group of six men on horses went by the alley opening, their black and blue uniforms showing the signs of a long, hard ride. Even so, their alert eyes scanned the area while they held rifles balanced on a leg so they could aim on a breath’s notice. One of them stared long and hard down the alley as he passed. Tar never stopped watching, never moved from where he crouched, hoping he was nearly impossible to spot among the shadows. A few seconds later the Black Shirts rode out of sight and he leaned against the wall behind him, feeling the cool bricks against his neck.
The sound of running feet on the sidewalk snapped his attention back to the alley opening and he moved his feet underneath him so he could leap into a sprint if needed. Toby ran into sight and Tar relaxed.
Tar stood and Toby hopped sideways away from him.
“Damn, Tar!” he said between gasps for air. “I thought you’d gone zom, walking down the street, not paying attention to anything around you. Are you fragged?”
Tar shook his head.
“No, I’m okay thanks to you. Where were you at?”
“Across the street in a broken doorway. I saw you comin’ but I knew I couldn’t make it across before they turned the corner. It’s a good thing you can hear those horses on the street for a long ways.”
“Yeah.” Tar moved to the front of the alley and peeked down the street where the Black Shirts had gone. “What’re you doing way down here? They figure out that you’re 404 from school and your dad will be mad as hell.”
“Forget that. I was looking for you.”
“For me?” Tar said with a frown. “Why did you come looking for me? You knew I was coming back to the school today.”
Toby leaned against the brick wall and let out a sigh like some moan of despair.
“I fell back asleep after Pop left for work and woke up late. By the time I got to school, the Black Shirts were already there. They had the whole building surrounded, Tar.” The boy opened his eyes and looked at his friend. “I was scared.”
Tar blinked but said nothing. He had never known Toby or Shovel to be scared of anything.
“They were bringing the other kids out of the school and lining them up,” Toby continued. “I came to find you so you didn’t wander in there without seeing them. I was only about half a block away when a bunch of them hopped on their horses and took off in every direction.”
“What do they want?”
“I don’t know.”
Tar walked back into the full dark of the alley. Black Shirts were around all the time but never like this. Usually it was just two or three in a group and they never went far from the government offices downtown. In fact, most locals barely paid attention to them since Black Shirts were lazy and didn’t care about anything.
But these men were a long way from downtown, and evidently they did care about something . Tar would have bet a piece of fixed tech against three bricks that these Black Shirts were from the capital. They looked hard and ready for a fight and he wanted nothing to do with them.
But what he wanted did not matter.
“Come on,” he said. “We’ve got to see what they’re doing at the school.”
“Are you crazy?” Toby’s voice echoed off the walls and both boys crouched down. When he spoke again, he dropped to a whisper. “What? Are you going to automagically just walk into the schoolyard and back out again? I figured you wouldn’t want anything to do with those guys.”
Tar shook his head.
“I don’t. I want to run but I can’t. I’ve got to know what they are doing, what they are looking for.” Tar took a deep breath. “You don’t have to come.”
Toby screwed his face into a look of disbelief.
“And when you’re 404 I’m going to tell people that I let my best book go back to the school by himself. No chance.” Toby stood up. “I’ll go with you.”
Tar smiled.
“Thanks. Let’s cut through the back of this alley and down the next block. I’ve got an idea how we can get
The sound of running feet on the sidewalk snapped his attention back to the alley opening and he moved his feet underneath him so he could leap into a sprint if needed. Toby ran into sight and Tar relaxed.
Tar stood and Toby hopped sideways away from him.
“Damn, Tar!” he said between gasps for air. “I thought you’d gone zom, walking down the street, not paying attention to anything around you. Are you fragged?”
Tar shook his head.
“No, I’m okay thanks to you. Where were you at?”
“Across the street in a broken doorway. I saw you comin’ but I knew I couldn’t make it across before they turned the corner. It’s a good thing you can hear those horses on the street for a long ways.”
“Yeah.” Tar moved to the front of the alley and peeked down the street where the Black Shirts had gone. “What’re you doing way down here? They figure out that you’re 404 from school and your dad will be mad as hell.”
“Forget that. I was looking for you.”
“For me?” Tar said with a frown. “Why did you come looking for me? You knew I was coming back to the school today.”
Toby leaned against the brick wall and let out a sigh like some moan of despair.
“I fell back asleep after Pop left for work and woke up late. By the time I got to school, the Black Shirts were already there. They had the whole building surrounded, Tar.” The boy opened his eyes and looked at his friend. “I was scared.”
Tar blinked but said nothing. He had never known Toby or Shovel to be scared of anything.
“They were bringing the other kids out of the school and lining them up,” Toby continued. “I came to find you so you didn’t wander in there without seeing them. I was only about half a block away when a bunch of them hopped on their horses and took off in every direction.”
“What do they want?”
“I don’t know.”
Tar walked back into the full dark of the alley. Black Shirts were around all the time but never like this. Usually it was just two or three in a group and they never went far from the government offices downtown. In fact, most locals barely paid attention to them since Black Shirts were lazy and didn’t care about anything.
But these men were a long way from downtown, and evidently they did care about something . Tar would have bet a piece of fixed tech against three bricks that these Black Shirts were from the capital. They looked hard and ready for a fight and he wanted nothing to do with them.
But what he wanted did not matter.
“Come on,” he said. “We’ve got to see what they’re doing at the school.”
“Are you crazy?” Toby’s voice echoed off the walls and both boys crouched down. When he spoke again, he dropped to a whisper. “What? Are you going to automagically just walk into the schoolyard and back out again? I figured you wouldn’t want anything to do with those guys.”
Tar shook his head.
“I don’t. I want to run but I can’t. I’ve got to know what they are doing, what they are looking for.” Tar took a deep breath. “You don’t have to come.”
Toby screwed his face into a look of disbelief.
“And when you’re 404 I’m going to tell people that I let my best book go back to the school by himself. No chance.” Toby stood up. “I’ll go with you.”
Tar smiled.
“Thanks. Let’s cut through the back of this alley and down the next block. I’ve got an idea how we can get
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