Without looking at him she asked if Jeffers was aware of this piece of information.
'No,' said Jimmy.
'Well don't you think you should tell him?'
Jimmy grunted, and passed on up the line.
Although the rat-catching actors had explored some of the sewage system, their escape from the theatre had taken them beyond those limits, and without any kind of map or guidance system, Jeffers decided it was time to take everyone back up into the city in order to establish their bearings. Then they would make their way back to Grand Central to hook up with the other groups — if any of them had made it back. Hopefully from there they would also be able to re-establish radio contact with the ship and warn Captain Smith of the coming Presidential attack.
Jeffers sent out a scout into each one of the tunnels in order to locate an access ladder to the surface. Within a few minutes a shout went up that one had been discovered. The other scouts were called back and the entire group set off into a right-hand tunnel. When they found the ladder Jeffers was the first on to it, climbing rapidly, followed by Dr Hill; the rest bunched around the bottom, pushing and shoving for their turn. They were all desperate for fresh air, and without the natural discipline Jeffers' presence encouraged, it all became a bit chaotic. Jimmy and Claire found themselves squeezed towards the back, while Ty grabbed Ronni by the hand and forced her forward. They were amongst the first to pull themselves up out of the scrum to begin their climb towards the world above.
Jimmy and Claire looked at each other. They looked away. There were a thousand things they wanted to say, they each wanted to know every detail of what the other had experienced. But still neither of them was ready to make the first move.
Jimmy took an elbow to the ribs as one of the former wolf men shoved in front of him. He cursed and stepped back out of the crowd. Claire pretended not to notice. She stepped into his space and pushed forward.
He was happy and angry. He wanted to hug her and slap her stupid head.
One by one they hauled themselves up until finally there was only Jimmy left. He looked up at the feet and bums disappearing upwards, moving towards a faint dot of light, like astronauts returning to their planet, mission accomplished. As he put his hands on the bottom rung and was about to pull himself up he was distracted by a noise off to his left — there, along the sewer, another prick of light.
Someone was coming.
36
City of Night
Tracer bullets lit the night sky. The thump of explosions continued to shake the earth. The group of fugitives snaked along the debris-littered sidewalks towards Grand Central, ordered to silence, torches off, terrified that at any moment their presence might be revealed and they would be captured or shot by the President's men. The cannibals themselves no longer seemed such a threat. When they had first emerged from the sewer they had spotted small, ragged bands of them fleeing west, away from the advancing troops. They saw others carrying white flags going in the opposite direction. Those that were still resisting would surely soon be overwhelmed, and then there would be nothing to stop the soldiers racing across the city towards the Titanic. They might not be able to lure it into harbour, the way King Slash had planned, but there was no shortage of abandoned boats the soldiers could use to get them close enough to use their undoubted firepower to force Captain Smith to surrender the ship.
It seemed to Jimmy that the past few days had all been about dread, followed by dread, with a little bit of dread thrown in for good measure. When would it ever end? Yes, sure, Claire was back, but he had managed to forget in her absence that she was mean and sullen and now he wasn't really sure why he'd bothered to search for her in the first place. He was cold. And hungry. They were entering Grand Central Station — he'd heard of it, seen it in films, but Jimmy wasn't one to be overly impressed by architecture or reputation. It was just a big building with trains. To make matters worse he stepped right into a huge pile of crap as soon as they entered.
Jimmy slid off his trainer and wiped it on an upended bench seat. It had risen right up over the knot and soaked into his admittedly already rancid sock. He peeled it off and tossed it angrily away.
'What sort of a bloody animal makes that much crap?' he was demanding when he was immediately shhhhed by everyone around him.
First Officer Jeffers led them towards the rendezvous point. He stopped them a short distance from it and called out the names of the crewmen he had sent to accompany the other passengers. They were still six hours short of the agreed time, but there were already a large group of returnees waiting. They rushed out of the shadows as if the cavalry had arrived and immediately began shaking hands and patting backs.
Claire said to Jimmy: 'Shouldn't you be talking to them, getting their stories?'
'Shouldn't you be taking their photos? Oh yeah, you let some little fella steal your camera.'
Without thinking, Claire snapped back: 'I got another one, smart arse.'
'Oh yeah? Where is it?'
'The cannibals took it off me.'
'You mean the rattibals?'
'That isn't even a word, you thick—'
Ty sighed out loud. 'Could you two just . . . give each other a hug or something and stop this bickering?'
'Huh,' said Claire.
'That'll be the day,' said Jimmy.
Ty wasn't prepared to give up so easily. 'Look, all you have to do is . . .' He turned and grabbed hold of Ronni. He crushed her to him. He kissed the top of her head and in a high-pitched voice cried, 'Oh Jimmy, I missed you!' He released Ronni and smiled at the two of them. 'See — easy as that!'
Ronni stood in shock.
'Get a life,' rasped Claire, turning away.
'Wise up, would you?' griped Jimmy.
Without acknowledging it, of course, Jimmy had to concede that Claire had a point about the interviews. Despite his adventures over the past few days, he was still a reporter, and he was determined if they got through this to make sure he got his old job back. So he set about interviewing the returnees, though he made it look as if he was just having a casual chat, so that if Claire looked over it wouldn't seem like he was working. Claire, meanwhile, salvaged a disposable camera from a shattered gift shop and began surreptitiously taking pictures whenever she thought Jimmy wasn't watching her.
The stories were all similar, and predictable. Few had made it as far as their original destinations. There had been encounters with cannibals and bandits and giant rats and escaped zoo animals. Those who had made it home had found either skeletons or no trace of their loved ones; they had landed with unrealistically high hopes. Now all they wanted was to return to the safety of Titanic.
Once they were settled at the rendezvous point, Jeffers and Dr Hill tried unsuccessfully to raise the ship using the radios of the returning crewmen; then ventured outside again in pursuit of a signal. They returned, grim-faced, less than ten minutes later.
'I don't know — some kind of jamming device,' was all the first officer said.
They sat about in small groups in the food court, most of them wishing that they could just move out now without waiting for the rendezvous deadline, but nobody was prepared to actually say it. Jimmy, Claire, Ty and Ronni occupied one booth. Ty got Jimmy to tell his story — everything that had happened since he'd lost Claire in the woods. Claire feigned disinterest. Ronni asked Claire what had happened to her since she'd gotten lost in the woods, and made sympathetic noises when Claire showed her her bullet wound.