Time Siege (28 page)

Rima appeared at the door. “Oldest Elise, Oldest Grace and the new chronman are returning. Chawr says they should be arriving on the landing deck soon.”

“Did Grace give a time?”

“Yes, Oldest. She said seven-zero-nine.”

Elise pointed at the working digital clock—the only one in the entire building that she was aware of. “How long until they arrive?”

Rima scrunched her face as she worked on the math. She almost used her fingers until a disapproving glance from Elise made her put them behind her back.

“Seventeen minutes. No, seven,” she said finally.

Elise nodded and waved her away. The only way the girl was ever going to reach her full potential was if she stopped treating time and measurements in approximations. She got up and walked over to the south-facing window. It was dark outside, and the mist tonight was heavy, so there wasn't much to see. However, a few minutes later, she saw a beam of light slowly swimming in the darkness just above the waterline. The
Frankenstein
weaved lazily between buildings, ducking under bridges, getting closer and closer to the All Galaxy. Between the EMP fog and its anti-detection abilities, the collie should be safe from the Co-op's surveillance, which constantly blanketed the region, but it was best to be careful anyway.

Elise left her lab and went down to the landing deck on the seventy-third floor, bounding down the stairs two and three at a time. The deck was the highest of three large open areas in the building and the largest of the Elfreth's storage floors. If for some reason the Elfreth and Flatirons lost the lower levels, the seventy-second floor would be the last line of defense.

This was their first salvage in months. What if something had gone wrong? What if the jump had failed? What if something had happened to Levin? So much depended on the former auditor providing them with a steady source of supplies. She didn't realize she was holding her breath until she saw Grace and Levin unloading their haul from the netherstore container and dividing it into parcels for the children to move to storage.

Levin's eyes met hers as she walked by, and her body shuddered involuntarily. She had been avoiding him ever since he had arrived; the incident of the battle at the top of the Farming Towers was still the stuff of her nightmares. Elise pushed those thoughts away. That was all in the past. Things were different now. She turned her attention to the pile of containers and equipment appearing out of midair and let some of her tightly-wound nerves loosen. She hadn't realized just how dependent the Elfreth were on James's salvages until he couldn't run them anymore. “Did everything go all right?” she asked.

Grace nodded. “The auditor here almost fried in the sun, but he'll be around for at least another jump.”

“I'm out of practice,” Levin said.

“I'm glad,” Elise said, still unable to look him in the eye. “This will really help the tribe.”

The ex-auditor looked unconvinced as he took out a crate of dried rations and gave it to one of the children to run down to the kitchen. “We need to acquire some miasma,” he said flatly. “Otherwise, I'll burn out like James within months.”

“We've tried,” Elise said. “It's not easy to find.”

“Try harder.”

Grace walked over to Elise and took her hand. “Come here, girl. We have a present for you.”

The Mother of Time led her to the other end of the balcony, where the collie was parked. Elise rounded the corner behind a pallet of supplies and squealed. There, next to a stack of metal drums and an array of solar panels, was Charlotte, or at least the cousin of the beloved mechanoid she had lost back in 2097. It was all she could do to not jump up and down in excitement.

“She's beautiful,” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around Grace.

Grace squawked at the sudden show of affection and awkwardly accepted her embrace. Elise approached the mechanoid and touched one of its eight legs. It was sleek, its skin a dark cobalt that seemed to shimmer and change depending on the angle of the light. Its limbs were much thinner than Charlotte's back in 2097, almost impossibly long, considering its size. She tested her weight on one of its legs and then climbed to its human-shaped torso. Her fingers ran up the side of the headpiece until she felt a small indention. She pressed it and the front upper torso of the mechanoid opened, splitting outward from the middle.

She grinned and turned to Grace. “It's definitely a more advanced version of Charlotte, but a lot of it is the same. I'm going to name her Aranea.”

