Morningside Fall (28 page)

As dawn was breaking, Cass slipped out and made her way to Lil’s room. She tapped lightly on the door, uncertain if Thani was in there and not wanting to wake the child. Cass was surprised by how quickly Lil answered, fully awake and fully dressed. Lil stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind them.

Cass explained their decision, and though Lil listened patiently and seemed to understand, she nevertheless made every effort to convince them to stay.

“It wouldn’t be fair to you,” Cass said. “And as unlikely as it seems, there may be trouble following us. I couldn’t live with myself if we brought danger to your door.”

“We’re still the same people you sought before,” Lil said. “Fewer, perhaps. But the same.”

“It’s not that. Our situation’s changed. And you’ve suffered enough.”

“We’ve
all
suffered enough,” Lil said. “If by lingering another day or two, you, your son, or any of those with you can gain rest or restoration, I would welcome your delay. We all would.”

“I appreciate it, Lil. All of us do. But we have to move.”

Lil dipped her head. “If you must go, you must. But if you should decide to return, you’d be welcome.”

“And what about you? Where will you go?”

Lil looked off down the hall, back towards where the others from her compound were sleeping, and inhaled deeply. She shook her head. “I don’t know. It may be another week before all my people are well enough to move. And even then, some may choose a different path.”

“What about Morningside?”

Lil looked at her with mild surprise. “Is it safe?” she asked.

“I believe it would be for you.”

Lil nodded. “Perhaps. Time will tell.”

“Well, whatever the future holds, I’m glad to have met you at last. Wren has talked about you so much, I feel like I’ve known you far longer than a day.”

Lil smiled. “Wren is very special. I have to confess… my reluctance to let you go has a great deal to do with him. I’d really hoped to get to spend more time with him. If I’d known you’d be leaving so soon, I would’ve made more of an effort.”

“He’s very fond of you. It’s easy to see why,” Cass said. She paused, feeling the full weight of the debt she owed this woman. Cass shook her head. “I never really thanked you for all you did for him. I’m not sure I even know how.”

“Seeing him alive and well is enough. And knowing he is with his mother is more than I could’ve hoped.”

Cass shared her connection information and personal encryption key with Lil, and Lil shared hers, enabling the two women to pim one another. Each promised to update the other on any movement.

“I’ll see you out when you’re ready,” Lil said.

“Shouldn’t be long,” Cass said.

As Cass returned to her room, she found Gamble and her team making their final preparations. They exchanged a few words, and Cass let Gamble know that Lil would be waiting to let them out of the compound. When Cass entered her room, Wren was sitting up in bed, bleary-eyed.

“We’re leaving?” he asked.

Cass nodded. “Yeah, baby. Gamble thinks it’s best.”

He yawned. “OK.”

Cass was a little surprised. She’d been expecting Wren to put up some resistance, or at least to ask why. Instead, he slid out of his bed and started making it.

“Will we have to go far today?” Wren asked.

“A few hours.”

“That’s not so bad.”

He finished straightening the covers on his bed and got dressed. Cass was hesitant to push too much after his response the previous night, but she still wasn’t convinced that everything had gone alright with Painter.

“Everything go OK with Painter last night?” she asked, testing the waters.

“Yeah, it was fine,” he said. He glanced up at her quickly, and then Wren focused on his boots as he buckled them on. “I think he’s just trying to figure out how to deal with everything.”

Wren still seemed to be avoiding eye contact for some reason, but his mood was much improved over the night before. Maybe he had just been tired after all, Cass thought.

They loaded up their packs and went into the hall together, where the rest of the team had gathered. Even Painter was there, though Cass didn’t know who had roused him, or if anyone had.

Elan came to meet them, and though they initially tried to refuse, he managed to convince them to share one last meal together. They were joined by Lil and a couple of the others who they’d met at the village’s ruins.

It was a simple meal, but good and filling, and the conversation was sparse but genuine. Elan tried once more to encourage the group to remain for another day or so. But Gamble held firm. Mouse did insist on making one final check of the wounded, even though after his work the previous night the caregivers had everything well in hand.

Afterwards, Lil and Elan escorted them to the gates, where they said their goodbyes. Lil held Wren in a lingering embrace long enough that Wren actually blushed with embarrassment.

