Salamander unsheathed his knife and lodged its tip into the cardboard box next to the portable heater. He sliced through the box’s tape and pulled out a ready-to-eat package of beans and cheese. “Here, for the road.” He tossed everyone a package.

  “Stay vigilant,” Annalease said, and they left, taking the sewers southbound.

  A few hours later they reached a dead end and climbed the ladder that led to the middle of nowhere. No trees, no buildings, no roads. Just miles of greenish-yellow grass in every direction, and an electrical transmission tower that stood a few hundred feet high. The tower’s many cables traveled westward to connect with a long line of identical towers.

  Annalease and the group would follow the towers to civilization; they’d essentially be backtracking the way they came, but aboveground. A waste of time, scurrying from shadow to shadow like rats. But necessary.

  Soon enough the Harbingers would walk freely in the sun like those back home.

  “When did it get so dark?” Skink asked. She was looking east, toward the Uninhabitable Zone and unofficial border of Mechciety.

  It was impossible to see the steel factories past the veil of pollution that lingered at the border, its long black ribbon intermittently broken by the air purifiers standing guard on the human-side of the UZ.

  “When we confined Mechciety to a small corner of the world,” Annalease said. She felt Robert’s gaze fall upon her, but he didn’t say anything.

  “It’s really going to be lights out for them pretty soon, huh?” Skink asked.

  “People have been talking about the demise of Mechciety for years, yet the mechanthrops keep showing up,” Annalease said. “Drink some water. You too, Robert. Let’s get moving.”

  Their shadows shrunk and then elongated as the sun passed overhead. Annalease was reminded each time they made this trip how unlucky she was to be allergic to sunblock. Not only did the allergen jeopardize her health, but it jeopardized the health of the Harbingers. Robert, Skink, Salamander, and the newly inducted Eagle couldn’t wear it, either, or else Annalease would erupt in hives. They’d argue that it wasn’t a problem, but the memory of everyone taking turns splashing cold sewer water on each other to alleviate their burns said otherwise.

  “Time?” Annalease asked, the vocational school visible in the distance.

  “Three-thirty-three,” Robert said. “We should get there before they let out.”

  “Remind me of your jobs,” Annalease said, stopping them and setting her tool pouch down. She needed to give her aching ribs a break.

  “Defecting leads to a guaranteed job,” Skink said.

  “Don’t use the term defecting,” Annalease said. “Phrase it like they’re joining an underground community. A fellowship, or something like that.”

  Skink bobbed her massive head up and down.

  Robert stared at his watch as he said, “I’m to ask questions regarding the background of family and batch number. Those with the least to say will be our candidates, considering they pass the physical qualifications.”

  “Good. We have to do this right, because we won’t be able to come back for another year.” A growing dust ball caught Annalease’s eye. An SUV, cruising from the south. It was driving through the dry fields next to the Human Productions facility—the place Annalease originated.

  Anxiety crept down her spine and tightened her heart. Her face flushed with adrenaline and sweat dampened her palms. There was no reason a vehicle should be driving into the open fields…servicemen coming to work on the electrical towers, Annalease reasoned. But servicemen didn’t drive SUVs, they drove vans. SUVs were utilized by members of a different kind of service, like law enforcement.

  “Does anybody have a weapon?” Robert asked.

  “Thirty-eight on my ankle,” Annalease said.

  “That’s not going to do much.”

  “Should we keep walking?” Skink asked.

  “No. We just finished servicing the transmission tower,” Annalease said. “Our van is parked at the vocational school. We didn’t want to ruin the grass any more than it already is.”

  “What about work papers?” Robert asked.

  “In the van.”

  The SUV pulled up next to Annalease. The driver’s tinted window rolled down. A man wearing sunglasses and a security cap for EGL spoke with a toothpick pinched at the corner of his mouth. “Liam has put together a mandatory meeting. It’s taking place in a few minutes. Get in.”

  The rear door opened. In the backseat was another EGL security guard, her outfit the same as her partner’s.

