Blood Red Road (21 page)

Strong arms yank me into a stinkin alley. I throw wild punches. I twist an turn, tryin to free myself.

Wait! Stop, you idiot! a voice yells. I’m a Hawk!

I stop fer a second, pantin. The person pushes back their hood. It’s a girl I ain’t seen before. Six foot tall, light brown hair, hard eyes. Strong lookin.

I’m Ash, she says.

Oh, I says. Right.

Didn’t have you down as the nervous type. She reaches unner her cloak an throws me a crossbow an a quiver. Right. This way.

I hesitate.

C’mon, she says.

I’m exhausted. Sore. In no shape to fight her. I’ll play along now. Ditch her the first chance I git.

The alley’s short. It ends in a high metal wall, battered an bent.

You go first, I says.

No, she says. You go.

I sling the bow an quiver on my back an launch myself at the wall. I grab the top an pull myself up. Nobody in sight. I drop down on th’other side an Ash is right there behind me.

We race along a narrow street with shanties crowded up close together, turn right, left, then right agin. White rays of light slice through the darkness. I got no idea where we are.

There’s the sound of runnin feet. Voices. Shoutin. To our left.

Fan out! somebody calls. Cover all the streets!

This way! Ash dives into a ramshackle stone buildin. I’m right behind. She runs to the corner an lifts a wooden hatch in the earth floor.

Follow me, she says. Close the hatch behind you.

I wait fer a split second. Then I turn to run.

She grabs my arm an twists it behind my back. She’s strong. Real strong. Oh no, you don’t, she says.

Let me go, I says. I gotta find my brother. I try to twist outta her grasp, but she’s got me in a strong grip.

I see, she says. The Hawks help you out, risk our lives fer you an yer sister an you cheat us.

You couldn’t of done nuthin without me. I glare at her. I could of killed Epona, you know.

The Hawks help you, she says, you help the Hawks. Then yer free to go after yer brother. That’s the deal you made with Maev.

She yanks harder on my arm. I cry out. You don’t need me, I says. There’s enough of you.

So you’ll leave all them fighters, she says, the ones stole by slavers jest like you an yer sister was, you’ll leave ’em in this place. That’s the kinda person you are. Somebody who don’t keep their word. Somebody who lets people down.

No, I says. No, I ain’t like that.

She waits.

All right, I says. All right, I’ll keep my word. I promise I will.

She lets me go. I straighten up, easin my sore arm. I’m sorry, I says.

We look at each other a moment. Then she smiles. Her eyes don’t look so hard after all. She lifts the wooden hatch. After you, she says.

I swing myself down into the hole, set my feet on a rickety ladder I find there an start down it. Ash follows me an closes the hatch behind her.

It’s black. I cain’t see a thing. The cool earth smell of bein unnerground fills my nose. I feel my way to the bottom, ten rungs. Ash jumps down beside me an lights a torch.

Where’re we goin? I says.

You’ll see, she says. This way.

We crouch over an head down a low tunnel. Pretty soon, we reach the end. The tunnel ends in a brick wall. There’s weapons piled up along with a crowbar an some glass bottles filled with what looks like water an rags stuffed in their tops.

Hold this. Ash hands me the lit torch. Keep it well away from them bottles. She picks up the crowbar, sticks it in between the bricks an starts workin one free.

What is this? I says. Are we breakin in somewhere?

I sure hope so, she says. Otherwise we’ve jest spent the last three days clearin out this tunnel for no good reason. We’re talkin in whispers. The first brick’s free. Take it, will you?

While I pull the brick free an put it on the ground, she starts on the next one. So this was already here, I says. How did you know about it? Where does it lead to? The second brick’s loose. I take it away.

There was a big escape from this place about ten year ago, she says. The fighters dug theirselves out. One tunnel from the men’s cellblock an one tunnel from the women’s cellblock. They filled in the tunnels afterwards. If they’d bin smart, they would of collapsed ’em.

Third brick done. So we’re breakin into the cellblock, I says. My cellblock?

That’s the idea, she says.

An yer gonna tell me that there’s a good reason why we ain’t jest takin out the guards an cuttin through the fence to let ’em out? I says.

There’s a full guard shift on duty, she says. They must of bin nervous that the fighters ’ud try somethin unner cover of all the activity in town. You should always have a Plan B.

I’ll remember that, I says.

Shhh, says Ash as I take away the fourth brick. She blows out the torch. She nods at the hole an we look through.

We’re lookin straight into the female fighters’ cellblock. In fact, we’re lookin down into my cell.

My cot’s directly below us. My cell door stands open. The girls in the big main cell’s all mainly sittin or lyin down on the floor. They ain’t got no cots, not even blankets. At the far end on eether side of the main door, there’s two cellblock guards sittin on chairs.

We can work the last few bricks free with our hands. We’re silent, quick about it. When we got a hole big enough fer us to slip through, she takes a blowpipe outta her belt an slides a dart into it.

Jest then, one of the girls in the main cell sees us. Her eyes go wide. I shake my head. She gives a little nod.

Ash lifts the pipe to her lips. Takes in a big breath. Blows.

