Dark Humanity

by Gwynn White

  Crispin nodded. "Yeah."

  * * *

  It was well past dark when a large group of horses came up. "Crispin Hartmann?"

  "Over here," Crispin called out.

  It was their men were riding. "Charlie needs you at the track," one man said, getting down off his horse. "We'll get the carts."

  "Is he all right?"

  "So far. He's been inviting people to join, and some real scary fellows showed up. Charlie's afraid if he leaves, he'll come back to find them in charge."

  Charlie needs me, Crispin thought. He got on the horse. "I'll send more horses when I can," he told Shuli. "Be careful."

  Shuli nodded. "I will."

  It took Crispin three hours to get to the racetrack, and he stopped in astonishment. The whole area in front of the complex was full of campfires! He picked his way along towards them unchallenged until he got to the gates.

  "Who goes there?"

  A rush of fear: had the racetrack already been taken from them? "It's Crispin Hartmann. Charlie's brother. We run this place."

  The man laughed, and his voice was familiar: his cousin Wànzi. "Damn, Crispin, thought I'd never see you again. Go on up, Charlie's waiting for you."

  Chapter Twenty-One

  March 2nd

  The men never stop, Blocker thought. The Wheelcards used up all their ammo long ago. They were down to baseball bats, wooden boards, and knives. "We gotta get out of here."

  "I'm not letting these fuckers take my land," Fish said. He'd been hit in the head, and now that's all he kept saying. Blocker was worried Fish wasn't thinking right anymore.

  "What land?" Blocker heard women screaming from across the street through the open window. "If we don't get out of here now, there won't be any us left to hold it." A guy came in and got a bat to the face. "I'm getting out of here. Who's with me?"

  Fish let out a crazy yell as he ran out and to the right. "Gods, Fish, no!" Fish got ten yards down the hall before he was cut down by gunshots. "Goddamnit Fish! Why?" His brother's body just lay there. How can I let him lay there? He glanced back: eleven of them left out of over a hundred. I got them into this; I gotta get them out. He stared in anguish at his brother's body. Gods, I'm sorry, Fish. "Come on," Blocker said, and went the other way.

  It took them over an hour to sneak out of the neighborhood, and by that time, they had lost two and gained five. The men made their way to the river, their faces streaked with sweat, dirt, soot, and tears. Blocker and his men crouched behind a dock and surveyed the scene. Fires raged; men on horseback raced up and down. "We can't stay here," Blocker said. "Can all of you swim?"

  "Goddamnit, Blocker," Turbo said, "I ain't swimming in that. We'll freeze to death."

  "Then we gotta find a boat," Blocker said.

  It was almost dark before they found enough boats for everyone. While they were looking, two women and three scared kids joined them. The women looked to be in bad shape. But they pulled the oars just as well as anyone, and the group made it to the Southwest Quadrant. "We're the new Wheelcard Gang," Blocker said. "Let's find somewhere to sleep tonight."

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  March 3rd

  Xavier found himself in bed, his side wrapped. Every breath was agony.

  "You're safe, son," Mr. Spadros said.

  "What happened?"

  Mr. Spadros held a crumpled note in his hand. "From your second. A man named Malize?"

  Xavier nodded.

  "Kerr found out about the attack somehow. He kidnapped your second's wife, told him he'd kill her if he didn't kill you first." He looked away.

  Xavier took a painful breath. "One of your scientists must've told him."

  "So you did get my message. Malize went along with his attack to lure Kerr's men out. Your men confirmed it — while you were briefing that last group, Malize told them what was happening, and what to do. He told them not to worry about hitting him."

  Xavier shook his head. Could I have done the same in his shoes? He didn't know if he could have stabbed one of his own men. "It seemed he wanted to die there at the end."

  Mr. Spadros blinked. "He's not dead. Your men got to him in time. He's been in surgeries this whole time, but —"

  "Truly? Oh, that's the best news I've heard all day."

  "I haven't heard any news. The city — well, it's a shambles. Your children are safe. Jack wanted to come, but I wouldn't allow it."

