Evolution (12 page)

“Where are we going?” I shouted.

“We have to take a bit of a detour. You have to trust me.”

“This is the second time you’ve said that.”

“Save your breath for the jump!” Julian said.

The jump?

Five landings later, Julian opened a final door. We were on the flat rooftop of the tallest building in town. Around us in the night were the shapes of other buildings, most slanted and decrepit from time and lack of maintenance. On the street below, several men were battering down the door of our building with a large piece of wood they had found somewhere. The door fell.

“Why are they so set on coming after us?” I asked.

“Catching five escaped slaves is a huge payout,” Julian said.

“But we’re not slaves.”

“Even if you’re not, they don’t know that, do they?”

I didn’t have an answer for him as Julian bounded ahead. He was
fast.
Far faster than Makara, Samuel, or anyone I had ever seen for that matter. Not even looking down, he sailed through the air with a mighty leap. We all ran forward, watching him fall onto the next building across the alley, about a story down. He tucked and rolled upon landing, standing without injury to himself. He looked up, motioning us on.

“I hope this is the only time we have to do this,” Makara said.

She backed up, sprinted, and then jumped. Several men in the alley below spied her, shooting upward several times. I could hear shouts from the stairwell from the men running up behind us. There wasn’t much time left.

Samuel and I jumped in tandem. I had done this enough times by now to be used to it. Upon landing on the next building, instead of letting my knees take the brunt of the impact, I rolled forward to distribute the force of the fall evenly. It still hurt, shocking my senses, but I stood on steady legs, shaking off the impact.

“Good,” Julian said. “That was the hard part. The rest is fairly easy.”

We ran, jumping from building to building. The buildings were of even height, so making the jumps wasn’t too difficult. Behind us, our pursuers were beginning to make their first jump.

Julian was so quick. His lean, muscular body and long legs were built for speed. My lungs burned for air just trying to keep up with him. If I hadn’t been working out, I’d have long been left in the dust.

The palisade wall approached in the distance. A couple guards stood on its ramparts, looking toward the city, drawn by the noise. Upon seeing us, they began to fire with their rifles. Julian ducked behind some crates, where we ran to join him. I slid on the flat rooftop, sliding right beside him. The men chasing us from behind were fewer, now, but they would be on us within a minute.

“Where is this storm drain?” Samuel asked.

“It’s between this building and the wall.” Julian paused. “It was how I almost escaped, two years ago.”

“And you were caught,” Makara said.

“Only because it decided to randomly rain.
You
try escaping through a storm drain when it starts to pour and see how it works out. I’m lucky to even be alive. The drain leads to the river. Once we’re there, we can escape into the forest.”

We all looked at each other. It was a gamble, but we really had no other choice. We had to trust that Julian knew what he was doing. He had certainly kept us alive so far.

But now, stuck behind these crates, we were pinned between the guards on the wall and our pursuers behind us. The guards on the wall would shoot as soon as we left cover. But the men chasing us were only two buildings behind now, and would surely kill us as soon as we were in range.

“There is a ladder on the side of the building,” Julian said. “If we move these crates, we can have cover while we head over there. Once down the ladder, the building itself will be our cover.”

We rushed to do what Julian said. We each scooted a crate. Bullets fired, and those that would have hit us struck the crates harmlessly. The danger increased as the men from behind caught up and began to fire their own guns. A few bullets riddled the crates on our side. A bullet ricocheted off the rooftop just inches from my foot.

But by this time, we had made it to the ladder. Julian latched onto the metal, sliding down and gritting his teeth from the pain it caused his hands. Samuel went next, followed by Makara. Once I slid down the side of the building, we were all out of our pursuers’ line of sights.

The metal and chipped paint burned and cut into my hands. I tried not to let the pain slow me down. The pursuing men were now on top of the ladder, aiming their guns down. I hopped off just as they started shooting, rolling away into the dark alley. I ran after the others, who were already disappearing around the corner.

Upon circling the corner, I nearly ran into all three of them. They stood at the side of the street, staring at a metal grate covering the opening of the storm drain.

