When Forever Ends (Part 3: A Spark of Hope)

LIV

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F i f t y - F o u r

Ryan and Jayrin halted just below the edge of the balcony, as we had planned. I paused too, and took a moment to catch my breath. I glanced over at Jay, pressed to the uneven brick wall, and saw the momentary flash of white as she smiled encouragingly. It was up to me now.

I took a deep breath and heaved myself upward, vaulting neatly over the railing and landing on the balcony ready to kick some butt. I whipped my head around, searching for the intruder. Seeing no one in the immediate area, I studied the doorway carefully, looking for any sign of movement. I saw nothing. Everything was perfectly still.

I turned and signaled for Jayrin and Ryan to come up. They saw me through the bars of the railing and climbed onto the balcony, Jay leaping expertly onto the stone from years of habit, Ryan a little more clumsily. He made it over the railing, but then his foot slipped and my heart skipped a beat as he nearly crashed into the table. He managed to stop himself just in time, and I heaved a silent sigh of relief. That was too close.

He got to his feet and I led the three of us cautiously into the flat. All the while, I was scanning for a flicker of movement or an out of place shadow. We crept through the kitchen, avoiding the stacks of cardboard boxes on the floor and on the counter. The busted refrigerator hung wide open, and I could see that nothing remained in it. I turned the corner into the main room and froze, holding up a hand for the others to stop too.

The place was a mess, to make the biggest understatement possible. I mean, it usually wasn't the cleanest place on the Ark, but it looked like the police had charged through here with one of their armored tanks. Every window was smashed out, and the walls were stained with splashes of unidentifiable liquids and riddled with crumbling holes and gashes. Our one tattered, sagging sofa had been literally ripped apart; half of it was splintered by my feet, the other half protruding from an interior wall on the far side of the room. The piles of worn blankets that had served as beds were scattered across the room as well. The floor was littered with debris, a lot of it broken glass and shredded cardboard. A haze of dust hung in the air, and it was a miracle that we hadn't coughed yet and given ourselves away to whomever might be here. If they were still here.

A wet splat made me whirl around. My eyes fell upon a spilled jar of red jam dripping off the counter and onto the floor in a growing puddle. I exhaled softly in relief, then tensed as I saw a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye.

A dark shape appeared in the doorway. It seemed to have appeared out of thin air, but I knew that they must've dropped down from the roof.

"Who are you?" I called. No point in keeping quiet; they already knew we were here. "Who sent you?"

The figure grunted in reply, and a slender object materialized in his hand. Starlight gleamed off a sharp blade. I guess that answers one question, I thought. The police wouldn't send a streetfighter after me. But Krumley would.

I sensed movement behind me and Ryan and Jayrin stepped up to either side of me.

"We can take him," Jay whispered in my ear. "Together."

I gave a small nod, then launched myself at our intruder. I was aiming for the wrist, to get the knife out of the way, but he deftly knocked me aside with the other arm. I turned the dive into a roll out the door and came up on my feet facing him. The intruder and I studied each other for a few moments. I wasn't too worried about this fight. He might be agile, but he was also dumb. He had turned to face me and left himself wide open for Jayrin's flying kick.

It hit him square in the back and he grunted again, this time in surprise. He was slammed forward onto the concrete by the force of the kick, and I heard a nasty crunch from his head hitting the balcony. His knife went sailing over the railing and through a hole in the roof of the warehouse below.

I walked over to the man laying on the ground. I put my foot on his arm so he couldn't grab me and crouched down to whisper in his ear. "Tell Krumley that he had better leave us alone. If he doesn't believe you, just remember that we can deal with you thugs." There was no reply.

I stood up and rolled him over with my foot. The face was unfamiliar-squarish jaw, close-shaved hair, dark stubble and a black mustache. His nose was twisted to the side and blood leaked out of one nostril, running down the side of his face. The man's eyes were unfocused and blank, but he was still breathing slowly, so the kick hadn't killed him. I didn't think he had heard me, though. He was probably unconscious.

I sighed, thinking that we'd probably have to find somewhere else to live, now that Krumley had discovered our hideout. I was about to turn away when I saw a shadow pass over his eyes. I looked to the roof quickly, thinking maybe more of them had come, but there was nothing.

"What's with his eyes?" Jay asked, walking out of the flat and looking down at the intruder in puzzlement.

"Huh?" I glanced back at him and saw that his eyes were still black, seeming to drink in the dim starlight and darken the air around him. "That's...strange." I shivered involuntarily. It just looked so creepy and disturbing, combined with the broken nose.

"No... No..." I turned and saw Ryan backing slowly away from the scene, shaking his head. He had gone pale. "Not good..." he whispered.

"What is it?" I asked. What could explain his reaction?

"We need to get out of here," he said.

I laughed tiredly. "Tell me about it. Our hideout's not a secret anymore."

"No, no," he said urgently. "You don't understand. We need to get out of here now. Like, at this moment."

"Why?" I was still very confused.

"Please just trust me." I could hear desperation in his voice. "You helped us, now it's my turn to help you. All I ask is that you please just come with us. Get out of here now, ask questions later."

"Pine, I think we should go," Jayrin said.

I sighed. "Okay. But let me get something first. I'll be back."

I ducked back into our flat before anyone could object and went over to the fridge. I reached behind the open door and scooped as many sols as I could into my hands, then dumped them in my pockets. Evidently, the intruder hadn't come for money. Then I picked my way through the mess that our apartment had become and over to the couch stuck in the wall. I stuck my hand under it and unzipped the hidden pocket in the bottom. When I pulled my hand back, I held a small, rectangular device encased in glass. I shoved it in my other pocket and stood quickly, then hurried back outside.

"Okay, let's go." We jumped back over the railing, leaving the unconscious man behind us, and dropped down to the rooftops. The others stopped talking and looked at us in confusion. I had almost forgotten about them.

"Change of plan," I told them. "We're not staying here."

The dark-haired boy spoke up, and I made a mental note to learn everyone's names at some point. "What? Why not?"

"Our location has been compromised," Jayrin replied gravely.

"Who was it?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Some black-eyed henchman."

His eyebrows went up and he glanced over at Ryan, who gave him a small nod. Once again, I wondered who it was that they were trying to avoid.

"What are we waiting for?" the tall girl asked.

I scratched my head in thought. "I need to figure out where we're gonna go," I said.

There was a groan and a crunching sound from up on the balcony, and a red beam of light shot up into the sky.

"No time! We need to get away now and think later!" Ryan said.

"Come on!" Jay bolted and the rest of us followed her across the rooftops.

We had barely left the penthouse behind us when I heard the sound of smashing glass followed by an echoing roar of frustration. As we fled, the sound continued to bounce off the dome and rooftops. We were still hearing the echoes long after, resonating in our minds.