“Skye…I’m hungry.” Carly tugged her arm to get closer to the silver trays.
“No, absolutely not.” She felt like such a prude, but she couldn’t explain to Carly how much danger surrounded them. She didn’t want to upset her. Besides, they had no cards with credits. She couldn’t so much as buy one bite.
“Soon.” James flashed his misty eyes at Carly, and she quieted, staying by Skye’s side.
A woman in red silk sat on the fountain’s edge, watching Carly stare at the dolphins like watching an imp steal a piece of cheese. The woman raised her hand to brush back her wavy, auburn hair, exposing a series of blue numbers on her wrist. Everyone on the upper levels had the barcodes, identifying their status. Hers and Carly’s had disappeared in twenty-four hours, like the guard had said. If anyone saw their bare wrists now, they’d thrown them back into the alleys—if they were lucky.
Skye twisted her wrists down to hide the pale, bare skin, feeling ugly, naked, and small among the cultured citizens with their sleek hair, straight white teeth, and tailored clothes. It was like walking into a movie on the wallscreen, where everything and everyone looked picture perfect.
“You’re doing great,” James whispered in her ear, as if sensing her self-consciousness. “Just a few more steps.”
They reached the far side of the room, where a ramp attached their building to the next.
A voice boomed on the intercom. “The Heritage will be accepting its first round of passengers in one hour. Everyone with A-group boarding passes may report to the roof immediately.”
“Seems we’ve stumbled upon a farewell party,” James whispered as he bowed to another man like he knew him. “Good day, sir.”
“And yourself.” The man waltzed off with a complacent smile on his face. Skye watched him through the crowd, narrowing her eyes as she heard him compliment the weave of the napkins.
He must be in A-group.
She wondered what it felt like to live the life of the elite, to never freeze in an alley or chew plastic to stave off hunger. Yes, they were beautiful, but they were also soft, their conversations pleasant but meaningless, which made them more vulnerable than she was. For a moment she was proud of her orphan upbringing. It had molded her into a survivor.
And she planned to stay that way.
Just a few more tables separated them from the ramp leading to the adjacent building. Skye glanced over her shoulder, feeling her skin prickle. The woman in the red silk dress spoke with a security guard near the fountain. She stared in their direction, and then turned back to the guard. Skye tensed, trying not to break into a run. She squeezed James’s hand and he bowed his head to hear her voice over the conversations in the room.
“I think we’ve been spotted.”
He kept his eyes on the ramp. “We’re almost there.”
A guard speaking into a mini mic stood in the middle of the ramp. He gave James a wary look. “Let me see your family’s boarding passes, sir.”
“We’re not going on the ship. I merely came to say good-bye to a friend.” James’s voice was smooth as velvet, and Skye thought the guard would buy it. She would have.
The guard took one look at the thermal stuffing falling out of Carly’s coat. Jennifer’s head poked out, the doll’s scraggly blond hair falling across Carly’s arm. He narrowed his eyes. “Turn over your wrist.”
James released Skye’s hand gently. “Honey, I think it’s time to run.”
Skye froze in shock as James’s fist arced up and hit the man in the jaw. The security guard went down, but another shouted from the room behind them. “Outsiders!”
“Run!” James repeated, whipping out his laser.
Adrenaline rushing, Skye picked up Carly and sprinted down the ramp. Her sneakers squeaked on the chrome like tiny alarms, and laser fire erupted behind her as James shot to keep the other guards at bay.
She reached the bottom of the ramp and darted to the right, guessing which way to go. Large vats of brown sludge gurgled beneath her feet as she ran across metal grating. The stench of mold and rot wafted up and Carly covered her nose. What were they recycling?
James reached the bottom of the ramp just as she found a connecting balcony that led to the other side. He paused, firing shots around the corner, than followed her down the metal walkway.
“What is this place?” she shouted as they reached the other side and leaped down the stairs two at a time.
“A food recycling facility.”
“What’s in the vats?
“You don’t want to know.”
Laser shots fired from the opposite balcony, singeing black marks in the chrome above her head. Skye ducked, shielding Carly’s head with her hand. “Which way do we go?”
“Down here.”
They jumped off the metal platform onto the concrete floor below. The vats towered over their heads like giant, steaming cauldrons. Hiding behind one, James pressed a panel, and a hatch opened to reveal a chute lined with a greasy substance.
“No. I’m not going down there.” Even Skye had her limits.
“They won’t follow us,” James replied. “Guaranteed.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“There’s no easy way back, and they wouldn’t want to miss their ship.”
Skye considered a ride down the chute as the laser fire multiplied. The metal grating clanked above them as the men neared. Every moment the dark chute looked better.
James gave her a half smile full of mischief. “Surely, a woman who hangs off a balcony three floors up isn’t afraid of a little slime?”
She gave him a sharp stare. “Oh, all right.”
James gestured toward the chute like a chauffeur escorting someone to a diamond-studded hovercraft. “After you.”
Skye lifted Carly and climbed in behind her. Before she could adjust to the darkness, James gave her a gentle shove, and she slid down with Carly between her legs.
