Embers of Destruction

by J. Scott Savage

  But it did. There were hundreds of rules governing the city. Every day, Trenton picked up a few more. Gray clothes identified humans who performed manual labor. White was for the professional class. Those who fell somewhere in between wore white pants and gray shirts. A band of color across the chest marked people deemed most valuable to the city. The thicker the band, the higher the rank.

  Other rules were more obvious. Work was from eight until five, with an hour for lunch. Breakfast and dinner were served in the dormitories—or cooked in private homes for those who had them. Although, those granted clearance could eat dinner at designated restaurants spread through the city. Since Trenton and his friends didn’t have clearance, they were required to go straight from the dormitory to work and back again. Exploring was limited to within a single block of those two places; the Ninki Nankas, with their beady black eyes, made sure of that.

  Unless they were required to work together, men and women living in the dormitories were only allowed to mingle on Rest Day—the last day of the week—which nearly everyone had off.

  Trenton was surprised at how few children he saw. Maybe they were assigned to a different area of the city.

  A little past noon on the day before Rest Day, Trenton and Angus stood on a hill overlooking the bay. Toiling in the fields was backbreaking work, but at least the breeze coming off the water kept them cool.

  Angus yanked a beet out of the ground, wrinkled his nose, and tossed it into the basket strapped to his back. “Surprised you haven’t been put in charge of oiling squeaky wheels or something.”

  Trenton yanked a plant free of the rich soil and banged it against his leg to knock off the dirt. “Surprised you haven’t been put in charge of roughing up prisoners or something.”

  Angus nodded as though the idea had merit. “Maybe they heard about your excellent grades in food production class.”

  “Maybe they heard your dad was a bully who forced everyone to follow a chancellor who nearly got us all killed.”

  Insults finished, they went back to picking. They’d have to stay late if they didn’t finish their quota on time.

  Garvin hadn’t bothered them again since the day Angus beat him up. In fact, Trenton hadn’t seen him at all. Maybe he’d been transferred to another field where the workers he picked on didn’t fight back.

  Although he wouldn’t say it to Angus, Trenton was surprised he hadn’t been transferred out of the fields. Clyde had been promoted to a job that took advantage of his talents. Although he didn’t know where they’d been assigned, Simoni and Plucky were both wearing white. That left only Angus, Kallista, and himself stuck doing manual labor.

  “Maybe it’s because they want to keep an eye on us,” he muttered.

  Angus snapped a beet plant, showering Trenton with dirt. “What are you talking about?”

  “Maybe they’re keeping us out of the city because it’s easier to keep track of what we’re doing here. They know as long as we’re spending every day in the fields, we can’t get into any trouble.” If that was the case, did it mean someone in authority had decided Simoni, Plucky, and Clyde could be trusted? By that reasoning, someone must have decided Trenton, Kallista, and Angus were a risk.

  “If that’s the plan, it’s working,” Angus said. “By the time I get done working out here, the only thing I want to do is eat and fall into bed. Almost makes me wish Garvin would come back to break up the boredom.”

  From the other side of the field, a quad came trundling toward them. It was outfitted with a pair of metal rakes on the front and a two-legged trailer on the back. The trailer was filled to overflowing with fertilizer.

  Trenton placed a sleeve over his face. “I hate when they bring those carts by. It makes the fields stink for the rest of the day.”

  The quad angled across the field, and Trenton realized it was coming straight toward him. “Watch out!” he shouted, diving to the side as one of the metal legs stabbed the ground inches from where he’d been standing.

  The quad cut sharply to the right, and the trailer swung wildly, going up on a single leg for a moment. Dirt and fertilizer spilled over the side, covering Trenton from head to foot. The quad turned again, the driver heading in another direction.

  Angus howled with laughter, clutching his stomach, as Trenton wiped the dirt from his face. “It was like the driver did that on purpose,” he said. At least three feet of the row he’d been picking was now covered. He’d have to dig out the plants again before the sun went down.

