Where the Sidewalk Ends (the story) - Part 8

Closing his eyes, Kayden slowly knocks his head against the gritty floor in frustration. He’s once more lying on his stomach and staring into the server room.

Three additional technicians have joined the ones from yesterday. How would he pull this off without getting caught?

Thankfully, they each seem to be busy at a specific terminal. If he’s alert and quiet, and sticks to the far area of the room, maybe he’ll be fine.

His stomach clenches with what he’s about to do. Studying the vent hatch across the room, he memorizes the layout of the machines in that area. The cabinet directly below the vent looks sturdy and easily climbable. Once he’s on the ground, he’ll use the jumble of stacked equipment to hide behind and carefully find a suitable port to insert the chip.

“Whatcha doing?”

Kayden’s heart slams into his throat at the soft voice that sounds behind him, and he whips his head around.

A small grimy girl, maybe seven or eight years old, is staring at him with eyebrows raised. Her blue eyes stand out against the dirt that coats her from head to toe. “You spying on the techs?”

Kayden frowns as he backs away from the grate and puts a finger on his lips as he sits back on his heels. “Shh. You don’t want them to hear you, do you?” He scolds, hoping his surly attitude will dissuade her from that question.

She rolls her eyes at him. “Nah. I’ve tried talking to them before and they just ignored me. They aren’t interested in us maintenance kids.”

“From the look of you, I’m assuming you work in the purifier vents, so what’re you doing out here?” He keeps the scowl on his face even as his heart goes out to her as she fidgets. He can’t let her ruin this.

“I hate em. The vents I mean. Sometimes I feel like I’m being squished, so I have to come out before I pass out. That happened once, so don’t think I’m lying!”

“I don’t think you’re lying. There’re even areas of the ducts that feel tight to me, so I can imagine. Still, you should probably head back before you get into trouble.” He keeps his voice neutral as he stands and brushes the dirt off his clothes.

A deep sadness passes over her face, but she just nods in acceptance. “Guess so. My dorm master said if I’m late again she would add another hour to my next shift,” she mumbles as she turns to leave.

Kayden grits his teeth at her words, hating that someone so young felt such helplessness.

“This isn’t the way life is supposed to be,” he whispers, remembering how free and expressive Dove had been. She had responsibilities, sure, but her folk encouraged her to play, explore and imagine. Life shouldn’t be so dark day after day. He knows that’s the reason he’s here, willing to stick his neck out to get this chip installed. But it could take months for any real change to happen.

Maybe he could do a little more now. At least for this kid.

“Hey, wait.” He calls out, careful to keep his voice low. The girl turns, tilting her head at him. “My name’s Kayden. What’s yours?”

She hesitates a second before replying, a look of confusion on her face. “Astra.”

“Astra. What would you say if I told you there is a place where you’d never have to crawl through a vent again? Where the air is sweet and the sky is the colour of your eyes. If you help me, I can take you there.”

Astra’s face doesn’t change as she studies Kayden. “You’re talking about outside, aren’t you? I saw pictures once in a book I found. It’s real? You know how to get there?” Now she eyes him with suspicion laced with hope.

“I don’t just know how to get there… I’ve been there. I’ve smelled air so fresh it’d make you cry and I’ve tasted food, real food, not the dry bars they feed us here.”

“Oh yeah? If it was so good why’d you come back?” She juts her chin out in challenge.

Kayden wonders how much he should tell her, but decides he’s gone too far to turn back now. “There are people living free of this city that want to help us. They want us drudgers to know the truth about outside so we can choose to stay or go if we want. I came back to help. All I need to do is get into that room and install something that will spread the truth.” Simplistic perhaps, but it summed it up.

Her eyes grow huge as she takes in what he’s saying. She opens her mouth, but before she says anything, Kayden holds up his hand.

“I know you have a ton of questions, but I don’t have time to answer them now. If you want to help, stay and help, and as soon as we’re done, we’ll need to book it out of here. If not, head back to the vents but please don’t blab to anyone.”

Kayden knows it’s a lot for her to take in. That she’ll need to trust a stranger on mere faith. But maybe it’s a testament to how desperate the state of his people has become when she nearly bobs her head off her shoulders with how fast she nods ‘yes’.

“If you promise I’ll never have to go back into a vent again, I’ll help!”

Kayden is unsure whether she fully grasps the situation, but her help might be just what he needs to pull this off.

He nods. “Alright, here’s the plan.”

****

Sweat beads Kayden’s brow, and he grits his teeth at the painful way his shoulders push against the walls on either side of him.

