by Matt Ryan
Harris opened the door and walked past it. Joey stepped a few feet past the door, frantically looking around. Poly waited a few seconds before pushing past Joey. She let her arm graze his body and looked ahead into the hallway, hoping it wasn’t another peep show for creepers. Compry had trained her to see the whole room, and now she wished she could un-see the whole room.
This hallway, thankfully, was windowless and void of any creepers, but it did have the awful soft, squishy carpet, like the back room at the movie rental place in Preston. Harris stopped at an arched doorway adorned with draping tapestries.
“Let me do the talking,” Harris whispered.
Poly peered past the fancy entrance and inside the room. An assortment of high-tech computer monitors and a mix of old trinkets, glass globes, and brass figures spread across the large room. Not a knife in sight. It was like the home of the nerdy-psychic-grandma she’d never had. She liked this Madame and hadn’t even seen her yet.
At the end of the room stood an older woman dressed in a large, gaudy dress that looked as if it was from the 1500s. She had on a round velvet hat that seemed to throw off the whole look with its modern curves. She looked up from her table with a shocked look that quickly turned to a wide smile as she stood.
“Oh my, is that you?” she said and paraded around her desk. She moved and spoke with her hands flowing around as if she were composing an orchestra.
“Yes, Veronica, good to see you again,” Harris greeted.
“It’s been a long time,” Veronica replied, as she hugged him. “And everyone here calls me Madame V.” She smiled and bowed.
Harris bowed in return. “I’m sorry to put this burden on you, but we need a ship and a way out of Capital.”
“Dispensing with pleasantries? You must be in real trouble. I see you brought a rag tag group along to put your burdens on. When will you ever learn, Harris?”
“Never. The ship, do you have one?”
She eyed Harris and cocked her head to the side as if trying to see him from a different angle. “I owe you one, Harris.”
He nodded once.
“I don’t like debts and will be happy to be rid of this one. I have a private escort ship for special clients on the roof. You are free to use it.”
“Thank you, Veron—Madame V,” Harris said and turned. Madame V grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
“Death surrounds you, Harris. These kids look fresh. You leave them with me and I can see to it they get out safely.”
“No, just a ship out of here will do.”
Poly saw the crease in Madame V’s eyes when she offered the help. She didn’t want to oblige, but Harris had something on her that made her accept his request. Poly narrowed her eyes as Madame V glanced at her. “Hi, I’m Poly.” Poly found it helpful to make sure acquaintances saw you as a person; giving a face a name makes them less likely to stab you in the back.
“Enchanted.” She made the slightest roll of her eyes. “Brucius, would you please take our special clients here to the escort ship?”
Poly hadn’t noticed the man standing at the archway. She hated being snuck up on. The large man’s no-nonsense face surveyed them. He grunted and left the room.
“Thank you,” Harris said and bowed.
“Yes. Are your friends okay? I have a doctor on staff,” Madame V offered.
“No, we must be going,” Harris said, walking backward out of the room. “Thank you again.”
Poly followed Harris as they caught up to Brucius standing at the stairway. He didn’t say anything as they grouped up at the bottom of the stairs. After climbing a few floors, they were on the roof. A large, flat roof with a great view of the city and the setting sun.
She wondered how long they had been in that tunnel of debauchery. Her brow lowered as she tried to think of what day it was. She opened her mouth to ask when someone interrupted her.
“Fine evening we’re having,” the loud voice said.
Poly took her knife out in an instant and looked for the person. A man dressed in a black suit stepped out from behind a metal box attached to the roof. His shirt had a mark of R8 on his right chest and MM on the other.
“Max,” she said. Remembering the man pushing Simon around next to the elevator. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Would they ever be rid of these bastards?
Harris, in one quick motion, grabbed Hank’s jacket, pulled out Joey’s gun and fired three quick shots. Max didn’t jump out of the way, and as far as Poly could tell, he didn’t flinch. The bullets bounced off him in small sparks. He had some kind of shield like Simon’s.
