Shattered Roads

by ALICE HENDERSON

  She ran down a side alley, doubling back on them. Once out of sight, she ran back for Rowan at a crouch. Just as she was almost on him, Broken Nose cut her off. “Going somewhere?”

  She gripped the rebar tightly. He reached for his weapon, leering down at her. She steeled herself, then swung with everything in her. The metal connected with the side of his temple with a sickening crunch. He crumpled to the ground, a heap of loose bones. She pivoted, facing the second Repurposer. He looked down at his fallen comrade. “What have you done?” he shouted, eyebrows knitted together

  She wanted to reach for Broken Nose’s weapon, but she knew the other would fire before she had the chance.

  She started back as he circled her, sizing her up. As he took aim, she dove to the ground and rolled, cracking him in the knee with the rebar.

  He screamed in agony, toppling to the ground. He rocked back and forth, grabbing his knee, eyes squeezed shut. She raced forward, grabbing the gun off Broken Nose. She shot them both and snatched up the gleaming tool.

  Rowan stirred with a groan.

  She kneeled over him, finding him barely conscious. She grabbed his arm. “We have to get out of here!”

  Over her shoulder, one of the men stirred, but he didn’t get up. “C’mon!” She hefted Rowan’s arm around her shoulders and twined her other one around his waist. Heaving him to his feet, she supported his full weight. He moaned, bringing a hand to his head.

  “What the hell . . . ?”

  Behind her the short man moved, fingers grasping the pavement.

  Rowan came around a little more, taking some of his weight off her. She spun him around, weapon at the ready. She hit both their assailants again. They skittered on the pavement.

  Why wasn’t the weapon knocking them out? She looked at it to see if it had some kind of intensity setting, but couldn’t find anything. It fizzled, the acrid stench of burning circuits billowing up. It was fried. She tucked it into her bag in case it could be repaired later.

  She found her bloody sleeve lying on the ground and gave it back to Rowan. “Keep pressing this on your wound.” She wheeled him around and made for the end of the alley. “Are you sure this is the fastest way out of the city?” she asked.

  He lifted a weak arm, pointing farther west. She closed her hand around his where it rested on her shoulder, lugging him along. She took every corner she could, still trying to keep out of the men’s sight.

  “Did they find us again by chance, or do you have something on you they can track?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing to track.”

  She thought of the PRD in her pocket, praying that the producer hadn’t double-crossed her. She switched it off just in case.

  “How far is it to the city’s borders?”

  “A mile or so,” he gasped. They hurried, his feet dragging a little. He tripped a few times. “Think I’m feeling better,” he said after some time, taking some weight off her. They picked up their pace. His head had stopped bleeding.

  She glanced back, thinking of how Rowan had killed the Repurposers who had come for her. Should she have done the same back there? She’d never hurt anyone before tonight. The guard’s bloody nose in the PPC Tower had been the first time she’d made someone bleed. She couldn’t just kill two prone men, could she?

  She snuck a glance at Rowan, whose head was sagging. What was his life like, and what was it like out there?

  She gazed up at the city’s atmospheric shield. “How do we exit?”

  “Exiting’s no problem. There are huge carbon dioxide vents at the city’s perimeter. They pump all the CO2 out of the city. We can get out through there. It’s getting in that’s the hard part.”

  “How did you get in?”

  “I know someone on the inside. He opened doors for me. But I didn’t have much time. It’s got to be a quick in and out or they start to notice the open doors.” He hooked his thumb back the direction they’d come. “Let’s hope those guys stay down.”

  As they hurried onward, H124 started to feel sick to her stomach. Was she really leaving the city? This place was the only home she’d ever known, such as it was. It may not be a good life, but it was familiar. As far back as she could remember she’d lived in her tiny pod, going from cleaning vacated living pods to cleaning corpses six years ago, when she turned twelve.