“Wait, I’m not ready!”
The slick sides of the chute gave her no leverage, and her hands slipped as she tried to slow down. Carly shrieked, and Skye joined in. They flew off the chute into absolute darkness and splashed into chilly water. The world muted. Carly’s screams were gargled by water, and Skye struggled to find which way was up.
The darkness was absolute. Panicking, Skye thrashed her arms until she broke the surface. She gulped in air and shouted Carly’s name.
Water splashed to her right, sprinkling on her cheek. “I’m over here.”
Skye swam toward Carly and felt the little girl’s face in her hands. Relief rushed up in a wave. “Thank goodness you’re all right. Where did you learn how to swim?”
“Watching Beach Party Rules.”
Skye laughed, wrapping her arms around Carly. “Who knew Beach Party Rules would save your life? All those hours I thought you were wasting your brain.”
“Does that mean you’ll let me watch it all the time?”
“Absolutely not.” She didn’t want Carly growing up thinking life was cocktails and swimsuit parties, and that you had to look like a stick with giant breasts to get any attention. Besides, you had to know influential, famous people to get anywhere near a beach these days. “How about more Sesame Quadrant? I thought you liked Kyro the alien bird.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t go anywhere. Beach Party Rules is by the ocean. It’s cyberlicious.” She said the word ocean as though it were a mythical place. Skye wished she could take her there.
Even though Skye had to remind her to act like a big girl, in some ways she was growing up faster than Skye would have liked. “Where did you hear that word, cyberlicious?”
Carly shrugged and looked down. “From Beach Party Rules.”
“Of course.” They found a spot where the water was shallow enough to stand up and waited for James. Their clothes dripped in the darkness, creating a rhythmic plink plop.
“What if he doesn’t come?” Carly whispered. She had about as much faith in strangers as Skye had in Grease’s promises…b
ut James wasn’t a stranger any longer, was he?
“Then we’re stuck in some pitch-black underground sewer. At least there aren’t any moonshiners down here.” Skye’s heart sped up. Maybe there were.
“James!” she yelled at the chute as if the rage in her voice alone would bring him down.
Silence, and then more plink plop. Doubt crept in, like the chill of the water catching hold to her bones. What if he didn’t make it? Skye swallowed and summoned her courage. “Come on, Carls, Spread your arms. Search for a way out.”
The chute clanged as if the door had opened and closed. At first Skye thought the guards had locked them in. Or would James do that to keep them safe? A rattling came next. Someone whooshed down.
Was it one of the guards? She grabbed Carly and backed into the corner. “Stay still and don’t say anything until I do.”
Carly grabbed her hand and nodded against her chest. Her little fingers were frozen, and Skye rubbed her hands over them. Not that hers were any warmer.
The person in the chute came down with a splash beside them. Skye held her breath. Long moments passed before he surfaced and gasped for air.
“Skye? Carly?”
She released her breath in relief. “James, we’re over here.”
The water rippled as he swam closer. “Are you all right?”
“Wet and cold, but otherwise alive.”
“Good.” He found their incline and waded toward them. She wanted to reach out and feel him just to know he was there and not some imaginary hope. She held out her hand, feeling the air before her. But he didn’t move, surprising her. He’d just held her hand through the entire party upstairs. Why not now?
“What’s the plan? Carly and I were just feeling around for a way out.”
“There’s something I have to show you, Skye.” His voice was serious and steady, as if he’d planned it all along. Her heart jumped. Would he tell her now he was a monster in disguise? No, not James the hero.
“What?” she shrieked.
She sensed movement in the darkness, like he had pulled something from his pocket. The room erupted in neon green light. As her eyes adjusted, she could discern a low ceiling, two channels running out into corridors beside them, and James, his head glowing like a light bulb, illuminating everything within ten feet.
“Cyber beans!” Carly whispered below her.
Skye yanked her hand back against her chest. Betrayal burned in her heart, despite the fact that he’d never promised her anything. She’d thought he was a hero, but he was no better than Grease, another gang member struggling through lower-level life. Actually, he was worse, the sworn enemy of the Razornecks. “You’re with the Radioactive Hand of Justice?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t have time to tell you. I know Carly’s dad, your husband—”
“Boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend,” he amended. “You told me he’s a Razorneck.”
Her tone turned cool. “That would make us enemies.”
“I don’t want to be your enemy. I want to help you.”
Skye’s head whirled like someone had turned her upside down. She clung to what she knew. “That’s what the Radioactive gangmen do—they help everyone out. But some people don’t want your meager offerings. They want to pave their own way in the world.”
“I understand that. What we have issue with is how they do it. They can’t just take things for themselves and not share it with others.”
“You’d turn into another government. Before you knew it, the handouts would run dry. Just like they did years ago.”
“We don’t want that. We want the people to rule.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard.”
The air fizzled with dissonance between them. Grease used to love to talk about how the Radioactive Hand of Justice would be another useless government. Telling people what to do and how to do it. Rewarding some with food while punishing others they didn’t think deserved it. How could she trust James?
What choice did she have?
Carly broke the silence as if his affiliations didn’t matter. “Can we go now?”
