Noak felt calmer on the path to the surface. Over the past few days, Cohen’s command had begun to press on his skull. He’d mostly ignored the sensation and he’d mostly been successful. It was only sometimes the pressure became too much. Then Noak could almost feel Cohen’s hand punishing him for his disobedience, a cold palm on his crown, long fingers digging into his temples.

The Leashworm, always searching for a crack in his control, had added to his discomfort. The creature had scorched him from within, so his head hammered while his chest burned. But now, Noak was doing what Cohen wanted. The command would be fulfilled. Noak would obey. The hand felt lighter and the Leashworm cooler. Noak was back in control.

He crouched in the cramped space behind the driver’s seat of the wagon, with only a flimsy lace curtain to hide him from view. Although they had the permits, Amos had declared it was better not to draw unnecessary attention. In truth, Noak didn’t care. He was prepared to fight his way to the surface. Whatever it took to get Finn away, he’d do it. He kept his senses sharpened with the Source and his knife ready, but they met no one along the dark river tunnel.

“Odd,” Amos said, “Not a single checkpoint. No dogs.” He directed Pippa around another bend. “This might be easier than we thought.”

Noak leant against a water barrel and went with the sway of the wagon. “Don’t get too confident, junker. We’re not above ground yet.”

There was no more conversation after that. Pippa’s hooves clopped on the stone path. The wagon creaked. The ink black river flowed down the channel, heading in the opposite direction, rolling its way back to the Darkzone, to the lake, to Elsa.

Noak’s gaze travelled to the new charm hanging just above Amos’ head. Elsa had fashioned it with beads and glass before she’d left and painted on the symbols for luck, care and protection. He tapped the charm and watched the mirror pieces glint red from Amos’ lantern. It had protected the junker once, Noak hoped it would work again.

The tunnel lightened. Amos extinguished his lantern. “Prepare yourself,” he warned.

The wagon rolled into the vast surface cavern. Noak tried to fight the sudden wash of daylight and shielded his watering eyes. He felt the temperature shift. Warm, summer air creeping in from the surface. The sound of the river changed too, the confined rush from the tunnel bursting in roaring, wet echoes.

With limited sight and hearing, Noak drew on more of the Source. Above ground scents flooded over him—gum leaves, pollen, dust—as well as the stench of people, lots of them.

“Nuts,” Amos cursed.

Noak blinked until his vision cleared. He surveyed the cave mouth and saw his caution had been well-founded.

“Melker doubled the guards.”

Black Guardsmen waited in groups beside the surface road and watched from abandoned shipping containers scattering the cave’s sandy floor.

Amos spoke out of the corner of his mouth, his eyes straight ahead, “And he’s armed them.”

The Junker pulled on the reins, slowing Pippa’s approach. He discreetly indicated to a rusted crane at the heart of the cavern. It towered over the opposite bank of the river, its broken chain hanging high above the raging water. On the crane’s high platform, a man observed the wagon, a rifle in his hands.

“The ones on the barricade have guns as well,” Amos added.

Noak shifted his attention to the make-shift wall spanning the length of the cave mouth like a row of dirty, uneven teeth. It was mostly shipping containers. They started in an orderly stack, but soon turned chaotic on the uneven ground. Old cars, rocks and other pieces of mismatching scrap blocked the spaces in between.

The river entered the cave from beneath the barricade. It cut the cave floor in two and Noak could find no bridge across the deep channel, save the barricade itself. The division meant most of the guards’ supplies and equipment had been kept on the right side of the cave. The guards were all on this side too, protecting the path to the surface.

Noak tracked the road to its end—a bright, red shipping container. It jutted out from all the others in the wall. This container was their exit point. Get the doors open, make it down its long metal throat, and they were out.

Not that it would be that easy. Noak counted the armed men stationed at the barricade, their actions also strained and unnatural.

“They know.”

The junker examined the grim line of men and again spoke out of the corner if his mouth. “It’s usual for them to check permits.”

Noak trusted his instincts. “They’re not going to let us anywhere near that exit without a search.”

Up ahead, an overturned forklift lay part-buried beneath barrels, plastic crates and cargo netting. He pointed it out to Amos. “Take Pippa off the path and stop when the back of the wagon is out of sight from the crane tower.”

