The Lost City: The Palumbra Chronicles: Book Two

by L. D. Fairchild

  "Gray." She gently shook his shoulder. "Come on, Gray. You need to wake up."

  Glancing over her shoulder at Ginger, she said, "I need a jacket or blanket or something so I can roll him over on this glass."

  Ginger looked around for their backpacks, which were strewn about the car. She grabbed the closest pack and pulled a blanket that was blessedly free of glass from it and tossed it to Maeve. Maeve laid the blanket over the glass on the ground next to Gray then as gently as she could rolled him onto his back. He groaned as she positioned him on the blanket. Maeve gasped when she saw the bruises and cuts that covered his face. A large cut across the bridge of his nose was pouring blood, making it almost impossible for Maeve to see the rest of his injuries. She used a corner of the blanket to apply pressure to his nose, and he groaned again.

  "Gray?"

  "Maeve?"

  "What happened?" Gray slowly sat up, blinking his eyes like an owl.

  "I guess that was the emergency brake. It may have done the job a little too well." Maeve pulled the edge of the blanket away, relieved to see that the blood flowing from the bridge of Gray's nose was stopping. "Here, hold this on your nose." She gave Gray the edge of the blanket and moved around him to look at Elton, who hadn't moved or made a sound since the car had rolled to a stop.

  She felt along his neck with her fingers, letting out a sigh of relief when she found a pulse. "Elton?"

  Elton remained silent, his chin slumped to his chest, and his body listing to the left. By the time Maeve had checked him over for broken bones, Gray was crouched next to her, still holding the blanket to his nose.

  "What's wrong with him?"

  "He must have hit his head." Maeve pointed to where his right wrist lay at an odd angle to his arm. "His wrist is definitely broken. I should probably splint that while he's still knocked out. It's not going to feel good."

  She turned back toward Tristan and Ginger. Thomas had joined them at the side of the car, and Ginger was holding the edge of another blanket to the gash on his head. "What do we have that I can use as a splint?"

  Holding onto the edge of the car to steady himself, Tristan gathered up the scattered backpacks. Ginger gave Thomas the blanket to hold on his head and began to rummage through the packs. "Will this work?" Ginger held up a couple of short sticks.

  "Where did those come from?" Maeve asked.

  "I threw them in my pack to use if we needed to start a fire," Gray said. Slowly, he used the back of the seat behind him to push to a standing position. He swayed slightly, then steadied. Ginger handed him the sticks, and he passed them on to Maeve.

  "I'll need something to hold them on his arm. Maybe a sock or two?"

  Ginger dug in the pack again and pulled out two socks. She passed them to Gray who again handed them off to Maeve.

  Maeve looked at Elton and took a deep breath then reached for his injured arm. Holding her breath and wishing she could be gentle, she moved his broken bones back into alignment. Just as she slid his wrist so that it lined up with his arm bones, Elton let out a groan. "Someone needs to hold onto him," Maeve said quickly. "I've almost got it, but if he moves, I'll have to do it all again."

  Gray and Tristan moved with the speed of old men but managed to position themselves on either side of Elton and hold him still. "Tristan, I need the knife."

  Tristan pulled the knife out of the sheath on his belt and handed it to her so she could use it to poke holes for Elton's fingers in one of the socks. She positioned the splints, then pulled both the splints and his hand through the sock. She took the other sock and tied it around his arm to hold everything in place.

  "That's a terrible splint, but it will have to do. Now we just need him to wake up." As she said the words, Elton's eyes fluttered open. "Wh, what happened?"

  "Um, guys." Ginger turned from the window with wide eyes. "We need to get out of here now." As she spoke, Ginger herded Thomas toward the empty window on the other side of the car. With the door a twisted mass of metal, the window was their only way out.

  "What's out there?" Tristan asked, using one hand to brace himself as he moved to look out the side of the car Ginger had just moved away from. Tristan glanced out the window then handed Maeve and Gray their packs. He shouldered Elton's pack along with his own. "We're about to have company. Let's get moving."

