A Crack in the Sky (25 page)

Eli, hold on!
she cried.
Don’t give up—I’ll find you!

She spent half the night prowling the streets of Providence for any sign of the black, angel-winged transport pod. As much as she realized deep down that Eli and his captors were long gone, she couldn’t bear to give up the search in case she was wrong. Miserable, and with little energy left, she at last succumbed to her exhaustion and collapsed in a little alley by a power-storage box near the perimeter of the city.

The pixels at the far edge of the morning sky were just starting to glimmer an electronic silver when Marilyn awoke to the sound of footsteps.

Something was creeping up behind her.

Something that was trying not to be heard.

She leapt to her feet and spun around. Only a few yards away, two boys in purple uniforms were slinking in her direction. Their eyes were fixed on her, and in their hands they carried long wooden clubs. At first Marilyn didn’t understand, but then she noticed an InfiniCorp truck parked in the street behind them, lit up on the side by glowing purple words:
Department of Pest Control and Disposal
.

With sudden dismay she realized that to these boys in this
dim light, she must have looked like a rat or a raccoon or some other stray creature, maybe something that’d wandered in from Outside. They paused when they saw she was awake and aware of them, but then they raised their clubs even higher.

They rushed at her.

In a frantic split second, Marilyn tried to assess her options. She couldn’t communicate with them to let them know they were making a mistake. Behind her and on both sides were concrete walls several stories tall. To escape this narrow alley, she realized, she would have to fight her way past these boys.

She sprang at the closer of the two, a square-jawed kid about fifteen, with close-set eyes. In midair, just as her claws were about to lash at the boy’s collar, she felt a stunning blow that took her square in the shoulder. It was his bat, and it sent her flying against the left wall. She slammed against the concrete and dropped to the ground.

“You devil!” the boy shouted. “Coming at me, are you? Maybe this’ll settle you down!”

He swung his bat again, except this time Marilyn saw it coming. With a squeal she rolled aside just in time, and the bat cracked against the concrete where her head had just been. The pain in her shoulder was excruciating, but as the boy reared his arm back for another swing, she had the presence of mind to change direction.

“The net! The net!” he shouted to the other boy as she scurried between his legs. “Don’t let it get away!”

The other boy, dark-haired and taller than the first, was already in her path, and he showed just as little fear as the first boy did. He let her rush at him and waited until she’d leapt
into the air before striking a blow of his own. This time the bat connected just below her ribs and knocked the wind out of her. She landed in a heap on the ground. Something coarse and light dropped onto her. It was a mesh of sticky rope, and it wrapped itself tight around her body. Dazed and gasping for breath, she tried to twist herself free, but she found she couldn’t move.

She was defenseless as she watched the second boy rear back his bat for a final blow.

But that was when the square-jawed boy called out again. “No, don’t kill it! I want to take a look!”

With a dubious glance over his shoulder, the second boy stopped his arm in midswing and then lowered his bat. When the first boy came back into Marilyn’s view, he was holding what looked like a long wooden rod, at least ten feet in length, with a circular metal band at one end. He shoved it through the net, and then Marilyn felt cold metal wrap tight around her neck.

“Slippery little devil, isn’t it?”

“A lot of fight in this one. I whacked it good, and it’s still going.”

The next thing Marilyn knew, she was being lifted into the air, her whole body dangling from the end of the rod. With a vicious animal snarl that came from somewhere deep inside, some ancient, fearsome place she hadn’t even known was there, she began slashing and biting and flailing her claws, trying somehow to rip through the choking metal. But it was no use. She realized she was beaten, and she went still. She had never known such misery.

For a moment the boys only watched her, wide-eyed, as they held on to the other end of the rod.

“What the heck
is
it?”

The taller boy leaned in close—but not
too
close—and squinted into Marilyn’s frightened eyes. “Don’t know. Some kind of deformed weasel, maybe. Or a squirrel mutation?”

“That’s no squirrel,” said the square-jawed boy. “We see plenty of mutants, but I never saw anything that looked like
that.”

After a pause the taller boy reached into his pocket and pulled out an InfiniPencil. Still keeping his distance, he prodded her exposed belly with it, perhaps to see what reaction it might bring. For Marilyn this indignity was too much, and she hissed at him again with such sudden fury that it startled him. He jumped back.

“All right, then,” he said, chuckling as he slipped the pencil back into his pocket. “Let’s load it into the truck with the others—but we better give this one its own cell.”

Still dangling Marilyn from the end of the rod, the boys opened the back of the truck, and she found herself being forced into one of dozens of small wire cages that lined the inside walls. In the confusion of the moment, she didn’t get a good look, but she could tell there were other animals because she heard a chorus of growls and hisses. It sounded like some of the caged things were throwing themselves against the metal bars at her appearance. The air smelled of fear and fury. At last the metal collar released its choking grip on her neck, but an instant later the cage door slammed shut. Then the boys closed the back of the truck. Marilyn was trapped.

Shaking and in pain, she could feel the eyes of the animals watching her from every direction. Despite the darkness, she could make out some of them. A couple of sick-looking dogs. A tank of snakes. Something that looked like a hairless cat with a malformed paw. Mostly, though, what glared out at her from behind the bars of the cages were the same pointed faces, pink-eyed and hateful, over and over again: rats.

Large, evil-looking rats.

The cage next to hers was stuffed full of them. They growled and spat at her, pressing their long teeth between the metal bars as if trying to force their way through. When Marilyn looked closer she noticed there was something horribly wrong with every one of them.

Some had multiple tails.

Many had extra legs.

And the biggest one of all had three eyes.

