City of Time (10 page)

99

The friends looked at each other. "Sorry?" said Owen.

"Papers," the man repeated. "Import cert, export docket, duty-paid duplicate, end-user cert, or other documents pertaining to and contiguous with the shipment of goods, temporal instruments, and carriage thereof."

"I don't think we have any of those," Cati said. "Who were those people?"

"Albions," the man said.

"I told you," Owen said, "albinos."

"Albions
," the man said. "Also I require sight of personal documents, passports, national identity cards, laissez-passer, and other documentation to wit and likewise."

"Our friend is hurt," Cati said.

The man sighed and peered through the window at Dr. Diamond. "There's not much point in putting up signs if people don't read them," the man said, pointing to an almost illegible sign reading DISMOUNTING IN THE

RED ZONE IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN.

"He needs help."

"Nothing I can do. Show me your papers and get on your way. You're blocking the intersection."

"The traffic is piling up behind us. I can see that," Owen said sarcastically.

"Listen, we don't have any papers," Cati said.

"Then you can't come through."

100

"We're not going back," Owen said.

"Certainly not." The man nodded. "That is not permitted without a quarantine certificate."

"We'll just have to stay here, then," Owen said, exasperated.

"Stay here? On public property? In the middle of the red zone? I think not," the man snorted.

"Well, if we can't go on and can't go back and can't stay here, what can we do?" Owen said.

The man said nothing. He just stood there with his hand out.

"Wait!" Realization began to dawn on Cati and she fished around in Dr. Diamond's jacket pockets. Triumphantly she pulled out an overstuffed wallet and flicked it open. It was full of a bewildering array of currencies. Dollars, dinars, rubles, bahts ... Cati rifled through them, selected twenty Australian dollars, and placed them in the man's outstretched hand.

The man didn't move. He cleared his throat suggestively. Cati peeled off another twenty dollars and placed the bill on top of the first one. The man's fist closed and the notes disappeared into the pocket of his greasy trousers. "On your way now," he said gruffly.

"Hold on a second," Owen said. "What about those albinos?"

"Albions,"
the man said. "Keep moving and they won't bother you. Bandits is all they are."

"What were they after?" Cati asked.

"Magno," the man said. "Go mad for the stuff, so

101

they do. They can't be bothered to go into the mountains and dig it up like everybody else. Magno's in pretty short supply these days."

Owen thought that the man didn't look as if he spent much time digging in the mountains, or anywhere else, for that matter.

"Must be very quiet around here," Cati said. "I mean, how many people come through here these days?"

"Haven't seen nobody for near four years, and not many before that. Last crew I saw were in a tearing hurry and all. Barely time for the, eh, formalities," he said, with a meaningful look at the wallet still in Cati's hand. Then he took in the truck as if for the first time. "This wagon looks familiar. Could've been the one they were driving ..." And he looked at Owen as though reminded of something.

Just then Dr. Diamond moaned and stirred and tried to sit up.

"I think ... I think I'm all right," the doctor said. "Just a bit dizzy." He peered through the window. "Who are you?"

"Customs inspector," the man said. "Import cert, export documents--"

"It's all taken care of," Cati interrupted.

"And it's time you stopped blocking up the red zone," the inspector said.

"We're not moving until our friend is better," Cati said.

102

The man stepped back from the cab and reached under his jacket. He pulled out a large and very rusty revolver. "I'm authorized to use deadly force to ensure the free flow of traffic in the red zone."

"It's all right," Dr. Diamond said hastily. "I can drive." He eased himself into the driver's seat. "How far to Hadima?"

"Two days," the inspector said. "Last I heard."

"You don't know?" Owen said.

"As far as I can tell," Dr. Diamond said, "time and distance won't mean quite the same here."

"I see," Owen said, not really seeing at all. The inspector cleared his throat in a menacing way.

"OK, OK, we're going," Cati said.

Wincing, Dr. Diamond eased the truck into gear and the truck rolled forward past the kiosks toward a tunnel. The inspector watched them pass without expression. When Owen looked in the mirror he was already halfway back to his office.

As he turned his glance to the dark road ahead, he caught the smell of cold mountain air.

103

Chapter 11

Wesley was restless. To give him something to do, Pieta had sent him out to patrol the river. She didn't think he would find anything there, but he was getting under her feet. When the full Workhouse was up and running there were hundreds of people about and the place buzzed with energy. But now it was quiet and shadowy.

He walked down the river toward the bridge. The ash and alder trees formed an arch over the path, and brown leaves falling from the branches swirled about his feet. On a fresh autumn day like this it was hard to believe there was anything wrong with time.

As Wesley got closer he noticed a woman standing on the bridge. She was frowning. She walked over to the parapet and stared at the Workhouse. Then her gaze

104

moved downward and Wesley realized she was looking straight at him. And it was perfectly clear that she could see him!

He was about to dart away when she called out softly, "Don't run. I'm Martha, Owen's mother. You must be one of the Raggies."

Wesley was suspicious.

"Look at me," said Martha. Wesley saw the family resemblance and knew she must be telling the truth.

"But Owen said ... I mean ..."

"He said that I was lost and didn't know what was going on around me?" Wesley nodded. "I was, but not any longer. What is your name?"

"Wesley. But Owen's not here. He's gone to the City of Time."

"I know," sighed Martha. "When did he leave?"

"This morning. There's not enough time in the world, which means the moon is going to crash into the earth, and Owen and Dr. Diamond and Cati have gone to try to stop it," Wesley said in a rush.

Martha stared at him.

