The Atlantis Plague Part 9

In a second-story window, someone pulled a thin white curtain back. A face filled the window, a woman about Kate's age, with dark hair and olive skin. She looked down, and her eyes met Kate's. A moment pa.s.sed and the woman's expression changed, from alarm to... concern? Kate opened her mouth to call to her, but the woman was gone.

Kate pressed the boys into the doorway. "Be still, boys. It's important."

Martin glanced back at the oncoming crowd.

Then the door before them clicked and swung open, sending Kate, Martin, and the boys spilling onto the floor. A man pulled them up as the woman from the second-story window slammed the door. The low rumble of the crowd seeped in through the door and windows.

The man and woman led them deeper inside, out of the anteroom and into a living room with a large fireplace and no windows. Candles lit the eerie s.p.a.ce, and Kate struggled to acclimate.

Martin began conversing rapidly in Spanish. Kate inspected the boys, but they twisted and resisted her prodding. They had had about all they could take. Both boys were agitated, tired, and confused. What was she going to do? They couldn't take much more. Can we hide here? Those were Martin's words: run or hide.

She unzipped the pack on Martin's back and took the two notebooks and some pencils out, then handed them to Adi and Surya, who grabbed them and scurried off to the corner. They needed a little piece of normalcy, something they knew, if only for a moment, to calm them.

Martin was motioning with his hands, making it almost impossible for Kate to rezip the backpack. He kept repeating one word: tnel. The couple looked at each other, hesitated, then nodded and gave Martin the answer he seemed to want. He glanced back at Kate. "We need to leave the boys."

"Absolutely not-"

He pulled her aside, toward the fireplace, and spoke in a low tone. "They lost their sons to the plague. They will take the boys. If the Immari here follow their previous purge protocol, families with young children will be spared-if they take the pledge. Only teens and childless adults are conscripted."

Kate looked around, her mind searching for a reb.u.t.tal. On the mantel above the fireplace, she noticed a photo of the man and woman standing on a beach, their hands on the shoulders of two smiling boys who were about the same ages as Adi and Surya. The hair color and skin tones were roughly the same as well.

She glanced between the couple and the boys, who were hunched over their notebooks, quietly working in the corner by a stack of candles. She squinted and tried to think. "They don't speak Spanish..."

"Kate, they barely speak at all. These people will care for them as best they can. This is our only play. Think about it: we are saving four lives here." He motioned to the two adults. "If they catch the boys with you or me, they will instantly know who they are. We put them at further risk. We have to do this. We will come back for them. And besides, we can't take them where we're going. It would be... more stressful."

"Where are we-"

But Martin didn't let her finish. He spoke quickly to the couple, who started out of the living room.

Kate didn't follow them. She walked to the boys in the corner and pulled them into a hug. They fought at her, grabbing for the notebooks, but after a moment, they settled down. She kissed each of them on the top of the head and released them.

Outside the living room, the couple led Martin and Kate down a narrow hallway to a cramped study with a large oak desk and floor-to-ceiling bookcases. The man marched to a bookcase along the back wall and began throwing the heavy volumes onto the floor. The woman joined him, and soon the shelves were empty. The man planted his feet and pulled the bookcase away from the wall. He pressed a b.u.t.ton in the adjoining bookcase and the wall snapped and receded slightly. He pushed and the section of wall swung open, revealing a dark, grimy stone tunnel.

CHAPTER 24.

Old Town District

Marbella, Spain

Kate hated the tunnels. They were filthy; the stone walls were moist and seemed to ooze a blackish slush that brushed onto her at every turn, and there had been too many turns to count. Some time ago, she had whispered to Martin, asking him if he knew where he was going, but he had quickly shushed her, which she took to mean no. But where else could they go? Martin led the way with a bright LED bar that illuminated just enough of the tunnel to keep them from running headfirst into a grimy stone wall.

Up ahead, the cramped tunnel opened onto a circular intersection that branched in three directions. Martin stopped and held the light bar to his face. "Are you hungry?"