James offered his hand, his palm shining in the light of his gang’s colors. “I want to help you, Skye. My people found an unfinished colony ship. We can get you out of here if you’re willing to come with us. If not, I can show you the way. You can go back to your apartment and wait for your boyfriend. But you have to evacuate this city one way or another. Once the moonshiners take over—and they will—the world leaders will deem this area contaminated and nuke it. Nothing in this city will live.”
Skye shivered as she listened to his words. She’d grown to hate the Razornecks, but to go against them completely and side with the enemy was a risky move. Was the Radioactive Hand of Justice any better?
Underneath all her misgivings, she knew she still trusted James. How could a man that went out of his way to save them, and allowed them to tag along to the point where they’d jeopardize his mission be bad news?
She hated to admit it to herself, but she liked him. Going with him was the best for Carly, hands down. He made more of an effort to keep her safe than Grease had done in the three years she’d known him. Besides, he’d saved her and Carly, and she owed it to him to help him out.
“So are you with me or not?” James’s hand didn’t move.
Skye’s heart was a storm of vulnerability. James radiated more than just neon light, and she felt like a moth drawn to his flame. She’d never felt this way about Grease. And yet, he’d ripped her heart out when he left. To have feelings for someone else so soon after Grease left scared her more than the thought of moonshiners at her door.
If she weren’t careful, she’d hurt herself in more ways than one. But James was all they had, and she needed to put Carly first. Steeling herself, she stepped forward and slipped her hand in his. “I am.”
“Good.” He looked away as if collecting his emotions, and then pointed with his free hand. “This way.”
Chapter Seven
A Piece of Paradise
James’s hair reflected off the rippling water, casting ghostly light down the corridor. In the darkest, deepest passageways of Earth, he thought of Mestasis flying a parsec away, barreling through star-studded deep space.
Did she think of him? Or did steering the ship consume all her energy? In a way he wished it did, because she wouldn’t have to bear the ache plaguing his own heart. But he also yearned for her to remember him. Would she look back five hundred years from now, when his bones were dust, and the Expedition neared Paradise 18? She’d be more machine than woman, absorbed into the mainframe to sustain her so she could continue to drive the ship. Would she think of him then?
Skye and Carly splashed behind him, stealing his thoughts from the heavens to the sewer. Skye’s decision to go with him brought him immense relief. He couldn’t imagine a young woman and a little girl wandering through the breached city to that trashed apartment, waiting for a Razorneck who probably wouldn’t come home. The Radioactive Hand of Justice would take them in despite their affiliation. With him they’d have a better life.
If I can get to the ship in time.
James squelched his doubt. When there was no room for error, he didn’t make mistakes. Everything was going according to plan. He still had the miniscreen with the flying program and the coordinates, and he’d made it to the center of the city where Thadious Legacy’s tower stood. Next he had to find a hovercraft.
Saving Skye and Carly brought him a measure of happiness against all the turmoil raging inside his chest. He liked Skye. Almost too much. Enough for guilt to coat every word he said to her. Mestasis was his love, and no one else could ever come close. Yet, Skye deserved better than a dingy apartment and boyfriend who would never come back. She was lovely and tough, with a princess-like grace and a strong sense of self. She could hang from a balcony and trudge through the sewers all to save a little girl who wasn’t hers to begin with. The way she cared for Carly showed him how tender and lovin
g her heart could be. She and Carly deserved their own paradise, and he wanted to give it to them.
More reason to get moving.
James quickened his pace as the air grew warmer, signaling they were walking below the next building: Thadious Legacy’s tower. He spotted metal rungs on the cement and put up his hand for Skye and Carly to stop sloshing around.
“What is it?” Skye whispered, joining his side.
“I’m listening.”
“For what?”
“Movement.”
She put her hands on her hips, green eyes gleaming. “I thought you said there wouldn’t be any guards.”
“That’s not who I’m listening for.”
The moonshiners may have beaten them to it. If so, he wasn’t about to emerge in a room full of speeding maniacs. But the upper levels were silent. With Morpheus charging the moonshiners’ systems, there was no way they could keep still for that long.
“I think the coast is clear.”
James climbed first, lifting a metal grating just enough to peer out of the hole. The basement could have been a royal throne room. High ceilings jutted in shadows with hanging crystal chandeliers. The floor was black-and-white checkered marble, contrasting with floral tapestries on the walls. An antique Lamborghini Reveneton rested on a pedestal under a clear plastic cover.
“We’re definitely in the right place.” James pushed the grating aside and hefted himself up. He offered Carly his hand, wondering if she’d finally accept his help.
Carly shot him a wary look. She may have realized she didn’t have a choice, because her little hand darted up and she grabbed on. He lifted her, careful not to squeeze her hand too hard, yet she let go immediately after finding her footing and scurried a few feet away. James sighed. At least he’d made some sort of headway. Maybe next time she’d actually talk to him.
James offered his hand to Skye as Carly looked around.
“Why does the hovercraft have wheels on it?” Carly lifted the corner of the cover and touched the orange painted body.
A Hero Rising Page 5