  “It won’t take long,” the driver said. He examined Annalease up and down, his sunglasses doing little to hide his roving eyes. They seemed to linger as he inspected Annalease’s feet.

  “Sure,” Annalease said. She climbed in beside the female guard.

  “What about the vocational school?” Robert asked.

  Skink climbed in after Annalease. Robert sighed, checked his watch, shook his head, and joined them.

  Using the open fields as his road, the driver made a beeline for the lake south of their position. Annalease watched the Human Productions facility fade in the distance. The place she was made—and rejected. Noticing that the security guard was also gazing at the facility, Annalease wondered if she was batched there, too. Robert was, she knew, and Skink and Salamander were made across the river at another facility. But what of Liam’s people?

  Annalease peeked at the rearview mirror to get another glimpse of the driver. His image was overshadowed by Robert, who had leaned forward to whisper, “You need a reminder. After the lake.”

  “What’s your question?” the driver asked.

  “Are we there yet?” Skink asked, her voice quiet as a mouse.

  Everyone in the backseat chuckled. Even Robert.

  “Almost, little one,” the driver said, and added a few digits to the speedometer. He remained with the SUV after parking, and the other security guard led them to the meeting area.

  The lake was a perfect circle of calming blue water surrounded by flourishing green grass. Trees stood in gaggles of five or six near the air purifiers, and wooden docks offered access to pedal boats, wave runners, and paddle boards. Adults and children from all walks of industry splashed in the water or relaxed on the bank.

  A stretch of grass marked by small flags indicated the portion of lake dedicated to fishing. It would also act as the meeting area. On one side was the EGL security guard and three fishermen, and on the other side three electrical technicians. The two groups didn’t blend well together, but of course that was the reason Liam picked the lake as the meeting area; here, anyone could mingle.

  “I thank you for coming,” one of the fishermen said, and approached Annalease with open arms.

  They embraced. Annalease asked as quietly as possible, “Liam?”

  “Pleased to make your acquittance,” he said. A flannel shirt, blue jeans, and tan baseball cap with his fishing license attached to it, Liam looked like a person Annalease could have passed on the street a dozen times without a second thought.

  He hugged Skink next, and then Robert. Annalease played her part and hugged the other two of Liam’s crew. Each of them spoke in compliments, the man remarking on the day’s beauty, and the woman praising Annalease for spending her allotted time off with some old friends.

  “It’s our pleasure,” Annalease said, “but unfortunately we have some other things planned today. The few vacation days they give us is never enough.”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more,” Liam said. “Let’s throw in some lines, huh?” He and the others attached a couple of worms to four fishing poles and handed one to Annalease. “And how about one for your friend here?” he said, passing a pole to Skink.

  Skink’s eyes lit up as she accepted Liam’s offer. “Sal is going to be so jealous,” she said, waddling closer to the water to cast her line.

  The other fishers flanked Skink and less than a minute later she was laughing at their jokes.

  Robert declined Liam’s offer to take a seat. “I prefer standing,” he said, perspiration dotting his forehead.

  Annalease cast her line and sat in the lawn chair next to Liam. “So, is this about the Hunting Grounds?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Liam said. “We lost two people, and I hear you lost one.”

  “We did. He bled out on the way to the hospital,” Annalease said.

  Liam reeled in his line with slow, intermittent revolutions. “The news said the jeep was found with a maimed man inside. I have to wonder, where did you and your people go?”

  “We were never in the jeep,” Annalease said, rotating the handle of her fishing line. “He fled without us, panicked from his injuries.”

  Liam slapped his knee and laughed as if Annalease had recalled a memory from their childhood. It took her longer than it should have to decipher the true intention of his outburst…he was examining her feet.

  “After he took off with the jeep, we met at a designated rendezvous for pickup,” Annalease explained. “We planned it before leaving the sewers.”

  Liam cleared his throat, his eyebrows raised.

  “Sorry,” Annalease said, lowering her voice. “If we didn’t return by a certain time, a designated driver would be sent to pick us up. And that’s what happened.”

