The Ward

19


2:45 A.M., SUNDAY


Just as we’re about to step out into the tar-black night, Callum stops. Runs back inside the apartment. Returning, he throws me something small and says, “In case you need to reach me.”

I catch it—a cuffcomm. Latching it next to my DI-issued one, I realize they look identical. I hold the comm close, inspect its sides, flip it open and everything, but I can’t see a difference.

“It’s DI issued as well,” Callum tells me, noticing. “I snagged it before I left and made it untraceable.”

I look at the comm with a nod and make a mental note to ask Callum about that “falling-out” he mentioned. Not one bit do I like the sight of the two side by side on my wrist. My nerves get all jittery.

Then we’re out the door again, each carrying one empty rubber sack. The narrows creak the whole half block it takes to reach Mad Ave, but not far down the boardwalk, I see his mobile. Docked and waiting. Callum tugs at the rope, drawing it in.

“You got an Omni?” I ask, awed.

“Of course I do.”

Under my breath, I mumble, “Of course he does. Silly me.”

“And you’re driving.”

I do a double take as Callum passes me his keys. You just don’t do that, offer the keys to your mobile. An Omni, no less. Sure, I’m known, but still . . .

Whistling, I run my finger along the sleek, purple paint job. The wheels that allow for driving on land are tucked inside the body, under the surface. She looks just like a bullet, but with a glass roof. Swankier than Ter’s.

“Let’s get a move on,” Callum mutters anxiously, rubbing the nape of his neck like he’s reconsidering getting in with me. “They’ll station people there once the freshwater find has been confirmed. We have to move fast, or we lose our shot entirely.”

“I’m on it,” I say, not liking his tone, but knowing he’s right. If Chief Dunn sends the surveillance team early . . . bad news. Don’t know how we’d get out of that one.

I push a grooved button on the key and a soft click follows. The roof lifts, revealing two black leather seats, one for the driver, one for a back passenger. Wonder how she goes from water to land. With a classy ride like this, it shouldn’t be too hard to learn—you probably just think the word wheels and they electromagically grow out of its bum, ready for riding.

We both hop into our respective seats. I click the button on the key again, folding the roof back over our heads. The Omni pressurizes and my ears crackle.

“This is one good piece of metal, Doc,” I comment, nodding in approval. “Never know when a floodable airlock might prove useful.” Behind Callum’s seat in the back is a tiny space where you can enter directly into the water without sinking the boat.

“Could you stop calling me Doc, please?” Polite words, sharp voice. Not sure what gives.

“That’s what you are though, right?” I fire up the obviously not-old girl and she sways side to side, sending bubbles round the edges. Now might be a good time to mention that I’ve never actually driven a fully water-adaptable mobile, which is less like driving a car and more like steering a boat.

Nah. He’d only get nervous. I jam on the acceleration and the Omni jerks forward.

Callum groans. It’s a pitiful sound that makes me turn to face him. When I do, he shoos me away and points to the mobile’s nose. I shrug and keep driving. It takes a few erratic lurches before I’m able to get the hang of this whole underwater acceleration thing.

“I’m going to be sick,” Callum says as I shift the gears and bring us underwater.

“Better not.” I turn around to face him again. All the while he’s going more and more interesting shades of seaweed. “You’re the doctor, remember?”

He shakes his head and points again. “Eyes. Front.”

Looking out at the wide expanse of the channel, I realize I don’t know where I am. It’s a different city down here, full of furry, fuzzy edges. I tap the dashboard screen, hoping there’s no actual button. It beeps a few times and then a neon grid lines the black background.

“Quad Nine,” I say aloud, feeling mighty foolish. Like I’m talking to myself.

But then . . . Bingo.

Green lines mark the way through the rubble to our destination like an antique Etch A Sketch. I set out, steering us as fast as I can, but with each turn, the Omni jolts. It’s difficult—following the navigation screen while rushing. After a few moments of silence, I turn around to see Callum curled up with his head hanging between his legs.

“Are you really getting sick?”

“Submarine travel . . . it hasn’t agreed with me since I was a child.”

“You were fine in the transport sub earlier.”

“My mind was occupied. And there were no windows.”

“What have windows got to do with it?”

Callum takes a deep breath, presses his head against the window. “I’m guessing you’ve never been trapped underwater in a mobile, your only way out through a window that’s sealed shut.”

If he’d said that forty-eight hours ago, I would’ve been able to say no. “Last night. The race. It was one of the scariest moments of my life.”

“I was nine. I’d begged my parents for an underwater tour of the city for my birthday. There was a mechanical failure, something to do with the sub’s oxygen tanks. They were leaking. My entire family—all my friends—we were all trapped. The captain had to break the windows. Everyone made it, thankfully. But ever since then, it’s been hard.”

