15

 

Isabel insists on going first and attempting to remove the cover to the street.

“Only move it an inch or two,” Fischer says. “Don’t draw any attention to yourself.”

Isabel gives her signature grin. “This ain’t the first time I’ve been in trouble, Mr. Medic. I sneaked in and out of every type of place you can imagine before I ended up demoted.”

Fischer chuckles and shakes his head in the dim light of the tunnels. “You got it. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

Isabel puts her hands on the nearest rung and takes her first step.

“If staying hidden is your goal, I wouldn’t take that route,” a deep voice says.

We spin at the voice, sloshing water into the air.

Three men—maybe Fischer’s age, maybe a little older—stand at the entrance to a different tunnel. They’re dressed in rough, homespun clothes like almost everyone else, but they’re here. In this tunnel.

“Who are you?” I ask.

“No one to be afraid of, unless you mean us harm.” The one speaking is tall, with dark hair and even darker eyes. The other two haven’t spoken a word, but they’re taller than the first guy, and bigger all around.

“We don’t mean you any harm.” Fischer’s voice is his typical soft and melodic voice.

He’s coming back, slowly but surely.

“We’re trying to get out of here.” Staying calm is best, but their presence puts a damper on my good feelings.

“Like I said, if you want to get caught, be my guest.” He gestures toward the ladder Isabel still stands on.

I look to Fischer for instruction. We don’t know these guys from any other Lesser we’d meet on the street. They could have been sent to trap us. They could want to rob us and kill us.

Or, they might want to help us.

“Then how do we get out?” I ask.

“We can show you, for a price.”

“We don’t have anything to give,” Fischer says. “We don’t even have food or water.”

The speaker smirks and shakes his head. “What we’re wanting isn’t something you have, anyway. We want you to bring back a few things from up there.”

I frown and glance to Fischer and Isabel again.

“What do you want?” This time it’s Isabel. Her voice commands respect, and her chin juts out in defiance.

“Fresh fruits and vegetables. Every time we start to grow anything, the guards cut it down.”

“What do you mean? How do you grow anything down here?” Their words make no sense to me.

“Not down here. On the outside. Outside the fences. We can hunt and gather rain water, but we have to get our fruits and vegetables from the city. You can do the leg work for us.”

“How would you know we’d come back?” I ask.

Now he grins. His eyes flash in a menacing dance, and I step closer to Fischer.

“One of you will stay behind for collateral,” he says.

“I’ll stay,” Isabel says immediately.

But the guy shakes his head. “We want her.”

There is no way in all of Middle City 1 I am staying in this tunnel with these rats. Fischer obviously agrees.

“Out of the question. We’ll take our chances up there.” He nods to the ladder Isabel had so recently been ready to climb.

The rat scowls and steps closer to us. “What are you doing down here, anyway? I heard something about Frost Moon and a war. What kind of information do you have?”

Great. So he was sent to follow us.

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.” Fischer turns from them and pulls me with him, but the rat isn’t letting us go so easily.

“It’s already my concern. Why do you think we’re down here? It was either that or be sent away to rot in Lesser 4. When one hears rumors of wars and begins questioning it? Yeah, the Greaters don’t like that so much.”

Fischer, Isabel, and I glance at each other. Isabel’s nostrils flare and she steps forward. “Maybe we could work together. You help us out, we get you what you want, and we all leave together.”

“Stop the bickering, Les.”

The voice isn’t one we’ve heard before, and neither of the two silent rats spoke it. A fourth man steps from the tunnel, and the first rat—Les—quickly backs away.

“We’re all going to have to leave, thanks to the geniuses who turned on these lights.” The man’s piercing eyes pin us to the wall behind us. “I guess that would be you? They’re going to come looking for the source using up all the power, and that’s going to lead them here. So now we all go.”

“We know things,” Fischer says.

My gaze flies to him. What is he doing?

“If you’re working against them, we can definitely work together. Join us.” His words are sure and firm. Confident.

Again I’m surprised at who Fischer is. Maybe I never knew him as well as I’d thought, or maybe what he’s been through changed him this much. Either way, I’m not sure why he’s so quick to change his mind.

“I know a place,” Les says. “The buildings on the north side of the city.”

“Outside the wall?” the leader asks.

“That’s right.” Les looks to us. “There are old skyscrapers. They’re outside the fence, but they’re easy to get in and out of. We can take you there.”

“And we can still get into the city from these skyscrapers?” I ask. Seeing Keegan is all that matters at this point. Is he still here? Is he OK?

The leader nods. “Not an issue.” He walks back the way he came, and Les nods at us to follow.

Glancing at Fischer one last time, we follow the rats deeper into the tunnel.

“So what’s this about your rebellion?” The leader of their small group is short but muscular. He holds himself erect, the way Guard Nev always did, and he walks with a surety and purpose. He must have come from the guard.

He glances over his shoulder and speaks again. “Is it the three of you against the world?”

“Something like that.” I don’t know if I trust him yet. He hasn’t even given us a name. “Why are you helping us?”

“We can’t go into the city very often. Getting supplies is becoming harder and harder. They know us. They watch for us. You, however, should be able to move through the city with ease.”

“How do you know they aren’t watching for us, as well?” Fischer asks.

Because they are. They definitely are.

The man eyes our clothes. “You’re Lessers if I ever saw them.”

I glance at Fischer and can tell he’s thinking what I’m thinking. This man is right. We look like Lessers. We’ve got to find different clothes before we can go deep into the city.

After long minutes of weaving through the tunnels, we come to a ladder and the rats climb without consulting us. They push through into the sunshine, and the light blinds me. Once my eyes adjust, I see I’m outside the city, but at a different manhole. Not far away, a cluster of tall buildings rise to the sky.

“There,” Les says. “We can all stay there.”

“And you’ll tell us how to get into the city?” Fischer asks.

“Absolutely,” the leader says. “By the way, I’m Guard Rok.”

He’s a guard, as I suspected. My mind spins. How long has he been down in the tunnels? Does he know Guard Nev? I can’t remember which city Guard Nev was from, but it’s a high possibility they were acquainted.

I want to ask him, but something holds me back. A distrust.

Maybe it’s the way he works with Les, and the fact Les’s eyes travel up and down my body every time he glances at me.

I step closer to Fischer as we walk. He glances at me, already frowning. Something feels off to him, as well, I can tell. He takes my hand and holds tight.

I hope he never lets go.