by Grant Price
‘You okay?’ Misted breath drifted in front of his face.
Without raising her head, she pointed. The Silkworm had stopped twenty paces further on.
‘Why aren’t you wearing more layers? It’s freezing.’
‘Cold keeps me awake.’
‘You want me to ride with you for a while?’
She struggled to sit upright. ‘No.’
‘Then at least take ten. Lie down, cover yourself up. I’ll go and check on the boys.’
Without another word, she slid down until she straddled the two seats. He pulled out a dirty blanket from underneath her chair and threw it over her shoulders. Then he closed the door.
‘What’s going on?’ asked Ghazi, walking towards him with his hands tucked under his armpits.
‘The Silkworm.’ He jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
A weather vane was set up on the roof of the vehicle, blades spinning in the mountain breeze. Victor and Tagawa squatted at the side of the track, wrapped in heavy coats and hemp blankets that gave the illusion of bulk from the neck down. Behind them was an alcove cut into the cliff. A squat, cylindrical device was embedded in the razor-sharp rock, its end capped with a plastic plug. Next to it were two metal crates whose lids had been prised off.
Victor threw something over to Ghazi, and he caught it in an outstretched hand. It was a magazine, grey, single-stack, in good condition. He pulled out his pistol, cold hands fumbling as he released the nearly-empty clip. The new one slotted home.
‘Lucky break.’
‘Found a few of these, too.’ He held out a bag stamped with a label: READY-TO-EAT.
‘Anything else?’ asked Cassady.
‘Empty water flasks. Another radio.’
‘Any idea what that is?’ He pointed at the tube in the rock.
Tagawa lifted his head. ‘It’s a charger of some kind. For their batteries, not ours. We can’t use it. Took the cap off, but the plug is all wrong.’
‘Fine.’ He crouched down next to them and pulled his collar up to his ears. The cold pooled around his ankles, trying to find a way in. ‘How are you holding up?’
Tagawa smiled faintly. His lips were the colour of tungsten. ‘It’s a test. That’s all. Just a test.’
‘We’re hanging in,’ said Victor. ‘Nobody following?’
‘No. Brandt took care of it.’
‘Wish I could’ve spoken to the old man before he went. I got him wrong.’
Ghazi scratched at his beard. ‘It happens.’
The boy fell silent, but the nervous energy returned seconds later. ‘What about the city? Did you see it?’
The Warspite crew looked up sharply. ‘What city?’ asked Ghazi.
‘Between the peaks.’
He shook his head, Cassady too.
‘Christ, I wish we could go back. I only laid eyes on it for a few seconds. If Hearst hadn’t been on our tail, I would’ve stopped and taken a longer look. It was white. Blinding white. Must’ve been one of those five Wyler told us about. Towers and bridges and buildings all connected to one another like the whole thing was alive. Some kind of raised track running around the outside. Long, thin machines chasing each other. Didn’t look like pantechs to me.’
‘I don’t know how I could have missed that,’ murmured Ghazi.
‘Guess you had your eyes on the road. Flying machines, too. Not just drones. Inflatable ships bobbing up and down and huge wings that glided between the towers. I ain’t lying. Hideki saw them.’
Tagawa nodded. ‘It was the future.’
‘Not ours,’ growled Cassady. The description unsettled him. If the Koalition had resources like those the boy had described, they had even less of a chance of making it out of Novus alive than he’d thought. While the other three continued to talk about the city, he drifted away to the far edge of the plateau. He rubbed his arms and stamped his feet, and then cocked his head and strained to hear any machines moving in the heavy dawn air. The world was dead. His hand rested on his belt. He wanted some root, a drink, sleep, anything that would take care of the pain in his head.
He coughed. It started inside his bones and rattled through his body like a banshee. He thumped his ribcage and doubled over, his chest on fire. Finally it subsided. He looked down at himself, palm resting on his chest, his brow wet. On unsteady legs, he walked back to the group.
They were still speculating. Cassady picked up one of the ration packs. ‘Take one to Hearst and make her eat,’ he muttered to Ghazi. ‘Then lie down and rest.’
