Trench

Twenty

Dog immediately whipped around. "What the hell was that for?" he hissed.

"It slipped out of my hand!" Clancy said defensively, blushing furiously and cursing his sweaty palms.

"You just ruined our entire plan!"

"It was an accident!"

Bird signaled from across the square, but then Bishop Nico spoke, and Clancy froze completely in terror.

"Get them."

The crowd erupted into chaos, shattering the silence with shouting and panic. The Bishops' guards ran towards them, but no matter how hard Clancy tried, he couldn't move. His body was stiff with fear. He wasn't even shaking.

Dog's fingers locked on his wrist and yanked him backward. "I should leave you to the Watchers," he growled, breaking into a sprint and dragging Clancy behind him.

"I'm sorry -" Clancy tripped over his own feet and fell on his hands and knees, but Dog didn't wait for him. He just released his wrist and vanished through the doorway. Clancy scrambled upright and took off after him, pressing his hands together to dull the stinging. His palm was bleeding again.

He tried not to touch anything as he followed Dog down the stairs and out the back door of the building. The last thing he wanted was to leave a trail of blood for the Bishops to follow. They had wanted them to notice their escape, but this wasn't the plan. They were going to leave a diversion and escape through the tunnels in the necropolis. Instead, Clancy had completely blown their cover. He just hoped they had enough of a head start.

Dog had already rounded the towers and entered Sector Six when Clancy heard pounding footsteps behind him. He pushed himself to run faster and ignore the pain in his chest, but he knew he didn't have a chance.

"Where's Mouse?" Cat asked frantically.

"He's coming," Dog answered. "We don't have time to wait for him. Come on."

Please wait for me! he wanted to scream, but nothing came out. The satchel bounced against his leg and threw off his balance, and he fell to his hands and knees again. Someone grabbed his hand as he stumbled to his feet, and he looked up in confusion to see Bird's frantic eyes.

"Hurry up," she said, breaking into a run. She didn't let go of his hand.

"What are -" He paused to catch his breath as he struggled to keep up. "What are we going to do now?"

"Shut up and run."

His lungs were on fire by the time they reached the edge of the city. The arch leading to the sixth section of the necropolis was only a few blocks away, standing like a dog with its jaws gaping wide, and Clancy realized that he hadn't been in the necropolis for nearly seven years. It suddenly seemed deadly - the living did not belong in a city of the dead. They were going to die there. And yet if he stayed, he would be caught and punished, and for a moment, he didn't know which was worse.

One of the guards shouted something behind them, and Bird cursed under her breath. "We'll have to split up."

"What?" His heart skipped a beat and he stumbled again.

"We have to split up," she repeated, a note of frustration in her voice. "The breach is on the far end of the wall. Don't know what it looks like or where it is, but it's there. Find it, and you'll be out. Head straight from the city for a day and wait for us. If we're not there after a few hours, keep going by yourself."

"Wait, I don't - I can't -" He tightened his grip on her hand, but she pulled away from him. "I can't do this alone," he said desperately.

"Yes, you can." She flashed him a quick smile. "I know you can. Head toward the morning sun. Remember, east is up."