******
Kaylee finally found the opening. The search had taken her a number of hours, as there were several buildings to search, dozens of possible hiding places in each. Not to mention climbing up and down numerous stories. The opening she found was tiny; she wondered how anyone had fit through it. It was a small circular hole in the ceiling of the bathroom of one of the condominiums.
The Citizens had worked hard to reinforce the layer above to keep those below out after numerous incidents had created such necessity. In most places, layers of steel, hard wood, or even city streets were more than enough to make the ceiling areas mostly impenetrable. However, the difficult spaces were the obvious access points: elevators, staircases, and the like.
Kaylee had seen a few that had layers of concrete poured directly into a stairwell. There wasn't any breaking through that, not without an immense amount of noise and concentrated effort. The broken seal she looked at now was a little older and less paranoid stricken, luckily for her. Hastily patched with only a few layers of wood and metal, it appeared easy enough for an adventurous Citizen to break through when he had a mind to do so. That plus cutting equipment and a free week, she thought.
She had become very pleased that she had the foresight to grab a flashlight; in most of the buildings, it was pitch black without any light spilling in from the street. She guessed that Malcolm could see quite well without light, but she didn't know if he could still see in complete darkness. She had taken her time and gone very carefully from room to room in the various buildings. As her beam swept across the bathroom ceiling in this one particular space, she had seen it.
The temptation was unbearable. She knew that there most likely wasn't any daylight left at this hour, but the thought of seeing stars, the moon, anything at all besides drab gray metal girders, support beams, and whatever else kept the sky from crashing down onto them, was agonizing. The rational part of her reasoned that she'd have no idea where to go, who else would be around, or how they might react to her presence. She knew she'd probably get caught within minutes.
Still. The sky…
She gave a heavy sigh and stared with longing at the small circular opening. She shook her head. It must have been a tight fit. Malcolm sat in the room with her, wrapped within his customary silence.
What could it hurt…? she thought, taking a deep breath and making her decision. Whatever, it'll be important to scout this area, right? Feeling justified, she hopped up on top of the sink, set the flashlight between her teeth, and gripped the edges of the hole. She pulled herself upwards until her head poked through it. With the small beam of light she saw tiling and another sink next to her head; it was a bathroom very much like the one in which most of her still occupied, albeit cleaner. Her legs still dangling beneath, she reached up with one of her arms. She gripped the edge of the sink cabinet.
With a few moments of struggling, she managed to sneak her other arm up through the opening and pull herself to a sitting position on the floor of the Citizen's bathroom. She reached for the light switch and flicked it, switching off her own. Her eyes stung from the bright intensity of the light, and she squeezed them shut until they adjusted.
Years of only scant lighting caused continued discomfort even after she opened her eyes. Under the piercing white bulb, her skin looked pale and sallow. She let out a small yelp as a gloved hand appeared in the hole, behind it a pair of slanted, glowing eyes. "Malcolm! Geez!" she hissed. Another hand appeared, and he started to pull himself through.
Kaylee put up a hand, "No, wait. You stay down there; I'll be back in just a minute." Malcolm disappeared back down without comment. She looked more closely at the opening. The floor was several inches thick, layered with wood and metal. She slowly shook her head. Nigel must have been very tenacious. Not to mention out of his mind.
She flipped the switch, and the room went dark once more, her eyes already readjusting. Looking down, she could see Malcolm's eyes shining up at her through the opening. It didn't matter how benevolent he had proven to be; it was still unnerving.
She reached out and gripped the doorknob. It turned easily, and the thin wooden door pulled towards her. A dark room lay in front of her, filled with spilled light of silver mixed shadows from some outside source. She flicked on her flashlight played the beam across the floor. Thick, off-white carpeting, with a startling level of cleanliness that Kaylee was unaccustomed to, covered the floor.
The layout of this place was the same as the one below. Indeed, she'd been searching for several hours through a number of nearly identical flats, including the same window scenery of decay and desolation.
Her mouth fell open when she saw the view out of the living room. Awestruck, she walked towards the bright, silver light shining through the window, scattering shadows from the blinds. She ignored the plush furniture, elegant and pristine. She passed right by the kitchen area without pausing to consider what manner of delicious food could be found within it. She walked directly over to the window and looked outside.
The magnificent sight of the waning half moon high above, along with the milky black of the cloudless night sky, sent chills through her body. A smile rushed across her face, and moisture formed in her eyes as she marveled at the tiny pinpricks of light dotting the wide, limitless expanse. She stared, not ever wanting to look away.
She gradually became aware that she hadn't any idea how long she had been staring at the night sky. It had an odd shimmer to it, which to her mind seemed not quite right. However, it had been so long since she'd viewed it, Kaylee couldn't be sure that her own memory could be entirely trusted.
Finally, she tore her glance away, down to the street level. There wasn't much to look at. Across the street was another building, not overly tall. It looked as though to be fashioned from an off-white material she didn't recognize. Up and down the structure, through windows both curtained and otherwise, she could see the occasional light shining through. Looking down the street she saw a lamp on the corner. The sidewalks were smooth and clean. The street was unbroken, clear of any detritus or debris.
A quick flash of bright light caused her to jump back from the window. With a quiet whoosh, a small, compact vehicle flashed by the window. She watched it, red tail-lights glowing behind. It was miniscule, barely wide enough to seat two people. It was also whisper quiet; only the sound of displaced air came with it.
Remembering that Malcolm was waiting for her to come back and unaware of how long she had been lingering, Kaylee reluctantly turned away from the window and walked back over to the bathroom. Still staring up through the hole, she shuddered again as she saw his glowing, slanted eyes.
Descending through the hole, she whispered a quick, "Let's go," to Malcolm who as always trailed along behind her as they descended the several stories.
They came out into the street once more, and Kaylee took her bearings. She memorized the street. Just in case, she took a piece of brick and scraped a large 'X' into the wall next to the door.
She grabbed her small radio and contacted Rick. "I found it," she said, excitement evident.
Apparently, he didn't share the enthusiasm, "That's great," his lackluster voice came back, etched with fatigue. "You better get back over here. We're in trouble."
"What happened?"
"Just get back here." The other end went silent.
She stowed the small communicator in her side pocket and motioned to Malcolm. The two started moving north once more. She took one last look around, making absolutely certain that she knew exactly where to go. Almost involuntary, she took a look up towards the sky. A twinge of despair triggered in her chest as she saw not a brilliant night sky but a shadowy jumble of metal.
She took a deep breath, casting aside thoughts of the surface. I'll get back soon enough, she thought.
Uprising Page 59