for possession of unauthorized elixir was death. I raised my vial, holding it up against the light. It was cloudy and dark, unlike the pure elixir I was used to; probably processed from Penelope’s blood. I clenched it in my palm before tucking it into my pocket.
“Don’t use it all at once, if you can help it. The thirst will be too great and you might turn on each other for more. A drop or two under the tongue. Five drops and you might be able to run from a slagpaw – at least in theory. If you see an elite, you hide. Going up against them is suicide. This is a recon and retrieve mission only.”
“Got it,” I said.
“However,” Frank continued, “I’m authorized to check out weapons for missions, and we’ve been developing something new.” He held up something that looked like a flashlight.
“UV rays, highly concentrated. Hit them right in the face from close range, and it may be enough of a distraction.”
“And then we also have these,” he said, running his hand over a row of long black assault rifles. There was even a box of grenades.
“It’s old school warcraft,” Frank said. “Very powerful, very dangerous. The problem is, they only work if you get the drop on them. If the elite hear, see, or even smell you first—which they almost always do—they’ll kill you before you even know they’re there. And, of course, the guns are loud, and will give away your position immediately. Guns of any kind are forbidden outside the citadel, so if you use them, they’ll find you.”
“Last resort,” Trevor nodded, shoving a pistol in the back of his pants.
“For stealth, spears and swords are the best option, or a good knife if you can throw one. But only if paired with significant elixir, otherwise you’re unlikely to get out of a scuffle with a slagpaw alive.”
“Pretty,” Jazmine said, pulling a pair of curved daggers with ornate handles from a wall mount.
I hefted a compound bow and filled my quiver with wooden arrows. I also found a swordbelt, which I strapped around my hips.
Luke took a long spear with a dangerous looking barbed end.
Finally, we picked out matching survival gear; dark gray and black canvas and leather, with hoods, hats and masks for the ash that hid everything but our eyes.
Luke stopped near the entrance to talk with Steve and Jacob about something while curate Marcus said a quick blessing under his breath, waving his fingers like a magic wand. Then it was time to go.
The masks were different from the one I’d used in the citadel. Less flattering, more mechanical and homemade. It looked like some kind of car engine mixed with a pacifier. I took a few experimental breaths as we came up through the tunnels towards the exit and met the first burning flakes.
The city was deathly silent, apart from the slight rustle of leaves in the wind and the occasional metal groan from one of the derelict buildings. Even in the capital, the hum of the purification engines was constant, and the older engines in the compounds were easily twice as loud. I’d grown up with so much white noise, I’d learned to tune it out. Without it, the silence seemed menacing; a reminder that we were in the wild, where slagpaw stalked prey and the poisoned air could kill you. It was hard to believe there were thousands of humans hiding just under our feet. No wonder they never got discovered.
I held my bow ready as we stuck to the shadows, moving between the abandoned cars and beneath a large bridge, before hopping across stones over a small stream. We took a different route this time. It was hard to keep track of directions in the metal maze, without being able to see the mountains. We passed through a long, dark tunnel, emerging on the side of a hill with the valley spread before us.
“Which way?” Trevor asked, once we’d finally cleared the toppled structures. It was a relief to be back on solid ground again, instead of clambering over mounds of concrete. I breathed in deeply through the mask, trusting it to filter out the toxins, and was rewarded with the faint scent of pine needles and soil.
I could see the city, behind us to the left, and make out the pointy spikes of the citadel through the ash in the distance. Somewhere to the right, I think, would be Algrave, but I couldn’t see it. Now