The NULL CODEX System

8. Running away

The city had always ignored him. But now, it was looking for him.

Oren Vask walked through the outer edges of Cinder Row with Petra Wynn close behind him. The ground beneath his feet was hard and cracked, the same ground he had walked on his whole life, but it felt different now. It felt like he was walking on something that was no longer his. 

The wind picked up and carried the smell of the settlement behind them, the smell of dust and death and something else underneath that he could not name. He did not turn around. He knew that if he turned around, he would stop. And if he stopped, he might not be able to start again.

Petra's voice came from behind him, soft and uncertain. "Oren?" She called.

Oren kept walking. "What?" He asked.

"How far do we have to go?" Petra asked.

Oren shook his head. "I do not know. I have never been this far from Cinder Row."

Petra caught up to him and walked beside him. "Neither have I."

They walked in silence for a while, moving across the open ground that separated the settlement from the Labor Tier. The road was cracked and uneven, and the weeds grew through the stone in thick patches. Oren kept his head down and his eyes moving, scanning the horizon for any sign of Division patrols.

Oren stopped at the boundary of the settlement, and he looked back at Cinder Row one last time. 

He saw the collapsed houses, the broken streets, and the bodies that still lay where they fell. He saw the gray morning light spreading across the ruins like something that did not want to be there. He saw the house where he had grown up, the house where his mother had died, and the house that had never really been a home because it was never really safe.

Petra stopped beside him and asked, "Are you okay?"

Oren felt Petra's eyes on him, waiting for an answer he did not know how to give. He thought about his mother's hands, thin and light and strong, that were holding his in the dark. He thought about the symbol on the floor of the old man's house, and he thought about the woman with the sharp features and the dark eyes who had been hunting him for twenty years. 

Oren thought about all of it, and he realized that he did not know if he was okay. He did not know if he would ever be okay again. But he knew he had to keep moving.

"I am leaving everything I have ever known," Oren whispered.

Petra said, "I know. So am I."

Oren shook his head, "We cannot go back."

Petra nodded and said, "I know, Oren."

Oren turned away from Cinder Row and kept walking, and Petra followed him. The road stretched out ahead of them, long and empty and gray. Oren's legs ached from walking, and his stomach was hollow and empty, and his mind was spinning with everything that had happened in the last few hours. 

He thought about the thirty-seven people lying in the road. He thought about Dara's cup shattering against the stone, and he thought about the sound of the scanner clicking above the tunnel entrance, and the way it had passed over him without finding him. He thought about all of it, and he kept walking.

Petra asked, "Are we going to make it?"

Oren said, "I do not know."

Petra asked, "Then why are we still walking?"

Oren stopped and turned to face her. He looked at her dark eyes, her bruised face, and her trembling hands. He said, "Because I do not know what else to do."

Petra stared at him. "That is not comforting."

Oren nodded, "I know.” He said. “But it is the truth."

The cold blue text appeared at the edge of Oren's vision, sharp and bright against the gray morning, and Oren stopped walking.

Petra stopped and looked at him. "What is it?"

Oren said, "The Codex is showing me something."

Oren read the notification slowly, letting the words settle into his mind.

MISSION ASSIGNED: Escape Cinder Row without Division capture.

Reward: Phantom Step — Tier One.

Status: Active.

Note: This mission requires host to reach the Borderlands boundary. Division pattern analysis suggests seventy two-hour window before sweep coverage reaches current host location.

Oren read it again, then he said, "It is giving me a new mission. I need to escape Cinder Row without getting caught. And it says I need to reach something called the Borderlands boundary."

Petra asked, "What is the Borderlands?"

Oren shook his head. "I do not know. But the Codex is telling me to go there." He paused, then added, "It also says I have seventy two hours before the Division sweep reaches where we are."

Petra's eyes widened slightly. "seventy two hours? That is not much time."

Oren nodded, "I know." He replied.

Oren felt the weight of the mission settle onto his shoulders like something heavy and real. “seventy two hours.” He had seventy two hours to get to a place he had never heard of, through a city he had never fully seen, with no food, no supplies, and no plan. He had seventy two hours to do the impossible. 

Oren looked at Petra, and he saw the exhaustion in her face, the fear in her eyes, and the way her hands were trembling at her sides. He did not know if they could do it, but he knew they had to try.

Petra asked, "What do we do?"

Oren was quiet for a moment. "We keep walking.” He said finally, “That is all we can do."

Oren turned and kept walking, moving faster now, with his legs burning with the effort of keeping pace. Petra followed close behind him, her breathing quick and shallow.

The landscape changed as they moved further from Cinder Row. The open ground gave way to narrow streets and crowded housing. Buildings rose up on either side, tall and close together, their windows dark and shuttered. 

The Labor Tier was nothing like Cinder Row. The buildings were taller and closer together, and their walls stained with years of smoke and grime. The streets were crowded with people, all of them moving with the same hurried purpose, and all of them carrying bags and baskets and children and worries. 

Oren had never seen so many people in one place before. He had never heard so much noise, and he had never felt so small.

Petra said, "I have never been this far from Cinder Row."

Oren smiled. "Neither have I." He replied.

Petra tilted her head. "Where are we going?" She asked.

Oren replied, "I do not know yet. The Codex said we need to reach the Borderlands boundary. But I do not know where that is." He looked around at the crowded streets and said, "We need to stay invisible. We cannot let anyone notice us."

Petra nodded in agreement. "How do we do that?" She asked.

Oren said, "We blend in. We move like we belong here."

Petra asked, "How do we move like we belong here?"

Oren replied, "Watch the people. Watch the way they walk, the way they avoid eye contact, and the way they keep their heads down."

Petra looked around. "I have been doing that my whole life." She said.

