said. ‘We can bury her somewhere nice. Somewhere she can be free.’
Amud picked up Ferrassie’s body and they went out into the lot to commandeer a van.
CHAPTER 44
Alida edged between the shacks, towards the gate. An armoured truck rolled out. The Rewilders were too close. She squinted at the sunlight bouncing off the cab windows. Could it be Shuqba driving? Looking for her? Could Graycie be with her? The truck wasn’t slowing. Maybe Shuqba had assumed she was dead when her implant carked it. If Shuqba split without her she’d have no clue how to get into the city and no leads on how to find Graycie.
She squatted, chewing it all over. Even if it wasn’t Shuqba in the truck, whoever it was could get her into plastic-land. She had to take the risk. She bolted out from her hiding spot and ran in front of the truck. The jerk didn’t slow. She dived out of the way. Grit thrown up by the wheels filled her mouth and scratched her eyeballs.
The Shining Wall Page 21