JEFF MADE sure to tweak the truck’s propulsion systems before they left. He doubted there would be any decent roads on the way, so they’d need to rely on the hover mechanism. After thinking about it for a moment, he packed an extra fuel cell in the bed. That was with the rifles, food, and jugs of water. He also grabbed a few pairs of shaded goggles since he wasn’t quite sure what to expect of the sunlight out there.
He hummed under his breath as he worked. It had been years since he’d been on a run outside known territory. Part of him felt this was what it meant to be a downsider—facing the unknown, discovering what humanity had lost. Jeff couldn’t help the thrum of excitement that ran through him. He hadn’t looked forward to something so much since, well, the last time he’d jacked in and discovered a whole new part of the net. This, however, he could share with his daughter, wanted to share with her, not hide away like he had his addiction.
“I plotted a route.” Kayla waved a portable tablet in his direction before climbing into the truck. Trixie hopped in beside her, both of them in the back seat together.
Gabe came around the truck, dressed in the heavy leather jacket that suited his thin frame. Jeff swallowed at the sight of him. Even dressed like a downsider, Gabe couldn’t hide his beauty, the perfection of his features. It was hard to believe anyone could mistake Gabe for anything but what he was—a fallen angel in shabby clothing. Of course, Jeff might be a little biased on that point.
Gabe jerked his head toward the truck. “You sure about them coming?”
“Kayla’s a better shot than you.” Jeff grinned. He slapped a hand on Gabe’s shoulder and kept it there. “Besides, she’s never been scavenging. ’Bout time. When I was her age, it was all I did.”
Because he had to. Even though Ma was still alive back then, Jeff was required to pull his weight. Everyone in the group had needed to contribute, or they’d have all starved. Demons had just begun to creep up to barter with, but life wouldn’t get much easier for years.
He couldn’t look back on those years fondly, but Jeff never realized how much he missed the prospect of exploration, of finding something that had been buried and hidden for ages. Plus, it gave Jeff and Kayla the opportunity to get away from Old Trent for the day, leaving Luca and his demons behind. Jeff couldn’t think of anything else that could make him feel so light.
“I’m worried this whole trip will end up being disappointing.” Gabe shrugged. “I mean, how much could have survived two hundred years?”
“Oh, you’d be surprised,” Jeff said. “Come on, we need all the daylight we can get.” He slid into the front seat of the truck. Gabe sat next to him, looking taken aback to find himself in Kayla’s usual place.
Kayla leaned over the back of the bench seat. “For the most part we can follow the old highways. Start out on the one that follows the river, heading north.” She touched her map panel and nodded, as if confirming her own words.
Jeff grinned as he slid his hands over the truck’s control panel. “Hold on.”
They sped out between the junkyard’s gates, which slid shut behind them. A flick of his wrist had the alarms and shields set before they had gotten very far. Then they were out on the road, still traveling familiar territory for now.
About twenty minutes into their journey, Kayla had him turn away from the river, though they kept going north. Jeff followed an old highway, the cracked and peeling roadway getting worse the farther they drove, with weeds and tiny trees breaking through large crevasses in the earth. Then the asphalt abruptly dropped away, leaving them hovering in midair. All that remained were tall pillars and pylons, giant concrete monuments supporting bridges that weren’t there anymore.
Gabe leaned out the window, not speaking as he took in the rubble to either side of them. The farther they got from Luca’s territory, the more nature set in, trees and bushes encroaching on what used to be roads. All of the buildings they spotted were in ruins, probably what happened without newer tech to shore them up.
“I’ve never seen so many trees,” Kayla whispered.
“You’d think they wouldn’t be able to grow,” Gabe said in a low voice. “With the sunlight so obstructed.”
Jeff shrugged. “They adapt.” Just like humanity had. Well, the ones stuck down here anyway.
“People used to live here. There were houses with large yards….” Gabe turned away from the window to look back at Kayla. “Have we left the demons’ territory yet?”
“A while ago,” she said. “There are no official borders. Nobody’s keeping us in the city. Not like there’s anything out here. You’d have to go west for that.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Jeff caught movement just in time to lift the truck into the air, over the creatures that pranced across the cracked and split road. They all jerked in their seats until Jeff righted the truck.
“What the hell?”
“Deer….” Gabe laughed. “I guess this is where they get the meat for the market.”
Jeff shook his head. “I haven’t seen one of those since I was a kid.”
“There are so many of them.” Kayla pressed against the window as Trixie let out a series of barks.
“You’d think there would be more people hunting out this way,” Gabe mused.
