Truancy City

by Isamu Fukui

  The albino smiled grimly at that. Then she nodded. The two of them proceeded together to the Humvee. Moments later, they were driving through the war-torn streets, heading for the great shadow in the distance.

  * * *

  Takan and Noni helped Iris into the chair. By her request, they had brought her back upstairs to her study. They had done their best to staunch her wounds, yet she was still losing a lot of blood, and they all knew it was a matter of time before she died. Takan and Noni looked at her guiltily as she leaned back in her seat, her face pale.

  “General,” Takan said. “If we can get you to your people, do you think there’s any chance that—”

  Iris cut him off with a shake of her head.

  “If the Government becomes aware of my situation there is a chance that I might be saved,” she said. “But it will mean that millions more will die instead.”

  Noni stepped forward. “Is there anything you want?”

  “Yes.” Iris pointed at the monitor with her good arm. “Tilt the camera up so that it points only at my face.”

  Takan hastened to do as she said, carefully manipulating the camera mounted on top of the monitor.

  “What are you planning to do?” Noni asked.

  “Whatever I can,” Iris coughed. “The Government must not find out that I am dying. I will first send them another message saying that I’m going into hiding in the City. Then I will order whatever soldiers that will listen to help evacuate the civilians.”

  “Is there anything that Noni and I can do to help?” Takan asked.

  Iris nodded. “The people of the City must know. They must be told to evacuate, that the bridges and tunnels will be available.”

  “How can we do that?” Noni asked.

  Iris’ voice grew steadily weaker as she explained.

  “About a year ago the Mayor had the Citywide broadcast controls rerouted to City Hall,” she said. “Those controls are off right now. You must go to City Hall and reactivate them. It shouldn’t be hard, with the military gone.”

  Noni nodded. “We’ll do our best.”

  “Yeah,” Takan said. “And Iris—I’m sorry, for everything.”

  Iris smiled at them, and for the first time they saw the youth in her face, drawn and pale though it was.

  “I can tell you’ve both endured a lot of suffering in your time,” Iris whispered. “Too much, for kids your age. You should live to see some happiness, after all of this. Take that.” Iris nodded at a folder on her desk. “It contains maps and documents you can use to get out of this City. I recommend you leave via what’s left of the District 8 overpass; it will take you to an old rail bridge, abandoned now.”

  Noni and Takan looked at each other, and then away. Takan took the folder and tucked it under his arm.

  “Is that all?” Takan asked.

  Iris sighed and closed her eyes. “If someday you ever run into my brother, tell him that I’m sorry, but that I did all I could.”

  Takan nodded gravely. “I will. Thank you for everything.”

  “Good luck, boy.”

  With that, Takan turned and walked out of the study. Noni lingered a moment, studying the older woman as she rested in her chair. Iris looked back at her, knowing that this would be the last time she ever saw the face of another person. Then Noni bowed her head and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

  Now all alone in the gloom of her study, Iris sat up straight with whatever strength she had left to muster. The General pressed a few buttons on her keyboard, preparing to send some final orders to the soldiers still loyal to her and their consciences.

  * * *

  Rothenberg opened his eyes and groaned. He could see nothing but blackness. There was a heavy pressure on his chest, restricting his breathing, and the air itself was dusty and foul. His head was pounding, and he found it difficult to think.

  Rothenberg stirred a little, and felt something yield at his movement. He pushed harder, and was rewarded with a crumbling sound. Then Rothenberg shoved with all of his considerable might, and the chunk of wall that had fallen on top of him finally gave way. He gasped as the pressure on his chest eased, his lungs filling with fresh air.

  Rothenberg sat up, brushing tiny bits of rubble out of his hair and mustache. His legs were still trapped, but his vision was now clear, allowing him to examine his surroundings. He gaped as he saw the state of the prison.