  Liam reeled in his line, checked the bait, and recast it. “Do you know how this place was made? The lake, I mean.”

  Annalease shook her head.

  “Dynamite. Long ago it was all flatland, and the river to the west had a naturally slow protraction. Every year its reach grew a few more inches. A profoundly mystical thing to witness, an expanding river. People were so in awe that they’d camp for days at its forefront with measuring sticks. Anyway, the river’s expansion had a trajectory that was set to cross the UZ and enter Mechciety.

  “This brought terror to those tasked with foreseeing the future. They said pollution would taint the water and the contamination would backtrack across the UZ all the way to the fishing docks down south. The best solution, blow a hole in the ground big enough to dam the river’s growth. And voilà, society once again prevents the evil robots from popping its bubble.”

  Annalease reeled in her fishing line to recast. “I never knew that.”

  “You wouldn’t unless you were grown in a batch of limnologists,” Liam said.

  “What happened?” Annalease asked.

  “There hasn’t been a singular shift in the way the river runs in the past decade,” Liam said. “Same as the lake. Somebody in charge of resources labeled me a ‘miscalculated entry,’ and overnight I was reassigned to shipping containers. An ironic turn of events…I suffer sea sickness.” He itched his head with the bill of his cap. “I wasn’t any good at it, anyway. Me trying to operate a crane is like asking a PD officer to give a lecture on philosophy. Too much gray between the pages.”

  A woman walked over. She had a dark complexion, gleaming with sweat, and wore sunglasses and a bucket hat. She traded a tablet for Liam’s fishing pole.

  “Nothing came of the fliers,” he said. “Which we thank you for hanging, by the way.”

  Annalease set her fishing pole in the holster affixed to her chair. “No problem. I’m sorry nothing came of it.”

  Liam shrugged. “A few mentions around social media, but, eh.” He handed the tablet to Annalease.

  Blocks of text filled the screen, each paragraph addressed to a different official in congress. The text described threats of violence and anarchy should the government refuse to represent the minority populations living on the fringes of society. The home addresses of mayors, senators, and the chief of police were listed as targets of impending disaster. And last, but not least, EGL headquarters.

  “So, what do you think?” Liam asked.

  “I think you have a lot of good information here,” Annalease said.

  Liam glanced at the woman holding the fishing rod. “Do you think it’s enough, too much?” he asked.

  “It’s never too much,” Annalease said. “I think you should also send the memo to every social media outlet. We want the people to be panicked. Always looking over their shoulders. And what they should see, looming behind with ill intentions, is EGL. I also think you should put more emphasis on EGL being the route of the problem.”

  Liam was nodding as Annalease spoke, and now he glanced up at the woman who had brought the tablet. She nodded, too.

  “Very well,” Liam said, standing up. “We appreciate you coming to this meeting.” He shook hands with Annalease, then offered her the tablet. “This is our gift to you. Use it as you will, but also to answer our future inquiries for upcoming meetings.”

  Annalease denied his offer. “We’d like to, but we can’t exchange or accept any pieces of technology from outside crews. A safety protocol devised by a man we all aspire to emulate.”

  Liam smiled and traded the woman his tablet for her fishing pole. He lingered a moment as she whispered something in his ear. “Sorry for making you miss a recruitment opportunity at the vocational school. Come back here in a week and I’ll have volunteers waiting to join your circle. How many do you need?”

  “Two,” Annalease said.

  “The driver will drop you off at your preferred entrance area,” Liam said.

  At the news of their departure, Robert seemed to relax for the first time since arriving at the lake. Skink needed more persuading. Apparently, she had two “close calls” with catching a fish, a mark of achievement deflated by Liam’s disclosure of the lake being strictly catch-and-release.

  “What a tease,” Skink said, and relinquished her fishing pole.

  Back in the SUV, Annalease considered having the driver take them to the vocational school for potential recruits.

