Nick James - Crimson rising

We continue to approach the piles. With every step, the smell worsens. From what I can remember, most of Barkley’s collection is nothing more than mass old junk he finds in the ruins of Seattle, but who knows how long it’s been since he’s seen the bottoms of the heaps. Things could be rotting down there. The oppressive heat definitely isn’t helping.

A few more steps and we’re bathed in floodlights. Everyone freezes. Sheets of light blare down at us from both sides, so bright at first that I have to shield my eyes. Before I acclimate to the glare, I hear the cock of a gun. Then a voice.

“Oh, hell no.” Barkley’s gruff, unimpressed drawl comes from somewhere in front of me. I rub my eyes and watch him appear from the light, walking forward with an oldfashioned revolver pointed in front of him. “It can’t be,” he continues. “Y’all are temptin’ fate.”

I raise my hands in the air, even as I take a step forward. There’s no way Barkley’d recognize Cassius, and probably not Skandar or Eva either, but he obviously hasn’t forgotten me. The old man looks more beaten down since the last time I saw him. Tired. He’d helped us get to Seattle and it hadn’t turned out well for him.

“Installed these floodlights myself,” he continues. “Part of a new precautionary system, thanks to the likes of you. You here with Unified Party cruisers trailin’ you again?”

I glance over his shoulder, relieved to see that his farmhouse is still standing. Madame could’ve easily leveled it last spring.

Avery moves to my side. “How’s your son, George?” The man’s eyes narrow. “Alive. You’ve got a lot of balls coming back here. We pride ourselves on staying out of the eye of the government. You brought ‘em straight to us. Still haven’t recovered completely.” He waves the nozzle of the revolver. “Go back. Wherever you came from, go back. We don’t want you.”

I slowly lower my hands, sighing. “We need your help.”

He chuckles. “Heard that one before.”

“It’s not like last time. It’s… we just need a place to stay for a few hours. Somewhere safe.”

George keeps the gun cocked, not saying a word.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn to see Cassius standing behind me. “Come on. Let’s just take our chances back in the shuttle. This wasn’t a good idea.”

Barkley shakes his head. “Always knew you’d be back eventually. Didn’t think it would be so soon. How’d that army of Unified Party troops work out for you, anyway?”

“We didn’t mean any harm,” I say.

“Sure you didn’t. It was a mistake helping you in the first place. In fact, I ought to-”

A second voice interrupts him from beyond the lights.

“Dude, no way!” Bobby Henderson jumps into sight, a smear of oil on his cheek, black hair grown into a shag since the last time I saw him. Last spring, when Avery and I had stumbled into the town, he’d been the first to find us. Without his help, we’d have never made it to Seattle. Out of everyone we could’ve found out here, he’s the one I was hoping for the most.

Bobby’s about the same age as me, yet seems ten times more untroubled. He wears a broad smile on his face as he bounds toward us. Before I can move, he grabs my shoulders and forces me into an awkward hug. When he’s done, he moves onto Avery. “Oh, man, you don’t know how many nights I thought about you guys. Barkley told me you were ambushed by Unified Party soldiers as soon as you got to Seattle. I hope you didn’t worry about us. Those bozos left as soon as they realized they weren’t a match for you Shippers.”

He steps back and takes us all in. “Most exciting thing that’s happened to Lenbrg ever. Of course, my pops doesn’t agree, but who cares about him?”

George lowers the gun, shaking his head. “Why the hell are you out here, Henderson?”

Bobby brushes him off. “Don’t you worry about it.”

“This is my property,” he replies. “I’ll worry as much as I like. I’ve told you again and again. Too many times to count… ”

“Aw, cool it old man. These are friends. They don’t need you harassing them.”

“I ain’t harassing them,” he says. “You’re supposed to be organizing cans in the supply room.”

Bobby shrugs. “I got bored. They don’t need me, anyway.” He glances back at the piles beyond the lights. “Some security system, Barkley. You’ve got a blind spot there,” he points, “and there. And there. I can help you fix it if you want. I’m good at-”

“Shut up, boy.” George rubs his eyes before turning to us again. “You better leave. They ain’t gonna let you in the city. I can guarantee that.”

Bobby smiles. “You let me have ‘em, Barkley. You won’t even know we’re here.”

Avery steps forward. “We’re really not asking for your help, just some food if you have it… and a place to catch our breath.”

“Doesn’t seem like too much trouble to me.” Bobby beams. “Don’t worry, Barkley. I’ll take ‘em. And you have the added bonus of getting rid of me for a night.”

George shakes his head, cursing. “Stay clear of the city walls.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Bobby grabs my shoulder and leads me to the side. He turns to whisper in my ear. “I’ve got this awesome place all set up. Wait’ll you see it.” He pushes me away from Barkley. When we’re completely out of sight, the floodlights shut off behind us.

Bobby releases my shoulder and walks in front of me, leading our group around the edge of the town.

Eva moves beside us. “Shouldn’t we be heading toward the city?”

Bobby bends over to pick up a rock, then chucks it into the distance. “You heard the man. They don’t want people like us hanging out with them.”

I glance back at the farmhouse. It’s nothing but a dark shadow in the distance. Even the junk heaps are hard to spot. “Where are we going?”

“Just a little more.” Bobby points in front of us. “You see that?”

I squint. All I see is another blob of darkness against the sky, like a toe sticking up from the ground.

Bobby doesn’t wait for a response. He breaks off at a jog, oblivious to the heat. “Sometimes I get sick of being inside the walls. Lenbrg never changes. Plus, ever since you guys dropped by, the city council’s been freaking about the chances of another attack. I figure the town needed a lookout. I’m just fidgety enough for the job.”

We echo his faster pace. With each step, the details of the dark blob come into view. What looks like a miniature lighthouse stands before us, an awkward structure against the flat horizon. Farther beyond that, I see the outline of a turbine. Blades turn lazily in the breeze.

Bobby bounds to the side of the building and pulls a key from a necklace beneath his shirt. Opening a lock on the door, he ushers us into a tight circular room. It’s an uncomfortable fit for all six of us, but Bobby squeezes to the far side anyway. “Shut the door.” He grabs a nearby crank and turns.

Skandar pulls the handle, closing us in the hot room. I adjust my collar. “I don’t think this place is meant for more than two people.”

“Just wait.” Bobby continues to turn the crank. Three clicks echo along the walls around us, followed quickly by a half dozen more. Something whirs to life.

Suddenly, a cool breeze fills the chamber. I watch as a dozen fans, positioned at all angles, shoot cold air into the center of the room. Two floors up, directly above my head, is a temperature regulator attached to the ceiling. An old model, and loud, but it does the job. Within seconds the entire structure’s temp-controlled, even as Fringe air spills through the open windows.

“Rigged it up myself.” Bobby climbs a nearby wooden ladder and sits on the second floor, which is basically a ring of reinforced wood attached to the walls on all sides. “I call it my fortress.” He smiles. “Far enough from town to give me space to breathe, but close enough to keep watch for any trouble.”