A few hours later, just as the sun scorched the midmorning sky and I had taken as much bouncing and jostling as I could stand, the road widened into a smooth highway and the line of trucks and trailers sped up to a fast cruising speed that whipped my hair and filled my lungs with fresh air. The drivers would want to make it under the protection of the city before the Zenith.
Will and I hadn’t talked about my encounter with Josh. Although Josh was a jerk, he was not stupid. He had walked away in a huff when he saw the wolves baring their teeth and snarling. I was just glad Will had arrived when he did and that the wolves were on the job. He’d gone to find them, figuring it would be best for them to ride with us into the city. The two lay at my feet panting heavily with their thick coats adding to the heat level.
Will stood and stared past the line of vehicles, looking up ahead. “We’re almost to Albany. I can see the bridge.”
I came out from under the shelter of the tarp and rose to check out the city in the distance, tall glass buildings mixed with old church spires standing out against the bright skyline.
“We’ll have to go through the Sanitizing Tunnel,” I said, yelling to be heard over the roaring of the wheels on pavement. My heart raced in dread of having to go through the whirlwind of heated air that would sting like hot coals on my skin.
“They’ll search us, right? Do we have anything to be worried about?” Will asked, eyeing me.
I grinned. “I already have a plan for getting past the Guardians.” The armed robotic guards would be on site at the main entrance to the city to ensure that no one came in armed. The only weapons allowed inside were the stunners that the Guardians themselves carried.
The caravan slowed as it approached the long tunnel. It was almost time to make our move. “After we pass through the first wave of sanitizing, we need to jump off and get to the sewer grate. Its pitch black in that part of the tunnel so no one will see us, but we’ll use the night vision glasses Sam gave us to find our way. We can follow the drainage pipes out to the river and climb the embankment that leads to the riverfront walkway. We’ll have to cross the city to Washington Park where the Caravan will set up camp, but it shouldn’t take more than an hour or two. With all the commotion of preparing to camp for a few days, no one will even notice we’re gone.”
A smile started at the corner of Will’s lips and spread slowly across his face. “Very sneaky; I like it.”
“I thought you might.” My locket and the eye-shields Sam had given me could probably get through security undetected, but why risk it if there was another way in? And I was pretty sure that if Will was trying to keep his search for his father under the radar, he would prefer the Guardians not have a record of his entry into the city.
The wolves were on their feet and on guard as we slowly entered the dark tunnel. A howling wind started almost immediately. I patted their heads and calmed them with soft assurances that I knew their canine hearing could catch, despite the hot rushing wind that pummeled us from all sides. I had collared them both and tied their leashes to the railing, assuring them that I would meet up with them at the park. It would be impossible to get them through the sewer tunnels. And this way, Rudy could register them with the Guardians and no one would question us later. They would also serve as protectors for our cargo until I could make it back to the caravan.
I held tight to the railing to steady myself against the wind. Prickling needles hit my face as if a sandstorm had just sprung up in the desert. The heat and pressure of the blast were enough to plaster my skin to the bone. The wolves began to howl and ducked under the tarp to avoid the spray.
Darkness engulfed the trucks ahead. “We’re almost there!” I shouted over the noise. As Rudy’s truck and the freezer car in front of us disappeared from view, Will and I switched our eye-shields to night vision and jumped off the trailer, fighting against the powerful wind that had a chemical and antiseptic smell strong enough to take my breath away. I grabbed Will’s hand. “Follow me!”
Will and I lifted a large, round cover off the drainage hole, and climbed down into the tunnel, the abrupt absence of turbulence an instant relief. The tunnel stank of stagnant water and garbage and the ankle deep water filled my boots as we sloshed our way forward.
“I hope you know where you’re going,” Will said.
“Don’t worry, I’ve done this before.” I didn’t tell him that this was how Sam’s Network associates got in and out of the city undetected over the years, allowing them access to transport of weapons and intelligence information. I wondered again if I should try to contact one of the Network members on behalf of Will and his search for his father, but Sam’s warning stuck in my head.
Before long, we could see light. The tunnel emptied into the Hudson and the vast river drifted past the opening as we approached daylight. We switched off the night vision feature of our eye-shields and stepped out into bright sunlight. I climbed onto the drainpipe behind Will, and we made our way to the embankment, avoiding a near fall into the churning sewage below, a byproduct of the new government’s lack of interest in spending its resources preserving the waterways—another criticism I shared with the Network followers about the new government’s shortsighted policies.
With the antiquated sewage treatment centers and breakdown of the infrastructure for waste management, the river had become uninhabitable for fish or man. The odor brought tears to my eyes.
Will trailed behind me up the steep slope until we reached flat ground. People zoomed by on their Segways, the hum of the two-wheeled uprights buzzing in the air. Even at midday, when the sun would have been a problem at home, these people sped along toward their destinations without a care.
We hooked onto the paved pathway that led through the park and then headed across Broadway toward the downtown district where all the government buildings, museums, and the main marketplace were located.
“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Will asked. “It doesn’t seem wise to walk straight through the government district if you don’t want to be noticed.”
“It would take an extra hour to skirt around the city. Besides,” I said, adjusting my eye-shields, “it’s been my experience that hiding in plain sight is sometimes better than looking like you’re trying to sneak around.” Recruiters were easy to spot and avoid since they hung out in front of refreshment shops and made themselves visible with bright yellow suits and megaphones spouting the government rhetoric, City living is life at its best!
“The only thing we have to avoid is…”
As if on cue, just as we rounded a corner, two towering Guardians appeared and then stopped and looked our way, their large robotic heads turning to study us intently. My breath caught in my throat. Will grabbed my hand, tugged me toward the doorway to an antique shop and pulled me into a tight embrace. He ducked his head and nuzzled my neck. A shockwave of sensation shot to my belly. Instinctively, I wanted to pull away, but instead I buried my face in his shoulder, his heart beating hard in a steady rhythm against my ear.
The two Guardians crossed the street and went on their way.
“That was quick thinking,” I said, breathless and trying to avoid his gaze as I stepped back. Even with the eye-shields on I could tell he was studying my face and judging my response to his actions. I shot him a quick smile, and then grabbed his hand, unwilling to think too hard about what it felt like to be held in his arms, our bodies pressed tightly together.