The team passed through the two iron gates back out into the open and assumed their usual positions, surrounding Cass, Wren, and Painter. Broken clouds streaked the sky above, the last remnants of the storm that had passed in the night. The air was cool and damp, and everywhere the soaked pavement glistened under the morning sun, and shone in places pooled with rainwater. The sunlight confused Cass’s vision, and she drew down her veil to reduce the glare. Beside her, Painter donned his goggles.

Wick led them off on yet another unexpected phase of their journey. Cass glanced back at the refuge and saw Lil and Elan still watching them as they left. She wondered if they would ever see one another again, and found herself hoping so. And at the same time, she doubted it very much.

T
he morning passed slowly, and the view changed little as they marched east and maybe a bit to the south. They certainly hadn’t intended for it to be quite so roundabout, but the path they’d taken from Morningside – to where they were now – would’ve thrown off all but the most determined of trackers. If nothing else, certainly no one would be able to anticipate where they were headed based on their previous movements.

As they walked, Cass mulled over all she knew about the situation in Morningside. No matter what she did, she couldn’t get the pieces to fit together in any way that made sense to her. She might have misjudged North altogether, but it still didn’t account for all that had occurred. There were too many threads dangling, too many unanswered questions. But then, maybe she was thinking about it all wrong. She’d been assuming there had been a single plan all along, perfectly executed. What if, instead, it hadn’t gone to plan at all?

There had always been politics at play when it came to the Council. She didn’t for one moment believe that they had agreed to elevate Wren to governor out of any sense of altruism. He had been largely intended as a figurehead, to quell the rising panic after Underdown’s death, and she’d agreed, knowing it would secure their place in the city. But once Wren’s abilities had become widely known, the people of Morningside had seemed to revere him even more highly than his father. Had the Council members truly been trying to unseat him? Or had something gone terribly wrong?

“Hey,” Wick said from the front. “
Persona non grata
. What’s the plural of that?”

“I reckon we are,” said Finn.

“
Personae non gratae
,” Swoop muttered.

“Oh ho ho,” Wick said, looking over his shoulder at Swoop. “A gentleman
and
a scholar, huh?”

Swoop spat.

“What does that mean?” Wren asked, and it dawned on Cass that she’d never told Wren and Painter about the executive order from Morningside.

“It means an unwelcome person,” Sky said.

“Like an exile?” Wren said.

“Pretty much,” Sky said.

Wren was quiet for a moment.

Cass was still trying to figure out how to share the news when he spoke again. “Does that mean we can’t go home?”

Gamble glanced at Cass and grimaced, only then realizing the situation.

“For now,” Cass said. “But we’re going to figure it out, OK?”

“Wait,” said Painter. “What?”

“We found out last night, after you were asleep,” Cass said. “The Council cut us off.”

“What? Whuh-wh-why?”

“Because of what happened… to Connor and Aron.”

“Actually,” Finn said, “it didn’t mention Aron. And it didn’t mention Painter, either.”

It took a moment for the implication of that to sink in for Cass. “They think
I
killed him?” she said.

“Or,” Mouse said, “they want everyone else to think that.”

They all walked on in thoughtful silence for a few moments.

Cass didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to her before. Of course they’d think she was the one who had killed Connor. There were no witnesses, and no reason for anyone to suspect that Painter would ever have been involved. Maybe it’d been a mistake to bring him with them after all.

“Well,” Wick said. “On the bright side, at least
one
of us can go home.”

“We’re all goin’ home,” Swoop said. “Just might get a little loud when we do.”

“I hope Uncle Aron’s OK,” Wren said quietly.

They marched on, breaking every hour or so to rest, often while Wick and Swoop scouted ahead, behind, or around. Cass never was sure what exactly they were looking for, but the fact that they hadn’t encountered any traps or other travelers thus far probably had a lot to do with their vigilance.

At every stop, Mouse made the rounds to double-check everyone’s water intake, and he fussed mildly at both Wren and Painter for not drinking more. Both the boys had kept mostly quiet during the journey, which was fast becoming the norm.

Their progress was steady over the course of a few hours. The streaks of clouds overhead steadily thickened and drew together and eventually hid the sun from view. Around them the area began to open out; buildings were spaced farther apart, and didn’t tower as high, rarely reaching more than three stories. The streets and alleys were wider here, and abandoned living quarters sat comfortably between deserted shops and empty taverns. Whatever the place used to be, its layout gave Cass a less rushed feeling, like it was once a community where it had been alright to take your time, and people had a little more room to live. In the distance, Cass caught a glimpse of a tall building towering above the others.