  "Good." He didn't know what it was like out there, but it was no place for children. "Thank you for keeping them safe."

  Mr. Spadros smiled, but Xavier could tell there was something he wasn't saying. "Did they get him?"

  "Kerr got away," Mr. Spadros said, "him and most of his family. He set up a hot air balloon in the courtyard! The men finally shot it down as it sailed to the northeast, but I don't know if anyone survived the crash."

  Hopefully we've seen the last of that man, Xavier thought, but something told him he hadn't.

  Varkonyi came in, handed a paper to Mr. Spadros. "The Cathedral, sir. It's fallen to the mob. Also, the Feds want to know if we require aid." He turned to Xavier. "Good to see you awake, sir."

  The Cathedral? Xavier put his hand over his face. "Good gods. What have we done?"

  Mr. Spadros sat heavily. "It's as my uncle said. Nothing will ever be the same." Mr. Spadros turned to Varkonyi, "Is there a way to help those women?"

  Varkonyi shook his head. "Don't know how. It's every man for himself out there. The Guard is stretched to the breaking point protecting the island as it is."

  Mr. Spadros stood. "They promised to stop when we asked, and by the gods, they will stop! Bring me Vincenzo Spadros."

  After Varkonyi left, Xavier said, "Vincenzo Spadros ... the mobster?"

  Mr. Spadros seemed uncomfortable. Well, yes. My uncle." He let out a breath. "The Spadros Family paid for all this. I didn't want to have to take their help." He pauseed. "But I suppose there have to be compromises made in order to get the job done."

  So that's how he did it. "You sound quite the politician."

  "No, I'm a schoolteacher." He frowned. "A schoolteacher who knows a group of undisciplined boys when he sees one." Mr. Spadros looked at the paper Varkonyi brought him. "And I see the vultures waiting to swoop down and seize the city while it lies bleeding. We can't survive without order, and order is what we shall have."

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The Days Ahead

  Acevedo learned many things during his time in the city. The Diamond clan barricaded the bridges to the Southwest Quadrant, including that to the island. They then released all the inmates in the Prison, offering them equal shares if they'd help loot the quadrant. The group seized the ray cannon from their rivals and killed Acevedo's brother Cavallo as he tried to escape them. The cannon had been lost.

  A group of indentured farmers in the Northeast Quadrant calling themselves The Clubbs of Justice seized the zeppelin station and the controls to the Aperture, refusing to let anyone in or out of the city until their rambling set of demands were met. Acevedo wasn't sure they even knew what they wanted. While it meant no one could bring in supplies or reinforcements, it also meant Polansky Kerr wouldn't be able to escape the city. The "Clubbs" (they insisted on the spelling) hated the Kerrs, blaming them for their mistreatment at the hands of their masters.

  A large group calling themselves the Hartmanns — who seemed to grow in numbers as time passed — pillaged much of the city, settling around the racetrack. They had begun building homes near the track, the whole group coming together to build each one. They were managing to build two or three a week. Although they had sacked the Cathedral, their leader, the big red-haired man from the meeting, said it was done wrongly, without orders from him. "If you see anyone calling themselves Hartmanns, you know they aren't with us," the man said. "We're the Harts now." He insisted on that spelling as well.

  The new Director of the Dealers, a woman named Octavia Underlead, came to Acevedo. She refused to have anything to do with rebuilding the
city, and asked him not to touch the Cathedral. "Director Deschapelles and twenty-three Dealers died defending our right to protect Bridges. Please honor her last wishes in this."

  Acevedo didn't understand.

  "The knowledge we bear is for the King and the Dealers alone," she said. "You are neither. The calculations, signs, and divinations are clear: the city will endure a hundred years. When the city is in great need, when the woman is provided and the land restored, the Dealers will return. Until then, we stay outside with our people."

  Acevedo didn't understand that either. Surely the city was in great need now. But he was never a religious man.

  To maintain a show of a stable government for the Feds, Acevedo persuaded Xavier to be sworn in as the first Mayor of Bridges as soon as he was well enough to stand. Moving under heavy guard, Acevedo took Xavier to collect his children and bring them back to the island.

