Coming from Holt, it was almost a compliment. Mira fought the instinct to blush, angered she would be flattered by a bounty hunter who wanted to turn her in for money.
Mira became conscious of a warmth on her hands. It took a moment to realize what it was. Holt was still holding on to them.
“You can let go of my hands now,” she said softly.
Holt, apparently, had forgotten, too. With a start, he let them go, and stepped back.
And then Max barked excitedly, and ran for the opposite end of the camp.
“The Max!” Zoey shouted as the dog rushed to meet her, tail wagging. “The Max wants pets!”
Max rolled over as Zoey started rubbing the dog’s belly. As usual, he made no move to stop her.
Mira heard Holt sigh when he saw the little girl. “Fantastic…,” he said in exasperation.
15. GUILT
HOLT PULLED HIS ANNOYED GAZE away from Zoey and Max and moved for the edge of the camp, where he’d left his pack.
He’d forgotten all about the little girl, hadn’t factored her back in to his plans. Looked like she and Mira were a package deal, at least for the time being.
That was okay, he’d make it work. They were almost out of the forest now, nearing the river valley. The trading posts along the river would be a fine place to dump her off.
Plenty of River Rat congregations were looking for new crew, even at Zoey’s age. They would take her off his hands. He’d just have to keep it to himself that the reason Assembly dropships were blanketing the area with walkers was because they were looking for the kid. That mystery would be somebody else’s problem to figure out.
And then he could transport Mira back to Midnight City unhindered. Holt expected to feel the usual rush of relief at the prospect, but he didn’t. The feelings were muted this time, distant and far off. They felt hollow.
But why? he wondered angrily. Mira was a criminal. At least as far as Midnight City claimed, and he had no reason to disbelieve them.
Only he did, of course.
Midnight City was a place of nonsensical politics and dangerous mind games. Its various factions weren’t above falsely accusing someone of something heinous to get whatever they wanted, even if the accusation meant that person’s death.
But it wasn’t his problem, Holt reminded himself. He had to survive, and he couldn’t very well do that with the Menagerie chasing after him. Mira was his only shot at being rid of them once and for all, at finally escaping his troubles.
The unfinished tattoo on his hand itched under his glove, but he ignored it.
He cursed himself silently, because he knew what the problem was. Try as he might to prevent it, he had come to like Mira. She was strong and independent, a survivor like him, but also … not as sullen as most people he met. Somehow the cynicism of the world hadn’t taken hold of her. There was an aura of optimism about her, a belief she could overcome anything. It was naïve, of course … but attractive nonetheless.
Attraction. Yeah, there was that, too. Her emerald eyes, the softness of her hands, the subtle scent of mint he caught when he was close to her.
Holt wasn’t above such things, but anytime he had ever given in to them, it had meant trouble. And besides … she was his prisoner. Emerald eyes or not.
No, he had strict rules about this. He stayed detached. He didn’t get involved. Regardless of how long Mira’s scent might linger in his mind.
Holt moved for the edge of the camp where he’d left his pack. He reached and grabbed it, opened it, and pulled out the cylinder from Clinton Station. It still had the attached Dampener artifact, and he held it up for Mira to see.
His nose ached from her kick, and the look of anger she shot his way actually made the pain feel better.
“You had it in the pack?” Mira yelled at him.
“And if you’d just been as dumb as I hoped you weren’t, you could have gotten it,” Holt turned the water-filled cylinder over and over in his hands with curiosity, holding it up to the sun to see the light dance through the sliver of brown in its center. “What is it, anyway? What’s so important you’d come back for it?”
“It’s plutonium,” Mira said, matter-of-fact.
The words didn’t immediately register in Holt’s mind.
When they did, he dropped the cylinder to the ground like it was made of hot coals and backed away.
Mira laughed out loud. “Are you always this jumpy, or just around radioactive elements?”
“It’s plutonium?” Holt yelled back at her.
“Don’t worry, killer, it’s harmless as long as the Dampener’s attached.”
“And you’re basing that theory on—?”
“Experience. I’ve handled it before.”
“Good, then you can ‘handle’ it from now on out.” He stepped around the casing, giving it a wide berth. “Why risk your life for something like that?”
“It’s priceless,” Mira replied.
“Yeah, you said that before,” Holt said. “But why?”
“Because of the Severed Tower,” Mira answered.
And then it all made sense, or at least as much as a Strange Lands myth could. Holt had heard of the Severed Tower, of course. It was a popular story, especially farther north, closer to the Strange Lands and Midnight City. But in Holt’s mind, that’s all it was. A story.
“You’re serious?” he asked. “You’re messing around with Fallout Swarms and power plants for a fairy tale?”
“You don’t believe in the Tower?”
“No, I have to see something before I believe in it. I’ve never been to the Strange Lands, but I know it exists because I’ve seen the things that come out of there and they’re anything but natural. But the Tower?” Holt shook his head. “Just sounds like a bunch of Freebooter hocus-pocus to me.”
“Well, it’s not,” Mira replied sternly. “It’s real, and people have made it there and gone inside.”
“These people, you’ve met them?” Holt asked. “Seen them with your own eyes? Talked with them?”