  Looking down, he saw something white sticking out of the dirt. He pulled it loose. It was a folded piece of paper. Quickly he opened the note.

  Meet tomorrow at noon. Zoo south of city center. Look for the bear cage. Do not tell anyone. Destroy this note after reading it.

  He looked around for the quad, but it had already disappeared into the next field over. He tried to recall the image of the driver’s face. The quad had gone by fast, and the driver had been wearing a scarf that covered his face up to his nose, but Trenton was almost sure the skin between the scarf and the floppy dark hair had been pale white.

  • • •

  Rest Day was like a mini carnival. Except for the people running the food stands and exhibits, everyone was off work. Men, women, and children crowded together, eating, laughing, and playing games.

  All of the food was free, and what few guards there were stayed out of the way. Trenton didn’t even see any Ninki Nankas lurking about, although he was sure they were there somewhere.

  South of the city center, twenty or thirty cages contained a variety of animals, many of which Trenton had never seen before: monkeys, brightly colored birds, a horse with black-and-white stripes.

  “They all look so sad,” Clyde said.

  Trenton agreed. When he’d realized he’d have a chance to see an actual bear, he’d been excited. But almost all of the animals lay on the floors of their concrete cages, watching the people going by with listless eyes. Only the large brown bear paced back and forth in its cage, its wicked-looking claws clicking with each step.

  “I’ll bet that guy could do some damage if he got out,” Angus said.

  On the other side of the bear cage, a woman with long brownish-red hair was playing a violin. A brightly colored bird on her shoulder bobbed back and forth to the music.

  A dark-haired boy appeared out of the crowd and called to the woman, “Sounding good, Talysa,” before continuing by.

  Talysa nodded without stopping her music.

  “That’s the kid from the field,” Clyde said.

  “Come on,” Trenton said, hurrying after the boy before he could get lost in the crowd.

  The boy continued past several cages before ducking behind a food cart.

  Trenton, Angus, and Clyde followed, darting through the opening to find Kallista, Simoni, and Plucky waiting in a small alcove filled with pipes and cords. It was the first time the six of them had seen each other since their meeting with the monarch.

  Angus raced forward and pulled Simoni into a hug. “How are you?” He looked her up and down as though checking for damage.

  “I’m fine,” Simoni said.

  Standing off to the side was the dark-haired boy along with three other kids. “About time,” the boy said with a grin.

  “What’s this all about?” Trenton demanded. He turned to Kallista. “Who are these kids?”

  Kallista’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you knew them.”

  The boy stuck out his hand. “Alex Vaughn. These are my coworkers.”

  A tall boy with lots of freckles eyed them up and down. “They don’t look that special to me.”

  “They built those mechanical dragons? I doubt it,” said a skinny boy with lots of red hair.

  A girl with a long dark ponytail offered a cheerful smile. “Forgive their rudeness. We don’t see new kids here a lot—especially not kids who fly
into our city on mechanical dragons.” She stuck out her hand encased in a leather work glove. “I’m Hallie Meredith, the tall one is Michael Whitlock, and the one with all the red hair is Joey Moore.”

  The redhead gave a quick nod. “People call me JoeBob on account of I bob my head a lot when I talk.”

  Kallista gave Hallie’s gloved hand a brief shake, and Trenton did the same.

  “I got a note saying these guys know where our dragons are,” Kallista said.

  Trenton frowned. “Same here. Although mine came covered in a pile of dirt that got dumped on me.”

  “That was my fault,” Alex said. “I didn’t mean to actually dump it on you.”

  Hallie tugged at her ponytail. “Alex has an odd sense of humor.”

  Michael chuffed. “You can say that again. He’s pulled way too many pranks on me since I’ve known him.”

  “Is that what this is?” Trenton asked. “Some kind of prank? Or do you really know where our dragons are?”