  How could she leave? Where would she go? She knew nothing about the world outside. She barely knew the city. Maybe she could stay. Maybe she could explain to her employers about the asteroid. Maybe they’d understand and let her stay as she was. Maybe Willoughby could explain to them that she knew something important, that she hadn’t been shirking her responsibilities, but discovering something vastly more important. Maybe she could go back to her little bed, her tiny, comfortable room, the bland but easily acquired food cubes.

  She started to slow down. She thought of the PRD in her pocket. Maybe she could call Willoughby and see what he thought.

  “What’s wrong?” Rowan asked. “Why are you slowing down?”

  She looked up at him. “I—”

  He gazed back at her, lifting his eyebrows.

  “I don’t think I can do this,” she admitted.

  “What?”

  “Maybe I could explain to my employers . . .”

  He gently took hold of her elbow. “Look, I don’t know why those Repurposers are after you. I don’t live in your world, but I do know a lot about it. You’re a worker. A cog. You don’t even have a name. Whatever you’ve done, they won’t listen to you. They won’t spare you. You’re a machine to them. A machine made of meat. You go back there, and those Repurposers will wipe your mind. It’s not worth their time to listen to you.” He stared at her with compassionate eyes. “If you go back there, you’re signing your own death warrant.”

  She thought of Willoughby urging her to leave the city. If he had enough sway to keep them from harming her, wouldn’t he have mentioned that? They hadn’t listened to him in the Tower, at least not for long.

  She looked up, thinking of the asteroid out there in the darkness of space, on its way to Earth. Would her employers really do something to stop that? Willoughby said no one even knew how to stop it, except maybe these Rovers. Even if she talked to her employers, and they let her back without wiping her, that wouldn’t change the fact that soon the earth was going to experience the biggest destructive force it had ever known. She could sit in her comfortable little room, clean up more corpses, and then one day fire would fill the sky, and she’d be obliterated along with everyone else.

  She looked back at Rowan. His eyes met hers. They gleamed with an intensity she’d never seen in another person. Hope filled them. She had to take this chance. Had to leave the city. She would never forgive herself if she went back now. And besides, if she went back and they wiped her, she wouldn’t even remember about the asteroid. Nothing would save them. All would be lost.

  She adjusted the strap on her tool bag. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  He nodded, then squeezed her shoulder. She felt a pleasant zing of electricity at his touch. They hurried onward.

  Above the atmospheric shield the gray clouds roiled. Lightning flashed. She’d never been outside of the shield. She didn’t know anyone who had. Until now.

  “What’s it like out there?” she asked.

  “Rough. Be ready.”

  They walked on, staying to the shadows, listening to every sound behind them. Relief flooded through H124 when they reached the edge of the atmospheric shield. It was the first time she’d been this close to it. She could hear it buzzing all around her.

  “Where are the vents?”

  Rowan pointed toward a series of large holes in the concrete base. The concrete swept around them, a one-hundred-foot wall encircling the entire city. On top of it, force field generators jutted into the sky. She smelled the crisp scent of crackling electromagnetic
energy. It tickled the inside of her nose, and she fought off a sneeze.

  Rowan pointed to one of the vents. “You can go out, but you can’t come back in. It’s a way of pumping out the bad air, and not letting more bad back in.”

  She frowned, staring at the large dark mouth of the tunnels. “Is it really so bad out there?”

  He put a hand on her shoulder. “I won’t lie to you. It’s like nothing you’ll have experienced here in the city.” He left his hand there, and she felt that sensation in his touch once more, a warmth she hadn’t known before. When he took his hand away, she felt strangely disappointed.

  “So what now?” she asked.

  “We go through the tunnels. My inside contact hasn’t checked in with me, so we need to find a different way out. You can operate TWRs right?” He pronounced it like “twirs.”

  She nodded.