Jeff got them back on their route. “Why, when we have plenty of nutricubes? You don’t have to skin those.” Of course, if things continued to get tight, if the demons couldn’t keep the supply line open, then Jeff might get more familiar with hunting than he was entirely comfortable with. So would everyone in Old Trent.
“Turn up ahead,” Kayla burst out. “There should be a road leading in, but it could be covered up.”
The overgrowth did seep out onto the road, but Jeff could make out the remnants of a sign, broken and leaning against a tree but clearly welcoming. Well, it probably was welcoming two centuries ago. The words were so faded and worn Jeff could barely make out “college” in streaks of white.
He decided to follow the road for now, since it seemed passable. Jeff guided the truck through the archway of trees and then had the option to turn left or right.
“It circles the campus. The science complex is to the right.” Gabe’s voice sounded so small.
Jeff gave him a quick glance before turning as instructed. He thought Gabe looked even paler than usual. The road didn’t continue on for very long before a pool of standing water blocked the path. It didn’t look like there would be any place worth searching up ahead.
“There were two lakes,” Gabe said.
“Looks like they turned this area into swamp.” Jeff made the decision to turn off the road and into the wilderness to his left. He’d caught sight of what must be buildings peeking out over the trees, and he wanted to get closer.
They emerged from the canopy of trees into an open plain, surrounded by half-crumbled buildings standing guard over the silence. Jeff found some relatively sturdy land to put the truck back on its wheels and parked. “Well. This is it.”
“Yes,” Gabe said. “It is.”
GABE’S HEART thumped too loud, and he covered it with his palm. Was this his second heart? Or his third? He didn’t recall. The images in his mind superimposed themselves on this barren place that used to be home. That building with the caved-in roof was once the library. He kissed Rocky for the first time on those steps, steps you could hardly see for the vines covering them.
In the distance he could make out only one of the two towers that had housed the freshmen. One must have crumbled to the ground long ago. Few of the closer buildings seemed to have survived as anything but shells, brick walls with nothing to guard. Most were covered by the vegetation, trees that were twisted and dark, nothing like the vibrant green he remembered.
For a moment he saw it as it had been, students walking across solid concrete paths, laughter bubbling up from the crowd, someone playing guitar on the theater steps while others chalked messages on the ground, listing the latest frat event. Gabe shook his head, letting the memories settle back, as they should.
“That’s the science complex.” He pointed. It was the only set of buildings that looked nearly whole. He chuckled under his breath. “When they first built it, they got slammed in inspections for using crappy material. So they had to knock it all down and start again. I guess that’s why it survived.”
Jeff turned from the truck bed. He’d slung an empty bag over his shoulders, with two rifles in his hands. He offered one to Gabe. “Lucky us, then. Might be able to find something inside.”
Gabe took the weapon, checking the chamber as he had been taught. “You honestly think we need these? Expecting to find deer in there?”
Kayla came around from the other side, Trixie trotting at her feet. She too had a bag over one shoulder and her own smaller gun. “We don’t know what we’re gonna find.” Like her father, she seemed thrilled to be here, a bounce in her step and a flush on her cheeks.
Gabe wished he could share her enthusiasm, but he couldn’t stop the past from invading his thoughts. He’d had too many good memories here, but the ruins left behind only reminded him of how long he’d outlived his closest friends and family.
They walked to what used to be the front door of the complex. Beneath their feet the ground gave slightly, perpetually wet as if it had just rained. Gabe guessed the lack of upkeep had turned the campus back into marshland. That didn’t bode well for the building they were about to enter. The glass of the front entrance must have been broken long ago. Nothing barred their entry.
Jeff walked in front with a light attached to the end of his rifle. “Now we don’t know how stable this place is. We go in for a quick survey. Grab anything useful you can carry. Anything too big that looks valuable, we’ll come back with the hovercart.”
It seemed Jeff had thought of everything. Gabe only nodded and rubbed his palms against his pants leg. Then he grabbed the strap of the rifle slung over his chest. He still wasn’t as easy with the weapon as Jeff was, hell, as Kayla was. If they did encounter something worth shooting at, Gabe wasn’t sure he’d be able to do it.
Inside was exactly as he expected. Paint had chipped off the walls in patches, leaving strange streaks and rust patterns behind. Chairs, desks, and other debris littered the hallway, some on their sides, one even hanging from the rafters in the ceiling. It smelled strongly of dampness and mold.
Jeff touched a line on one of the walls. “Flood.”
“The labs were upstairs,” Gabe said, keeping his voice as low as Jeff’s. “Anything helpful would be there.” He gestured toward the closed door that still had an exit sign attached. Perhaps the fire door had prevented much of the destruction from reaching beyond the first floor.