  “We know,” Alex said. “But before we take you there, we have to make sure you’re on our side.”

  “Your side of what?” Clyde asked.

  “‘Side of what.’” JoeBob snickered. “I like that.”

  Alex gave him a warning look. He studied Trenton, Kallista, and the others. “Why did you come here?”

  Even though he’d just learned the boy’s name, Trenton felt like he could trust him. Maybe it was because he was one of the few people who didn’t seem in awe of the dragons, or maybe it was because they were both about the same age and there didn’t seem to be a lot of kids in this city. Whatever the reason, he found himself giving a completely honest answer.

  “We’ve been hunting dragons for the last eight weeks, looking for their source.”

  Michael folded his arms across his chest. “Well, you found it.”

  “And now that you have?” Alex said. “Now that you’ve seen what the city is like, what will you do if you get your dragons back?”

  “What would you do?” Kallista asked.

  “I’d leave,” Michael said. “No question. Get out of this dragon-stinking city and never come back.”

  “You seem to be the only ones who feel that way,” Trenton said. “Everyone else loves it here.”

  “You mean the adults,” Hallie said, rolling her eyes.

  Alex nodded. “All the adults think the dragons are the source of everything good. But us kids don’t. We do everything we can to sabotage things for the dragons. We call ourselves the Runt Patrol.”

  “You created the explosion the night we were in the field,” Trenton said.

  “And the warning about the guards,” JoeBob added. “That was me.”

  Alex nodded. “The Runt Patrol is committed to doing whatever it takes to free our city—and our parents—from the dragons. For some reason, kids change when they get older here. It’s like they start believing everything the dragons say. They go from hating the dragons to practically worshipping them.”

  Trenton remembered what Alex had said before they had been taken to meet the monarch. “That’s what you meant about us being younger than you.”

  “Right,” Alex said. “Michael and I are getting older. We’ve been planning to escape before we become like the rest of them, but then you guys arrived.”

  “The woman who processed us claimed we could leave anytime we wanted,” Kallista said.

  Michael guffawed. “They’ll let you leave all right. But as soon as you do, they’ll kill you.”

  “Why?” Trenton asked. “What’s the point of keeping us here?”

  Alex tilted his head. “You built those mechanical dragons, and you managed to kill over a dozen real dragons, from what I’ve heard. That makes you both a resource and a threat. As long as they can keep you here, using your mechanical talents for them, they’ll let you live. But the day you try to leave, you’re a threat.”

  “I’m still planning on escaping,” Michael said.

  Alex scuffed the toe of his right shoe in the dirt. “Up until we saw you fly into the city, we’d assumed it was impossible to kill dragons. We did what we could to harass them, but we figured eventually we’d have to leave the city before we started being mindless slaves like our parents.” He looked from Trenton to Kallista. “Do you think . . . If we got your dragons back, could we find a way to stop the dragons for good?”

  “Not in a straight-up battle,” Trenton said. “But if we knew more about the city, we might be able to find a way to outthink them.”

  “Oh, we know everything about the city,” Hallie said.

  JoeBob shook his hair out of his eyes. “Everything.”

  “All right,” Alex said. “Let’s go get them.”

  Stick close to me,” Alex said. “You’ve been spied on ever since you got here. And I don’t just mean by the Ninki Nankas.”

  “Spied on?” Plucky asked. “By rusty who?”

  “Adults,” Michael said. “They don’t trust kids.” He gave a lopsided grin. “Not that they should.”

  Alex stepped around the side of the food cart, peeked in both directions, then ducked back. “Okay, we have to make this quick. We know where your dragons are. The mechanics have only been testing them so far, but Lizzy says they could start taking them apart as early as tomorrow.”

  “Who’s Lizzy?” Angus asked. “And how does she know all this?”

  “We get around,” was all Alex said. “The building where they are is locked, but no one will be working there tonight. The dragons are lazy, and the guards are minimal on Rest Day.”

