“Be careful,” I tell Liam between coughs, as he gets ready to assault the door one more time. Both Gadya and I are using our T-shirts to cover our mouths and noses as we try to keep Dr. Urbancic’s body from slipping down the stairs.
Liam races up the stairs toward the door and slams against it with all his force.
This time, the door gives way.
The metal itself doesn’t yield, but the hinges are torn out of the doorframe, sheared and broken. The door clatters open wildly as a wave of heat and smoke explodes into the basement, making all of us nearly fall back down the stairs.
I feel the heat singeing my eyebrows and hair. The smoke fills my lungs. I’m coughing and gagging.
“Come on!” I try to yell, moving forward up the stairs. I know that we don’t have long. We have to get out of this house.
Liam turns back and grabs at me and Gadya. Both of us grab Dr. Urbancic’s body and we stagger out of the basement together.
I take a lungful of air when we get into the living room, but instantly start coughing even harder. The air here is filled with acrid smoke. Two of the walls are on fire, and so is the ceiling. The EMP must have sent such a large surge through the electrical system that it caused sparks, which set the home alight.
The decorative curtains on the windows are burning. So is a large bookcase filled with books.
“Run! C’mon!” Liam yells as he pulls all of us along.
We head down the hall and straight for the vestibule and the front door. I feel like I can’t breathe. My vision is going fuzzy and my head feels heavy. We reach the vestibule and I’m afraid that I’m going to pass out.
Then we hit the front door, and Liam yanks it open. We burst out, coughing and choking. My lungs are burning for air. I feel like my chest is on fire. I fall down onto the grass, trying to get my breath back. I hear Gadya throwing up somewhere nearby, in between angry curses.
Liam goes back and grabs Dr. Urbancic. He hauls his limp body out into the daylight. Dr. Urbancic is now making choking sounds like he’s finally going to wake up. Either that, or he’s about to die from inhaling so much smoke.
We drag him onto the grass and head away from the burning house, toward the sidewalk.
Three other houses nearby are already on fire. I see a handful of confused people out in their yards, and in the street. A few of them are wearing UNA uniforms. They’re so preoccupied with what’s happening to their homes that they don’t notice us. At least not yet.
“To the car,” I say. I know that the car won’t start, not after the EMP, but at least it gives us a place to seek shelter for a moment.
We head toward it, Liam slinging Dr. Urbancic over his shoulder again. When we reach the car, Gadya opens the passenger door and gets inside. I get in the driver’s seat. Liam takes Dr. Urbancic into the back.
“Try the engine,” Gadya says to me. “Just in case.”
I stick the key into the ignition and turn it. Nothing happens. The car is completely dead. Our plan seems to have worked. But what do we do next?
“I think Dr. Urbancic has a bad concussion,” Liam says from the back. “Or worse. We can’t take him with us. He’s not going to be able to move fast enough to get out of here.”
“Maybe we can leave him in the car,” I say, thinking fast. “He’ll be safe here. He can even claim he was the victim of a rebel attack if he wants to. Someone will find him and get him help. A neighbor or something. But we need to get that intel from him somehow.”
Gadya nods.
Out the windshield I see another house ablaze. Its owner is trying to hose it down with water, but nothing is coming out of the hose. The electrical pump that brings water to the house must have been destroyed by the EMP. These fires will consume this entire neighborhood. No water, no fire trucks. Nothing. I wonder if it’s like this across the entire UNA.
I realize that we have essentially turned the UNA into the wheel.
Gadya glances down at her rifle. “I bet the circuits are fried.” She holds it out the window and pulls the trigger. Nothing happens. “It won’t work.”
“What about older guns?” I ask. “Like, really old ones.”
She nods. “Maybe.”
We hear frantic yelling sounds. I look out the windshield. Four armed UNA soldiers are heading down the street on foot. In the middle of them is a man in a suit.
“What’s that about?” Gadya asks.
“Must be someone important,” I say. “Looks like the soldiers are escorting him out of here.”
