City 1 (9 page)

THE WORD FILTERED DOWN THROUGH THE REBELS TO NICK—THE GENERAL
was ready to attack City 73. Two days, and they'd be on the march. A quick, strategic attack on the City, scavenge supplies, gather new recruits from rescued City folk, then on to the next City. Everyone was going about their business with a new intensity and focus. Ro strode through the campsite like a drill sergeant, finding excuses to get angry and assign extra work.

Nick remained stuck guarding the still-silent Erica. He needed to be part of the attack. He needed to get back into the City and find his parents. He couldn't be trapped on the sidelines.

His problems were solved at the next guard shift. Rabbit appeared at sundown to relieve him, which Nick was expecting, but with Rabbit was Grennel, and another rebel whom
Nick didn't know, a tall, tan, bald-headed man. All three men were carrying backpacks.

“It's time for your transmission,” Grennel said to Erica. “Activate your leg comm, and tell the bots that you have intel that indicates that there will be an attack on City 68 in two days. Say anything else and we will be forced to shoot you.” He nodded at Rabbit and the other man, who aimed their burst rifles at Erica.

Nick watched Erica press on her leg in a staccato pattern with her forefinger, then quietly repeat Grennel's message, then tap on her leg again. “Done,” Erica said.

Grennel nodded. “You'll be heading toward City 68 with Rabbit and Moss as guards. A decoy for the bots. You'll continue to wear your shock collar, and if you cause any trouble, Rabbit or Moss will kill you.” Moss nodded solemnly, and Rabbit grinned.

“When do I leave?” Erica said.

“Now,” said Grennel. He unslung his backpack and tossed it to Erica, who caught it smoothly.

“Nick, you're done here,” said Grennel.

Nick looked at Erica, who met his gaze and wouldn't look away. His thoughts about her were so confused he didn't know where to begin. She had betrayed them to the bots. He should hate her. But she had been trying to save her family. He thought of Erica's dark eyes, her confident smile, her bravery, her warm lips on his neck. . . .

“Good luck,” he said, the words sounding weak and insufficient to his own ears.

Erica looked at him a moment longer, then nodded and turned away. Rabbit and Jack led her into the woods.

He watched her disappear, then hurried off to find Kevin. Nick found him in his usual spot, bent over one of the black vests that he had been working on frantically for the past few days. Kevin was carefully adjusting the wiring on one of the salvaged clamps that he had attached to the side of the vest, and didn't even look up as Nick approached.

“You should pay more attention,” Nick said. “Shouldn't let people sneak up on you.”

“You didn't sneak up on me,” Kevin said. “I heard you. I just didn't bother to look up.”

“I could have been anyone,” Nick said.

Kevin set down his tools and finally looked up at Nick. “Nah,” he said, smiling, “I'm downwind of you. I'd recognize your smell anywhere.”

Nick laughed, despite himself. “Smelled yourself recently?” he said.

Kevin shrugged. “No time,” he said. “Been working too hard on these vests.”

“How's it going?” said Nick. “And what the heck are you doing, anyway? I want to help—the camp's been buzzing about some secret weapon that Clay's got, and I'm guessing that means you.”

Kevin stood and slipped on the vest he had been tinkering with. “Watch this,” he said with a smile. He reached over to a black box that was resting on the ground next to his left foot, flipped a switch, and disappeared.

Nick froze, then took a step toward where Kevin had been. “What the . . .” he began, and then he heard Kevin's laughter, off to his left. The switch on the control box flipped, seemingly by itself, and Kevin reappeared, for a moment just a ghostly shadow, then quickly growing more substantial, until after a few seconds he stood there, completely solid and visible again, a few paces to the left of where he had vanished.

“What did you do?” Nick said, so surprised he could barely get the words out.

“It's our grandfather's tech,” Kevin said, stepping close to Nick so he could speak quietly. “I adapted it for Clay, after she stole it.” He looked away for a moment, and Nick could see that Kevin was struggling with something private, so he waited quietly. After a moment Kevin continued. “I made it work,” he said. “I don't think Clay thought I could do it. She was looking forward to watching me fry.” His voice was an odd mix of pride and anger.

