by Terry Persun
“What now?” Brent said.
“We'll think of something,” Keith said.
“I say we wait until it's dark and break into the doctor's office,” Brent said.
As soon as the idea came out and even though Keith had felt the same way earlier, he got a bad feeling about it and changed his mind. “I don't think so,” he said.
“They aren't here,” Brent said, referring to Keith's guides. “I can tell. You don't know what to do any more than we do. I won't let you lead us into a trap. There is nowhere else to go.”
“He is the guide,” Stacy said. “I don't think we should forget that.”
“I don't think we should rely on it,” Brent said, pressing his point.
“The docks,” Keith announced the moment the idea struck him.
Robert leaned in to speak, “I've seen the docks, and he may be right. There are trucks everywhere, crates and boxes filled with produce, animals, and flowers. A vast warehouse. Not only could we hide there for the night, but we might be able to get inside Newcity.”
Brent scoffed at Robert and said, “We'll see,” as he turned away.
The police car that had driven by them several times, stopped at the entrance of the alley, the door opened, and the officer got out. “Hey, what are you doing in there?”
“Run,” Brent barked while dashing from the huddle. The rest followed leaving Keith standing alone. For a moment he thought this might be the best time to separate from them, but when the officer reached for his gun and took off toward them, Keith ran as well. He heard the man yell, “Halt!” several times, but it was too late. They had mingled with the crowd on the sidewalks, which, like several days ago, was beginning its trek from the streets into the alleys and apartments.
The stands had already begun to close. The stores would be next. There were too many people for the policeman to plow through, and he stopped running soon after he left the alley. Keith followed Brent and the others onto another street and lost sight of the policeman. Another hour and the streets would clear enough for the policeman to spot them easily.
Surprisingly, few of the people on the streets appeared to notice, or care, about the running escapees. Some of them didn't even get out of the way until shoved to the side, and then they complained or yelled, throwing up a fist as the odd group passed.
Near a storefront with piles of what looked like old clothing lying on wooden tables, they stopped.
“Get out of here,” the store attendant yelled.
“Keep moving,” Brent said while taking Stacy's hand and proceeding.
“He'll be driving through looking for us,” Keith said when he caught up. “He was going to shoot at us.”
Molly began to cry and Will and Rebecca comforted her. They each held onto one of Molly's arms and pulled in close. Robert put his arm around Amanda.
“I'm not sure about this,” Keith said, “but we've got to avoid that policeman.” They traveled a little farther. Keith found a vendor lowering a metal screen over the front of his store and asked, “Which way to Newcity?” The man looked surprised but answered Keith before locking the screen into position and walking away in the opposite direction.
It didn't take long for them to jog most of the way. Newcity grew overhead until finally it loomed over them. It was as though the city had ended and a great wall rose into a low-hanging cloud and stretched for miles both left and right of them.
They were in the open.
“This way,” Brent said. As soon as he led the others to the right, Keith ran to the left. He had had enough of their dependence. But it didn't last.
Will yelled to the others from behind Keith and before he knew it they had caught up and were following him. The group pitched into one alley, ran along a street, and then shuttled through another alley similar to the way they had driven away from their captors several hours before. The left-right continual turns kept them out of sight of the policeman and safe for the moment.
Again, they approached the doctor's office and Brent repeated his plan. “I still say we break in there and hold up for the night. It's dangerous out here.”
“We don't know that. None of us has ever experienced the city at night,” Keith observed. He looked around. They stood in yet one more alleyway staring out at the dimming light of the street. Patrons dressed in grungy clothing were parking themselves in doorways or wandering off as though they had somewhere to be.
Two men, a woman, and two children entered the alley from the other end. “This is ours,” growled one of the men. “Find your own place to sleep.”
Keith swung around and walked toward them. Stacy whispered her concern, but he ignored her. As he got closer he saw that both men were pulling short clubs from their jackets. The woman placed a hand on each of the children's chests and stepped back with them. “Hold it,” Keith said, raising his hands to show that he was weaponless. “I just want directions.”
The man to the right looked at the other two. “Directions where?”
“We're trying to get to the dock entrance of Newcity.”
The man laughed. “They ain't hiring. I can tell you that.”
“I know.” Keith pointed to the others. “We're inspectors. Our car broke down and the driver stayed back to wait for help. He was the only one who knew where he was going.” He sensed a rush of blood as he lied to the man, an excitement came over him, and a guilt that was oddly pleasant.
Suspicion ran across their faces, but Keith didn't flinch. He didn't change his story. “We're new,” he said. “We just got out of training. He told us how to get there but we got lost.”
