A City Called Smoke: The Territory 2 (16 page)

“We need to hurry!” Lynn said, sitting up in the sidecar and looking around them.

“Well aware of that, thank you,” said Mr. Stix as he kicked down again, his bio-cycle turning over momentarily but then dying.

Lifting up off the seat in front of Squid Mr. Stownes leaned all his weight on the kick-starter and, grunting with effort, he pushed down. The engine of the bike turned over, popped, began to rumble and then flared to life. Squid looked over at Mr. Stix, who was still desperately trying to start his bio-cycle. The screeching and groaning of the ghouls was growing ever closer. Mr. Stix turned to Mr. Stownes.

“Go,” he said. “Get Master Blanchflower to safety. I’ll keep trying.”

Mr. Stownes looked at Mr. Stix, hesitating. It was clear he didn’t want to leave him. What were they to each other? Squid wondered fleetingly. Friends? Partners? Colleagues? Squid wasn’t exactly sure what their relationship was. Maybe Lynn was right when she said he trusted people too easily. He really didn’t know anything about these two.

“What?” Nim said. “You said we shouldn’t split up.”

“I said go!” Mr. Stix shouted.

Mr. Stownes nodded to Mr. Stix, a nod that even Squid could recognize as sad, a nod of compliance and a nod of respect. The large man turned and twisted the throttle of the bio-cycle without looking back. The rear wheel spun, throwing red dirt into the air before it gripped and they began to move.

“No!” Nim shouted. “No!”

But they were already riding away, and Mr. Stownes showed no intention of stopping. Squid turned to look back. He saw Lynn doing the same. “We can’t leave them behind,” Lynn said. “We can’t just leave them there.”

Squid watched Nim and Mr. Stix vanish into the oppressive dust. Mr. Stix was still trying to start the bio-cycle as the shadowy shapes of ghouls closed in. Squid could hear Nim’s shouts fading away behind them.

“Don’t split us up!” Nim shouted. “Come back!”

The engine of their bio-cycle began to drown out Nim’s cries, and eventually even the shrieks and screeches of the ghouls seemed distant. Squid spun to look forward. Each of the bio-cycles had a compass positioned next to the fuel gauge, and Squid could see that Mr. Stownes was turning the cycle south as he rode fearlessly into the rusty air. Squid looked at Lynn, who was still twisted around in the sidecar, looking back behind them to where Mr. Stix and Nim had long ago faded into the dust.

“Lynn,” Squid said. She ignored him. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t know what else to say. Melbourne had no doubt been killed during the crash of the
Blessed Mary
, and now Nim, who Lynn was growing more fond of every day, whether Squid liked it or not, had probably been bitten by the ghouls. Squid knew it wasn’t right but he felt a little happy about that. Well, maybe not happy, but relieved at least. He wanted things to go back to the way they were. He wanted it to be just him and Lynn facing the world together, and now it would be. He felt guilty even thinking that. He had liked Nim when they’d first met him, had even wanted to be friends with him, had wanted him to come with them on their quest. It had only been when Nim had started showing more interest in Lynn, and even worse when Lynn had started showing more interest in him in return, that they’d begun to fight. He shouldn’t have felt that way. It wasn’t fair on Lynn or Nim. Squid swallowed. He should have said something to Nim, something to try and make things right.

The steady building of a rumbling sound behind them made Squid turn and follow Lynn’s stare. The sound built into a roaring engine as a dark shape burst through the veil of red dust, a silhouette that quickly became Mr. Stix and Nim on the back of their bio-cycle. They shot toward them, the wheels of their cycle leaving the ground as they launched off a low tuft of spinifex grass. Mr. Stix leaned forward on the bike, squeezing the throttle. Nim sat behind him, holding tightly to his waist. The bio-cycle landed, the rear wheel sliding sideways and kicking up a spray of soil. They came alongside Squid, Lynn and Mr. Stownes.