Ghazi eyed him, but said nothing. He grabbed the pack and trudged away.
‘We’ll head out in twenty minutes,’ he said to Victor. ‘I’ll wake Hearst when I hear your engine. You need anything?’
‘No,’ said Victor. ‘You okay? You look like hell.’
‘I’m fine.’
‘Good. We gotta make it now, Cassady. I don’t want these mountains to be the last thing I see.’
‘They won’t be.’
‘They’ll be waiting for us,’ said Tagawa. ‘Brandt only chopped off the tail of the snake. The head is still waiting to bite.’
‘I know.’
‘Do you have a plan?’
‘All we can do is to keep going.’ Cassady’s fingertips trembled. He had to get back to the cab. ‘We’ll find a way through. Count on it.’
‘I am.’
He coughed again, this time without the burning in his chest. ‘Get back inside before you freeze to death. Order yourselves a three-course meal. Forward me the bill.’
Tagawa gave a wry smile. ‘Generous of you.’
As he headed back to the Old Lady, Cassady rubbed his palms against one another. It was no good. His body was shaking from fear, not the cold.
2
First the sky turned a brilliant white. Then great gouts of snow settled on hoods and roofs and windscreens, forcing the Runners to switch on wipers that fed off the juice they needed to keep moving. A driving wind buffeted them and lowered the temperature further in the cabs, and after a while the snow became so thick they slowed to a crawl. They could barely tell where the trail ended and the void began.
Ghazi sweated and shivered at the same time. His muscles were on fire from the effort of keeping Warspite on an even keel. He kept glancing further ahead to Orion. Hearst had pumped herself full of blitz pills, but they wouldn’t work forever. A red flare bled fire in the middle of the track, and Warspite rumbled over it. Victor had volunteered to walk ahead and drop the sticks at points where the trail banked sharply. It was a hellish job. And it reminded them all of Katarina’s final act.
In the passenger seat, Cassady leaned forward until the tip of his nose left a greasy mark on the glass. He barked instructions. Each one made the muscles in Ghazi’s chest tight.
‘Left! Keep left!’
‘I know.’
‘You want me to take her?’
‘No.’
Wind rattled through the grille. They had no heating system. They couldn’t have afforded the juice anyway.
‘Maybe we should take a break,’ he said. His eyes were dry and irritated.
‘We can’t. If we stop here, we won’t get going again for hours. In this weather we might be able to surprise whoever’s waiting for us further on.’ Beyond the windshield, a pair of red eyes flashed against the white. ‘Besides, we need to get Hearst off this rock. She must be keeping it together by a thread.’
The tyres slid in the snow and struggled to find traction. Ghazi slipped between first and second, imagining the shift forks being pulled back, the gears on the layshaft being engaged, the engine’s power being converted and transferred to the wheel axles. It calmed him a little. Slowly, the Old Lady dragged herself up the mountain. He had Cassady pour some of the cool water into his mouth and drape a blanket over his shoulders while he kept his hands on the wheel.
An hour later he stopped the truck. Once again, Orion sat dead on the incline. He pumped the lights a couple of times, but there was no response. The wind
cut a path through the blizzard and for a second the curtain parted. A human form leaned against the body of the red pantech.
‘Somebody’s out there,’ said Cassady.
Ghazi unbuttoned his holster and rested his hand on the grip. A spectre materialised before them, long and thin and bent over. It was dressed in black. A hand wrapped in cloth banged on the door and Cassady opened it.
Snow clung to the moustache above Tagawa’s lip. ‘Well. Hell has frozen over.’
They made space for him in the cab. He slammed the door, unwrapped the cloth that covered his face and blew on his hands. Usually so composed, he shook uncontrollably.
Then came the news none of them wanted to hear. ‘Our engine cut out,’ said the Japanese.
A low gurgle sounded in Cassady’s throat. ‘Is it dead?’
‘No. It’s happened before. But it will take some time to repair it.’
‘I can take a look,’ said Ghazi.
Tagawa shook his head. ‘No. You keep going. There’s enough space on the road for you to pass us. We know our pantech like you know yours. We’ll find the problem. Could be moisture. Here, let me take a look at the map.’
