April 28, 12:19 AM

Find Another Way in (63%)

They did not have very far to go, really. Another half hour and they were already getting close to Denver.

Close enough that the signs of recent trouble were visible everywhere. In the diffuse scattering of neighborhoods and towns that fed into the city, there were dark buildings and empty streets. They drove over the fading remnants of many leaflets, scattered as though they’d been dropped by aircraft. Some clung to trees or smeared the tops of buildings, waiting for rain that hadn’t come.

They found many streets blocked, enough that referencing a basic copy of the printed map was insufficient. But with service still suspended and the danger of GPS tracking, they couldn’t use their phones either.

Only one route remained clear: the highway, leading down. Anyone who wished could go to Denver—but the onramps going the other way had police cars and active presence blocking them, if not sandbags or other debris.

For the moment, Wayfinder’s new friend did little to watch where they were going. Since getting inside, she’d made herself comfortable on a floor mat, then tucked low for an unconvincing nap. She said little, occasionally turning sideways to peer briefly up at Way. It’s okay kid, I’m not going to get tired of you and send you away. I’d keep you even if I hadn’t promised your brother. More than giving her word, this was a starving, frightened kid. Wayfinder could help one.

“Yeah, no way we go in through the front.” Peter stood up in the backseat, watching the passing closed homes and blocked roads. “I know what they’re doing now. Breach-3 protocol. These empty neighborhoods around the city are the firebreak. Which means intake is running through…”

“You know about this?” Sam demanded. He kept his head forward, both claws gripping the wheel forcefully enough to dig into the hard plastic. “Should we still be going into the city?”

He laughed. “Too late for cold claws, bird. If this is B3, there’s no way in hell we would make it any other way. We’ve probably been monitored by drones the whole way down. We’re doing what they want, so we can keep going. Didn’t wander, just got gas. But if we tried to leave, you can bet we’d have the authorities on us if we were lucky. Or a predator if we weren’t.”

“I’ve got our predator quota covered,” Sam said, annoyed. “If you’re just trying to freak us all out, there’s no point. We can’t be more on-edge than we already are.”

Hazel uncurled from under the seat, poking her head up next to Way. She didn’t have a good angle to watch Peter, but tried anyway, silent and curious.

“There’s a single way in. They’ll separate out anyone who still seems human for quarantine, so they keep out any sympathetic family who aren’t infected. We get one bag of belongings, and nothing electronic. They don’t want any information getting out.”

“Shit,” Ruby swore, shifting in her seat to cover her laptop with one leg. “There’s important stuff in here. I might be the only person on the planet who has all of it. If they take it and shove it into a locker somewhere…”

“Oh, they won’t do that,” Peter said, wistful. “It gets incinerated. Though… I could be wrong. Outbreak-3 was the most severe outbreak we drilled for, and it wasn’t supposed to go past Denver.”

Wayfinder remembered. Importantly, including the nuclear way that outbreak was supposed to end.

“How do we get in without being noticed?” Sam asked. “I agree with Ruby, we can’t let that happen. How do we sneak into an isolation zone?”

“Teleport?” Ruby suggested. “You said there was a spell in the book for that. Just magic us through the fence.”

Sure, no problem! Her first spell ever would be the one that had a full page spread of warnings about all the ways ponies could get hurt trying it. “Not possible, sorry. I’m not strong enough. The book says most ponies never learn how to do it.”

“The smartest way is to separate,” Peter said. “The more of us there are, the harder it is to avoid being noticed. Trying to get a car through, that won’t happen. Besides—they’ve been watching us. If we don’t make it to the checkpoint, it’s a problem. Instead, we send a small group with everything we can’t afford to lose. The rest of us go in the normal way, and pretend like it was just us in the car. We meet up later once we’re inside.”

Wayfinder wasn’t sure exactly what motivated her to speak. But once she started, she kept going. “I think I could get in. Easier than… anyone else here. I’ll carry our stash of contraband. If anyone gets caught, it can be me.”

They drove on in relative silence for the next minute. No one dared speak, to question her or otherwise.

“How?” Sam demanded. “Princess Blue, I don’t know how to tell you this, but you’re—vulnerable. You shouldn’t be doing anything by yourself. What makes you think you can get in while we couldn’t?”

