Charcoal Streets: Chapter Two

Chapter Two

The general air of shuffling motion announced to Mari that her lunch break had finally arrived. Peering through the dusty gloom she spotted the kitchen workers bringing in the food; now was the time for her to make an escape.

The thick ash on the floor prevented any sound of her footsteps as she left, and the permanent darkness ensured that no one saw her.

Technically, it wasn’t strictly against the rules to leave the factory for her lunch break, but it might raise suspicions which could be disastrous.

The journey back through the filthy streets was unpleasant, surrounded on all sides by the sick and dying people at the side of the roads.

Carefully, she kept her face utterly blank as flicker lights appeared in the dust. As long as she acted normally they would blink out again and whoever was watching wouldn’t give her a second thought. There were hundreds of people on the streets, and it wasn’t at all unusual for messengers to be sent from one factory to another.

As she rounded the final corner she spotted the others, already gathered around the dusty mound that was their meeting place. Hurrying over to them she took her place next to her brother, Tarn. They talked in hushed voices, always watching for the slightest hint of a flicker light. They didn’t dare light a torch, since it would draw attention, so they sat in pitchy darkness. It was always dark in the City, all day and night, every day.

Their plans were almost finished and they hadn’t been caught yet. They were beginning to think they might manage it. Get out of the City that is, not survive outside the City.

Mari, glanced around quickly before suggesting quietly, “Lets go tonight. There’s no reason to wait longer. We know-“

A squeak from one the others stopped her in an instant. She looked around to check for flicker lights. It was just someone passing a short distance away with a torch. She hesitated before continuing, “We know what to do. Lets leave before things get worse.”

The others nodding, knowing what she meant. They all had ash sickness of varying degrees, and Talya, a twenty three year old woman who was a part of their group was seriously ill. She coughed harshly now. Coughing, stage eight.

“I agree,” a Fell nodded in the darkness, “We can’t afford to wait.”

No one objected so the meeting broke up as abruptly as it always did. If a flicker light saw them all sat together like that then suspicions would be raised and they would be watched, even if nothing was heard. Nothing must be suspected until they were gone. There was nothing left to discuss, all plans were finished, only the date had been left to decide, and that was done now. They went back to work, Mari relieved that they had agreed to her suggestion. Even the fear of being caught could not entirely destroy the thought of them all getting out safely.

The day wore on slowly, and the entire group waited impatiently to start on their plan. There were twelve of them, and of that twelve, five were seriously ill. One, a man called Herth was already in the ninth stage of ash sickness- he was paralysed. He had been in the ninth stage for some time, and they were all anxious to leave before he reached the tenth. Death.

It wasn’t until two o’clock that night that they started on their plans. Mari crept out of her hut, dragging her younger brother along behind her. Being only twelve, he knew only that he had to follow his sister and do as she said. Their cousins might be too scared to attempt a breakout, but the two of them were too scared to stay. With Tarn already in the seventh stage they knew they didn’t have much time. For a twelve year old to be so sick already could only mean one thing- he wouldn’t live to anywhere near the age of twenty if he stayed in the City. Mari’s was alarmed at how he had started to cough just lately, and she wanted him out of the City as soon as possible. The seventh stage was bad enough; he already had the bad throat, fever, shivering, headache, weakness, the dizziness of stage six, and faintness of stage seven. Mari just hoped that he wouldn’t faint or cough at the wrong moment that night and give the entire group away.

They met up with the rest of the group at the end of the street and quickly checked that everyone was there. Herth, of course, was being carried by two of the healthier members of the group, Fell, and Taia, his twin sister. Both were only in the first stage of ash sickness and were the healthiest of the entire group. Everyone else was at least into the second stage.

They crept along quietly, Mari helping her brother as they went, whilst some of the others help Talya, Ria a fourteen year old girl in the seventh stage of ash sickness, and Naryen, an eight year old boy in the sixth stage of the illness.

Once again Mari was thankful of the thick ash on the floor, which deadened the sound of their footsteps so that no one would hear them pass. The only noise they made was the occasional cough from the sicker members of the group.

As they neared the City walls a flicker light flared not far off. They ducked quickly behind a charred patch of wall, a relic from the original burning of the City. Mari watched the shadows it cast quickly, knowing that the light would flare up brighter if the authorities watching through it saw anything of interest. Apparently they had moved fast enough, because the flicker light shrank and disappeared. They waited a moment longer before creeping closer to the walls. They were nearly there, but the last few minutes would be the most dangerous.

The surface of the walls was rough and uneven but easy enough to climb as long as it did not crumble away. The problem was that once they were climbing they were exposed, and if a flicker light flared up then they would be caught without a doubt. Also the sicker members of the group would have to be carried up the walls somehow, but they knew that the sooner they started the better.

Fell carried Herth over his shoulder as he climbed the wall carefully. Taia, his twin, was carrying Talya in the same way. Mari took a deep a deep breath and started to climb too, carrying her small brother Tarn over her own shoulder. Dern, a fifteen year old boy who was only in stage two of ash sickness carried Ria up the wall. Some of them would have to make two trips, because of the remaining four, only one, Fehn, was able to climb the wall without help, and he was certainly not strong enough to carry anyone else, being just into the fifth stage of Ash Sickness.

Those nine reached the other side of the wall safely. They were the first people ever to escape from the city of Ash, but before they could celebrate three of them must go back and risk it all again for the remaining three on the other side. So Dern, Fell, and Taia as the healthiest in the group went back for the other three. These were Naryen, Yarli, who was only in stage two but, being only four years old, was unable to climb the big wall, and Lua, a nine year old in stage five.

They were lucky. All twelve were soon on the other side without having been seen by any flicker light. They were free at last. Now all they had to do was survive.