I don’t know what to say. It was terrifying for me, and I’m sixteen. Can’t imagine what it would be like to go through the same thing at nine. In the rearview mirror, I see Callum close his eyes. “Open your eyes,” I tell him. “You’re going to miss the tour.”

“I’d really rather not,” he groans.

“Give it five minutes. If you don’t feel better after that, I won’t bother you again till we get to the building.” I point out his window, slowing down the mobile. “Take a look.”

A shaft of sunlight stakes the water, turns it a golden, muckish brown. Schools of bluefish flick by, white splashes in this brown sea-sky. “It’s downright pretty under here.” I laugh, hoping he notices.

Callum looks out at the fish, but he doesn’t comment. I keep going. “You can almost imagine the city from Before, right? What do you think it was like?”

He takes a glance, followed by a gulp, and then he leans his head against the glass. “I imagine there . . . were . . . very many people.”

If I knew him better I might make a joke about that being one seriously profound observation.

The red line on the dash makes its gradual crawl to our destination point, just one square away on the screen’s grid. “Almost there,” I let him know, and I force myself to relax my grip on the wheel since the nav’s doing all the work anyway. I’m a sympathy puker. Seeing it, hearing it . . . and, ugh, the smell. If he goes, I go. “Hang on.”

As we speed through the water, I can really see the metropolis that was, buried in things like gravel and concrete, pavement and sidewalks. Streets that don’t wobble when there’s an overeager tide swelling in. There’s even a whole cathedral down here—I know because the spires are still visible from the surface. It’s a rich-looking building, though the marble is covered in green and brown.

Built very differently from everything else, but I’ve heard the governor’s home looks just as stately, with fancy columns and the like. Under my breath, I mutter something about how living on the Isle must not be much different from the city Before.

A dull, unobtrusive beep announces that we’ve reached Quad Nine.

I bring the mobile up, lifting her toward sea level. “Almost there,” I announce.

The Omni dips and nods on the surface, though I try and keep her steady for Callum’s sake. I glimpse around, looking for helis in the air or other subs in the water. The glare is wretched out here on the water, so I shield my eyes with the back of my hand. No sign of anyone.

“Looks clear,” Callum says shakily. “We won’t have much time though, before they arrive.”

Pointing east, I say, “That one,” and I steer us toward a tall brick building. About as similar looking as I can hope for. In daylight, it all comes down to height. After you’ve seen one abandoned building, you’ve seen ’em all.

But there, up in the corner—the red star with a circle around it.

Same one. “We’re here. There’s the escape ladder I used.” I bring the mobile up to the building’s side and I don’t waste any time getting the roof open.

Like a jack-in-the-box, Callum sticks his head through the roof. He stands on the backseat and the boat sways, sending him onto one side. His legs start shaking—I flip on the prop on the opposite side to give a counterbalance. “Try not to move, okay?” I call up, and slowly turn off the prop. He straddles the seat with his feet quaking, grabbing on to the outside of the roof for stability.

“Sorry . . . I’m a bit uneasy on my legs at the moment.” He takes in gulps of the dank Hudson air.

Then, seeing the ladder, “You climbed that thing?” he asks warily.

“Yep,” I say, examining it. Tide’s even lower than yesterday, so the bottom rung is now a few good feet farther out of reach. “It’s easy peasy, don’t you worry.”

He’s clearly not ready. “How safe is it?” he asks.

“Callum. It’s a rusty fire escape ladder on a building that’s been abandoned for over a century, and it’s in the middle of a river. What do you think?”

Together we eye the distance between the Omni and bottom of the ladder.

“How do you plan on getting up there?”

The question strikes me as funny, like it’s a given that I’ve got a plan.

Under the backseat, I find a coiled line of rope. I let out about four feet, the distance to the ladder. Then, aiming for the space between the two bottom rungs, I hurl the remaining line through. When it falls out the other side, I’m able to grab it. I pass both ends to Callum, keeping them taut so we don’t drift.

“I want you to step on both ends, okay? Don’t let one slip. And no slack in the line, either. I’m going to climb up to the bottom rung. After I’m up, you’ll go. Got it?”

“Got it.” A pause. “And how will I get up?”

“We’ll make it work.”

Fighting against the mobile’s wobble, I stand, stepping a foot on either side of the roof. I grip the double lines of rope, one between each palm, and coil the bottoms around my ankles, like they taught in DI training.

