Phoenix (Black City #2) 8

Garrick growls.

“Make yourself useful, dog, and get this stuff on the train,” Sebastian says, unperturbed. “I haven’t got all day.”

Garrick’s hands ball into fists, but he gives a faint nod. His pack helps the Moondogs load the furniture onto the train while Sebastian leaves. My heart is racing. How are we going to get out of here with Garrick still around?

I check my watch. The time is 10:05. The Humans for Unity guys we’re waiting for are five minutes late. What’s holding them up? In addition to securing another Evacuation Pass for us, they were also meant to pose as our parents to help get us on the train along with all the other children being evacuated from the city. It would raise too much suspicion if three kids tried to board the train on their own. The ruse was Ash’s idea. Hide in plain sight, he’d suggested. They’ll never expect us to be so brazen as to board the train with the other evacuees.

I tug on the hem of my jacket, which is a little too short for me. We’ve all got on disguises. I’m dressed like a boy in gray slacks, a workman’s shirt and patchwork woolen jacket. My hair has been pulled back into a cap, and my breasts have been bandaged. I look surprisingly convincing as a young boy, which doesn’t do much for my ego. My diamond engagement ring is attached to the necklace Ash gave me for my birthday, hidden under the collar of my shirt.

Elijah is wearing leather pants under a long black tailcoat, fake glasses and a cap. His tail is curled up under his coat, his saber teeth are fully retracted, and his distinctive brown spots are covered by makeup, so he’s passable as human.

The most startling transformation out of the three of us is Ash. His skin has been painted with stage makeup so it looks sun-kissed and healthy; he’s wearing veneers to help hide his fangs, and they’ve given him bright blue contact lenses to hide his sparkling eyes. To complete the disguise, Amy and Roach managed to find a blond wig in the props cupboard at school for him. He looks . . . human.

I check my watch: 10:09.

“Is Garrick still there?” Ash asks.

I peer down the platform. Garrick loads the last chair onto the train, then orders his pack to leave.

“He’s going,” I say, relieved.

Garrick takes a few paces down the platform before pausing. He tilts his nose up and sniffs the air; catching a scent, he turns. His silvery eyes slide in our direction. I slam my back against the iron stairwell.

Ash flashes me a panicked look. “Did he see you?”

“I don’t think so,” I reply. “Besides, I’m wearing a disguise.” But that won’t help if he can smell us. I’m just grateful there are so many people around us, to help hide our scent.

Blood pounds in my ears as we all wait.

A whole minute passes, and nothing happens.

I risk another quick peek down the platform.

Garrick has gone.

I let out a shaky breath.

A whistle blows, letting passengers know the train is about to depart. I check my watch again—10:13. We’ve got exactly two minutes to board the train; otherwise, our best chance of escaping Black City will have gone. There’s still no sign of the Humans for Unity members. Where are they?

“Fragg it, let’s just try and sneak on,” Ash says. “The smog from the train is pretty thick in places; it could provide some cover—”

“They’re here!” Elijah says, nodding toward three people who have just appeared on the platform, looking flustered and nervous.

I let out a relieved sigh.

“Right, do you remember the plan?” Ash says to me. “You go first. Your name is—”

“Matthew Dungate. I’m fourteen years old, and I live in the Rise with my father, Robert Dungate. I remember. We’ve been over this a hundred times,” I say.

“I’m sorry,” he says quietly. “Just . . . stay safe. I’ll see you on the train.”

I glance around to make sure no one is looking, then quickly kiss Ash, trying to pour as much love and emotion as I can into that brief touch. He wraps his arms around me.

“Guys, can you hurry this up? The train’s about to leave,” Elijah says.

We hold on to each other for a second longer before letting go. Adrenaline courses through my body as I sling my duffel bag over my shoulder and step out of the shadows onto the platform. This is it. We went over the plan countless times yesterday, and it seemed simple, but now I’m not so sure. What if the guards see through my disguise? Why did we think this was a good plan? It’s insanity! There are guards everywhere.