  “Okay, then.” He went first, choosing a particular tunnel. When they reached the entrance, she saw that it extended much farther than she’d thought. The concrete wall must have been at least a thousand feet thick. The tunnel stretched on into inky blackness. She took out her headlamp and switched it on. It didn’t even begin to penetrate the gloom.

  Rowan looked at her. “Ready?”

  She frowned. “This is the only place I’ve ever known . . .”

  He nodded.

  She bit her lip. “Let’s go.”

  “There’s a barrier here at the entrance,” he said in a hushed tone. “It’s a semi-permeable membrane. But a shield protects it. You’ll have to take down the shield first.”

  On the wall next to the entrance, she saw a theta wave receiver. Concentrating, she sent a message to the membrane shield to disengage. When she felt it turn off in her mind, she said, “Okay. It’s down.”

  He went in front, entering the tunnel and moving quickly through the darkness. She turned as they passed through the shield controls and turned it back on. Then she caught up with Rowan, keeping close, her headlamp’s beam bouncing off the curved walls. The cement beneath glistened with damp, and about hundred feet in the air grew chilly.

  She walked behind him, watching his back, the satchel moving against his side. His muscular frame moved with a kind of grace. Now a mildewy smell filled her nostrils, and she fought off another sneeze. When she felt like they’d walked a mile in the darkness, Rowan slowed in front of her.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “There’s another barrier here in the middle, another shielded membrane.” He stopped to face her. Her beam shone on his handsome face, set jaw, and powerful blue eyes. “Something worse than death awaits you if you stay in the city, but I want you to be certain. Are you sure you want to leave?”

  She gave him a quiet stare.

  “I, for one, think you should. But it’s got to be your choice.”

  And some choice it was. If she stayed, the Repurposers would wipe her mind, and the asteroid would wipe out more than that. But out there, she’d be vulnerable to a world of dangers she’d never even dreamed about.

  She studied Rowan’s face in the shadows, then gave a resounding, “I’m ready.” They moved forward through the stifling air. “I feel light-headed,” she told him.

  “It’s all the CO2. It’s really concentrated down here.”

  As they moved deeper into the tunnel, she felt her lungs gasping for a decent breath.

  “We’re almost there,” he reassured her. “The air will be better on the other side.”

  Her vision began to tunnel, and the air grew even more dank and foul. Her side started to burn, as if she’d been running. She saw the TWR for the second membrane and sent a signal for its shield to come down.

  “It’s down,” she confirmed.

  They walked to the other side. Her ears popped as cooler air filled her waiting lungs. She ordered the membrane to activate again.

  They walked a few more feet. “There’s additional security here,” Rowan told her. “A field beyond the membrane incinerates anything that moves through. Watch.” He removed a food cube wrapper from his satchel and threw it back the way they’d come. She saw it freeze midair, with blue volts swarming over it. Then it was gone, leaving nothing but a tiny puff of smoke. “Same thing with organic material, so don’t go back that way.”

  He started moving again, and she followed him. “Where did you get in?”

  He glanced at her over his shoulder. “My inside man opened a spot along the perimeter. But it’ll be closed by now. He can’t risk keeping it open for long.”

  An entirely new scent reached her. “What’s that?”

  “What?”

  “That smell.”

  He grinned back at her, that contagious smile that made her stomach light. “Rain.”

  She raised her brow. “Rain?” She knew the city collected its rainwater in huge tanks outside the atmospheric shield. She also knew they maintained large desalinization tanks that pulled water from the nearby ocean. Not that she’d ever seen the ocean, no matter how near it was. And rain? She’d always been fascinated, wondered what it would be like to be outside, where water fell freely from the sky.

  “I’ve never been in the rain.” She felt herself smile. The gesture felt strange, strained, something she’d only done a couple times in her life. It was a small smile, short of showing her teeth, but she felt the corners of her mouth turn up. It almost hurt.

  “Hey, keep that attitude! A lot of people can’t stand the rain. It gets to them.” He regarded her with kind eyes. “You know, you’re pretty refreshing. Unlike anyone I’ve ever met. I think you’re going to make it out here.”