Grace nodded. “Don't try to take her out for a spin yet. Titus and I will need to clear the security protocols, reprogram, and check functionalities first. The last thing we need is for the savior of Earth to lose control of her new toy and plummet off a building to her death. It's over a century more advanced than the ones you're used to, and it's a military vehicle, so it's probably weaponized.”

Elise held her hands up. “You got it, Grandma. I promise I won't play with it until you give me the go-ahead. I'm so excited. Thank you, thank you!”

She hugged the Mother of Time again. Charlotte was one of the biggest things she missed from her time. Sure, clean air, good food, and controlled room temperatures were great too, but piloting her mechanoid had been one of her greatest joys. With all the bad things happening lately, this little spot of good news was exactly what she needed.

“Thank the auditor,” Grace said. “He's the one who risked his life to retrieve it for you.”

Elise went back to the other side of the roof where Levin had just finished divvying up the salvage. She bit her lip, forced her eyes to lock onto his face, and walked toward him.

He looked at her as she approached. “What?”

“I wanted to thank you for getting me that mechanoid. It was very thoughtful.”

“The Mother of Time told me to get it.”

“Still, thank you. For everything.” She offered her hand. “Welcome to the Elfreth.”

Levin stared at her hand for a few moments before finally accepting it. “It still doesn't mean I approve of your being in this time. You're an anomaly and you set a poor precedent.”

“You know I'm a person, too, right?” she said dryly.

“Oldest Elise!” Sammuia rushed up the stairs, breathless. “Raid on both eastern and western barricades. The western has already fallen. The Flatirons are begging for help.”

It must be serious for the Flatirons to have lost a barricade so quickly. The attacking tribe must have come in hard. She hoped it wasn't too late. If whoever was attacking managed to establish a foothold on the floor and secure one of the stairwells, then the entire building could be compromised.

“Where's Eriao and James?” she shouted, running down the stairs with Sammuia and Levin close behind. Already, several of the guardians were massing at defensive points along the stairwell entrances.

“Elder Eriao is rallying five teams in Lower Village and taking them down to the barricade.”

“And James?”

“He is already fighting.”

“Of course he is,” she grumbled. James ran toward trouble. The stairwells were a mess as she fought the flow of elderly and children running up to the safety of the upper levels. She reminded herself to put a process in place for situations like this. The guardians and fights had to be able to move up and down quickly without being disrupted by civilians.

She reached the barricade level and saw Eriao directing teams of guardians to different sides of the floor. He was deep in a heated discussion with the Flatiron teacher and Maanx. The teacher's son offered her a slight nod as she approached. That was something, at least.

Crowe hurried to her. “Oldest, thank you for your people responding so quickly. “

“Of course,” she said, putting a reassuring hand on the old Teacher's shoulder. “That's what alliances are for.” She motioned to the teams of guardians nearby. “Let's get moving.”

“No, Elise,” Levin said. “You stay up here with Crowe.”

She rolled her eyes. “I've had this talk with James and Franwil already. I don't need to have it with you. And Gaia help me if you say something about my being a woman…”

“It's not that,” he said. “I'm not questioning your role or your ability. Or your gender, for that matter. I'm questioning the tribe risking you.”

“I'm their leader. I need to lead them in battles.”

He shook his head. “You can do that here. The old leader of your wasteland tribe was wrong to be in the midst of battle. He was needed for his decision-making, not his presence. It is the same for you. Besides, you're important for other reasons as well.”

“I won't hide in safety while the rest of you risk yourselves.” She took a step toward the western barricade.

Levin moved and blocked her path. “These guardians and I will fight because it is what we're here for. It is our role. Your role is to lead and to find a cure for Earth. We all risk our lives to protect you. If you throw everything away because of some misguided foolish and insecure need to show everyone what a great leader you think you are, you disrespect our sacrifices.”

Elise opened her mouth and stopped. “Well, if you put it that way,” she grumbled. Funny, James was never this hard to talk down. His argument was always about her well-being. Levin's, while completely detached, made so much more sense. “Staying in the middle of the floor up will do.”