A Sentry guard with a neatly trimmed black beard fixes me with a hard look as I stroll over to my “father,” a tall, blond-haired man called Weevil, one of the highest-ranking Humans for Unity members in Black City. My hands are clammy with sweat.

“Matthew, there you are. I told you not to run off,” Weevil says as the bearded Sentry guard studies us.

“Sorry, Dad,” I say in a gruff voice.

The Sentry guard looks at us for another few seconds, then turns his attention away. Phew.

“Where have you been?” I say under my breath.

“We hit a bit of trouble getting the Evacuation Pass, but I’ve got it,” he replies, ushering me toward the train. There’s no time to waste.

“How are you going to get out of the city?” I ask him.

“Don’t worry about me,” he says, leaving it at that.

The two other Humans for Unity members meet up with Ash and Elijah by the stairwell, and they head toward a different carriage farther down the platform. Ash peers over his shoulder at me. He seems calm, except for the tension around his beautiful—now blue—eyes. I know he’s nervous for me. The four of them are soon shrouded by the smoke and steam spewing out of the train’s smokestack.

Weevil leads me to a line of children waiting with their parents to board the train. In front of me is a chubby red-haired woman dressed in a knee-length patchwork frock coat, fussing over her two equally chubby red-haired daughters. The younger of the two girls clings to the hem of her mother’s jacket, tears welling up in her eyes.

To my frustration, the carriage I’ve been booked on is being guarded by the bearded Sentry who was watching me a minute ago. Just my luck! He peers over at me, his hand resting on the stock of his rifle, and I swallow a hard lump in my throat. My disguise is good; there’s no way he’ll recognize me.

The line moves quickly as kids are loaded onto the train like cattle, but even so, butterflies fill my stomach, nervous I won’t make it. The woman in front of me hands over her two Evacuation Passes to the Sentry guard, then helps her children onto the train. There’s certainly no time for tearful good-byes, but she doesn’t seem to realize this as she blocks the doorway.

“I love you, my darlings. Call me the instant you get to Centrum,” she sniffs.

I tap my foot impatiently, and Weevil anxiously checks his pocket watch. Come on! Come on!

The last whistle blows, and the train’s engines roar.

I throw a panicked look at Weevil.

“Move it, lady!” he yells, thrusting my Evacuation Pass into the Sentry guard’s hands while simultaneously shoving me onto the train.

I tumble into the carriage, knocking over the two chubby red-haired girls. Behind me, their mother and Weevil shout at each other.

The doors hiss shut, and I clamber to my feet, grabbing my bag and helping the girls up with my free hand. The train lurches forward, nearly knocking me off my feet again, then chugs away from the platform. I catch sight of Weevil through the barred windows. He’s still fighting with the Sentry guard and woman. Things are getting heated, and there’s lots of pushing and shoving. He catches my eye, and a small, triumphant smile forms across his lips just as the guard raises his rifle and shoots him in the head.

Weevil’s blood splashes against the window, and all the children scream. I slam my back against the wall, screwing my eyes shut. Panic rushes through me. What if they’ve caught Ash or Elijah? I force myself to open my eyes and calm down. I have to find them.

The dark carriage is hot and muggy and crammed with children. Every seat is already taken, and many kids sit on the metal floor. The place is already unbearably hot. Sweat drips down my face and back, and I wish I could take off the suffocating bandaging around my chest, but people might be a bit alarmed if Matthew Dungate suddenly sprang a set of C cups.

I help the two red-haired girls find a place to sit and give them both a quick cuddle. The younger girl with the gap tooth grabs my hand.

“Don’t leave us,” she whispers.

“You’ll be all right. Centrum is a great place to live. All the kids are really nice, and there are loads of parks to play in.” This seems to cheer the girl up a little bit. “I have to go and find my . . . er . . . my brother. We got separated, and he’ll be worried. Will you be okay?”

The little girl sniffs and nods.

I stand up and scan the carriage, searching for Ash and Elijah—they were supposed to meet me here. Nothing. I check again, remembering they’re disguised. Worry bubbles up inside me as I check every face for a third time, but don’t see them. They’re not on the train.

17.

