The Burn Zone (53 page)

The air turned so thick it got hard to breathe, and the miasma of it covered my bare skin. In my mind, I heard the rattling of a chain and collar, my collar, as I dug at it with raw, bloody fingers with the little strength I had left. I remembered how fear had turned to terror, then terror into near disconnect as I had seen the others who arrived there before me hauled away to be strung up. Next would come the high-pitched shriek and gurgle. No matter how big the man was, it came out sounding like a girl until it stopped and the chopping began.

I couldn
’
t breathe. My legs were pumping on automatic pilot now, threatening to seize at each step.

You can do this.
I said it to myself over and over, trying to make it be heard over the sound of the jingling chain and gurgling screams. My mind seemed to separate from my body, until I felt like I was floating forward.

You can do this. What if
Dragan had left you?

I
’
d have been dead for sure. My number had finally come up when he stormed in. I remembered how strong he looked, how fearless as he marched across the factory floor. He
’
d looked over and seen me just before the men entered. He looked right in my eyes and then turned on them.

By the time he was done, the concrete floor was slick with blood. No arrests, no trials, only just deserts. I had lain back against the concrete wall,
the collar
’
s chain digging into one cheek, while I listened to the shots, regular, rhythmic, and final.

Dragan...

I felt the impact at the same time I heard the pop. It
slammed into my right shoulder blade and sent me pitching forward as pain drilled down my spine.

My momentum carried me, and when I came down on my left heel, it slipped out from under me. I felt a brief, weightless sensation as I flew through the doorway, and then an abrupt, bone-rattling impact as I crashed down onto the rusted metal deck.

~ * ~

Chapter Twenty

04:03:12 BC

“
Sam, get up!
”

The voice came from somewhere up above me, I was
facedown
on a filthy, damp floor, surrounded by the sounds of bubbling hot liquid and churning machinery. Pain throbbed from my skinned palms, and I felt a tight knot in the muscle behind my right shoulder. I reached back, my muscles stiff and sluggish, and felt something sticking out there.

“
I got her!
”
a voice echoed through the halls.
“
She
’
s down!
”

I winced as I pulled the object loose and it clattered onto the floor. It was some kind of little black dart, with a tuft of red fluff at the back end.

“
Sam! Get up! Quick!
”

My head felt like it was full of wet concrete as I lifted it up off the deck. A little ways away I saw the lipstick tube, the end squished flat, and the crumpled sheet of blue crystal. A few meters past them, a naked boy stared at me from behind the mesh of a wire cage, tears streaked down his soot-covered face.

There were more cages on either side of his, some empty and some occupied by other kids or teenagers. Some lay on their sides with their backs to me; others were awake now and staring at me.

I looked up and saw more cages stacked on top of each other, eight layers high. They went all the way up to the factory ceiling, where foam tiles had broken loose and exposed a maze of ductwork. A set of scaffolding had been built in front of the wall of cages, two stories connected by ramps to allow access to the upper levels. It all looked like it had been there a long time.

“
Up here!
”

The tower of cages swayed above me. At least, I thought they did. I couldn
’
t focus, and pins and needles pricked at my fingers and toes as I squinted to find the source of the voice. Way up, on the second-level platform, I saw fingers laced through one of the cage doors. They shook it as a familiar face looked down at me.

“
Vamp?
”
The word squeaked out. I didn
’
t think he heard me.

“
They
’
re coming. Move it!
”
he called down.

I looked back at the little dart. They
’
d drugged me, and it had really started to kick in. I didn
’
t have long before I
’
d be out, and then it would be all over.

I lunged and grabbed the pill sheet, then rolled over onto my back. Using my legs, I pushed myself back behind a big piece of machinery just as the men entered the room.

“
Where the fuck did she go?
”
one of them asked.

It wouldn
’
t take them long to figure it out. I moved the pill sheet close to my face. Black spots bloomed in front of my eyes, and my fingers felt cold as I pushed the blue pill into my bloody palm. I popped it into my mouth and crunched down on it until the intense bitterness filled my nose and throat.

“
Back here!
”
someone shouted.

The shard kicked in fast. In seconds the drug cut through the haze, and the approaching black cloud scattered. Energy pulsed through me, and as I sprang back to my feet I saw little white sparks flash in the air in front of me.

I had no idea how long it would last, but I knew I had to make it count. I bolted for the ramp that led to the first platform just as two figures emerged from the steam from that direction, and shoved the closest one away as I passed.

“
There!
”
a voice shouted.

I skidded to a stop. When I turned back the other way, I saw another guy heading in my direction. They
’
d flanked me, and were closing in. I wasn
’
t going to make it to the ramp, and I couldn
’
t go back.

I put my foot on top of the nearest cage and heaved myself up. The woman inside stared as I grabbed the wire mesh above me and began to climb.

