both sound asleep in the crew cabin. The remote that
controlled my sub-signal crackler had slipped from Blaylocke’s
dangling hand and was resting on the ground next to his bunk. I
snatched it up without a second’s hesitation and shoved it into my
pocket.
I was free. It took me a moment to come to grips
with it. I had the remote; it was mine now, and I could walk away.
I could abandon this fool’s errand —Blaylocke’s words, not
mine—and return to what was important: getting my Ostelle back. Getting revenge on the parents who’d sold me to the Civs.
Once I had my boat back, I’d throw every last one of
those stinking traitors overboard. I could already feel the smooth
spokes of her wheel in my hands, feel her deck tremble beneath my
feet as the turbines thundered. I could see her skimming across the
sky, cutting a knife-line path along a misty yellow morning. I
wanted to be there, walking through the clouds. I wanted to shut
off the engines and let her glide, let the stream carry us away to
anywhere.
No more thinking about it , I told myself. I’m going .
I moved for the door, but when I got there, I found
I couldn’t go any further. It wasn’t because there was some force
field blocking me. Not a physical one, anyway. It was because
somewhere, down in the dirty black depths of my soul, a hint of
morality was piercing the darkness like an ooey-gooey,
compassionate beam of light. If I leave, I’ll be putting an
entire city full of people in jeopardy. A city that might be the
only true lasting remnant of the species I evolved from.
Humans—humans like they were meant to be .
In that moment, everything in me wanted to leave
those stupid primies behind and never look back. Everything, that
is, except the one tiny part of me that knew I couldn’t. Curse that
part of me.
“Time to get up, fellas,” I said. “Wakey, wakey. We
gotta get off this floater before we’re knee-deep in
law-lovers.”
Blaylocke jolted awake; Chaz shifted in his bunk and
opened his eyes. The two men looked at me with bleary,
uncomprehending expressions. It was dark in the cabin, so I lit an
oil lamp and sat down to wait for them.
Blaylocke felt around on the floor, in his pockets,
under the bed. He grabbed the overhead crossbeam and pulled himself
into a seated position. He narrowed his eyes at me, then glanced
around on the floor. “Where is it? I know you took it.”
“Get up,” I said. “Vilaris and I got into some
trouble. Pack your things and gather all the food you can carry.
We’re abandoning ship.”
I packed my own bag, then climbed to the deck to
look out for Vilaris. He hadn’t returned after another fifteen
minutes, by which time Blaylocke and Chaz had joined me above. The
crowds below the cliffside elevators were beginning to clear out as
night descended, and the winds howling through the canyon put a
chill in the air. Many of the fires around us had gone out, leaving
the twin cities to gleam on their perches far in the distance.
Seeing my chance, I slipped belowdecks. A rush of
warm air assailed me when I entered the furnace room. The
potbelly’s slatted iron door squealed as I opened it to reveal the
warm embers within. I took out the sub-signal remote and split it
open with a chisel, ripped out its guts, and tossed the remains
onto the fire. No more crackler. No more listening in while I
piss and brush my teeth. They have no choice but to trust me the
rest of the way . I threw another shovelful of coals into the
furnace and was back on deck in under a minute.
Vilaris jogged out of the darkness and climbed
aboard. “I found a boat. It’s not as big as we wanted, and the
crew’s small too, but it’s something. Oh, I should also mention
that there are police officers roaming the airfield, looking for
us. It took me a long time to get back because I had to dodge
them.”
“How far away is the ship?” I asked. “I’m just
wondering if we should try bringing some of the supplies and food
with
controlled my sub-signal crackler had slipped from Blaylocke’s
dangling hand and was resting on the ground next to his bunk. I
snatched it up without a second’s hesitation and shoved it into my
pocket.
I was free. It took me a moment to come to grips
with it. I had the remote; it was mine now, and I could walk away.
I could abandon this fool’s errand —Blaylocke’s words, not
mine—and return to what was important: getting my Ostelle back. Getting revenge on the parents who’d sold me to the Civs.
Once I had my boat back, I’d throw every last one of
those stinking traitors overboard. I could already feel the smooth
spokes of her wheel in my hands, feel her deck tremble beneath my
feet as the turbines thundered. I could see her skimming across the
sky, cutting a knife-line path along a misty yellow morning. I
wanted to be there, walking through the clouds. I wanted to shut
off the engines and let her glide, let the stream carry us away to
anywhere.
No more thinking about it , I told myself. I’m going .
I moved for the door, but when I got there, I found
I couldn’t go any further. It wasn’t because there was some force
field blocking me. Not a physical one, anyway. It was because
somewhere, down in the dirty black depths of my soul, a hint of
morality was piercing the darkness like an ooey-gooey,
compassionate beam of light. If I leave, I’ll be putting an
entire city full of people in jeopardy. A city that might be the
only true lasting remnant of the species I evolved from.
Humans—humans like they were meant to be .
In that moment, everything in me wanted to leave
those stupid primies behind and never look back. Everything, that
is, except the one tiny part of me that knew I couldn’t. Curse that
part of me.
“Time to get up, fellas,” I said. “Wakey, wakey. We
gotta get off this floater before we’re knee-deep in
law-lovers.”
Blaylocke jolted awake; Chaz shifted in his bunk and
opened his eyes. The two men looked at me with bleary,
uncomprehending expressions. It was dark in the cabin, so I lit an
oil lamp and sat down to wait for them.
Blaylocke felt around on the floor, in his pockets,
under the bed. He grabbed the overhead crossbeam and pulled himself
into a seated position. He narrowed his eyes at me, then glanced
around on the floor. “Where is it? I know you took it.”
“Get up,” I said. “Vilaris and I got into some
trouble. Pack your things and gather all the food you can carry.
We’re abandoning ship.”
I packed my own bag, then climbed to the deck to
look out for Vilaris. He hadn’t returned after another fifteen
minutes, by which time Blaylocke and Chaz had joined me above. The
crowds below the cliffside elevators were beginning to clear out as
night descended, and the winds howling through the canyon put a
chill in the air. Many of the fires around us had gone out, leaving
the twin cities to gleam on their perches far in the distance.
Seeing my chance, I slipped belowdecks. A rush of
warm air assailed me when I entered the furnace room. The
potbelly’s slatted iron door squealed as I opened it to reveal the
warm embers within. I took out the sub-signal remote and split it
open with a chisel, ripped out its guts, and tossed the remains
onto the fire. No more crackler. No more listening in while I
piss and brush my teeth. They have no choice but to trust me the
rest of the way . I threw another shovelful of coals into the
furnace and was back on deck in under a minute.
Vilaris jogged out of the darkness and climbed
aboard. “I found a boat. It’s not as big as we wanted, and the
crew’s small too, but it’s something. Oh, I should also mention
that there are police officers roaming the airfield, looking for
us. It took me a long time to get back because I had to dodge
them.”
“How far away is the ship?” I asked. “I’m just
wondering if we should try bringing some of the supplies and food
with
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