cloud in rapid snapshots. Some carry sticks. Others brandish chains or knives. One trips over my outstretched leg and slams into the dirt. I brush my hand through the air to get a better look. The stranger turns, his face obscured by an oval-shaped, translucent mask. His skin is bronzed, turned dark from Surface Tan.
Fringers.
Another explosion rattles the street. A sulfurous stench clogs the air, along with dark billows of smoke. They’re bringing down the city. TNT, or some sort of old bombing device like that.
Unified Party troops rush into action around me and try to ward off the attack. It’s still too dark to see, but covered by their masks, the Fringers have the advantage.
A hand reaches out to grab me. I recognize Madame’s polished fingernails. I push myself back and kick, connecting with her stomach. She grunts in pain as her arm gets sucked into the cloud again.
I stand and stagger back, off balance. Three steps and I run into someone’s shoulders. Before I can fight back, a pair of hands grab me around the biceps and pull me close. The air thins and I see Ryel’s face, staring at me through the dust, eyes unblinking. It’s as if the cloud doesn’t bother him at all.
“The others-” I choke on the dust.
A Fringer bolts past us, nearly knocking Ryel sideways. Shouts and cries fill the street, joined by a few bullets. But in the dust’s low visibility, Madame’s soldiers can’t risk firing. It’s hand to hand.
Another body collides with mine. At first I’m convinced it’s a soldier, but then I turn and see Eva’s panicked face. The three of us stand pressed together, waiting for a fist or leg or blade to emerge from the brownness and attack.
Eva coughs. “We have to get out of here!”
I want to argue, tell her that we’ve got to grab Avery and Cassius first, but she’s right. The longer we stay inside this cloud, the more dirt we breathe in. If it gets much thicker, we’re going to suffocate.
Ryel releases his grip on my arms. “I can breathe through this.” He points to his left. “Run in that direction until the air is clear. I’ll find Cassius and meet you at the edge of the cloud.”
“And Avery?”
He bolts away without a word and disappears into the dust. Eva yanks on my wrist, pulling me along as she sprints through the street. We avoid most of the soldiers, now too busy defending themselves against an army of Fringers, and loop around the chaos. Nobody notices us, especially this far from Madame. With every step, the air begins to clear.
Eva stops. I run into her shoulder. “Freeze.” She steadies me.
I push on her back, eager to get as far from Madame as possible, but she holds firm.
Seconds later, an empty water tower plunges from the collapsing roof of a Fringe building in front of us, cutting through what’s left of the cloud on its way to the ground. The structure collides with the dirt and smashes inward like an aluminum can. I pull Eva to the ground and we huddle as a tsunami of dirt and debris comes at us. Shards scrape against my back, ripping holes in my shirt. My hair whips back behind me, caked with dust.
Once the air settles, we resume our sprint, moving through the tunnels created by the sideways support beams of the tower that stretch in diagonals from the ground. The air clears considerably past the structure. Soon, we can breathe again.
I cough. “What if Ryel doesn’t come back?”
“We have to find our shuttle,” she says.
I point back into the expanding cloud. “It’s all the way on the other side. There’s no way.”
“Then a cruiser,” she pants. “We’ll steal a cruiser.”
“I’m more worried about-”
“Jesse!” A voice comes from beyond the water tower. I turn to see Ryel crawling through the wreckage. Two others follow him. I move forward, watching the dust intently, waiting to see who it is.
Avery and Cassius stumble behind him, covered with dirt and sweat. I run forward and grab Avery in my arms. Her hands stay limp at her sides. Cassius pulls me away, breathing heavy. “I saw Madame fall. I can’t hear her in my head.”
Eva motions us into a nearby alley. “This way!”
We run, all five of us, though each scratchy breath sends bristles of pain through our chests. We arrive on a clear street, free from the carnage of the last one. A building to our right lies wrecked and gutted. Flames lick the air from charred holes. A cloud of smoke rises into the sky, but the wind pushes it back toward the soldiers, away from us.
Cassius stops. “Do you hear that?”
We pause to listen. There are so many noises in Syracuse right now, but I realize almost instantly what he’s referring to. He’d know the sound better than me, after all. A cruiser alarm system.
Eva claps her hands together. “It’s coming from over there.” She points to a second alleyway, farther from the cloud.
Cassius nods. “If we can get inside, I can get us into the air.”
Ryel pushes forward. “Let me.”
Cassius flashes him an incredulous look, then meets my eyes. “Who’s he?”
“Don’t worry,” I say. “He’s a pilot.”
“Alright.” He cups his ears. “We’ve got to hurry. Before Madame gets back inside my head.”
We dash into the alley and are immediately greeted by the sight of a government cruiser loading ramp open against the ground. Cassius crouches to look into the body of the cruiser. After a moment’s consideration, he motions us forward. “It’s clear.”
We rush up the ramp into the cabin. Ryel moves to the cockpit. Avery collapses on the first available seat, breathing hard. The ship rocks with the onset of energy-filtered Pearl energy, most likely. If Ryel knew what was powering this thing, he might not have been so eager to climb into the driver’s seat. I wish we had the luxury of worrying about it, but right now we need to get away.
The ramp begins to close behind us. Dust flows into the ship from the faraway cloud. The temperature control kicks in and bathes us in cool air while sucking any foreign particles from the atmosphere.
We’re just about to take off when something slams against the cruiser’s backside. I watch as the ramp shudders and a hand grips the top, several feet from where it will close and seal. Moments later, a face pulls itself up to the crack, followed by a thin body. Soon, a boy falls forward, looping around and colliding with the floor. A knife slides to the far corner of the cabin. The kid pulls himself to his knees and grabs for the weapon. The ramp seals behind him.
He turns and stares at us, eyes wild, heart beating so fast I can practically see it. I recognize him instantly. Avery tenses. “Theo!”
The kid coughs, gripping the knife tightly. “Nice try, guys, but I’m sure you didn’t think it was gonna be that easy.”
22
Cassius grabbed onto the nearest railing to avoid stumbling. Theo crashed into the secured ramp behind him as they rocketed into the sky, past any remaining fragments of the dust cloud, away from Syracuse.
When the cruiser stabilized, Eva lunged at the kid, trying to force the knife from his hand. Theo ducked and kneed her in the gut, sending her slumping to the corner. He raised the knife.
“Stop!” Fisher yelled.
Theo spun to face Cassius, eyes wide. “Turn this thing around.”
Eva remained on all fours, unable to right herself.
“Who’s piloting?” Theo pointed the knife at Eva. “Tell them to bring this down or I’ll kill her.”
Cassius waited a moment, just to make sure he couldn’t hear even the slightest echo of Madame’s voice in his head. His brows lowered, eyes locked on Theo’s. He was free from her. Even if it was only temporary, he had the opportunity he’d been waiting for. His fingers clenched into fists.
Theo’s expression wavered as he glanced around the cabin.
“You’re outnumbered,” Fisher said.