Levin looked at Eriao. “Two teams stay here with the Oldest at all times.”

The war chief of the Elfreth agreed. The rest of the guardians divided into groups and went in separate directions. Elise got to work. She was becoming proficient at managing the Elfreth during battles. Over the next hour, she and Eriao took control of the situation, setting up communication channels to receive updates, organizing teams to where they were needed, and relieving those who had been in the fight too long.

The fight seemed to be more than just a skirmish. Whatever tribe, or tribes, were hitting them were pushing hard, coming in waves and from several directions. By now, other barricades had reported fighting, with a sneak attack on one of the south barricades almost succeeding. At one point, the enemy had managed to take control of the northwestern stairwell before finally being pushed back by a desperate surge led by James. There were moments when it seemed touch-and-go, and once, the enemy got so deep, the guardians had to move Elise's command center.

By late evening, it seemed the All Galaxy defenders had finally gotten the situation under control. James appeared a little while later, looking exhausted. His shirt was bloodied, and there was an ugly gash across his arm. One of his eyes was blackened and a fresh bruise filled his entire left cheek.

“What happened to you?” she asked, running to him in alarm.

“Levin's wearing our only set of bands so I'm only using this”—he held up a blaster rifle—“and this.” He held up a bloodied metal pipe that looked like it belonged under a kitchen sink.

Levin arrived a few seconds later. He looked as if he had been dragged through hell and back as well. The two men appraised each other as if comparing who had come out of the conflict in worse shape. Levin's left arm was an ugly mass of bruises and scrapes, and he was holding it up as if it was dislocated. Elise shook her head. If she had really listened to his words earlier, she would have forbidden him from fighting on the front line as well. If he had perished in this fight, then the Elfreth would have lost their only salvager.

“I saw you hold up that entire east barricade by yourself for a while,” James said. “You fought well.”

“Prison doesn't dull your senses, that's for sure,” Levin said. “I saw you lead the charge to me when my bands ran dry and I almost got overwhelmed.”

“You two can keep score later,” she bristled. She pointed at Levin. “You're done for the day. Get upstairs to Franwil and get that shoulder checked.” Before he could protest, she jabbed him in the injured shoulder. “You're our only qualified time traveler right now. If it was your head busted instead of that shoulder, we'd have gone through a lot of trouble breaking you out of prison for nothing. Go.”

He looked as if he was going to say something, and then smiled. It was the first time she had ever seen that look on his dry face. She actually hadn't been sure if he even could smile. However, there it was, and it was a little creepy. “Touché, Oldest Elise.” He gave her a little bow. He turned to James. “You'll update her on what we saw?” James nodded.

“Update me on what?” she asked.

“I'll take it from here.” James looked over at Eriao. “Bring every able body with us. There's something I have to show you.”

He led the procession of sixty guardians to the east wall. They were met with another fifty or so Flatiron fights. To her surprise, he led them past the barricades and onto the bridge. The dead and injured were everywhere. Elise felt her stomach churn as they crossed to the other side. So many casualties.

James led her to the next building, where they turned the corner and entered a large central room. Elise gasped. There, caring for their wounded, were the people who had attacked them. Or, at least, their elderly and children tending the wounded fighting men and women who were dead or dying.

“They brought their entire tribe here?” she asked. “Why? That's insane.”

“It's actually five tribes,” James said. “And they didn't attack because they wanted to steal the Flatirons' supplies or floors. They attacked us because they were running from something and we were in the way. From what they told me, entire tribes are fleeing the north from something so bad that every man, woman, and child picked up their belongings, fled the only thing of value on the island, which in this case are the floors, and tried to punch through us toward safety.”

“What could it be?” she asked. She already knew the answer. The Elfreth were probably one of the largest and most destructive groups to have arrived at the Mist Isle in some time. Even then, they were almost swallowed by the Isle and all its dangers. It wasn't a coincidence that something had followed them in here, something so terrible that it'd send all the other tribes running in a panic. This was all her doing.