Shadow Walker

The Long Walk

Teegan was crouched by the trangia, bug-eyed behind an oversized pair of lab goggles, the smell of charr wafting from the ends of her hair. Hearing Dec's approach, she set down her tongs and lifted her goggles to her forehead. "No luck?" she said.

Realising his face must've been a mirror to his swirling emotions, Dec did his best to rearrange it into nonchalance. "We have a location." He pointed to the trangia. "Have you got an explosive?"

Teegan smirked. "Yeah. About four different types. Everything we need is in that duffel bag over that there." Her smirk faded. "Where's Rain?"

Dec cringed as a flash of lightning laid bare the grimy, water-slick walls around them. "She's not coming," he said, raising his voice above a rumble of thunder.

"What do you mean she's not coming?" Teegan said, leaning to the side as though to check the space behind him for the Northerner.

"She's gone home," he said. "She had unfinished business that couldn't wait."

Teegan thumbed the ties of her lab coat, worry written into the sleep deprived cavities under her eyes. "She was never going to come with us, was she?" she said.

Dec didn't answer. He was too busy fighting down the storm of his conscious that was threatening to take hold—the storm that was thickening with thoughts of his mother, his sister and the question of how extensive his shadow walking abilities truly were. Was his mother really in hospital in a coma? Had Tommy really secured enough ammunition for the NYR to start their revolution? Was his sister speaking to the police about his disappearance? Had he really been able to enter Stanley's mind and recover memories of the gantt chart? It had been about as difficult as climbing a fence and walking through a neighbours back yard. And Rain's strange, imploring gaze told him he shouldn't have been able to trespass so easily.

Perhaps he'd imagined the whole thing. Perhaps they'd get back to the city to find the packages hadn't been stored at the Post Office. That Adele wasn't in a critical condition at the hospital.

There was only one way to find out.

He crossed the room, pumping his arms as though to physically push aside his thoughts. With a grunt, he shouldered the duffel bag, ignoring the pain in his shoulder.

"Let's go," he said.

"Shouldn't we wait until it's dark? Just in case another convoy comes along?" Teegan shouted after him.

Head bowed against the fine, particle mist, feet squelching the mud in the direction of the city, he shouted, "You can."

It wasn't long until Teegan's footsteps drew close behind, squelching in counter rhythm to his own. She had no luggage and easily overtook him on the downhill while he slowed to find traction in the mud. She waited for him at the fence edge of the next field, eyes cast upwards at the darkening sky. Once he'd caught up, they walked on in the silence of their own thoughts, pausing every now and then to step over the barbed wire tangle of an old fence, or duck through a rusted gate.

They took turns carrying the duffel bag, not speaking as though in fear their voices might break the impending clouds and release the inundation held within. The closer they got to Atunda, the more fickle it seemed to be—like the work of three children conspiring over toy soldiers and plastic guns. What if he found himself stuck in an alleyway surrounded by police with firearms again? What if his shadow walking abilities failed him as they'd done with the dune bugs? What if he'd been wrong about the location of the packages? In reality, they had very little idea of what awaited them in the city and they had no back up plan.

He should've tried to convince Rain stay. Or thought up an ultimatum to make her stay as he'd done on the train. He'd lied when he'd said he could do this without her. And besides, he didn't know if he wanted to. Like an invisible hand, she'd been reaching out to him whenever he seemed about to fall. And now her absence made him feel as though he was standing on the edge of the same precipice as before, but this time, without a parachute.