  “It won’t matter where they come from,” Robert assured her. “As long as they pass the physical test, and,” he ran a finger across his forehead, “we should be fine.”

  “And the reminder?” Annalease asked, gazing past Robert at the Human Productions facility in the distance.

  “Another time. I’m tired of walking.”

  Good, Annalease thought, he’s not too worried, then. “You can drop us off at the last transmission tower closest to the UZ,” she told the driver.

  “No problem.”

  Skink yawned. Annalease put an arm around her and said, “Someday soon you’ll be able to stay at the lake day and night, long as you want. Fish, eat, sleep, and do it all over again.”

  “Salamander would never leave,” Skink said. “He’s going to be so jealous. Maybe I’ll ask him how to skin a fish with a knife, just so I’m ready when the time comes.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Annalease said, and let her mind time-lapse into a future that wasn’t certain.

  Every corporate building under the umbrella of EGL will have been decimated. The Human Productions facilities would be hollow shells, and people would no longer be judged as useful or defective. Nobody was rejected, because those who had done the rejecting were in the lake, feeding the fishes.

  The driver slowed the SUV. They had arrived at the sewer entrance, and already Annalease was longing for another invitation from Liam. It was nice to sit face-to-face with another underground chapter—and the most infamous chapter, at that. To hear the splashing of people swimming in the lake and the clicking of fishing poles as Annalease and Liam cast their lines. Even the sun seemed less menacing.

  “Thanks for the ride,” Annalease told the driver. “Tell Liam we’re looking forward to our next meeting.”

  The driver nodded and waved, but he didn’t leave. He sat still, staring. Then lowered his sunglasses to the point of his nose, and Annalease realized he was looking at something behind her.

  She turned around. The sewer cover rattled in place, bumping up and down as if someone were pounding against it from the other side.

  “Is it flooded?” Skink asked.

  “It’d take a hell of a lot of water to lift a manhole cover,” Robert said. He caught Annalease’s eye and nodded at her ankle.

  She kneeled and drew the thirty-eight. “Be quick about it,” she said, cocking the pistol. “Give him a hand, Skink.”

  “I got it,” Robert said, and then flinched as the manhole cover launched into the air.

  Out of the hole came the barrel of a rifle.

  “Drop the weapon,” Annalease shouted.

  “It’s me!”

  “Salamander?” Robert said.

  Hoisting himself out of the hole on shaky arms, Salamander struggled to catch his breath. “They. Escaped,” he said. Annalease noticed a small gash splitting his lip. “The Gold—”

  “Shut up,” Robert said, his voice harder than a falling brick. “Not here.” He glanced at the SUV.

  Annalease followed his meaning. The last thing the other chapters needed to know was that the Harbingers were hoarding mechanthrops. Take no prisoners was an unwritten code of conduct. But the driver didn’t seem as interested in Salamander’s words as he was in Salamander’s boots. He never changed the laces or applied paint, Annalease realized.

  The SUV took off for the lake.

  “Where did you see him last?” Robert asked.

  “Running through the sewers,” Salamander said. “I searched a couple of tunnels, but there’re too many possible routes. After that I came this way to see if they tracked your scent, but…”

  “Where’s Eagle?” Annalease asked.

  Salamander shook his head. “We shot him, but the coppers were too fast. I barely got away.”

  “High society,” Robert said, breaking the silence. “That’s where the Gold will be trying to go.”

  Annalease cleared her throat. “MR&H, where we found him. Skink, map us the fastest route through the sewers. Robert, go back to the hideout and make sure they didn’t take anything important.” She locked eyes with him. “The Overrider…”

  Salamander dropped his rifle and tugged at his waist belt. “I got it. Here.” He handed it to Annalease.

  “How did this happen?” Robert asked.

  “Talk along the way,” Annalease said. “Let’s go.”

  She ushered the crew down the manhole and silently watched as the SUV kicked up dust in the distance. Soon Liam would learn that Annalease was involved in the shootout that left two of his men dead, one of whom Salamander had proceeded to loot.

 

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