“Yes, that’s part of it.”
“It’s a shame, but I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do.” She began to move off again.
“Wait! What if Cabre didn’t know about what we were doing?”
She turned slowly, a venomous look on her face.
“My allegiance is to Ascension,” she grated. “Don’t even hint at going against the General’s wishes again.”
I took an involuntary step backward, surprised by her vehemence.
“All right. I’m sorry.”
“I’ve locked clanks up for less.” She jabbed her thumb at the demolition site. “Now get back to work.”
With that, she stomped away into the darkness, leaving me standing helplessly in the street. I realised that I’d now reached an impasse, and that the Ascension hierarchy was not going to assist me. I considered leaving the city right there and then, just walking out through the checkpoints and heading home, but the solution to my problems were so tantalisingly close. Ascension had the power to end the darkness if only I could convince them.
Perhaps the only card I had left to play was my knowledge of the Grid. As much as it scared me to unleash that kind of power for both Ascension and the Marauders, it would still be a better outcome than having the children starve to death. At least this way they still had a chance.
I glanced around, gathering my bearings as I tried to figure out which way to go to reach The Midway.
“Yo, Twiggy!” Ferguson called out from above. “You coming back up here or what?”
I let the sledgehammer clatter to the asphalt. “No, Fergo. I’m not.”
15
Ascension City was a strange mix of old and new. Blasted, crumbling structures were juxtaposed with shiny new steel frameworks, the latter rising from the ruin like saplings in a decaying forest. The purpose of many of these new constructions was a mystery to me. Some appeared as though they might be work or research areas, with clanks conferring inside and hunched over workbenches. Others possessed the broad dimensions of storage facilities. There was even one or two that might be defensive military facilities, squat towers covered in thick metal plating and thin apertures like cats’ eyes through which light leaked out into the street.
Most of those moving about the city paid me no mind. They were intent on their own tasks, hurrying from one place to another as they went about their business. I passed several clusters of soldiers, most of whom gave me a once-over before deciding I wasn’t worth their attention. Although one or two of the civilians offered me a greeting, I got the impression that most of those dwelling within Ascension City were too intimidated by the hierarchy to engage in idle chatter or deviate from their assignments. There seemed to be a pervasive attitude that someone was watching at all times.
Eventually I attempted to instigate a conversation with a female clank who was pushing a wheelbarrow full of machine parts along the street.
“Hey, can you help me?” I said.
“What’s up?” she replied brusquely.
“I’m looking for The Midway. Can you point me in the right direction?”
She pointed over her shoulder. “Keep heading that way. Can’t miss it.”
I looked down the street and, sure enough, found the outline of the old edifice several blocks away in the dim light.
“Right, thanks,” I said, but the clank had already pushed on, her wheelbarrow rattling and bumping along the asphalt.
“Well look at that,” a voice came from across the street. “It’s the new guy. How are you, Cleanskin?”
I turned and located the old clank, Elias, dumping a bundle of wires into a trash can not far away. He dusted his hands theatrically and then gave me a warm smile.
“Elias, right?” I said.
“That’s me.” He jerked his chin upward. “Whatcha doin’ there? Haven’t they found something for you to do yet?”
I shrugged awkwardly. “Yeah, they gave me a job swinging a sledgehammer a few blocks away, but…”
“It wasn’t exactly what you had in mind when you arrived at the paradise that is Ascension City, right?” he said.
“No, it’s not that. I just… I have places to be. I can’t stay here.”
“You heading back out there?” he said, doubtful.
“Maybe.”
He gave me a wave. “Come on in here for a minute, will you?” he said, turning his back and walking into a building behind him without waiting for an answer.
“Look, I really don’t…”
I glanced again at the shape of The Midway off in the distance. That was where I needed to be. Elias might be a pleasant sort with whom to shoot the breeze, but right at this moment I didn’t need any diversions. I needed to either strike a deal with Cabre or start on my way home. Friendly as Elias was, he really only amounted to another obstacle in the way of me fulfilling my goal.
