by Eli Ingle
“So what’s going to happen to me?”
“I’m not an unreasonable fellow,” replied the Mayor. “If you co-operate, I could have you shipped back to your town by nightfall and all this could be forgotten ....”
But first I’ll have a black mark against my name and then my food shipments will become less frequent and then stop altogether, thought Uncle.
“I can’t do that,” he said out loud. “Sir, there are creatures roaming around the town. They’re dangerous. I believe it would be incredibly foolish to return there.”
“Such a shame,” sighed the Mayor, “when you consider option two ....”
“And that is?”
“A public execution.”
Uncle blinked as his stomach contracted, hard.
“A public execution?! Sir, really you can’t think that’s a reasonable option. On what grounds?”
“A message to the rest of the population: Don’t disobey me.”
“There must be a third option?” asked Ludo, sweating.
“No, I don’t think so.”
“What about just letting me go? Instead of shipping me off in the middle of the night back to my town, why not just ship me out in the middle of the night on my way? Let us just carry on like we were doing? No-one will see and no-one will be any the wiser. Why can’t we do that?”
“Frankly? Because I don’t like you, Ludo,” replied the Mayor, leaning back in his chair and taking another drink. “You disobeyed me and I don’t respect people who take that kind of initiative.”
“Sir, please!”
“No,” said the Mayor, holding up one of his massive palms. “I’ve heard enough and, in fact, come to a decision.”
“To send me back to the town?”
“No, to have you executed.”
“What?!”
“We do have a very busy schedule, I’ll admit,” said the Mayor, lifting his palms up in a ‘what can you do?’ kind of gesture, “but with a bit of rearranging I see no reason why we can’t fit you in by the end of the week.”
“No! Sir, please, you must reconsider,” begged Uncle.
“No, no, I’ve made my decision. Thank you for your time. Guards!” The men re-entered the room and pulled Uncle up by the shoulders. “That will be all. Keep him in Cell Block A. I don’t see why our guest of honour can’t have some comfort before his execution.”
“Some comfort” seemed to consist of an extra blanket and extra rats. Uncle had been taken down around twenty flights of steps until he arrived at a cell door that blocked the stairs. A woman stood at the other side of it in an outfit similar to those of the other guards.
“Cell open!” she shouted as she opened the door. Her voice bounced harshly against the tiles.
Uncle was led down the hall and into a windowless cell. One bulb illuminated the room and a bench with two blankets was nailed to the wall. Cracks in the tiles at the bottom allowed the rats to pass through freely. The middle of the tiled floor was sunk slightly and had a metal drain set into it. Uncle tried to stop his eyes from lingering on the reddish brown blood stains around the drain.
“I want to see a lawyer!” Uncle cried, as the three guards bundled him into the room. They laughed heartily at this.
“A lawyer? He wants to see a lawyer?” said the female guard, to more laughter. “Oh Ludo, don’t you know the Mayor criminalised lawyers months ago? Anyone found with one or in association with one is sent to a hard labour camp and then shot. A lawyer?! Hahaha!”
The door slammed behind them, leaving Uncle in the echoing silence of its boom. Once their footsteps had faded away, the silence was oppressive.
He did not even make it to the bed before he curled up and began sobbing.
Laurie dug into his boots and pulled out a thin knife with a fragile looking blade. He slotted this into the keyhole and began twiddling it. After a few attempts, they heard the lock click, making them jump to their feet. Laurie pulled the knife back out, his face creasing as he saw that the blade had snapped.
“I liked that,” he complained.
“He was like a brother to me!” cried Rona, clutching at the handle.
“Shut it, you,” said the Captain. “Let’s go.”
Pulling the door open, he stopped as he was confronted by the backs of two guards.
“Oh.”
Turning at the sound of the opening door, the guards raised their swords.
“What are you doing?” demanded the first.
Unable to think of a response, Laurie chucked the broken knife at them. It rebounded off their armour and flew out of view. Unseen by the others, Rigel and Rona had grabbed the leftover coffee things and stood on either side of the door. As the guards stormed in, Rigel cracked one over the head with the cream jug and Rona bashed the other with the tray. They weren’t completely knocked them out but were surprised enough to hit the floor and then Laurie and Erdiz did the rest.
“Let’s put their uniforms on!” said Rigel. “That always works in the pictures.”
Laurie and Erdiz sighed as they began pulling the guards’ uniforms off.
Five minutes later, two very shabby and mismatched looking guards dragged Rigel and Rona out of the holding room.
The cart was where they had left it, but officials were pulling the boxes off and sorting through the contents. One, busy chucking clothes over the edge, stopped as he spotted the group leaving the room.
“Where are you taking them?” he asked.
“We’ve been instructed to take them to the Mayor’s office ....” fudged Laurie.
“On whose orders?”
“The Mayor’s,” he said, attempting to sound confident. This stopped the man – he clearly did not believe them but was equally terrified at the prospect of denying an order from the Mayor.
“Very well,” he said. “Open the gate!”
“Open the gate!” came a faint reply at the other side. The travellers heard a clank and a moment later the heavy gate swung open. Laurie and Erdiz pulled Rona and Rigel through, not turning around to watch the guards shut it behind them.