The vent is a tight fit, but he inched his way on his stomach and now stares out the slats of the vent cover. The techs haven’t moved much, and he knows it’s now or never.

As gently as he can, Kayden removes the cover, awkwardly clasping it as he drags himself out of the passage. His eyes stay fixed on the people in the room, and he holds his breath the entire time.

It’s tricky as hell as he comes out headfirst, but thankfully the shelving unit is nearly level with the vent, so he doesn’t have much of a drop.

Laying flat on top of the shelf, Kayden looks around. None of the techs are facing his way and he just prays they remain focused on their work. If not, hopefully Astra will play her part.

The next few minutes are the longest of Kayden’s life. By the time he’s safely on the ground, his heart threatens to beat out of his chest.

Ducking behind a swath of wires, he finally feels sufficiently hidden to pull in a few fortifying breaths. Now to find a suitable port for the chip.

None of the machines around him have what he’s looking for, and Kayden’s stomach drops when he realizes he’ll have to move closer inward.

It’s hard to see from where he’s crouched, but the tower next to one of the nearest techs might work. He just needs her to move.

I hope you’re watching, Astra! Holding up his fingers in their agreed upon signal, Kayden prepares to move.

But… nothing happens. His heart pounds as he stares at the duct where he hopes Astra is still watching. It’s too dark beyond the grate to see anything, so he’s not sure if she up and left.

Praying he’s wrong, Kayden raises his hand higher and flicks the signal again. Maybe she just didn’t see me the first time.

A rush of relief hits him when he hears her cough, the unexpected sound making the people in the room jump. He grins when all the worker’s eyes turn to the hatch covering the duct.

“Hey, can someone in there help me?” Her voice trembles as if she’s been crying, and Kayden bites his lip, hoping Astra’s plea will entice the woman in front of him to move away from her station.

The two workers below the duct stare up at Astra in annoyance. “What is it, kid? You know you’re not supposed to be bugging us!”

“Don’t be a jerk, Tarik,” the woman scolds, putting her hands on her hips before moving to the grate.

As soon as she steps away, Kayden moves. He knows he needs to be fast, but careful. Slinking as low as he can, he makes his way to the computer tower.

“I know I’m not supposed to bother you, but a vent hatch shorted and smoked me out!” She wails as if it’s the worst thing in the world. “I can’t go back in until the smoke clears!”

“Oh my god, kid, stop that racket!” The annoyed tech, Tarik, admonishes. “What do you want us to do about it? Just sit there quietly and wait it out!”

Kayden’s hands tremble as his eyes rove over the machine’s many components. He keeps an ear half-cocked on the conversation to make sure the tech’s attention remains on Astra.

Which slot is it? How did I think I could do this? His mind berates him as his panic rises.

He’s pulled out the chip, its minuscule size belying the impact it’s about to have on this city’s population. That’s if I can find out where to put it!

Despair threatens to envelop him when his eyes land on a probable port. There! At least it resembles the image Einith had shown him. Before he can second guess himself, Kayden slides the thin piece of plastic into the slot.

He knew nothing would happen right away, but the lack of any notable change was disconcerting. Nothing else to do but get out… now! His mind screams at him.

Kayden turns, ready to scurry back to the vent when he spots the female tech out of the corner of his eye. She’s partially turned back his way, her face now showing annoyance at Astra’s continued prattling.

She hasn’t spotted him yet, but if her head moves even a millimetre more, she will.

Kayden freezes, not even daring to breathe.

Astra must see his predicament because Kayden hears several curses from the workers when water splashes out of the duct, landing on several data pads.

The woman once more turns away, anger clear in her movements as she storms over to glare up at the grate. “Hey! What are you doing? We have sensitive equipment in here!”

“Sorry! I was taking a drink, and my water bottle slipped out of my hands!” Astra’s voice is high pitched and sounds as if she’s on the verge of more tears.

Kayden doesn’t stay to listen to the rest as he uses the distraction for what it’s meant for and bolts to his exit.

He’s a lot less careful as he leaves, but he’s counting on Astra’s constant apologizing and the tech’s cursing to cover his movements.

It’s a struggle to wiggle back into the vent and the hairs on his nape tingle in anticipation of being caught. But his luck holds and he’s soon pulling himself along its length.

It feels like he’s crawling forever, but finally Kayden reaches the hatch leading back into the duct. Astra’s face greets him as he climbs down, her eyes bright with excitement.

“Did it work? Are we going outside now?”

“Yeah, it did. At least, I’m pretty sure it did. We gotta move, now! You up for a sprint to Old Town?”

She nods, grabbing the hand he holds out to her. “I’m fast, you’ll see!”

Author's notes: See below for Part 9