Cathedral of Dreams (23 page)

Keith didn't need to be in physical contact with anyone. The noise of the city assaulted him with the low rumblings of thousands of conversations, racing engines, and occasional yelling or horn blowing. The oppressive sounds combined with the partly cloudy sky that hung near the tops of the buildings like a permanent fixture. As they worked their way through the crowds, he had no idea why he had come back. How long had it been between escape and reentry? How far had he traveled only to return? And the others, what did they expect to do, really? How did they expect to enter a secured building and what warning would they offer to those inside? The questions accumulated as he led them on, but were eventually answered, at least for him. He had to get away from them. The truth was that he would figure his next move out on his own. And each of them would have to figure it out for his or her self.

There was no answer to fit everyone, not for their small group, and not for the residents of Newcity.

Small street-side stores were open for business, but Keith knew from his first experience that this wouldn't be the case in an hour or so.

This late in the day, the sun didn't do much more than provide a soft ambient glow to the streets, which lay mostly in shadow. The roadway always appeared to be damp even when it wasn't raining. A heavy odor of grime whooshed by every time a car passed, which was often. Many of the people on the streets were adults, but small families with one or two children ducked in and out from behind parked cars from time to time as though they were sneaking somewhere.

A police vehicle slowed as it drove past, and the officer inside watched as the eight of them paraded in a direction they thought was leading toward Newcity.

Once he turned down a side street, Keith said, “You guys are going to have to unlock your hands. That policeman looked pretty suspiciously at you.”

No one let go except Stacy, who had been in the lead. She turned on them and clenched her lips together and shot her head forward in an angry reprimand.

All hands dropped, but it hardly mattered. They advanced in unison as though they were still holding hands, or stuck together with an invisible thread.

Through frustration, Keith led them closer to where he believed the doctor had been located. Perhaps that would be a place they could hide for the night if he could find it among all the similar looking buildings. He would know for sure once the boy with a bullet hole in his forehead appeared. Until then, Keith took over as leader. No one asked if he could see his guides. He knew they were afraid to pose the question, for fear of an answer they didn't want to hear.

The police car that drove past them earlier turned down their street once again. A shot of panic caused Keith to usher the others into an alley too narrow for the car to follow. He had them huddle into a group and crouch down as he watched the policeman pass. The alley was drenched in shadow, the ground gritty and damp. Shards of broken glass crunched under their feet. A rat ran along one of the walls and Amanda screeched. Keith jumped toward the rat and it squealed and ran off. “They won't hurt you,” he said, knowing that his words meant nothing to her.

“What now?” Brent said.

“We'll think of something,” Keith said.

“I say we wait until it's dark and break into the doctor's office,” Brent said.

As soon as the idea came out and even though Keith had felt the same way earlier, he got a bad feeling about it and changed his mind. “I don't think so,” he said.

“They aren't here,” Brent said, referring to Keith's guides. “I can tell. You don't know what to do any more than we do. I won't let you lead us into a trap. There is nowhere else to go.”

“He is the guide,” Stacy said. “I don't think we should forget that.”

“I don't think we should rely on it,” Brent said, pressing his point.

“The docks,” Keith announced the moment the idea struck him.

Robert leaned in to speak, “I've seen the docks, and he may be right. There are trucks everywhere, crates and boxes filled with produce, animals, and flowers. A vast warehouse. Not only could we hide there for the night, but we might be able to get inside Newcity.”

Brent scoffed at Robert and said, “We'll see,” as he turned away.

The police car that had driven by them several times, stopped at the entrance of the alley, the door opened, and the officer got out. “Hey, what are you doing in there?”

“Run,” Brent barked while dashing from the huddle. The rest followed leaving Keith standing alone. For a moment he thought this might be the best time to separate from them, but when the officer reached for his gun and took off toward them, Keith ran as well. He heard the man yell, “Halt!” several times, but it was too late. They had mingled with the crowd on the sidewalks, which, like several days ago, was beginning its trek from the streets into the alleys and apartments.

The stands had already begun to close. The stores would be next. There were too many people for the policeman to plow through, and he stopped running soon after he left the alley. Keith followed Brent and the others onto another street and lost sight of the policeman. Another hour and the streets would clear enough for the policeman to spot them easily.

Surprisingly, few of the people on the streets appeared to notice, or care, about the running escapees. Some of them didn't even get out of the way until shoved to the side, and then they complained or yelled, throwing up a fist as the odd group passed.

Near a storefront with piles of what looked like old clothing lying on wooden tables, they stopped.

“Get out of here,” the store attendant yelled.

“Keep moving,” Brent said while taking Stacy's hand and proceeding.

“He'll be driving through looking for us,” Keith said when he caught up. “He was going to shoot at us.”

Molly began to cry and Will and Rebecca comforted her. They each held onto one of Molly's arms and pulled in close. Robert put his arm around Amanda.

“I'm not sure about this,” Keith said, “but we've got to avoid that policeman.” They traveled a little farther. Keith found a vendor lowering a metal screen over the front of his store and asked, “Which way to Newcity?” The man looked surprised but answered Keith before locking the screen into position and walking away in the opposite direction.

