The Grid Runner

Chapter Six

Ryker led them farther down the city, to a path that lowered into a small town that he called Bell Down, named after the large domed building in the distance roughly shaped like a bell. None of the kids had been this far away from the mid-level slums before, and to Zan it felt like a million miles away from the Pipelands. He constantly looked around as they walked, waiting for an ambush from Eclipse Guards at any moment, always looking for an escape route.

Ryker adjusted the hair tie around his ponytail as they walked. Despite his gruff, stubbled appearance, he had a somewhat strangely effeminate face, Zan thought, with pouty lips and sharply pronounced brows.

Gosaline sobbed quietly, holding Marcin's hand.

"Did anyone see what happened to Dallos and San?" Marcin asked, for maybe the third time.

Wes shook his head, looking down with a glazed, stunned expression. "San was behind me, on the ladders. I think. But... I didn't realise she wasn't with us on the bridge until it was too late."

"I'm sure they got out another away," Edrund said, trying to sound positive.

Gosaline broke into heavy tears, wailing. "Like... like-like... Keithan."

Marcin hugged an arm around her and stroked her hair. He looked like he was going to say something, offer some words of comfort, but seemed just as defeated as the others. His fingers running through Gosaline's red hair looked like he was brushing them through flames. Playing with fire, Zan thought, like we've all been doing.

Marcin looked up at Ryker. "So why are you helping us?"

Ryker met his eyes, but had no discernible expression. "You kids certainly aren't any friends of the Mayor's, so that makes you friends of mine. Like you, I imagine, I felt like I needed to do something to fix this broken world."

"What have you got against the Mayor?" Edrund asked, wiping his floppy hair away from his face.

"He and I saw a difference of opinions, and so I left. And when I saw you all on the tower, something told me that you were on to something."

"Right," Marcin said miserably. "Something like getting us all killed."

"Tell me about why that disk was so important," Ryker said.

The kids shared thoughtful looks, gaging if they should trust him. Marcin eventually said, "You'll see once we read it."

Ryker nodded. "Fair enough."

Zan fell into troubled thoughts, wondering why those black armoured guards had been there. Somehow he felt like they were after him specifically. He shuddered, hugging himself, and kept looking out for any signs of betrayal from Ryker.

Passing Bell Down, they came to a wide cliff face where a house had been built into the rocks. Ryker told them the man here was an old mechanic, someone they could trust. Dull shrubs and weeds covered a patchy area of grass around the cliffs.

The heavy iron door opened to an old man with wispy white hair and a haggard, deeply lined face. Seeing Ryker, he welcomed them in, muttering a stream of thoughts about the fate of the city and the insanity of people. He showed them into a widely spaced living area, with a kitchen section on the far corner. The air was damp and stuffy, like a mouldy cave, with bulbs along the walls that gave the carpeted room a warm yellow glow.

Ryker introduced him as Aukren Camboss, one of the oldest mechanics in the city and someone who knows the inner workings of the machines as well as anyone. He explained their situation to Aukren while the kids dropped onto the sofas and chairs with heavy sighs.