“Forget this,” he said to himself.
If he couldn’t sleep he was going to see just what the boundaries on his newly acquired status were. After all, he had a job to do, a mission to accomplish, and what better time to do it then when the entire city is sound asleep?
Jon grabbed his jacket and headed for the stairwell. He had plenty of time to consider where to go on his descent to the bottom of the building. He decided he would begin his assigned task on infiltrating whatever it was he was supposed to infiltrate and get the names of whomever he was supposed to get the names of.
For the all-authoritarian party that was ruling the city, their orders were pretty-vague and unclear.
Jon wondered around on the cold, dark streets for at least an hour. It was eerie to be in the dark, black, lightless shadows of those towering skyscrapers. There was nobody around to even consider ignoring as they walked by. It was just Jon, the lifeless buildings and the grid system. Something caught his eye. He couldn’t believe he never noticed it until now. Then again, there was probably never a reason to notice it. It didn’t matter what street Jon looked down, he saw the same thing in every direction.
Blocked.
At some point, on every street, the walls had been raised in the labyrinth. He could not see the entirety of one single street. They went for a few blocks before those massive walls stood in the way. If only one thing could make him more uncomfortable than the eerie quiet of the dark, creepy streets, it was this.
Trapped.
There was nowhere to run to and nowhere to hide. And that made Jon want to run and hide. The buildings were creeping up and closing in on him. There was no way out of this city. Jon couldn’t even escape on foot if he wanted to. He had a built-in tracking device inside of his arm. Everybody did. There was nowhere to hide. You could only wait until they came to get you, and they always did.
Nauseated.
Jon could feel his stomach turning at the thoughts running through his mind. He was becoming queasy and weak. No way out, there was no way out. This was his reality, a slave to the party, a slave to a city that wouldn’t let him leave. He was a slave to his loneliness, a slave to the mundane. No way out, there was no way out.
Finally.
Jon ran to the nearest wall, clutched it and began to hack his lungs out. There wasn’t too much to get out seeing as how he skipped his supper, but it was unpleasant none the less. He leaned against the wall as he tried to catch his breath and get a hold on his sanity.
As if things couldn’t get any worse at this moment, the inevitable showed up.
“Citizen! Hands in the air while we assist you!” came that familiar robot voice of Enforcement Personnel. Two very armed Enforcement officers exited out of their vehicle. One of them cut straight to the chase and raised his sidearm at Jon while the other one began to approach him.
Jon had just yacked and defaced the side of a building. After his little anxiety attack, he was in no mood to put up with this again. He began his reply by yelling.
“I am on special command from General Greenwald! I promise, if you scan my data and find that I’m right I will have you demoted back to group housing with nothing but scraps for food!”
His voice bounced off the buildings of the empty streets. It rippled through every window and roared down the street louder than the transportation shuttle.
Then reason returned. Jon couldn’t believe what he just did. He didn’t know he had it in him to do something like that, but that’s exactly what he had just done. He felt that fear of the unknown creep back up his spine. What was going to happen next? Surely Jon was about to face the wrath of the end of an electric baton, or worse. Jon put his hands halfway in the air and waited to see what was going to happen.
The officer with his weapon drawn turned his head to face his partner. Neither of them said a word. Their faces were hidden behind their cyborg masks, but Jon felt he could see right through them. They were stunned and shocked speechless. It was definitely a first for them.
The officer turned his head back to Jon with his drawn weapon and lowering it slowly to the ground. Still no words were spoken between the three of them.
Finally, the officer spoke.
“Our apologies, sir… please give the General our regards.”
Then they backed up and returned to their vehicle without saying another word. Off and down the gird system they went, surely to catch the next insomniac.
Jon didn’t move. His arms were still raised halfway in the air. He couldn’t believe that worked. He didn’t think to do it, he just did it, and it worked. He shouted down the infamous Enforcement, didn’t blink, and won. He couldn’t help but let a little bit of arrogance creep into his mind. Maybe he would name-drop the General more often.
Then the thought of those two officers jogged his memory. Just earlier that day he watched as two Enforcement officers beat the life out of a man just for trying to steal some extra food. It was after that that he ran into the dweller by the name of Marcus. Dwellers lived in the city, but they were off the grid. It was difficult for authorities to track them down and to place them back into the system. It seemed like a long shot, but if there were any leads on what Greenwald was looking for, Marcus was a good place to start. At the very least he could pry some information out of any old dweller that he found along the way.
It was right about then that Jon found himself longing for his Atlas Grade 1 vehicle again. All this public transportation and walking had gotten old in a hurry. It was cold and dark, and who knew when Jon would run into the next enforcement patrol. It was another chance meeting Jon was willing to avoid, so he kept to the alley-ways and shadows as best he could on his way across town. It was the only way through anyway. Those massive walls stood as a monument of servitude. Jon could only navigate the grid by going between buildings.
He was nearing the distribution center where he ran into the dweller Marcus the day before. He stayed in those dark corridors between the grid and remained out of sight. Then again for all he knew, the encrypted data chip in his arm could have been broadcasting his signal to the nearest Enforcement officer who had nothing better to do. All this sneaking could have been for nothing.
