Sanctuary

Chapter Seventeen - Kagerou

Kagerou was at a disadvantage. Okay, she was at more than one. Her attempt to put the outer dome on lockdown so Senna couldn't leave had ended in the gate guard chasing her back across the empty dirt buffer and she had nothing to show for her efforts. She wasn't even sure where Senna was. It was quite possible that Senna couldn't even get past the gate from Central. They would likely catch her there and have someone take her back to her mother. It wasn't the best option, but Kagerou preferred that over the idea of Senna risking her life outside the dome.

Kagerou tried to dial Senna again, but the ringing turned to a scolding beep before dropping her connection. Kagerou cursed, a hiss of a word, and tried again. This time, a voice scolded her instead of a beep.

"Stop." It was the voice of that girl, the one Senna called Sera. Only, it sounded wrong. Something about it made Kagerou sure that it wasn't a little girl at all.

"Let me talk to Senna," Kagerou demanded.

"No. You'll try to convince her to give up. I can't let you do that."

"Well, I can't let you kill Senna, so we seem to be at an impasse."

"Why would I kill her? I need her to save me."

"Bullshit. If she goes out there, she's dead. You're luring her out there so she can die. But why?"

"I'm not! I really need help!" There was emotion there, but it didn't change the clarity of the words, only their tone.

"Is that so? How are you using a computer if you're trapped?"

"Implant."

"Impossible. That sort of technology doesn't exist. It never has."

"Like the Neoplague vaccine?"

"Yeah, exactly."

"You really don't know anything about the world outside your dome, do you?"

"There is no world outside our dome. The N-Gel took it all."

"You're wrong."

"Look, I've been outside, okay? I went out in a hazmat suits with engineers and mechanics to rebuild this dome. And you know what I saw? Dust. No life, anywhere. Just a vast desert and a lot of sandstorms to go with it. And, in the distance, when the dust settled for the briefest of moments, I saw a skyline of destroyed buildings. There is nothing outside the dome except for death and I'm not letting you drag Senna out there."

"You're wrong."

The call faded to static and the static faded to a dull buzzing noise. Maybe more of a humming sound, like the swarm of bees that the Farmers kept in hives at the edge of their farms. Only, she was wrong about it coming from the speaker. The more she listened, the louder and clearer it became. She ran to the window, tugging back the curtain and peering out to find a rolling cloud of dirt approaching. bikes. Electric bikes. Police bikes, if she was to take a guess. For the sound to be that loud, there must be a whole squad of them.

She counted five headlights and cursed under her breath.

Kagerou darted back into the shop, grabbing a bag off of a nearby hook without so much as a glance in its direction or a pause in her step. She unzipped it as she ran, ducking underneath one of her work desks and tearing at the strips of tape until the gun she hid there came free.

It was fortunate that Kagerou knew her shop and her home like the back of her hand. The clutter, a mess to others, was intentional and personal. She made quick work of shoveling what she needed into the bag: the stash of three other illegal guns that she hid around her bedroom, a quick handful of clothes ripped from their hangers, a box of ammo she made herself, a small tool kit, and her old computer tablet that she had restored what felt like ages ago.