“Then you're leaving here?”
Keith nodded.
“It's a few miles,” the man said. “And I don't recommend that you go now. If anyone catches you, they'll think you're cutting line.”
“Cutting line?”
The man stepped closer. He cocked his head and looked into Keith's eyes. “You're not an inspector. What's really going on?” He glanced at the others, still huddled near the other end of the alley. His suspicion turned to wonder. “You're from in there, aren't you?”
The question came with a heaviness that Keith had not felt until that moment. A futility fell over the man, and his question hung between them like a condemned man.
“Were you thrown out?” the man asked. “Is that possible?”
“No,” Keith said, “we escaped.”
He thought the man was about to break down the way his body appeared to crumble, the way he twisted to his side unwilling, it seemed, to address those with him squarely. “Escaped,” he shook his head in disbelief. “Why would you want to escape?”
The others stepped closer, even the woman and children, to listen to the answer that they hoped would not come. But Keith gave them the answer, his answer. “It's horrible in there.”
“It's horrible out here,” the man said, opening his arms to indicate the alley they stood in. “We work hard and have little.”
The woman reached out and put a hand on the man's shoulder. He turned slightly to give her space. The two kids stayed behind her. “If it's so horrible, why are you trying to get back in?” she asked.
“We're not,” Keith said. “We're here to warn them.”
The rest of the escapees advanced on Keith until they stood behind him.
“You'll have to explain that,” the woman said.
Keith spent a few minutes outlining Bradley's plan to them, what he knew of it. Without Sam, none of them could be completely sure, not even Molly.
“He thinks he can kill everyone?” the man said.
Keith glanced at his fellow travelers for backup but got none. “I don't think that's the plan so much as to trap them inside.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Or scare them so that no one else escapes. We can't be sure.”
“Stop delivering food,” the man said.
“They would just let more people out,” Robert suggested.
“It's not that simple anyway,” Molly said from behind Keit
h. “Newcity provides pharmaceuticals, electronics. All scientific discoveries are coming from there now.”
“Negotiate,” the woman said.
“They don't care about us,” Molly said. “I'm not sure they have any idea what's going on out here any more. As long as they receive shipments of the things they need, they're satisfied with the arrangement.”
“Harold,” the woman said to the man next to her, “what does this mean?” She indicated the children with a jerk of her head.
He didn't respond for a moment. They all waited for him. “None of this makes sense,” he said. He slipped the club he held in his right hand back into an inside pocket of the coat he was wearing. Leaning close to Keith, he said, “There must be something else going on.”
Behind the children, entering from the street came a figure. Keith turned to see who it was and when he did, Harold and the others turned as well. At that moment, Keith knew it was the angel with one wing.
Harold acted as though it was a false alarm. “We want peace in our lives. We know it's difficult, but we're at least hoping to get the children accepted inside. It's a better life for them.” He looked sick when he said it. “Now, we're not so sure. What could be so horrible that you wanted to escape?”
Keith asked the others to tell Harold and his friends what they thought about Newcity. He hoped they'd discuss Bradley as well, but left them alone.
Once they began their discussion, he wandered toward the other end of the alley, out of hearing range. As he closed in on the angel, he stopped and waited. As much as he wanted to reach out and touch her, he didn't do it. He stayed a respectable distance from her. He didn't say a word, but he did examine her features. She looked totally unfamiliar, young and old at the same time. Her arms and hands were smooth, yet muscled. Her torso appeared to be thin, but not skinny. The bulge on her back pushed against her clothing, causing her breasts to protrude against the tight blouse. It was sensual and forbidden. He sensed that the trapped wing was uncomfortable, and imagined the freedom she'd feel by letting her wing stretch in the open air.
She turned her eyes away from his inspection.
“There is no reason for any of this, is there?” he asked. “Why have you led me out of Newcity only to return again a few days later?”
“It is not always for you,” she said. “But, for now, you must come with me.” She spoke so clearly that Keith turned around to see if the others had heard. But they were in deep conversations of their own, their faces smiling like they were old friends. How could they have resolved their differences so quickly, when a moment ago Harold and the others appeared to have their hopes crushed?
He turned back to the angel ready to voice the question. She appeared nervous as she waited for his advance. He nodded and followed as the angel led him into the darkened streets. The pedestrians had nearly abandoned the sidewalks by now. Few cars drove by. Keith felt totally invisible following her, although glances from some of the people proved that he wasn't.
