Sister Cities

Part 61: Ekko

And somebody's listening at night

With the ghosts of my friends when I pray

Asking, "Why did you let them leave

And then make me stay?"

Know my name

And all of my hideous mistakes

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 All the Firelights and half our refugees come to Snake's reburial in the war heroes' cemetery. Jinx blew us off as the exception, going back to Jayce and Viktor's lab instead, but I shouldn't have expected her in the first place.

We have our black armbands on again, and we toss them all into the grave before the first handful of dirt. The sun shines on the façade. We feel like imposters, maybe because Caitlyn is the only Topsider in attendance and there's a small crowd of others scowling at us from the other side of the graveyard fence. But we do it, and they can't stop us.

Vi sticks close by me the whole time and almost decks a fence watcher who throws a glass bottle in my direction on our way out. I hit it with the flat side of my ax, sending broken pieces back toward him, which isn't actually smart: I could get framed as the aggressor, especially if I let Vi go after him. Luckily, the glass doesn't hit anyone, but it scares off everybody else who might've been considering following his lead.

We head back to the fort in a mass that Topsiders clear the streets for. We're taking the day off from volunteering to recuperate, a concept that disturbs a good number of my people. They're gonna have to learn how to rest and let the Pilties bear some of the brunt eventually, though, so I don't budge. Most of them start doing extra chores and playing with the kids; a dozen orchestrate a communal "camping" nap on the ground in the shade of our tree.

I stand in front of Snake's portrait. It warps my brain every time I remember that Jinx made it. She was an artist when we were kids, but she wasn't near this skilled, and she tended toward abstract anyway— plus, I figured any sense of soul-driven creativity had been shoved out by the chaos-driven kind. But this is hers. No one else took credit, and I recognize her style, and I see the care she put into every brush stroke.

I don't want it to be a long game.

"Remember when you two got Snake's bike stolen?" Vi says, appearing at my side and making me jump. For a split second I wonder if I said something out loud to get her on the subject, but I know Jinx is just always at the forefront of her mind.

"I've never felt that same sense of accomplishment I felt when we stole it back," I say. "Not even when we won the coup."

She laughs. "It was so hard to be mad at you when you came home. You thought you were such badass rebels."

"We were."

"I'm gonna help deliver air filters," she says. "If—"

"No, you're not."

She scoffs. "Enjoying that councilor power trip?"

My expression must change, because she hurriedly says, "I'm teasing, Ekko."

"Yeah. Obviously."

"C'mere."

She leads me into the tree, going past the structures so we're climbing through the branches themselves toward the roof. We find a sturdy one to perch on.

"What're we doing?" I ask.

"'Recuperating,'" says Vi. "Boss's orders."

"I have some stuff to get done—"