Matthew Costello - Rage

So much to take in, she thought. She’d had years. This world no longer held surprises for her.

But for him?

Raine broke his silence. “How did this all happen? The Authority, the Enforcers? What happened to the plan to rebuild humanity, to make a new world?”

This was the question she had been waiting for. “You know what they say about plans,” she said. “This one had a flaw that doomed it from the beginning. That, and a big surprise.”

She then told Raine about the asteroid, how its course had shifted, whatever was inside it reacting to the planet. And how General Martin Cross and Colonel James Casey had commandeered an Ark.

How they made sure they were the first out.

Made sure that they would run this world.

“Most of the survivors that came after them were either killed or captured. The ones that could be used were put to work. A few, like myself, escaped. But not many.” She looked at Raine again. “Now, there’s only one other like you that we know of.”

“Like me?”

“A soldier. Captain John Marshall. Leader of the Resistance.”

“I look forward to meeting him.”

She nodded.

Not yet, she told herself… she wouldn’t tell him yet. Instead, she simply said:

“Me, too…”

She turned and looked at him. She had already decided on a slight detour before they came to Subway Town.

This survivor needed to see things.

“Raine, take a look down there.”

The airship felt steady enough for Raine to walk to the edge and lean over. With the moonlight, he could make out the landscape below.

It reminded him of grainy photographs of the trenches from World War One. The devastated landscape, farmhouses burnt to the ground, the terrain turned into a series of long, desperate lines as men charged at each other, day after day, so many falling uselessly to their death.

“What is it?”

Elizabeth had to speak loudly to be heard.

“Used to be the Cane Settlement. It was independent, made up of basically goodhearted people. But some of the Cane leaders started working with us. Supplies, information. They knew the risks.”

Raine looked back at Elizabeth. He could guess the rest of the story.

“Someone-could have been one of their family, maybe another trader who overheard something-turned them in to the Authority. And instead of arrests… they did that.”

“Killed everyone?”

“Every last one of them.” She took a breath. “Then burnt it to the ground.”

It made Raine remember something he was thinking about earlier, about the French Resistance: did the Resistance feel any responsibility for what happened?

It was a classic scenario… a resistance does something, and innocent people pay a heavy price. Was any of it worth it?

Historians debated that.

“They wanted to make an example. For all the other far-flung settlements. Cross us, and this is what will happen. I’d say, based on the level of cooperation we’ve been getting, it worked. We’ve had to be more careful, more underground than ever.”

Raine kept looking down.

The landscape had been left as pure desolation.

“How many people?” he asked.

“Depends on who might have been in the settlement. There were always migrant traders passing through. Our guess… nearly a hundred.”

Raine nodded. A massacre, taking its place in line with others throughout modern history. He stepped back from the edge, for a few minutes saying nothing. He noticed that the airship had turned now, returning to an earlier course, the moon sliding to his left.

“You brought me there… for a reason.”

“Could be.”

“To show me what you are fighting. And why.”

She turned, her face determined. This woman from his time who didn’t know whether her own family was alive or dead, prisoner or free.

“I hoped it would help you understand.”

“And that I would join you?”

She held his gaze. “They did send you back with a mission, isn’t that right?”

“Yeah.”

“I have to figure… this wasn’t what they imagined for that future. Slaughter. Fear. Terror. The goddamned Authority.”

He looked away. “No.”

“So-”

Back to her. “Say no more.” Another deep breath of the chilly night air. “I’m in.”

And Elizabeth nodded.

The airship began dropping in altitude well before Raine could see anything like signs of life.

Just more deserted buildings, chunks of metal walls, upturned cars.

They now glided a mere hundred feet above the ground.

“What is this?”

“Crescent City. Ever been here? I mean, before?”

“Can’t say that I have.”

“The city got destroyed by Apophis. But they had built a small subway line, and people took refuge there. Lawless, dangerous; it wasn’t a great place to visit before. Definitely not a great place now.”

The ship dropped a few more feet.

“But it’s a good place for us to hide. For now. Definitely a place where no questions are asked.”

“This is Subway Town?”

Elizabeth nodded.

“And the Authority tolerates it?”

“They could wipe it out. But that would mean going through every square inch of the tunnels, into tight spaces where people have amassed a lot of weapons. So it would be a costly, deadly operation. Besides, Redstone-”

“And he is?”

“He runs Subway Town. Who knows why…”

“Love the political system in this world.”

“Yeah. Another thing we want to change. For now, though, Redstone is in charge. Whether people are scared of him or need what he can get, it doesn’t much matter. This is his place.”

Now only thirty feet above the ground, Raine watched Elizabeth turn to the right, banking the craft slightly.

“So you are safe here?”

“Like I said, for now. No place is safe too long. We’re already looking for a new place.” She looked at Raine. It seemed to him that she wanted to tell him something more but stopped.

He could see that up here, at the street level, the city above-ground was completely deserted.

Everyone was living below, he realized. Like…

What was the word?

Living like troglodytes.

Elizabeth grabbed a lever and the engine slowed. Another lever let more hot air out of the sausage-shaped balloon above.

In minutes they came to a landing.

She pulled the engine lever all the way down.

The boiler went quiet, and as the balloon deflated she ran around, neatly catching the folds of canvas material as if wrapping a mainsail tight after a day at sea.

“Okay-ready?” She jumped off the ship, its hull now camouflaged amidst the scattered debris of the city. “We have people waiting.”

Raine grabbed his guns and his pack with the hard drive. Would they be of any value to this group?

He guessed he was about to find out.

Down into dark subway tunnels. Once his eyes adjusted, he could see that stretches were dotted with lights. Slowly, he could make out the sound of voices.

“Just walk like you live here,” Elizabeth whispered. “Nice and natural, okay?”

“Sure.”

The passed people, some drinking, others haggling at a stand.

She leaned close to him. “Put your arm around me. Looks better.”

Raine did so. Been a while since any human contact, he thought.

They walked close together now, as if out for a late night stroll.

Past a place with neon lights…

Jani’s.

From a doorway, smoke and people poured out. Raine could see that everyone had a weapon-either a rifle slung over their shoulder or a handgun by their side. No, it wouldn’t be easy even for Enforcers to clear out this place.

Elizabeth leaned her head into him.