  The entire wing of the building had collapsed, probably destroyed by a bomb. Rothenberg wasn’t sure which side had done it, nor did he care. He glanced over to his right, past the twisted remnants of what had once been the bars to his cell. There, half buried under some bricks, was Max’s body, twisted in impossible ways. Clearly the boy had not survived.

  Rothenberg laughed at that, long and hard, until he coughed from some stray dust in the air. He had been right, in the end. Too bad Max would never know it.

  Something wet fell onto Rothenberg’s forehead, and he looked up to see a cloudy sky through the shattered roof, so different from the sunny day he remembered. He wondered how long he had been unconscious—hours? Days?

  Rothenberg attempted to stand but found it impossible. He looked down and saw his legs trapped under more rubble. Painfully, with difficulty, Rothenberg managed to extricate himself from the bricks, grunting as he finally pulled free. Breathing heavily, he glanced outside.

  The streets were strewn with junk. There were bodies lying around, citizens and soldiers alike. Not a living thing seemed to be moving. It was surreal, as though the City had been utterly forsaken.

  Rothenberg rose to his feet and stumbled out of the broken wall that had until recently held him prisoner. He gazed all around with a feeling of awe, the wrecked streets and collapsed buildings evidence that the City was suffering as he had suffered. And he, Rothenberg, had survived it all.

  For a few quiet moments Rothenberg wondered what to do. His thoughts turned again to Cross—did he still live? Rothenberg shook his head. There was no way to find out now. Either the boy was strong enough to survive or he was not.

  Then out of the corner of his eye Rothenberg glimpsed an enormous dark shape, and turned to stare up at the massive figure of the nearby Penance Tower, the nerve center to nearly the entire City. It was only a few blocks away. For a few moments Rothenberg entertained visions of himself as Mayor, using the controls at Penance Tower to secure the obedience of all citizens.

  Then Rothenberg laughed. Why did it have to stay a fantasy? The Government and the rebels were both clearly in ruins; evidence of that was all around him. This was a perfect opportunity for a man like Rothenberg to take the initiative. He would be Mayor—no, he would be King!

  Armed with his new purpose, Rothenberg staggered over to a dead soldier nearby, pulling a pistol off the man’s body. Then he turned and began making his way towards Penance Tower. As the rain began to fall, Rothenberg imagined what he would do when finally the City was his to rule.

  35

  PENANCE TOWER

  In times of peace, Penance Tower had been a symbol of pride for the City. One hundred and one stories tall, it soared over a thousand feet above the street. From its place at the very center of the City, the tower was visible from almost every district, dwarfing all competition on the skyline. A hulking monolith of concrete, steel, and glass, Penance Tower was said to have been built long before the Educators ever ruled the City.

  It was a true marvel of engineering, a relic of a bygone era of City peace and prosperity. Before the war, many had regarded the building as the very beating heart of the City.

  Now, as Cross and the albino parked their vehicle in front of the building, Penance Tower stood lifeless, its thousands of windows dark. The only traces that remained of its former glory were the green floodlights at the top, still illuminating a small cylindrical observation spire at its peak—the 101st floor.

  That spire, a bare speck from where the two citizens sat, was the last hope of salvation for the City, if only they could reach it. />
  Squinting through the rain cascading down the windshield, Cross stared up at the tower. He pointed a finger at the green glow at the top, which shone bright enough to cut through the relentless rain.

  “I think that’s our destination,” Cross said.

  The albino looked up herself. “That seems likely. I recall seeing a spire of some sort at the top, from a distance of course. I’ve never been here before.”

  “Neither have I,” Cross said. “I guess this is good, in a way. We both finally get our chance to visit Penance Tower.”

  The albino sighed. “It seems likely that we might be the last to do so.”

  Cross ignored that depressing thought as he opened the driver side door. He stepped out into the road, taking his rifle with him. He was instantly soaked by the downpour. The albino exited onto the sidewalk. Together they ran for the front entrance while the rain pattered all around them. The doors were wrought of stainless steel and glass, and as they stepped through them Cross noticed that the glass was all broken.

