That does the trick. Number Seven steps forward, slowly at first but his pace gradually building into a jog.
“Make like you’re about to run up the pile to your right, but stay close,” Kara whispers while looking through her legs back at Number Seven. “We need to get him into a run. Watch for my signal.”
I nod, and Kara straightens up and faces number seven. When he’s almost on top of us she blows him a kiss and waves goodbye. She glances at the pile to her left, and fakes to run. I do the same.
It works.
Number Seven changes from a jog into a sprint and aims straight for us. Before he can work out what’s going on, we turn back towards him, and with my newly acquired skills guiding my muscles I drop to the ground and kick my feet out towards his.
Kara drops into a crouch at the same time and as my feet connect with his Number Seven falls forward. Kara grabs at his chest and his crotch and with a single fluid motion hefts him over her shoulder and into the red zone.
He skids to a halt in the dirt and jumps to his feet, insanity and rage in his eyes. Before he can act his collar beeps loudly. His eyes turn from rage to pleading as he looks at us, but half a second later the collar explodes.
When the dust clears and it stops raining blood, Kara smiles at me and gives me a high-five.
“Are we the shit or what?” she says.
“Come on,” I say grabbing her hand, “we’ve got to move. The big guy would have heard that and will be on his way.”
Together we run back the way we came, looking for a path back to a safe zone.
We’re sprinting between two large piles of garbage when we come to a fork in the path. I look left and Kara looks right, then we both look straight up when an evil laugh rains down from above us.
Standing on top of the pile dead ahead of us is the big guy. He’s points at us then runs a thumb across his throat.
“He looks bigger than he did before,” I say.
Kara takes my hand and squeezes it.
“We’ve got to find a better place to fight. We’re dead if we try to fight him here.”
The big guys laughs down at us again.
“Bet your hot little asses you are. I’ll be having a lot of fun with you before I kill you though, don’t worry about that.”
I let Kara’s hand drop from mine to signal to her we’re about to move.
“This way!” I shout to Kara as I sprint towards the path leading left.
18 - Impossible Choice
Echo lets go of my hand, signaling she’s getting ready to run.
“This way!” I shout to Echo as I sprint towards the path leading right.
We’re heading straight towards a massive pile of twisted scrap metal that looks promising. I dive in headfirst and scramble through.
As I’d expected there’s a large open space inside. Years of living in the boneyard has made these easy to spot.
I turn around to help Echo out of the metal tunnel and she’s not there. Damn it. She must not have heard me.
Cursing loudly I’m about to re-enter the tunnel and go look for Echo when a beep comes from behind me.
Immediately I crouch and spin around, alert and ready to take on any danger that’s about to present itself.
There’s no one in here though. In the middle of the metal cavern, placed almost deliberately in the center is a small comms device like Echo had.
It’s the source of the beeping, and the glow coming from it means it’s working. I sneak my way over to it and almost die when Jameson and Reed smile out at me from the screen.
“Hello again, Kara,” Jameson says.
“Go to hell,” I reply and raise my foot ready to smash the comms to pieces.
“Wait!” he yells at me, “At least hear me out.”
My foot wobbles in the air while I think it over.
“I’m listening,” I say at last, resting my foot back on the ground.
“If I told you I had a way out of here for you, would you be interested? For you and all the people you brought with you when you attacked me. Some of them are slated for next week’s match, but work with me and I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Of course I’d be interested,” I reply, “but I’m not an idiot. There must be a price to pay. I’m not stupid enough to think you’ll just forgive us all.”
Jameson laughs and turns to Reed.
“See, I told you she’s a bright one.”
Reed nods, not saying anything.
“Of course you’re correct in your assumption, Kara. We just need one tiny little thing from you.”
“Which is?”
“Kill Echo. Make sure she doesn’t make it out of the game alive. Do that, and you and all your friends live.”
“No way I’m doing that!” I shout at him. “I love her more than life itself. I won’t sacrifice her for anything.”
“Not even to save yourself and everyone you know?”
“Not even then.”
“What if I said I’d let everyone live, in all the boneyards across the planet? Hundreds of thousands of lives, all saved. All I need is for you to take one.”
“You can’t put their lives in my hands. It’s not fair, I can’t make that choice.”
“Not in the slightest, but it’s the only choice you’ll get that’ll get you out of there alive.”
Behind Jameson, Reed is chuckling silently to himself. I can’t believe they’ve put me in this position.
I resist the urge for as long as I can but eventually I collapse to my knees.
“You can’t make me make that choice,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Think about it,” Jameson says. “Just say the word when you decide. We’ll hear you. Do what we’ve asked and we’ll send in a drone to get you the second it’s done.”
The screen on the comms blinks off.
“You can jam your choice straight up your ass,” I say to it and kick it across the dirt.
I take a small degree of pleasure from the collar when it emits a brief electric shock. I guess they heard me.
Later, after I’ve regrouped with Echo, we end up at the furnaces the rats use to burn off the garbage.