“We can’t stop,” Amos said.

“It’s too late for subtly,” Noak said. “The game has changed. We need to adapt. I’ll slip out and try to sneak over the barricade once you’re through, but you need to be ready to fight.”

Noak left the old man to his task and squeezed through the narrow corridor made by Amos’ repair machines. He shifted a box of spare parts out of the way, then opened the large storage chest beneath. Finn was curled up inside.

“Noak?” Finn rolled back the bag of horse feed covering his body and sat up. “What’s wrong? Are we out?”

“We’ve hit trouble. I think you’re going to have to run. Can you do that?”

Finn nodded.

“Do you remember how you got through the barricade on your way here?”

“Yeah, I think.”

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“Good,” Noak said. “Find that way, if you can. You’ll be disoriented when you come out of the wagon, so run for the light and don’t look back.”

“What about you?” Finn asked.

“I’ll stay hidden and follow after.”

Finn’s eyes opened wide. “You trust me to escape by myself, after everything that’s happened?”

“I do.”

The wagon rocked forward as the Junker drew it to a sudden halt. Noak heard Amos jump down from the driver’s seat.

“Okay,” Noak said to Finn, “I’ll see you on the other side.”

Finn grabbed his arm. “What about Amos? If things go bad, we can’t leave him.”

Noak glanced back through the thin corridor to the front of the wagon. The old man was making a grand show of checking the harness connecting horse to cart.

“Noak, you have to protect Amos,” Finn commanded.

The Voice shivered across Noak’s skin and dug into his bones.

Noak growled at the sudden shackle, but Finn was unrepentant.

“I promised Elsa.”

Noak grunted. “Fine. You take care of you first, then I’ll be able to take care of him. Ready?”

Finn closed his eyes. He opened them again to reveal a faint glow of the Source. Noak hoped the boy had enough of it to get himself to safety.

“I’ll be ready,” Finn said.

Noak unlaced the corner of the tarp covering the back of the wagon. He peeked outside. The crates and netting provided just enough cover from the guard on the crane and those on the containers, while the wagon screened him from the guards up ahead.

One of the men on the barricade called out, “Hey, what are you doing there, Junker?”

Noak heard Amos clear his throat. “Ah, sorry. It’s my horse. She’s not stepping well. I need to check her harness and redistribute some of the weight in the compartments. Rather do it here than out there.”

While the junker continued his lecture on the importance of a properly packed wagon, Noak slid over the tailgate. He lowered his feet to the sand. Bent low, he crept along the brightly painted side. When he reached the nearest crate, he caught Amos’ eye, then shrank into the shadows.

The Junker waved to the guards. “That’s better.” He gave a gentle scratch to Pippa’s forehead and climbed back onto the wagon seat. “Get on, girl.”

Noak followed stealthily behind. He branched right, veering from the road, slowly working his way across the cave floor to the barricade. He used shipping containers and supply barrels for cover. The guards kept their eyes trained on the wagon, which made the task easier. Noak reached a pile of loose rubble metres from the wall and ducked behind it. He searched for an escape route. If Amos was able to talk his way through to the other side, Noak would only need to wait until the wagon was gone to make a run for it.

“Halt!” The junk wagon reached the gateway. A guard stepped forward and grasped Pippa’s halter. “Permit?”

“Of course,” Amos said and once more climbed down from his seat to hand it over.

The second guard stepped up onto the wagon and pulled back the lace curtain. He peered behind the driver seat.

“Expecting someone?” Amos asked.

The two guards shared a glance.

“It’s just me today, lads,” Amos said. “Keeper business.”

The noise of an engine rattled the air around Noak. A long barge entered the cave mouth from the river. A dozen more guards lined the deck. Melker stood at the head. The boat pulled up at the jetty beneath the crane and the guards disembarked. They jogged up the surface road to surround the Junker’s wagon. Melker strolled up last.

“Ho, there, Amos!” He called out. “Leaving us so soon? When you just got back!”

Amos pointed to the permit. “As I was saying to your men, I’m here at the Keeper’s request. I have her permission to leave.”

Melker adjusted the gun across his shoulder. “Of course you do!” He reached out to pat Pippa and frowned when she baulked. “However, with all the trouble in the Darkzone recently, you won’t object to a search before you go?”

