LANE – the same name detailed in mosaics all over the station. We were near the bottom edge of the map, five more southbound stops to the end of the line.
‘If we head in that direction we could make it all the way to Hollenbeck,’ Zee said, running his finger along the blue string until it popped off the edge of the board. I doubted if our escape would be as easy as that, but it was nice to imagine. He used the same finger to scratch his nose before plopping it back where it had started. ‘Trouble is, that’s what they’ll be expecting. They’ll know anybody down here will be making a break for the edge of the city, so I’m guessing those stations will be rammed.’
To the side of the map was an electronic board listing the status of each line. To my surprise every single route but this one was running, albeit with a warning: SEVERE DELAYS.
‘So what do we do?’ asked Simon. ‘Head for the city?’
‘Yeah,’ Zee replied, nodding. ‘I’m guessing – and this really is just a guess, guys – that they won’t be expecting us to head north. It’s too risky, there are too many people. We’re escaped cons, we need shadows and darkness, at least that’s what they’ll be thinking. If we head into town then there will be cops everywhere, but there will also be crowds, thousands of people.’
‘We can lose ourselves,’ I said.
‘We can lose ourselves,’ Zee confirmed. ‘Nowhere better to do that than the city.’ He turned his attentionback to the map. ‘So, we head north on the tracks, two stops, that’s a couple of miles I should think. We hit Twofields and get on Line 11; should take us all the way through the city and out the other side.’
‘That’s a whole lotta stations to get through,’ said Simon. ‘What if they search the trains.’
‘As soon as we see police we change trains,’ Zee said. ‘If they’re all running then we’ll be able to hop between them. So long as we keep moving we’ll get out of the city eventually. If we leave at one of the stops up there,’ he nodded at the top of the map, ‘we’re home and dry. Won’t be many police on the northern ring, they won’t be expecting anyone to make it that far.’
‘And if there are …’ Simon slapped his huge fist against his smaller one, then winced, clutching his shoulder.
‘You’ll moan and groan at them and they’ll feel so sorry for us they’ll let us go?’ I finished. He grunted something indecipherable at me, pulling his hand away to investigate the smear of black blood on his palm. My expression grew serious. ‘You sure you’re okay?’
‘I’ll live,’ he answered with a weak smile. ‘I’ll treat myself to a plaster when we’re out of the city. Now come on.’
He jogged to the nearest gate and bounded over it, Zee and I close behind. We traipsed along another passageway then reached the escalators. I started to run down one but Simon clambered onto the middle section that separated the moving stairs and cautiously began to skid down it, looking like a surfer in the middle of awave. He giggled as he slid, losing his balance somewhere near the bottom and skittering onto the tiles below.
‘I’ve always wanted to do that!’ he shouted up at us once he’d found his feet. I skipped off the bottom of the escalator and made my way towards one of two arched openings in the walls. The sign beside it read NORTHBOUND and showed a map of the stops. We strolled through to find ourselves on an empty platform. It was freezing down here, a cold wind ripping through one side of the tunnel and out the other, and it felt good. This was nothing like the hot stench of Furnace’s breath. This was a fresh current that would carry us to freedom.
The electronic board above us read NO TRAINS , but we didn’t need one. Zee checked both ways before lowering himself over the edge of the platform into the pit.
‘Don’t go anywhere near that rail,’ he said, pointing at the third rail of four. It was different
‘If we head in that direction we could make it all the way to Hollenbeck,’ Zee said, running his finger along the blue string until it popped off the edge of the board. I doubted if our escape would be as easy as that, but it was nice to imagine. He used the same finger to scratch his nose before plopping it back where it had started. ‘Trouble is, that’s what they’ll be expecting. They’ll know anybody down here will be making a break for the edge of the city, so I’m guessing those stations will be rammed.’
To the side of the map was an electronic board listing the status of each line. To my surprise every single route but this one was running, albeit with a warning: SEVERE DELAYS.
‘So what do we do?’ asked Simon. ‘Head for the city?’
‘Yeah,’ Zee replied, nodding. ‘I’m guessing – and this really is just a guess, guys – that they won’t be expecting us to head north. It’s too risky, there are too many people. We’re escaped cons, we need shadows and darkness, at least that’s what they’ll be thinking. If we head into town then there will be cops everywhere, but there will also be crowds, thousands of people.’
‘We can lose ourselves,’ I said.
‘We can lose ourselves,’ Zee confirmed. ‘Nowhere better to do that than the city.’ He turned his attentionback to the map. ‘So, we head north on the tracks, two stops, that’s a couple of miles I should think. We hit Twofields and get on Line 11; should take us all the way through the city and out the other side.’
‘That’s a whole lotta stations to get through,’ said Simon. ‘What if they search the trains.’
‘As soon as we see police we change trains,’ Zee said. ‘If they’re all running then we’ll be able to hop between them. So long as we keep moving we’ll get out of the city eventually. If we leave at one of the stops up there,’ he nodded at the top of the map, ‘we’re home and dry. Won’t be many police on the northern ring, they won’t be expecting anyone to make it that far.’
‘And if there are …’ Simon slapped his huge fist against his smaller one, then winced, clutching his shoulder.
‘You’ll moan and groan at them and they’ll feel so sorry for us they’ll let us go?’ I finished. He grunted something indecipherable at me, pulling his hand away to investigate the smear of black blood on his palm. My expression grew serious. ‘You sure you’re okay?’
‘I’ll live,’ he answered with a weak smile. ‘I’ll treat myself to a plaster when we’re out of the city. Now come on.’
He jogged to the nearest gate and bounded over it, Zee and I close behind. We traipsed along another passageway then reached the escalators. I started to run down one but Simon clambered onto the middle section that separated the moving stairs and cautiously began to skid down it, looking like a surfer in the middle of awave. He giggled as he slid, losing his balance somewhere near the bottom and skittering onto the tiles below.
‘I’ve always wanted to do that!’ he shouted up at us once he’d found his feet. I skipped off the bottom of the escalator and made my way towards one of two arched openings in the walls. The sign beside it read NORTHBOUND and showed a map of the stops. We strolled through to find ourselves on an empty platform. It was freezing down here, a cold wind ripping through one side of the tunnel and out the other, and it felt good. This was nothing like the hot stench of Furnace’s breath. This was a fresh current that would carry us to freedom.
The electronic board above us read NO TRAINS , but we didn’t need one. Zee checked both ways before lowering himself over the edge of the platform into the pit.
‘Don’t go anywhere near that rail,’ he said, pointing at the third rail of four. It was different
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