Resistance by L. E. Erickson

Author:L. E. Erickson [Erickson, L.E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: dystopian cyberpunk thriller
Publisher: JMA Publishing
Published: 2017-09-17T00:00:00+00:00

4

FACED with hours of lying in her coffin-sized bunk in the living box, revisiting every detail of the plan Alex had outlined for her that afternoon or reliving every terrible word Ric had said to her, Daria opted to flee the sub-levels and did what she always did when she needed something to set her mind straight.

She chased down the music.

Night filtered through the heavy foliage of the garden terraces overhead, wafting dewy salt air under Daria’s nose. Moisture fairly dripped from the air, and Daria might’ve heard thunder. Maybe it was just distant drums. This particular side street in West Tower’s shadow was darker than most, even during the day. At night, though, The Black Hole’s blood red and flashing blue lights held the darkness firmly at bay.

If Ardica could claim one advantage over the mainland—aside from the whole Mancer-free deal—the Hole and a handful of similar clubs were it. Daria wasn’t even close enough to hear the music yet, but she could feel it vibrating up from the street and through the soles of her boots. She didn’t know who was playing tonight. It didn’t matter. She just wanted to stand in front of the amps and let them blast anger-incited strength through her bones. Maybe some of it would stick.

The street felt more crowded than usual. For the most part, they were surface and sub-level people. Tower dwellers had been tucked safely into their rich little nests hours ago. What was left of Ardica’s humanity, down in the shadows of the super-towers, wore denim and hand-me-downs and smelled like quiet desperation and cheap booze.

A flicker overhead, faint through the overhanging gardens, signaled lightning. Thunder again, and this time Daria was pretty sure that’s what it was. No storm was on top of Ardica yet, but assuming it was a real storm and not just heat lightning, it was close enough to reflect from skyscraper glass and steel.

No automatic awnings in Low West. Time to get where she was going.

Except not only were there more people on the street tonight, they were slower-moving. Even as Daria noticed that, she also noticed that much of that crowd had fetched up in front of the Hole. Half the people surrounding Daria stopped moving altogether and craned their necks, like they cared more about seeing what shit was going down somewhere up ahead than they did about getting wherever they’d been going.

Daria slowed her steps and did some neck-craning of her own. The crowd shifted just enough that she caught sight of what seemed to be the center of the commotion. A button-nosed woman with sleek black hair was all up in the face of a taller woman.

A taller woman wearing a gray uniform. A split second later, Daria took in the rest of the scene—a dense line of Protectors near the Hole’s entrance.

Arrayed on either side of the Hole, a half dozen oversized viewscreens hung from the sides of buildings overlooking the street, angled so that no matter where you stood, you could see one.

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