Skye City: The Darkness of Emmilyn

Submarine

Dynah and Arturo stand outside the garage door and Carter blasts the blood from their bodies and clothes with a hose, then says, 'I have some spare clothing in the jeep.' Pink sludge covers the road as they return to the garage and Carter pulls down the door, switching on a torch. Water drips from the shivering pair as he opens the boot of the jeep and I hear a zipping sound, then he holds up items of clothing, saying: 'Sorry, these are the best I've got. I wasn't planning on dressing you guys.'

'Well, we can't travel around in wet clothes,' Arturo says and the pair collect the spare outfits which look huge, then they each approach a corner of the garage. 'Turn around.'

I stare at the brown window above the sink as the pair change their clothes, then Arturo sits on the concrete floor which looks far from comfortable. The garage is foul and claustrophobic and I can feel oil fumes poisoning my lungs with every breath.

The walls seem to close in tight, crushing the car to coffin-size and I feel the urge to fling open the door and run away, but my body is unresponsive. Then I think of the woman Carter called, the one with the soothing voice and I imagine our destination might actually be pleasant. That seems absurd really, but I cannot shift the picture from my mind of a nice house in a quiet place where we can wait until the world's killers have wiped each other out. That is where I need to go right now. Anywhere else will destroy me.

'You won't be able to take the weapons where we're going. They won't get through the docking port. Leave them in the garage when we leave. The Rebellion can give you weapons if and when you need them,' Carter says and his words confirm we are leaving these shores which could mean my hopes are being answered, but the talk of weapons, no, we will not be needing those. Absolutely not. Let us just get into the ocean and enjoy the ride.

'We are weapons.' Arturo nods to Dynah who is standing with wet hair and manly clothes which swamp her skinny frame. She will need to change again once we reach our destination because she looks as ridiculous as my brother sounds.

Vytali and Otess are so quiet at my side, I had almost forgotten they were sitting in the vehicle. Bullets wail and rockets explode in the distance and although the noise is faint I wince repeatedly. I just want silence, but Arturo opens the door and reaches into the vehicle to switch on the radio, then he lowers the window and closes the door, again sitting on the garage floor instead of the driver seat. Go figure.

Rock music quietly plays and the singer laments: 'If blood is the price of freedom, the cost is growing too high. If love is the only reason, it makes no sense to die. It's time to find a better way...'

There is only one better way of course. Neither fighting nor diplomacy will ever work because the human species is too messed up. The better way would be to disappear, stay out of reach, like animals in the jungle who simply carry on existing, oblivious to human conflict. We are a separate species from those idiots and we just need to continue our lives without them. That would be a better way.

'Time to go,' Carter says and after hours of fidgeting among tools and oil cans, we finally leave the cramped and dusty garage. The snowing has stopped and we have been spared the full blizzard treatment this time, but we are still shivering. We walk to a nearby dockyard without coats and approach a guarded entrance booth which lacks a forcefield or any visible scanners.

An armed guard removes a wand from a holster and scans our clothing and luggage, and I fear Dynah's baggy outfit will arouse suspicion, but he allows us to pass. We enter the dockyard where small submarines are sitting in iron shelters which lack front walls. The general public are nowhere to be seen.

We pass more armed guards as we enter the furthest shelter which is filled with empty seats, and we approach one of three docked submarines poking through holes in the floor and surrounded by barriers. 'This is our ride.' Carter swipes his Citicard on a reader attached to a barrier. A bubble-roof hisses part-open at the front of the yellow vessel, then a small ramp unfolds from the side wall. A section of the barrier rises and we climb aboard the submarine, one-by-one, occupying the small hard seats. We barely have room to stretch our legs.

'Okay, that's the last of us. Take us to Camari city,' Carter says.

The bubble-roof seals shut as the ramp retracts and the submarine sinks below the surface, then we cruise off with a wide view of the orange-tinged ocean. As we leave the shadow of the shelter, litter bobs in the waves and junk decorates the seabed, but there is no sight of marine life in this toxic abyss.

'We're heading to one of the furthest domes from the mainland. They're among the safest places right now.' Carter lights a cigar and thick smoke fills the submarine. The smell is relaxing enough to ease my trembling, but then my nostrils itch and I fan my nose.

'An underwater city, cool,' Arturo mutters.

'This place has several benefits: we don't have to worry about access because the sub is the only clearance we need. They've never had need for the scanners of land-based cities because trespassers have never posed a serious threat. This means you guys can hide in safety until we figure out what to do next. You'll be staying in a rather swanky apartment too. Be perfect for a little R and R... Just try not to get too emotional.'

'What do you mean by that?' Arturo scratches his chin.

'You'll find out soon enough...'