Cassady reached into his jacket and brought out the folded square of cotton.
‘Are you okay?’ asked Ghazi.
‘This is what we signed up for. I’m not complaining.’ Tagawa took the map and studied it, fingers brushing over the topographical lines. ‘I think we’re about here.’
‘How do you figure?’
‘I’ve been keeping track of the distance. It’s a rough guess. But I’m usually right.’
Cassady gave a dry chuckle. ‘Okay.’
His finger jumped to another fold. ‘Is this the track Lupo told us to follow?’
‘Yes.’
‘And you’ll take it to the end?’
‘Don’t have much of a choice. It should keep us out of their way. This is one of the towns Lupo said was deserted. If it still is, this is where we’ll charge the batteries before we head for the south wall.’
‘Then we will go there, too.’
‘We can’t wait for you.’
Ghazi glanced at his partner. ‘Yes we could.’
‘No.’ Tagawa handed the map back. ‘Your priority is to get out of here. If we can catch you up, we will. If not, we will see you at La Talpa.’ He glanced at them both. ‘Or we’ll overtake you on the way.’
Despite the severity of the situation, he was still confident. Ghazi took strength from it.
‘Does Victor agree?’ asked Cassady.
‘Yes.’
‘Do you need any supplies? Tools? Spares?’
‘No. We have everything we need. Except food and heat and a safe place to bed down and sleep for a week, of course.’
‘Are you sure about this?’ said Ghazi.
‘We’re not going to get the whole convoy stranded up here. You have to go.’
Cassady hesitated and then held out his hand. ‘We’ll see you again.’ The three men shook.
‘Count on it. I’ll tell Hearst.’ Tagawa jumped out into the tundra once more and struggled over to Orion.
Ghazi shook his head as he watched him through the windshield. ‘A breakdown here. No luck.’
Beside him, Cassady exploded. ‘God damn this mountain. We should never have come this way.’
He looked across at his partner in surprise. ‘What other options did we have?’
‘They’re going to die up here.’
‘You don’t know that. They’re not even close to giving up.’
‘What hope do we have? Even if we manage to make it down in one piece, the Koalition will be waiting for us.’
‘Now is not the time for this, Cass. Calm down.’
‘We should throw the medicine over the edge.’
‘What would that solve?’
‘At least we won’t be bringing it straight to them.’ He hit the board again. ‘Remember what Hearst said to Lupo? This really is a suicide mission. We’re down to two rigs. How long do you think it’ll be before she cracks? Half a day? Less? Look.’ He stabbed at the battery meter. ‘We don’t even have enough juice to make it out of here. When they come for us, we’ll be sitting dead in the road with our hands in our trousers.’
For a moment Ghazi didn’t speak. Then he hit the dashboard with so much force it made Cassady jump. ‘We’re getting off this mountain,’ he shouted. ‘And Tagawa’s going to get that engine running again. This isn’t over yet. You want to throw it away after we’ve lost so much already? Kaja, Brandt, Wyler, Renfield. The least we can do is try. That’s better than sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves because things aren’t going perfectly.’ He regained his composure. ‘Get a grip. You don’t have the luxury of doubt up here.’
Cassady held his gaze, the cold flames dying in his eyes. His cheeks burned. ‘I’m sorry, Ghazi.’ He bowed his head. The layer of grey stubble made him look much older.
‘I understand, okay? I don’t want to leave them up here any more than you do. But we haven’t got a choice.’
‘I know.’
‘Once we get off this mountain, we’ll stop to charge the batteries. Then we’ll punch a hole through whatever they throw at us.’
‘I wish I could be that confident.’
‘It is not a matter of wishing. It is a matter of belief.’
‘In what?’
Ghazi didn’t answer. Outside, Orion edged forward. He slipped the Old Lady into gear and followed her tracks. Clumps of snow spattered the windshield and the wipers worked overtime to clear them. A few metres further on, the stricken Silkworm lay pressed against the mountain. When Warspite rolled by, Victor gave them a short salute and grinned, but kept the window tight shut. As they crested the incline and rumbled along the next perilous stretch of ground, Ghazi couldn’t shake the feeling he would never see the two men again.