Squid saw Lynn’s eyes light up. “I knew you’d make it!” she shouted. Nim smiled, the creases in his dark skin caked with dust, grime and the familiar remnants of disintegrating ghouls. Mr. Stix and Mr. Stownes nodded to each other. A far more reserved reunion, but equally welcome, Squid guessed. Squid saw Nim look at him. Squid nodded, trying to mimic the constrained greeting of Stix and Stownes. Nim looked back at him. Did he return his greeting with an almost imperceptible nod? Squid couldn’t tell. He thought he had, but then again, maybe the bio-cycle had just hit a bump. Either way Nim was back, and Squid knew things between himself and Lynn would never be the same. They would never be the way he wanted them to be. Lynn turned to look at Squid. She was smiling. Squid forced himself to smile back, though the acceptance of Nim he had felt only moments before had already begun to fade.

The five of them, loaded onto the two bio-cycles, rode until the dust began to clear and the open expanse of the Territory once again spread out before them. Squid had never been so relieved to see the desolate wasteland they lived in. The dust storm still boiled and churned behind them as they rode away. In the east Squid thought he could see the faintest sign of the horde of ghouls that still made its way inward. He just hoped he and his companions could get beyond the fence, find this underground town, reach Big Smoke and get back with the weapon before the ghouls reached Alice. His quest, the thing he had felt proud to undertake, the thing he felt gave his life meaning, was feeling more and more impossible every day. Squid was beginning to think of this prophecy as less of an adventure, and more of a burden.

They spent long days traveling south. Lynn, though she continued to have her doubts about the whole enterprise, hoped they weren’t wasting too much time and hadn’t traveled so far south that they missed the underground town – if indeed it existed – when they crossed to the other side of the fence.

Mr. Stix, the only one of them who had a map of the outer regions of the Territory, directed them to a small farming town the map said was called Mirran, which was a remarkable feat considering the lack of any real landmarks other than dirt, grass and occasional trees. The town, comprising a short main street, a water tower and a collection of ragged wooden buildings, looked much like all the other towns Lynn had come across in the Outside. In many ways it reminded her of Dust, except that it was empty. The place had been abandoned in a hurry, the windows and doors not boarded up. Some even hung completely open. They knocked on doors, banged on windows and called out down the main street, but there was no answer. It was eerie. It was Squid who discovered a sign tacked onto the door of the small building that seemed to serve as both pub and town hall, which declared in imposing, official text that:

By order of the High Priestess Patricia all residents of the outer regions of the Territory are to journey to Alice to take shelter from the threat of the horde.

So that was why the town was empty. The residents had all gone inward, more people to join the throngs of refugees who would be converging on the slums outside Alice. The High Priestess was drawing them inward on the promise of salvation, but Mr. Stix and Mr. Stownes had told them the heavy truth of what the High Priestess had planned for them. This town lay south of the horde’s path, and the people who lived here would have been better off staying put. They would not be allowed behind the walls of Alice. Nothing was waiting for them there but a death sentence.

The bio-cycles were almost out of fuel, even with the extra tanks that were fitted to the outside, so Stix and Stownes took what was left in the tank beneath the town’s water tower. Mr. Stix claimed that filling the tanks now should get them to the fence, where it wouldn’t matter anymore; they wouldn’t be able to get bikes over the fence anyway.

It had been a relief to finally turn east again some days after leaving Mirran. They didn’t know how far the horde would be spread, but they all agreed that they must have traveled far enough south to avoid them. It was strange; Lynn mirrored Squid’s happiness that they were now making progress toward the fence again, but she still had no idea what she was doing out here. She was supporting Squid, of course, but she still burned with the desire to see the Administrator punished for what he had done to her father, and she knew that each moment she spent traveling with Squid took her further away from achieving this. Her thoughts turned regularly to Melbourne, too. He had sacrificed himself so that she could escape. Despite never really caring when he’d been away at the Academy, she missed him now. She missed him and would never see him again.

After pirates, dust storms and ghouls the rest of their journey proved uneventful, just long, hot and dry. Nim continued to prove invaluable in finding food and water in places where the rest of them saw nothing but barren wasteland. Lynn loved to watch him and to listen to him talk about this country. He just thought so differently from everyone else. She had never considered the Territory to be anything but a cursed dead world but the way Nim talked about it made it seem alive. There was life everywhere in the dusty soil, water in the driest of places, hope among the nothingness.

“We don’t believe in the Reckoning,” Nim had said one night, speaking of the Nomads. “We’ve been here longer than your Ancestors, and probably we’ll be here long after the Dwellers. Maybe your Ancestors did do something to damage the world or to bring about the ghouls, but we don’t believe the country would ever turn on us. Not if we treat it right. The country will always let us survive here.”