“But you did it,” Nick said.

Kevin swiped angrily at his eyes with the back of his sleeve. “Six camo suits, with a wireless range of a half mile from the generator.”

With a jolt, Nick understood why Ro, and the camp, was so
on edge. With his brother's tech, Clay would be able to launch a quick strike on City 73. He felt a rush of excitement, mixed with queasy nerves. This would be a chance to fight. To do something. Hopefully to save their parents.

Kevin leaned closer and whispered, “I told her I have six suits, but I made a seventh. One got destroyed.” He took a quick glance around, then continued, “I'll be wearing the extra one myself, to get into the City and find Mom and Dad.”

Nick thought of his brother, picking his way through the chaos of a battle, carrying a blast rifle that was practically bigger than him. “That's crazy,” he said. “You don't even know how to use a gun.”

“You point it and pull the trigger,” said Kevin. He folded his arms over his chest. “It's
my
suit. I'll do what I want.”

“You're not a fighter,” Nick said. And then, even though he knew it wasn't going to go well, he said, “Let me use the extra suit.”

“Right, because you've got to be the hero,” Kevin said bitterly. “Can't stand the idea of your kid brother getting any glory. I shouldn't even have told you.”

“To hell with the damned glory!” said Nick, too loudly. He lowered his voice. “I just don't want you to get killed.”

“I'll be invisible, Nick,” said Kevin. “As in, the bots won't be able to see me.”

“A lucky blast will still kill you, even if they can't see you,” said Nick. “And do you really know the suits are going to work?
How much have you tested them? And how are you going to find Mom and Dad? And how are you going to get them out even if you do find them?”

“I'll improvise,” Kevin said.

“Damn it, Kevin,” Nick said, starting to feel helpless. What would he have to do to keep Kevin out of the battle? Steal the extra camo suit? Tie him to a tree?

Kevin surprised Nick by answering calmly, gently almost. “It'll be okay,” he said. “I got this.”

Nick stared down at his brother, then shook his head and put his hand on Kevin's shoulder. “I hope you're right,” he said quietly.

Kevin smiled. “In any case, it's going to be pretty damned fletch.”

CASS WAS PUT TO WORK ORGANIZING AND PACKING SUPPLIES FOR THE
hike to City 73. The camp was buzzing with nervous energy. Clay herself was full of barely contained excitement, flashing that shark smile of hers, with a bounce in her step and extra spring to her stride as she rushed around the campsite.

It seemed like suicide to attack the bots head-on, even if Clay brought together her other units from the area, but there was buzz among the rebels of some sort of sneak attack that would cripple the City's defenses. And then she had heard from Nick about Kevin's camouflage vests, and it all made sense. If they could just walk right in, unseen, even only six fighters—they could wreak havoc and the City would probably be wide open to the rest of Clay's forces.

City 73. The City where her parents were being held. Where her birth parents and her sister, Penny, lived. It had to be. It was a good thing, Cass told herself, a chance to fight back against the bots and rescue her families—but she pictured the City as a war zone, and felt more dread than excitement. The tall buildings of Hightown reduced to rubble. Lexi's neighborhood burning. Doc's apartment razed. Would all the people she wanted to save even survive the rescue?

And then of course there was Clay. She didn't see the fight as a rescue, Cass was certain of that. She'd be just as happy to kill people she considered True Believers as she would be to destroy bots.

Cass stuffed the final energy paste pack into a backpack, took a deep breath, and stood up tall. She felt a sharp moment of fear, a twisting in her belly, but she pushed it away. She knew what she had to do. She had known all along, really.

She went off to find Farryn. She couldn't tell her brothers—they would try to stop her. But she had to tell someone, and besides, she wanted to say good-bye.

When Cass found Farryn, she stopped dead in her tracks, momentarily forgetting what she had come to say. Farryn saw her and grinned—almost his usual smile, but mixed with a touch of shyness that made her heart thump extra hard.

He stood next to the firepit. Without crutches.

On two legs.

He was wearing long green canvas pants, and two boots,
and Cass felt a dizzy, illogical panic—was her memory still broken? Had she imagined his injury and the amputation? Had the last week not even been real?