Jeff tapped the first step with his foot before continuing up—probably a good idea to make sure they were stable. The metal railing had rusted and warped, and more paint had come loose from the concrete block walls. Someone had spray-painted “set the demon free” on the wall of the first landing, sending chills up Gabe’s spine.
Kayla touched the faded words, frowning at them. Gabe doubted they’d find anyone squatting up here. They hadn’t seen any signs of life so far.
At the top of the stairs, Jeff held the door open and let Trixie sniff the ground for a moment. She sat, her tail thumping hard against the floor. He nodded back at them before continuing. Gabe guessed they could trust the dog’s sense for danger.
Jeff’s light gave some warmth to the long corridor. Debris covered the floor here too, but not nearly as haphazard as downstairs. Gabe didn’t recognize the hall he’d walked down with Rocky at his side, complaining how he hated biology. Oh, the irony of that, if his younger self had only known.
The first door on the left was the chem lab, if he remembered right. Gabe tugged on the doorknob, surprised that it opened without a squeal. He stepped on the broken glass that covered the floor of the lab. Someone had some fun smashing all the test tubes and beakers. Even the windows had been bashed in, leaving the room open to the elements. They wouldn’t find anything decent in here.
“Stay,” Jeff told Trixie before venturing in. The dog waited at the door, looking almost annoyed that she couldn’t follow.
“It’s all trashed,” Gabe said.
“Not all of it.” Kayla tugged on one of the cabinets along the side of the room. It was locked. She crouched before it, careful of the glass, and within seconds had it open.
Gabe moved to her side as she revealed the row of Bunsen burners, safe from the vandalism and the weather. “Should be microscopes like this in the Biology labs, then, too. Those could be worth something.”
Kayla dropped one of the burners in her bag. That reminded Gabe of the gas lines that ran into this lab. He sniffed the air, instinctively trying to access angel senses that could tell him if he breathed something toxic. But those senses had gone with his halo. Gabe stood and rubbed his forehead. He hadn’t tried to do that in a while, and it made his head hurt.
“Jeff?”
“In here.” Jeff’s voice came from a doorway in the back of the room. It had been closed when they’d come in. “Found a storage closet with chemicals. Neatly labeled too.”
Kayla left the cabinets and joined her dad. “Anything we can use?”
Gabe ducked his head in long enough to watch Jeff sort through the containers that were still intact. Some glass bottles were broken; others appeared empty even though they were still stoppered up. Kayla grabbed some paper from a pile in the corner, and they carefully wrapped their choices before putting them in the storage bags.
Gabe grinned. At least the trip hadn’t been a total waste. “Should be some scales and meters in here too.” They might even find a computer intact, as long as it had been placed inside a closet first.
Trixie began to growl, a low noise that sounded almost like an engine starting up. When he looked over at her, Trixie seemed on the verge of stepping onto the glass, her gaze directed toward the empty windows. “Easy, girl.” He tried to see what had caught her attention.
The thing waited below. Gabe gripped the sill in reaction. The creature moved like an insect, six limbs in coordination as it scuttled along the ground. But those limbs were metal, a mismatched set of arms and legs. The torso looked like it might have been human once, and Gabe was glad he wasn’t close enough to smell if that was flesh that seeped red ooze. The head swiveled up, turning in the direction of the science complex, and where there should have been eyes, two long stalks with giant balls on the ends extended.
Gabe stepped back, unsure if the thing had seen him. “Jeff,” he rasped, his voice rough.
Kayla came out of the storage closet first. “Gabe, your hand!”
He looked down at his hand, seeing blood welling in his palm. He must have sliced it open on the windowsill. Gabe clenched it shut. “I heal fast.” It would be fine by tomorrow. They had bigger problems to worry about.
Jeff frowned at him from the doorway. “What is it?”
Gabe jerked his head toward the window. “I don’t know if it’s seen us.”
“Dammit.” Jeff pulled Kayla away from the window and killed his light source.
“What the hell is that thing?” Gabe grasped the rifle strapped to his chest, glad that Jeff had made them come armed.
“It’s a moddie,” Kayla told him.
“Nobody knows if they were human once,” Jeff filled in. “Some say they are made of what was left over in the vats. Spare parts making a go at living.”
Gabe shuddered at the thought. He didn’t know which was worse—human beings experimented on to the point of monstrous deformity, or inanimate machinery bonded to extra flesh.
“And it’s between us and the truck.” Kayla had gone back into the hallway, kneeling near Trixie to calm her down.
Jeff nodded, as if to himself. “This is what we do. I’ll hold the moddie off while you two run for the truck. You can swing around and pick me up.”
