Sorrow's Gift

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Boy

The sewers were his only chance.

He'd studied the maps of Manhattan and there was no other way. The streets might be less crowded with those things during the day, but there were enough of them roaming around even in sunlight to make it too dangerous for him.

The subway tunnels would probably be even worse than the streets. It was dark down there, and the boy had a feeling it was one of the places the dead went to hide during the day.

The sewers were the only place he could think of where he might be safe. Even if a few of the undead had found their way down there, there would be enough tunnels and hiding places for him to avoid them if he needed to.

He wasn't looking forward to being alone in the dark down there. He knew it would stink, but he would rather stink and be alive than risk the streets and die.

He wished there was a way to get his hands on a map of the sewer systems, but he wouldn't have even known where to look for one. Some kind of government building? It would be too dangerous even if he knew exactly where maps like that were kept.

His only hope was to go below the surface of the streets and try to follow them as best he could. He could tell just by studying the map that the guardian was somewhere on the island of Manhattan, near Central Park. He had circled a four-block area where he had felt most drawn to her power.

He would have to do his best to get close enough to where she was before he came out of the sewers to search for her. That would be the most dangerous part of his mission. Once he was above ground, he would be in danger of being seen by the rotters. If the Dark One found him, she wouldn't rest until he was killed or captured.

He could end up putting the other guardian in even more danger if he wasn't careful. But he also knew from his dream-talks with the old man that once they were together, their powers would increase. If he could only get to her, everything would be better. He would bring her back to his apartment if he could manage it. They could hide here together until the others found them.

It was risky, but what choice did he have? He couldn't stay here alone for the rest of his life. There was work to be done, and he couldn't do it on his own. He needed them, and they needed him, too.

Did any of them know more about what was going on than he did? Were they searching for him?

He was tired of being alone with his thoughts.

Tomorrow morning, when the sun came up, he would start his journey. He would take his time, sleeping in the sewers if he could, until he got to her.

The boy folded his map and placed it in his backpack. It was just an old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles backpack his mom had gotten him second-hand before school started, but he smiled when he looked at it. If the Ninja Turtles could handle living down in the sewers, he could, too.

He knew they weren't real, but zombies weren't supposed to be real either. Human boys weren't supposed to be able to run seventy miles per hour.

But he could.

He finished packing the supplies he thought he might need on his journey. A flashlight and some extra batteries. Food and water. A change of underwear. A black hoodie that was way too big for him, but would hide his face and keep him warm if he needed it.

When he was finished, he climbed into the safety of his dark closet and rested his head against the bag, thinking that before this all started, he had wanted to believe in superheroes.

Now, he had become one.

And out there somewhere, someone was counting on him to rescue her.