Out of Exodia by Debra Chapoton Page A

metal sign will be used as a plate. And look at
this. I unscrewed this metal tube from a clothes rack. It’s long
enough to use as a walking stick, but it’ll come in handy as a
spear. See? The end is sharp.” He smiles at her and she smiles
back. It’s hardly something to smile about, but they’re searching
for a way to flirt in this impossible circumstance. I hate to
interrupt.
    “ Josh? Are there more of
those?”
    “ Hundreds.”
    “ Can you take your buddies
and get them all? Hand them out to those who haven’t left yet. As
weapons.”
    “ Yeah, no problem. Bullets
are precious. Swords and spears could save the day.” He gives me a
little salute. I like him. He’s smart and obedient and if his
cohorts are as stalwart as he seems, I think we’ll have an even
bigger advantage if Lydia’s abductors cut us off or we run into
another unfriendly settlement.
    * * *
    Hundreds of people ranged out across
the wider path once they left the surrounds of the mall having
channeled themselves through the narrow exits. Harmon, Mira, Josh,
and a team of young men with bodies like warriors moved quickly
into the lead. When he was far enough ahead, Bram set his bags down
and held the rod out over the heads of Josh’s comrades. As they
passed, each man tapped the rod with the sharp end of his imitation
spear. Sparks of red, blue, and green shot outward to the amusement
and cheers of the children.
    Their shouts did much to drown out the
grumblings of the older folks who’d hoped to make a city centered
at the twelve springs mall. Bram ignored the complaints, well used
to the grumblings, and as soon as all of the sword-wielding men
ranged outward he shouldered his bags and helped Lydia with her
things. They advanced around the various clusters of Reds and made
their way to Malcolm.
    “ Hey, Malcolm.”
    “ Hey, Bram, do you hear
it?”
    Bram and Lydia fell into step with the
older man. Lydia’s eyes were drawn to the amazing sight of the
hovering cloud in front of them, but Bram stared at the machine and
listened for the hum to change into discernible words.
    “ Must not be working
today,” Bram sounded disappointed.
    Malcolm frowned. “’Course it’s working.
Can’t you hear the hum?”
    “ That’s what I mean. I only
hear the hum.”
    Malcolm looked to Lydia, shrugged his
shoulders, then tapped the box a couple of times. He shooed away
some children who were running circles around them. Bram saw the
same little girl who had told him to listen the first time when
he’d deciphered the weird phrase on the box and heard the voice of
God.
    More than a small stab of anxiety
caused Bram to doubt himself. The hum continued as they passed
through an abandoned town, lumbered down a country road, and came
upon a desolate ruin: a long deserted airport.
    * * *
    The cloud divides into
dozens of smaller ones. They turn blood red, coagulating into clots
low in the sky, then evaporate in an instant. The humming snaps
off. I hear the voice, only one word at first: table . There’s a shivering breath
and then I hear table land and finally fight here,
you will raise the rod and win.
    “ Fight here?” I say that
aloud and Lydia and Malcolm both ask me what I mean. “Wait.” I turn
and look around, spot Harmon and jog over to him.
    “ I think we have a
problem.”
    He looks away from me and scans the
Reds for signs of fights.
    “ No, Harmon, not them. The
people that held Lydia. They’re coming to fight us
here.”
    “ What? It’s been a
week.”
    I point to the air traffic control
tower. There’s been no traffic to control in decades, but still it
stands like a colossal guard many stories high giving a circular
view of where we’ve come from and where we’re going.
    “ Let’s go up there and
look.”
    Harmon trusts me. We head to the tower
and leave our possessions outside, except for the rod. We climb in
through a window and step over the litter that’s scattered on the
floor. Long ago this place had been decorated in