The way he spoke about the land made Lynn realize that she and everyone she knew treated the very land around them as an enemy, to be fought against in the same way they fought against the ghouls. They clung to this patch of earth, struggled to survive in the arid land and hid behind fences and walls, but that was not the way the Nomads felt. Nim was different. He was a refreshing change from her entire life. He was not tied down to beliefs about God, the Reckoning or mankind’s battle for redemption. He had never lived according to the laws of the Administrator or under the ever watchful eyes of the Holy Order. He was free.

She often watched the way his dark skin glistened in the sun as he moved. He had long ago cut the sleeves from his shirt, leaving his shoulders and arms bare. He had strong shoulders. The white lines and dots of his tattoos rippled as the tight, toned muscles moved underneath his skin. She felt a flutter in her stomach every time he caught her staring at him. His big, dark eyes often stayed locked onto hers and always, every time, she was the first to look away, heat rising in her cheeks. She had kept her distance from him, though, kept away from another kiss or another touch, and it was because of Squid.

She was all too aware of the way her relationship with Nim affected him. She could see the change in him – though Nim was to blame as well. With each passing day the two of them seemed quicker to argue, quicker to snap at each other. Since Nim’s kiss after her rescue from the pirates Squid had grown more and more withdrawn. She didn’t think the others had even noticed it. He had always been quiet, but she could tell it was something more.

Lynn had tried to speak to him, to tell him that no matter what happened he was still her best friend. They had been through so much together. He had agreed and put on a happy face but there was a darkness settling on him that she didn’t like. It frightened her. He spoke to Mr. Stix but Stix was always, “Yes, Master Blanchflower,” and “Of course, Master Blanchflower,” as if he were a butler. Then there was Mr. Stownes, who didn’t speak at all. For some reason, she felt that the responsibility of healing this group lay with her. Maybe that was why she had been sent on this quest with Squid; maybe her part in the prophecy was keeping this group from tearing itself apart. Which was a ridiculous thought considering she didn’t even believe in the prophecy. But then Melbourne had said there was something beyond the fence. Perhaps it was Big Smoke and the answer to Squid’s prophecy. Still, all that would have to wait, because what was ahead of them drew all of her attention.

They had hopped off the bikes because, rising before them, running seemingly forever across the landscape in the fading light of the day, was the ghoul-proof fence. It was a strange sight. Since she was old enough to remember, like every child in the Central Territory, inside Alice or out, Lynn had known about the fence. The fence that kept them safe. The fence that meant they didn’t need to be afraid. The fence that stood and would always stand. Most people within the Territory lived their entire lives without ever seeing the most important structure in their world, and now here it was. From where Lynn stood it really didn’t look like much: closely spaced posts sunk deep into the ground and sharpened into spikes at the top, heavy wire mesh covered with twists of sharpened metal closing off the spaces between them. It was a fence, tall and well built, but just a fence. Standing here it seemed too flimsy and weak to be the only thing that kept them separated from the badlands. Each of them stood in silence, staring at it. Tomorrow they would do the most forbidden thing in all the laws of the Church and state. They would climb the fence and go beyond it.

That night they sat to eat the five kowaris Nim had caught earlier that day and cooked over a small fire with what little wood they had scrounged over the course of the afternoon. Lynn watched Squid chew the stringy flesh off the small creature. His face screwed up at the taste. She thought it funny that after wanting so badly to try eating kowari he didn’t even like it. A little, she supposed, like his feelings about Nim. There was scant meat on the bones of a kowari so it wasn’t much of a meal, but they were trying to ration the food they could carry with them. Despite Melbourne’s information that there was something beyond the fence they didn’t know if Nim’s skills could help them survive out there; they couldn’t catch food if there was nothing to catch.

Normally Lynn would sit between Nim and Squid but tonight she sat down beside Mr. Stix. Squid and Nim both watched her then turned to each other in awkward realization. They tried to ignore each other, an altogether difficult thing to do when there was no one but them for miles and miles in any direction. Lynn almost laughed. Those boys were ridiculous.

“We’re going out there tomorrow,” Lynn said, looking toward the fence.

“That we are, Miss Hermannsburg,” Mr. Stix said.

“Before we do I want to know the truth.”