“
She
’
s going up!
”

“
Load another dart, you stupid asshole!
”

The crystal kicked in for real. The sweat that covered my body turned cold and sent a sick feeling into the pit of my stomach as every muscle came alive with a flood of pure chemical energy. My pulse revved as one foot slipped on the cage beneath it and I dropped, hanging from my hands for a second until I got my footing again.

A pop came from below, and something banged off the face of the cage next to me.

“
Shit!
”

The tower of cages swayed under my weight, but held as I scaled my way up past the first platform, toward the second, where Vamp was being held.

A gunshot boomed through the air, and a hole punched through the platform above me to my right. The people in the cages around me pushed themselves back, trying to get out of range, as I scurried past. The scaffolding shook now as the men below began to storm up the ramp, but to reach the second level they needed to traverse the whole platform first. I could get much higher, much quicker than they could as long as the crystal didn
’
t burn out first.

“
Sam!
”

Vamp had his back to the rear of his cage and was pushing against the door with his feet. The wire bowed outward, biting into his heels and drawing blood, but the latch wouldn
’
t give. My foot slipped again, a J-clip slashing my shin as I hauled myself up to the second platform where I pitched over the rail and rolled onto the wooden planks.

Looking down over the edge of the scaffolding, I saw a huge rendering vat through the haze of steam. It was a giant metal pit, embraced by slick, snaking pipes that kept its temperature constant. The inside was filled with a deep layer of bubbling ochre liquid littered with red-brown specks. Dark, glistening chunks were jumbled together on the surface, and among them I could make out bobbing hands and feet. Crisped skin puffed at the edges of cured, fried meat where the jutting ends of broken bones stuck out, white around a center of blackened marrow.

I pulled myself back up onto my feet as another shot went off, this time blowing a hole through the platform six inches from my foot. Two of the men had reached the base of the second ramp and were heading up to my level.

I bolted toward Vamp
’
s cage, reaching it just as Green-eyes appeared at the top of the ramp. Before I knew it he was on top of me, the barrel of his pistol an inch from my face.

“
Sam!
”

I swatted his wrist, knocking the gun aside in the same second it went off. Heat flashed against my cheek as the boom all but deafened my left ear and the smell of burned powder went up my nose. There was no time to think. It felt like electricity was coursing through my entire body, making me feel fast, powerful, and invincible, but when I kicked him in the ribs I got almost no reaction at all. I ducked under his arm and kicked him again,
but he was heavy, and solid, and he didn
’
t even seem to care. It wasn
’
t like the movies. He didn
’
t go down. I couldn
’
t even move him.

I ducked down out of the way as he made another lunge for me, scooting behind him as he pitched forward. Still off balance, he tried to turn and bring the gun around behind him.

“
You slippery little bitch!
”

I rammed him with one shoulder before he could shoot, and he stepped backward, not realizing the ramp was so close. His ankle twisted, and he barked as it gave out underneath him. He fell back, his other foot slipping off the side of the ramp. He started to fall back, over the edge, and his gun clunked down onto the floor as he grabbed the scaffolding at the last second.

He started hauling himself back and I barreled into him with my shoulder. His hand slipped and he pitched back, grabbing at me as he fell. His fingers brushed my arm as I hooked one elbow around a metal support and he dropped down, crashing onto his back on the platform below.

“
Sam!
”

Vamp was in the cage just behind me. I felt along the top of the doorframe until I found the latch,
then
pulled the bolt free just as two more men topped the ramp.

The door crashed open and Vamp sprang out, going for one of the men without a second
’
s hesitation. He threw a punch and creamed him right in the eye, following up with a left hook even as the guy began to fall. He went down and Vamp turned to the other one, the one with the spiked hair, just as he raised his shotgun. Vamp saw it, took a step back.

“
Vamp!
”

Green-eyes
’
pistol still lay on the platform where he
’
d dropped it. As the shotgun barrel zeroed in on Vamp
’
s face, I scooped it up and aimed down the sight.

It bucked in my hand as it let out an
earsplitting
bang. At first I thought I missed. The guy didn
’
t fly back or spray blood or do anything like what I thought might happen. He just kind of jerked once, like the sound of the shot had surprised him, and a little hole appeared in the middle of his chest. He stood, kind of frozen, with the shotgun still pointed at Vamp but not pulling the trigger.

The barrel listed to one side, and a big blob of blood grew from out of the hole before running down over his stomach in a dark trickle. He took a step back, and his eyelids drooped as the shotgun slipped from his hands and fell to the floor. A second later he fell down after it, crashing down onto the wooden planks.

Vamp stared as I stood there, the gun still held out in front of me. The barrel of the pistol shook as I looked down at the man
’
s body. Vamp stepped over it and approached me carefully.