The Artful (Shadows of the City) (16 page)

had to leg it as fast as I could, making as much tracks as possible between me and Dodger, before he woke up. I feared he would follow. My hope was he’d attempt to track me but realize I had already moved too far ahead and turn back. Even if he didn’t, I had every intention of making my way back by the time he got to the halfway point. I knew I could outrun him, even on his best of days.

I ran for what I believed was the better part of the night, sloshing through puddles and jumping over dead animals. I had no time for detours. I breezed through shanty towns before any of the inhabitants could think to question me. Houses built of garbage, broken timber, and other discarded things surrounded me as I descended deeper into the bowels of the Earth. Spray-painted signs warned of territories and spots of refuge. Children played in some areas, skin so pale I wondered if they had ever seen the top side. Adults scavenged and picked at debris; like the farmers of old who tended their crops, the people of the underworld tended to trash.

I stopped once, to gather my bearings. The underworld was a labyrinth of twists and turns, the darkness maddening, even with the occasional lights produced by haphazardly placed generators. We usually navigated this world sure-footed and carefully, taking note of station signs and arrows. I couldn’t afford that luxury. I took a sip of my water, and a dark-skinned man with soot covering his skeletal face crawled out from under a mountain of television boxes. “Who’s that there, trying to blow down my house?”

“What?” I put my bottle away; worried he would try and rob me.

“Ain’t nothin’ but little pigs here, right Leroy?”

I looked behind me and found no one there. “Um, my name is Twist.”

“Leroy says ‘you trying to blow my house down,’ ain’t that right Leroy?” He nodded his head, agreeing with the invisible Leroy.

“No, I was just passing through, headed that way actually.” I moved passed him, towards the towel. Before I could get far he jumped in front of me.

“Well hold up there, you can’t be going down there. That’s the way to hell! Leroy said it and I know it. He says ‘you best be getting on home’ and you don’t want to make Leroy mad.”

“Listen, I’m sure… Leroy means well, but I have to go—”

“Don’t you know, they ain’t nothing but devils in angel wings. The Christ child is long dead. Leroy said he seen it with his eyes.” He leaned close and whispered. “The only promised land is beyond the gates. That’s where Eden is!”

I took a step back, nervous he might attack me in a crazy fit. “Right, well thanks for that. But I have to go; it’s the only way I can save my friend.”

He looked at me with a ravaged madness, rubbing at wild bushes of hair. “Well I guess if I had to save old Leroy I would go there too. Ain’t nothing could stop me from helping Leroy.”

“So you understand… both, of you right? I have to go in order to save my friend. Oh before I forget, maybe you guys can use this.” I offered him my spare bottle of water. His eyes instantly became kind and welcoming.

He scooped up the bottle and took a long drink; water trickled down the side of his chin as he drank with ferocity. I started towards the tunnel again, he nodded and waved me off to engross with his prize.

Before I left I made sure to describe Dodger. “Just do whatever you have to do, to get him to turn back. He can’t follow me.” He agreed my path was the path to damnation, but even so, a friend was worth it.

I’d run for hours more before my stomach rumbled in determination, and my legs threatened to cramp. By then, I had already made it through countless tunnels, through moss-covered train cars, and scaled crumbled walls. Had the landscape been what it was in the old times, the journey wouldn’t have been so taxing. But as the world grew old and unattended, decomposition and degeneration created a gauntlet of uncertainty. I had to keep going uptown was all I knew. The station sign numbers grew higher, from 34th Street to 42nd Street, to 59th and 81st. I would get there soon. Just keep at it. There could be no chance for failure. Dodger would never let me live it down; my only hope was to return a victor.

At 110th Street, my legs were ready to give in. I emerged from the tunnel like a zombie, dirtied and exhausted, staggering, barely holding myself up. The slight hum of generators and light greeted me. This station was like no other, scrubbed clean, with white-tiled walls and gray flooring. I climbed up out of the tracks, rolling myself onto the platform. There I stayed for a bit, catching my breath, staring up at a light bulb, shining bright like a star. From my place of rest, I scanned the area. Stairs led topside, and inviting moonlight showered down.

The cathedral was three blocks away. I decided after I caught my breath I would take it topside, surveying the area to try to figure out the best way to sneak in. I took a deep breath and walked over to a polished bench and sat hard, dropping my bag, leaning my head against the wall.
Breathe.
I needed to breathe and find someplace out of the open to rest, but I passed out.

I don’t know how long I was unconscious; I was between sleep and wake before a harsh nudge to my shoulder woke me with a start. It took some time to regain full control of my eyes before I realized two men stood over me. They wore identical crimson robes, hoods pulled down low over their eyes. Still, their penetrating gaze bore into me.

The one who woke me must have done so with the slender sword he held pointed in my direction. Angels. They patrolled the Sons of Adam territory, all fanatics, following some sick perverse version of an old religion. They worshipped the Sons of Adam and did their bidding, uncaring of anything else. You couldn’t bargain with the devout. Fear swept through my body like a cold breeze. I had to think of something before these bearers of judgment sentenced me to something unpleasant.

“Uh, hi.” I tried to shake my legs awake. “I was hoping to run into some of you.”

“Were you now?” The one with the drawn sword poked at me. “Looks to me like you were squatting on our territory. Don’t it, Michael?”

“Sure does, David,” said the big brute with his arms crossed in a show of tight muscles.

“We don’t take kindly to people squatting on our turf,” said David.