Kate nodded. Martin unslung the pack and dug out a protein bar and a bottle of water.

Kate chewed the bar, chugged the water, and when her mouth was clear, said in a low tone, "You have no idea where you're going, do you?"

Martin shook his head as if the question were irrelevant. "Not really. In fact, I'm not sure the tunnels go anywhere at all."

Kate looked at him curiously.

Martin set the light bar on the ground between them and sipped his water. "Like most old cities on the Mediterranean, humans have been fighting over Marbella for thousands of years. The Greeks, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Muslims. The list goes on. Marbella has been sacked a hundred times. I knew we were in the old town and that the old merchant houses would have escape tunnels so that the wealthy could avoid... could escape all the nasty things that happen when a city gets sacked. Some tunnels are just shelters-for hiding. Some might lead out of the city, but I doubt it. Best case, they link up with the newer city's sewer system. But I think we're safe down here. For now."

"The Immari won't search the tunnels?"

"I doubt it. They'll do a house-by-house sweep, but it's cursory. They're mostly looking for troublemakers and anyone they didn't catch with the wider sweep. I imagine the worst we'll face down here will be rats and snakes."

Kate cringed at the thought of an unseen snake crawling across her in the darkness. The thought of sleeping down here, with snakes and rats... She held her hands out in a pleading gesture. "You might hold back on some of the details."

"Oh, right. Sorry." He grabbed for the pack. "More food?"

"No. Thanks, though. What now? How long do we wait?"

Martin considered it for a moment. "Based on the size of Marbella, I would say two days."

"What's happening out there?"

"They'll round everyone up and do a preliminary sort."

"Sort?"

"First they separate the dying and devolving from the survivors. Every survivor faces a choice. Take the Immari pledge or refuse."

"If they refuse?"

"They'll put them with the dying and devolving."

"What happens..."

"The Immari will evacuate the entire population. They'll load those that pledge and the rest on a plague barge bound for one of their operations bases. Only those that pledge will arrive." He grabbed the light bar and held it up so he could see Kate's face. "This is important, Kate. If we're caught along the way, and you face the choice, you have to pledge. Promise me you will."

Kate nodded.

"They're only words. Survival is what matters now."

"And you'll take the pledge as well?"

Martin let the light bar drop to the ground, and darkness again filled the s.p.a.ce between them. "It's different for me, Kate. They'll know who I am. They're looking for me as well, though you're the real prize. If we're caught, we must separate."

"But you'll pledge."

"It won't be an issue for me." Martin let out a ragged cough, like a lifetime smoker on the verge of coughing up a piece of his lung. Kate wondered what sort of particles they were breathing down in the tunnels. It might kill Martin if the Immari didn't. He shook his head. "I joined once. It was the biggest mistake of my life. It's different for me."

"They're just words," Kate chided him.

"Touche," Martin murmured. "It's hard to explain..."

"Try." Kate took another sip of the water. "We've got a little time to kill."

Martin coughed again.

"We need to get you some fresh air," Kate said.

"It's not the air." Martin reached inside the pack and brought out a small white case.

Through the dim light, Kate saw him slip a white pill into his mouth. He dry swallowed it. There were only three other pills left. Each was shaped like a flower, with three large, heart-shaped petals and a ring of red in the middle. An orchid.

Shock spread over Kate, and she couldn't find her voice. "You're-"

"Not immune, no. I didn't want to tell you. I knew you would worry. If we're caught, I'll be in the camp with the dying. If that happens, you'll have to finish my research. Here." He handed her something from the pack-a small notebook.

Kate set it aside with disinterest. "How many pills do you have left?" she asked.

"Enough," Martin said flatly. "Don't worry about me. Now get some rest. I'll take first watch."

CHAPTER 25.

Old Town District

Marbella, Spain

"Kate! Wake up."

Kate opened her eyes. Martin stood over her. Through the dim glow of the LED bar, Kate saw the alarm on his face.

"Come on," he said as he dragged her to her feet. He grabbed the pack and handed it to Kate. He took something out. A handgun. "Put the pack on. Stay behind me," he said as he turned to the far opening in the circular room.