“It’s gone,” Julian said. “They’ve closed it off!”

The first of the men were rounded the corner, while two men from the ramparts of the wall above aimed their rifles down.

There was nothing more we could do. It was over. We had been captured.

***

T
he men surrounded us, pointing their guns. They did not say anything as one of them stepped forward.

That was when a repetitive thrum sounded in the sky. A blinding light shined down on all of us. The men cried out in alarm. Quickly, the light pointed away from us, and shined on the men. A second floodlight came on, shining on the men on the walls. They held hands up to their eyes.

“Ashton!” I said.

He couldn’t lift us out of here – by the time he let the ladder down, the men would have long recovered from their shock. We had to find another way.

Makara dashed for the gate, knifing a man in the throat as she passed. As the man fell, we followed. The men were yelling, and by the time we vacated the scene,
Gilgamesh
remained in hover mode. Its twin turrets opened up, raining lead on the street behind us. The men ran for cover.

Now
that
was the distraction we needed. The gate wasn’t far, and we found ourselves in front of it in under a minute. It was completely shut.

“We have to go inside the gatehouse and open it,” Julian said.

“How do we do that?” Samuel asked.

“I don’t know, we’ll figure it out.”

Julian threw open the gatehouse door, which led to a narrow set of wooden steps. We circled around until we reached the top. To our left, an open archway led to the ramparts, where two guards stood transfixed, watching the
Gilgamesh
. Since they were not even looking our way, Samuel put his hand on a giant wheel, which connected to a giant link of chains. He gave the wheel a heave. Not able to do it himself, we all joined him.

The loud cranking sound shook the guards out of their stupor. They aimed their rifles, but not before I shot one in the chest. He fell off the rampart toward the dirt street below. The other one, deciding not to take his chances against the four of us, jumped right off the rampart rather than get shot.

Below us, the large wooden gates groaned as they opened. Everyone stopped turning the wheel, and ran back down the stairs. We burst on the street, turned the corner, and ran out of the barely opened gate and into the night.

Gilgamesh
lifted off from where it had hovered above the settlement, angling our way. From the ramparts, the guards fired at us. We zigzagged our path in order to dodge the bullets.

Gilgamesh
swooped overhead, knocking us all down with a colossal sound and gust of wind. It half-turned toward us, its headlights still blinding. It landed maladroitly upon the ground, the boarding ramp extending. The blast door opened.

Then, men on horseback surged out from the gate behind us. We were about halfway to the ship.

“Run!” I yelled.

We sprinted for the boarding ramp, even as the horsemen gained on us. The ship became larger as we neared it, but the thunder of hooves behind let me know how close we were to being captured again.

Finally, we ran up the ramp, and the blast door closed behind us. Several bullets dinged off its metal outside.

No sooner than we were in, the ship lifted off. I fell to the floor, and slid toward the wall as the ship leaned upward, surging upward toward the black sky.

O
nce we were up and away, we all stood on
Gilgamesh’s
bridge.

“Well, the operation wasn’t a complete waste,” Samuel said. “We found out Anna is in transit to Nova Roma with a group of other slaves. If we hurry, we might still catch her.”

“And how did you find this out?” Ashton asked.

Samuel gestured to Julian, who stood next to him. “This is Julian. He saved our lives by showing us how to get out of the city. He also let us know what happened to Anna.”

Ashton looked at Julian. “You are sure of this?”

He nodded. “They have auctions there, every Saturday, in Central Square. That is probably where they are taking her. She put up a big fight against all the slavers, even killing one of them. They probably see her as a potential fighter for
El Coleseo
.”

“El Coleseo
?” I asked.

“It’s the grand arena of the Empire, located in the heart of Nova Roma,” Julian said. “They fight slaves there for entertainment.”

“Great,” Makara said. “How can people
watch
that?”

“They do not see slaves as people,” Julian said. “Many came to seek refuge in the Empire, after the Rock fell – both native Mexicans and foreign Americans. Most were just enslaved as soon as they crossed the border. The lucky ones were sent to the farms. The unlucky ones, to the arenas. And the most unlucky...to
El Coleseo
.”