“You’re brave,” came a voice right behind Jon.
He nearly fell to the ground and had a heart attack. Stumbling and scurrying to turn around to face whoever was behind him, Jon spoke.
“Who was that? Who are you?” he demanded.
“Sorry,” came the voice as the figure stepped out of the shadows. “There really was no way not to frighten you to death at this hour in this city.”
Jon stood, still trying to catch his breath.
“Hey, I’ve met you before,” the shadow of a man stated as he studied over Jon. “Yeah, you gave me food earlier. How could I forget you? Why are you out here? Trying to get shot in an alley way?”
Jon was still struggling to find the words as this man just kept talking.
“Yeah, Enforcement would put a bullet in your head, and tomorrow’s broadcast would tell about how they triumphed over a traitor.”
Finally, Jon’s heart found its way back to its regular beating pattern. “You know, I get the feeling that it wouldn’t go down quite like that,” he replied to the man.
“What do you mean?” asked the dweller.
Jon actually thought before he spoke, knowing he should probably withhold some information from the man standing in the shadows, in the middle of an ally, late at night where nobody is watching or listening.
“Do you live out here?” Jon asked him.
“Here? No, no. I’m just scavenging for resources I guess you could say.”
“Your name is Marcus, right?”
“That’s right, Jon.”
Then there was awkward silence. For a moment, Jon wished he could go back a minute or two before they confirmed their identities. It seemed to be easier to talk that way. Another awkward pause later and Jon had a terrible idea. It had already occurred to him that he wa
s standing with a strange man in the shadows, in the middle of an alley, late at night where nobody was watching or listening. What a better chance to do something really stupid than right now? After all, there wasn’t much to lose.
Jon looked at Marcus still in the shadows. “I’m a member of the party. Not necessarily by choice, but because I didn’t want to spend my life in jail or get a bullet in my head for the crime of driving a car. I am now a Specialist, and I am under very vaguely specific instructions to infiltrate the underbelly of this city and help stomp out the rebellion before the Premiere comes to visit.”
While hoping to put an end to the awkward pause, Jon found that his guilty confession only seemed to perpetuate it for another moment.
Finally, Marcus spoke. “So… what do you want from me?”
“Can you help me?”
“Help you…” that friendly tone from Marcus had immediately turned into wary caution towards Jon. “What is it you think I can help you with?”
“Point me in the right direction.”
Marcus bit his lip and didn’t say anything.
Jon could feel his hesitancy, so he had to make Marcus feel at ease with his request.
“I’m only trying to survive like everybody else in this city. I don’t want to hurt anybody or get anybody caught by the party. I just need to convince a general that I’m justifying my existence.” Jon was pleading with him at this point. Marcus’ reluctant answer would come as a complete shock.
“Follow me,” he said to Jon.
“It can’t be that easy,” Jon said quietly to himself.
The two of them started walking down the alley and towards the grid. Marcus asked him how he ended up being a patsy for the party, and Jon explained the eventful few days he had been having. They strangely got along very well for two people in two very different situations.
Marcus led Jon nearly halfway back the way he came, towards his living quarters. They went down another alley where there was another man standing in the shadows. Marcus told Jon to stay back as Marcus went to approach and speak with the man.
Jon tried to listen and make out the words, but all he could hear was inaudible whispers. They were arguing back and forth for a moment before they both stopped and stared at Jon. Jon looked to his left and to his right, not being quite sure where to put his gaze as they both continued staring.
Marcus finally waved him over.
The very tall man in the dark spoke. “Put this on your left arm,” he said to Jon.
“And what’s this?”
It looked like an arm brace of sorts.
“It’s going to scramble any signals going to or coming from your encrypted data.”
Jon was a little hesitant but he took the device from the man and pulled it onto his arm. As he looked up, he didn’t even have a chance to think. Marcus had pinned Jon’s arms behind his back with one arm and put the other around Jon’s neck. The other man shoved a wet cloth into his face. Before Jon had a chance to struggle, scream or beg, he felt his body giving in to whatever was on that cloth. His vision went black, and his body went limp.
He was now unconscious with two strangers standing over his near lifeless body in a dark and cold alley in Pinnacle City.
9
INSOMNIAC
His eyes were blurry as they opened to see the dark around him. They had trouble adjusting to the blackness. He was lying in a bed, and he heard a voice come over him.
“Jon.” It was a woman’s voice.
“Jon,” it called again.
He sat up to find where the voice was coming from. Sinda. It was Sinda. She was standing in the hall calling Jon’s name.
“Jon,” she said again.
He smiled as he climbed out of bed to go and meet her outside of the bedroom. She then went down the stairs and kept calling his name. He followed her down the stairs and into the hallway below.
“Jon,” she kept calling.
“Wait for me,” he pleaded with her while chasing her down the next flight of stairs. He chased her down to the bottom level. It was an old, rustic room, covered in dust. Sinda went outside and Jon continued to follow her.