“Dad,” Kayla protested, twisting around to glare at him.
“Kayla.” Jeff gave her a stern look, which softened as tears began to fill Kayla’s eyes. “I’ll be fine. Get ready.”
They moved. Gabe gripped his weapon firmly, unable to keep himself from checking and double-checking it. He didn’t know if he could even get a shot off, but it felt good to have it in his hands.
Jeff stopped them right before he opened the door at the bottom of the stairwell. “Kayla, keep Trixie with you. Once I shoot the thing, you move and don’t look back. Got it?”
Gabe nodded along with Kayla. His fingers tightened around the rifle. If he’d had his spear, if he’d had both wings, if he was still a full angel, he could take on all the risk himself. The moddie wouldn’t stand a chance. But Gabe was broken. Even so, he wouldn’t let Kayla run alone.
“Good. Behind me.” Jeff cocked his gun and opened the door.
The moddie must have heard the sound. It began to come closer, moving away from the truck but toward the building. Gabe swallowed at how damn fast the thing was.
Jeff didn’t waste any time. He made for the wide-open doorway and fired, sending the thing onto its back, limbs waving in the air. The reprieve didn’t last long before the moddie rolled over.
Gabe didn’t wait to see if the moddie would get up again. He followed Kayla as she ran for the truck, Trixie galloping beside them both. If he didn’t think the kickback would land him on his ass, Gabe would have tried to get a shot off himself.
Jeff sent another shot out, and they ran faster. What the hell did it take to kill one of those things?
Kayla made it to the truck first and ran to the other side. Gabe reached out to open the door when he heard her scream.
There was another moddie hiding behind the truck.
Gabe moved, instinct taking over faster than he could think. He dove toward Kayla, who scrambled on the ground for her dropped weapon. The moddie reared up, front limbs poised to strike. Gabe’s right wing extended to its full length, ripping apart his shirt and jacket. It covered Kayla like a shield, and the moddie’s blow hit the wing square on.
Pain flooded Gabe’s senses, but the metal held, made of sterner stuff than whatever had gone into the moddie’s creation. He gasped, feeling the vibration all the way to his shoulder blades, even the one with nothing more than a port and wires.
Kayla grabbed her weapon and stood. Gabe pulled his wing away, letting her fire on the stunned moddie. It fell backward but still writhed like its twin.
“Move!” Jeff screamed behind them.
JEFF SAW the second moddie as it was rising from behind the truck. He knew he’d never get there in time, and he was too far away to shoot it. Angry, he fired at the first one, taking off its head, which exploded into a series of sparks and wires, before making for the truck at a dead run.
He got there in time to see Gabe use his wing to protect Kayla. Jeff’s lungs burned, and he screamed as Kayla shot the damn thing. They had to get out of there. Where there were two moddies, there would be more.
As soon as Gabe fell into the front seat, Jeff gunned the systems and took off. The moddie leaped toward the truck. Jeff pushed the engines as far as they could go and rose into the air.
They banked around one of the tall trees, and Jeff saw the moddie on the branch before it jumped for them. “Fuck,” he shouted, diving just in time to avoid it. “How many of these things are there?”
“Guess we know why nobody’s scavenged this place before,” Gabe said, though his voice was hoarse.
Jeff spared a glance his way. “You hurt?” Gabe had retracted his wing, seemingly without any problems, so it couldn’t have been damaged that badly. He swallowed, grateful that Gabe had been there when he couldn’t. If Jeff had sent Kayla on alone….
He didn’t want to finish that thought.
“I’ll be fine,” Gabe said, which wasn’t an answer at all.
“Kayla?” Jeff asked.
“It didn’t touch me,” she said. “Because of Gabe.”
Jeff focused on finding their route for a moment, glad when nothing else sprung out of the wilds to attack them. “Thank you,” he told Gabe, reaching out to squeeze the angel’s thigh. Kayla didn’t know about them, but he didn’t think she’d see the gesture for anything but one of thanks.
Gabe smiled, though his eyes still looked worn. “I guess being an angel was good for something down here.”
Jeff wanted to tell Gabe he was worth more than only his parts, or the secrets of the angels locked up in his brain. But he couldn’t, not without explaining everything, and Jeff couldn’t come clean yet.
“Just gotta make sure we work on some target practice. Don’t want you hurting that wing right when I got the other one done.”
Gabe laughed softly. Jeff shook his head, keeping his attention on their surroundings as he looked for the road home. There was only one gift he could give Gabe in return for saving his daughter—finishing the wing and giving Gabe the ability to fly. Fly away from Jeff if he had to.