The hope fell inside H124. So NASA was no more. Apparently it hadn’t been around since the time books were still being printed.
Rowan stared over her shoulder. “They’ve been gone a long time.” He walked back to the floating display, reading that it was offline. “I wonder if their tech is still up there, or if it came crashing down too.” He brought up a floating keyboard and typed a few commands. Then he sat down, typing in more. He cursed. “I can’t figure this out! We need a Rover.”
“But where are they?” Tessa asked. “This place has been abandoned a long time. Rory and I had to clean it up quite a bit when we moved in down here. It was dusty and filled with mildew. Folks hadn’t been here in years.”
Rory crossed his arms. “Our guess is that this used to be a Rover bunker on the outskirts of Delta City. Then when the metropolis sprawled past it, they abandoned their outpost.”
“We’ve got to find them,” H124 said. “I found these old PRDs in the weather shelters. This guy recorded a history of what happened to the planet. The Rovers are still out there. He must be one of them.”
Rowan held out his hand. “Let me see one of these PRDs.” She pulled one out and gave it to him. He frowned. “All this tech’s old. Decades old. How do we know these people are still around? They could have been wiped out.”
“I can’t believe that. On the video, the Rover—Raven—says that it’s his mom’s old PRD. That could explain the age of the device. He could have made those videos recently.”
Rowan met her eyes. “Or he could be dead by now.”
She shook her head. “No. I have to find them. I have to believe there’s a chance.” She gestured around at the bunker. “This proves they held on to science. If they were in touch with that NASA satellite, then they have the ability to reach out into space.”
The room fell silent. Tessa and Rory looked at each other, then the old woman walked over and took H124’s hands. “You’ve got to try,” she told her.
“I will. I’ll find them.” She held up the NASA book. “Can I take this? There might be information in here about a lost technology that could help us.”
Tessa gave a reassuring nod. “Of course.”
Rowan’s PRD beeped. He pulled it out, bringing up its hovering display. “It’s the device we stashed in the PPC tower. It’s letting me know what the PPC is planning.” The color drained from his face.
“What is it?” H124 asked.
“It’s Rocky Basin Camp. The PPC’s moving on it right now. It’s under attack.”
“Where’s Rocky Basin Camp?”
“It’s where I sent Byron and the others to meet us.”
“They’re going to walk right into that?”
He nodded. “From what I’m reading, it’s a slaughter. We’ve got to reach them.”
Tessa motioned toward the bunker door. “I know a way you can get out quickly.”
“Let’s go,” H124 said, joining her.
The four of them left the bunker, climbing ladders and braving the tunnels once again. H124 was astounded at the couple’s ability to keep up despite their malnourishment.
Finally they paused at the bottom of a ladder. “This is it,” Tessa told them. “Climb up here, and you’ll be right in front of one of the CO2 vents.”
Rowan shook her hand, then Rory’s. “Thank you so much.” He started to climb.
H124 shook their hands too. “What you’ve shown us is amazing. The Rovers are out there, and this makes me think they can definitely help us.”
“As will you,” said Rory.
She gave an awkward smile, and climbed.
When they reached the top, Rowan braced his shoulder against a hatch. “You ready for this? We could emerge into a crowd of hostiles.”
“I’m ready.”
He unbolted the hatch and cracked it open, peering out. “There’s a crowd, but I see the vent. The way is almost clear. Let’s go!” He hurried out with her in tow.
At first they walked slowly, trying to blend in, but the crowd must have been pacing, waiting for them to reappear. “There they are!” cried a man.
“We’ll get to eat!” shouted someone else.
A pair of groups closed in from both sides. H124 and Rowan made a break for it.
Then the phalanx on the left picked up speed, colliding with that on the right. As people fell in front of her she leaped over them, nearly tripping as someone grabbed her ankles. She landed unevenly, but she quickly regained her balance and kept running.
Fifty feet to the vent.
She glanced back to see Rowan slamming a fist into a man’s face.
Twenty feet.
She started to slow, already thinking at the TWR to bring down the membrane. She felt it click in her mind, and she sailed through the vent’s opening. Rowan followed, but was nearly stopped by a man grabbing his shoulders. He shrugged him off, and H124 thought Membrane up at the TWR and felt it switch back on.
The crowd seethed before the egress, piling up, crushing one another against the wall.
They’d made it.
She leaned over, catching her breath. Rowan did the same. Then she straightened up and stared out at the dirty, starving mass, sunken eyes fixed on them in pity.
She gripped her tool bag close to her. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”
Rowan took her hand and turned her away. Together they walked into the dark tunnel. They made their way in silence for a few minutes, and she met his eyes in the shadows. “Earlier today I thought this place was called Murder City because the Badlanders had a price on their heads.”
Rowan shook his own. “When you’re desperate, killing someone for a little bit of food starts to look more and more tempting.” They kept on at an even pace. “But they don’t