3
With around thirty minutes of juice left in their batteries, Orion slammed on the brakes, reversed a hundred metres and shuddered to a halt. Cassady unbuckled his harness and leapt out before Warspite’s engine had stopped whirring.
Hearst half jumped, half fell from the cab with her crossbow in hand. She crouched next to the hood of her vehicle, glanced over her shoulder and waved at Cassady to keep down. He ducked as he ran. The snow wasn’t as intense as it had been a couple of hours previously, but the ground underfoot wasn’t stable.
‘What is it?’
‘Camp.’ She was wired. Flecks of spit gathered in the corners of her mouth. She poked her head above the hood and scanned the road.
Ghazi joined them. Muscles twitched along his jaw. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Hearst saw a camp ahead.’
‘Then they must have seen us, too.’
She cupped her hand to her ear. ‘Listen.’
‘To what?’ asked Cassady.
‘Exactly. Haven’t seen us.’
‘That’s a big assumption.’
Ghazi peered over the hood. ‘I can see it.’ He crouched again. ‘There’s no movement.’
‘What do we do?’
‘Get closer,’ said Hearst. ‘Check.’
Cassady shook his head. The pills were twisting her thoughts in a direction he didn’t want to go. ‘We should push on through in the pantechs. It’s much safer.’
‘No,’ said Ghazi. ‘Hearst is right. We don’t know what kind of hardware they have in there. All we’d have to do is roll over a spike strip and we’re dead in the water. We should take this chance while we have it. Like you said, they won’t be expecting us to be driving in this weather.’
Ghazi and Hearst looked at Cassady, waiting for his answer. A thought occurred to him. ‘I left my machete in the cab.’
‘Then follow behind us.’
Hearst unsheathed a hunting knife from her belt and put it in his hand. Ghazi took out his pistol and racked the slide. They rounded the hood and jogged towards the camp. Dusk would be on them within the hour. Cassady struggled to get his
legs moving properly. He expected to hear a challenge or shots at any moment. Through the white screen of snow, he could make out a few squat structures to the left of the trail and a long, rectangular building on the right. Beyond it, a tall antenna swayed in the cold wind.
‘Go left,’ he whispered to Hearst, and she broke away from them. He and Ghazi stayed close to the lip of the road, where the chasm waited patiently to claim them. Ghazi took the lead, his pistol flashing in his hand. The path was strewn with fist-sized rocks and he stumbled, his head ducking forward as he lost control of his body. Cassady reached out and managed to grab a fistful of his partner’s shirt before he fell over the side.
‘Got you.’
They stood, letting the adrenaline crest and recede as they peered into the valley below.
Ghazi slapped him on the back. ‘Thanks.’
No guards were visible even after they made it to the wall of the long, rectangular building. The only sound came from the creaking antenna and the wind. On the other side of the track, Hearst stood against another building with her crossbow cradled in her arms. Cassady gestured with his hand and she disappeared around the back. He and Ghazi edged to the corner closest to the track and he stuck his head out, trusting his luck to hold. No movement. He signalled for Ghazi to follow. They padded along the track into the camp. Wary eyes rested on every contour and crevice, but still there was nothing. Ghazi drifted away to try one of the doors into the rectangular building. Cassady continued on to the antenna, which was studded with bulbs that didn’t burn.
He turned at the sound of metal rattling against metal. The door Ghazi had found was on a guide rail. He pushed it to one side before pressing himself flat against the wall with his pistol held ready. Cassady crouched. Whoever was in there would have heard the noise. Hearst’s knife felt lightweight and useless in his hand. He counted sixty seconds. Silence. He signalled to Ghazi, and the mechanic slipped through the doorway.
A call came from within. ‘Clear.’
He covered the short distance at a jog and joined Ghazi inside. It was a dorm. Two ranks of stripped beds sat like the teeth of a zipper. Next to each bed was a storage box, all of which he could already see were empty. The rest of the room was bare.