The street they arrived in was pressed in on either side by buildings made of dark stone. It was like a darker version of Kozenia. Everyone wore the same outfit of drab grey and black with a felt hat or bonnet. The shops were unadorned or boarded up, and as they glanced through the windows, the few that were open had massive queues and people paying with some kind of token. Staring down at his feet, Rigel saw tram tracks set into the floor but he could not actually see any vehicles as they walked. In Kozenia he had also noticed robots or steam-powered automatons, but they seemed mostly confined to the industrial areas. Here they were prominent, walking amongst the other people, but Rigel spotted a different kind that he had not seen back at home: tall, dark steel robots that towered a foot over everyone else. Their faces had been removed by being hammered, thereby creating a grotesque face with dead eyes. They stood motionless at regular intervals down the street and Rigel could not help but notice that the citizens steered around them. He looked up as Rona pointed towards the sky. Film cameras were suspended above the street, monitoring the activity.
“Keep walking,” said Laurie in a gruff voice, giving Rigel a shove. He was just about to turn around and shout at the Captain when he stopped himself. Observing the people around, he thought that they would be used to this kind of behaviour and if he suddenly started shoving a guard, they might get suspicious. Plus, the cameras were watching them.
Grumbling to himself, Rigel continued on his way. They had no idea where they were going, but the street continued in a straight line and seemed rather busy, so presuming it was the main walkway, they hoped it would lead them somewhere.
Avoiding a pipe that was belching thick oily smoke into the street, the travellers arrived at the end and found themselves at a crossroad.
“Look,” said Rona, taking the opportunity to speak now they were crushed in the midst of all the people. “Where
are we actually going?”
“This place is too dangerous,” said Erdiz.
“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” snapped Laurie, running a finger under the tight collar of his outfit. “We need to save Uncle, get Jhoan out of the interrogation room and then get back to the cart and off again.”
“Why would Uncle bring us here?” asked Rigel, his eyes constantly scanning the crowd for trouble.
“If it was the only home you’d ever known, where else would you go?” asked Laurie.
“Fair point ....”
“I guess we have about ten minutes until we’re discovered by the guard who was interrogating us,” said Rona, “and then we really are in trouble. They look pretty organised here, so what are we going to do then?”
“We should get a move on,” said Erdiz. “See if we can make some headway. After that, we might have to get hiding ....”
“Don’t forget our objective, Professor,” said Laurie, giving Erdiz a meaningful look.
“Ah … yes. Of course,” mumbled the wise-woman.
“What objective?” asked Rigel. The adults did not answer. “What objective?”
“Keep moving,” said Laurie, giving them a slight push, and they continued down the street.
Rigel was not listening; he stood transfixed as he looked at a billboard screwed onto the street wall.
“What are you do—” started Rona, before stopping as she saw what he was looking at. “Oh.”
“What in the …?” asked Laurie, moving over and pulling the poster down. Rigel’s and Rona’s faces looked up at him from the poster under the red, bold lettering: “MISSING”. The Captain read the caption underneath. “Have you seen my children? They went missing six months ago and I can’t live without them. Please help me. Contact the Mayor’s office for further information.”
“Why are you on a poster?” asked Erdiz.
“Well I don’t know!” said Rigel, pulling it out of Laurie’s hand. “Rona, why are we on a poster?”
“We’re lost, apparently,” she replied, staring at the photo of her face.
“Hey, watch where you’re going!” snapped a ragged man as he bumped into the group. He then stopped as he saw the children holding the poster of themselves. “Hey! It’s you! It’s the lost children! It’s alright, I’ll take you to the Mayor’s office.”
“Excuse me,” said Laurie, trying to make himself look large and gruff. “They’re with us.”
“Oh yeah?” asked the man. “And where are you taking them?”
“Mayor’s orders,” said Laurie, sounding completely unofficial.
The man licked his lips, obviously weighing something up against his fear of the city’s guards. “You don’t look very official,” he said, his eyes narrowing.
“Yes we do,” replied Erdiz, “we’re wearing the uniform and everything.”
“That’s no guarantee,” said the man. “Anyone could go masquerading around in a uniform to get to the reward more easily ....”
“Come on, children,” said Laurie, shoving them away from the man. “Let’s go.”
“Aha!” cried the man. “A real guard would never say something like that! You’re coming with me.” He made a grab for their arms.
Laurie swung the rifle off his back and shoved the butt of it into the man’s chest. He fell to the floor with a thin wail, his eyes wide. After a moment, he recovered enough to point up at them and screech “They’re not real guards! They have the missing children!”
“Run!” barked Laurie, shoving Rigel and Rona ahead of him.
The crowd turned to gawp at the commotion, blocking the way as people always do. Weaving through them, Rigel and Rona arrived at the end of the street and turned around the corner. Glancing over his shoulder as he did so, Rigel realised that the robots that had been standing vigil down the side of the street had come to life and begun charging after them. The crowd immediately melted out of the way, leaving a clear path for the robots to chase after them.