Mira frowned at him, didn’t answer.
“What’s the Severed Tower?” Zoey asked beside them.
Holt watched Mira gather her thoughts. “It’s … a structure,” she began. “A … I don’t know what it is exactly, but it sits in the center of the Strange Lands. A lot of people think, whatever it is, it’s responsible for the Strange Lands themselves. The story says that anyone who can make it there and enter it can ask the Tower for one wish. And that somehow … it will make it a reality.”
“Story also says you need a nice piece of garden-variety plutonium just to go inside,” Holt finished for her. “I wonder how many survivors have died trying to get what you have there, throwing away the little time they had left for a pipe dream?”
Mira looked at Holt pointedly. “That just proves my point. Something people will die for is something priceless. And I need something like that to trade.”
“For what?” Holt asked.
She looked at Holt differently now, and for the first time, Holt saw desperation behind her eyes. “There are things I have to … fix at Midnight City. Please, Holt,” she continued. “You don’t know how long I’ve looked for that, how much I had to sacrifice to get it. But you do know what it means for me to go back home in chains. I know you know what it’s like.”
Holt’s face darkened at the words.
“You don’t seem … completely awful,” Mira pressed on. “You seem like someone who could understand. Please, taking me back to Midnight City is taking me back to die. I can pay you. I can pay you whatever—”
“It’s not my problem,” Holt said. He had to stop this now. He didn’t like the way her words were making him feel. “I don’t get involved. It’s my rule. I only do what I have to do to survive, and right now that means taking you back.”
“That’s not true, Holt,” a soft voice from across the campsite said. Holt looked past Mira at Zoey, who was still petting Max. “On the other side of the river, you went
back for the Max. You did it to save him.”
Holt frowned at the little girl.
“She’s right,” Mira said. “If you were really such a loner, you wouldn’t have risked losing me to save a dog. But you did.”
Holt stared at her, unsure what to say. He held her gaze, felt her green and black-laced eyes burn into him. A part of him knew she was figuring things out, knew what she was about to ask. And he dreaded it.
“Who did you lose?” Mira’s words cut deep. Lose. Lost. Gone forever. “It must have been someone important. Someone close.”
Anger swelled up inside Holt. No! He wasn’t going to talk about this. Not about her. He’d buried that long ago, and no one was digging it back up. Especially not these two girls. His gaze turned to stone.
“We’re done talking, there is no debate. The forest ends in less than a mile,” he said. “Then it’s a straight shot to the trading posts on the Mississippi. I’ll find someone there to leave you with, Zoey. Someone to take care of you. Then Mira and I will move on to Midnight City.”
“But Midnight City is where I want to go,” Zoey said. “I can come with you.”
Holt frowned. “No, Zoey, you wanna go to Midnight, you’re welcome to try, you can find a boat or something else to take you north, but it won’t be with us. To be honest, I’m tired of both of you, and the sooner I’m done with you, the better.”
Zoey’s eyes were starting to glisten. She had even stopped petting Max, and the dog was none too happy about it. He beat his tail on the ground, hoping to get her attention again.
“It’s okay, Zoey,” Mira said, staring at Holt sadly. “Holt’s just like everyone else. He decided a long time ago to stop caring about things.”
Holt turned away from them both and started packing up the camp. He shouldn’t feel this way, shouldn’t have to feel this guilt. He was surviving. He was doing what he had to do.
Wasn’t he?
He had pulled Zoey out of that flaming ship and transported her to safety. He should feel good about it. He should be relieved he could escape the Menagerie soon.
But he didn’t. On either count.
No one said a word as he finished breaking camp. In minutes, they were gone, moving northward through the forest once again, Max scouting ahead of them as the afternoon sun beat down through the leaves.
They walked in silence past the trees, each carrying the heavy weight of their own thoughts.
16. ALL OF THEM
THE FOUR MOVED THROUGH THE FOREST in mutual silence. No one had uttered a word since they left the camp. It was fine by Holt. The less they talked, the better time they could make.
Within an hour, the trees began to thin. Another hour and they stopped altogether, ending in an abrupt, arbitrary line that stretched through an overgrown meadow. The field climbed gently upward beyond the tree line, to a ridge that Holt knew overlooked the river valley just on the other side.
It would be easy travel from here to the trading posts and from there, on to Midnight City. They would move faster out of the trees for sure, but the trade-off was that they were much more visible without the canopy to shield them from the prying eyes of Vultures and Raptors.
Hopefully, ditching Zoey would get the Assembly off his back. It might even make it easier, with them concentrating their forces along the river and forest instead of the plains.
Either way, the hard part was done with. The pack on his back felt lighter than it had all day; he felt energetic and optimistic. He had made it.
The four crested the top of the rise and saw the Mississippi River Valley laid out below them. A tapestry of green interlaced with patches of red and blue wildflowers stretching to the horizon. The river itself was a thick line that curved and twisted southward, flanked by trees along its entire route. The sun glittered off it from above, making it look like a band of molten silver cutting through the grasslands.
All very beautiful. And any other time, Holt might have stopped to admire it.
