The City Unseen by Andrew C Jaxson

Author:Andrew C Jaxson [Jaxson, Andrew C]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-04-04T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-EIGHT

My shirt was wet from the creature’s blood. The goggles were broken, so I had to pull out a torch from my pack, which had somehow survived being crushed against the wall.

It only lit up a small circle in front of me, but it was enough to give warning of another creature-thing in the dark. Perhaps I should stop thinking of them as creatures. They weren’t exactly human, but they weren’t animals. From what I’d seen in the morgue, they’d once been human, at least before Wheeler got to them. I tried not to picture the headless body in the tunnel behind me. I’d had no choice, but it was still awful.

There was no sign at all of Noah and Rachel, not even a pack left behind, or footprints in the gravel. It was like they’d disappeared completely, which was a much better outcome than finding them mauled to death. If they’d been taken, there was no evidence of a struggle. Hopefully, they’d just gotten lost somewhere and we’d find each other eventually.

The blood started to dry on my shirt, making it crusty. I’d gotten used to that feeling by now, though, so it wasn’t as bad as the first time it had happened, walking through the bush into the Kindred compound with Noah.

Still, that time I’d had company. Down here, I was alone.

Footsteps scuffed the gravel up ahead. Maybe Rachel and Noah had finally found the path. I started to call out, but noticed a red glow coming from around the tunnel corner. Our torches weren’t red. Someone else was up there. I switched off my torch and used the red light to guide my path.

To stay quiet, I walked on the metal part of the track, balancing along it like a beam. There were a lot of people ahead. They talked quietly, murmurs turning into sentences as I drew closer to the group. The corner opened out onto a straight tunnel, and I finally saw them up ahead. They were walking away from me, and couldn’t see me back in the dark, so I trailed along far behind in the tunnel.

There were at least fifteen people, wearing hooded black robes. Kindred. I was definitely heading in the right direction. If I kept following this group, I’d end up at Wheeler’s demonstration. Although without Noah and Rachel, I had no idea how to stop any of this.

“This demonstration had better be good,” a female voice grumbled from near the back of the pack.

“Wheeler thinks he’s solved it,” said a male. “At any rate, the ceremony was going to happen with or without him. At least this way we’re getting two things done at once.”

“Be careful of your tone,” said an older female. “You’re bordering on sacrilege. It is not us who determine the Agenda, or the manner through which it comes. Respect the Elders, and those we serve.”

“Forgive me, Elder Melendez. I will hold my tongue.”

I now recognised the Elder’s voice. Lucy Melendez, the 6pm news anchor for the National Bulletin.

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