AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Now that the moment had come, Zeke was valiantly holding his composure in place—better than Rector, maybe. Rector shook beneath the load of his oversized lamp. He felt uncommonly sweaty, and his heart wouldn’t stop banging around in his rib cage. He was nervous, that was all. He knew it, but that didn’t make it any easier.
On their way out the door, a woman’s voice called Zeke’s name.
It wasn’t his mother, thank God. It was Lucy O’Gunning.
“Zeke, baby. ”
“I’m not a baby, Mrs. O’Gunning. ”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” she said. She seemed to wrestle with some internal question. Her brows furrowed, and her mechanical arm fidgeted with the edge of her apron. “I only mean … your momma doesn’t know you’re off to join them, does she?”
“I’m old enough,” he said calmly. “And Momma’s up at Fort Decatur with the captain, helping with the ships and hydrogen. ”
The last of the men exited Maynard’s, leaving just the three of them standing on its threshold. Mrs. O’Gunning was nearly too worried to speak. She spoke anyway. “You don’t have guns, do you?”
“No,” Rector assured her. It wasn’t true. One of the Station men had let him borrow one. But he was semiconfident Zeke had nothing on him except the miner’s pick.
Zeke held his ground. “We’re only playing a supporting role. ”
“Yeah? And who told you that?” she asked, knowing as well as Rector that it wasn’t the way Zeke usually talked.
“Yaozu. He wants us out of the way, but he knows we can help. We’ll be real careful, Mrs. O’Gunning, and we’ll be back tonight for some cider, if you’ll let us have any. I think we’ll all be celebrating before long. ”
A new voice chimed in. “I don’t. ”
Now Zeke started stammering. “Hello … Miss Mercy. ”
“Heading out to fight, are you? Well, I don’t guess anyone could stop you. But I’m not looking forward to a celebration, because I know who’ll be patching up those of you who fall out of trees, or get your fingers blown off, or get shot when the tower men realize they’ve been had. ”
Lucy O’Gunning nodded sadly. “You got the rooms set up?”
“As best I can. Rector, you’ve moved your stuff out, ain’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am. ”
“Good. That’s one
more bed, plus the six we’ve got on either side. I pray we don’t need ’em. Miss Lucy, I was hoping I could trouble you for a few bottles of your highest-proof grain alcohol. Might want it later on. ”
“Sure, honey. I’ll get you what I’ve got. ”
Lucy reluctantly turned away from the boys and opened the door once more, it having closed itself behind them. But Mercy Lynch lingered, and she said to them, “Best take care of yourselves. I’ve seen boys younger than you made heroes, and made dead. ”
Zeke blushed, Rector would’ve sworn to it. “We’ll take care of ourselves. ”
“I hope so. You’re grown men, or close enough as makes no difference to anyone but your mothers. So stay alert, keep your head down, and don’t take any silly chances. ” She left them with that, and the last thing Rector saw as she disappeared into Maynard’s was the battered Red Cross on her bag.
Rector swatted at Zeke’s arm. “Don’t let her put you off. We got a job. Let’s go do it. ”
“I know, but…”
“But nothing. Don’t let her see you going soft. ”
They stuck to the faster tunnels, even though it meant they had to wear their masks; and they took the hand-cranked mining carts with gusto, their fretful energy making double time on the straighter stretches, carrying them through the lines of track that took them up the hill at a steeper grade. At the tunnel’s end, where the tracks all stopped and the lanterns were turned up to their brightest glow, the travelers paused briefly to let their arms rest and their backs unwind from the effort.
Then they loaded themselves back up like pack mules and struck out for the city.
Each boy allowed himself one candle stub, carried in a hurricane glass. It barely did anything except tint the darkness yellow, but it was comfort enough to keep them moving forward. Someone standing half a dozen yards away couldn’t have seen them, so little light did the candles offer—and that was the idea, but it made for slow going.