“We’re not far now,” Wick said. “How do you want to handle the approach, G?”

“I hate to split up too much,” she answered. “But I don’t think it’s wise to roll up to the front gate with our Awakened friends without announcing ourselves first.”

“What if they just keep covered up?” Swoop asked.

“Might draw more attention than we want. And questions.”

“I don’t see how we can escape that,” Mouse said. “And I don’t think any explanation is actually going to prepare anybody.”

“Fair enough,” Gamble said. “Miss Cass, what do you think?”

“I’d rather stay together if we can make it work,” Cass answered.

“Then we’ll make it work,” Gamble replied. “Tighten up a little, keep the weapons casual but in plain view. I want to look threatening without having to threaten. And Sky, I want you on overwatch anyway.”

“Yep, check,” Sky said.

In another ten minutes or so, they came to a wide intersection, and Sky broke off from the group and went to find a position. Nobody said anything, but Cass could almost feel the sharpening of focus. Nervous energy built. She drew closer to Wren, and tried to calm her breathing. It felt very much like they were walking into a fight.

When the enclave finally came into view, Cass quickly understood how it’d gotten its name. The tall building she’d seen before dominated the area, nine stories high. It was actually about fifty yards outside the wall of the enclave, just to the right of it from their direction, looming over it like a headstone.

“Main gate’s just around to the right,” Gamble said. “Swoop, Mouse, with me. We’ll take point. Wick, fall back and watch the rear. The rest of you stay about five meters behind me. If anybody starts popping off, just hit the ground until it’s quiet again. Or until I tell you otherwise.

“Sky,” she said, “you set…? No, we’re coming up on it now… alright. Well, stay put, we’ll check it out.”

“That’s weird,” Wick said.

“Maybe they’ve loosened up,” Gamble answered. “Still. Eyes up.”

Cass wanted to ask what the exchange was about, but thought better of it. Everyone else was switched on, no need to distract them. They approached the enclave, which was surrounded by a hexagonal concrete and metal wall, maybe fifteen feet high. The wall itself looked fairly well assembled; clean welds held the obviously scavenged parts together. It wasn’t the prettiest place she’d seen, but they’d constructed it with some skill. There were a few scattered watchtowers peeking over the top, though as they got closer she could tell the towers were actually constructed next to the wall on the inside, rather than on top of it. Maybe not ideal, but certainly functional. She got the feeling the place had been added on to over the years, rather than having been planned from the start.

Wren tensed up beside her.

“Mama,” he said quietly. “It’s not right.”

Cass slowed her pace. He stared straight ahead at the wall, eyes wide, shaking his head.

Gamble was just turning the corner around the wall and getting a view of where the gate was. She stopped short, and Swoop walked up right beside her.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me,” Swoop said. He readjusted his weapon on its sling and started towards the gate.

The rest of the group gathered behind Gamble. Wren called after Swoop. “Don’t go in,” he said. “It’s not safe.”

Now that Wren brought it to her attention, Cass could feel it too. There was a weird energy there. Ethereal, evasive. Wild. Angry. But something vaguely familiar that she couldn’t place.

“Not again,” Wick said.

The gate had two doors, opening inward, and at first it just looked like the people of Ninestory had left it open. It wasn’t that uncommon for towns to let people enter freely during the day. But as Cass drew nearer, it became clear something had gone wrong. Towards the center, the metal was bent inwards, as if it’d been struck by some great force. Near the top of both doors, the hinges had flexed and pulled away. Something had most definitely breached the gate.

“Mama, don’t,” Wren insisted. He was hanging back, away from the gate. Wick and Swoop moved into the enclave with cautious steps. Finn and Mouse followed after, and the four men began to fan out with their weapons lowered, but shouldered.

“Sky, bring it in,” Gamble said. She and Able remained outside the gate with Cass and the boys. “You boys be careful.”

“Wren, what is it? What are you feeling?” Cass asked.

“There’s something in there, Mama.”

There were a number of buildings visible from the main entrance, but they were all closed up, windows dark. For all intents and purposes, the place looked completely abandoned.

“I don’t think there’s
anything
in there, Governor,” Gamble said.

Think they all left?
Able signed.

“Could be. Seems odd, though. Ninestory’s been around for years. Don’t see why they’d pull up and head out now.”

