“What do you mean?”
“We have to move on soon. Much sooner than my body would like.”
“But the rest has been good, right? It’s helped?”
William winced. “I think so, yeah.”
Matilda got to her feet and offered him her hand. She supported most of his weight as he stood and led them over to the window.
Like with the room they were in, the daylight revealed a different city. The imposing blocks and buildings that had loomed over them in the darkness, staring down on them in judgement, were now exposed as decrepit and crumbling forms. “This place looked a lot different when we were running through it last night,” William said. “I saw what it used to be. I imagined what the buildings contained inside. But now—”
“It looks like a ghost town,” Matilda said.
“Right.”
“But didn’t Gracie say this place came alive during the day?”
The stamp of boots answered Matilda’s question. They echoed through the tight streets.
Both William and Matilda stepped back and used the shadows as cover.
A group of about ten soldiers in red uniform, they dressed like they belonged to the same army, but they lacked any kind of militant co-ordination. They wandered through the city, scanning their surroundings, their identical foot-long metal batons raised and ready to use.
“They look so young,” Matilda said.
“Like us when we were sent on our national service.”
“At least we had a leader. These lot look like they’re making it up as they go along.”
“Lambs to the slaughter.”
Matilda stepped back another pace and tugged on William’s arm. “If the city wakes up like Gracie said it does, I think we should get out of here while it’s still early.”
The army rounded the next bend, searching the streets but not looking up. They were so wet behind the ears, they’d didn’t think to look any higher than their own level. William shook his head. Lambs to the slaughter.
The same bare concrete floor continued into the hallway, the walls as scarred and burst as they’d been in the apartment. Damp chunks of plaster leaked from the deep gashes and spilled across their path. Spiders had made their homes in every corner. Several webs broke on William’s face as he walked through them. He pinched at his skin, and despite removing some silk, he couldn’t get it all.
The building had a stairwell on one side. Matilda led them to the other. To a window in the far wall. William pointed behind them. “Why not use the stairs?”
Guiding his sight with her pointing hand, Matilda showed William the metal tower in the distance, the landmark Gracie had shown them as their destination. “You think they’ll still be there waiting for us?”
“I’m not sure,” Matilda said. “But if you have a better plan, I’m all ears. Also”—she stepped from the window onto the steel walkway—“I guessed there’d be one of these fire escapes to climb down. It’s a quicker route. The sooner we get to the tower, the better.”
They might have only been one floor from the ground, but stepping from the cover of the building exposed them to the wind’s full force. It burned William’s tired eyes. A clacking called up to them from another street. “Matilda!”
She continued along the metal walkway, her long brown hair streaming out behind her.
Clenched teeth, William hissed, louder this time, “Matilda!”
She halted, and when she turned to look at him, her hair dragged across her face. It took her three attempts to swipe it free before he had her attention. He pointed in the sound’s direction, and her features fell slack. William climbed back into the tower.
Matilda joined him. The clacking grew louder. The uneven beat of a mechanical quadruped—of several mechanical quadrupeds—rounded the bend. A pack of dogs. Their eyes glowed red, and their hinged jaws hung open. “I know the last time we saw them they were breathing fire,” William said, “but to look at them now. To see them in all their glory makes them—”
“Scarier?”
He nodded. “Scarier. Like I can see the true extent of their power. Thank the heavens they didn’t catch us.” As the pack passed, William said, “Let’s wait for a second. Where there’re dogs, there might be more soldiers.”
Matilda raised her eyebrows. “Or drones.” She peered out at the sky.
Another pack of red-uniformed soldiers rounded the bend. They chased after the dogs. As disorganised as the first lot, they moved like scavengers. Like wild monkeys. Hunched forms, raised weapons. They were here to flush out the enemy, confident because of their numbers.
Matilda shook her head. “Gracie really wasn’t exaggerating about the place coming to life, was she?”
It took about a minute for the army to pass. William peered out of the window again, the force of the fresh wind in his face. “I think we’re clear for now. You ready for this?”
“I’m not sure ready is the right word, but I can’t foresee a better time than now.”
When William stood aside, Matilda frowned at him. He shrugged. “You’re the one who can see a route through this place. You’re a better runner and climber than I am. It makes sense for you to lead.”
The deep intake of breath raised Matilda’s chest. She leaned forward and kissed William, lingering with their lips pressed together. A half smile. She winked at him. “Are you sure you can keep up?”
“Don’t push it.”
Matilda stepped from the window, and William followed. Fifteen to twenty feet from the ground, he took another moment in the full force of the cleansing wind.
Light on her feet, Matilda crossed the metal walkway with damn near soundless steps. William’s tired body and clumsy gait denied his will to do the same. He moved like a farmer through a muddy field.
The fire escape wobbled with their steps. At what point would it relinquish its grip on the crumbling building?
Matilda jumped half of the last flight, and William followed suit. She landed like a cat. He landed like wet mud.
William checked both ways while remaining on Matilda’s tail as she darted down