  Cross recalled hearing awhile ago that the tower had been attacked by a group of Truants in order to broadcast their message throughout the City. He guessed now that the Educators had never had a chance to replace the doors after the attack.

  Cross followed the albino through the dark lobby. As Iris had said, it seemed the building was running only on emergency power—the only lights were from the exit signs. Then Cross spotted something reflecting one of those lights on the floor, and he walked over to investigate. He bent down and touched the spot with his hand.

  It was water.

  “Teacher,” Cross said, standing up. “Come look at this.”

  The albino stood beside him and glanced down at the small puddle.

  “You think that someone got here before us?” she asked.

  Cross frowned. “I don’t know. It could be a water leak or something, or maybe some rain that got blown in. There seems to be more of it…”

  Cross bent down again and traced the direction of the drips with his hand for a few steps. Then he stood up and pointed.

  “If it was a person who got here recently, I think they were heading for that elevator over there.”

  The elevator Cross was pointing at clearly stood apart from the rest, and seemed to be meant for maintenance. Most of the public elevators were farther inside the lobby, near the building’s core.

  The albino shrugged, and then walked over to the elevator in question. Neither the button lights nor the floor indicator seemed to be working. The albino tried pressing the buttons. For several minutes she and Cross waited in silence. Nothing happened.

  “Maybe I was wrong,” Cross admitted.

  “Perhaps,” the albino said. “Either way, there’s nothing we can do about it. It seems that the elevators are not an option.”

  “So what are we going to do?”

  In response, the albino walked over to a nearby door and pushed it open. Cross followed her inside. He found himself inside a stairwell lit by tiny lights on the walls. Against his better judgment, Cross looked upwards. The stairwell went so high that he couldn’t even see where it ended.

  “It seems that we are just going to have to walk up,” the albino said.

  “Um, how many steps does Penance Tower have again?”

  The albino brought her hand under her chin as she considered that.

  “I think I recall reading that it’s something close to two thousand,” she said.

  Cross sighed. “I guess we’d better get started, then.”

  The albino took the first step, and together they began their long climb to the top.

  * * *

  As rain poured down the granite steps of City Hall, a soaked Takan looked up at the building. It had never been a match for Penance Tower in terms of scale—it was wider than it was tall, and only thirty stories at its highest point. However, it did seem intimidating enough with the charred hole blown in its side, an angry wound dripping with caution tape.

  “Are you coming or not?” Noni asked, glancing back at him.

  Takan snapped out of his reverie and hastened up the rest of the stairs. He followed Noni through the glass front doors. City Hall was within walking distance of the Mayoral Mansion, and they hadn’t had much trouble getting there on foot.

  As he entered the lobby for the first time in his life, Takan noticed that it looked quite lavish—there were leather couches and chairs scattered all over the floor of green marble. A large white fountain stood in the middle, though it was dry now. There was military equipment lying here and there. Clearly the building had been taken over by the Government before the withdrawal.

  Their wet footsteps echoed throughout the abandoned space. Takan tucked Iris’ folder under his arm. He had been keeping it in a plastic bag, safely shielded from the rain.

  “So, what do you think?” Noni said suddenly.

  Takan blinked. “Huh?”

  “About Iris,” Noni said. “You know, when I looked at her, I felt like I was watching the bravest person I’ve ever met die.”

  “Yeah, it’s a shame. The whole thing is.”

  “How could we have misjudged her so badly?” Noni wondered. “I don’t understand it. I’d never met her before, and I was still ready to kill her—I did kill her, with this knife.”

  Noni drew the weapon and looked down at it.

  “You can’t blame yourself, after what the Government did to you,” Takan reasoned. “We all felt the same way.”

  “She reminded me of Zyid, Takan,” Noni said quietly. “She was really trying to help, and we killed her, doomed the City. I feel … guilty.”

  “I do too.”

