The Stars Never Rise

We turned the corner of the building, sticking to the shadows, and my heart thumped harder when I saw two more teams of cops, the ends of their navy cassocks flapping in the cold wind. They had their backs to us, and they turned left into the next section of the complex without seeing us. But there would be more of them. We could hear them all around us, knocking on doors and demanding entry.

“Finn says this way!” Maddock shout-whispered as I fell into line with them. Then he did an about-face and led us back the way we’d come. We tiptoed past the cluster of apartments we’d been staying in, then followed Maddy into the portico of the next bunch just as a man threw open his door and stepped onto a worn welcome mat.

Devi brandished the knife I hadn’t realized she was still carrying, and the man gave her a big smile. And winked one bright green eye. Then he tossed a set of keys at Maddock, who caught them.

“Parking spot C40, around the corner and to the right.” Then the man stepped back into his apartment and closed the door. And suddenly I understood how Finn could help me steal a car.

“Damn, he’s handy!” I whispered to Grayson as we jogged toward the lot as quietly as we could.

“Yeah.” Her bright white smile shone in the parking lot lights as we followed Maddock down the center aisle, past mostly empty parking spaces. “He scouted out two of them a few days ago, in case we needed a quick escape.”

The vehicle in space C40 was a massive, dented, rusted thing with three rows of seats, a hatchback, and plenty of cargo space in the rear. I couldn’t tell what color it was in the yellowish lights, but the paint was dark. Maddock unlocked and opened the cargo area, and everyone threw their bags in, while I clutched the strap of my backpack tighter. Then Maddy slid into the front seat behind the wheel and Devi climbed in next to him while Grayson and Reese piled into the middle row.

“What’s your plan for getting through the wall?” I asked.

Maddock met my gaze as he shifted into reverse. “How many guards work the gate at night?”

“Two on a normal night.” However, I’d already counted more than a dozen points of light bobbing on the grounds as cops went from door to door looking for us. “But with the town on lockdown, there could be two or three times that.”

“We’re going to have to climb the wall, aren’t we?” Grayson leaned over Reese to stare out at the massive barricade on our left, visible between the buildings.

Devi snorted. “Even if we could get that high with no footholds, the razor wire would shred us like paper.”

“No one’s ever gone over the wall, that I know of. No one human, anyway.” Though that evening’s televised massacre had proved that degenerates could get through our barrier en masse if they were motivated enough.

“We can’t just drive through the gate!” Grayson whispered. “They’ll shoot!”

“We’ll be fine,” Devi said, and I almost choked on shock when I realized she was truly trying to be nice. “Two lanes, one incoming, one outgoing. The guards are armed, but they won’t be expecting us to try something so brash. All we have to do is make enough noise to bring everyone running, then head out into the badlands. Grace, you duck down on the floorboard and stay there.”

“Don’t worry, Nina.” Maddock leaned past Devi so he could see me, his hands still clenching the wheel. “We got this. Go get your sister.”

I stepped away from the vehicle, and he backed out of the parking space, then burned rubber on his way out of the lot, already drawing attention to give my sister her best shot at survival.





The streets were mostly dark and completely deserted, thanks to the lockdown, but I’d only run a couple of blocks before I heard the first sirens. A second after that, a pair of police cars raced toward me, red and blue lights flashing, and I ducked behind a parked car as they zoomed past, headed toward the town’s south gate.

“This is too slow,” I whispered, jogging through the shadows. “They’ll already be through the gate or captured long before I get to the courthouse.” I couldn’t see or hear Finn, so I had no idea whether or not he’d heard me, and after spending the last couple of days with Anathema, being alone felt strange.

Lonely.

I’d gone four more blocks, avoiding both gravel and streetlights, when a soft whirring sound made me draw to a skittish stop. I twisted, looking for the source, and froze when a boy on a bicycle turned the corner I’d just passed, pedaling my way.

Heart thumping, I glanced around for somewhere to hide, praying he hadn’t seen me. Then he rode through the light from a streetlamp and I realized his chest was bare. As were his feet. He was riding a bike in his pajamas, during a lockdown.

Wait a minute….

“Nina!” the boy shout-whispered, and I exhaled in relief. I was starting to catch on to Finn’s MO.

“Where did you get this?” I asked as he rolled the bike to a stop on the shadowed sidewalk next to me, and I wasn’t sure if I was asking about the bike or the boy riding it.