But when he reached the top of the ridge, the first thing he did was instantly drop to the ground, pulling Zoey and Max with him. Mira did, too, seeing the same thing he had. Holt stared in disbelief.
Assembly patrols.
Hundreds of walkers scoured the valley below, moving in groups of six or ten, completely blanketing the landscape.
And they weren’t blue and white. The sun sparkled off crimson fuselages, making it look like the entire valley was ablaze in flame. These Assembly were a solid red.
Max whined at Holt’s side as a flight of red Raptor gunships roared over them, flying escort for two huge Osprey dropships. They watched as the Ospreys unloaded four more red walkers onto the plains, saw them power up and activate, and begin patrolling. The Ospreys dusted off in a blast of engine noise and shot back into the air.
Holt shut his eyes tight.
He had never seen so many Assembly machines in one place, not even during the invasion. And these weren’t the blue and whites; they were another Assembly group entirely. The same one that had shot down Zoey’s ship. One or two Raptors was one thing, but this was something else; this was an army. And, just like the blue and whites, it must be looking for Zoey.
Holt looked down at the little girl and saw she was already looking up at him. She was frightened, uneasy. Holt understood—he felt the same way.
“See, Holt?” Zoey said. “All of them.”
She’d used those words before. And a spark of anger blossomed in him.
“Why didn’t you tell me we were walking into this?” Holt demanded. At the question, Mira looked at them, curious as to the answer herself. “You detected them before, why not this time?”
“I felt them. I just thought it would be good if you saw them for yourself.”
“Good?” Holt asked in exasperation.
“So you would know why you had to take me with you.”
On the other side of him, Mira looked away. Holt sighed, his fists clenching tightly.
What was he going to do now? He needed to get to Midnight City with Mira, but that was well on the other side of the river valley below. There was no other path, and these red Assembly knew it. They had sealed off the entire avenue. To make matters worse, he was carting around the exact thing they were all looking for.
He should just leave the girl here. Tie her up with a big bow for the aliens and leave the problem behind. He looked at Zoey again. She looked back with her clear, blue eyes, and she seemed to read his thoughts. So did Mira.
“You can’t leave her,” Mira said from his right. There was a note of firmness in her voice he hadn’t heard before. It annoyed him.
“Oh, I can’t?” he snapped, looking at her. “Last time I checked, I was the one running things, not you.”
“You can’t leave her,” she reiterated, this time slower and pointed.
Holt looked away, sighed again. She didn’t have to tell him that. There were some lines he wouldn’t cross, even for survival’s sake. And his refusal to cross those lines had gotten him into plenty of trouble in the past. It looked like it was going to do the same thing right now.
Holt looked down to Zoey. She was still gazing up at him fearfully, the idea that he might abandon her a real possibility in her mind.
“I’m not going to leave you, don’t worry,” he said, watching the little girl visibly relax. “We just have to find another way through to the north now.”
“Thanks, Holt,” Zoey said.
“Thank you,” Mira said next to him. She said it so low, he wasn’t sure if she meant him to hear it or not.
Another way through to the north …
The problem was, there wasn’t one. They could turn around and try to go through St. Louis, but those ruins were overrun with Menagerie and even worse things. It wasn’t an option.
Plus, turning around meant heading right back toward the blue and whites.
Something occurred to him. The truth was, the river valley wasn’t the only way through to the north. There were other routes
… but they were so dangerous, most people never factored them in as possibilities.
Holt pulled the binoculars from his belt and looked through them, scanning the valley.
“What are you looking for?” Mira asked.
“Plan B,” he answered.
Holt surveyed up and down the river with his optics, examining the tributaries, the smaller branches of the river that connected to and fed the main body.
He found the specific one he was looking for, followed it to where it made a path through the ground just below the ridge and disappeared out of sight toward the west, cutting through a grouping of blufflike hills.
Interestingly, the red Assembly seemed to be avoiding it completely. Which was exactly what Holt had expected, given he now knew about their mysterious fear of water. He guessed they would give that tributary a wide berth.
“What do you see?” Mira asked again, impatient. “Tell me!”
“A different route north.”
“I didn’t think there was a different route north.”
“By popular consensus, there’s not,” Holt said. “Most people, most smart people, avoid this way. But we are definitely not smart people—”
“True enough,” Mira said.
“—and without any other choices,” Holt finished.
“What are you thinking?” she asked with hesitation, sensing she wasn’t going to like the answer.
Holt lowered the binoculars and looked at her. “The Drowning Plains,” he said with as much confidence as he could project. It wasn’t much.
He watched Mira shudder at the words. It would probably have given him a little bit of satisfaction, if he didn’t feel the same way.
“What’s the Drowning Plains?” Zoey asked.
“No place we want to go,” Mira said.
“Used to be a floodplain downstream from a dam,” Holt said, studying the tributary through the binoculars again, verifying it was devoid of the red walkers. “Dam broke during the invasion and flooded the whole thing. There were villages there, built along the river. Now the whole place is a flooded no-man’s-land.”
“That’s the story, anyway,” Mira continued. “No one who goes in ever comes out. And no one really knows why.”
Midnight City: A Conquered Earth Novel (The Conquered Earth Series) Page 9