by Brenda Poppy
“Things haven’t been going well,” she began, sounding on the verge of tears. “We’ve been trying to stall the repairs on the ventilation system, but it hasn’t worked. The Peace Force keeps making progress. Nothing we do seems to make a difference. At this rate, the repairs will be completed within a few weeks, and the Lunaria have started to blame me! They think I have something do with it. But I swear I don’t! You have to believe me!”
Scar was taken aback by the woman’s flood of emotions, and she tried to process everything that Cali had said.
“On top of that,” Cali continued, “Raqa’s PeaceBots went offline and we haven’t been able to re-establish contact. We don’t know anything that’s happening inside the Peace Force.”
Things in the Lunaria were worse than Scar had anticipated. Looking around at her peers, she could now sense the tension thrumming through the room. Some of the members had begun to cast untrusting looks at their fellow rebels, while others hadn’t even deigned to show up. The Lunaria was falling apart.
Scar stood suddenly, and all eyes turned toward her. Crossing her arms, she stared back defiantly, daring them to question her authority. When none of them did, she began her speech.
“The Pit doesn’t lead to death. It leads outside the city, and I have proof.” She drew the papers out of her bag and tossed them into the middle of the circle. No one moved to inspect them. Instead, all eyes remained glued to her.
“Life outside Kasis is possible,” she continued. “It might not be pleasant, but it’s possible. Which means that, in all likelihood, Burn and Hale are still alive. And it’s up to us to save them.”
Scar expected someone to fight back. She expected defiance. Yet no one spoke. It felt like the life had gone out of the room – and the fire of resistance along with it. This was going to be more difficult than she had anticipated.
“Your plans clearly haven’t worked,” she went on, changing tactics. “So now it’s time to try something else. It’s time to bring back the people who can actually lead. Because without them, we will never see the end of the Peace Force.”
“How do we know we can trust you?” Ansel stood up from across the circle, his arms crossed in a position that mirrored her own. “You bring that son of a bitch in here and you expect us to believe anything you have to say?” he asked, purposely omitting Kaz’s name and position as if he were a thing instead of a person. “If we were smart, we’d walk out that door right now and never invite you back.”
“Well, good thing you’re not very smart, then,” Scar replied calmly. She heard a few sniggers from around the room but ignored them, continuing, “If he wanted to betray you, don’t you think you’d already be in Peace Force custody? He knew the location of your safe house. He knew your names. He’d seen your faces. Yet here you are, free to wander around Kasis spouting your idiotic ideas.”
Scar knew that she probably shouldn’t be insulting Ansel, but it was hard to resist. With Hale gone, he’d slotted himself in as the de facto head of the Lunaria, adopting a pompous attitude that he hadn’t previously possessed. That, paired with his lack of any real leadership ability, made him an easy target.
Despite her insults, however, he seemed satisfied by her response. He grudgingly sat down, leaving the floor to Scar. Caught off guard, she paused to gather her thoughts.
Raqa took advantage of her silence. Standing, he addressed the crowd in his jittery voice.
“If it were possible to live outside Kasis, don’t you think we’d know about it? It sounds suspicious. It sounds like a trap.”
Scar had been afraid of this – not of someone disagreeing with her, but of Raqa talking. She hated it when he did that. Sighing, she advanced on him, stopping an arm’s length from where he stood.
“The Peace Force thrives on secrets. Their entire governing body is kept secret in order to guarantee their safety. What makes you think they wouldn’t hide something like this? This is exactly the type of thing they do every day to ensure we remain at their mercy.”
A murmur of assent rippled through the Lunaria. Scar could have sworn she saw Raqa’s eye twitch, but he wisely backed down, returning to his seat. She breathed a silent sigh of relief at his surrender. Her battle was nearing its end.
Now that she’d bested her opponents, it was time to reveal her plan. Only, she didn’t have a plan, at least not one that was fully formed and ready for action. Despite giving herself a day to decipher the city’s blueprints, she only understood small portions of the drawings, and none of them got her any closer to discovering a way through the dome.
She needed someone who could read the cryptic grids and codes, someone who was versed in the language of construction. She needed an expert.
Without warning, she turned on her heel to face Cali. The woman looked startled at the attention, her eyes going wide with apprehension.
“You!” Scar let out, clearly frightening her. Bending down, she grabbed the papers she’d thrown into the circle and held them out to Cali. “Can you read these?”
It was a longshot. She knew that Cali worked in the ventilation department, although she’d never cared to discover in what capacity. Still, there was a chance that her role required at least a basic understanding of building schematics, and even that would be enough.
It took Cali a few seconds to get past her shock. When she did, she dove into her bag, fumbling around briefly before coming out with a pair of large glasses. Putting them on, she gingerly accepted the brittle parchment. She leafed through the pages pensively, making thoughtful noises at periodic intervals.
“Most of these are outdated,” she began after a few minutes, her eyes still glued to the papers. “A lot of the original city was demolished when it became clear we would have to build upward. But some of the old parts are still standing along the bottom tiers. They didn’t want to have to redo everything, especially since they figured no one of importance would ever live there. So some of the nonstructural elements still remain today.”
