J. Mitchell - Midnight City

“Zoey,” Holt said. “Can you reach that ledge? If I swing you over?” It was dangerous, for both of them, but they were running out of options fast. The shield below was almost down—he didn’t need to be a Freebooter to see that—and Mira hadn’t even started to climb yet.

“I think so,” Zoey said with nervousness in her voice. “But we’re so high, if I—”

“Just don’t look down. We have to do this fast, and I know you can do it, okay?”

“Holt, no!” Mira exclaimed under them. “She’ll fall, she’s not strong enough!”

“She can do it!” he yelled back. She has to, he thought. “Can’t you?”

Zoey nodded.

“Okay, get ready.” Holt used his weight to swing them both toward the hole in the ceiling. “Now!” As he did, Zoey reached up, grabbed the ledge, and let go of him.

Her feet dangled precariously in open air for a moment.

“Zoey!” Mira called out in terror below.

Then the little girl pulled herself up into the dark tunnel, twisting and wiggling until she disappeared inside.

Holt smiled in relief. This just might work.

He grabbed the rope below him in his hand. “Zoey, take this!” He handed it up to the little girl. When she had it, he swung back over, and reached up with one hand to grab the ledge.

Holt let loose of the rope and forced himself to grab the ledge with his other hand. His weight pulled him downward, and he almost fell, but Zoey grabbed his hand, pressing it into place on the rough rock. Desperately, Holt started pulling himself up onto the ledge, groaning with the effort. With the last bit of his strength, he climbed into the tunnel with Zoey.

“Holt!” the little girl cried, wrapping her arms around him.

“Hi, kiddo,” he said, breathing hard. “Back up for me—we have to get the others up.”

He took the rope from Zoey, held it in his hand, and pressed his back into the wall of the tunnel, bracing himself with his feet.

“Mira, go!” he shouted down.

The rope pulled tight in his hands as her weight hit it and she began to climb. She was lighter and wasn’t carrying anyone else, so she made much better time than he had. Max stared up at them all, whining softly.

When Mira reached the tunnel, Zoey helped pull her inside and over Holt. Then they all started pulling the rope upward, end over end. There was a yelp as Max’s feet left the floor, and he dangled helplessly as he rose in fits and starts.

And then came a flash as the black energy field finally collapsed below. Dozens of kids poured inside, looking furiously up at them. They had slings, and rocks quickly flew through the air, sparking all around the tunnel entrance.

But it was too late. Holt and Mira pulled Max up and into the tunnel, free and clear.

“Mira!” an intense, feminine voice yelled from underneath them. Holt watched Mira lean out over the tunnel and peer down to the floor far below.

Lenore stood there, glaring up at them, a purple bruise on the side of her head.

Mira gazed down at her. “It was good seeing you, Lenore. But I think this’ll be the last time.”

“If you do this, Mira, if you steal what’s mine”—Lenore replied—“I guarantee it won’t.”

“The artifact isn’t yours. It never was.”

“What belongs to one Gray Devil belongs to them all,” Lenore stated.

“Yeah, it’s like you said, though,” Mira answered. “I’m not a Gray Devil anymore.” And then she pulled away from the hole in the ceiling, and they all quickly crawled into the dark.

Even with all the thick rock between them, Holt could still hear Lenore scream Mira’s name.

TO ZOEY, the unmapped parts of the cavern seemed beyond massive. They were frightening, twisting pathways of darkness that opened and closed, widened and shrunk, and the only details she could make out were what was revealed by Holt and Mira’s flashlights.

Max walked next to her, which made her feel better. He didn’t seem bothered by all the jagged rock and the strange, eerie shadows the lights projected onto the walls. If he could be brave, then so could she.

Holt made sure they wound through as much of the cavern as possible before stopping, so that even if the Grey Devils did manage to follow them, the odds of them finding the four would be slim. That was the plan anyway, and Zoey hoped it would work. Mira’s old faction hadn’t seemed very friendly at all.

The cavern they finally stopped in was oval shaped, and a hole in one of its walls provided an overlook to one of the city’s main areas: the Scorewall—the strange, massive collection of names and numbers Zoey had seen before. They were situated far above it, staring down into the room from a corner of its ceiling.

Zoey wondered just how many little caverns and entrances there were that blended unnoticed into the walls all throughout Midnight City.

They all laid on their bellies at the edge of the cavern, studying the Scorewall room underneath them, trying to stay out of sight. Even though it was early morning, people were already gathering below.

“Why do they get here so early?” Zoey asked.

“For the best spots,” Mira answered. “It fills up quick. Give me your binoculars.” The last part was meant for Holt, and he handed them to Mira.

The calls of large horns of some kind, dozens and dozens of them, suddenly blared all throughout the city, echoing against the thick, black rock. The sounds seemed angry to Zoey, angry and urgent. She saw the people below stop as the sounds bounced everywhere, continuing for a few more moments before shutting off. Even then, it took a long time for the noise to dissipate, ricocheting back and forth between the thick cavern walls until it was finally drowned out by angry murmurings and yells from the kids below. Zoey watched them turn away from the Scorewall in disgust and head away.

“What was that?” Zoey asked.

“The Gray Devils just sealed the city,” Mira said. “No one comes in, no one goes out.”

Holt looked up at Mira, surprised. “They can do that?”

“They’re the Prime Movers, so yes, but the other factions won’t be happy. Closing the city means no trade comes in, and it also means faction members on the surface can’t get in either. It all effects the Scorewall, and the Gray Devils’ Points will start to drop the longer they keep the city shut down.”

“You don’t seem all that surprised,” Holt said.

“It was the only thing Lenore could do. Trap us inside, try to find us before they lose too many Points.”

“That’s all well and good, but how the hell are we supposed to get out of here now? Los Lobos are after us too, now that they didn’t get their plutonium.”

“We needed it to barter our way out of here,” Mira said. “And Cesar can’t help with that.”

“But you said no one comes in, no ones goes out,” Zoey said, confused.

Mira smiled, stroked Zoey’s hair. “There’s always a way.” She lifted Holt’s binoculars up to her eyes and trained them on the Scorewall below. Zoey could sense she was looking for something specific, and when she found it, she felt a wave of emotion from Mira. Shock mostly, but also pain tinged with anger.

Holt couldn’t feel it the same way Zoey could, but he sensed it nonetheless.

“What?” he asked.

Mira lowered the binoculars, but kept staring at the Scorewall.

“Mira?” Holt asked again.

She blinked, looked up at him. “It’s Ben,” she said. “He is on the Scorewall, Lenore was telling the truth. And he has his Points. Twice as many as he ever had. There’s no way he could have got that many without…”

“Taking your Points,” Holt finished for her after her voice faded away. She was visibly shaken.