Written in Fire

CHAPTER 33

Hawk was trying very hard not to cry.

Could it really only have been this afternoon that he’d been sitting in his bedroom with John Smith, the two of them talking like confidants? There had been that perfect moment at the end, when John put a hand on his shoulder, and for a second he didn’t feel like a little kid whose mom had been killed, he felt like a soldier, a revolutionary. The kind of man he’d always wanted to be. Strong, determined, important.

Then the soldiers, the gunfire and screams. Wriggling through that endless tunnel. The woman pointing a shotgun, the way his throat had closed up and warmth had run down his leg, soaking all the way into his sweat sock. For years he’d daydreamed about action, had kept his vigil, but the moment actual danger had presented itself, he’d peed himself and run away.

John told you to. He wanted you to get away.

There was some comfort in that, but not much. First they’d killed his mom, now John. He hated them, hated them all so much, and now here he was running down a tunnel, head held low so he didn’t bang it into the pipes and wires above, jeans wet and cold, and the part of him that was still a little boy really wanted to cry, but he couldn’t, he wouldn’t let himself.

Eventually his legs and lungs gave out, and he had to stop. Hawk bent over and braced his hands on his knees, sucking in gasps of air, the taste of vomit in the back of his throat. He had to think, had to start acting like a man.

Step one was getting out of the tunnels. The dusty smell of them, the pale light and hum of cables were making him sick. He set off at a walk, and a quarter mile later he’d found another ladder. When he climbed up, he found himself in a maintenance hut just like the other one, a small space lined with tools and spare parts. No windows, no way to tell where he was except to open the door and step out.

It was chilly in wet jeans and a T-shirt. He wrapped his arms around himself, blinked at the late afternoon sun. After the subterranean dimness, it made his eyes water. There were honks and yells, a line of cars crawling east. The sidewalk was crowded with people with their arms full, their kids on their shoulders.

Hawk thought about asking what was going on, but couldn’t figure out who to talk to, everyone seemed to be in such a hurry. And there were his pee-soaked jeans to consider. Better to figure it out himself.

He wasn’t sure where he was exactly, but near the edge of town. Everyone else was headed the opposite direction of where he wanted to go. He needed to get out of Tesla, not deeper into it. He started walking, dodging between people, muttering, “Excuse me,” without looking anyone in the eye. There was a big intersection ahead. When they’d gotten here, Mom had made him memorize all the major streets in Tesla. She’d said that the first rule of being a revolutionary was knowing the lay of the land. While a lot of the stuff she’d taught him had been fun, this one had felt more like homework. He’d never imagined he might actually need it.

The intersection confirmed what he already knew, that he was on the western outskirts of Tesla. The buildings were low and spread out. Hawk stood on the corner and thought for a moment. He didn’t have his wallet or any money. Maybe he could sneak onto a bus, or the light rail? It was the kind of thing that worked on tri-d, but it seemed pretty dicey in real life. He could probably steal a bicycle, but what then? Wyoming was a big state.

Finally, he remembered the place he and Mom had crashed when they first got here. A safe house on the northwestern edge of the city. They’d stayed there for like two weeks, bored out of their minds. One day, Mom had said screw it, they needed some air. Wandering around town was too big a risk, but there was a Jeep in the garage, and they’d loaded up a picnic and taken it out into the desert. It had been a joyous, jolting day of loud music and off-roading. She’d even let him drive. Everything had seemed such an adventure back then, such fun.

The house was only about a mile away. A green one-story with an attached garage. He banged on the door, but there was no answer. All the neighboring houses were dark too, and the streets were empty. He went around back, figured screw it, and tossed a paving stone through the patio door.

The interior looked like he remembered, the same ugly carpet, the same outdated tri-d. The lights worked, but he left them off. The fridge was empty, but there were some beans in the cabinet. He ate from the can as he walked around the house, checking the closets and dressers, hoping to find something to change into. No luck. Best he could do was scrub at the pee stains with a wet towel.

The Jeep was in the garage. It was coated in dirt, sprays of it running back from the wheels. Maybe no one had used it since he and Mom. A full tank of gas, which was good news, but no keys in the ignition.

Hawk went back inside. This was a safe house. The keys had to be somewhere. No hooks hanging by the door, so he went into the kitchen, started opening drawers. He found a white envelope with a thick stack of weathered twenty-dollar bills. He tucked it in his pocket, kept looking. Bingo, a ring of three keys, one of them bearing the Jeep logo. He was only fourteen, and hadn’t driven since that day, but he’d figure it out, and besides, the streets were empty—

Outside the kitchen windows a parade was passing.

Hawk froze, glad he’d left the lights off.

It wasn’t a parade.

It was an army.

The men didn’t wear uniforms, but the dust on their clothes and dirt on their faces made them all look the same. They carried guns, mostly rifles and shotguns, but some heavier stuff too, things he recognized from games. There were so many of them, a flood, like a concert letting out, only they walked in silence, their eyes hard. Not more than forty feet away.

One of them looked over, a long-haired scarecrow with an assault rifle in his arms and a huge bowie knife on his hip. The man stared right at him, and Hawk felt his heart bang in his throat and forehead, a wave of panic so hot he thought he’d wet himself again. He wanted to run, but he couldn’t move, just stood rooted at the counter, the keys in one hand. After a moment, the guy’s eyes flicked away and he kept moving. The house was dark, the windows transformed into mirrors. He hadn’t seen Hawk after all. Slowly, he lowered himself to his knees.

The men kept coming. Hundreds. Thousands. The sky was turning red behind them, and he had a sudden flash of something from the graphic novel.

An army of demons marching out of hell.