Chapter: 62. Marrow Collects[Day-62 (09:20)](The ropewalk back stairs, Market Row, Sector 9) The street door banged behind him. Kai put his foot on the first step and found it was a long way up. Nine steps to the turn, then eight to Marrow's landing. He had climbed them twice that week without thinking. Now he took each one with a hand on the wall, the iron plates on his heels ringing on the boards. Every Row man nailed a plate to his heels so the leather lasted a year. On a stair that narrow it sounded like someone knocking to be let out. A scrap of paper had come under the door at first bell. Someone had drawn a bucket on it in tar and written one word. *Today.* Oren had looked at it and said, "Who draws a bucket?" Kai had said, "A customer." Oren had said nothing for the length of one bite of bread. Behind him the street door banged again. *Wind,* thought Kai, and almost smiled. Two sets of boots came in out of the passage. A man's voice, quiet and civil, said, "After you, Mr. Cross." He turned his hea
Last Updated: 2026-11-10
Chapter: 61. Face Down[Day-60 (11:20)](Aeron's room, Chandler Court, Sector 9) Binding. All morning the Exchange's lamp-men went down the Row, a hundred yards from the door, and he heard the stalls take their covers off and put them on again. Ten lit discs sat behind the brick. He sat on the bed with his hands between his knees and listened to the brass go by. Nothing came up the stairs. He kept away from the window. A lamp-man could not read through a wall, probably. He had no proof of that either. At noon he took Mrs. Wray's bowl back down, washed, and she took it from him on the landing without a word. She looked at the bowl, and then at his face, and nodded once at the bowl. The colours came back in patches. The red on Oren's thumb was red again by four. The taste did not come with it.[Day-60 (23:30)](Aeron's room, Chandler Court, Sector 9) He used the first one again, the knight on f2 and the rook on g1 and the king in his corner. He had nothing better. He didn't try for it. The gold was back
Last Updated: 2026-11-10
Chapter: 60. The Grey Lamp[Day-58 (22:40)](Aeron's room, Chandler Court, Sector 9) Sundial had been quiet. The bells at noon, the smell of other people's dinners, the court empty by the afternoon. Oren had gone to his mother's for the meal and come back with a pie in a cloth, and had been asleep by ten. Kai lit the lamp to count the blanks. The flame came up the colour of dishwater. He turned the wick higher. The flame got taller and no warmer to look at. *Oil's gone off.* He carried the lamp across the room and held it over Oren's hand, over the thumb with the Guild's stamp on the nail. The stamp was dark grey. It had been red on Friday. Oren's coat was grey. The door was grey. His own cuff, stiff with two nights of blood, was a darker grey. *It isn't the oil.* He stood there with the lamp. *Seventeen days of keeping that colour from everybody, and tonight I can't see it myself.* He pinched the lamp out, with the right hand this time. Under the corner blanket the first disc came up pale as a candle behi
Last Updated: 2026-11-09
Chapter: 59. Second Run[Day-56 (23:10)](Aeron's room, Chandler Court, Sector 9) Fifty blank discs sat in a flour sack under the table, and they clinked every time Oren turned over. The sack had come off the scrap heap in Hollis's yard, where anyone willing to carry them could have them for nothing. Hollis had watched him tie the neck and had not asked what they were for. Kai had watched him not ask, and it had looked like it hurt. The room was dark and close. The blanket hung over the window again. A second one was hooked to the curtain nails over the corner by the table, so that whatever lit up there would stay there. Oren lay across the door in his coat with one arm out and the white thumb turned up on the boards. He had gone down at ten like a sack off a cart. He still smelled of the bakery. Marrow had said yes that afternoon, up the ropewalk stairs, with his mouth full. Two lots: Firstmark and Draftday. Nothing on a Sundial, when the Row shut. Nothing on a Binding, when the Exchange sent its lamps
Last Updated: 2026-11-09