“The mayor?” Jon asked out loud.
The mayor was on his horse wearing a mask. His henchmen were behind him carrying torches.
“Jon,” came Sinda’s voice from behind the men.
“Sinda!” Jon screamed for her.
“Times up Jonny boy!” called the mayor. His men headed to the front and hurled their torches into the room he had just come from.
Jon panicked. Horses were riding around him while a fire raged from behind. In the chaos, he could see Sinda standing on the edge of the forest. She was waiting for him – smiling.
“Jon,” she called.
“Sinda!” he called back. He started running toward the tree line. He passed the mayor and his men. Sinda disappeared into the forest, and then Jon heard a shot fly out of the barrel of a gun. Jon stopped running. He looked down. His shirt was red. It was covered in his own blood. He clutched the gaping wound and fell to his knees. He looked up and caught eyes with Sinda who was standing in the trees looking back at him.
“Si…” he gasped for air. “Sin…” he couldn’t get her name out. “Si…” he fell face down to the dirt, and his breathing began to slow. His eyes started to slowly fade to black as he took a few last gasps for air.
Then his eyes opened. He could hear a soft hum and feel a soft vibration. He was lying down and staring at what looked like the back of a seat. It looked familiar, like he had seen it before. He took in a few deep breaths. He struggled to pull himself upright as his arms were restrained behind his back. After a moment of struggling he finally was sitting up. In front of him was the last thing he wanted to see. It was an Enforcement officer. He was going through his computer while the car took them to wherever it was they were going. Presumably back to the secret little examination chamber where they would inevitably lock him up and throw away the key – or shoot him.
“Where are you taking me?” Jon asked the officer.
No response.
“I have orders from General Greenwald. Now tell me, where are you taking me?” Jon barked.
No response. The officer’s actions were as cold as his suit.
“Jail? We going to jail? You going to rough me up a bit or what?”
The officer held his peace and didn’t even give Jon the courtesy of acknowledging that he was even talking. He just kept creeping through his computer, doing whatever it is Enforcement Personnel does.
“Great,” Jon muttered.
He looked around outside but couldn’t tell where they were. The streets never looked the same. A different gate raised on a different day would keep anybody guessing. All Jon could tell was that they were not in the heart of the city anymore. They were cruising towards the outskirts of the city, towards the Outband Highway.
Then suddenly a window started to rise between the seat of the officer and the backseat where Jon was sitting. Then all the windows in the back began to turn black, until Jon could no longer see through them. The officer was making sure Jon stayed in the dark, literally and metaphorically. He clearly didn’t want Jon to figure out where they were going. All Jon could figure out was that they were not going to the secret lock-up downtown. Maybe they were headed to some place even worse.
Another short while went by before the vehicle finally came to a stop. It sat there for a moment, and Jon couldn’t hear a thing that was – or wasn’t – going on outside.
Then his door suddenly opened. Two large hands grabbed him, dragged him out of the car and threw him down onto the ground. Then a group of men grabbed him and began dragging him towards an open door.
Jon looked around to see where he was. He couldn’t see anything but a herd of men escorting him to wherever they were going. He watched as the Enforcement officer got back into his Atlas vehicle and took off.
He was dragged through a doorway and into a dark room. His handlers picked hi
m up just enough to throw him back down to the ground. They let him go and gave him enough space to stand up. He did so very hesitantly. He stood and kept his head down. Who was there to make eye contact with in this place?
The lights flashed on and Jon’s predicament suddenly became very clear. He was completely surrounded. There were a few women in the room, but it was mostly men. They crowded around him to get a look at the fool who had just ratted himself out to the very band of dwellers he was sent to find. If there were ever a moment where Jon felt like he was not as smart as he thought he was, this was that moment.
A door to the back of the room opened, and the crowd made way for whoever was entering. Jon was expecting the devil, but it was a man roughly the same size as himself. He was very unassuming. He didn’t look grungy like most dwellers. He could have blended into a crowd, and nobody would notice he was there. The man was even wearing nicer clothes than Jon. The man didn’t hesitate before the inquisition began.
“Why should we let you leave here alive?” the man asked while brandishing a shiny weapon in his right hand.
Jon looked right to left, puzzled and confused. He couldn’t understand why there was so much hate surrounding him. He was a threat to no man. Yet here he was on the defensive end about to have to make a case to stay alive.
“Because I haven’t done anything wrong,” Jon stated very matter of fact.
The man got into Jon’s face with his anger written across his own. He was ready and waiting for blood, but Jon was certain it wasn’t his own he was after.
“A party member with a grudge on a late-night stroll looking for dwellers is a good story, but it does not sit well with us.”
Jon, being just a tad irritated that he was assaulted, drugged and escorted to some angry mob’s basement, wasn’t prepared to remain the kind, stuttering and humble man who he was used to being.
“Would you prefer it if I had just lied instead? I can change my story if it will keep you from killing a stranger in cold blood.” Jon could see that his remark was a wrench in the man’s turning thoughts, and he let Jon know just that.
The Cowboy of Pinnacle City Page 12