“Incoming!” shouted Laurie as he bent down on one knee and shot a round at one of them. The bullet thudded harmlessly into the metal. The assaulted robot stopped and turned around slowly. It seemed to consider Laurie for a moment before slowly walking towards him. “Uh-oh ....”
Erdiz cocked her rifle and shot at the robot, but again the bullet thudded harmlessly into the metal.
“You’re in for it now,” commented the man who had been trying to claim Rigel and Rona for the reward, just before he turning on his heel and fleeing.
Laurie scrabbled backwards but hit the wall of an abandoned shop behind him and could go no further. The robot stepped up to him and leant down, its mechanical hand grabbing his collar and lifting him up into the air. The Captain’s legs flailed and his hands pulled at the robot’s solid metal ones, but to no avail.
“No! Agh! Put me down!” gasped Laurie, managing to kick the robot’s head. It studied him impassively for a moment before swinging around and throwing him across the street. The Captain flew across the air before hitting the wall on the other side and then falling down onto the pavement, groaning.
Metallic thunks filled the air as the robot moved over towards the prone figure of the Captain.
“Run,” he said, looking at the Light Ones and Erdiz.
The group turned to flee but found their way blocked by more of the monstrous machines. Clicking could be heard. Looking down, Rigel saw that guns were being cocked on their wrists. The robots began walking towards them. Rigel turned to run the other way and found that more machines were blocking them from the other direction, forming a barrier with their impenetrable ranks. He was just about to raise his hands against them when one of the robots pressed its gun to his head and pulled. Rigel expected a bullet. Instead, there was a sharp flare of pain, a buzzing noise and the smell of scorched flesh. His vision went blue and he fell to the floor, unconscious.
The robots blasted Rona, Erdiz and Laurie at the same time as Rigel and watched impassively as their bodies fell to the floor. Then they picked them up and carried them towards the Mayor’s office.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Rigel was aware of nothing but was not aware that he was aware of nothing. He was very confused. Then a buzzing noise and another sharp flare of pain awoke him. He looked around blearily to see that he was lying on the floor of a richly decorated office. An impressive desk made of rich, oiled wood blocked his view ahead. On the walls were dark paintings – all of the same, huge man that Rigel’s befuddled brain just managed to recollect was the Mayor with whom Ludo had been photographed. Looking up, he jumped when he realised that one of the robots was staring down at him. He scrambled away from the machine but even as he did so, it turned away from him and zapped Rona, Erdiz and Laurie awake. The robot left the room as they began to stir. Rigel sat up straighter and looked over the desk. Behind it, he saw the Mayor, who was dealing with paperwork and taking no interest in the scene in front of him. Laurie sat up and rubbed his forehead. Rigel saw that he had a scorched circle of flesh where the robot had zapped him. As he looked over to Rona and Erdiz and saw similar marks on their heads, he rubbed his own forehead and wondered if it had the same mark.
Now that they were shifting around and rubbing their heads, the Mayor seemed to notice them – or had decided to stop pretending he had not noticed. He hugged his fingers together and rested his chin on them, looking down at the assembled group.
“Thank you for joining me at such short notice,” the Mayor said, his voice so deep it filled the air like a deep hum. He turned his head to the children. “Rona, Rigel, it’s good to see you after you’ve been missing for so long.”
Rigel was tempted to point out that they had not been missing and to ask who was looking for them anyway. But he decided to stay quiet and see whether the Mayor would reveal more.
He did not.
“Now, you were probably hoping I would be one of those fellows who goes and reveals his plans. Not so. I find I prefer t
o avoid giving anyone an advantage, so I’ll keep you guessing.” He stood up and indicated that they should do the same. “If you’d be so kind as to follow me.”
“I don’t think so,” said Laurie. “You’ll tell us what we’re doing here first.”
“No, I won’t.”
“Yes, you will! A-ha!” He unholstered his gun and pointed it at the Mayor, only to realise it was not there and he was waving his empty hand at the man. “Huh?”
“You don’t think I’d be so lacking in insight as to let you keep your weapons, do you?” said the Mayor, a small smile turning up the corner of his thin lips.
“Give those back!” demanded Laurie. “They were antiques.”
“I could tell – the things looked ready to fall apart.”
“Hey, don’t you talk about them like that!”
“Come along now, there’s something I think you’ll want to see,” said the Mayor. He opened the office door and gestured for them to go through. Rigel looked over to Laurie, who nodded at them and led the way.
Through the door was a corridor with the same thick carpet as the office, but the walls were bare. Outside the door were two of the robot guards who had brought them there in the first place. The group surveyed the room wearily until the Mayor shut the door behind him and extended his arm to the left.
“This way,” he said and began walking, the robot guards following him on either side.
“Why don’t we just run for it?” asked Rona.
“Because we’ll probably get caught again and I have no better idea than to follow him. Maybe we’ll find out something useful.”
“Hurry up,” called the Mayor, now more than half way down the corridor. “I think you’ll enjoy this.”
Shrugging, Laurie trotted after the Mayor, leaving the others to follow him.
“Bad idea, bad idea,” Rona was muttering.
Waiting for them at the end of the corridor, the Mayor turned left once they caught up with him and led them down another equally bare corridor. They took another left and then a right.