And then he walked toward her, awkwardly stiff, his right leg unbending, and Cass thought,
Of course. The bot leg.

“What do you think?” he said. “Almost as good as new, right?”

Cass forced herself to smile, although she was still fighting off her disorientation. “Amazing!” she said. “What did you . . . I mean, what is . . .” She struggled for the right words, feeling her cheeks starting to burn.

“Kevin's leg,” Farryn said. “The one he found for me. I set up some straps, a ball-and-socket joint. . . . There was no way I was going to manage any neurological connections, Kevin was just dreaming about that, so it's really just a high-tech stump.”

“It's great,” Cass said.

“You think?” Farryn said. “It's not . . . it doesn't look too strange?” He was all shyness and vulnerability, and Cass felt a tightness in her throat. She just wanted to hug him.

“It's wonderful,” she said. “It's like you grew your leg back.”
Idiot!
she thought.
What a horrible thing to say!
But Farryn smiled, a genuine, happy smile, and she relaxed, and found herself smiling back.

And then she remembered why she had come, and her happiness died away. Farryn frowned. “What is it?” he said.

Cass glanced around; nobody else was within earshot. “I'm going back to the City.”

Farryn's face fell. It looked like he had been shot. Cass felt terrible for doing that to him, but she also felt a crackle of nerves in her fingers and the back of her neck.
He really does care about me
, she realized.

“What are you talking about?” he whispered urgently. “But your memory came back . . . you beat the re-education, Cass. . . .”

She touched his arm. “No, you don't understand. I'm sorry, I'm explaining this like an idiot.” She paused, took a deep breath, then started over. “You've heard Clay is going to attack the City, right?”

Farryn nodded, his face still pale.

“It's going to be my chance to save my birth parents, and my sister. Nick isn't going to help them, and Clay might end up killing them, so it's up to me.”

Farryn was quiet for a moment, then he nodded. “Okay. I'm going with you.”

Cass was caught off guard. The thought of not having to do this alone, and that Farryn would again risk everything for her, made her warm with happiness and relief, but then she got mad at herself, and at Farryn. “It's my family,” she said. “I'm not some weak little girl who needs babysitting.”

“Believe me, I know,” Farryn said, grinning, putting his hands up. Then he stepped in close and took Cass's wrists in his hands. “I want to help. You're . . . you're important.”

Cass stared at Farryn, her cheeks burning, not knowing what to say, and then he started to blush, too. He let go of her
wrists. “Besides,” he said, with a forced grin. “What else am I going to do? Stay here and limp around, burning squirrel meat?”

“You can stay here and keep healing,” Cass said. “And not get killed because I dragged you into my stupid plan.”

“I'm fine,” Farryn said. “Good as new with Kevin's leg. And I won't get killed.”

“Okay,” Cass heard herself say. She saw Farryn's face light up. She hugged him, and he hugged her back, hard. She was making a mistake, a selfish mistake, a small part of her knew. But mostly she was happy that she wouldn't be alone.

TWO DAYS LATER, THE REBELS BROKE CAMP TO HEAD FOR THEIR NEW
base. They headed south in tense silence, sticking to the trees as much as possible, but using roadways in brief bursts when it was impossible to avoid them.

Nick realized, as he walked, that he could tell which rebels had come from a City, and which had been from Freeposts, just by the way they walked. Everyone was fairly quiet, especially considering how much they were carrying, but some were a bit lighter on their feet and avoided making almost any sounds—the ones who had spent the most time as Freeposters. Others stepped on the occasional branch, dislodged the occasional rock down a hill—these, of course, were the rebels who had spent more time living in the Cities. He wondered how they
had ended up with Clay's rebels. How had they escaped? They all had stories to tell, he was sure. But not many in that group were big talkers.

Kevin had gone a day ahead, which Nick wasn't thrilled about, but at least Cass and Farryn were hiking with the group, Farryn limping along on the prosthetic leg but somehow keeping pace. And Nick was quietly very happy that Lexi was walking alongside him. She wasn't talking to him, but she was apparently willing to be next to him, and Nick took that as a good sign.