Those dang cowards and their shields.
She looked to Julie to tell her, but she was already on her Panavice, sliding her fingers across the screen. She gripped her knife in her better throwing hand and waited for the word from Julie.
“I don’t know. It’s not like Simon’s—it’s so complex.” Julie shook her head as her fingers skimmed around the screen.
“Ah yes, Simon,” Max drawled. “It’s a shame you killed him. Hello, Harris.”
“You can go to hell, Max!” Harris hollered.
“It’s been a long time, brother,” Max said with a partial nod of his head.
Poly turned to Harris with her knife in hand. This was his brother? How could he keep something like that from them? Joey adored Harris, but she’d kept a skeptical eye on him from day one. Even Julie’s attempts to find out about him led to dead ends. Julie said he was a ghost. Any record or mention of him online was always immediately deleted.
“Just let us go, Max, and there won’t be any losses,” Harris said.
“Oh no, I can’t do that. He wants him . . . needs him.” Max pointed to Joey. “And the others, too, for backups.” He stepped closer. “Come on, Harris. You can’t really think you can win here. We had trackers implanted on these kids at the hospital. You can’t go anywhere without us finding them.”
“I won’t let you take them.”
Damn right, you’re not taking us. Poly nodded and glanced at Julie, waiting for that moment when she could send a knife in between the R and 8 on his chest.
Max pulled out his gun and shot twice. The shots were so close that they sounded as one. Poly didn’t have the time to react before she watched Compry and Nathen collapse to the ground with a hole through each of their hearts.
She moved to attack Max with her knife, but Hank was ahead of her, running at Max. Three feet before reaching him, Hank hit something unseen and fell to the ground. Max looked annoyed. Hank shook on the ground, face straining under great pain.
“Please, Harris, can you control them before I start killing more?” Max said.
“Stay back, everyone,” Harris seethed through gritted teeth.
Mouth agape, Poly stared unblinking at Compry’s dead body. This man killed her in cold blood and she couldn’t get within stabbing distance. Her blood boiled and she roared at Max, lunging at him with knife in hand.
Her arm stopped its forward motion and she looked at the fingers grasping her wrist. Joey’s tight grip gave no room for her to pull away. He shook his head as she tried. Damned Joey. His soft blue eyes stared into her soul. Poly’s eyes filled with tears and she collapsed into his arms, laying her face on his chest. She felt Joey’s strong arms around her body. Why couldn’t they just float away together, go somewhere away from all the pain, death, and danger?
Poly glanced at Compry on the ground, motionless.
No.
She pushed away from Joey and darted to Compry’s body. Taking her jacket off, she draped it over her face. She couldn’t hide from what happened. She wanted to face it head on. This woman had showed her so many things, and taught her in more ways than she could recall. She placed her hand on Compry’s side and pulled out her knife. The shiny eight-inch blade with etched green dragons at the hilt. She never got the story behind the blade, but it meant the world to Compry. She slid the blade into her sheath at her waist.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered into
Compry’s ear.
Poly stood and glared at Max.
“Julie, check to see what they’ve deployed around us,” Harris said.
The soft glow of the screen on her face in the dimming daylight exaggerated her expression of concentration.
“Do you really think she can break into my team’s network?” Max asked.
“There are four gunships surrounding us, and a small team of men are on their way up the stairs, and a dozen or so transport cars on the surrounding streets,” Julie reported.
Max’s smile left his face. Poly loved that Julie disrupted his confidence. He wasn’t some infallible being.
“Now you know the situation. You realize there’s no escape this time, no tunnels or Alius stones to use. Surrender and I’ll keep their Earth safe. Fight us and I will turn their Earth into a Ryjack, starting with their families.”
Poly gripped Compry’s knife hard, her nails digging into her hands. She picked the spot on Max’s neck. She would even use Compry’s knife to do it.
