Niko
Page 43
Chapter 33
Cold ran through her body, freezing her feet to the floor.
“Harmony?” Her brother asked in a tiny voice.
Now she understood why everyone was so scared, the delayed deployment of fireworks and Ari’s scream. But how had it got in with no one noticing?
The Slither hissed and Niko frantically patted her body for a weapon but the dress was crafted for beauty not function.
“Sssssssicko.” The monster slurred and her eyes widened. Was it ...? Could it possibly be...?
“Oh gods.” She said finally recognizing the tattered clothing dangling from his frame. “Malik?”
Someone bumped into her and her grasp on her brother was broken. “Jared!”
He called for her but already his voice was getting further away. She was about to shove her way through the crowd when someone grabbed her from behind.
“I said,” Spat the man from before. “Come with us.” No longer relying on his grip to compel her he pressed the muzzle of a gun to her head.
Niko froze. There was nothing she could use as a weapon. Even if she did break free it would lead her right into the arms of Malik who despite his rudimentary use of language resembled a Slither in every other way down to someone else's red blood smeared across his dead white skin.
He looked up from the body he was digging into catching her brown eyes with his multicolored ones and for a brief moment they, flickered reverting back to their normal human color.
He got to his feet as the man dragged her backward, around furniture and over bodies. Malik charged.
The man yelled. He pulled his gun away from Niko and pointed it toward the Slither. Niko dove to the floor as he fired crawling away as fast as she could on her hands and knees. Bullets stopped people not Slithers.
Shell casings pinged against the floor and then she heard the desperate clicking of a dry-fire.
Someone stepped on her hand and her scream drowned out that of the man’s as a Slither’s claw entered his gut. She felt rather than heard the dull crunch of a bone breaking and the world disappeared for a few seconds as white-hot pain washed through her body.
Someone stepped on her leg and tripped over her.
“Niko!” Ben gasped as he landed beside her. She moaned in response.
He struggled to his feet before hauling her upright. “Come on.”
She felt every movement in her broken finger; in fact it wasn’t just her hand that throbbed but her whole arm. She pressed it to her chest. “I lost Jared, he’s somewhere in here. I’m not leaving him again.”
“We won’t.” Ben said as he deftly maneuvered around the room. The smoke was beginning to clear but the Slither was still alive and no one was carrying the proper weapon to kill it.
“Malik turned.” She whispered.
He nodded grimly. “I know, I was there.”
They came upon a wall.They slowly traveled the length of it, Ben’s hand brushing against the wallpaper until he found what he wanted. He raised his fist knocking once above his head and once below his knees. A paneling popped open. He grinned at her. “Secret passage m’dear?”
The tunnel was dark and as the screams of the dining room faded in the distance all she could hear was the sound of her own breathing as she shuffled along behind him.
He pushed open another door and she squinted in the bright sunlight. The tunnel led to a side alley outside of the hotel.
The bright light was disconcerting as well as the people going about their business beyond the alley’s mouth. It’d felt as if several hours had passed inside the hotel not a couple of minutes.
Ben began to lead her toward the street but she broke out of his grasp. “I’m not leaving without him.”
“You need to be on that train, Niko.”
“I don’t care.” She said through clenched teeth, jerking away from him had made her arm throb even more.
He placed both hands on her upper-arms. “You have to go Niko. I’ll go back in there and find Jared. We’ll be right behind you but you have to go now.”
She stared into his eyes, eyes that flickered and proclaimed that he would eventually turn into a Slither. Could she trust eyes like that? “If you’re not there when the train comes I’m not getting on.”
He nodded once. “We’ll be there. I promise.”
He reached under his jacket and pulled out a wrinkled pair of clothes. “Knocked out one of the servers, devilishly smart of me. It’s a good way for you to blend in.”
“And to see me naked.” She said dryly as she took the clothes.
He placed his hand over his eyes but left large gaps between his fingers. “I won’t peek.”
She turned around, shucked off the dress before stepping into the nondescript clothes. There weren’t any boots; she would just have to hope her heels stood up to the onslaught of acid.