  He started moving again, navigating the tunnel as if he’d been in it countless times.

  “Just how many times have you broken into the city?” she asked.

  His laugh was a rueful sound. “Too many to count. Been coming here since I was a kid.”

  The smell of fresh air grew stronger, so they hurried on. Soon her headlamp picked out the edge of the concrete tunnel. Beyond was the most pitch-black landscape she’d ever seen. At least while inside the tunnel, her headlamp had reflected off its close walls. But out there, the space was immense. Her headlamp reached out into that abyss and simply ended.

  She stopped. “What’s out there?”

  He turned. “Everything.”

  “I’m . . .”

  “Afraid?”

  She nodded.

  “I don’t blame you. This is huge. But you can make it.” He held out his hand, and she took it. His skin felt rough and warm as his strong fingers closed around hers.

  As they reached the mouth of the tunnel, the stale air gave way to a fresh gust. She heard a roar, like the drone of distant machinery locked away in some residential building. “What’s that sound?”

  He stuck his head out of the entrance. “A storm.”

  She’d never been in a storm. Weather in the city was always the same. The same temperature. The same humidity. The air out here felt cold and windy, like nothing she’d experienced inside the city.

  Then she heard something crack in the sky, a deafening cacophony of sound. It cracked again, and this time she felt the vibration in her breastbone. She backed into the tunnel, her hand withdrawing from his. “What was that?”

  He walked back to her. “Just thunder.”

  “And the drone?”

  He smiled. “That’s the rain.” He took her arm gently. “C’mon.”

  She let him lead her out through the opening. Rain poured from the sky, instantly soaking her hair and shirt. The wind picked up, so loud it roared. Rowan said something to her, but the wind carried it away. He leaned closer. “Let’s find some shelter!” he yelled, running out into the storm.

  She followed, finding herself on a ruined street amid giant crumbling buildings that leaned on each other. Old bricks and stonework littered the decayin
g road. Pieces of shattered glass crunched under her feet.

  Rowan ran for a recessed doorway in one of the buildings. He dashed inside and turned to wait for her, but she was mesmerized. She couldn’t help but stop and look up. Now she saw the clouds roiling above, illumed by the orange lights from the city. Behind them the huge cement barricade swept away on both sides. Inside the atmospheric shield loomed the tremendous buildings of the city.

  Then it hit her. She couldn’t go back. She was on the outside now. She felt strange, floating, her anchor gone. How was she going to survive? She felt the pang of homelessness, her roots ripped away beneath her. Tearing herself from the sight of the city, she reached the recessed doorway and ran inside, joining Rowan.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She peered out at the storm. “I’ve never seen anything like this.” Lightning flashed in the clouds, making the surrounding terrain go from night to day and back again. Rain gusted by in a level sheet. “I had no idea storms were so intense!” Wind whipped inside the doorway, so powerful it pushed her backward.

  He gave a mirthless laugh. “I hate to tell you, but this is a break in the storm.”

  She faced him.

  “It’s going to get a lot worse.” He took the satchel off his shoulder and placed it on the ground, crouching down beside it. “Listen. I have to leave. But you’re going to be okay.” He started pulling things out of his satchel and stacking them on the floor.

  She stared at him. “What?” Panic filled her. He was her lifeline, the only way she’d been able to get out of the city.

  “Where I’m going . . . it’s dangerous. You can’t come.”

  “More dangerous than what we just went through?”

  He lowered his head, then looked up at her with regretful eyes. “Yes. I’m afraid it is. I can’t bring you with me.” He took her hand again. “You can do this. You can survive.” He dug through his bag. “Look, I’ve got some food here, and a bottle of water and a filter to collect more.” He reached into his pack and pulled out an aluminum bottle and a little filter and hose. He handed them to her. “And here are some MREs.”