Oren looked at her. "Then keep doing it. It is the only thing that will keep us alive." He replied.

They moved through the Labor Tier, keeping their heads down and their eyes moving. Oren studied the people around him, the way they walked, the way they carried themselves, and the way they avoided eye contact with strangers. He mimicked their movements, their posture, and their careful avoidance.

A Division patrol passed in the distance, and Oren grabbed Petra's arm and pulled her into a narrow alley between two buildings. He pressed his back against the wall and peered out at the street.

Petra whispered, "What is it?"

Oren said, "Division patrol. They are coming this way."

They watched the patrol move through the street. Oren counted four officers, all of them wearing the same crisp uniforms, and all of them carrying the same cold expression. 

They moved through the crowd like predators, with their eyes scanning every face, and their hands resting on their weapons. Oren watched them and felt something cold settle in his chest. These were the people who had killed his neighbors. These were the people who had killed Dara and old Fenn and the woman whose name he had never learned. These were the same people who had tried to kill him.

Petra whispered, "It seems like they are looking for something."

Oren nodded, "Look at them. They are not just walkinf, they are searching. They are looking at faces, and they are checking people."

Petra asked, "Do you think they are looking for us?"

Oren shrugged, "I do not know. But we cannot take that chance." He replied.

The patrol passed by the alley without noticing them. Oren let out a breath he did not realize he had been holding. His heart was pounding so hard that he could hear it in his ears, and his hands were shaking slightly, and his legs felt weak and unsteady. He looked at Petra, and he saw the same fear in her eyes that he felt in his own chest.

Oren said, "We need to move faster. They are tightening the sweep."

Petra asked, "Where are we going?"

Oren said, "Away from here. As fast as we can."

They emerged from the alley and continued moving through the Labor Tier. The streets grew more crowded as they moved deeper into the settlement, and Oren had to weave through the flow of people to keep moving forward.

They reached a small market area, and Oren stopped at the edge of it. 

The market was alive with noise and movement. People called out to each other from behind stalls, offering goods and food and services. Children ran through the crowd, laughing and shouting. The smell of cooking food filled the air, and Oren's stomach cramped with hunger. He had not eaten since before the Purge, and he could feel the emptiness in his body like something hollow and sharp.

Petra tapped him. "We need food." She said.

Oren nodded. "I know." He replied.

Oren reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag. Then he opened it. Inside was a small amount of food, enough for a few days at most.

Oren said, "I have enough for two days. Maybe three if we stretch it."

Petra asked, "What about me?"

Oren looked at her. "I will share with you.” He replied. “We will make it last."

Petra shook her head, and folded her arms. "That is not enough." She countered.

Oren replied, "I know. But it is what we have."

Oren looked at the small amount of food in his hand, and he thought about how quickly it would run out in like two days. Or maybe three if they stretched it. And then what? They would be hungry, and they would be weak, and they would be even more vulnerable than they already were. 

Oren thought about the markets in Cinder Row, the small stalls where people traded what little they had. He thought about the old man who had left three days before the Purge, who had packed everything he owned into a bag and walked away. He thought about how much easier it would be to give up, to stop running, and to let the Division find him and end it all.

But then he thought about his mother's hands holding his in the dark. He thought about the symbol on the floor, he thought about the woman who had been hunting him for twenty years, and he thought about all of it, and he put the food back in his pocket and kept moving.

Oren said, "We need to find more. But we cannot risk being noticed."

Petra was quiet for a moment. "How do we get food without being noticed?" She asked.

Oren replied, "I do not know yet. But we will figure it out."

Petra shook her head. "That is not a plan, Oren." She said, getting angry at the lack of proper plan.

Oren looked at her. "I know it is not a plan, Petra. But it is all we have right now."

Petra stared at him for a moment then she nodded. “Fine. Let us keep moving.”

They moved away from the market, staying to the edges, keeping out of sight. Oren's mind raced with plans and possibilities, but none of them were good, and none of them were safe. 

He thought about the Codex, about the seventy two-hour window, and about the Borderlands boundary he had never heard of. He thought about the woman with the dark eyes and the sharp features who had been tracking his bloodline for twenty years. He thought about all of it, and he kept walking.

Oren said, "We need to find shelter. Somewhere we can hide for a few hours."

Petra asked, "Why?"

Oren explained, "Because we are exhausted. We are running on nothing, and we will make mistakes if we keep going like this."

Petra shook her head in disagreement. "We cannot stop, Oren." She said,

Oren kept walking. "We cannot keep going like this either." He countered.

They rounded a corner, and Oren stopped. A Division officer stood near the corner, with his eyes scanning the crowd. Oren grabbed Petra's arm and tried to pull her back, but it was too late.

The officer stepped in front of Petra and blocked her path. "Stop."

Petra froze. Oren stopped a few steps ahead and turned back with his heart pounding.

The officer said, "Classification card. Now."

Petra's face went pale, and her hands trembled at her sides. She said, "I... I do not have it with me."

The officer asked, "You do not have it with you? Where is it?"

Petra shook from fear. "At home. I left it at home." She replied with a shaky voice.

The officer scanned Petra with his eyes from up to down. "You are required to carry it at all times." He said.

Petra nodded. "I… am sorry. I…forgot. I will go back and get it."

The officer shouted. "No. You will come with me." He commanded.

The officer reached for his communicator, his fingers closing around the device. Oren watched frozen, with his mind racing. He had seconds, maybe less. And he had to do something.

Oren watched the officer's thumb press against the communicator, ready to call for backup, he watched Petra's face go pale and her hands start shaking, and he watched the people in the street continue their lives, oblivious to the danger she was in. 

He knew that he had to do something. He knew that had to say something.

Oren took a step from where he stood and opened his mouth, but no words came out.