NATALIE

MAYBE THEY’RE WAITING for me in the wrong carriage? I reassure myself as I hurry through the train as fast as I can, accidentally bumping people’s shoulders with my bag in my haste. “Sorry, sorry,” I mutter all the way down, my heart in my mouth, hoping more than anything Ash and Elijah made it on board. What if they got caught? Ash could be on his way to a prison cell right now while I’m stuck on this train, unable to help him.

Black City whizzes by the barred windows as the train picks up speed. In two days we’ll be in Georgiana, where everyone, except us, will disembark to get their connecting ride to Centrum. We’ll be taking another train to Thrace. I scan the faces of everyone in the next carriage, then the next, desperation rising inside me when I don’t see them anywhere. I pass through a cargo carriage, which is packed to the ceiling with red-and-white enameled bowls, then yank open the steel door to the next car on the brink of tears.

I stop dead.

The whole carriage is full of Sentry guards. There must be at least fifty of them, all laughing as they play cards and drink Shine. On their tables are portable digital screens, streaming the latest news from SBN. Leaning against their legs are their rifles and swords. They peer up at me, and I quickly lower my cap, hiding my face.

“Sorry, looking for my brother,” I mumble and hurry down the aisle.

I pass a skinny guard with a shaved head and a red rose tattooed just above his left ear. He watches me intently, his eyes narrowed, and my stomach flips when I realize I know him. His name’s Neil . . . something. He used to work at the Sentry HQ when my mother was the Emissary there. I must’ve passed him in the hallways a hundred times.

He kicks out a foot, blocking my path.

“Don’t I know you?” he says.

I shake my head. “No, sir.”

He runs a thumb over his lip, trying to place me. There’s no way I’m hanging around while he works it out. I step over his leg and rush into the next carriage. A tall, beautiful boy with startling blue eyes and sun-kissed skin walks down the aisle toward me, anxiously scanning everyone’s faces and receiving a number of appreciative glances in return. It takes a second for me to realize this tanned Adonis is Ash. Elijah is behind him. Relief washes through me. I clamber over people’s outstretched legs and bags and meet them in the middle of the carriage. Ash pulls me into a tight embrace.

“I was so worried about you,” he whispers.

“Me too,” I reply, stroking the side of his face.

We get a few funny looks from a group of kids nearby, and I remember I’m dressed as a fourteen-year-old boy.

I reluctantly pull away from him. “We can’t go that way—I just bumped into a guard I knew.”

“Did he recognize you?”

“He knew I looked familiar, but he couldn’t place me.”

“We should go back that way,” Elijah says, indicating the carriage they’ve just come from.

We head to the next carriage, and Ash finds us an empty section of floor to sit down on, wedged between a row of seats and a filthy toilet, which has a screen in front of it instead of a proper door. It stinks. I try not to look too disheartened that we’re going to be stuck here for a few days.

“I will not sit there,” Elijah says through gritted teeth. “I’m the Consul’s son. I won’t be treated like some dog.”

“There’s nowhere else for us to go. Unless you want to sit on the fragging roof?” Ash says, pointing to the escape hatch above us.

Elijah scrunches up his nose.

Beside us, a teenage girl with curly black hair flashes us a curious look. I start to feel tight around my chest, my anxiety mounting as it hits home that we’re trapped on this train, with over fifty Sentry guards just a few carriages away. This was a crazy plan! I tug at the bandages under my shirt.

“You okay?” Ash says.

“I have to loosen these bandages.” I go to the restroom and pull the screen over the entranceway.

The cramped cubicle is lit by a single oil lamp overhead, casting an orange glow over everything, which does little to improve the look of the rusting metal toilet and sink. The smell is overpowering, but I try not to let it bother me as I frantically open my shirt and loosen the bandages underneath. I turn on the faucets and take a few sips of tepid water, starting to feel better.

“Look at her again, and I’ll rip your fragging throat out,” Ash snarls on the other side of the screen.

I peer through the thin gap in the divider to see Ash’s hand gripped around Elijah’s neck. It doesn’t take a genius to work out Elijah’s been watching me undress. The creep!