After a day and a half of hard hiking, they hunkered down a half mile north of the City, behind a row of burned-out pre-Rev buildings along a cratered, warped roadway. The tall City buildings loomed in the distance, gray and white and black against the pale blue sky. Nobody spoke. A few rebels napped, their backs against the broken walls. Nick couldn't imagine how they were able to sleep; he was so full of nervous energy. He ate a biscuit from his pack, and checked and rechecked the burst rifle he had been issued.

“It's fine,” Lexi said. “You're going to break it if you keep messing with it.”

Nick looked up, startled; these were the first words Lexi had said to him in days. He repressed a smile, although he felt like grinning from ear to ear. He wasn't sure if it would make her mad.

“You're right,” he said carefully. He tried to keep his tone
neutral; he didn't want to scare Lexi away or say something that would cause her anger to rise up again. “Just nervous, I guess.”

Lexi took a piece of Nick's biscuit and chewed it slowly, looking off to the south at the City. “Me, too,” she said.

“You'll be okay,” Nick said. “Ro won't have you in the front attack.”

“I'm not worried about myself!” Lexi snapped.

Nick's heart sank. Had he screwed up again, so quickly?

But then Lexi's frown softened, and she even gave him a weak little smile. “You really are an idiot, aren't you? You've got no idea what to say or do.”

Nick couldn't hold back his smile, realizing that Lexi was forgiving him.

Lexi's smile broadened, too, and she reached out and pushed a strand of Nick's hair back from his eyes. “You need a haircut,” she said. “When this is over, I'm gonna chop you.”

Nick still didn't trust himself to speak. He just kept smiling.

Lexi laughed. “Stop grinning, you idiot,” she said.

“I'm sorry,” he said, and forced his smile down.

“And no more apologizing. Just stop being such an idiot, okay, rock star?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever you say,” Nick said. “Look, you know I don't care about Erica the way I care about you. . . .”

“Idiot!” Lexi said. “Shut up.”

Nick shut his mouth and nodded.

“Better,” Lexi said. She looked back at the City in the distance, and her expression grew anxious again. “I'm worried for you, and for everyone in the City. My friends. My parents.” She looked back at Nick. “What's going to happen to them?”

Now Nick really did feel like a fool. Lexi had left her whole life behind in the City. She was so tough, so quick to adapt, so uncomplaining, that he hadn't given any thought to her parents, left behind in the City. “They'll be fine,” Nick said. “We'll find your parents and we'll get them out.”

“What if we can't find them, Nick? What if they get hurt?”

“We'll find them,” repeated Nick, looking out at the City. But Lexi was right—the City was going to be chaos when they attacked. What if they couldn't find her parents, or
his
parents? Would he have to abandon them again? He sighed, and then thought about Kevin, and felt even more worried. Was his brother in the City now, invisible? He should have done more to stop Kevin.

Nick heard it first . . . the crackle of underbrush, possibly. He wasn't even sure what had triggered his wariness . . . and he was on his feet, rifle aimed back at the trees to the northeast. A moment later Ro was at his side, his hand on the barrel of Nick's rifle, pushing it down.

“Stand down, Nick,” he said. “You got bot ears, too?”

Nick let his rifle drop.

A moment later the first rebel, a woman Nick had never seen before, appeared from the trees. She wore camouflage gear and
had a pistol at her waist. A man followed close behind, then two more men, and then more. . . . Nick counted forty fighters, men and women, none of whom he had ever seen. They all quickly took cover behind the buildings, crouching down next to Ro's fighters. Clay, he realized, had called in more troops. Nick felt a new tingle of anticipation in his fingers and toes. This really was going to be a big battle.

Ro shook hands with the woman who had appeared first. “Helena?” he said.

“Yes,” said the woman. “You are Ro?” Her voice was gravelly, and deep for a woman.

Ro nodded. “The groups to the south are in place?”

“Correct,” she said. She scratched her cheek, then flicked dirt out of her fingernail. “So this new tech the General has—it really works?”

Ro shrugged and checked his comm bracelet. “We'll know soon enough.”