There’s no one around because as Reed said he cleared the boneyard of people before the games start. We seize the opportunity and look inside.
We’d never normally get this close because the rats would have killed us before now.
As we near the burners, nervousness takes hold of me. The furnace pit is deep and the flames are like the fires of Hell. Even from a distance they feel like they’re scorching my skin.
“I’m so sorry, Echo,” I say under my breath.
“What?” Echo asks.
She screams until her collar explodes inside the furnace.
“I’m so, so sorry, Echo,” I say again and head back into the sunlight.
The boneyard is awfully quiet except for a ringing in my ears. I wiggle a finger into my ear but it does nothing. I think the explosion has left me temporarily deaf.
“It’s done, now send me the drone,” I say, directing the words towards my collar.
I brush at the black soot covering me that exploded from the furnace when the collar detonated.
I wait for an eternity but there is no sign of a drone coming to get me. It’s obvious Jameson has played me. He never intended to let me go.
“You lying assholes,” I scream, hoping Jameson and Reed are still listening. “You never had any intention of letting me go did you?”
Tears stream down my face as I stomp back into the furnace.
Seconds later a second explosion rings out through the boneyard as my collar explodes in the heat of the fire.
19 - Fox Hunters
I’m not sure at what point I lost Kara, but I turn around when she doesn’t answer me. She’s nowhere to be seen.
“Crap,” I say out loud. “What do I do? What do I do?”
I check out the mountains of scrap around me and find somewhere safe to lo
ok out from. Wherever Kara is, I’m sure she is safe. She knows how to survive in a boneyard.
I climb the nearest scrap mountain in the hope I can see her.
As I’m nearing the top a piece of sheet metal gives way and I shoot down into the interior of the pile. The metal protects me from most bumps and scrapes along the way, and eventually I skid to a halt.
My best guess is I’m about halfway into the pile. While I’m looking back up the way I came, trying to work out if I can get back out that way, a hand grips my wrist.
My nerves are so on edge I rip my arm away from theirs before I’ve even heard their shouts of, “Don’t panic! We’re friends.”
I scramble for freedom but more hands grab at me and I’m immobilized. The people holding me keep telling me to calm down and that they’re here to help me.
“Get the hell off me!” I shout, thrashing about as hard as I can.
“Calm down, we’re here to help,” one of them says.
I get a look at his face and don’t recognize him. I look at each of the others in turn. None of them were in the holding cells when the game started, so they can’t be competitors.
“Who... who are you?” I stammer.
“We’re Fox Hunters, Miss Fox,” the boy holding my wrist says.
My eyes go wide when they use my name.
“Yes, we know who you are. But we’re not hunting you. In fact we think you can help us take down Jameson and Reed Fox for good. I’m going to let go of you now. Please, don’t run. I promise you’re safe.”
He slowly lets go of my wrist. When I make no move to run, the others also let go.
“Wait,” I shout, causing hands to grab at my ankles again, “they’re watching us, aren’t they? They can hear what you’re saying.”
The boy who had been holding my wrist waves a small box around.
“Not at all. We’re jamming their signal. They would have tracked your fall into the pile, and they’ll be assuming the interference coming from your collar is because of the metal. We’ll need to get you back into range soon, but you must listen to us first.”
“I don’t even know your name,” I say to the boy.
“Stilwell,” he replies. “Stilwell Fargo. Now, don’t interrupt, it’ll be quicker if you just believe what I’m saying is true and get on your way.”
After I listen to what he has to say he turns off his signal jammer. I curse loudly at the pile of metal as I climb my way out of it, telling it off for almost killing me by making me fall inside. Anyone listening should now have an idea of where I’ve been.
Once I reach the top of the pile, I scramble back down the side and almost run over the top of Kara.
She grabs me by the waist as I pass and swings me around. I pull her close and squeeze her into the tightest hug I’ve ever given and plant a kiss on her.
“I thought I lost you!” I say.
“I know. That was reckless of us. We need to stick together if we’re going to make it out of here.”
I nod in agreement. Kara turns her face from mine and bites at her lower lip, like she wants to tell me something. No doubt the conversation she had with Jameson Stilwell relayed to me as part of his explanation.
I desperately want to tell her it’s okay, but I can’t without exposing the plan.
Instead I place my hand under her chin and turn her face back so she’s facing me. I lock my eyes onto hers, wink and give the tiniest shake of my head.
I hope it’s enough to communicate she’s got nothing to worry about.
“Come on, let’s get moving. You know,” I say pulling her by the hand, “I think we’re close to a rats nest. They won’t be around because Reed told us everyone is removed before they send us in. I reckon it’d be a safe place to hold up for a while.”
Kara follows my lead, silently letting herself be pulled along.
Old habits die hard though, so when we get close to the furnace we sneak around keeping an eye out for rats.
Seeing none we walk over to the furnace’s entrance which is basically a great big hole in the wall leading into darkness.
As silently as we can, we walk in until we’re shrouded by the blackness. A beeping noise to our left makes Kara jump but I tell her it’s okay.