I’m worried that the soldiers will see us, but they don’t. We duck our heads down, trying to hide. They pass by our car, yelling for people to get out of the way. They have their guns drawn, but I’m guessing their guns don’t work anymore, just like ours.
Once the soldiers have passed, Liam says, “We need to get moving.”
We assess how many weapons we have. Only two knives, and the now-defunct gun. It’s not much, but at least we are more prepared than the confused-looking UNA workers wandering the streets.
“We have to find the closest rebel cell,” I say. “We have to start fighting.”
I glance back at Dr. Urbancic. His eyes are fluttering open. He coughs and gags for a moment, wiping his mouth. Then he looks at Liam. “There was no need to hit me like that.”
“You didn’t give me another option.”
Dr. Urbancic looks at us. Then he sees the flames out the window. “So you pressed the button,” he says. “Didn’t you?”
“Yes,” I tell him.
“You don’t realize what you’ve done,” he says sadly. “One day, you will.”
“Quit lecturing us and give us some help,” Gadya snarls at him.
He glares back at her. His eyes look a bit bleary, but his voice and thoughts are clear. “David told me that I would be taking you to the closest major rebel cell in the center of New Chicago. That’s five hours from here by car. I thought I would drive you. That’s why I let you into my house. I had no idea that David had other plans for us.”
“Where in New Chicago is the rebel cell exactly?” I ask.
Dr. Urbancic slips a hand into his pocket and takes out a slip of paper and a crumpled map. On the paper is typed an address. “Here. I have been saving this for the right moment.” He hands the paper and the map over to Liam. “But you must find your own way. Use the map. You are supposed to meet up with the rebels tomorrow, incite the citizens, and help lead the revolution in taking over New Chicago from the government. I suppose the rebels must have an arsenal of weapons that still function after the EMP. Perhaps coated with lead. But that is just speculation. David obviously didn’t tell me what their real agenda was.”
Liam passes me the piece of paper. “We’ll travel by foot,” he says. “I’ve made journeys as long as that on the wheel.”
“Do you want to come with us?” I ask Dr. Urbancic.
He shakes his head. “No. I will stay. It’s best nobody knows my involvement in all of this. Besides, I’m too old to risk traveling.” He glances at Liam. “Just leave me here.” He gazes out the window. “I will watch my house burn to the ground, thanks to you.”
“Fine, whatever,” Gadya says. “You wouldn’t even have that nice house if you didn’t work for the government, like a traitor.”
“Gadya, he’s helping us,” I point out. “He obviously doesn’t work for them. Not really, right?”
Dr. Urbancic nods. “True. Like I said, I have spent many years being a double agent and trying to help you rebels. But now you are on your own. You must find your own way to New Chicago and fight your own battles there. The war ahead is not for old people like me. It is for the young.”
“Is there any vehicle that can take us there?” I ask him.
He shakes his head again. “The EMP will have destroyed most electronic circuitry. Perhaps older-model cars might work, but good luck finding one of those. Your friend is right—traveling by foot is your only option.” He shuts his eyes. “And I’m quite content to
remain behind.” He opens his eyes again. I see a sudden, unexpected glimmer of liveliness in them. “I can play the role of the sad, innocent old man. I will be fine.” He pauses, and takes something out of his pocket.
“What is that?” Gadya asks, suspicious.
He holds up a clear pouch containing a handful of capsules. “A very concentrated form of potassium cyanide. One of the strongest kinds known to mankind. It’s in case things don’t work out. I keep pills on me at all times. I don’t plan on getting tortured. Not at my age.” He puts the pouch on his knee. “Now get moving, before you cause me any more heartache.”
He pauses for a moment, resting his fingers on the pouch.
Then he speaks again. “You should each take a pill to carry on you. Just in case you get caught. You know too much now.”
I feel sick. But I know that he is right.
Liam picks up the pouch and holds it up. Each capsule is small. It’s hard to believe something this tiny could be so deadly.