"I don't right understand it myself," Wesley said.

"Dr. Diamond is with Owen. That is good. And the girl?"

"Cati. Her dad was the Sub-Commandant. The Watcher. She's it now. The Watcher, I mean."

"Even better. But Hadima can be a dangerous city. There are many dark places."

105

"Have you been there?" Wesley asked.

"Been there?" Martha laughed. "I was born there."

"Wesley!" The voice was like a gunshot. Wesley spun round to see Pieta standing there, the magno whip swinging dangerously in her hand.

"It's all right, Pieta," Wesley said. "This is Owen's mum!"

Pieta slowly lowered the whip. She walked up to Martha and looked into her face. Martha thought it was like being looked at by some graceful and dangerous animal--a cheetah or a puma, perhaps. "Hello, Pieta," she said.

"Martha," Pieta said simply.

"We find ourselves in danger again," Martha said. "The town is in chaos because the earthquakes have caused fires. Reports say there could be a tsunami at any moment and people are moving to higher ground."

"Then you had better come to the Workhouse," Pieta said.

"We won't be safe even there," Martha said.

"I know," Pieta said, "but we can defend the Sleepers for as long as possible. Come!"

Silkie hadn't got any sleep that night. She had waited in a high window, watching in case Johnston came back. But by dawn she had dozed off and midmorning awoke stiff and hungry.

She fetched a fishing line, then went out the back of

106

the warehouse, where she couldn't be seen from the harbor. She went down to the water's edge, noticing with puzzlement that the tide line was much higher than she had ever seen it before.

She caught a fish within minutes and was glad to return to the shelter of the warehouse. Soon she was frying a large fish fillet she'd dipped in flour. She found a few wizened potatoes and made rough chips in another pan. Then she sat in front of a driftwood fire and a warm glow spread through her as she wolfed it down. She sat staring into the fire, wondering why she was still the only Raggie awake, until a noise outside caught her attention.

Coming down the quay toward the warehouses was a large blue bulldozer with Johnston at the controls, the wind whipping his hair out behind him. His face was fixed with a grim determination.

Silkie could see the big waves that had started to roll over the surface of the dock. Not that the bulldozer would be swept away by a few waves.

She ran outside and was drenched straightaway. The salt spray made her gasp and foam from the waves rolled around her ankles. She had no idea what she was going to do. The bulldozer was halfway along the quay now, and she could see that Johnston was grinning, showing those big tombstone teeth. She ran toward the bulldozer.

Johnston stopped several meters away. "Get out of the way, little girl," he boomed over the noise of the

107

wind and the waves, "or I'll run right over you and push you into the sea along with all your skinny little pals."

Silkie stopped dead with her arms outstretched. Johnston laughed, then bent down and fiddled with something under the seat. Loud music suddenly blared from a speaker on the front of the bulldozer.

"That's Wagner," Johnston said. "You like Wagner? No? Ah well. Children are philistines." He revved the engine, laughing loudly. "Let's clear some vermin!"

The machine lurched forward. Silkie shut her eyes. As she did so the whole dock swayed and she fell to her knees. There was a rumble, then a crash, then the screech of bulldozer tracks on concrete. Silkie opened her eyes. The big waves, the earth tremor, and the weight of the bulldozer had combined to undermine the dock in front of her. A massive section had simply collapsed into the sea, so several meters now separated her from Johnston's bulldozer, perched precariously on the very edge.

The warehouses were now on a proper island. Johnston's eyes bulged with surprise as he looked at the chasm that had opened in front of him. He moved in his seat and the bulldozer swayed alarmingly.

His expression was so funny that Silkie choked back a giggle. But then his eyes met hers. "Just you wait," he growled. "Just you wait."

108

Chapter 12

The square of light in front of the truck became bigger and bigger. Owen could see that the tunnel they were in was opening into fresh air. As they reached it Dr. Diamond slowed the truck and they coasted out of the tunnel into daylight, daylight so bright after the murky customs post that they had to shade their eyes against the dazzle of cold winter sun reflected from snow. They had emerged onto a snow-covered mountain landscape, into a pass running between two vast craggy mountains rearing on either side. The snow lay thick and deep on the mountains, on the pine trees on the slopes, and on the road, barely visible in front of them. A gust of wind stirred the surface of the snow and carried a miniature snowstorm toward them, then subsided.

109

"Look at the snow!" Cati breathed. She went to open the door but Owen stopped her.

"The Albions," he warned.

"Don't be silly," she said. "They couldn't take the light." Cati climbed out of the truck and took a handkerchief from her pocket. She made a snowball, wrapped it in the cloth, and climbed back up to give it to Dr. Diamond. "Hold it against your head. It'll help bring down the swelling."

Dr. Diamond took it gratefully, while Cati told him about the Albions.

Owen meanwhile examined the terrain in front of them. He could make out the road under the blanket of snow. There were even signposts. He got out and knocked the snow off one to reveal a rusty enamel plate reading HADIMA. But the road sloped steeply downhill and Owen wasn't sure the truck would manage the descent in the deep snow.

While they were stopped, Cati warmed up the rest of the hot chocolate. She and Dr. Diamond sat on a nearby rock to drink it while Owen climbed into the empty cab and scanned the switches underneath the steering wheel. Spotting one bearing a faded emblem that looked like a skier in a downhill pose, he flicked it upward. There was a groaning noise; then the truck lurched from one side to the other. Alarming clattering noises came from underneath, and a cloud of old rust flakes flew out, staining the snow dark orange. With much grinding and squeaking of metal against metal,