“Come on,” Elias’ voice came from the dark innards of the building.
I sighed. Maybe a quick chat wouldn’t hurt. Who knew? Perhaps he would have some suggestions for me on how to approach Cabre.
“All right. I’m coming.”
Inside, the foyer was dark, but toward the back of the place a floodlight cut a rectangle of white through an open doorway. Elias appeared there, casting a long shadow across the floor as he waved again.
“Over here,” he said.
I reached the doorway and he guided me through into a second, smaller room. Within, two clanks stood ripping and tugging at cables in the walls as they extracted the copper wiring and deposited them into buckets at their feet. As I approached, the first one turned, and I saw that it was Malyn.
“Cleanskin,” she said, her eyes opening wide with surprise. She hurriedly wiped the hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear self-consciously.
“Malyn,” I said. I wasn’t sure which of us was more startled. “What are you doing here?”
“They put me back to work,” she said, shrugging and offering me a little smile.
“So the arm…” I said. “It’s okay now?”
She ran her gloved fingers along her previously broken left arm, which was now straight and whole again. There was a neat scar beneath a row of small white stitches, and she brushed these lightly with her fingertips.
“Good as new, pretty much. Although putting that bone back together hurt like hell.”
“Who did the patch-up job? Gunrix?”
“Yeah, he has a workshop over at The Midway. He’s not exactly an expert medic but he does enough to get by.” She began to pull her gloves off one finger at a time, glancing at the others awkwardly. I too felt odd, standing there making small talk with someone I’d been prepared to kill only a few days previous. “How about you?” she went on. “Settling in?”
“Can’t say I am,” I admitted. “I’m probably not going to be here much longer.”
“Oh,” she said, taken aback. “You didn’t get what you wanted, I take it.”
“Not yet. Not unless I can change Cabre’s mind, which doesn’t seem likely.”
“What’s this?” Elias said. “What’re you after, Cleanskin?”
“He wants to put out the fires,” Malyn said, never taking her eyes off me. “He wants to stop the smoke.”
“Ha,” Elias said, clapping me on the shoulder. “Good luck with that!” Then he added more thoughtfully, “What in hell you wanna do that for?”
“I need the sunlight back,” I said. “The community I came from in the south depends on solar energy for it to be sustained.”
Elias shrugged. “Just bring ’em here. There’s no power concerns in Ascension City.”
“That’s about the only thing we don’t have problems with in Ascension City,” came a voice from the darkness. As one we turned to see a handsome male clank approaching from another room, his shoulder-length chestnut hair tied back in a ponytail. As he reached us he dumped a short saw onto the table in the centre of the room, sending up a plume of white dust into the glow of the floodlights.
> “The voice of doom,” Elias muttered.
We all stood there for a few moments, no one saying a word. The newcomer watched me as he worked his fingers idly within his gloves, a faint smile on his face.
“Cleanskin,” Malyn said eventually, her eyes dropping to the floor. “This is Lunn.”
I recognised the name from our prior conversations. This was the clank that Malyn had risked her life to set free. Her companion who had supposedly been locked up by Ascension.
“Lunn?” I said, and the clank stared at me evenly. “They let you out?”
“Yes,” Lunn said. “Our graceful benefactors saw fit to send me back into the community.”
“So it worked,” I said to Malyn. “You got him out.”
Malyn opened her mouth to reply, but a bark of laughter from Lunn cut her short.
“Please,” Lunn drawled. “Let’s not be naive.”
“Or ungrateful,” Malyn said venomously, glaring at Lunn. “I risked my neck for you more times than I can count, man. I still haven’t heard a word of thanks.”
Lunn’s lips turned up in amusement. “Do you really think all that made one iota of difference in the end, Malyn? I’ve already told you that it was all for nothing. I’ve been telling you that from the start.”