“The truth?”

“Yes, the truth, let’s start with your real names.”

Mr. Stix smiled. “Our real names are Stix and Stownes,” he said, “at least those have been our names long enough that they’re the only names that matter now.”

“Okay,” Lynn said, her eyes narrowing. “Why are you here?”

“As you know, Miss Hermannsburg,” Mr. Stix said, “the task we have been given by the Chief Minister is to protect Squid until he can fulfil the prophecy.”

“No,” Lynn said. “I want to know why. I won’t go into the badlands until I know the real reason you’ve been sent with us. You said this is a punishment. Nobody would accept this mission without something being held over their head.” She lowered her voice. “Not even me. I’m Squid’s only friend in the world and not even I’m doing this out of belief in some prophecy. Tell me the reason or we go no further.”

Mr. Stix looked at her with an evaluating eye. Lynn knew there was more to these two men than they were telling, and she would find out what it was before they set foot near that fence. They knew nothing about them. Perhaps it was that which frightened her.

“Mr. Stownes and I have not always been on the side of right,” Mr. Stix said.

“What did you do? Were you a criminal?”

“That very much depends on whose definition of criminal you believe.”

“Why are you being so cryptic?” Lynn asked. “Just tell me what you did.”

“Mr. Stownes and I were hired for our talents. We have been spies and assassins, lending our services to whoever paid the most.”

“So you’re being paid for this then?” Lynn said, glancing over at Squid. “You’re making Squid believe you actually care about his safety, about whether or not he succeeds, but really it’s just about money.”

“No,” Mr. Stix said. “This time we are making amends for the things we have done and I will say no more on the matter. We have our reasons.”

Lynn felt as though her question had not been answered, even though Stix had admitted he and Stownes had been mercenaries and had done bad things. Lynn had learned enough about people in her sixteen years to know they didn’t just change overnight. Only in fairy tales did they suddenly have a change of heart that made them want to make amends for everything they had done. She would press on with them for now, but there was more to this story and she would discover what it was.

The next morning they rose early. It was clear to Lynn that each of them felt like she did, unable to sleep with the anticipation of what was about to happen. With all that she had faced – the death of her father, escaping from the Sisters, battling the ghouls, losing Melbourne – it was crossing a fence that set her stomach to fluttering and her palms to sweating.

They had removed the saddlebags from the bio-cycles, loading them with as much equipment and supplies as they could, and strapped them to their backs, two in the case of Mr. Stownes. The five of them stood before the fence. Despite the fact that Lynn had technically been exiled by the Administrator, crossing this boundary still felt wrong. It was against the most sacred law of the Church to set foot beyond the fence. It didn’t matter that she had no respect for the High Priestess, the Sisters, or their laws, it was still something that had been drilled into her since she was born. Inside the fence was the Territory, the only safe place in the world. Outside the fence was the badlands, and emptiness, despair and death.

On the other hand, once she crossed the fence she would find out once and for all whether Archibald the Explorer was right and there really were people living beyond the Territory or whether her father had been right and she would not have to lose yet another piece of her crumbling world view.

Squid turned to look at her and the others.

“This is it, then,” he said. “Whatever happens after this, whatever we find, thank you for coming this far with me.” His gaze lingered on Nim. “All of you.”

Lynn had never seen him do that before. He had addressed them as if he were the leader of this expedition. Technically she supposed he was, but she could never have imagined that boy she’d first met at the Academy as a leader. He had changed. It had happened subtly, slowly, but she could see it within him. She smiled.

“Right then,” Nim said, clearly uncomfortable at this public acknowledgment from Squid. It was as though his pride wouldn’t let him admit that they were in this together. “Probably we should get over it then. I’ll go first.”

Nim stepped toward the fence. Squid hurried to catch up.

“No,” Squid said. “We should go over together.”

Lynn shook her head as she followed after them. Maybe she should tell them just to have a scuffle and get it over and done with. At the fence she watched Nim and Squid begin to climb. Nim’s strength and dexterity soon saw him climbing higher, faster. She moved toward the fence and slipped her foot into gaps in the wire. She reached above her with her left hand and pulled herself up. She quickly realized she would have to use her injured right hand to at least hold on while she reached with her left again. She tried this but as soon as she did she slipped and dropped to the ground.