The Trash Picker and the Secret King

Race to the Roof

The countdown timer on the screen flashes red, burning the numbers into my mind.

15... 14... 13...

Move! Lyra shouts.

She does not waste a single second. She dives behind the ruined desk and hits a hidden panel on the floor. A heavy metal hatch pops open, revealing a dark vertical shaft with a ladder leading straight up into the ceiling.

I do not look back at Council Head Vane, who is still laughing from her corner as the automated security system starts to self-destruct around us. I grab the sides of the metal ladder and climb as fast as I can, my boots hitting the rungs with loud echoes. Lyra climbs right behind me, her hands moving with quick, practiced precision.

Below us, the office fills with a thick white gas as the tower vents its airlocks to freeze the floor. The cold air bites at my face, but the purple light blazing from my hands keeps me warm. We climb through the dark shaft, moving past heavy layers of security wiring and humming cables until our heads break through a second hatch at the top.

We tumble out onto the open roof of the highest glass tower in River City.

The wind up here is wild and freezing. Below us, the entire city spreads out like a map of tiny lights. I can see the dark, muddy slums where I spent my whole life picking trash, and the shining glass rings of the upper districts where the rich live in comfort.

Right in the center of the roof stands the master satellite dish, a massive ring of metal and glowing blue glass that sends the council's control signals across every screen in River City.

We need to plug the core override into the main terminal, Lyra says, pointing to a small control box at the base of the dish. Her hair whips around her face in the heavy wind, but her eyes are sharp and focused.

I run over to the terminal, lifting my hands so the purple energy can interact with the data port. But before my fingers touch the glass screen, a heavy boot steps down on the metal grid beside me.

We spin around.

Jax steps out from the shadows behind the satellite dish. His heavy leather coat flaps in the wind, and a dark, dangerous smile spreads across his scarred face. Two rebel guards stand behind him, holding laser rifles pointed right at our chests.

Did you really think I was going to let you two walk away with the whole city? Jax asks, his voice cutting easily through the howling wind.

I stare at him in total disbelief. Jax? What are you doing here? The guards attacked your base!

Jax laughs, a harsh sound that holds no warmth at all. The guards did not attack my base, kid. I called them. I led them straight to us."

Lyra steps in front of me, her body tense, though her face remains calm. She looks at Jax with cold understanding. You never wanted to free the slums, Jax. You wanted the council's power for yourself.

Of course I did, Jax says, taking another step closer. He rests his hand on the handle of a heavy weapon at his side. The council ruled from these glass towers for fifty years by keeping everyone else down. Why destroy the throne when you can just sit in it? Once Kian opened the core system from the office below, all I had to do was wait for you to lead me to the roof.

He points his rifle straight at my chest.

Hand over the core control, Kian. You were just a tool to crack the safe. Your job is finished.

My hands begin to burn with bright purple fire. The betrayal stings deep, but this time, there is no shock left inside me. Only pure anger. Every person I trusted turned out to be another player in a game designed to use my blood and my life.

You think I am going to hand this city over to another tyrant?" I ask, stepping forward.

Jax's smile fades into a hard glare. He raises his rifle, his finger tightening on the trigger. I think you are going to die right here on this roof, and your blood will finish the uplink for me.

Before Jax can pull the trigger, Lyra moves with shocking speed. She throws a small smoke capsule directly at his feet. A thick cloud of gray smoke bursts across the roof, blinding the rebel guards.

Run! Lyra shouts, grabbing my arm.

Gunfire splits the air behind us, and laser beams burn black holes into the metal floor as we sprint toward the edge of the open satellite platform.

We reach the railing, but there is nowhere else to go. We are trapped hundreds of feet above the ground on the highest tower in the city, with Jax and his armed guards closing in fast through the smoke.

Jax steps out of the gray haze, his face twisted in rage as he raises his rifle for a final shot.

End of the line, king, Jax says coldly.

With nowhere left to run, Jax fires his rifle directly at my chest, and a beam of concentrated blue energy shoots straight toward me at blinding speed.