There was a noise behind them, and Cass turned to see Sky jogging up to join them.

“What’s the word?” he said as he drew near.

“Dunno yet,” Gamble answered. “Could be an attack. Could be they up and left.”

Sky let out an exasperated sigh. “Didn’t we just do this?”

“Pretty much.”

“Wasn’t that great the first time, you know.”

Inside the enclave, the four team members were approaching the nearest building. Wick led the way, with Finn right behind him, while Mouse and Swoop held off a few yards and covered their flanks.

“Yeah, Wick, I got you,” Gamble said. “…Check. Just be careful. You see something you don’t like, you come right back out.”

“Please,” Wren said, “please, let’s just go. Let’s go back.”

Cass went down on one knee and drew Wren to her. He was trembling.

“Gamble, I really think we should listen to Wren,” Cass said.

“I hear him,” Gamble said. “Don’t worry, we’re not gonna stay long.”

Wick eased open the front door and flowed in with Finn in support. They disappeared into the darkened building. Mouse and Swoop waited outside, weapons up, casually scanning.

“Check,” Gamble said, and then looking back at Cass and Wren, “Front room’s clear. They’re just gonna check the lower level.”

The words had barely left her mouth when the gunfire barked from inside the building. Gamble cursed, and immediately the whole team switched on, weapons up, closing in on the building. Wren clapped his hands over his ears.

The gunshots continued, and a few seconds later Finn appeared in the doorway, firing his weapon with one hand and dragging something backwards with the other. He was screaming for Mouse.

It took a moment for Cass to realize what Finn was dragging: Wick. He was on his back, and his legs were fishtailing along the ground, trying to help his brother propel him backwards away from the building. Wick still had his weapon up, firing.

Mouse and Swoop started advancing towards the door – right as the first of the Weir stumbled out into the daylight. They both opened up, and the Weir dropped, but it was quickly replaced by another, and then another. Cass’s mind couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing, as a stream of Weir came pouring out into the street.

“Back! Fall back!” Gamble shouted, and all guns were up and firing, cutting down the impossible wave that flowed out of the building. Finn went down hard, fighting to drag Wick further away, but no matter how many they killed, the tide of Weir kept gaining ground. Mouse ran forward and skidded to a knee beside Wick, firing into the advancing horde.

Swoop let out a howl of pure rage and walked forward, unleashing an unrelenting torrent of gunfire. Able sprinted towards his comrades. Sky remained at the gate, methodically firing shot after shot after shot, with barely a second in between to acquire a new target.

And just when Cass thought the team was sure to be overwhelmed, the tide broke and the last of the Weir toppled to the ground, mere feet from where Wick lay.

“Come on, get him up, get him up!” Finn shouted, but Mouse was already there, lifting Wick to his feet. Mouse wrapped one of Wick’s arms over his shoulder and hauled him up, jogging away from the building and the mass of bodies that lay sprawled in the street. Even from where Cass knelt, she could see the dark stains soaking Wick’s chest, and the paleness of his face.

The others kept their weapons up as they backpedaled towards the gate. Cass was still trying to process what had just happened when the sounds started. It was muffled at first, an indistinct mass of white noise coming from somewhere within the enclave. But as it grew in intensity, it also sharpened, and Cass realized she wasn’t hearing a single sound, but rather some countless number of them blending together.

The whole enclave was full of Weir. And they were coming.

“Back, to the building!” Gamble ordered. “Get to the building!”

Cass didn’t hesitate. She swung Wren up in her arms and took off, sprinting for the tall building just over fifty yards away. The indistinct sounds became clearer, and she recognized the telltale cries of the Weir echoing behind her. But there was no sound of gunfire. Yet.

As she reached the door to the nine-story-tall building, Cass realized she had no idea what was on the other side of it. If there were Weir in the enclave, was there reason to think they wouldn’t also be inside the building?

She skidded to halt just in front. Gamble caught up and didn’t slow down. With a stomping kick, she slammed the double front doors open and entered aggressively with her weapon shouldered.

After a few moments she called from the inside, “Clear, let’s go!”

Painter was staring back at the gate, eyes wide, unmoving. Cass grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, and shoved him through the door ahead of her, following him in closely. The entryway was a small dusty front room that led to a narrow corridor. The corridor was lined with a number of doors on both sides, and there was a concrete stairwell at the far end.