attention, the louder it became. Holding up his hand to block the sun, he looked to the west.
A small red dot approached him, kicking up a cloud of dust as it sped along the road. In his fatigued state, it took a few seconds for him to realize that the dot was in fact a car. An old-fashioned electric car!
Immediately, he gathered what energy remained and stood to wave his arms in the air, jumping up and down in the middle of the road.
As the car drew closer it slowed down, pulling to a stop a few yards in front of him.
It was an old junker for sure. Most of the color had faded, covered in so much dust and dirt. But the novelty of seeing an actual car was enough to completely fascinate him. They were obsolete inside the Chosen Cities.
He approached the driver-side window carefully but quickly. The vehicle shuddered as the engine struggled in the heat.
The driver slid down the window and appraised him. He was an older man with an abundance of facial hair. Just looking at his bushy brown beard made Cassius sweat.
The man removed his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes as if he was staring at a mirage. “What the hell are you doing out here?” His voice was gritty and loud.
“Thank god,” Cassius wheezed. “I’m stranded. I didn’t think I’d make it until-”
“Calm down.” The man held out a hand to silence him. “I can tell you’re stranded. Ain’t no reason to be all the way out here if you weren’t. Thing is, I’ve been through these parts hundreds of times and I’ve never seen someone out on their own between towns, especially a kid like you. Folks are talkin’ about some sort of train explosion down south. You’re not from the city, are you?”
Cassius took a second to concoct a convincing story, careful to conceal his ID socket-a dead giveaway.
A believable lie would require a certain level of emotion. Luckily, after hours alone in the desert Cassius was already panicked. He wouldn’t need to put on much of an act. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir. My dad and I were traveling east and our car ran out of power a few miles down. My father… he didn’t… ” He paused, looking down at the ground. “The heat was too much. I’ve been out here ever since and you’re the first person I’ve seen.”
The driver drummed his fingers on the car door. “East, eh? I’ve got family out east. Fact, that’s where I’m headed now.” He sighed, staring at Cassius’s desperate face. “You got someone back there waiting for you?”
“My mother,” Cassius responded.
The man nodded, thinking it over for a moment. “You can hop in the back if you want, but keep quiet. I like my space while I’m driving.”
“That’s all right.” Cassius smiled, though east wasn’t the direction he needed to go. “There’s just one thing. I left my bag over by the bushes.” He pointed off to the side of the road, hoping that the driver wasn’t paying much attention. “It’s got water and rations and stuff. You know, what I could take from the car. It’s the only reason I’ve been able to keep going.”
The man frowned. “So go get it.”
“It’s heavy,” Cassius continued, slumping over to look as pathetic as possible. “If you could just help me drag it to the car, I’ll let you take what you want. The sun has made me so weak I can barely stand.”
It wasn’t entirely a lie, but he hoped he’d have enough energy left for one quick attack. All he needed was for the guy to get out of the car.
The man appraised him for a second before giving a great sigh and turning off the engine. He pushed open the driver-side door, shaking his head as he stepped onto the road, no doubt craving rations as much as Cassius was.
He was nearly a foot taller than Cassius, but fairly thin and clearly not expecting a fight. Cassius gritted his teeth. If he didn’t do this right the first time, it was over.
The man rubbed the back of his neck, scanning the landscape. “Now where’s this bag of yours?”
Cassius pointed off to the side of the road and the man stepped forward, turning his back to him.
As soon as he did, Cassius punched the Fringer right behind the ear, quickly and with enough force to send him slumping over sideways onto the ground. The guy struggled for a few seconds as he slid to the pavement, then stopped moving altogether.
Cassius toyed with the idea of taking the keys and leaving the man out in the open. Less trouble that way. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He’d already been responsible for so many deaths. The thought of one more, especially one so pointless, sickened him. He wasn’t the bad guy.
So he pried the keys from the man’s hand and walked to the back of the car, unlocking the trunk. With the energy he had left, he grabbed the guy’s ankles and pulled him along the road and up into the trunk. His muscles strained with the weight. As soon as he stuffed the last limp arm inside, he closed the hatch and made his way to the front.
Sitting in the driver’s seat, he realized he’d never had the chance to drive an actual automobile before. He couldn’t imagine it was very hard, especially in such a barren landscape.
He tried two keys before finding the right one. The engine buzzed to life and he discovered how to shift the vehicle into drive. Spinning the wheel, he made a sharp U-turn and barreled down the empty road, pushing the old junker to its limit.
36
The three of us stand before a cobbled-together, twenty-first century castle. At least that’s what it reminds me of. A high brick wall connects dozens of mismatched buildings, forming an almost impenetrable complex. Almost impenetrable. Half of the buildings look like they’re about to collapse onto the ground.
Bobby leads us across a wide, empty street. “After the electricity shut off, folks that stayed behind started gathering at the old university. Easier to power than the whole city.”
We approach the nearest building. Avery runs her fingers across a cracked pillar propping up a wide portico. “Do you have a generator?”
“Nah.” He darts up a wide staircase. “Those things bit the dust ages ago. Uni Power comes from the wind field at the north end of town. Kept us going longer than I’ve been alive.”
“Wait,” I follow him onto a concrete landing beside the doorway. “You power this whole city with a bunch of turbines?”
“Just Uni.” He yanks open the heavy door. “The blades aren’t strong enough for the whole town. It’s no worry, though. We don’t have none of those fancy gizmos like the rest of you. Just the basics. Temperature control. Light. They used to call Lenbrg the windy city of the west. Turbines were here way before the bombings.”
We slip inside, shutting away the heat. Clean, cool air swirls around me. I take a deep breath, easing my scratchy throat. Temperature control: gotta love it.
Staircases border the tight rectangular entryway on both sides. The lights are switched off, leaving the room dim and shadowy. Beams of sunlight stream through patched-up windows above us.
Bobby heads to a nearby bench and climbs on top, standing to read an old-fashioned manual clock hung high on the wall. After pausing for a moment in thought, he slips down and takes a seat. “Community lunch in twenty. Barkley’ll be there before taking off for the mountains.”
Avery nods. “And that Fringe gang?”
“Aw, don’t worry about them. They’ll be long gone. Just antsy, that’s all.” He drums his heels against the bench. “Comin’ up on the anniversary of the Chosens. Everybody’s antsy.”
I shove my hands in my pockets, trying to look casual. “Why’s that?”
Bobby shrugs. “People here don’t care much. But down in YakTown? I hear they wanna send a message. Big Fringe revolt or something.” He sighs. “They won’t get it together, though. Too unorganized.” He wipes the sweat from his brow. “There’re tons of criminals down there, you know? Ever since the government started chucking ’em outside the Net. Sometimes they come up to Uni. That’s why we’ve built the wall.” He stands and motions for us to follow him through the building. We make it three steps before a man’s voice stops us.
“Bobby Henderson,” the voice bellows from somewhere above us like an angry spirit. I spin around, searching the room. A man steps out from the shadows and clomps down the staircase on the left.
When he reaches the bottom I breathe a sigh of relief. It’s not some mass intimidating soldier or Fringe gang