She lit up her horn, folding the map delicately into sections, then tucking it between the seats. “Because I’ve been practicing magic. And I know where to go. You’re gonna take that road there, Sam. That’ll take us to the Platte. Drop me, then you go back to the highway. I’ll carry it all.”

“Cherry Creek,” Sam said, taking the indicated turn. “In the dark, it… could work. If you can stay out of sight from the road, and get in before sunrise. Maybe. Might just have a few fences to block it off.”

“There’s a spell for opening locks,” she said quickly. “Unlike teleporting, a lock doesn’t die if I mess up. I can try again a few more times, until it works.

“I’m going with you,” Peter said, without hesitation. “Not just because I can use that gun and you’ll just get yourself hurt. That’s part of it. The rest is that there are people who might still be looking for me. Once I’m in there, I’ll be another face in the crowd. But if they pay too much attention at the border, I might end up back in a cell.”

“They must have enough test subjects by now,” Wayfinder said. “They don’t need you for that awful machine. Probably have volunteers from death row by now, or… somewhere.”

Peter grunted. “Maybe. But none of those people are AWOL. Despite how you found me, I was never a prisoner. My assignment was to let the resonator blast my head until they learned whatever they were looking for. Or my guts melted out my ears.”

“I wanna go with you too!” Hazel’s pronouncement was so confident that everyone fell silent to stare. She didn’t seem to like the attention though, withdrawing towards the car door. Her many bracelets jostled and clicked together with cheap plastic beads, and she lowered her head again. “If you won’t be mad at me for asking.”

The other occupants all shared a look, attention lingering on Wayfinder. Of course this was her responsibility. She cleared her throat. “It might be way more dangerous. Sneaking in, I mean. It’s… not allowed. If we get caught, we could go to jail, maybe worse.”

Instead of discouraging her, the insectlike creature grew more confident, sitting straighter. She seemed freshly surprised every time they didn’t hit her. “My brother… has tried to help me before. It didn’t work.” She nudged Wayfinder’s foreleg.

Wayfinder didn’t flinch, or tense. This kid was a sick victim, not a monster.

“They hated me. I had to run away last time. Even James couldn’t look at me without feeling sick. He never said it, but I can feel it. I don’t know what people with guns would do. Maybe… get afraid. Shoot at me while I’m too weak to run away.”

“We can carry her,” Peter said. As he did, Wayfinder glanced back, grinning at him. He could be shallow in some ways… but this was one more point in his favor. Shared what he knew, trained in magic with her, didn’t care she used to be a dude. If he was willing to help with a kid…

“Decide damn quick,” Sam snapped. “Ruby, you get to pack whatever we think they need. If Peter’s right and they’re tracking us, we can’t stop very long. I’ll try to find somewhere with cover. But we won’t want to sit around.”

“I’ve got a few copies of the important stuff.” Ruby began shuffling through the back, dumping out a few bags. She held out a USB stick, then a binder of printed pages and a notebook.

“I’ve got some ideas about how to get the files inside,” Ruby said. “But you can bring these. If I fail, I’ll be counting on you. You got me, Way?”

She took the objects out of the air, tucking them close to her chest. Zalenka’s notebook had taken quite the trip out of the city. Shame the man himself was apparently dead, and couldn’t get it back.

“You sure about the kid?” Sam asked. “She’s not exactly, uh… stealthy. Maybe she should stay with us.”

And if she did, someone else would have to smuggle this stuff into the city instead of me. Someone without control of magic, or none at all.

“No bullshitting me, Sam. Can you fly or not? If you could go in over the fence, I could drive the car. Otherwise…”

The bird made a frustrated chirping sound. “I think I’m getting close. But no, can’t stay up for more than a few seconds. It’s a lot harder than it looks, just watching birds do it.”

A few seconds later, they pulled to a stop in a park. It was entirely deserted, with a smattering of posters scattered in the parking lot and up on the walls of the restrooms and elsewhere. Way didn’t need to see them to guess what they must say.

