doesn’t demand to know where we’re going. Still, she deserves answers. I have to remember to explain to her about Fischer and Keegan soon.
For now, I hurry to walk side by side with Fischer. It takes a while, but we finally come to what looks like an opening in the fence in the distance. Two guards sit atop the guard station, and I stop. “We can’t get past them.”
Fischer shakes his head. “There are other openings, we just have to find them. We may need to go back the other way.”
“Or we could follow that path.” Isabel nods to what appears to be a path leading through a treed area. It’s clearly beat down, as if it’s used regularly.
It would keep us hidden, and we might be able to move through it without being spotted.
I look to Fischer for confirmation.
“That’s as good a plan as any,” he says.
We hurry through the trees quietly, and we’ve almost reached the other side when I trip over a large stone and tumble to the thorny ground.
“Are you OK?” Fischer squats beside me to help me up. He brushes the hair from my face and our eyes meet, maybe for the first time since leaving the hospital. My breath catches, and his eyes light. He seems to feel for the first time in days.
“Did you see what you tripped over?” Isabel asks. Her voice is low. We don’t know how close we are to the guard station, and getting caught again isn’t on the agenda.
Fischer and I turn toward her, and I take in what tripped me. No rock lies on the ground. A brown, metal disk sticks up a few inches from the dirt.
“It’s a manhole,” Fischer says, his eyes wide. “We can get inside the city through the drains.”
I manage my first hopeful smile in days as I glance at Fischer’s face. “Will it work?”
Amazingly. Fantastically. Miraculously. He smiles. “I think so.”
Fischer positions himself to pry the top from the manhole, but when he tugs it comes sliding off with ease and he ends up on his back. A moment later we’re shimmying down a rusted, smelly ladder. Fischer goes first, and his feet make a soft splash when he hits the bottom.
“It’s safe. Come on down.”
I hit bottom next, and Isabel a few moments later.
Darkness surrounds us, the only light coming from the hole above us. “How will we see?”
Fischer glances around. “These old tunnels used to have electricity inside them. Artificial lighting lined the walls at intervals. Surely they have to maintenance these tunnels from time to time. I bet there’s still power somewhere.”
I shiver in the darkness. “So how do we find the switch?”
A high-pitched groan grates the air, and I turn to find Isabel wrestling with an old metal door. She slips inside before I can ask what she’s doing, and a few minutes later there is light.
I laugh out loud this time. “Isabel! How did you do that?”
“There’s a power box in there. Don’t you remember? I studied city planning back in my Greater days. I know how to find a power grid.”
I throw my arms around her neck and squeeze with all my might. “Thank you, Isabel.”
“No need to thank me.” She pulls away with an uncomfortable frown.
“There is plenty of reason to thank you. I wouldn’t have made it out of Lesser 4 if you hadn’t helped me.”
She shrugs off the compliment and steps forward, but I catch a slight glimmer in her eye. “This way, I assume?” She points toward what must lead to the city, and Fischer nods. This time she leads the way without question, leaving Fischer and me to trail behind.
We walk for a few minutes in silence, but the darkness wraps me in a strange feeling of safety. Like I can’t see the danger so it isn’t really there. Fischer’s steps sound softly beside me, and I reach out for him. He takes my hand and my heart skips.
Suddenly, I want to tell him about everything that’s happened in the last few weeks. Everything he doesn’t know. “I found my friend Jamie in Lesser City 4. Isabel led me to her.”
Fischer nods, seeming
For now, I hurry to walk side by side with Fischer. It takes a while, but we finally come to what looks like an opening in the fence in the distance. Two guards sit atop the guard station, and I stop. “We can’t get past them.”
Fischer shakes his head. “There are other openings, we just have to find them. We may need to go back the other way.”
“Or we could follow that path.” Isabel nods to what appears to be a path leading through a treed area. It’s clearly beat down, as if it’s used regularly.
It would keep us hidden, and we might be able to move through it without being spotted.
I look to Fischer for confirmation.
“That’s as good a plan as any,” he says.
We hurry through the trees quietly, and we’ve almost reached the other side when I trip over a large stone and tumble to the thorny ground.
“Are you OK?” Fischer squats beside me to help me up. He brushes the hair from my face and our eyes meet, maybe for the first time since leaving the hospital. My breath catches, and his eyes light. He seems to feel for the first time in days.
“Did you see what you tripped over?” Isabel asks. Her voice is low. We don’t know how close we are to the guard station, and getting caught again isn’t on the agenda.
Fischer and I turn toward her, and I take in what tripped me. No rock lies on the ground. A brown, metal disk sticks up a few inches from the dirt.
“It’s a manhole,” Fischer says, his eyes wide. “We can get inside the city through the drains.”
I manage my first hopeful smile in days as I glance at Fischer’s face. “Will it work?”
Amazingly. Fantastically. Miraculously. He smiles. “I think so.”
Fischer positions himself to pry the top from the manhole, but when he tugs it comes sliding off with ease and he ends up on his back. A moment later we’re shimmying down a rusted, smelly ladder. Fischer goes first, and his feet make a soft splash when he hits the bottom.
“It’s safe. Come on down.”
I hit bottom next, and Isabel a few moments later.
Darkness surrounds us, the only light coming from the hole above us. “How will we see?”
Fischer glances around. “These old tunnels used to have electricity inside them. Artificial lighting lined the walls at intervals. Surely they have to maintenance these tunnels from time to time. I bet there’s still power somewhere.”
I shiver in the darkness. “So how do we find the switch?”
A high-pitched groan grates the air, and I turn to find Isabel wrestling with an old metal door. She slips inside before I can ask what she’s doing, and a few minutes later there is light.
I laugh out loud this time. “Isabel! How did you do that?”
“There’s a power box in there. Don’t you remember? I studied city planning back in my Greater days. I know how to find a power grid.”
I throw my arms around her neck and squeeze with all my might. “Thank you, Isabel.”
“No need to thank me.” She pulls away with an uncomfortable frown.
“There is plenty of reason to thank you. I wouldn’t have made it out of Lesser 4 if you hadn’t helped me.”
She shrugs off the compliment and steps forward, but I catch a slight glimmer in her eye. “This way, I assume?” She points toward what must lead to the city, and Fischer nods. This time she leads the way without question, leaving Fischer and me to trail behind.
We walk for a few minutes in silence, but the darkness wraps me in a strange feeling of safety. Like I can’t see the danger so it isn’t really there. Fischer’s steps sound softly beside me, and I reach out for him. He takes my hand and my heart skips.
Suddenly, I want to tell him about everything that’s happened in the last few weeks. Everything he doesn’t know. “I found my friend Jamie in Lesser City 4. Isabel led me to her.”
Fischer nods, seeming
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