  Gray stood and hoisted Elton to his feet. "Questions later. We've got to go."

  Maeve positioned herself on Elton's other side and together they helped him to the window. Ginger had already hoisted Thomas through the empty window frame and laid a blanket over the edge to keep the rest of them from cutting themselves on the jagged glass. Ginger clambered out of the car and held out her hand to help a still unsteady Tristan over the edge.

  "Elton," Maeve said. "We have to climb over the edge of the car. Can you do it?"

  Elton stared at Maeve with pain-glazed eyes that didn't seem to comprehend anything she said. "You go first," Maeve said to Gray. "I'll keep him steady until you can help him over the edge."

  "I don't like you being the last one in the car. Why don't you go first?"

  "There is no way I can help him over the side of the car. I'm not that strong. You'll have to go first. Together, you and Tristan can do it. I'll be fine."

  Gray glanced over his shoulder. "Maeve..."

  "Don't argue. We don't have time. Just go."

  The muscle in Gray's cheek twitched, but he climbed over the edge of the car. Together, he and Tristan helped Elton out of the car as well. Maeve could see people approaching the opposite window as she supported Elton to keep him from falling backward. Finally, Elton was on the outside of the car.

  "Your turn, Maeve. Let's go." Gray reached his hand back through the window for her. She grasped it and began to hoist herself up through the window.

  "Halt!" came a voice from behind her.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Maeve grabbed Gray's hand and hurled herself through the window, wincing as pain shot through her shins and knees as she hit the ground hard on the other side.

  "Halt!" came the cry from inside the wrecked hovercar.

  "Get moving!" Gray whispered with a hand on Maeve's back to propel her along. Ahead of them, Ginger and Tristan were helping Elton as Thomas sprinted ahead of them. Maeve and Gray quickly gained on the others.

  Gray looked over his shoulder and urged the group onward. "We have to move faster."

  Maeve chanced a backward look to see three men armed with guns gingerly climbing over the edge of the hovercar. One of them spoke into a microphone at his shoulder.

  "I think they're calling for help." Every time her feet struck the ground, Maeve could feel the aches and bruises throughout her body from their roller coaster ride in the hovercar. She could only imagine how Elton and Tristan felt. Next to her, Gray's breath was coming in gasps, which surprised her since he and Tristan trained every day. She was easily keeping pace with him, which shouldn't be possible. She was a quick runner, but she wasn't faster than Gray. Usually, he slowed his steps to keep in stride with her, but she found herself shortening her stride to stay with him. Ahead of her, Elton was clearly struggling to put one foot in front of the other, and Tristan wobbled even as he tried to steady Elton. "We have to find some place to hide."

  Gray nodded as he struggled to breathe and keep a steady pace. She looked at him with concern, chanced another glance over her shoulder, then sped up to reach Ginger, Tristan and Elton. As she drew alongside Ginger, they shared a worried look. "Elton," Maeve said. "We need a place to hide."

  Elton's face was pale and drawn. Pain tightened his features, and he looked at Maeve as if he didn't understand what she was saying. "Elton," Maeve said again. "We have to get off this street."

  When he still didn't respond, she scanned the buildings on either side of her, looking for any place that might offer them refuge, but all she saw was building after building of clear glass. Even if they could get into the buildings, the glass exterior would offer little in the way of prote
ction from their pursuers.

  "Thomas," she called. "Turn right." Thomas made a hard right onto the next street, and everyone else followed. She only hoped this street offered more possibilities for a hiding place than the last one. Elton, Gray and Tristan were getting noticeably slower, and Maeve could hear the men with guns gaining on them. Her gaze scanned along the buildings as she ran. Thomas looked back at her, and she saw his eyes widen at what she assumed were the men chasing them. As he turned his attention back to the street in front of him, he stumbled and fell. Maeve sprinted to him, reaching a hand down to help him up as she ran. But instead of grabbing her hand, he motioned at something on the side of the street.

  "Maeve, look." He pointed toward a grate. Instead of getting to his feet, he rolled toward the drain and tugged on the grate. "Help me."