“Then it has to be me. I rode this path a hundred times. Whatever’s in our way, I’ll move it.” She nodded to Hazel. “If you come, you have to stay with us, and follow my instructions. Even if I ask you to do something you don’t like. We’re in danger.”

Hazel grinned, exposing a mouth full of too-sharp teeth. Scarier than Sam’s beak, in its way. “I’m in danger no matter what. At least this way I have a chance.”

They exited quickly. Wayfinder dumped a few personal items from her saddlebags, making room for the extra weight. She held the USB stick in her magic, considering what to do with it. No wings to hide it in. She tucked it away, then turned on Peter. He tightened the straps on his bag, stuffed with networking equipment and various other electronics. Everything they planned to use to stay in touch with the wider world. “Try not to get all our supplies confiscated,” he said, easing the door quietly shut with his magic. “Don’t know how well they’re being cared for in there. My guess is: not well.”

“We’ll do our best,” Sam said. He rolled down the window, his attention lingering on Way. “Careful, princess. Keep this up, and the transformation might be complete.”

“We’ll look for you,” Peter said, settling the weight of his heavy bags onto his shoulder. “And if they ask why we have so many bags, they’re for us. We’re already inside.”

Wayfinder ignored Peter, making her way to the car. When she walked, Hazel followed, never more than a few steps away. She was tall enough to reach the window. But her lean build had some advantages. “What now?”

“The kind of person you were before…” he shrugged. “You think maybe the reason you changed like you did was because you were supposed to be like this? A confident leader, risking her life for her friends.”

Before she could reply, Sam accelerated past them, spinning a quick loop out of the park and out of sight. There was no time to stand around and watch him leave.

“Useless woo bullshit,” Peter muttered from just behind her. “There’s no deeper meaning to a disease. Some people are immune, some people get over it quickly, some get scarred for life, some die. Though I’m not sure if there’s anyone who’s actually immune to this one. Bet the CDC are trampling over themselves to find them.”

“Won’t be in here,” Way gestured through the trees, to a slightly lower section of bicycle path. “We just follow this into the city.”

They set off together—first at a brisk trot, then slower once Wayfinder saw that Hazel couldn’t keep up. The bug didn’t say that she wasn’t strong enough, she just tripped over herself, breaking into huffing gasps after less than a minute.

Some of those little holes opened when she breathed, revealing green, slimy flesh within. She might not even breathe the same as us.

“On my back,” Wayfinder said, gesturing over her shoulders. “Go on.”

The bug looked like she might argue the point, her wings opening from her back and buzzing together. Then she approached, slipping onto Wayfinder’s back. “You sure?”

“You barely weigh anything,” she said. “I’ve got a niece a little younger than you, never had trouble carrying her around.” I probably weigh about the same as that little girl did. And you’re so light you might crumble away in a breeze.

The weight wasn’t exactly insignificant, especially with already full bags. But with only two who had to walk, they could make better time.

The bike path was enclosed for much of its length, protected by rows of trees and sound fences. They descended under roads, through long dark stretches with only a horn to light their way.

Good thing she hadn’t done much today, because it took a lot more energy to walk than it had to ride a bike.

They encountered some signs of other travelers fleeing this route—abandoned clothing, a few discarded backpacks and suitcases. She didn’t want to think about what might’ve happened to their owners.

They walked in relative silence for a few hours, tracking the moon’s slow path across the sky. Until they came to a station of sorts, set just beside a heavy fence blocking the trail right where it slipped under a freeway overpass.

The booth was little more than a small trailer, of the low-security type commonly found at parking lots and special events. She could even see through the windows, at a booth with an array of camera screens surrounding a chair.

A man in a military uniform sat there, staring at his endless feeds of an empty tunnel, and clearly struggling to stay awake. He had a rifle leaning up against the controls next to him.

Peter glanced once through the glass, then took one step towards the door. He flicked his tail at it, questioning. He didn’t have to speak for her to know what he meant.

How would they get past the guard?

1. Send Peter In. He’s a soldier, and he’s armed. He probably knows how to take care of it.
2. Use her magic. There must be a way to restrain someone that doesn’t involve seriously hurting them.
3. Just sneak past and hope he doesn’t notice. Will he even care that they’re going into the isolation zone?