The Burn Zone (56 page)

“
What about the others?
”
I asked.
“
The other captives?
”

“
They should leave as well.
”

I looked over the keys on the table. Six keys meant six airbikes in the lot. In addition, Nix had recovered three phones, two covered in blood that was still sticky, three pistols, a tranquilizer gun, and a stack of five rations, three krill and two scalefly.

I grabbed the phones and the rations, plus two sets of keys.

“
We
’
re going to have to double up,
”
I said.
“
Those things won
’
t seat three, so we
’
ll need two.
”

“
What about the others? There are thirteen of them total.
”

“
Some of them are kids,
”
I said.
“
A bike will probably lift one adult and two kids. We
’
ll take two of the
m
.
”

“
That
’
s still not—
”

“
They
’
re going to have to sort it out,
”
I said, grabbing two sets of keys.
“
We have to go. Tell me you still have the twistkey.
”

He reached into his jacket and removed the blue metallic key, holding it up under the light.

I took it.
“
We saddle up, cross the wall, and meet at the closest public gate. The parade
’
s started by now, so it
’
s going to be a complete cluster out
there. Follow my lead. We
’
ll land and be through before they know even know we
’
re there.
”

“
That is a very risky plan. You could turn the key over to Ava, and let us take care of it.
”

“
No,
”
I said.
“
Not to her or anyone else. Let
’
s go.
”

“
She might be better equipped to help than we are.
”

“
And she might decide Sillith had the right idea, or that the people down there are expendable, or that she doesn
’
t want the truth about that place getting out,
”
I said.
“
I watched her throw a baby into a meat grinder, right in front of me, like it was nothing. I
’
m going. Me. Not your shipmates. Not the soldiers. Me.
”

“
But you
’
ll fail.
”

“
We
’
ll see.
”

“
You
’
ve seen what Sillith is capable of,
”
he said, more softly this time.
“
You
’
ll die for this man.
”

“
Yeah, Nix. I would. I would die for him.
So what?
”

“
Would he want that?
”

No. He wouldn
’
t. I knew it too.

I tossed him Dragan
’
s wet drive, and he caught it.

“
He
’
s just going to have to understand,
”
I said.

~ * ~

Chapter Twenty-three

03:52:32 BC

The captives were huddled in the corridor that led to the factory exit, but most of them were still pretty jangled. They watched, anxious, as we approached, and some backed away. I noticed that the strangers had already formed loose
groups. The kids, three scrawny boys and four girls, were bunched together in a small section of room exposed by a partial collapse. Two women and one of the men lingered near them while others stood by the metal door that led out into the rim.

One of the men, a middle-aged guy with graying hair, seemed to have taken the leader role. A woman stood near him, shaking in spite of the heat. Her long hair was plastered to her neck and shoulders, and she stared through the tangles as we approached them.

The man stepped forward to meet us and held out his hand. When I shook it, I could feel plenty of strength left in his bony fingers.

“
I
’
m Jin,
”
he said.
“
You saved our lives. Thank you. All of you.
”
He nodded at Nix, and Vamp behind me.

“
No problem,
”
I said, not quite sure how to react to that. I looked to the others, and then back to him.
“
You don
’
t really look like a criminal.
”

“
Depends on who you ask,
”
he said.
“
I
’
m an astronomer. Or I was before they threw me in here.
”

“
What did they arrest you for?
”

“
Telling the truth.
”
He shook his head.
“
Never mind.
You got us out. We
’
re in your debt.
”

Before he could say anything else, I handed the cardboard box full of stuff to him.

“
There
’
s some food here,
”
I told him.
“
Not much. Cell phones too. You can call for help.
”

He rooted down and found one of the phones, holding it up and making sure it worked.

“
There
’
s also keys
for four of the vehicles outside,
”
I said.
“
We need two. We can take one, maybe two of the kids with us when we go.
”

Jin shook his head.

“
They
’
ve got an
airtruck
in the other lot,
”
he said.
“
I saw it when they brought me in, and I
’
ve seen it come and go through the window. We can get the kids out using that, but I
’
ll call this in and get us some help first. I
’
ve got some contacts
who
can move under the radar.
”

“
Don
’
t wait too long. We think the soldiers who brought us here are on their way back.
”

He nodded.

“
Maybe, but trying to cross the wall is suicide,
”
he said.
“
They
’
ll gun you down for sure. Wait for help.
”

“
I can
’
t.
”

“
Well, if you
’
re determined, then don
’
t keep in a straight line. Speed won
’
t save you. It takes those turrets a second or two to adjust their aim. Best bet is to let them lock on, then change course. Don
’
t let them lead you.
”

“
Thanks.
”

“
I had a front-row seat back there,
”
he said.
“
That was gutsy, what you did.
”

“
Thanks,
”
I said
,
”
but
—
”

The woman stepped forward then and before I knew it her arms were around me. She crossed them over my back and pulled me close, pressing her lips to the side of my neck.

I wasn
’
t sure what to do. I rubbed her back like Dragan used to do to me, even though she was much older than I was, while she trembled. Then she pulled away, turned, and retreated.

“
Good luck,
”
Jin said. I watched the woman chew on her thumbnail, not looking back at me.

“
You too.
”

Vamp pushed open the door and I squinted into the wind that rushed through, stinging me with ash and grit. The door whipped out of his hand and clanged against the outside wall as the shredded remains of a tarp snapped overhead.

“
Does this mean you
’
re in?
”
I asked him.

He nodded.
“
I
’
m in.
”

“
I
’
ll take one bike,
”
I called over the wind.
“
You guys double up. They might be able to still track me, so probably best if no one
’
s right with me.
”

“
Where are we headed?
”
Vamp called back.

“
The parade must be going by now,
”
I said.
“
With all the air and road traffic, it
’
ll be a complete mess. If we can lose ourselves in there, we
’
ll have a better chance. Is eye-bot running?
”

Vamp nodded. I brought up the 3i app and saw that a map of the soldiers
’
movements had already begun to emerge. From the look of it, security was grouped in clusters at key points and then staggered in between. There were gaps, though—probably by this point they were watching for us, but most of them had been deployed for general crowd control. They weren
’
t guarding the gate hubs.

“
There,
”
I said, pointing.
“
The hub at the intersection of thirty-six and 103rd.
It
’
s a pretty straight shot from the edge of the wall.
”

“
Okay,
”
Vamp said. He took a deep breath.

I hugged him, squeezing him hard around the neck as he squeezed back. I tucked my chin into the crook of his neck as we were pelted with rim grit.

After a minute, I broke away, keeping one hand on his chest. I took the twistkey from my pocket and pressed it into his hand.

“
If they shoot me down or grab me,
”
I said,
“
you get him out, okay?
”
He nodded.

“
Promise me.
”

“
I promise.
”

I stepped out into the howling wind, shielding my face to look back. Vamp was moving toward one of the bikes, and I spotted Nix
’
s eyes shining like embers through the smoke as he followed.

I gave them one last wave,
then
sprinted back toward the row of airbikes. As I approached, I triggered the key that disengaged the emitter locks and zeroed in on the one that chirped in response. It was a slick-looking black and chrome deal, and when I jumped on the seat, I saw the rearview mirror was adorned with hanging tassels. Each strand was threaded through a row of human teeth. I jerked it free and threw it away as I fired up the bike.