“You know this, how?” Ashton asked.

“I have been to Nova Roma many times as part of my duties for my old master. He would attend these auctions at times. I have even fought in a few gladiatorial matches myself, though never in
El Coleseo
, thank God. They say that anyone who enters the Blood Gates is already doomed to die.”

“Well, we’ll just have to hurry, then,” I said.

Ashton nodded. “You came along at just the right time to help us, Julian.”

“How did you guys get into Itcala, anyway?” Julian asked.

I assumed Itcala was the name of the settlement. “We parachuted.”

Julian’s eyes widened. “That’s crazy. You’re lucky to still be alive.”

“We know,” Makara said.

“How did you come to be in the Empire, Julian?” I asked.

“I was hunting with my father outside my home, ten years ago. There were slavers, there. They killed my father, and they took me. From then on, I was sold from one master to another, until I found my way here. They fought me in arenas, from time to time, and I was lucky to survive until now. Because I can read, my last master found a use for me that didn’t involve swinging a sword. He lived in Itcala, and would sometimes travel to Nova Roma, taking me with him to help him write contracts for his business. He mostly dealt with slaves.”

“So, you know the city well?” Ashton asked.

Julian nodded. “I’ve been there at least a dozen times. I know it well enough.”

“Maybe you can help us find Anna, then,” I said.

“I will,” Julian said. “You guys got me out of there, so it’s the least I can do.” Julian looked around the bridge, as if he couldn’t believe he was standing in such a place. “Although, I have a lot of questions myself.”

“That’s understandable,” Ashton said. “We have questions, too, but unfortunately, time is not on our side right now. We’ll catch you up later.”

“Can you use a gun?” Samuel asked.

Julian shook his head. “I’ve only used a sword and shield before. Gladiators are not allowed ranged weapons in the arena, unless they are javelins.”

“Christ,” Ashton said, looking away. “There will be time for that later, I guess. Makara can probably teach you.”

“I can show him the basics,” Makara said. “The finer points he’ll have to learn on his own.”

“Teach him what you can,” Ashton said.

“Even if he can’t use a gun, Julian can speak Spanish.” I looked at him. “You can speak Spanish, right?”

He nodded. “Fluently. I even knew it before I came to the Empire because I am, well...Mexican.”

Makara chuckled. “Well, that is something we didn’t really consider before. How could we have missed that none of us spoke Spanish and we were hoping to find our way around Mexico?”

“It was a gross oversight,” Ashton said. “Still, two months in Skyhome was hardly enough time to learn a new language.”

“We’re lucky to have Julian,” I said. “He can translate everything for us so we aren’t in the dark.”

Julian nodded. “There is one thing...after we are done with all this, I’d like to be taken home.”

“Where is home?” Ashton asked.

“A town, called New America. It’s in Texas, on the Gulf Coast. I don’t know exactly
where
, but I know that much. That’s where my community is, my family. They need to know I’m still alive. It has haunted me all these years.”

“We’ll do what we can,” Ashton said. “We need you here, right now. Are you willing to help us with this first?”

“Of course,” Julian said. “You have already done more for me than I could have ever done for myself. Helping you find Anna will be the least I can do.”

“Well...” Ashton said. “It’s more than that. We have an important message to deliver to Augustus.”

At the mention of Augustus’s name, Julian’s eyes widened. “How do you plan on doing that? And...
why
?”

Ashton looked at each of us. “We don’t exactly know yet.”

“It will be difficult,” Julian said. “Very difficult.”

“Maybe you can help us out there?” Makara asked.

Julian shook his head. “I don’t know. It is all very overwhelming. Your goals seem impossible.”

Julian didn’t even know the half.

“Let’s focus on one thing at a time,” I said. “Do you have any idea where they might be taking Anna?”

“Auctions are held in Central Square every Saturday. Central Square is surrounded by all the major buildings of Nova Roma, including the Imperial Palace of Augustus,
El Coleseo
, the Senate House, the Grand Forum...if they are taking her anywhere, that’s the most likely location.”