Chapter: 58. Husk Money[Day-55 (07:10)](The Preserver's counting-house, Ring Road, Sector 7) "Four hundred and twenty-three," said the buyer, "in all, for husk and chair." He said it to the scale, not to them. He was a thin man in a brown apron with a pencil behind each ear. The room was cold on purpose. A woman in grey sleeves stood at the end of the marble table with her palm flat on the husk, not looking at it. The dry crackle that had followed it all the way up Ring Road had stopped the moment she touched it. Beside it the armchair sat on the floor with its scorched arm and its plain high back. Kai had carried it up the iron stair on his shoulders. His palms had been wrapped in strips of Marcus's shirt ever since. "Fed, middling," the buyer went on. "Wasn't a Swelled one. It ate, but it wasn't greedy. The chair's good wood and nobody sat in it for years but the one thing. I'll write it as one lot." "Write it as two lines," said Marcus. "It's one slip." "Two lines. Husk, then chair." The buyer si
Last Updated: 2026-11-09
Chapter: 57. Ten Heads[Day-54 (22:03)](The Sunken Playhouse, stage left lip and pit) The water had come up to a forearm below the boards and it was still coming. The brass lay tilted in the middle of the pit with one side up, black and streaming, its near rim against the foot of the stage. A pale hand lay flat on the water between two of its arms. "Marcus." The voice came from under it. "Marcus, it's me. It's Joss. I'm under it, I can't get out. Please. You said no one left behind." *It kept that.* Kai's hands had begun to hurt. The real lad lay on the grey boards with his head in his sister's lap and his foot turned the wrong way. He had been grey and silent. He opened his eyes. He heard his own voice come out of the dark, and his face crumpled. "I'm here," he said. "I'm here! I'm..." Dina's hand went over his mouth, too late. The brass lifted. It came up a finger's width on the far side and water poured off it in sheets. A second pale hand slid out beside the first. "Joss? Joss, help me. Please.
Last Updated: 2026-11-08
Chapter: 50. The Conversation Norah made her way towards her shelter, Troy catching up to her. "So, how was it?" he inquired.Confused, Norah asked, "How was what?" Troy smirked, "Being almost kidnapped by a power-hungry army tyrant." Norah, with a hint of amusement, replied, "With the Oppenheimer demonstration, we got - I found it interesting."Troy probed further, "So, you foresaw all of this, huh?"Norah confirmed, "Yes, I did, but you did too."Troy admitted, "Well, I had my assumptions - not as exact as it happened, but I had the general idea." As Norah attempted to leave, Troy grabbed her hand. "Wait," he said, releasing her hand quickly, apologizing, "Oops, sorry about that."Curious, Norah questioned, "What do you want, Troy?"Troy urged her, "You should be more honest with yourself, don't you think?" Norah, still skeptical, asked, "How so?" Troy boldly stated, "You finally met someone who understands you - completely. Admit it; you're thrilled." Norah, unfazed, retorted, "Dude, I literally have a tw
Last Updated: 2024-02-01
Chapter: 49. Un/wavering Resolve Commander Slate, his tone filled with a sinister resolve, declared, "I cannot liberate the country if I murder all that remains of its citizens. I will now take my leave, avoiding any further bloodshed, but Emilia comes with me."Harold, fueled by intense anger, retorted, "You don't get to kill my people and just leave because you suddenly feel like it. I won't let you."Commander Slate, attempting reason, asserted, "I am giving you the opportunity to save what remains of your settlement. Being stubborn is unwise for a leader, Harold."Harold, eyes burning with defiance, replied, "A leader doesn't let scumbags like you push him around. Your advantage is gone, and we're not your hostages anymore. I've neutralized your snipers."Commander Slate, unfazed, cryptically revealed, "Did you honestly think I wouldn't account for something like this? I already have the exact coordinates of this location. I could blow it up with a warhead if I felt like it."Shocked, Harold exclaimed, "A warhead
Last Updated: 2024-02-01