“Or maybe we do,” said Michael.

“Why would that be, Michael?” David asked.

“More bones to break.” Michael snapped all the knuckles in his clenched fists.

“You haven’t broken any bones in a while,” David added. “Now ‘ave you?”

“Not since that last fella. Screamed like a girl, he did,” said Michael.

“Are you a screamer, boy?” asked David.

“No, wait. I―” I began.

“Says he’s not a squealer, can you believe it?” David asked.

“Only one way to find out.” Faster than I would have believed possible for such a brute, Michael was lifting me up by the collar of my shirt.

“Wait, wait,” I pleaded. “I came looking for you! I seek salvation.” Michael looked at me, then at David in confusion.

“Really? Is that so?” David asked.

“I need to repent for my sins.” I forced tears. It wasn’t that hard at this point. “So much sin, I… I need to find forgiveness. I was told I could find that here.”

“Sinner, you?” Michael asked. “Don’t look like much for sins.”

“No, trust me. You’d be surprised how much of a sinner I am. It’s just disgusting; it can’t even bear repeating it shames me so!” I pretended to break down in a fit of crying. The two stared at me in silence, a silence that lasted too long for my own comfort. I calculated the odds of me breaking free of Michael’s grip and escaping. I assure you, I saw no positive outcome, other than he would finally get to break some bones again.

“And you say you want to repent?” David frowned.

“As if it were my life’s goal!” I nodded with excitement.

David looked extremely disappointed. “‘Cause we can really go for a thrashing. It’s really been ah long time, in’it?”

“Real long.” Michael pulled me closer to his face, hot breath threatening to melt the skin from mine.

“And I apologize for that,” I tried my best to smile, “but where would you two be, if you weren’t given the same salvation which I stand… uhh, hang here asking for today?”

“Suppose you have a point, don’t you? Michael! Don’t be disrespectful, put him down.”

Michael set me back on my feet, fixing my collar and straightening out my shirt. “Sorry, wasn’t too rough with you, now was I? Some people deserve a good thrashing. You not so much. No disrespect meant.”

“None taken,” I straightened out my hoodie.

“Really. We do apologize for jumping to conclusions. Is there anything we could get you?” David asked.

“No, really, it’s fine,” I said.

“May we carry your bags?” David reached for my bag with eagerness..

I took a step back. “No, that isn’t―”

“No, no, we insist. We jumped to conclusions; it wasn’t right. Not one bit. To think a minute ago I was going to slice your head clean off while you slept. You see, these are habits we had from our past life. Before salvation. We gotta shake ‘em. We can’t just keep going around assuming it’s okay to murder―”

“And thrash!” Michael added.

“And thrash, whomever we see fit,” David concluded.

“I think it says a lot of your character,” I said. “That you’re willing to admit and acknowledge your mistakes, though.”

“You think so?” David asked.

“It’s a big part of growth,” I gave him a reassuring pat on the arm.

The two looked at each other, and small smiles crept across their lips as they nodded in agreement.

“All right, then, my name is David, and this big ox is my brother, Michael. Only half though. It’s usually worth mentioning because people always wonder why he’s so big, and me the runt of ah litter.”

“No, I can see the resemblance.”

“That’s nice of ya, but no need for flattery.”

“I’m Twist.”

“Twist, well met!” They both waved. Michael picked up my bags. Before I could protest, David added, “Now I’ll hear nothing of it. We got a bit of a walk ahead of us, we did disturb you from your sleep, and we did almost kill you. Least we can do.”

And, with that, they led me top side, and we headed for the cathedral and the Sons of Adam. It wasn’t necessarily the most ideal way to get in, but I supposed at the moment it would be better to hide in plain sight and avoid any thrashings.

Sons of Adam kept their territory very different than the rest of the city. The area was still crumbled and a shadow of its former self, but instead of a monotone look of bleak gray, the streets were filled with vegetation and greenery. Broken sidewalks and cracked cement housed shrubs and sprouting plants. Trees grew unattended, and vines painted the lower walls of buildings. As we walked through the streets, I could feel hundreds of eyes on me. Every now and again, I noticed the shadow of someone hidden within a window of the overlooking buildings, watching, waiting, passing judgment.

The surrounding areas were more than territory, they were viewed as sacred land, only those invited or seeking salvation were welcomed, others tended to be killed on sight.

“And over there,” David explained, “is where we train the new Angels. You wouldn’t tell much from out here, but the inside is filled with barracks and training equipment. We follow tradition, we do. Swordplay is a big part of our regimen. You are in for it, tell you this much. We make sure your faith is as strong as your mind, body, and soul. Sleep and food deprivation, pain elevation, endurance, and patience are all tested.”

“What happens if you can’t pass all the tests?”

“Given over to the Lord,” Michael said cheerfully.

“Oh.”

“It’s not as barbaric as it sounds. Adam feels if you can’t make it as an Angel, instead eh releasing you back into the world of sin, it would be kinder to release you from your flesh prison and give you over to the Lord.”

“How?”

They both smiled at me, giving no indication of adding more.

We passed other Angels on our journey to the cathedral. They nodded or offered praises. “May the Sons of Adam protect you,” seemed to be their go-to.

“Most new Angels live in the cathedral. After the initial six-month probation period, you are allowed tah wander out into the open and find a place to live. It is up to you how you set it up. Most of us stick to the bare essentials. The Lord provides all we need.”