Amos’ eyes slid to the wagon. “Go ahead.”

Melker smirked and clicked his fingers. The two guards closest to the wagon’s rear stepped forward. One started to roll up the tarp.

Noak tensed.

“Pull out every box and crate,” Melker ordered. “Search every nook and every—”

Finn burst from the wagon, knocking the men to the ground. His thin legs hit the sand. He ran a few steps and, to Noak’s horror, collapsed.

Chaos erupted.

Amos snatched hold of Pippa’s bridle and pulled. “Back, back, back!” He screamed.

The horse obeyed. The wagon rolled backward, scattering the guards in its path and knocking those who were slow to move.

Finn clambered onto his feet. A guard lunged for him. Amos dove for the man’s legs, tripping him.

“Get out of here, boy!” Amos yelled.

Finn took off. Shouts and bullets burst from all directions. Pippa panicked. At the gunfire, she reared against her harness, smashing one of the guards with her flank and narrowly missing Amos.

“Don’t shoot!” Melker shouted. He grabbed at Pippa’s reins and tried to calm the horse. “Wait for my order to fire! I want him alive.”

The guards hunted Finn across the cave floor. He wove through rusted containers and discarded crates. Noak lost sight of him, then breathed easier when Finn emerged beneath the crane. He evaded capture again by climbing onto the barge. He ran across the deck, took a giant leap into the water and swam to the opposite bank. The Source added speed and power to Finn’s movements.

On the left bank, there was no one to stop him. The guards scrambled. Melker ordered them across the barricade, but it was too late. Within seconds, Finn was back at the cave mouth, scaling containers and scrap. Relief spread through Noak. They wouldn’t catch him now.

Noak wanted to follow Finn, but the boy’s command had burrowed too deeply beneath his skin. The urge to protect the junker replaced all thoughts of escape. Even Cohen’s command could not override it. Now Finn was safe, Noak no longer tried to fight the urge. He tracked Amos down.

In the commotion, the junker had ended at the far right of the barricade. A guard had cornered him there. His opponent lunged for him. Amos fell back and skidded in the sand.

The guard laughed. “Give up, you old fool!”

Amo growled in return. He tried to pull out his revolver from his inner pocket, but it became tangled in his jacket. The guard laughed again and knocked him down with a boot to his chest. Amos curled into a ball on the ground, his hands around his head.

“You stubborn mule!” The guard shouted.

Noak grabbed the man by his coat before he could kick Amos again and threw him head-first into a rock, knocking him out cold.

“Time to go, Junker!”

Amos looked frantically back towards the underground. “What about Elsa?”

“You’re no use to her dead.” Noak towed Amos to the barricade. “Now, climb!”

They scrambled up car bonnets, rock slabs and corrugated iron sheets until they reached a walkway. So far, Melker hadn’t noticed their movements. He was still holding Pippa’s reins. He was too close to the river, too busy cursing his men on the other end of the wall. Noak pulled Amos behind him and searched the best way for an old man to breach the barricade.

“There,” Noak said, pointing to stack of tyres further along. “Across this ledge, up and over. Hurry.”

A whistle sounded. The guard on the crane tower had finally looked their way. “Breakout! Breakout!” He screamed. “Smokers on the wall!”

Melker dropped the reins and shouted at the mass of guards to go after them. The men changed direction, turning towards Noak and Amos like a swarm of black rodents.

“Stop!” Melker called from cave floor. “I’m warning you!”

Noak pushed Amos ahead of him. “Keep going.”

“I said freeze,” Melker shouted. He slipped the rifle off his shoulder. “I will shoot!”

The guard on the crane was also taking aim. He was ready to fire the instant Melker ordered it. They were exposed. There was nowhere to hide.

“Whatever happens, old man,” Noak said, “don’t stop climbing. Get to the top and—”

Melker fired. The gunshot rang out.

Noak waited for the sting and felt nothing.

Next to him, Amos slumped to his knees.

The junker gave Noak a panicked look and tilted forward.

“No.” Noak grabbed for Amos’ shoulder and caught his coat. The material slipped through his fingers and Amos tumbled down the barricade to the cave floor.