Chapter: 48. The Painful Truth As Harold clung desperately to his long-lost daughter Sophia, the weight of their reunion weighed heavily upon his heart. Tears streamed down his weathered face as he uttered, "You have no idea how much I've missed you, my baby girl."Sophia, however, recoiled, "Let go of me," she demanded, her voice cutting through the air. Oblivious to her distress, Harold continued to embrace her, blinded by the overwhelming surge of emotion that engulfed him."I said, let go of me!" Sophia's second plea was more forceful, and this time, she pushed Harold away, breaking free from his grasp. Confusion etched Harold's face as he struggled to comprehend the sudden shift in Sophia's demeanor. "Sophia, what's wrong?" he implored, his eyes searching hers for answers.With a disdained look, Sophia replied with a touch of sarcasm, "What do you mean what's wrong? ".Harold replied,"I'm confused right now. It's been years since I lost you, and now that I've finally found you, you seem displeased and not happy
Last Updated: 2024-01-28
Chapter: 47. The Dual Loyalties Emily stood up and approached Commander Slate, tears streaming down her face. "I'm here now. There's no need to kill any more people. Let's go. You got what you wanted," she implored, her voice filled with both sadness and sorrow."Oh, Emilia - just how naive have you gotten? Has domestic life made you weak and sympathetic?" sneered Commander Slate as he leaned towards her, touching her shoulder. "There's no doubt that you're a valuable asset to my grand plan. But did you honestly think I'd come all the way out here in the outskirts of Johannesburg just for you?" he chuckled.Harold, unable to contain his anger, shouted, "What more do you want? You got your Emilia, now take her and leave us alone - go!"The settlers, having overheard the revelation, were plunged into a sea of emotions and disbelief.One of them exclaimed, "Emily was a spy? I can't believe it! All this time, we thought she was one of us!"Another settler, anger etched on their face, said, "Deceiving us like that... peo
Last Updated: 2024-01-26
Chapter: 46. The Broken Ties Harold stared at Commander Slate, disbelief etched across his face. "Why would I give my granddaughter to you?" he questioned, dismissing the absurdity of the claim.Commander Slate, unfazed, remarked, "Granddaughter? Oh, I see now - so that's the cover she decided to use. Very smart. She used your emotional turmoil to get that close to you - she's an excellent agent as ever."Harold scoffed, "What nonsense are you talking about? Emily is not your agent - she's my granddaughter, and your claim of her being a spy is absurd. Surely you don't expect me to believe that."Commander Slate persisted, "Yes, I do expect you to believe it - that is the truth, after all. I planted Emilia in your settlement to collect intel on you people."Harold burst into laughter. "First of all, her name is Emily, not Emilia. Secondly, what's this crap about her being your agent? You can't seriously expect me to believe that my granddaughter is a spy now, will you?"Harold remained steadfast, "If that's what b
Last Updated: 2024-01-26
Chapter: 45. The Search: Part 6As Noah and Jake sprinted through the area, anxiety hung heavy in the air. Jake's worry for Spencer and Esther was evident, his breaths heavy with concern. "I hope they're still okay," he muttered between gasps, desperation etched across his face.Noah, however, couldn't withhold his frustration. "We wouldn't have to hope for anything if you'd done your damn job as the leader," he accused, his voice sharp with resentment. The tension between the two intensified as they raced toward where they left Esther and Spencer.Noah uttered, "If you had let me put a bullet in him, we'd have one less problem to worry about.""I know, alright – I messed up. I let my emotions get the better of me, and I admit I was wrong," Jake confessed, attempting to appease Noah's frustration.But Noah was relentless. "So what if you admit it? Is that gonna fix anything? Is that gonna change the fact that James is gonna demonize and go after all of us – the entire settlement? Huh?" Noah's accusations cut through
Last Updated: 2024-01-24