  Not sure what Thomas was doing, Maeve took another look back to see the men had just turned the corner onto the street.

  "What are we doing?"

  "If we can get this grate off, we can get in there and hide." Thomas tugged on the grate again.

  Understanding dawned, and Maeve crouched next to him and pulled with all her might. Ginger, Tristan, Elton and Gray caught up with them. When Gray saw what they were trying to do, he and Tristan added their weight to the grate, and their combined strength moved the grate out of the way. Before Maeve could stop him, Thomas quickly jumped through the hole, which was just large enough for a person to squeeze through.

  "Oof."

  "Are you OK?" Maeve called.

  "Yes, hurry up. Be careful. It's kind of a hard landing."

  Maeve pulled Ginger forward. "You next."

  Ginger sat on the edge of the hole and, bracing her hands on the side, dropped through.

  "Gray, Tristan, help Elton." Maeve leaned over the hole. "Ginger, help Elton drop down."

  Gray and Tristan lowered Elton through the hole then jumped through after him. Maeve took one last look at the men behind them. The drain was hidden from view by a curve in the road, and the men were slowed by their careful search through the windows of each building. Maeve sat on the edge of the hole and pulled the grate toward her, wincing at the noise the metal made against the pavement.

  "Come on, Maeve." Gray's voice floated up from beneath her. With one hand on the grate, she pushed off and dropped through the hole, doing her best to pull the heavy grate over the hole as she fell. She landed with a thud on her already bruised knees in a pool of shallow water. She rose to her feet, feeling as if she had suddenly replaced her knees with Emma's eight-decade-old ones.

  "Is everyone OK?" Maeve asked. She squinted as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim light.

  "We're no worse than we were," Gray said from somewhere off to her right. "Do you think they'll notice the grate is off?" The shadowy figure Maeve assumed was Gray pointed up to the opening where despite Maeve's best efforts, the grate only partially covered the hole.

  "Let's hope not." She shrugged. "There's not much we can do about it now. We should move away from the opening so if they look in, they don't see us."

  "Everyone else went this way." Gray pointed at a passageway to his left, and they moved toward the opening to the passage. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the light, she could see that they were in what must be a storm drain. The walls were curved concrete, and three inches of water covered the ground, making the passageway slippery.

  "Are you OK?" The cut on Gray's nose had opened again, making Gray look as if he was crying blood.

  He waved away her concern. "It's worse than it looks. I'll be fine."

  "How's your head?"

  "It hurts."

  "We need a place to rest." Maeve abruptly stopped talking.

  "What?"

  "Shh." She held up her hand and stood still to stop her feet from splashing in the water. Faint voices filtered through the air, coming from behind them.

  "Do you think they're in the tunnel?" Gray whispered.

  She shook her head. The voices were too far away to make out the words. She and Gray waited silently for the sound of the grate being pulled away from the drain, but it never came. The voices gradually faded, and Maeve let out a relieved breath.

  "Come on, let's find the others." She slipped her hand into Gray's and began sloshing her way down the passageway.

  ###

  They found the others about 1,000 yards down the passageway, sitting in an alcove off the main passage where the ground sloped up enough to remain dry. Elton sat with his back against the wall and his eyes closed. Tristan leaned against the wall and talked to Ginger as Maeve and Gray approached. Thomas stood in the middle of the passageway keeping watch for Maeve and Gray, and his shoulders slumped with relief as they approached.

  "Did the men follow us?" His eyes flitted from Maeve to Gray and back again.

  "We don't think so." Maeve gave him a hug. "We heard them, but we never heard the grate move."

  She moved into the alcove. "How is everyone?"

  Tristan pushed himself away from the wall. "We're in rough shape. I think we need to take a minute and assess the situation."

  Ginger began to pace back and forth in the small space. "We can't. We have to find Emery."

  Tristan gentled his voice. "Ginger, we don't know where she is, and we can't keep going like this." He motioned to Elton and Gray. "None of us are able to move quickly or think well."

  "Maeve, tell him we have to find Emery."

