Jack Chalker - Empires of Flux & Anchor

All that was pushed into the background now, though, as the timers ticked down. They were going out the front street-level entrance, to avoid having to run down those interminable steps, and they were going right into the face of a machine gun battery and light artillery aimed straight at them.

Matson went to the door. “At minus two I’m going to throw it open. If it doesn’t take, be prepared to duck and scatter fast. If it’s go, then you, soldier, better slam this door behind us, and fast.”

He looked again at his watch. “Minus ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two!… ” The door came open, and almost immediately the machine guns began to open up.

And stopped.

Outside, very suddenly, was nothing but a gray fog. It wasn’t even the void—it was nothing. “ Go!” Matson shouted, and they all took off on the run into the blankness, running as fast as they could straight ahead. The surface under their feet seemed hard, almost like rock or cement, but there were no signs of anything at all around them.

The total distance they had to traverse in the minute was a little short of eighty-four meters, a considerable run. Spirit kept hold of Suzl’s hand and literally yanked her along. Kasdi and Matson lagged behind, she feeling the strain the worst, although she’d done a spell in Flux to strengthen her legs. Matson was in good shape, but he was quickly being reminded by his lungs and his muscles that he was not a young man.

The square re-exploded into life around them, with machine guns rattling in back of them, but even though Kasdi and Matson hadn’t quite reached cover, it was a dark night, and there were no lights in the buildings and no electric lights in the square, which was still without power. There were no observers in the rear part of the square either—all attention was focused on the temple.

They went down a street that led to the main shopping district and ducked into an alley, where they found Spirit and Suzl waiting. Matson began coughing and braced himself against the wall for a moment, while Kasdi joined a collapsed Suzl in gasping for breath. Spirit was hardly breathing heavily, and she’d run with a full pack.

Before the rest felt themselves ready, they prepared to move, knowing that the curfew was on, that it was shoot on sight, and that their only chance was to clear the capital and make it to open country as quickly as possible. From this point, they were in Matson’s hands, and they followed his lead, moving down darkened streets pressed against buildings, crossing from deep shadow to deep shadow.

At one point they stopped next to a large poster, and Kasdi took the opportunity to read it.

“PROCLAMATION #10562, MILITARY GOVERNMENT OF THE FREE KINGDOM OF ANCHOR LOGH,” it read.

“1. All girls between the age of puberty and the age of 45 shall henceforth be considered indecent unless they appear in public wearing proper makeup, including but not limited to lipstick, rouge, eye shadow, nail polish, body scent, etc.

“2. Proper attire in public shall include jewelry, such as necklaces, earrings, bracelets, pendants, etc., and shoes with heels of at least 7.5 cm.

“3. Proper attire outside of home, farm, commune, etc. for all girls shall consist only of clothing secured from and approved by the Kingdom.

“4. As no handbags or other carryables are permitted, nor the possession or use of cash or commodities for trade (see Proclamations #3126 and 4164), all employers and public places shall have available such items as might be needed for girls to continue to comply with this proclamation on a request basis.

“This regulation will take effect at the end of the curfew on 08-22-02 and will be strictly enforced. Physical punishment is authorized on the spot for all violators.”

Suzl, who’d snuck in and read it as well, gave a low whistle. “Well, I guess we’re all immoral now. Aren’t we, girls ?”

“That is the most incredible thing I have ever read,” Kasdi added disgustedly. “That date was three days ago.”

“Well, that’s Coydt all right,” Matson told them. “Still, there’s even a method in this shit. There must be a lot of ex-priestesses and the like around who know all the facts and where to cause the most trouble. This keeps ’em all bottled up.”

They kept snaking their way through the city, often dodging mounted patrols and occasional foot patrolman and having several close calls. The city was well patrolled, but it was not absolute. All of the police/soldiers carried small automatic weapons, though. They would take no chances, that was for sure, and an occasional distant or even nearby burst of gunfire punctuated that point.

There were also some fixed positions on the rooftops, but these were less of a problem once the quartet discovered they were there. It was harder and more nerve-wracking to move through the shadows with the knowledge that any sound might trigger a blast from above, but it was easy to avoid being seen. Cutting the electricity to the city had been the best idea they’d had.

Finally they made it to the edge, only to find that a tall wire fence, with what looked like cowbells all along the top, had been erected around the whole town. It was simple and clever. Suzl looked at it glumly and asked, “What’ll we do now? It’ll be light in an hour or so.”

“We dig,” Matson replied, getting a small shovel out of Spirit’s pack. “We dig fast.”

After the top layer was gingerly removed, it proved relatively easy in the moist earth. Matson was largest, so he tried it first, barely slipping under. Suzl was next, and actually jiggled the fence slightly, but no one came running. Next came Kasdi, and then Spirit found she had to deepen the hole a bit to push the packs through. Finally, she, too, was under, just as the sky was starting to lighten.

They decided against the roads and took a crosscountry route through pastureland designed more to keep cows and horses in than people out. The area just southeast of the city was heavily wooded, and they headed there as fast as possible. Once in the relative safety of the trees, they relaxed as day broke gray and gloomy.

“Unless you women want to put on high heels and sexy panties, I’d say we rest all day,” Matson said. “I don’t much like stopping this close to town, since somebody’s gonna find that hole, but I don’t see any choice. At least right now there’s nothing to trace that hole to us.”

Spirit thought for a moment. “We could go down towards the farm. I think I can get us there without taking us out of the woods, and it’ll give us a clear view of the road.”

“Let’s do it, then,” he decided. “But slow and easy.”

This country just south of the capital was where all three women had grown up. It was not quite as easy as they’d expected, for they ran into countless nasty little booby traps and trip alarms planted in the woods, and Spirit got caught in a snare net and was left hanging there until the others climbed up and freed her. Matson was adamant that they not cut her free, and after she was out he reset the trap very professionally.

“These traps mean they run regular patrols through these woods,” he warned them. “We’ll have to be on guard every moment.”

Finally, though, before midday, they made it to the thick grove overlooking the road which had been the start of both Kasdi’s and Spirit’s lives, as well as providing a view out to the main road about a kilometer away.

Matson unclipped his binoculars and studied the scene. “Well, we know that some of the men aren’t getting off too well either,” he said softly. “See those poles set up along the edge of the farm road and the main one? They’ve got bodies stuck on ’em. Men’s bodies.”