Harris stepped closer to Max, his face contorted with frustration. “Just as you have implanted trackers on them, we have also implanted something.” He looked to them, apologetic. “We knew there was a good chance you’d take them and we couldn’t let it happen. So we implanted a small explosive in each of them.”
Max smiled. “You’re a devious one. I can tell from their faces, they weren’t aware of this little gift. What else have you kept from them?”
“Listen. I could blow them all up right now and I don’t think he would be happy when you returned with corpses.”
Max paced back and forth, and even in the fading light, Poly saw his face red with anger. Was Harris bluffing? There was no way he put bombs in them. She tried to think of when they would’ve had time to implant something—the only time would have been when they first arrived in the bunker and into the medical wing.
She felt the blood in her face rising and touched the spot on her neck where they’d received their “vaccine.” It did feel weird when the shot went in. How could he have placed bombs in them? Her nostrils flared and she turned to Harris.
“What are we to do then?” Max asked.
“You only really want one of them—Joey. You can have him in return for a transport ship for the rest of us and a guaranteed safe route to the Marshall Islands.”
Max laughed, but Poly’s heart sank deep in her chest. She wouldn’t let Harris bargain away Joey. She met eyes with Joey, seeing that he was okay with the trade. He was just noble enough to go through with the deal. He’d sacrifice himself for them. The damned fool. Facing him, she took in a deep breath, hoping he would say the words of rejection.
“Don’t listen to this, Joey.” She punched at his chest. She closed her eyes and felt a tear fall down her cheek. His finger caught the tear. She smelled the gunpowder on his hand and opened her eyes.
“Fine, we’ll collect the rest in due time though. I’ll personally see to it.” Max took a step forward.
“No!” Poly screamed. Was she the only one to say something against it? “You can’t give him Joey!” She rushed to Harris with her knife. Harris didn’t move to defend himself. He looked defeated as she raised her knife, intending on bringing it across his neck. He stared forward, unblinking as she stopped the blade an inch from his neck. Holding it there, she shook with anger and disbelief. Joey tugged on her shoulder and she turned to face him, dropping the knife down to her side.
“The transports will be here in a minute for you, Joey,” Max said. “Say your goodbyes, kid.” He crossed his arms and watched on, as if amused by their suffering.
Joey looked at her with hurt eyes. She fought the tears.
“Poly, I have to do this. If going with them gives you another day, then it’s worth it,” Joey said.
“But . . . no!” Tears filled her eyes and she hugged him tightly. It felt right being with him and for a second, she got lost in him, forgetting the horrible situation around her. She held him with her eyes closed, head against his chest. He released her and held onto her shoulders, pushing her back and staring at her. She couldn’t bring herself to look at his face.
He gently placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head. “If we only had more time,” Joey whispered, brushing her hair back.
Tears fell down her cheeks and she didn’t care if the others saw.
A ship floated over the roof and landed nearby. Dust flew up in a cloud on the roof and Joey, standing in front of her, disappeared for a second. She thought she felt a soft kiss on her cheek before he reappeared in the same spot in front of her. He had done his Speedy Gonejoey trick. The others hadn’t seemed to notice.
Hank walked to Joey and hugged him, whispering something in his ear that she couldn’t hear and Joey nodded.
Lucas dragged his feet to Joey. “This sucks.” They shook hands and pulled it in for a hug. “I don’t know what to say, man. Thanks.”
Julie marched up and whispered in his ear as she hugged him. Poly caught the whisper in the air. “I can trace the tracker on you. We’ll come back for you.”
Joey nodded and Harris walked up. He didn’t say anything as he simply placed a hand on his shoulder, met his eyes, and then walked away.
Poly stood there, not wanting to leave his side, not wanting to say good-bye. She always figured they would face whatever came at them, together. She could not deal with the world without him. He locked eyes with her.
She wanted to say something profound that would encapsulate all the feelings she had, but he broke the silence first.
