Barren Sky, page 9
“She’d have no way of knowing,” Snowball said, his attention refocused. “As far as she knows, the plant is guarded and functional.
“Right.” Willie nodded, and his lips spread into a gap-toothed grin. “So, if we can serve up the Rangers to Venganza, it buys us some time. Gets us out of this fucking castle. Maybe we let our old enemy and our new one destroy each other, and then we walk away?”
Willie stared at Lane.
Lane shifted, and he opened his mouth but then closed it quickly.
“If the River Rangers and Venganza are headed for war—”
“They are.” Snowball had interrupted Dia by barking the two words.
“If they are,” she continued, “then we need to plan for what comes after. Quinn will never let Shiva have their filtration system’s technology, the valves, or access to the tunnels beneath Albion. I believe she’ll destroy it before she lets Venganza down there.”
“Agreed,” Willie said.
Dia looked up. “When the war ends, there won’t be much left. Even the winning forces will be decimated and in no situation to fight longer. If the Rangers win, they won’t care what Los Muertos is doing on Treasure Island. And they probably won’t for years. And if the Venganza win, they’ll need to rest and recover, maybe even wait for more forces—but they won’t have a fresh water source, which means they could die off quickly without one.”
“Where are you going with this?” Lane asked.
Dia looked to the horizon and then turned back to the small group. “Do we place our bets on Treasure Island? Can we get there and barricade ourselves in? Maybe we can outlast whoever wins this war as long as we have the ability to clean water.”
“We’ve got rations stocked there,” said Snowball. “Mostly canned goods left over from the first few years of scavenging, but it would be enough to keep us alive until the Rangers died or Venganza went home.” Snowball turned to Willie. “I think the girl is onto something.”
“Let me play devil’s advocate. We don’t know how bad the valve is jacked or if we even have a replacement. And we’re all standing here, in the shadow of Albion Castle, holed up with the Rangers while waiting for Venganza to attack. How the fuck are we supposed to fix the plant?”
Dia stepped up. “We’ll do it. Lane and I.”
Lane’s eyes lit up while Willie questioned Dia. “How? How exactly are a girl and a gimp gonna do that?”
“I’m good in the ruins. Lived most of my life in them. And Lane, he’s been working in the plant and he knows it. If you can get us onto the island so we can take a look at the plant, the two of us can head into the ruins for whatever we need.”
“She’s got an idea there,” Lane said. “I’ll bet we’ve got a cracked valve on the main tank. The cisterns last for centuries and the pipes are four-inch copper. There just isn’t anything else on the plant floor that could malfunction. We’ve got enough charcoal to last decades. Let us do this. Let me prove myself.”
Willie leered at Lane before addressing Dia. “If we can get you to the island, you’re sure you can get what you need from the ruins?”
Dia smiled before answering Snowball’s question. “Quinn won’t notice we’re gone and the Venganza are already spread thin on two fronts. Like you said, what will they care if a girl and a gimp wander off into the ruins?”
Although, she wasn’t so sure of that. Shiva knew her, and knew what she could do. The Venganza leader wouldn’t let a resource like her simply wander off into the abandoned streets of San Francisco. But if she didn’t know, she couldn’t stop them.
“How? When?”
Dia faced Snowball. “You and Willie need to get us to the island under the cover of night. If you can get us there, we can do the rest.”
“Okay,” Willie said. “We can do that. When do you want to go?”
She paused, so many thoughts running through her head. What if she could talk Lane into deserting with her? They’d both been outcasts, lying about their true identities and living with a clan with whom they didn’t belong. Once they were over the bridge and into the ruins, they could go their own ways. Leaving the Rangers, Los Muertos, and the Venganza behind—they could stroll into the urban wasteland, never to return. But could she do that? Dia wasn’t sure, and the more she got to know these people, the harder it became to think about it. Willie, Snowball, and the rest of the surviving Los Muertos—she’d come to know them, and something tugged at her, something holding her back from simply running into the ruins forever.
“Tonight,” Dia said, looking at Lane. “We leave tonight.”
Chapter 19
It must have been the winter season. The cold and darkness came quickly, although still not nearly as brutally as they would be happening back east, where it would only take a few weeks for Erie to freeze. Lane had started a fire in a copse of trees near the castle’s wall. They hadn’t been hiding from the Rangers, but hadn’t welcomed them to join them, either.
She thought about her time with the Venganza and how Hado had been the one to break their taboo around water. The tribe hadn’t exactly become sailors, but with the old curse gone, the tribe had been able to explore the islands—including Katy’s. That made Dia think of Hado’s mother, which made her heart ache for the one she’d never had. Hado had been more like a big sister, and Shiva… well, she’d been Shiva.
“Will they force us inside before we can leave?”
Lane tossed another twig on the fire and shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Dia waited and huffed before checking her bag and spear for about the eighth time. “Do you have your things?”
“We’re scavenging, not starting a new colony.”
Dia rammed the butt of her spear into the soft dirt before turning on Lane.
“What? What is the problem?”
