Bunker Bird

25. Running

Mercy is the Engineers' privilege, not the Church's.

The Manuals of the Bunker, Vol. 1, Verse 9

Wolfe was belly-down on the ground, his head turned to one side. He didn't move. A trickle of blood ran from his coppery hair over his face and dripped onto the black surface of the concourse, feeding a small puddle of red.

"Damn," I said.

"He..." She gestured at him. "He's been hunting ye."

"Yeah, but I didn't want him to be—"

He groaned.

Amy lifted the rock again as if preparing it for the final blow.

I seized her arm, trying to stop her. "No, let's leave."

Attacking a guard was a capital crime. Things were bad enough without her killing him.

And killing was wrong—not only because the Manuals said so.

Wolfe pushed himself unto his hands and knees.

Amy still hefted the stone. "We can't let him take ye to jail."

The captain was on his knees now. He wiped his face, and then he focused on Amy. "I... I think—"

"Hey!" A yell stopped him. It came from a man approaching on the concourse, coming from the lower end of the cavern. I knew him—one of the two other guards, the bearded one. He had his baton drawn and was running towards us.

"Move!" I grabbed Amy's hand and pulled her along, making for the trail cutting into the corn.

When she started running, I let go of her.

The path between the stalks was narrow, and the sharp-edged leaves of the plants slapped at me, cutting into my skin. Amy's cursing followed at my heels.

"Stop!" the guard yelled.

I ignored his command, but I glanced back and saw him helping Wolfe up.

Amy kept up with me. I quickened my steps and covered ground as fast as I could, ignoring the pain in my ankle. There had to be a crossing ahead, a place where we could turn to the right into a trail that would take us to the back wall.

When it finally came, I almost missed it, and I had to brake in mid-run. Amy crashed into my back, and I fought to keep my balance. Behind us, the guard used his baton to shield himself from the leaves as he hurried through the corn in our direction.

He was gaining on us.

"Quick!" I turned right and ran once more, pumping my legs to go faster. A dip in the ground made me stumble. I flailed my arms and stayed upright.

"Shite." Amy was still close.

The path followed a gentle curve, and the corn at both sides made it impossible to see where we were going. I hurried on.

My legs hurt with every forced step, my heart hammered against my ribs, and my labored breathing tore my chest.

The track straightened, and a gray face of rock came into sight. This had to be a wall of the cavern. But was it the right one, the one that had the hatch to the shaft in it?

I ran into the rock to stop and steady myself, the impact jarring. Panting, I looked left and right. There it was, the small metal door we had come through.

As I approached it, a noise and a curse behind me told me that Amy had reached the wall, too.

When I gained the door, I pulled its small metal handle. It opened readily, revealing the black shaft beyond.

"Tim!"

I turned my head. A stone's throw away from me, Amy dodged the guard's baton and kicked his knee. He grunted but stayed upright and took another swing at her. As he hit her shoulder, she yelled.

I took a step towards her, intent to run to her rescue, when another figure appeared behind them. His face bloody, his gun drawn.

Captain Wolfe.

"Everybody stop!" he bellowed.

Ignoring the command, Amy slapped the guard who had hit her. He shook his head. Then he raised his stick to strike her again.

"Stop it," Wolfe yelled, "all of you!"

The guard lowered his weapon. Amy looked at me, her mouth open, still panting.

"Tim, come here." Wolfe aimed his gun at me, holding it with both hands as he stood with his legs apart, ready to shoot.

We had come so close. But we hadn't made it.

Frustration knotted my muscles.

I was about to let go of the door's handle and the little hope it held when Amy moved. She took a step forward and kicked the captain—right between his legs.

With the noise of a thousand hammers, a shot rang, and a bullet hit the wall next to me. Rock splintered into my face.

Wolfe folded up.

"Run, Tim!" Amy shouted as the bearded guard jumped her from behind. She fell forward, and he rammed his knees into her back, pinning her under him. Her face was turned towards me. "Run, ye eejit. Go!"

The guard twisted her arms behind her. She cried out in pain.

A blast of anger surged through me. Roaring, I ran towards them and barreled into the man. My momentum carried us away from her, and we both landed on top of Wolfe. The two men's heads collided with an ugly crack.

"Come." Amy yanked me away from them.

I got up, and we hurried to the door. She entered while I glanced back. The guard was holding his head while Wolfe got up.

"Quick, they're coming." I stepped into the shaft and onto the platform. "Lock the door."

She reached for the bar that still stood against the doorframe.

"Hey there, stop!" Wolfe shouted from somewhere outside.

His yell made Amy twitch, and instead of seizing the bar, she gave it a push. It toppled and tumbled over the rim of the platform. I reached out for it, but I was too late. It brushed past my fingers before it vanished in the darkness below.

And with it any hope of locking the door.

"Shite," she said.

"Let's go. We can't stay here." I pulled her up from her crouching position and motioned at the ladder. She grabbed the unlit lantern, stepped onto the rungs, and climbed.

I followed.

The guards wouldn't dare follow—entering the tunnels was against the law of the Manuals.

At least I hoped they wouldn't dare.

But we had to reach the darkness before Wolfe peeked in here and started to shoot at us.