  He'll do better with his children near him, Acevedo thought.

  Acevedo watched as Xavier stared out of the carriage window the entire trip, appalled at the sights he saw along the way. By the time they got to the building, Xavier seemed shaken.

  Acevedo was pleased to see his brothers standing guard around the building, and he went to greet each of them in turn. He felt acutely aware of Cavallo's loss, even more so when he saw Cavallo's son Roman and his new wife. "I'm so sorry," Acevedo said as he hugged them. "Your Papa loved you both very much."

  "I know," Roman said. "We've decided if this is a boy, to name him Cavallo."

  Acevedo smiled. "I'm sure he would like that."

  A hand on his shoulder: Katherine stood behind him. Acevedo turned, taking her hand. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

  "Yes."

  Acevedo blinked, confused. "I didn't ask anything yet."

  She took hold of his upper arms. "I don't care. Whatever you ask, the answer is yes."

  Overwhelmed, he kissed her, not caring what anyone thought.

  After a moment, he felt Molly's eyes on him."I suppose this means you're going to be my father now?"

  Acevedo smiled, and took her hand. "Yes, my dear, I think it does."

  Xavier ran to his children; Jack and Joy threw themselves into their father's arms. Xavier's father also was there. "I came as soon as I heard you were hurt, but it was only now I could get here."

  "I'm glad you're back," Xavier said.

  Jack looked up at him. "I'm glad you're back too, Dad." He pulled away. "I asked Molly Bluff's mother if I could court her. She said yes."

  "Oh?" Xavier said.

  "Well, if I can get a surgeon apprenticeship. I want to be able to support her."

  Xavier smiled. He's so much like I was at that age. Once Xavier got it in his mind to marry their mother, nothing would stop him. Gaining a proper station in order to marry was why he joined the Guard in the first place. "Then I approve."

  Later at dinner, Jack said, "Are you really Mayor of Bridges now?"

  "I am."

  Jack pondered that a long time. "I'm proud of you for what you did. Molly told me what it was like out there in the tent camps —"

  When was she out there?

  "— and it would've been wrong to let the King kill all those people. You had to do something."

  This made Xavier feel better than it reasonably should have. Since his wife died, his children had been everything to him. And now, they were growing up. "I'm proud of you too, Jack."

  Many of the parents, after hearing of what happened in the city, decided to stay at the science building until the situation was more settled. Clothing and food had been brought for them, and they began dividing the tasks and clearing out rooms to stay in. "You'll have a place with the Spadros Family as long as you stay here," Acevedo said. "This isn't over yet."

  Bandits had tried to take the building once already while he had been gone, but were repelled. The countryside was in an uproar, and when they heard the Mayor was there, for a week delegations came to express their displeasure. Xavier often seemed unsure as to how to proceed. "Pretend they're your men. Or think of what old King Taylor might do. You can handle this."

  Each time, Xavier would nod, then talk to the people, remind them they could handle the bandits, and they would go away satisfied.

  Then it was time for Xavier to return home. "I'll go with you," Acevedo said.

  "Molly and I will come as well," Katherine said.

  Acevedo went to her. "It's very dangerous still. Do you think this wise?"

  Katherine said. "I just recalled a certain evening —"

  Instantly, Acevedo knew which one.

  "— and I think it would be better for me to live on the island, at least until our wedding."

  Acevedo grinned. "Very well. All the more reason for me to escort you."

  * * *

  Those returning to the city got into the carriages. Xavier was going to get in with his children and Molly, who sat next to Jack, but then stopped. "I need to speak with Mr. Spadros."

  "I'll go with them," his father said. "I want to spend time with my grandchildren."

  Xavier grinned. The fact that his father had come back at all was encouraging. "Very good."

  Xavier went forward to the carriage and got in, followed by Mr. Spadros. Mrs. Bluff and Trapasso Spadros sat there already. The doors closed and the carriages set off.

  Xavier said, "What exactly does a Mayor do?"

  Mr. Spadros said, "Leads the city, I guess."

  "I want you to find out. From history."

