One Last Evolution

Chapter Seven (Maren)

Riley and I climb out the window, slipping back onto the streets.

"Where are we going?" he asks, careful to keep his voice low.

"We have a vendor who helps us, her name's Ayko. Ciana said they were going there on the way back, so we can at least find out whether or not they made it that far."

"Right."

We hurry on, Riley staying close behind as we crawl through alleyways. The streets are still empty, and when we get to the inner city there's a new broadcast playing.

"Reine Alstaeter has not been found. Police are sweeping the inner city on their way out to the fringes. Citizens are to remain in their residence. Anyone found outside will be shot on sight."

It repeats over and over to the empty square.

"Match," Riley whispers. "How much farther?"

"Not far. But we need to be quiet and careful. There are bots that go out after dark to enforce curfew and they'll probably have them out now."

He's close enough to me that I can feel him nod, and I blush for absolutely no reason, and move quickly along the alleyway.

When we reach Ayko's, I tap three times on the lower right corner of the door, wait a minute, and tap again.

We wait, but nothing happens. I do it again, and this time there's a pause, and the door opens a slit.

"Ayko?"

"Match, Mare, what are you doing? There's a kill order for anyone out of their residence!"

"I know, I know, but Ciana and Teagan and I had to split up, and they never came home. Please, are they here?"

"Ciana and Teagan? They were here hours ago — picked up some jerk and left."

"Oh God," I rub my hand over my face, and feel Riley's hand squeeze my shoulder. "Did they say anything? At all? Were they planning on going home?"

"I think so. They said they were emptying the cache and headed back because of the broadcast."

"The cache. Ok. Thanks, Ayko."

Ayko looks Riley up and down suspiciously, but she doesn't ask, and her door clicks shut.

"The cache?" Riley asks.

"Where we drop stuff we've picked up when it gets too bulky. We empty it out on our way back every day, but I didn't think to look there because we hadn't gotten much of anything today."

"Let's go."

We're off once again, picking our way as quietly as we can among the trash in the alleyways, dancing carefully around piles of broken crates and refuse bins. When we're out of the inner city be move faster, til I am creeping around the corner of a house to a small hole in the lattice around the porch.

"What are we doing, Mare? There could be people in there!" Riley points to the broken window above our heads.

I shake my head.

"We've used this place as a cache for years. There's no one here."

I drop to my stomach and wiggle into the hole. Once I'm under the porch I get to my hands and knees and crawl til I reach the middle. When Riley's made his way in I'm frozen except for my shaking hands, right under the center of the porch.

"What it it, Mare, what's wrong?" he grabs my hands, pulling me towards him so a dim shaft of light falls across my face.

"Do you see that?" I whisper.