She faced him. Ben didn’t move. Though his fingers were wide open his eyes were shut and had been that way the entire time. She smiled. “I’m going now.” She announced.
His eyes flew open.
She had gone only two steps when he reached out and kissed her. “Be safe.” He murmured past lips stained as red as hers.
“Find him.” She said.
She began running.
Her heels slammed against the pavement smashing clumps of salt. Her hand throbbed and a jolt coursed through her body with each step.
Niko ran to the beat of her heart, shoving passersby and Grey-men alike. She left accidents and angry cries in her wake. She was attracting attention but being careful meant being too slow. Besides, Grey-men didn’t wear heels.
She followed the route Malik had taken when he tried to convince her that they were looking for her brother. He had lied. Or maybe he hadn’t, she would never know. Of all the legends and rumors about Slithers they never told of a monster turning into a man.
She kept running. Her arm pulsed as if it had a heart of its own located at the tip of her finger. Tears ran down her face and she wiped fiercely at them with her good hand. She needed to see.
She skidded around a corner. Even with the salt neutralizing most of the acid her heels were looking significantly damaged. The Director would be appalled.
Up ahead she could see the city walls, it was a couple of hundred yards away and as much as she hated to do it she slowed to a purposeful walk. The Council might have noted her escape by now and even though she was dressed differently a frantic dash was still suspect.
She kept her head down eyes darting to the side checking the people around her. She spared only one glance over her shoulder and saw neither Ben nor Jared. Where were they?
It wasn’t until she entered the South Gate that she lifted her head. The room was filled with Outsiders; they sat on chairs or leaned against the walls waiting to be processed. She spotted Gretchen and Ed but they were looking away and hadn’t noticed her yet. She hoped they would have better luck in the city than she had.
“You sure are cutting it close.” Bobby said hustling her into another room. “I managed to schedule a break in the perimeter watch but it won’t last long. Wasn’t there supposed to be someone else with you?”
“Two people.” Niko answered. “They’re coming.”
“Well the train’s coming.” Bobby opened a door that led Outside. “Go meet it.”
He darted a quick glance over his shoulder before he shoved her out. Immediately the acid began eating at her shoes. She had no choice but to run.
A thin, scraggly line of Outsiders had formed before the city wall and they stared at her as she headed away from the city. Nobody yelled for her to stop, there were no guards mounted on the wall to shoot her down or Officials to order her recapture. Bobby and the Director had taken care of that.
The ground was rocky threatening to twist an ankle as she ran and pitch her to the earth.
As Duc explained there was an underground rail service that connected the cities together. It transported food and other goods from place to place. Very r
arely would it transport people, usually high enough Officials, Council members and people with enough money to pay for the service.
Niko would be following none of those routes. A section of the tunnel had collapsed, the rubble had been cleared but the gap remained. She was going to jump.
The gap was over half a kilometer away from the city and her feet were already feeling hot. She had no idea if the heat was from the exercise or the acid; she wasn’t waiting around to find out. Her arm had gone numb, she didn’t know it that was a good thing or not.
The gap came upon her quickly and soon she was standing right over the edge. The tunnel had collapsed right were the tracks began to turn angling left into the black mouth on the other end. The train would be forced to slow and hopefully it’d be enough for her to jump on.
She glanced back at the grey city with its towers of monochromatic buildings, containing people just as frightened as the people living Outside. Perhaps even more so because Outsiders only had one thing to lose while the citizen inside had everything.
There was no sign of Ben or Jared.
She could feel the rumble of an approaching train beneath her feet. It made the rocks tremble and clatter but the screech and groan of wheels against steel drowned out the small sound.
She kept her eyes on the South Gate as a warm blast of confined air tugged at her clothes begging her to jump. She was not leaving.
She stood there, unmoving, feet apart as her heels slowly disintegrated into the acid soaked ground. Her heart kept time with the on-coming train and her whole body vibrated with the force of its approach.
At the South Gate two tiny figures emerged.
Niko breathed.
End of book one
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Harm
Book Two of the Outsider Chronicles
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