Just a few feet, just a few feet. My arms strain as I haul myself up, but it’s a short distance. Soon the rung is within reach, and I make a grab for it. Then I inch a bit higher and reach for the second rung. “See?” I grunt. When I’ve got that one, a final pull-up allows me to swing my toes onto the ladder and steady myself. “Like pie.” I heave, and I throw the rope back into the Omni.

“What did you do that for?” Callum yells, jumping out of the way.

“There’s a reason I didn’t tie it to your Omni, Callum. We can’t just leave her out in the open. If they come and we’re still here, they’ll know.

“Take my arm,” I tell him, now crouched low, dangling off the side of the ladder. “I’ll hold you steady and swing you in.”

Callum looks up at me, stands on the roof like I did.

“You’re . . . ahhh . . . sure you’re steady?” he asks, voice wavering. When he looks up at me, I see what he must have looked like as a little boy, smiling in spite of the sheer terror he’s obviously feeling.

“I’m steady,” I promise. “As soon as you’ve got a grip on my arm, be ready to lift your foot to the ladder. I’ve got you.”

Despite our agreement, the trust isn’t totally there, but his hand reaches out anyway. I grab for his forearm, wrapping my wrist around it. His palms are slick with sweat, sliding down my bicep. Using the ladder, I stand.

Callum’s toes lift off the Omni and closer to the bottom rung.

“Try and swing one leg up,” I tell him.

He’s able to—he presses the sole of one shoe down on the rung and gasps, relieved. He’s probably just realized he’d been holding his breath all along. As he tries to get his other foot to the ladder, though, more flakes of white paint chip off—they catch Callum’s eye. His mouth hangs open as he watches the chips sink onto the surface of the channel.

This little thing. It’s distraction enough. . . .

“Look at me, Callum. Don’t look down,” I tell him, but his foot is in midair and he’s so busy looking at the water below, his eyes can’t find the ladder.

My arm hurts; he’s gripping it too hard. It’ll come free of its socket if he doesn’t get up here soon. I’m pulled toward him, sliding forward off the ladder. I slip just a few centimeters. This turns him into a shaky mess, legs wobbling like they’ve got no muscle in them.

The one foot he has on the ladder slides off, and he’s dangling; the only thing keeping him from the icy channel is my arm.

But there’s no grip there, he’s too sweaty. “Grab the ladder with your free hand,” I shout, annoyed. It’s right there, right in front of his face.

Which would be perfect, if his eyes were open.

I bend down, bringing the one hand of his I’ve got a hold on to the lowest rung, all the while trying to keep my arm looped. “It’s right there, Callum.”

“I—I—” he stammers. “Swim. I can’t . . . quite swim.”

You’ve gotta be joking!

“For real?” I ask him. He opens his eyes, looks at me like a kicked dog.

Good God.

“Grab the ladder, Callum. It’s right there.”

Slowly, he peels his gaze from mine. It lands on the rung in front of his face and he grabs for it with his free hand. The other arm follows. He uses his upper body to pull himself up one rung, then the next, and at the third, his feet find the bottom of the ladder.

All four limbs, safe and secure.

I exhale, realizing that I too wasn’t breathing. Then I pull the key to the Omni out of my pocket and send her back underwater to wait.

Together, we make our way up the ladder and into the building. Without incident, surprisingly.

“Careful,” I call down to Callum. “The sill’s still covered with glass.” I step carefully, trying not to flick any shards out the window toward his face. Once inside, I hold out my hand. He takes it and collapses onto the floor on all fours. “Hope you’re in shape,” I say once we’ve both caught our breath. Callum eyes me as he rises to his feet. I can see his legs are still shaking from the climb, but he follows without complaining as I start leading the way to the stairs.

“Fifteen floors. Then back up again. And we’ve got”—looking at one cuffcomm—“about an hour till oh five hundred. If we move fast, we’ll have enough time.” I open the door into the stairwell, and add, “We’re lucky that rally’s going on today, or they’d have had enough manpower to section off the area beforehand.”

Callum looks down the stairwell, and I’d bet money that he’s wondering the same thing I did when I first saw it. “I know . . . weird, right? It’s not flooded.” With one hand on the banister, I watch as he pieces it together.

“But these lower levels are below sea level. How . . . ?”

“Someone must’ve bricked up the windows.”

Callum is quiet for a moment. “To keep the spring from going underwater.” Then he looks at me, and I get the feeling I’ve done something wrong without knowing what. “Ren,” he starts, “who else knows what you found? Aside from Chief, I mean.”

Does anyone else know?

“Well, Aven . . .” I answer, but he just shakes his head, then changes the subject. “Best set the alarm. From down there, we might not be able to hear the helis. And if they come early . . .”

He doesn’t have to finish. I want to ask him what he’s not telling me, but he’s right.

If they come early, we’ve got no way out.