“I sure hope that’s you, Stilwell,” I say into the black.
“Who the hell is Stilwell?” Kara hisses.
“Yep, it’s me,” Stilwell replies, the light from the furnace barely enough to make him visible.
“We can trust him,” I tell Kara. “He’s got a hell of a plan.”
Stilwell explains the plan to Kara. I listen in but I already know what the deal is because he laid it out for me back in the garbage pile.
The Fox Hunters have worked out how to remove the collars safely and even make it look like we’re still wearing them. Once they’ve got mine off, they’ll deactivate the scrambling device so what we say will travel back to Jameson.
Kara will sneak up on me to make out like she’s going along with his plan. We’ll then struggle until it sounds like she’s pushed me into the furnace, but in reality I’ll just toss in my collar where it’ll explode.
She’ll then walk back outside and tell Jameson it’s done. None of us believe he’s genuine in his offer to let Kara live, so once she’s confirmed the double-cross Kara is to go mad with anger and kill herself in despair.
Or so it’ll seem. In reality we’ll toss her collar in with mine, and once it explodes, they’ll think we’re both finally dead. The furnaces burn incredibly hot so a lack of remains won’t be suspicious if they check.
The Fox Hunters have a way out from inside the furnace, and we’ll be free of this place. It leads deep underground into an old network of tunnels. I had no idea such things existed.
I can’t wait to get to them, they sound exciting.
When Kara stomps back in after playing her part, real tears are flowing down her cheeks. Stilwell activates his signal jammer and we’re safe to talk.
“Are you okay?” I ask her, holding her around her waist.
“Yes,” she says sniffing and laughing. “It’s silly. I just got a little too much into character then.”
The Fox Hunters quickly unhook Kara’s collar and hand it to her. Stilwell tells us to block our ears, and seconds later Kara’s collar explodes in the heat of the furnace.
After the dust has cleared, we’re alone with Stilwell, the others having disappeared during the commotion. He motions for us to come further into the furnace room where we reach a rusted steel wall.
Placing his hand on a sheet of steel, he pushes it and it slides across to reveal a dimly lit tunnel dug into the earth.
“Don’t worry, it’s not as tight as it looks. Plus, it widens after a few yards then drops into the tunnels proper.”
“We’ve been in tighter spots,” I say and Kara and I enter the tunnel and crawl along its length.
“I’ll be right behind you,” Stilwell says. “Just need to lock the door behind us. Don’t need anyone finding our way in.”
20 - Subway
After a short crawl Kara and I emerge into a vast underground tunnel. Dim lights overhead disappear into the distance in both directions. Along the ground are thick pieces of steel bolted to slabs of concrete.
Stilwell exits the dirt tunnel and dusts himself off.
“What is this place?” I ask him.
“This is the old subway system. It goes on for hundreds of miles beneath the city, and they’re how we move through it undetected. Back in the old days, people used to use the tunnels to get around all the time.”
“What, they just walked around underground?”
Stilwell laughs at me, but I can tell there’s no malice behind it.
“No, in great big metal boxes called trains. You’ll see some of them, eventually. Many of us live in them.”
“So where do we go?” Kara asks.
“This way,” Stilwell says pointing into the distance. “It’s a bit of a hike, but it’s easy.”
I grab hold of Kara’s hand and we head off down the tunnel. I think this is the first time I’ve ever been truly safe from the world above.
Jameson thinks we’re dead, and hopefully we’ll be able to keep it that way.
As we walk Kara asks Stilwell how he found the tunnels.
“It wasn’t me, but our group has lived underground for as long as anyone can remember. According to some, the first people to discover them lived in a boneyard just like yours. One day after a drone dumped a load of garbage a tunnel collapsed and exposed the entrance.
I think everyone up top has forgotten they even exist. All the old exits are sealed off, so the only ways out are the ones we make for ourselves.”
“How many of you are down here?” I ask.
“Thousands of us. We’re scattered throughout the lengths of the tunnels though. See off there in the distance?” Stilwell asks as he points to a bright spot further along. “That’s an old subway station. We’ve made those our homes. There are hundreds of them, so we’ve plenty of room.”
“What do you live off though? How do you get food down here?”
“Not all of us come from the boneyards,” Stilwell replies. “Many of our number are from the surface. They grew tired of living under the thumb of FTW and joined us. We use their knowledge of the world above to find what we need. We’ve got backdoors into storerooms in so many buildings that nobody ever goes hungry.”
I gently squeeze Kara’s hand. The thought of never being desperate for food is something everyone in the boneyards dreams of at some point.
We walk on in silence towards the glow of the subway station in the distance.
When we’re a few hundred yards from the station the chatter of a large mob of people talking at once fills the air. As we get closer, they quieten down as if expecting something momentous to happen.
Stilwell jogs ahead of us a little.
“We found them!” he shouts, and everyone on the station cheers.
Boneyards & Badlands: The Complete FTW Series Page 10