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“You should be laying low for a while and busy covering your tracks after that show,” she sighed.
“Technically, you could, but you’ll be completely exposed. It’s the end of the former Interstate 290; it’s closed to vehicles but it should still go as far as past the river. Anyone in the buildings around will be able to see you, though... Oh, no, wait. It goes under a building. If you make a run for it, you can probably hide and get down there. The building stops... bingo, right before the river. You should be able to reach the emergency stairs, and you’ll be exposed for less than a minute.”
“Perfect.”
“Kitty!”
“Warlock, shut it, we said!”
Eden quickly climbed, and just as he’d said, found herself on a large, deserted highway. She looked back, impressed by the view of the Suburbs. She looked ahead again, the sunrise’s colors appearing behind the buildings. She began running right away, glad that her legs didn’t feel the fatigue.
“Our contact should be ready for you,” said A. “Do you remember the address?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll find it,” she answered in one breath.
It was a quick run, but she went as fast as she could, aware anyone spotting a human running on the deserted highway could signal her presence at any moment to the Core. If she was hunted from the get-go, it might jeopardize the whole operation... It took her less than a minute to reach the building and climb to the pedestrian walkway. There, a few steps away from the entrance, she caught her breath. She could hear the tank still blasting from the other side, and the sounds of many people fighting and shooting. They wouldn’t stop and wouldn’t be able to move until she actually got inside.
Just as she resumed walking, trying to find the door for an emergency exit, Eden heard something very loud above her head. By reflex, she retreated closer to the wall, checking both sides, and ran to hide behind a pillar when she spotted movement on the left. She crouched down, making herself as small as possible while they came through. Her heart was beating fast, but the vehicles were loud enough to cover everything.
“...Circé, you hear that?”
“Fuck. Is that an Overcraft?”
“Two,” Eden corrected her. “They’re coming your way.”
“Shit! Warlock, forget about standing back, we’re going to need you now! Everyone get ready! Overcrafts incoming!”
“We got one coming in the north too!” shouted Mage.
“Two in the south!”
Eden’s heartbeat accelerated. Overcrafts meant more weapons, possibly more of the Core’s soldiers too. She needed to hurry. As soon as she was sure the two vehicles had left her tunnel, she ran, quickly spotting an emergency exit. It hadn’t been used in a while and she had to force it open, but it eventually broke under her kicks and she ran down the dusty stairs. Now, she needed to find a computer, or any sort of recent technology, to hack the Core from. She knew nothing like that would be easy to find here, which is why she needed to reach the safehouse first.
She finally reached the ground floor, still nervous but feeling safer now. The building looked almost completely abandoned, and it was early, so she was confident no one would have seen her; chances were too low. Moreover, if she had been spotted, she would know soon enough... She left the building, stepping onto open ground again, and for a second, she was blinded.
The first rays of sunlight streamed between the buildings as if to intensify this scene. She was back in the Chicago Core. She looked around, suddenly feeling very small, like that child years ago. The place was beautiful. The long paths of green grass on each side of the river, with a few wildflowers here and there, and trees bearing fresh fruit. Beyond the river were beautiful houses and white buildings without a speck of dust, with their superb lines and large windows. There were bright colors on the roofs, beautiful gardens behind small white fences, and the streets were impeccably clean. The light gray asphalt looked like it had been laid the previous day. She swallowed her saliva, feeling a bit strange. This place was so beautiful, and... peaceful. There were sounds of birds, a few morning radios streaming through the windows, and the gentle whirring of a few electric cars passing by.
She stepped on the grass, from the side of the river, staring at the view on the other side, feeling as if everything before had just been a strange dream. She couldn’t hear any explosions, any sounds of fighting. Eden felt strange, really strange. She looked down at her dirty boots on the clean soil. The leather was ripped in so many places, the soles still had a few rocks caught in them. Eden took them off and put her feet down on the grass. She regretted not being able to feel it. After hesitating, she crouched down and laid her hand flat in the grass.
“...Eden.”
Dante’s voice brought her back to reality.
She glanced up and was met with the eyes of a stranger, a young woman who was running along the river in a white ensemble. A quick look at Eden, and she smiled at her, continuing on her way. Eden looked down. She must have looked as ragged as her boots after climbing. She waited until the jogging woman was far enough, and rushed to the turquoise-blue river, quickly washing her face and trying to get some dust off her clothes. She’d be spotted in no time if she was this dirty.
Once she was ready, a bit wet but ready, she stood back up and got back on the bridge, walking quickly. She couldn’t hear the fight, but she could hear the voices of all the fighters still caught in it. Eden had to act quickly and bring the fight here…
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
“...Has no one noticed you yet?”
“What are you whispering for, Circé?” sighed Eden. “...And I’ve only taken a few steps inside. It’s not like alarms are going to start ringing on all sides.”
“They would have already if it was anyone else,” scoffed Nebty. “The barrier is still up. The fact that it hasn’t gone off yet or that you aren’t circled by dozens of murder bots already is enough proof you’re still considered one of their citizens.”
“My SIN is just coded that way. It’s not like I really belong to this place.”
“I didn’t mean that in a bad way, Ghost, relax. That’s exactly what we wanted, remember? Don’t worry. We know which side you’re on...”