  Maeve moved toward her friend and forced her to stop pacing. "Ginger, Tristan is right. If we're going to find Emery, we have to be able to think clearly − and move quickly. Let's just take a few minutes to look at everyone's injuries and create a plan."

  Gray moved into the alcove and slid down the wall to a sitting position. "And let's eat something." He pulled off his pack and began rummaging through it.

  Ginger backed away from Maeve. "I can't believe you guys. How can you want to just sit here and do nothing when Emery is in danger? She's sick." Her voice cracked. "She could be dying. And who knows what whoever took control of her car wants to do to her." She turned on Gray. "And you want to stop and have a snack?"

  Elton opened his eyes. "I think I know where they took her."

  Ginger whirled around to face Elton. "Why didn't you speak up before now?"

  "Ginger, we're all worried about Emery," Maeve said. "But when would Elton have told us anything? The hovercar wrecked right after Emery's car turned away. Let's just listen to what he has to say now."

  Ginger glared at Elton but motioned for him to speak.

  "You guys were right when you said this city is built like a hub. There are six 'spokes' to the 'wheel'. Each spoke leads to the center." Elton paused and closed his eyes again.

  Maeve rummaged in her pack and handed him a protein paste bar and a canteen. "What's in the center?"

  "The Info Hub." At their perplexed looks, Elton took a bite of the protein paste bar and continued. "The Info Hub is the control center of Bellus. Surely you've noticed that Bellus runs on pretty advanced technology."

  Thomas took a canteen from Maeve. "Yeah. This place is way better than Palumbra."

  Elton took a sip of water. "The Info Hub is where the city leaders control everything. If someone got control of Emery's hovercar, I'm sure they took her there."

  Ginger walked to the mouth of the alcove with a purposeful stride. "OK, if that's where she is, then let's go."

  Tristan handed his canteen to Ginger. "Just a minute. We can't just waltz into the Info Hub and demand that they give us Emery. They have superior technology and guns. We have a knife."

  "We can't just sit here and talk. We have to do something."

  "Ginger," Gray said. "We have more than one problem to solve here."

  "What are you talking about? We have to find Emery."

  Maeve set a gentle hand on Ginger's arm. "We also need to find the antidote. Emery is still sick."

  Ginger's shoulders slumped, and she stared at the ground. She swallowed hard. When she r
aised her head, defeat shone from her eyes. "She's going to die, isn't she? No matter what we do, we can't save her."

  Thomas stood and slipped his hand into Ginger's. "My mom alway said, 'Hope only dies when you give up.' We're not giving up."

  Maeve leaned her head against the wall of the passageway and closed her eyes. The conversation drifted around her.

  "We have two problems." Tristan's voice came from across the small alcove where he sat next to a calmer, but still impatient, Ginger. "We need to find Emery, and we need to find the antidote. We're going to have to split up."

  Gray shifted next to Maeve. "I don't like the idea of splitting up. We don't know the city. What if something goes wrong? How will we ever find each other again?"

  "I know the city." Elton's voice was little more than a thready whisper. "I can get us where we need to go."

  "You can barely move." Ginger's voice was filled with concern. "How are you going to lead us anywhere?"

  Elton let out a sigh. "No one said anything about leading, but I can give you directions. I think it's best if I just stay here."

  Maeve opened her eyes and leaned forward to look at Elton, who was sitting on the other side of Gray. She had done her best to treat all their injuries. Besides his broken wrist, Elton definitely had a concussion, and she suspected Tristan did, as well. Gray seemed remarkably unscathed other than the cut across the bridge of his nose and a twisted ankle that had slowed him down. Thomas's head sported a bandage from the meager first aid supplies Maeve had scrounged from the hidden bunker in the desert. "I don't think leaving you here by yourself is an option. What would you do if someone found you?"

  Elton slowly turned his head to look at Maeve, wincing with the motion. "Tell them I fell into the open hole and broke my wrist and that I was waiting for someone to find me."

  Gray leaned forward and looped his arms over his knees. "Honestly, that's probably the best option. We can leave him some food and water and come back for him when everything is safe."