“Let’s do it,” I say.
Liam opens the pouch and hands me and Gadya a capsule, and keeps one for himself. I put mine in my jacket pocket, deep in the bottom because I don’t want it to fall out. Then Liam hands the pouch back to Dr. Urbancic. It still has two capsules in it. The doctor slips it into his pocket.
“You better hurry,” he says.
“He’s right,” Liam says. “We need to go. Now.” He opens his door.
The three of us get out of the car and close the doors behind us. “Which way?” Gadya asks.
“That way,” I say, pointing to our left. “I don’t want to meet up with those soldiers.”
“We need to get off the roads,” Liam says. “Cut through the yards as much as we can. Try to stay out of sight.”
We hear an explosion in the distance. Probably the result of more fires. This area is going to be turned into a wasteland pretty soon. Houses are burning all around us. Everything looks apocalyptic and surreal. I didn’t know the revolution would look like this. I’m scared about what we’ve put into motion, but I also feel the thrill of battle in my heart. This is the start of the UNA’s destruction.
“What are we waiting for?” I say. I grab Liam’s hand, and the three of us start running toward the grass.
I only glance back at the car once. Through the windows, I can see Dr. Urbancic sitting there calmly, just waiting to be found by someone. I know that he disagreed with what we did. But I also know that we can trust him not to tell anyone about us. I believed him when he said he’d take a cyanide capsule rather than submit to being tortured. We are safe, at least from him.
But now we must find a way to get to New Chicago and begin the battle in earnest. There will be no more guns. Only knives and fists. Maybe even bows and arrows. We will take our skills from the island to the city streets and unite with the angry citizens. We will only rest when we have won and the UNA is history.
We keep running across the grass and between the houses, leaping over low fences. The few people we encounter seem stunned by the sudden power outage and the resulting fires. They are too preoccupied with trying to save their homes to deal with us. Others are trying in vain to get their cars started.
I can tell that they are scared that nothing is working. Perhaps they think the UNA is under attack from another nation. Or maybe they know that this is the work of rebels.
We just keep moving. I hear more explosions in the distance. Black plumes of smoke rise up from the horizon. I smell smoke. I glance up at the sky. There’s no sign of the nuclear blast, but I know that a dangerous radiation field is far above us in the atmosphere. I just hope that David is right and that it doesn’t affect us.
I keep running. Electrical wires have exploded, and they dangle uselessly between poles. Some of the wires lie on the ground. There is no more electricity in them. They are burned out from the EMP. A few of the poles have been knocked sideways from the pulse.
“Faster!” Gadya yells as we run.
We’re heading to a grove of trees at the edge of the housing development. I’m hoping that here we can find shelter for a moment and figure out our next move without getting spotted by anyone.
I glance back and see more people coming out of their homes. They look dazed, gazing at the destruction in horror. Most of these people are middle-aged. Probably UNA bureaucrats or scientists. None of them look like they’re going to give us any trouble.
“C’mon!” Gadya says again.
We race across the lawns toward the trees, away from the burning houses. The battle to take back our nation has finally begun.
I feel a mix of nervousness, excitement, and complete terror. It’s up to us from here on out. I know that we can succeed. But I also know that a difficult journey lies ahead of us. No matter what happens, I am ready for it. Or at least that’s what I tell myself as I keep running next to Liam and Gadya.
17 THE ROAD TO NEW CHICAGO
WHEN WE REACH THE trees, we stop to catch our breath. I stare back at the sprawling array of houses. At least half of them are burning. The residents are running around everywhere. I now see the occasional group of UNA soldiers.
“I wish my gun worked,” Gadya says. “I could take those people out one by one.” She’s clutching her weapon, even though it’s useless.
Liam is consulting the map. “It’s a three- or four-day hike to New Chicago. Longer than I thought.”
“That far?” I ask. “Really?”
Liam nods. “And that’s if we move fast.”