Marilyn shrank back. As the engine started and the truck began to move, she trembled not only because of these terrifying creatures but also at the thought of where the boys might be taking them. She remembered again the words she’d seen on the side of the truck:
Department of Pest Control and Disposal
.

It was the
disposal
part that bristled her fur.

15
savages and kings

Eli woke up with his face against a cold tile floor. He had no idea where he was or how long he’d been there. He was covered in sweat and his left shoulder ached. He thought he could hear the wind howling. With a great effort he used his elbows to lift his body to a kneeling position.

Then he raised his head and looked around.

He was in the center of a small, dark room, empty except for him and an oversized CloudNet sphere that floated overhead, dormant but still providing the little light there was. In waves he remembered climbing up the sky.

And the strange old man with the respirator.

And the Outsiders bursting into his room.

And Marilyn! Oh god, where was she?
Are you there?
he called silently.
Marilyn, are you all right?

There was no answer. Maybe the Outsiders had grabbed her too. After all, the man who called himself Gustavo seemed to know all about her and her chip. If he was taking his
revenge on Eli for refusing to join the Foggers, why stop there? Hadn’t Marilyn been just as clear about where she stood?

Eli pulled himself to his feet. In the center of one of the four walls was a black door. He tried it, but it was locked. What was this place? Some kind of criminal den where twisted Fog conspirators brought victims to be tortured—or worse? He’d read InfiniBook stories about secret Fog dungeons, but never did he imagine he would find himself a prisoner in one. How long before somebody came for him? Had they brought him here to rot forever?

Whatever they were planning to do, whatever horror lay ahead, he wanted it to hurry up already and happen. Waiting and not knowing was more than he could stand.

“Hello?” he called toward the closed door. “Anybody here?”

Somebody must have heard him, because he heard something move on the opposite side of the door. First a distant sound like animals grunting, then a
clomp, clomp, clomp
like boots approaching. He backed against the opposite wall and eyed the door. Whoever it was, they were on the other side now, working the latch.

And then the door swung open.

Two savages—large, muscular boys with scarred, sun-damaged complexions—stepped through the door. One had a prominent lower jaw and sharp yellow teeth; the other had a gaping hole on the side of his head where an ear had once been. Both wore the black InfiniCorp uniforms of the Department of Loyalty. Neither said a word. In an instant they were on both sides of Eli, each taking an arm. They yanked him from the wall and dragged him forward, closer to the CloudNet sphere.

Eli was too scared to speak.

Then from overhead a voice, thin and lethargic, whispered, “Finally back among the living? How considerate of you.” The sphere was already glowing brighter and seemed to swell in size. From the haze inside it materialized the InfiniCorp logo—smiling employees cupped in the palm of a giant, protective hand—and then, in front of it, a much larger face, pale and narrow, with white hair and cold gray eyes. The sight gave Eli chills.

“Spider …? Spider, you have to help me!”

His cousin glowered down at him. “What a difference a day can make. Only yesterday you seemed repulsed by my presence. Not so contemptuous anymore,
are
we?”

Eli felt fingernails digging into his arms. “Wh-what’s going on?” he asked, his voice shaking. He took a quick, nervous glance at the Outsiders.

“Ah, I see you’ve met my special assistants …”

“Special assistants?” Eli repeated, confused.

“That’s right. I have an understanding with these two gentlemen. They do whatever I ask, and in exchange I provide them shelter from Outside. It’s an equitable arrangement. Their barbarian nature makes them far fiercer than other Department of Loyalty agents and less prone to … 
taking pity
at inconvenient moments. These are valuable qualities that make them ideal for certain … 
tasks
. Covert assignments that require a special sensitivity, not to mention stealth.” He snickered. “But you’ve already experienced how soundless they can be. After all, it was they who visited your home last night.”

Outsiders working for the company? Eli had never heard
of such a thing before, and the idea terrified him. He struggled, but the two barbarians held tight.

“Let me go!” he cried. “You’re hurting me!”

“Oh, don’t try to converse with them,” Spider said, his voice still eerily dispassionate. “They’re trained to respond only to me, aren’t you, boys? Besides, I had their tongues removed, so they don’t speak. It makes things much easier.”

Eli could hardly believe he’d heard right. When the Outsiders responded with low grunting noises, it made Eli’s heart pound even harder. He’d cut off their tongues? His own cousin was a monster!

He noticed something peculiar about the sphere too. It wasn’t just its size. He tried to look away from the image of Spider’s head, but he found it wasn’t easy. The very thought of taking his eyes off the glowing ball brought on a panicky feeling. What if the masked boy in the Bubble had been right that CloudNet spheres had influence over people? This sphere did seem to have a compelling power. Not only that, but the more Eli stared into the haze, the more he felt his thoughts drifting from him. He had to look away or soon he wouldn’t be able to think at all. Sweat dripped into his eyes. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to ignore the panic. Only after a tremendous effort was he able to squeeze his eyes shut and turn his head away.

“Impressive,” Spider said. “Your will is strong. But that, unfortunately, is the real tragedy, little cousin. Because it was this same willfulness that led to your undoing.” Feigning a pained expression, he sighed. “But you can’t fight the sphere’s influence forever. Trying to do so would be both foolish and pointless, so I suggest you don’t bother. Keep your eyes on
the sphere and I think you’ll find that things will be a lot easier for you.”

Eli felt a rough hand under his chin. The Outsider with the missing ear twisted his head back toward the image of Spider. Eli tried to shut his eyes, but the other Outsider, baring his yellow fangs, held his eyelids open with two of his filthy fingers. Eli screamed. He had no choice except to look at the sphere.