Cassius dragged his weakening body through the barren desert landscape, trying to pretend that the sun wasn’t slowly killing him.
He cursed himself for following the Chute’s tracks northeast. Madame had said Fisher would head to Seattle, not Spokane. In all the confusion and horror of the night before, the details of their brief conversation had slipped his mind. Now he’d wasted precious time. He was lost.
With the morning light, the hazy outlines of the mountains came into view far off in the distance. He knew little about Washington’s geography, except that Seattle was on the other side, away from the desert. But at the rate he was traveling now, it would take him days-weeks, even-to get there.
Squat brown bushes surrounded him on all sides, the only type of vegetation that could thrive in an environment crying out for rain. He’d wandered into a hilly area, though each hill was identically brown and covered with the same ugly bushes-pockmarks on an already unsightly planet.
His plan was to find a Fringe Town. He knew the locals wouldn’t be kind to him, but he’d sneak in, grab what he could, and be out before they could do anything. If he didn’t find civilization in the next day or so, he’d be out of luck. Not only could he die of dehydration, but Fisher would escape him. After the incident on the Chute, he wasn’t sure which was worse.
He kicked the dirt, swearing to himself. Part of him wondered if this was punishment for striking out on his own, for trying to show Madame that he wasn’t going to play her game anymore. No com-pad, no weapons. He’d gotten his wish. He was completely on his own.
The sun pummeled him with each step-a constant enemy, impossible to outrun. He longed for shade, for the shadow of a tree or an old telephone pole. The sky was a pool of blue, so clear that he could see the Northwestern Skyships, tiny dots in the vast abyss.
The land was flat and lifeless, except for the snakes. He’d already run across two, and though they mostly ignored him, he remained cautious. Cassius didn’t like snakes, especially ones that weren’t part of a Chosen City zoo.
Another twenty minutes passed before he stumbled upon an old roadway, cutting through the desert and disappearing into a dumpy bunch of hills in the east.
He stepped onto the cracked pavement, eager for a sign of movement. His borrowed shoes were too big for him, and worn at the heel. Running his fingers through his sweat-drenched hair, he decided to sit for a few minutes, even though he knew it would make getting back up again infinitely more difficult. He closed his eyes, trying to block out the harsh sunlight. A warm breeze tugged at his tattered shirt.
He opened his eyes to expansive nothingness. Everything was quiet-no people rushing around like in the city. No bells or advertisements or announcements. He couldn’t stand it.
Then, a noise.
At first he thought he had imagined it, that he was going crazy from exhaustion. But the more he paid attention, the louder it became. Holding up his hand to block the sun, he looked to the west.
A small red dot approached him, kicking up a cloud of dust as it sped along the road. In his fatigued state, it took a few seconds for him to realize that the dot was in fact a car. An old-fashioned electric car!
Immediately, he gathered what energy remained and stood to wave his arms in the air, jumping up and down in the middle of the road.
As the car drew closer it slowed down, pulling to a stop a few yards in front of him.
It was an old junker for sure. Most of the color had faded, covered in so much dust and dirt. But the novelty of seeing an actual car was enough to completely fascinate him. They were obsolete inside the Chosen Cities.
He approached the driver-side window carefully but quickly. The vehicle shuddered as the engine struggled in the heat.
The driver slid down the window and appraised him. He was an older man with an abundance of facial hair. Just looking at his bushy brown beard made Cassius sweat.
The man removed his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes as if he was staring at a mirage. “What the hell are you doing out here?” His voice was gritty and loud.
“Thank god,” Cassius wheezed. “I’m stranded. I didn’t think I’d make it until-”
“Calm down.” The man held out a hand to silence him. “I can tell you’re stranded. Ain’t no reason to be all the way out here if you weren’t. Thing is, I’ve been through these parts hundreds of times and I’ve never seen someone out on their own between towns, especially a kid like you. Folks are talkin’ about some sort of train explosion down south. You’re not from the city, are you?”
Cassius took a second to concoct a convincing story, careful to conceal his ID socket-a dead giveaway.
A believable lie would require a certain level of emotion. Luckily, after hours alone in the desert Cassius was already panicked. He wouldn’t need to put on much of an act. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, sir. My dad and I were traveling east and our car ran out of power a few miles down. My father… he didn’t… ” He paused, looking down at the ground. “The heat was too much. I’ve been out here ever since and you’re the first person I’ve seen.”
The driver drummed his fingers on the car door. “East, eh? I’ve got family out east. Fact, that’s where I’m headed now.” He sighed, staring at Cassius’s desperate face. “You got someone back there waiting for you?”
“My mother,” Cassius responded.
The man nodded, thinking it over for a moment. “You can hop in the back if you want, but keep quiet. I like my space while I’m driving.”
“That’s all right.” Cassius smiled, though east wasn’t the direction he needed to go. “There’s just one thing. I left my bag over by the bushes.” He pointed off to the side of the road, hoping that the driver wasn’t paying much attention. “It’s got water and rations and stuff. You know, what I could take from the car. It’s the only reason I’ve been able to keep going.”
The man frowned. “So go get it.”
“It’s heavy,” Cassius continued, slumping over to look as pathetic as possible. “If you could just help me drag it to the car, I’ll let you take what you want. The sun has made me so weak I can barely stand.”
It wasn’t entirely a lie, but he hoped he’d have enough energy left for one quick attack. All he needed was for the guy to get out of the car.
The man appraised him for a second before giving a great sigh and turning off the engine. He pushed open the driver-side door, shaking his head as he stepped onto the road, no doubt craving rations as much as Cassius was.
He was nearly a foot taller than Cassius, but fairly thin and clearly not expecting a fight. Cassius gritted his teeth. If he didn’t do this right the first time, it was over.
The man rubbed the back of his neck, scanning the landscape. “Now where’s this bag of yours?”
Cassius pointed off to the side of the road and the man stepped forward, turning his back to him.
As soon as he did, Cassius punched the Fringer right behind the ear, quickly and with enough force to send him slumping over sideways onto the ground. The guy struggled for a few seconds as he slid to the pavement, then stopped moving altogether.
Cassius toyed with the idea of taking the keys and leaving the man out in the open. Less trouble that way. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He’d already been responsible for so many deaths. The thought of one more, especially one so pointless, sickened him. He wasn’t the bad guy.
So he pried the keys from the man’s hand and walked to the back of the car, unlocking the trunk. With the energy he had left, he grabbed the guy’s ankles and pulled him along the road and up into the trunk. His muscles strained with the weight. As soon as he stuffed the last limp arm inside, he closed the hatch and made his way to the front.
Sitting in the driver’s seat, he realized he’d never had the chance to drive an actual automobile before. He couldn’t imagine it was very hard, especially in such a barren landscape.
He tried two keys before finding the right one. The engine buzzed to life and he discovered how to shift the vehicle into drive. Spinning the wheel, he made a sharp U-turn and barreled down the empty road, pushing the old junker to its limit.