Where the Sidewalk Ends (the story) - Part 4

Einith remains in her seat, afraid that any movement from her will make the kid run for the hills. Dove is still blocking the entrance, but she’s so slight, Kayden could easily push past her if he bolted.

As usual, Dove has poor timing and a big mouth. “Dove, honey. Go find your pa. I need to talk to Kayden, okay?” She struggles to keep her voice calm as she addresses the girl.

Kayden glances between them, a dark scowl on his face. Well, it looks like I’ve lost what little trust I gained before Dove showed up.

But thankfully, he remains seated for now.

“Oh. Okay.” Uncertainty and confusion play across her face as she turns, her movements comically slow with her reluctance to leave.

The door has barely shut before Kayden slides off his chair, keeping the table between them. “You said you wouldn’t make me go back.” He doesn’t yell, which makes the look on his face bite all the deeper.

Einith would have preferred to wait until Kayden had a decent meal in his belly before explaining things to him, but it was what it was. Steepling her fingers, she looks the kid in the eye.

“No one in this camp will make you do anything you don’t want to. I swear this on my life.” She sighs when he raises an eyebrow, his look doubtful.

“Oh yeah? Then why did that girl say you’re sending me back there?”

“Dove is… young and doesn’t have all the facts.” His shuffle closer to the exit proves her reasoning isn’t going to cut it.

She decides to be blunt. “We’d never force you back to the city, but we are hoping you’ll choose to go back.”

That stops him, and he narrows his eyes. “I’d sooner take my chances in the wilds. If you didn’t have room for me in the camp, why’d you ask me to come?”

Einith shakes her head. “That’s not what I mean.” She pauses for a moment to gather her words. “We need someone who can easily slip into Pinnacle’s society and who knows their way around its network of ducts.”

Kayden just stares at her, his eyes revealing nothing. “What makes you think I would know how to get around them?” .

“I lived in the city, remember? That black stain under your fingernails is a pretty clear tell.” At his vague shrug, she continues. “Look, right now, only the Elite and the upper ranks of the working class know the truth about what’s outside the city’s walls. The rest of the population, the drudgers, believe the city is the only safe place to live. That what lies beyond the wall is a desolate wasteland.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Kayden scoffs. “So, what? You want me to go back in and tell people what I’ve found? They’d never believe me.”

A small spark of hope ignites in Einith’s chest that he hadn’t stomped out of the room yet. “Not exactly. We have a device, a chip actually. It’ll allow our people at Verdant to hack into the video and audio feed of the city. Not just Pinnacle’s, but all the walled cities. Once we gain control, we hope to spread the truth.”

Einith expects him to have questions, but his first one surprises her.

“Cities? You mean there’s more walled cities out there besides Pinnacle?” His voice is flat as he retakes his seat across from her.

Ah. of course he wouldn’t know about them. She hadn’t either until she got out.

“Two others, actually. Ascended and Fortress. They aren’t as big as Pinnacle, but because much of their tech has been wildly failing over the last few years, their drudgers work twice as hard to keep things going.”

Kayden glances away, his eyes landing on his discarded apple core. “What would you need me to do?”

****

Tossing on his cot, Kayden blows out a frustrated breath. His mind is swirling with everything Einith told him and what these people want from him.

But at least he was full. During their talk in the group hall, people had trickled in to prepare the evening meal and he had filled his face with a hot vegetable soup and soft bread. The folks around him said it was simple food, but to Kayden, it was the most delicious meal he’d ever eaten.

After, Einith had shown him to this tent, telling him to sleep on it. That no matter what he decided, he had a place with them. But how could he sleep with the weight of such a request hanging around his neck? It doesn't help that he’s sleeping in a space alone for the first time in his life and the profound silence is disconcerting.

Once more, his mind goes over what Einith was asking of him.

She'd said a lot, but the heart of it was that the Free People wanted this computer chip installed into Pinnacle’s mainframe and they needed his help to do it. It'd be nearly impossible to go through the well-guarded door where they housed the supercomputer. That meant they needed to go through the ducts.

The ducts connected to everything within the city and someone who was unfamiliar with them could easily become lost. The ducts also had security measures in place—cameras and access panels—so his current work clearance and knowledge were invaluable.

His Dorm Master put Kayden on duct maintenance the moment he arrived in C dorm. And because he’d never asked for a transfer or complained, they’d left him there. He probably would have remained there until he grew too big to crawl around them comfortably.

He knew each turn and twist of the ducts in that area and was confident he could gain entrance to where they needed.

He’d only been out a day but the thought of being caged behind those walls again, even temporarily, made him feel sick. Could he force himself back inside? And was this plan even a good idea? Revealing the truth might cause harm, even death, to his fellow drudgers. Could he live with that?

Jace’s face flashes in front of him. Could he live with himself if he did nothing? Leave all those poor, unsuspecting people trapped in a lie?

If Jace had lived and escaped, Kayden doesn’t doubt that he would have agreed to help. That Jace, as frail as he was, would have come back for him, if nothing else.

“Alright bud. We’ll do this together, hey? There’s no way I’m getting trapped behind those walls again. I’d rather be dead and with you than choking on smog a day longer than I have to. As soon as I get that computer chip inserted, I’m heading right back to that sewer hatch.” With his mind made up, Kayden rolls onto his side, pulling the blanket tight around him.

There would be those who wouldn’t want to leave the city, but at least he can help give the people of Pinnacle a choice neither he nor Jace ever had.

He’ll have one more day of freedom before he needs to return. Any longer and he runs the risk his Dorm Master will put an alert out on him.

That meant another day to experience actual food, intoxicating air and sunlight so bright it makes him squint.

Author's note: Please see the link to the next part below as well as the first part. Thanks for reading!