“The problem?” she asked in return.
Dia waited for Lane to answer his own question, which he did.
“The problem is that you’ve volunteered us to go on a suicide mission. I’ve got one fucking hand. Have you forgotten that?”
“Why is it suicide? I’ve spent many years in—”
“Yes, you’ve spent time in the ruins. I understand. But I haven’t.”
“Are you scared?”
“Fuck off, Dia.” Lane sighed, putting a hand on his forehead and lowering his voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”
“It’s fine. I don’t take offense to words.”
“I know, but it isn’t the way we would’ve talked to kids back then. You put me in a spot. I have to make things right with Willie but I’m not confident in my odds of walking out of the ruins.”
“Back then is never coming back.” Dia watched Lane put another log on the fire. “Even yesterday is gone. Whatever you had at the plant, however you managed to live as part of both clans, those days are not coming back, either.”
“Have you been in San Francisco?”
“I explored a bit as I came west.”
Lane shook his head. “Those ruins are different. Not as empty as you think they are. In Cleveland, Chicago—hell, even in Denver—the winter has a way of cleansing places. People can’t live through those winters, and after several decades, they’re truly empty. It’s not the same here, and I think you’re underestimating that.”
“What do you mean?”
“I lived in San Francisco almost my entire life. Before all of this, many homeless people flocked to the city because of the climate. One doesn’t need to build shelter or protect oneself from the elements because the elements are so mild here.”
Dia pushed a stick through the dirt, listening to Lane but not interrupting him.
“There are people far worse than the Venganza, kid. I know you think that tribe is the worst, but at least Shiva can speak, rationalize. The ruins out there? They’re full of people who have devolved into creatures with less humanity than wolves. They’ll tear you apart and eat your flesh without a second thought. And they’ve lived there for generations now. They’ve built traps, dug pits. Very few people who explore the ruins come back alive.”
“We did.”
“That’s different,” Lane said. “We didn’t go far from the castle. To find a replacement valve for the main tank is going to require us to head deep into the city, the southern tip where many of the factories and plants used to be. It wasn’t a safe area before the end of the world and it’s downright dangerous now. But that’s where we have to go. I’m sure of it. Once I can see what’s wrong with our filtration system, I’ll know for sure, but…”
“You know I came from the east?”
Lane picked up a log, tossed it on the fire, and nodded at Dia. Other fires had sprung up around the castle as Rangers sang, drank, and told stories in the night. The sentries would blow the horn soon, calling them all back inside the safety of Albion’s ancient stone walls. And they would all come. But she wouldn’t.
“I do.”
“But I haven’t told you why or how.”
“Go on.”
Dia took a deep breath before continuing. “I knew all my life I could water whisper. And once Shiva knew this, I became the property of Venganza. They captured me in the ruins and I joined them because I didn’t have a choice. But Hado—and, for a time, Shiva—wanted to make sure our clan survived. The Venganza believe that the pattern of male aggression seen throughout history could not be stopped. That the violence that brought us to this place in time would not end here.”
“I would agree with that. World leaders, mostly men, put us in this situation with their egos and dick waving.”
Dia giggled at the phrase, but her face hardened quickly. “Right. The Venganza decided the best way to make sure it would never happen again was to flip society, to move from a patriarchal to a matriarchal model.”
“Not unusual in history.”
“Not at all,” Dia said. “Many civilizations had women in charge. But flipping that was not going to happen easily, and not without a fight. You’ve heard Quinn’s stories about what Venganza do to male infants, how they abduct girls from villages. I’m not denying any of that. But they believe they’re doing it to protect us. All of us. We don’t know how many people are left or how many will survive, but we do know what put us here in the first place.”
Lane used the end of his spear to poke at the logs, opening a hot pocket of glowing coals.
“But infanticide is not the path to righteousness.”
“So, what is?”
He paused and shook his head. “Okay. Continue.”
“The water situation in Erehwon, like what’s happening everywhere, began to go downhill fast. It was no longer a matter of finding clean water. We realized that the sources were drying up or becoming more toxic, which meant we had to do something. Shiva had to do something. Well, her solution was to sell me to a rival to ensure that she—and her Council—would be set for life. Hado found out about the plan.”
“And then she took you and ran west.”
“Yes,” Dia said. “And we ended up here. Well, I made it here because Hado gave her life for mine.”
“I’m sorry.” Lane put a hand on her shoulder.
“It’s fine.” Dia tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “The point is that we came all this way. We crossed the continent through deadly ruins and swaths of grassland so empty it felt like it extended to the edge of the world. I learned so much about myself and my ability to fight. To survive. I’m not scared of what’s in those ruins.”
“Then you’re a fool.” Lane’s eyes lit up and he glanced down to where his right hand used to be. “You’ll lose more than your hand. I guarantee it.”
“Trust me. We can do this. You and I. We’ll get in, grab what we need, and get out. If you want to then stay on the island and rebuild the plant, have at it.”