It’s a hit. The guard to the left of the door cries out. He
slaps a hand to his neck an falls offa his chair. Th’other guard jumps to his feet, but Ash sends another dart flyin. He don’t make a sound. Jest crumples to the ground.

Very neat, I says.

Let’s go, she says.

She slides through the hole an jumps down. While she gits the key ring from the guard’s belt an unlocks the main cell to let the girls out, I toss the weapons down onto my cot. Bows, quivers full of arrows, slingshots, bolt shooters.

Help yerself to weapons, girls! Ash says. Then wait fer us by the door. They come runnin into my cell an in a minute or two they’ve scooped up all the ammo.

Now, says Ash. We’re gonna take four of the bottles an leave the rest there. Be careful.

I hand the rag-stuffed bottles down to her an she sets ’em gentle on the ground. Then I jump down outta the hole. Strange to be back in my cell like this.

Ash takes two of the bottles an I take two. Th’others should be lettin the men out, she whispers. She cricks open the main door of the cellblock. She waits fer a moment, then she slips outside an starts up the outside steps, real slow an careful.

She comes runnin back down an throws the door wide open. Git outta here! she says.

The girls don’t wait to be told a second time. They go runnin past her an don’t look back. When they’re all gone,
when the cellblock’s clear, Ash grabs a lit torch from a wall sconce an says, Let’s git this party started.

I follow her out the door an up the stairs into the exercise yard. She holds up one of her bottles. She grins a wicked grin. Wreckers called these cocktails, she says. Two should do the trick. Throw it, then run like hell.

I hold one of my bottles out.

My pleasure, she says. She touches the torch to the rag an it catches light right away. Quickly she lights her bottle. We toss ’em down the stairs. Then we run like stink. Two seconds later, there’s a huge bang. The ground shakes unner our feet.

We stop, turn an look behind us. Flames come shootin up the stairs, outta the cellblock.

Wait’ll them flames hit the bottles in the tunnel, she says. Then we’ll really see some action.

The female fighters is jumpin up an down, shoutin an huggin each other an cheerin. They pound Ash an me on the back. We look around. There’s Free Hawks everywhere an dead guards lyin on the ground. The male fighters is all streamin outta their cellblock now.

There’s about six Hawks climbin all over the fence around the compound, snippin at it with wire cutters an rollin it back so’s everyone can git out. Other Hawks stand near a weapons pile an throw bows an spears an slingshots to whoever’s runnin past.

I can see flames shootin up all over Hopetown. Maev warn’t foolin when she said she was gonna wipe it offa the face of the earth.

I’m lookin fer one person but I cain’t see him nowhere. Silver gray eyes an a crooked smile.

I grab one of the men runnin past. Where’s—? He pushes me off.

I grab another. I’m lookin fer Jack, I says. He’s a new fighter. They brought him in a few days ago. Gray eyes, came in with long hair, down to his shoulders.

I know, he says. He jerks his head back to the men’s cellblock. Try the Cooler. They threw him in there yesterday.

My heart leaps into my throat. The Cooler. Jest like in the female cellblock, the men’s block has a metal punishment box sunk into the floor. I grab the man by the shoulders. He ain’t still in there? I says.

Well I didn’t let him out, he says an runs off.

Ash! I yell, lookin all around me to see where she is. Ash! There’s somebody trapped in …

Then I see her.

She’s lightin another cocktail.

Aimin it at the door of the men’s cellblock.

Ash! I scream. No! Don’t!

I start to run towards her. But I cain’t go fast enough. It’s like the whole world slows down to a crawl.

Ash pulls her arm back. She throws the lit bottle down the steps of the men’s cellblock. She turns, runs towards me. She holds up her arms in victory, a big grin on her face.

Aaaaash! I yell. The ground shakes, the flames come shootin up the stairs. I grab her arm. There’s somebody in there, I says. He’s locked in the Cooler.

Her eyes go wide. It’s too late, she says.

No, I says. It cain’t be. I start to run, pullin her along behind me.

Jest then, there’s the most almighty blast. We’re sent flyin into the air. I land hard on the ground. I lift my head. A great plume of black smoke billows into the sky. Ash scrambles to her feet, gives me a hand up.

That must of bin the bottles in the tunnel! she says. The whole town’s burnin! You cain’t go in there, Saba! It ain’t safe!

I cain’t leave him there, I says. Where’s the keys?

That was Ruby’s job. Ash looks around. She sticks her fingers in her mouth, gives a sharp whistle. A short girl by the weapons pile lifts her head.

Ruby, Ash yells. I need the keys!

Ruby runs over an tosses ’em at us. I catch ’em one-handed an start to go. Ash grabs my arm. It’s too dangerous, she says.

Let go, I says.

She swears. Who is this guy? What’s he to you anyways?

Jack, I says. His name’s Jack.

She lets go an I’m runnin towards the burnin cellblock.

Saba! Ash screams. Come back! You got no boots on!

I don’t stop.

Smoke pours outta the door of the men’s cellblock. I wrap my cloak around my head to cover my mouth an nose. Then I plunge inside.

Darkness. Hard to see. Smoke fills the air. Burns my throat, my nostrils, stings my eyes
.