Kate saw nothing, but there was... a faint sound. Footsteps. Martin pointed the gun at the opening. With his other hand, he reached down and silently clicked the light off, plunging them into total darkness.

Seconds dragged by as the footsteps grew louder. There were two sets of footsteps, two people, Kate thought. A glow emerged from the opening. Slowly it grew brighter, coalescing, forming a lantern. It crossed the threshold a half second before its bearer: a bearded, obese man who almost hid a younger woman trailing close behind him.

At the sight of Martin and the outstretched gun, the man dropped the lantern and scrambled backward, throwing the woman to the ground.

Martin closed the distance. The man threw his hands up and spoke in rapid Spanish. Martin looked from the man to the woman, then conversed with the man in Spanish. When they finished speaking, Martin paused for a moment, appraising them, seeming to consider the story he had heard. He turned to Kate. "Take the lantern. They say there are dogs in the tunnels and that soldiers are coming."

Kate grabbed the lantern, and Martin motioned with the gun for the man and woman to get up and exit through the other corridor-the way Kate and Martin had come. The couple complied like prisoners on a perp walk, and the four of them set out at a brisk pace, moving in silence.

The corridor opened onto another round room, where they found six more people. They conversed hurriedly, and the new group joined Kate and Martin's band, and they set off again.

Kate wondered how they would deal with the dogs and soldiers. Her gun was in the pack and, almost against her will, she considered reaching back for it. But before she could make a move, the tunnel ended in a large cavernous room, this one square with a high ceiling. There was no exit.

Two dozen people stood inside. Every head turned as Kate and Martin's group entered.

Behind her, Kate heard the fat man shouting something. She turned. He was speaking into a handheld radio. What- The far wall exploded, sending dirt, debris, and an invisible wave of force into the room. Kate felt herself hit the floor of the tunnel. Light flooded the room as the dust settled. She could see Immari soldiers pouring in through the breach. They dragged people out of the shattered stone room. The fat man and the woman and a half dozen others were helping them.

The bright light and ringing in Kate's ears were disorienting. Her head swam, and she thought she would throw up.

Kate saw one of the soldiers pocket Martin's gun from the ground, then hoist him up and carry him out. Then a soldier had Kate. She struggled, but it was no use. They had her. They had them all.

CHAPTER 26.

Dorian opened his eyes and gazed through the wide pane of gla.s.s. He wasn't in a tube-not the kind he had awoken in before. Where am I? Am I dead, really dead this time? He had to be. The guard had shot him in the head, back in the Immari base. He looked down. He wore a uniform-the same uniform the Atlantean had worn. The scene came into focus. The large window looked out into s.p.a.ce. A blue and green planet filled the lower half of the window. Ma.s.sive machines crawled across the surface, turning dirt and sending plumes of red dust into the atmosphere. No, it was more than dirt-the machines were moving mountains.

"The geological survey is in, General Ares. The tectonic plates in the northern hemisphere won't be a problem for four thousand years. Should we leave them?"

Dorian turned to look at the man. He stood next to Dorian on what must have been the observation deck of a s.p.a.ce ship. Dorian heard himself speak. "No. They may not be able to fix them in four thousand years. Make accommodations now." He turned back to the window and the planet again. In the reflection of the gla.s.s, he saw himself, but the man who stared back wasn't Dorian; it was the Atlantean-a younger version. He had a full head of white-golden hair, pulled back flat against his head.

The gla.s.s disappeared and the air and gravity changed. A bomb exploded in the distance, and Dorian realized he was in a large city. It wasn't any city on Earth, he knew that instantly. Every building seemed to have a unique shape. They sparkled as if they had been created yesterday from some material he had never seen. They were connected by catwalks that crisscrossed the city like a spider web joining the sparkling crystals of a geode. Then one of the buildings collapsed and the skybridges connecting it to neighboring buildings tore free, like arms releasing, following a falling body. Another blast went off and another building fell.