“What about you? Because if you don’t align yourself with a village or clan, you won’t make it. I know you’re a tough, smart girl. But you have no idea what’s waiting for you out there.”
“I can take care of myself.” Dia blew a wisp of hair from her face. “I got this. We’ve got this. I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”
Lane nodded. “It’s not like I have a choice. I think Willie wants to cut my heart out and I’m not sure Quinn would ever take me back.”
“Sounds like there are monsters here, too.”
“I guess you’re right.”
Dia held out her hand and grabbed Lane’s. “You’re in?”
“I am.”
“Good. It’s almost time. Don’t stoke the fire.”
He sighed and looked into the night sky. “No, we certainly don’t want to fan the flames, do we?”
Chapter 20
Lane had taken Snowball and gone back to Treasure Island to assess the filtration system at the plant. As he’d suspected, the main valve needed to be replaced in addition to three seals that were either fully broken or beginning to leak. Lane knew exactly what they needed and would be able to identify the parts, provided Dia could get them in and out of the ruins safely—which was not something Lane yet believed would happen.
Once they left the road, Dia turned and looked back at Albion Castle. It sat upon the hill like a lone sentry watching over the ruins, the glow of campfires illuminating the smoke from within. Lane had insisted on waiting a full day before heading into San Francisco and Dia had obliged, but it meant leaving the safety of the castle’s walls at night. While certainly more dangerous, it also made it easier to fade into the shadows and avoid the attention of anyone who might be watching the road.
He’d clearly been into this part of the city before. They walked in silence for hours. Lane navigated past ancient piles of charred, rusted metal—the bodies inside long since rotted away. Dia saw the bright gleam of bone in the moonlight as they passed through one intersection, but most of the remains had been turned to dust and returned to the place from which they’d come.
Lane paused at the entrance to one building. He took the flask off his hip, took a drink, and then pointed to the street with the flask in his hand. “This area’s been abandoned for quite some time. I don’t suspect we’ll run into any trouble here.”
“I don’t want to run into any trouble anywhere.”
“No, of course not.” Lane took another swig. “Just saying it’s not likely here, so you can take a rest if you want.”
She smiled, grateful not for the physical rest but for the mental break. In the silent darkness and traveling foreign roads, Dia had put her mind into high gear. She’d been scanning every shadow and every old car or pile of rubble, half-expecting someone to jump out from behind each one. It taxed her in a different way, and Dia remembered how difficult it had been to traverse the continent with Hado, constantly searching for but hoping not to find trouble.
“We’ll cut through the park over there on your right. Then we’ll follow the road as it heads south towards where all of the factories used to be.”
“How long?”
“To get there? Two or three hours. It’ll still be dark by the time we arrive.”
Dia nodded, grateful that they’d still be able to use the night as their cloak. She’d been confident that they could find what they needed.
Lane walked over to a steel box and sat on it. He used one hand to slap the side, making more noise than he’d apparently intended. “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”
“What is it?” Dia bent down, noticing the steel box had streaks of blue paint still on the surface, although the rust had begun to turn the box itself into dust.
“Mailbox. If you wanted to send someone a message, you’d write it down and drop it into this thing.”
“And then the other person would come and get it? Why not just hand it to them? Or speak to them in person?”
Lane chuckled. “No, it wasn’t like that. You’d put the message in here and then the mailman would pick it up and deliver it to the other person.”
“How would he know where to take it?”
“Street address.”
She shook her head. Dia had been told stories about the old world and virtually none of them made sense. One of the elders in Erehwon had described a box you could hold in your hand and talk into, and someone else with the same box could hear you and talk back, even if they were miles away. If that had been true, why would these people have had so-called mailboxes?
“I need to pee.”
He pointed at the rubble across the street. “Go on. I’ll wait for you.”
Dia crossed the street and stood in front of the building. She looked up and saw the sign above that read, “City Lights Booksellers & Publishers.” Dia loved books, but she hadn’t really had the opportunity to look at one since leaving Erehwon. She feared that she might be forgetting how to read, but recognized that there were greater things to fear than that.
She’d just pushed her cloak aside and dropped her pants when she detected movement out of the corner of her eye not more than fifteen feet away. Dia urinated quickly and yanked her belt in tight just upon noticing it again. From inside the bookstore, she saw the whites of two eyes.
Dia looked back at Lane, who wasn’t paying attention to what she was doing, and then at the entrance to the bookstore again. The eyes floated forward about three feet off the ground until she could see they belonged to a small boy. His face was black with grime and his shaggy hair was full of grease. He wore nothing but rags, and yet he gave Dia a long, warm smile.
“Hello,” said the boy.
He giggled and then walked deeper into the store. Dia followed.
Water dripped somewhere in the distance and she could smell the paper in varying stages of decay, the aroma of sweet parchment mixed with the tang of mold. Dia smelled something else, as well—urine. She suspected the boy had spent some time in this building, or was possibly living inside of it.
The boy stepped over piles of books and around boxes. Dia’s eyes adjusted, but she still struggled to see, the deeper she followed him into the building.
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