“How are we going to manage four days of traveling?” Gadya asks. “By then the city will be in total chaos. And we’ll probably get picked up along the way. We need a vehicle.”
“There aren’t any,” I tell her. “That’s kind of the point.”
She sighs.
“What about bikes?” I suddenly ask. “That would help get us there faster. I don’t mean motorbikes but regular ones. Like mountain bikes.”
Liam thinks for a moment. “It would force us to stay on the road, or on paths. But it would cut the travel time down to just a day or two at the most. We’d be close to the schedule.”
“Then let’s find some bikes!” Gadya says. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
“Same here.” I scan the houses. “There’s got be some in this neighborhood.”
“Let’s check the garages,” Liam says.
We burst back out of the trees and run to the nearest house. There’s so much chaos going on around us that it’s easy to smash a window and get into the garage. But the first house yields nothing.
It takes us fifteen minutes and eight different houses until we’ve found three suitable bikes. On our journey, we cycle past our abandoned car. I glance inside to check on Dr. Urbancic but he’s no longer there. I’m startled for a moment, but then realize that maybe a neighbor came and rescued him. There’s no time to worry about it now.
I lean forward on my bike, an old green twelve-gear Schwinn with wide tires. It’s a relic of the pre-UNA years. It’s been years since I’ve ridden a bicycle, not since before Minister Harka came to power, but I remember how to ride. Liam does too. Gadya is struggling a bit, but getting the hang of it.
We cycle out of the suburban development and up the main road. It’s deserted here.
We stand there at the edge of the road with our bikes for a moment. No sirens wail. No trucks make noise. Everything is quiet except for continuing distant explosions. The electronic world as we knew it has been destroyed. The sky is empty of airplanes and helicopters. I realize if any were up there when the blast occurred, they probably crashed straight down to the ground, killing all the occupants.
“Let’s do this,” I say, beginning to pedal my bike up the road. Gadya and Liam follow.
Soon we are riding together on the desolate road, side by side. We ride fast, our heads down against the breeze. We pass parked cars. Most of them are empty, but sometimes the occupants are there, wandering confused by the side of the road.
A few people yell out to us as we fly past them. They sound scared and angry. We make sure to avoid them. I’m guessing that they want to steal our bikes.
“You!” a man’s voice bellows right behind me. I startle as I glance around and see that he’s run out from the side of the road. He’s wearing a black UNA policeman’s uniform.
Gadya swerves her bike to avoid him.
“Stop!” the man screams.
“Get away from us!” I yell.
“Or else!” Gadya adds.
Liam glances back and watches the man closely, ready to stop and attack him if need be.
The man tries to run after us, but he can’t catch up. I see him take a pistol out of his pocket and aim it at my head.
I scream and jam on the hand brakes, almost falling onto the road as I try to avoid the impending bullet. I’m acting purely on instinct.
But then I realize that his gun doesn’t work because of the EMP. He just keeps pulling the trigger. I can hear the faint click. If his gun worked, I would be dead by now. He curses in frustration and flings the weapon after us. It skitters on the pavement.
I turn to face forward again and start cycling, as we leave him behind. I hear his angry cries continue as we speed away.
“Get back here!” he’s screaming, as though we’re going to turn around and obey him. “I need those bikes!”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” Gadya mutters, turning around and giving him the finger as a parting gift.
Soon we are racing down the road at about twenty miles an hour, and the man with the gun is just a memory. We’re not wearing any helmets. I’m careful to look at the road in front of me, so I can avoid potholes. I don’t want to wreck and get injured out here.
I’m also hoping we won’t encounter any roadblocks. On either side of the road is extremely thick grass—nearly impossible to ride through with these bikes. We just have to hope that luck will be on our side.
Liam cycles up next to me. “You doing okay?” he asks.
“Yeah. Great. How about you?”
He laughs. “I’m not great, but I’m okay.”
“Did you think our return would be like this?” I ask him. “The three of us riding bikes down the middle of the road to New Chicago, with no electricity. And no one else helping us?”
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