  Mr. Spadros laughed. "Very well. I suppose I'll be your personal librarian."

  Xavier grinned. Mr. Spadros did look very much like one.

  Then they began talking of other things. Mr. Spadros mentioned the Harts, and his father Trapasso laughed. "They're trying to become legitimate," he said. "We never had to change our name. We just had you, Acevedo."

  Mr. Spadros seemed unsure as to what to think of that.

  A sound as if a gun fired, then a horrifying high squealing whistle. A crash of splintering wood as the ground shook. Their carriage lifted in the air and set down, almost tipping.

  What just happened? Xavier got out of the carriage and looked around. Burning pieces of a carriage lay everywhere. Horses lay on the ground. Guardsmen on horses milled around, began dismounting. Mrs. Bluff screamed and ran over, along with several of the parents, who began beating the flames with their coats.

  Terror struck. "My children are in there!" Xavier rushed forward.

  Mr. Spadros grabbed him, yelling, "Stop. Stop!"

  Xavier pulled away, ran over, frantic.

  Men pulled charred bodies out.

  Xavier's vision turned gray, his knees buckled, his stomach roiled. Mr. Spadros knelt by him, grasping his upper arms. "Kerr did this," Xavier said. "Polansky Kerr. He told me if I did anything, he'd kill them. And he did. He did."

  People from the ruins began gathering. One yelled, "It's them! You did this! You destroyed my city!" More and more angry people came out of the burnt buildings and makeshift tents which used to be the "Pot of Gold." Some carried boards, others pieces of metal.

  Rocks and broken bottles began to fly towards the Guardsmen. "Protect the Mayor," Mr. Spadros yelled. "Get the bodies and let's go!"

  Xavier couldn't move. Bodies. Jack and Joy — my children — are bodies?

  A group of Xavier's men lifted him into the carriage, then began shooting into the crowd. A few from other carriages climbed in as well.

  Mr. Spadros said, "Where's Katherine?"

  "With Molly," a woman said. "They're bringing her straight to the hospital."

  Mr. Spadros said. "Molly's alive?"

  "Yes," a man said. "She's hurt, but she's alive."

  "Polansky Kerr said he would kill them," Xavier said. Then he realized: The rocket was also meant for me.

  Mr. Spadros said, "Yes. I know."

  "I'm going to kill him," Xavier said.

  Mr. Spadros sat looking at him for a long time. Then he said, "Do
you want help?"

  He thought of his men. "No," Xavier said. "I have all the help I need."

  They went to Market Center in silence. When they got out of the carriages, Xavier said, "Get my top men."

  The men who would do anything for him came round. "I have one final mission for you." When he told them what it was, they grinned in delight.

  On October 17th, six months and sixteen days after the fighting began, Xavier Alcatraz gave his first speech as Mayor of Bridges.

  He went to the podium.

  "Our long night of unspeakable tragedy is finally over."

  Then he stepped down, overcome. The speech he had written seemed useless. My children are dead. My father is dead. My city is ruined.

  Xavier felt ruined as well. People were already calling this the Alcatraz Coup. I'll be named a cheat and a traitor until the day I die.

  The crowd was silent for a long moment, then burst into applause.

  Xavier just wanted to go somewhere and hide for the rest of his life, but there were delegations to meet with, orders to sign. At least the looting had finally stopped; the city was more or less at peace.

  Ocho Malize and his wife sat in the audience, holding their new baby. The doctors said Ocho would never walk again.

  But they named their new little boy Xavier.

  Xavier would make sure they were taken care of.

  He glanced over at Mr. Spadros and Mrs. Bluff; they stood holding hands. Xavier didn't know Mrs. Bluff well, but he felt grateful her daughter Molly would live. Jack had loved her, if only for a little while.

  And Mrs. Bluff had helped him with Joy when no one else would; for that he was grateful.

  They seemed good together. At least someone in all this is happy.

  Xavier looked out over the ruins of Bridges. His city was free. But at what cost?

  He took a deep breath, let it out. Jack and Joy would want him to go on. So somehow, he would.