“Hey, Lunn,” I interjected, “I happen to have seen some of the shit she went through to get you out of the lock-up. I think you should show some appreciation.”
Lunn glanced back to me as if I were a child who was interrupting adults’ business. “I don’t know who you are, Cleanskin, but you have no place telling me what I should and shouldn’t be doing.”
“It’s all right, Lunn,” Malyn said. “We can trust him.”
“Trust him? I don’t even trust the walls anymore, Malyn,” he said, sauntering away from the table. He rapped his knuckles on a concrete pylon with a hollow boom. “Even the walls have ears around here.”
“The conspiracy theories again,” Elias grunted, waving dismissively.
“Elias, you can believe what you want,” Lunn said. “But I for one will not bury my head in the sand any longer.” He nodded at me. “If Cleanskin here is leaving town, I think he’s probably the smartest one among us.”
“And walk out into the welcoming arms of the Marauders?” Elias said. “No thanks.”
“Do as you wish, then,” Lunn said. “Keep doing what they want, by all means.”
“I don’t see you packing your bags, Lunn,” I said. “Why aren’t you heading out there?”
“You think they’ll just let me walk out of here? Have you seen how many checkpoints are between us and the outside world?”
“That’s to keep the Marauders out,” Malyn said.
“No, it’s to keep us in,” Lunn said. He pushed off the wall and walked into the floodlights again. “For the record, I know what it’s like out there. Malyn and I were out there a long time before any of you came into the picture. I know the Marauders are hell, and I know what it’s like to live in fear. I just don’t see how being in here is any better.”
“It’s safe,” Elias said. “As long as you ain’t afraid of hard work, there’s nothing to fear. When the Marauders are gone, things will get better for all of us.”
“Will they? I wish I could believe that,” Lunn said.
Malyn folded her arms. “If we’re going to talk about this now, then let’s talk about it. You still haven’t told me why they let you go. If they didn’t release you because of what I did, then what was it? Did Cabre decide to be a nice guy all of a sudden?”
Lunn glared at me distrustfully, then sighed and shook his head. “What the hell, I’ll tell you then. It’s inevitable that they’re going to lock me up again anyway. Or worse.” He leaned over the table, resting his weight on his knuckles. “They let me go because it suited their needs.”
“What are you talking about?” Malyn said. “Stop talking in riddles, man.”
“They’re trying to use me,” he said. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, scowling. When he lowered his hand, his voice softened. “Look, Malyn, I’m grateful for what you did for me. For what you tried to do. It took a lot of courage, and I know the easier choice would have been to walk away from me. I wouldn’t have thought less of you if you did.” He looked around at the rest of us. “But, people… wake up. Our actions are meaningless here. You can’t bargain with Cabre or change his mind. He’ll do what he wants, in the end. Your labours won’t earn you a thing.”
“We can earn a place in this city,” Elias said.
“You shouldn’t have to earn your place in a prison, Elias. Think about it. Do you think that shredding your fingers on this copper will earn you any favour with them? Or digging holes? No, it won’t. And how long till they decide it’s you who’s associated with the wrong people? Said the wrong things?”
“I don’t make any trouble,” Elias said.
“And you think I did? Yes, so I said a few things, told a few people I didn’t like the way Ascension were running things. Does that mean they had the right to lock me up?”
“Well, you must have overstepped the mark at some point,” Elias said. “Besides, they’re fighting a war. They need to make sure they keep everyone in line.”
“Elias, this won’t end once the Marauders are gone,” Lunn said. “Once it’s over, you’ll still be left here with their shadow looming ever greater as they force you to do what they want. That’s how they operate.” He gestured to me. “Cleanskin, what did they have you working on?”
“Swinging a sledgehammer.”
“Right. We’re slaves to them, that’s all. Easy to replace and easy to ignore. I’m telling you, we don’t have a voice in this city and we never will. So maybe you all think that Malyn earned my release by risking her life in combat. I don’t. I think they released me because they’re hoping I’ll lead them to the insurgents.”
