“You left us!” she spat. “You left us to die, you son—”
Three spun her, shoved her hard against the nearest wall, crushed his body into hers, pinning her.
“You listen to me,” he growled, in a cold monotone. “I promised you nothing. I owe you nothing. You’re alive. For now. You want to stay that way, we move. Now.”
Three looked down deep into Cass’s dark eyes, saw the defiance there, the hard resolve, the intense fire he knew would burn him later. But also acceptance. She knew he was right. There would be time for arguments later. He hoped.
He stepped back, released her wrists.
“He said a head start. How much of one?”
Cass massaged her wrists, shook her head.
“Not enough to get away.”
And as if on cue, there came a cry from the far end of the alley. In the strengthening light of the early morning, the source was unmistakable. Tall, muscular, right arm dangling, gray and useless. Fedor.
Three snatched Wren off the ground and broke into a dead run with the boy tucked awkwardly under his arm, Cass right on his heels.
Cass fought to keep up the breakneck speed that Three required of her, but without the quint, she couldn’t get any more out of her body. Fedor’s massive form was closing the distance with every step, and Cass knew Jez couldn’t be far behind.
The trio twisted and turned, seemingly at random. Cass wanted to tell Three that they’d never lose Fedor when they were already this close, but she didn’t have the breath or the words for it. Then, she started to notice their surroundings. Landmarks she hadn’t even realized she’d noted the first time she’d seen them. A crumbling brick wall. Piles of rusted corrugated steel. A lewd advertisement from some former shop.
Three was leading them back the way they’d come. Something nagged at her, in the back of her mind. A warning. Too faint, too vague to heed.
“Come on, this way!” he called from ahead.
Cass couldn’t figure out the point in retracing their steps. They were way too far from the Enclave to make it back. Even if they could, the guards at the gate would never let them in after the way they’d left. It all seemed pointless. Fedor had dropped out of view, but she knew he was still tracking them. And he never tired.
The trio rounded another corner.
“Keep running,” Three barked. “Don’t stop, don’t look back!”
Cass didn’t have the will to argue. Three practically tossed Wren to her as she passed him, and she slung him on her back, on top of the backpack. Three slowed. She hazarded a glance back, and saw him drop to a crouch.
She pressed on, alarms screaming in her head, danger. What was she forgetting? She ran ten more yards, nameless panic rising.
Then it dawned on her.
The traps.
She skidded to a stop, almost fell to her knees under the weight of Wren and the backpack.
A moment later, a thunderous explosion shattered the air. Behind her, plumes of concrete dust filled the sky and alleyways. Heart pounding, she sank to the ground and hugged Wren, doubting anyone would be catching up to her now.
Nine
A minute; five, twenty. Cass couldn’t be sure how long it’d been since the explosion. Not long enough to catch her breath, too long to be safe. She forced herself to her feet, calves searing, thighs hollow and trembling from the effort. A deep breath. Focus. She readjusted her backpack.
“Can we wait? Just a little longer?” Wren asked, hopeful, barely audible.
Cass just shook her head. She didn’t have the courage to look behind her, so she took his hand in hers, and started off again. One step at a time. It was all she could manage. Out of the corner of her eye, Cass saw Wren glance back over his shoulder. She stole the chance to wipe the tears from her eyes.
It wasn’t the loss. At least, that’s what she told herself. They’d been on their own, on the run, too long for their brief time with Three to really make much difference. For the first time, though, she felt an emptiness that hadn’t been there before. A quiet resignation. Her body would go through the motions for as long as she could force it to, but somewhere between the wayhouse and wherever they were now, her heart had given out. Hope can only be offered and snatched away so many times before it becomes a mockery. It didn’t seem to matter now. There was nothing more this shell of a world had left to give that could make her feel safe.
“Mama?”
“Yeah, baby.”
“Are we going to die now?”
The question jolted Cass from her haze. Wren had an uncanny knack for asking the very questions she was asking herself.
“Of course not.”
She wanted to reassure him, but that was all she could muster.
“OK.”
He took it at face value, and for that she was thankful. They walked a little ways in silence, and then Wren spoke again.
“Will you tell me when?”
“When what, sweetheart?”
“When it’s time for us to die.”
Cass’s heart practically stopped. What mother could possibly answer such a question? And what did it say about her, that her child, so young, would even think to ask it? She couldn’t stop the tears then. She sank to her knees, and drew Wren close, hugged him, drawing comfort more than offering it.
Wren squeezed back.
“I’m sorry, Mama. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
Cass just squeezed harder.
“It’s not you, sweetheart.”
“It’s me,” a nearby voice said.
Cass and Wren both jerked at Three’s sudden reappearance. She swiveled on a knee, instinctively grasping Wren’s arm to pull him behind her. Three stood at the entrance of an alley, just a few feet from them.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” she replied, hastily clearing the tears. “I’m used to you disappearing.”
He grunted at that, the closest thing to a chuckle she’d heard from him.
“Come on this way,” he answered, motioning them over.
Cass stood and readjusted her pack, but made no movement towards him.
“We’ve got about nine hours of light, and ten hours of travel. Sooner is better.”
Still, she held her place.
“You were right, you know,” she said. “No promise. No debt.”
She glanced away, back towards the Enclave. She and Wren had made it a long time without help. They could do it again. Especially now that Fedor, Kostya, and probably Jez were all gone.
“Maybe we should just say our goodbyes, while we still can.”
There was a stretch of silence. Wren shifted beside her, fidgeting as children do.
“Well,” Three said. “I did say I didn’t owe you anything.”
His nonchalant agreement surprised Cass. She’d expected at least some marginal protest, some semblance of noble gesture. But he had left them behind once before. It was probably a relief to do so again, this time without the guilt.
“I never said you didn’t owe me.”
She looked back. He was staring right at her. Grim. Determined.
“I’ve put too much on the line to just let you crawl off and die. So come on.”
He didn’t sound angry. There was no malice or menace in his voice. Just raw determination, as if by his words he’d eliminated any other choice. And to Cass, it was as if he had. Still, she hesitated, more out of pride than uncertainty.
“How do I know you’re not just going to leave again?”
“Because I’m here now.”
She gave a final glance in the direction of the Enclave, feigning the act of weighing her options. Finally, she nodded, and taking Wren’s hand in hers, made her way over.
“Fine.”
“Yeah.”