Cali paused, flipping through a few more pages. Then her eyes caught on something. Carefully, she withdrew a particularly yellowed sheet from the stack, smoothing it out on her lap. A look of confusion slowly spread across her face as she studied it, tracing some of the lines with her fingers.
An impatient hush had fallen over the room, but Cali didn’t seem to notice. She was completely absorbed in the drawing now, and she’d even begun to murmur to herself, saying things like “it can’t be” and “that doesn’t make sense.” After a few more vague mutterings in that vein, Scar took charge.
“What did you find?” she asked, gentle enough so as not to startle the woman again. “What’s on those plans?”
Cali looked up, surprised to find the whole room staring at her in rapt attention. She had been so focused on the pages that she’d forgotten where she was – and who she was with. Some of her timidity returned as she glanced around at the people who had so recently judged and accused her.
Scar understood her reserve, but she also had no time for it. So she drew Cali’s attention, making the girl focus on her alone.
“Whatever you’ve found, it might be the answer I’ve been searching for. Please, just tell me.”
Cali gulped, but she didn’t break eye contact. “Well,” she began, her voice quiet, “there’s something on these plans that I’ve never seen before. It’s old, very old. They look like…tunnels below the city. Like something they might have used for irrigation or sewage back before our modern systems came into place.”
“Tunnels?” Scar inquired, her excitement palpable.
“Yes. I don’t know how big they are – or even if they still exist,” Cali stated, her eyes returning to the plans. “They might have collapsed. Or been filled in. But once, a long time ago, they led out of the city.”
A spark of elation ran through Scar’s body at her words. Out of the city. Tunnels that led out of the city. This was exactly what she’d been searching for.
“Is it possible that any of
them are still around? Could a person fit through them? Do you know how to find them?” The questions came so fast that Scar could barely get them out in time. She wanted to know everything.
“I don’t know,” Cali said apologetically, shrugging her shoulders. “These plans don't provide a full overview of the tunnels. Although as long as we have these, we should be able to locate the entrances. Then we can see what kind of state they’re in.”
Scar wanted to laugh and cry and shout her thanks. Then again, she wasn’t the type to do any of those things. So, instead, she settled for a small, genuine smile.
Chapter 17
Burn and Hale trudged through the desert with nearly 20 people trailing in their wake. It was simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. These people had left their lives behind to follow her. They trusted her to lead them to a better life – but she didn’t even know if that was possible.
She also didn’t know where she was going. That was currently her most pressing problem.
They had departed Callidus just as night was beginning to fall. With Hale still in his guard form, they’d managed to slip out of the city unnoticed, silently disappearing into the falling darkness. Burn had needed to get out, needed to escape from what had happened – and what they’d done. Climbing back over the hills that surrounded the city had felt like breaking out of a prison, the sudden freedom intoxicating.
Burn hadn’t even thought about the people they’d left behind, the people who had been waiting in vain for her father to return and take them home. She was so focused on her own escape that she hadn’t even paused to consider theirs. At least not until they’d appeared in front of her, melting out from behind rocks and dunes on the outskirts of the city.
There were more than a dozen of them, their scant possessions slung over their shoulders and their eyes bright with hope. Burn had frozen at their appearance, shock and fear spreading through her body and immobilizing her reflexes. Hale, however, had urged her forward, assuring her that these were friends and not foes.
One woman had stood in front of the rest, quiet and poised as she gripped the reins of their horse. Her beautiful face was framed with long black hair that whipped around her in the growing breeze. Hale had introduced her as Eyana, his new face-changing friend and ally, who had transformed him into a guard so he could come to Burn’s rescue.
Apparently, as Hale and Burn had dealt with Thestle, Eyana had been gathering the troops, spreading the word throughout the city that Arvense’s daughter had come for them. And the people had responded. Some of them had met Burn’s father all those years ago and had been waiting patiently for his return. Others only knew the story of Arvense, the legend of the man in search of Kasis. But all of them were looking for a way out, a way home. And, in lieu of Arvense himself, they looked to Burn for salvation.
Since night had been fast approaching, however, Burn knew their search for salvation would have to wait. Their first priority was to flee, putting as much distance between themselves and Callidus as they could before the bitter cold and darkness made it impossible to continue.
With the help of Eyana’s navigational knowledge, the newly formed party had departed, heading off on foot in the direction of Aberra. Arvense had believed that the town held clues to finding a way back into Kasis, yet he’d never gotten the chance to prove his hypothesis. Now it was Burn’s turn to take up the mantle and finish the journey he’d started.
They’d traveled for hours through the growing darkness, the sand mingling with the sharp night air to grate at their exposed skin and claw at their eyes and throats. When the desert had finally beaten them down, slowing their progress to a crawl, they’d halted, camping for the night in a rocky inlet that provided a modicum of protection from the brutal wind.
As soon as the first sun had peeked out from beyond the horizon, they’d set off once more, their exhaustion barely diminished despite the rest. Their pace had been slow yet steady, and the rocky landscape had gradually thinned and tapered before them. Now, as midday approached, they found themselves surrounded by a sea of sand.