  Clyde ran his fingers through his hair. “If it’s locked, how do we get in?”

  Alex reached into his pocket and flashed a shiny key. “Freshly minted. It pays to have friends in small spaces.”

  He dropped to one knee and sketched a map in the dirt, while the others crowded around him. “We can’t all go together or people will get suspicious. Head out from here in groups of two so you can look out for each other. I’ll meet you at the southeast corner of the library in thirty minutes. From there, it’s only a couple of blocks to the building where they’re keeping the dragons.”

  “Aren’t you forgetting the Ninki Nankas?” Angus asked. “I don’t think they’re going to like us nosing around where we don’t belong.”

  “Leave the Ninkis to me,” Alex said. “If we split up now and everyone goes in different directions, it will make it harder for them to keep track of us and less likely that they’ll suspect we’re up to anything. Do your best to make sure you aren’t followed, but don’t be late.”

  Trenton looked around, realizing Hallie, JoeBob, and Michael were no longer with them. “Were did your friends go?”

  “To scout out trouble.” He brushed the dirt until there was no sign of the map. “You didn’t tell anyone else about the notes, right?”

  “Right,” Trenton said.

  He noticed Kallista avert her eyes before saying, “Of course.”

  “Okay,” Alex said, “see you in thirty minutes.”

  • • •

  “You told your father, didn’t you?” Trenton said as he and Kallista approached the library.

  “He’s one of us,” Kallista said.

  “Why didn’t you explain that to the Runt Patrol?”

  Kallista chewed her lower lip. “They might not understand. He’s not gullible like the other adults here. Besides, I had to tell him. We’re going to need him to help us plan our next move against the dragons.”

  Simoni and Angus were already at the library when Trenton and Kallista arrived. Plucky and Clyde showed up a minute later.

  “Plum exciting, yeah, yeah?” she asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

  “Plummy terrifying,” Clyde said, trying to catch his breath. “We must have passed at least six of those Ninki Noonkis.”

 
“Ninki Nankas,” Alex said, coming around the corner with Michael and JoeBob behind him. “Named after mythical creatures from Africa.” He looked back at the two boys. “Were any of them followed?”

  JoeBob shook his head while Michael chuckled. “Great idea to try this on Rest Day.”

  “We aren’t trying,” Alex said. “We’re doing.”

  “Where’s Hallie?” Kallista asked.

  A metal plate in the street popped up almost under her feet. “Taking a nap while I waited for the rest of you to show up.”

  “The sewers,” Trenton said, his eyes lighting up. “Why didn’t I think of that? The Ninki Nankas will never find us down there.”

  “Think again,” Hallie said. “The pipes are filled with them. If you listen, you can hear them splashing.”

  “That’s probably how they manage to get around without being seen,” Angus said.

  Clyde sighed. “Then we’re sunk.”

  Alex opened his hand. “Plucky, can I borrow a knife?”

  “Right you are,” Plucky said, pulling a silver blade with a burnished metal handle out of her shirtsleeve.

  Simoni stared at her. “I thought they took your knives.”

  “Dirty bleaters did,” Plucky said. “Made these m’self in the machine shop.”

  Alex took the blade from her and, without a word of warning, pulled at the hem of Clyde’s shirt and cut off a slice near the bottom.

  “What are you doing?” Clyde asked, staring at the ragged cloth.

  “You next,” Alex said to Trenton. He quickly cut a slice from everyone’s shirt, including his own, and tied them into a ball.

  Hallie took the ball from Alex and dropped it into the sewer opening. “The water should carry that at least a couple of blocks,” she said, leading them down the side of the building.

  Trenton glanced back at the open hole. “Aren’t you going to close the cover?”

  “Nope,” Alex said. “If anyone sees the plate, they’ll think we went underground.”

  “Until they find the ball of our shirts,” Simoni said.

  “By that time it will be too late.” Alex stopped halfway to the corner of the building. “JoeBob?”