  Noni made a noise of disbelief as she headed for the stairwell. Takan followed, as she looked like she knew where she was going and he surely didn’t.

  “I doubt that,” she huffed. “Did you feel guilty when you killed Zyid?”

  Takan shut his eyes. “Noni, I—”

  “It was he who brought me to City Hall before, you know,” Noni interrupted. “We went over the blueprints together. The controls are probably in the main office, fifth floor.”

  Takan sighed as he followed Noni up the stairs. He didn’t want to be having this conversation now, but it seemed that soon they might not have another chance for any conversation, ever.

  “No, I didn’t feel guilty. Not at first anyway,” Takan said. “That was different, though. Zyid knew about my grudge and he’d agreed to settle it in a fair fight.”

  Noni snorted. “It sounds like he was a bigger man than you.”

  “Noni, Zyid didn’t want to be leader anymore,” Takan said. “He couldn’t live with the guilt and the burden.”

  “I don’t believe that,” Noni replied. “And even if it were true, Zyid was a better leader than you. He wouldn’t have killed Iris. I’m sure of it.”

  Takan shook his head, realizing now that Noni admired Zyid too much to see the boy’s flaws. She had been close to him, but she had never truly understood him. Perhaps that was why Zyid had chosen Takan to succeed him in the end.

  “I guess we’ll never know,” Takan said. “You know, he was worried about you, that night when he knew he was going to die.”

  They reached the fifth floor. Noni paused, turning to look at him.

  “What I told you awhile back was true,” Takan continued. “Zyid said you would become unpredictable without him. I think he was worried that you might go off and—”

  “Do what I did?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  Noni grunted, pushing the stairwell door open.

  “That just goes to show that Zyid knew me better than you did, Takan,” she said. “I guess you never really understood me at all.”

  Takan swallowed as he realized that those were more or less the same thoughts he’d had about Noni and Zyid. It hadn’t occurred to him that it might be true the other way as well.

  “You’re right, Noni. I’m sorry,” Takan said. Noni looked at him in surprise, and he cont
inued. “I didn’t understand you, but … I’m willing to learn. If you’ll give me that chance.”

  In the dim lighting of the corridor, Takan saw Noni turn away. The rest of their walk passed in silence. Soon they reached the main office, and entered inside. Noni fiddled around at each of the terminals as Takan stood watch in the doorway. Then Noni made a small sound of triumph, and Takan heard a switch click behind him.

  “It’s all done, then?” Takan asked, relieved.

  Noni straightened up. “Yes.”

  “Great,” Takan said. “Now let’s start broadcasting. Iris can only buy us so much time.”

  There was silence. It stretched on until Takan finally turned around, and saw Noni looking pale and flustered.

  “What’s wrong?” Takan asked.

  “I don’t think there’s a way to broadcast from here,” Noni said quietly. “There are no microphones. I only turned on the intercom system; we can’t use it from here.”

  Takan felt his heart sink. He’d thought that this whole thing had been too easy. What would happen now? It was hopeless—with no way to get the message out, the people of the City would never know what hit them.

  Then there came a scratching sound over the building speakers. Takan and Noni looked around as if by doing so they might see the source. A voice came over the intercom.

  “People of the City, this is your Mayor speaking.”

  Takan and Noni stared at each other, both of them torn by a flurry of different emotions.

  “Umasi!” Takan pumped his fist in the air.

  “Even now, all of your lives are in great danger—”

  “It figures that guy survived.” Noni frowned. “I never did get my chance to confront him.”

  “—evacuate immediately through whatever means—”

  “Who cares?” Takan said. “Our part is over now, Noni. The word is out, and the race to escape is on. Let’s get going.”

  “—those who are important to you, and stick together—”

  Noni nodded, and headed for the door. Tuning out the Mayor’s words, Takan followed behind her. With Iris’ directions still fresh in their minds, the two former Truants both shifted their attention to escaping the City. The rest of their issues, they decided, could wait for another time.