“You told me you weren’t part of the insurgents,” Malyn said.
“I’m not. I don’t know where they’re based, or who is involved. I’ve been approached by them several times because they’re aware of my views, but they’re very secretive. They never show their faces or reveal anything about themselves. They know what will happen if they’re discovered by Ascension. Their whole operation will be squashed within minutes.”
“So where are these guys?” Elias said. “Sounds like smoke and mirrors to me.”
“They’re hiding out in the city somewhere, waiting for their chance to strike. I’ll bet that Ascension are keeping a very close watch on me right now, hoping the insurgents will pop their heads up again.” He glanced at Malyn again. “That’s the real reason why they let me out. So don’t delude yourselves that we can change anything here, or that we can somehow influence Cabre by doing what he wants. That’s not how it works.” He looked at me pointedly. “If you think you can bargain with Cabre to put out those fires, you’re sadly mistaken, my friend. You might as well walk away now and try your luck elsewhere.”
“But if I tried to leave right now, they’d stop me, right?” I said. “Isn’t that what you’re saying? That we’re all prisoners here?”
“That’s what it amounts to,” Lunn said. “You could try walking out the front gate, but I’d like to see how far that gets you.”
“So what’s your plan, then, Lunn?” I said. “Why are you still here doing what they tell you?”
He considered that for a moment. “Let’s just say I’m waiting for any opportunities that might arise.”
I tried to get my head around Lunn’s revelations. I was still an outsider in this city with no understanding of the politics or the factions that might reside here. I had no time to assimilate and try to figure things out for myself, because every day that I spent here brought me closer to the moment when my time ran out. All I could do was weigh up what I’d heard since I’d arrived and try to make a decision based upon those scant fragments of information.
Maybe the most prudent decision would be to try to leave A
scension City right now, unnoticed, assuming I could slip out undetected.
“I should go,” I said, and they all turned to look at me. “If what you say is true, then I’m wasting my time here.”
“Sorry to break it to you, Brant,” Lunn said with genuine regret. “This is a fucked-up world. It’s hard to know who your friends are anymore.”
I nodded. “You got that right,” I said. “Seems that if I want to get anything done, I’ll have to do it myself.” None of them wanted to meet my eyes all of a sudden. With nothing more to discuss, I decided there was no point staying any longer. “Well, best of luck to you all.”
Elias nodded and smiled weakly, while Lunn simply turned away. Malyn watched me as if she wasn’t quite sure what to say.
I got moving, past the floodlights and into the darkened foyer. A profound sense of disquiet settled upon me as I walked, not really knowing what to do or where to go from here. I felt inadequately equipped to deal with the challenges ahead of me, and after coming all of this way I was still no closer to dousing those fires to the south. I was no closer to saving the children.
If I could make it out past the checkpoints and into the wasteland, I could be back home within a few days. Back where I belonged. From there, I had no idea what my next move would be.
“Hey,” came a voice from behind me. “Wait up.” Malyn closed the distance between us quickly and stood before me with one half of her face bathed in white light. “There’s other options, you know.”
“What do you mean?”
She glanced back at the doorway. “I didn’t want to say this in front of the others, but you and I both know that you have something to offer Cabre.”
“You’re talking about what happened at the spire again.”
“Yeah, of course. That’s valuable, man. That’s something Cabre wants.”
“Lunn said there’s no point doing that. Remember? He said it won’t get me anywhere.”
“That’s if he’s right. We don’t know that.” She grimaced. “Something happened to Lunn. I don’t know exactly what, but something in him changed even before Cabre locked him up. He’s become bitter and angry at the world.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s right about this place, and the rest of us just haven’t realised it yet. That doesn’t really matter to you. It just comes down to how much you want to help that community of yours.”
The Fires of Yesterday (The Silent Earth, Book 3) Page 13