It didn't take long for them to jog most of the way. Newcity grew overhead until finally it loomed over them. It was as though the city had ended and a great wall rose into a low-hanging cloud and stretched for miles both left and right of them.

They were in the open.

“This way,” Brent said. As soon as he led the others to the right, Keith ran to the left. He had had enough of their dependence. But it didn't last.

Will yelled to the others from behind Keith and before he knew it they had caught up and were following him. The group pitched into one alley, ran along a street, and then shuttled through another alley similar to the way they had driven away from their captors several hours before. The left-right continual turns kept them out of sight of the policeman and safe for the moment.

Again, they approached the doctor's office and Brent repeated his plan. “I still say we break in there and hold up for the night. It's dangerous out here.”

“We don't know that. None of us has ever experienced the city at night,” Keith observed. He looked around. They stood in yet one more alleyway staring out at the dimming light of the street. Patrons dressed in grungy clothing were parking themselves in doorways or wandering off as though they had somewhere to be.

Two men, a woman, and two children entered the alley from the other end. “This is ours,” growled one of the men. “Find your own place to sleep.”

Keith swung around and walked toward them. Stacy whispered her concern, but he ignored her. As he got closer he saw that both men were pulling short clubs from their jackets. The woman placed a hand on each of the children's chests and stepped back with them. “Hold it,” Keith said, raising his hands to show that he was weaponless. “I just want directions.”

The man to the right looked at the other two. “Directions where?”

“We're trying to get to the dock entrance of Newcity.”

The man laughed. “They ain't hiring. I can tell you that.”

“I know.” Keith pointed to the others. “We're inspectors. Our car broke down and the driver stayed back to wait for help. He was the only one who knew where he was going.” He sensed a rush of blood as he lied to the man, an excitement came over him, and a guilt that was oddly pleasant.

Suspicion ran across their faces, but Keith didn't flinch. He didn't change his story. “We're new,” he said. “We just got out of training. He told us how to get there but we got lost.”

“Then you're leaving here?”

Keith nodded.

“It's a few miles,” the man said. “And I don't recommend that you go now. If anyone catches you, they'll think you're cutting line.”

“Cutting line?”

The man stepped closer. He cocked his head and looked into Keith's eyes. “You're not an inspector. What's really going on?” He glanced at the others, still huddled near the other end of the alley. His suspicion turned to wonder. “You're from in there, aren't you?”

The question came with a heaviness that Keith had not felt until that moment. A futility fell over the man, and his question hung between them like a condemned man.

“Were you thrown out?” the man asked. “Is that possible?”

“No,” Keith said, “we escaped.”

He thought the man was about to break down the way his body appeared to crumble, the way he twisted to his side unwilling, it seemed, to address those with him squarely. “Escaped,” he shook his head in disbelief. “Why would you want to escape?”

The others stepped closer, even the woman and children, to listen to the answer that they hoped would not come. But Keith gave them the answer, his answer. “It's horrible in there.”

“It's horrible out here,” the man said, opening his arms to indicate the alley they stood in. “We work hard and have little.”

The woman reached out and put a hand on the man's shoulder. He turned slightly to give her space. The two kids stayed behind her. “If it's so horrible, why are you trying to get back in?” she asked.

“We're not,” Keith said. “We're here to warn them.”

The rest of the escapees advanced on Keith until they stood behind him.

“You'll have to explain that,” the woman said.

Keith spent a few minutes outlining Bradley's plan to them, what he knew of it. Without Sam, none of them could be completely sure, not even Molly.

“He thinks he can kill everyone?” the man said.

Keith glanced at his fellow travelers for backup but got none. “I don't think that's the plan so much as to trap them inside.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Or scare them so that no one else escapes. We can't be sure.”

“Stop delivering food,” the man said.

“They would just let more people out,” Robert suggested.

“It's not that simple anyway,” Molly said from behind Keith. “Newcity provides pharmaceuticals, electronics. All scientific discoveries are coming from there now.”

“Negotiate,” the woman said.

“They don't care about us,” Molly said. “I'm not sure they have any idea what's going on out here any more. As long as they receive shipments of the things they need, they're satisfied with the arrangement.”

“Harold,” the woman said to the man next to her, “what does this mean?” She indicated the children with a jerk of her head.

He didn't respond for a moment. They all waited for him. “None of this makes sense,” he said. He slipped the club he held in his right hand back into an inside pocket of the coat he was wearing. Leaning close to Keith, he said, “There must be something else going on.”

Behind the children, entering from the street came a figure. Keith turned to see who it was and when he did, Harold and the others turned as well. At that moment, Keith knew it was the angel with one wing.

Harold acted as though it was a false alarm. “We want peace in our lives. We know it's difficult, but we're at least hoping to get the children accepted inside. It's a better life for them.” He looked sick when he said it. “Now, we're not so sure. What could be so horrible that you wanted to escape?”