“Promise me, you won’t come after me.”
Her heart sank for a second. His last words to her were about her giving up on him?
“I can’t leave you with them.” She glared at Max as the transport ship hovered above, sending gusts of wind toward them.
“Please, you have to. You can’t live your life trying to save me, but you can remember me.”
The fool boy. She wanted to punch the stupid out of him. It wasn’t some simple switch she could turn off. She’d never give up on him and she knew he’d do the same for her.
“I’ll find you again,” was all she could get out. She wouldn’t accept this as goodbye forever.
“Time’s up.” Max walked toward them.
Joey gave quick glances from Max to Poly.
“Promise me! I can’t make it knowing you’re not living your life out there. If you come after me, then we both are in a prison.”
Poly felt another tear streak down her face. She wanted to explain so much to him, but Max approached and she lied to Joey. “I promise.”
Getting on her tiptoes, she grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him on his lips. His hand came up to the side of her face, his thumb stroking her cheek. She felt the heat in her body build as he deepened the kiss.
“That’s enough. Time to go,” Max said, pulling Joey from her embrace.
She scowled at Max.
“Poly, I’m sorry,” Joey said.
The aircraft blew the air around, making her hair stick to her wet cheeks. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t step away from him.
A ramp lowered from the ship and a few soldiers in black ran off the ramp, stopping next to Max. Julie, Hank, and Lucas ran up the ramp into the ship. Harris stood at the bottom of the ramp, looking at her. She would deal with his betrayal later.
“Please, Poly, go!” Joey pleaded.
She took a deep breath, then turned and ran to the ramp. Her mind screamed at her with every step she took. If she’d hesitated even one second, she would have never made it. She ran past Harris and into the ship.
The ship had chairs on each side, like an airplane, but everything was military gray. All she wanted was a window. She jumped over a row of chairs and stared out the portal window.
She looked out just in time to see Max shoot an electrical bolt into Joey’s neck. Poly slapped the window with her palm and moved her face close against the glass, screaming his name.
Joey co
llapsed and Max threw a blanket over him. The blanket wrapped around him, leaving nothing but his head sticking out the end, and lifted off the ground. Joey, wrapped in a blanket, floated next to Max.
She wanted to turn away from it, but she felt like she owed it to Joey to watch. Max leaned over him, probably gloating about his fantastic victory. Poly slapped the window with her hand. The pain felt good, and she hit it again. She had made Joey a promise, but not the promise he thought. She made a promise to herself. She’d never stop, until Marcus and Max were dead, and Joey was back in her arms.
THE CARNIVAL STYLE MUSIC WOKE him up. Gears squeaked and he swayed. Sitting up, Joey put his hand on the wooden bench beneath. The sun light shone through the metal mesh surrounding him. Large metal bars wrapped around his cage and held him high in the air. Looking around, he saw cages above and below him, and they swayed as the metal structure moved in a circle.
“Hello,” he called out, searching the other cages for another person. His cage descended in its circular path and when it reached the bottom, it stopped.
The metal door clicked and he pushed it open. Joey surveyed the small boardwalk full of carnival games as it came into view. He looked back at his cage and the giant Ferris wheel moved in its circular path. A large cartoon head adorned the center of the Ferris wheel. It was of a smiling girl with pigtails and large eyes—Mindyland written underneath her face.
“Hello?” He called out again.
Electronic music played through speakers, but he was the only one there to hear it. He felt weak and rubbed his eyes. When he felt something hard and clunky, he stopped and looked at his wrist. Each had a metal bracelet on.
Blinking and rubbing the top of his head, he tried to remember how he got there. Max had been laughing when they put the bracelets on—they blocked him from speeding up. However, that wasn’t why he was laughing.
Joey fell to his knees and put both hands over his face.
“No!” He screamed at the sky. Now he remembered it all.
“We shot them down,” Max said and then laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m sure it was a quick death.” He laughed again.