There was nothing around them to mark their progress – no hills or canyons or rock forms. The wind wiped away their tracks as soon as they made them, and if it weren’t for the suns acting as their compass, Burn was sure they’d be traveling in circles for an eternity.
“Is this even the right direction?” Burn whispered to Hale, who was trudging beside her a few paces in front of the rest of the group.
Glancing up at him, Burn was again relieved that Eyana had returned Hale to his original body, replacing the unfamiliar guard with the broad, muscled form that she’d come to know so well. Still, she couldn’t help but grimace at the memory of his transformation.
She had watched with fear and awe as Hale’s arms and legs stretched grotesquely and his skin rippled as muscles grew where none had been before. Hale had remained silent throughout the whole ordeal, yet Burn had heard his pain, the silent screams echoing in her head as if they were her own.
Since then, Burn had given Eyana a wide berth. Burn had known someone like her once, a Lunaria operative who could change his face whenever he wished, but her power was something else entirely. The ability to take away someone’s body, their identity, and replace it with another felt sinister somehow, as if enemies could surround her at any moment, hiding within sheep’s clothing.
Hale looked down at Burn, his familiar gaze soothing something inside of her. He raised one eyebrow and shrugged at her question.
“Eyana said that Aberra was a day’s journey in this direction,” he told her, returning his eyes to the desert. “The others seemed to agree. That means we should reach it in a few hours.”
“And if we don’t? What happens then?” Burn asked quietly, not wanting to be overheard by the people who trusted her to know what she was doing.
Another shrug from Hale. “We set up our own camp?” he said jokingly.
Burn shook her head. Despite her best efforts, a small smile played on her lips at his suggestion, the utter absurdity breaking some of her tension.
Thankfully, though, it didn’t come to that. A few hours later, exhausted and drenched in sweat, Burn spotted a minuscule town rising from the horizon. At first she thought she’d imagined it, her mind having played several such tricks on her over the course of their journey. As they drew closer, however, more members of their group began to point and cheer as they spotted the settlement.
Aberra was nothing like Videre. It also bore little resemblance to Callidus. Only the tents looked vaguely familiar, except theirs were spread out, dotting the landscape at irregular intervals rather than being crushed together in a stone valley.
Scattered between the tents were what looked like sheep, although these creatures boasted jet black faces that obscured their eyes and diminutive legs that held them barely above the ground. The small, sandy puff balls meandered around aimlessly, intermixing with the residents as they went about their lives.
Another shocking difference to Callidus was the way they were greeted. Surprisingly, no one accosted them with weapons or appeared from behind rocks to tie them up and drag them into the city. As it happened, hardly anyone noticed them at all. Those that did were unwaveringly friendly, smiling or waving to the newcomers as they passed by.
Burn found the whole thing unnerving. She’d been prepared for a battle, mentally readying herself to face yet another despotic ruler. She’d even formulated a plan with Hale to ensure their swift and secure exit when things naturally got out of hand. All of that appeared unnecessary now.
Glancing around, she saw hints of a simple kind of life. Some of the citizens tended to the sheep, along with the other strange creatures that milled about the town. Others prepared meals on open fires, the smell of bread and game wafting on the breeze. Yet more gathered in groups to wash clothes or shuck corn or simply to share their stories and bond in the midday heat.
Burn heard it all as she passed, soaking in the pleasant conversations and peace
ful silence. After her time in Callidus and their harsh journey through the desert, Aberra felt deliciously serene, like a haven amongst the squall.
Yet this wasn’t a sightseeing mission. Burn had a job to do and people who were depending on her to do it. They trailed behind her like a flock, pushing her ever onward. Burn scanned the tents, looking for someone who might be able to guide her toward the answers she so desperately sought.
“Excuse me,” Burn said gently, approaching a curvy woman surrounded by a small brood of shrieking children. “We’ve come from some of the neighboring towns. We were hoping to speak to someone regarding an important matter. Is there a leader or chieftain here that we could talk to?”
The woman sized Burn up before glancing at the waiting crowd behind her. Her eyes were kind but cautious as she considered them, taking in their disheveled clothes and their mismatched weapons.
“We don’t have a leader,” she said, stopping to yell at one of the children before continuing. “We make our decisions together, as a parliament.” She paused again to pull one of the younger children away from a nearby fire pit, which gave Burn time to consider her words.
“Is there any way you could convene your parliament today so we could address them? We would be extremely grateful.”
To Burn’s utter relief, the woman smiled and nodded. “I’ll spread the word around. It’s not often we get visitors. I’m sure everyone will be eager to meet you.”
“Thank you,” Burn replied graciously, relief sweeping through her. “How long do you think it’ll take to get everyone together?”
The woman sighed loudly, giving Burn a look she couldn’t quite read. “Well, most of them won’t return until nightfall. Our hunters and gatherers stay out most of the day searching for food, but I’m sure they’ll be willing to meet with you later this evening.”
The woman tried to sound reassuring, but Burn felt oddly discouraged at her words. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she’d been hoping that this was it, that in a few minutes she’d finally have the answers she’d crossed a desert to find. But no. Yet again she was forced to wait.