Chapter 43

The buildings were taller than Rain had realized. It seemed like each step she took forward got her no closer to them. By the time they reached a mostly clear piece of concrete sticking out of the ground and forming a broken trail with its brethren of broken bits and pieces that seemed to lead directly to the closest building, which was still a thousand miles away in Rain’s mind, lifting her boots was a negotiation with each step. If the Mothers showed up right now, Rain was as good as dead.
Not to mention the fact that she felt as if she were being watched. The closer they got to the remains of the city, the stronger the sensation that eyes were tracing their every move grew.
It was Walt who finally said something. His eyes lifted toward the closest buildings, he asked, “Is someone watching us?”
“Sure seems that way,” Mist replied. “But, they haven’t shot at us yet, so that’s something.”
“They probably wonder who the hell we are. You two aren’t dressed like Military Mothers anymore. Surely, that’s about all they see out here, wouldn’t you think?” Adam shifted his grip slightly on her hand, and Rain’s immediate reaction was to tighten her fingers.
Mist slowed slightly as she took her eyes off of the broken road to look up at the nearest building. It was still at least a quarter of a mile away, Rain estimated, but the details of the monstrosity were becoming clearer now. No longer the shiny architectural wonder it must’ve been a couple of hundred years ago, it was a decaying relic, its war wounds more visible as they neared, though the true enemy that would claim it in the end was clearly the plant life that covered it well past the fifth floor, growing up its western side, splintering out like fingers that would eventually grasp the rooftop and bring the entire building down.
Something stirred in one of the windows about halfway up. Rain was certain she saw movement there, on what might’ve been around the twentieth floor. She continued to walk, not adding to the conversation, and not pointing out what she’d seen either. Perhaps these buildings were full of the ghosts of the men who’d died in the war, or those who’d been obliterated during the women’s uprising.
“Did you see that?” Walt asked, starting to lift his hand to point but then dropping it. “In that building over there, I swear I saw someone standing in front of a window for a moment. Then, they were gone.”
“I see them, too,” Mist replied, her voice cautious. “Lightning thought there might be people living here, but she didn’t know for sure. The military records on what happens in no-man’s land are locked up tight. Only highly authorized eyes can see them, and their digital records are kept on the server in the capital.”
“So we might be walking into a city full of people who want to kill us just as desperately as the army of lunatics coming at us from behind?” Adam clarified.
“I don’t think so,” Mist said, still not as concerned as Rain thought she should be. “I think they would’ve hurt us already if they wanted to.”
“You think they have guns that can reach us at this distance?” Walt’s eyes were saucers as he stared at Mist. Taking his eyes off of the path proved to be a bad decision as he stumbled. If Mist hadn’t been so quick to reach out a hand to steady him, he would’ve fallen face first on the asphalt, possibly caught a small shrub on his way down.
The incident was enough of a distraction that Rain didn’t hear the familiar sound that had been haunting her for the last several days until it was far closer than she ever wanted it to be. She turned, her eyes to the sky. A small dot above the trees they’d vacated a few moments ago confirmed her suspicions. “Drone!” she shrieked, whirling around to see how fast it was coming, her mind racing as she tried to determine where in the world they could hide. Though any of the buildings would’ve been a safe place to take refuge as the electronic bird flew overhead, they were too far away from any of them to shelter there in time. Her eyes scanned the area around them. One small tree and a thousand bushes were their only options. That would never work, and the whirring was growing closer.
Rain looked to Mist for direction, her mouth hanging open with the unasked question--where do we go?
For the first time since they’d left Gretchintown, Mist had fear behind her eyes. The blank expression on her face coupled with her inability to move startled Rain. If Mist wasn’t going to tell them what to do, who would?
It became a moot point when a sharp bang rang out, jarring the four of them. Rain’s heart leapt into her throat as she automatically ducked her head, and Adam pulled her to his chest, wrapping himself around her. Had the scavengers decided to start shooting at them at the same time that the drone had arrived? Or had the shot come from the Mothers? Were they close enough behind now that they were in firing range?
Only one shot met her ear. Rain raised her eyes above Adam’s shoulder, looking back toward the buildings. It didn’t make sense for their assailants to only fire once, no matter who they were.
“Holy shit!” Adam whispered and then gave a soft chuckle. Rain turned her head again, resting her head beneath his chin so she could see what he was looking at. Tiny fragments of metal rained down from a cloud of smoke, electric sparks still dancing in the area Rain assumed the drone had been when it had met its demise.
She turned to look at him as his face came toward hers. He was so close to her now, it might’ve been distracting if the fear coursing through her veins wasn’t screaming at her that she was about to end up like that drone. “What happened?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It just exploded.”
“It’s a forcefield!” Mist said, pointing up at the area where the smoke was dissipating. “Look! See that tower way over there?” Mist shifted her finger to the west, and the rest of them followed with their eyes. “There’s another one miles down there in that direction.”
Rain looked far to the east where Mist was now pointing. On either side of the city, two enormous metal structures stood guard, an electric grid of power keeping the Motherhood’s eyes out of this space.
The structures themselves reminded Rain of some of the junked out transporters and other scrap she and Mist had once stumbled upon during one of their explorations of the woods. These towers had been assembled from scraps of other giants, that was certain. Patched and discolored, no two sections exactly the same, they were a mismatched set of protectors pieced together from the crumpled city they now guarded. Rain turned back to the city, wondering how many of these buildings had sacrificed a section of their soul to contribute to the cause.
“How did they do that?” Walt’s question didn’t seem to be directed to anyone in particular, but Rain assumed Mist would answer it.
“I don’t know,” was all the other girl said, that unsettled look still visible in the way she swallowed. She was shook now, Rain could tell. The information she’d been given, the facts and figures she’d been doling out only when necessary, weren’t holding true, and she didn’t know what to do about it.
“They couldn’t have put them up to help us,” Adam said, still gazing from one tower to the other. “But they came in handy.”
“No, I think they’re an indicator that the Motherhood has more secrets than I realized,” Mist admitted. “I’m not sure the space that barrier covers, but I guarantee the Mothers will figure out a way around it. We walked through it, after all. So, they must be able to, too.”
“Maybe it only keeps away the birds,” Walt offered, meaning the drones.
“Maybe we’ll find out when they get here,” Mist replied, turning back around.
“Who? The Mothers?” Rain asked, wondering if that meant Mist thought they were close by.
“No. Them.” She didn’t point with her finger this time, only indicated where they should look with a tip of her head.
Rain took a step back, grasping at Adam again, wishing she could hold the stoic stance of her friend Mist, but as the group of strangers approached them, mostly men, dressed in unfamiliar clothes, their hair long and braided, she couldn’t help but want to run right back to Michaelanburg.