The angel picked up speed and he did the same. She rounded a corner and began to run. Her movements were smooth and lightweight, as though she could actually fly at one time and was remembering the feeling as she ran. The single wing bounced as she led him on. They crossed a street and to his left he saw the boy with the bullet hole in his forehead wave to him. He stumbled over the curb and fell onto the sidewalk. His hands and knees met the damp cement. When he looked up the angel was gone, but the boy continued to wave to him. He scrambled to his feet and ran toward the boy.
He shook his head while he ran, trying to understand what just happened and why the images shifted from the angel to the boy.
While he followed, Newcity appeared and disappeared as he crossed one open street then rejoined the buildings on the block. The boy paralleled the complex until Keith emerged near the unloading docks. Trucks were backed up to Newcity for what appeared to be a mile or more. The scent of fresh produce permeated the air. He advanced slowly.
The boy was gone.
Chapter 17
Keith crouched low as he maneuvered among and around the multitude of vehicles. The sound of machines running and people talking echoed through the area from the open doors that accessed the warehouse. Trucks that had been emptied started with a hiss and a squeal, then pulled out from the dock. Many of the doors were closed as soon as the vehicles were out of the way. Some of the trucks drove onto the street leading away from Newcity, while others pulled into what appeared to be some sort of holding area a few hundred yards away.
He worried that the trucks would thin out as the city streets did at night, leaving him exposed, so he advanced toward the holding area only to find that there was a gas station and restaurant located inside the circle of parked rigs. In the dark, he could see one of the drivers sitting in a sleeping area located behind the driver's seat. The dim light exposed the small compartment and the man who lay in the bunk, propped on an elbow, was writing in a notebook.
Keith surmised that these particular vehicles would stay the night, and decided to find a place to rest until he could fashion a plan. There was no reason to hide. The people here had no reason to suspect him of anything. Besides, the truck drivers would be transients from the outlying farms, bringing their loads into Newcity and then returning home.
Keith surveyed the area by taking a long walk around the combination restaurant and gas station. He held his shirt close to his nose to subdue the strong scents of exhaust, sweat, and litter. His vision blurred, tearing up from the odors, making him wipe his eyes occasionally. He needed to rest, but everywhere he looked were trucks that could drive over him if he were to lie under them to sleep. At the back of the station, the smell of cooked food poured through steam-ridden vents, replacing the nasty odors permeating much of the parking lot.
A small stand of bushes lay between the rear of the station and the highway leading from the city. Streetlights along the road reached bleakly into the brush as Keith pushed his way in. There would be rats, he knew, but they wouldn't bother him as long as he didn't try to harm them. He brushed over the ground with his hand and sat to consider his predicament.
The angel had said that it wasn't always about him. So his purpose might include the others who traveled with him, or those yet to escape, possibly even Newcity itself. Could it be that he was there only to lead the others into Newcity? It was their choice to attempt a warning, not his. Little of it made any sense to him. All the plans, Bradley's and the escapees', were vague at best. But then, he had only been a part of the outside world for a few days. And now, his return to Newcity had been forced, while his escape had been a choice.
He had to face the truth that he didn't fully understand what had happened, but that he had created the way out and then followed the boy, his younger self, to the outside world. Was it a subconscious choice that manifested through him? A shiver ran down his spine. He felt the truth of his discovery, but highly questioned its reasoning. Perhaps there was no reason for what happened to him beyond wanting something different in his life.
Keith shook his head. He had been thinking deeply and had to pull himself back into the real world, the night. He coughed and the sound echoed around him. He heard someone say, “Over there,” and pushed his senses into high alert. He ducked as though he could hide better if closer to the ground. He turned to scan the area behind him, only to see someone else looking back at him.
Brent yelled, “Here he is.”
There was no use running. As soon as Brent yelled, he heard the others coming toward him from several directions. He pushed into a crouched position and moved bush branches out of his way using his arms. As he stepped out and into the open, Brent griped, “What were you thinking? You can't just leave us like that.”
“The angel came and I followed her. I didn't have time to interrupt your conversation. I was going to come back,” Keith lied.
Robert sidled up to Keith and put a hand on his shoulder. “Next time, let us know.”
“There won't b
e a next time,” Brent said. “We'll be inside by then.”
“The warehouse is closing down by the looks of it. The doors will be watched. We can't sneak in tonight,” Keith said.
“Not ever,” Stacy said.
“What do you mean?” Keith turned his head but not his body. He saw that Harold and his friends were there too. “Why are they here?” He turned back to Brent. “No,” he said. “This can't be.”