That’s why the streets are so empty.They were all at whatever this Gathering was. Seemed like a security nightmare to me, but I wasn’t complaining. I just hoped we didn’t accidentally walk into the middle of it.
“Understood, sir.”
They’d see us in a minute. I pulled Claire toward a door further down the wall, then followed her through it. We entered a back storage room of an abandoned café, then waited till they left before continuing down the road.
“I used to love that place,” Claire said sadly as we crept between buildings. “They had a nice selection of coffee.”
“How did you guys grow coffee?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “In this climate?”
“Lab-grown, Wastelander,” she reminded me. “Not much grows in the ground here.”
I grunted. At a different time, walking through this place with her might’ve actually been fun.
“We should follow the main road past the central park, then take a left,” Claire instructed. “Taking side streets from there, we can bypass downtown to get to the school.”
I followed her lead, but as we got closer to the main road, it became obvious we weren’t alone anymore. We dodged a couple of patrols, and then the sounds of a large crowd grew close, getting louder as we walked.
“We can’t keep going,” I said. “We’re going to walk right into them if we aren’t careful.”
Claire nodded, thinking. “What we—”
I pulled her back into an alley just as two men rounded the corner down the street from us, clapping a hand over her mouth.
“Yes, Colonel, I was just saying—”
“Sorry,” I hissed in her ear. “But we need somewhere to hide. Now.”
I let her go, and she grabbed my hand. We waited a moment for the nearest voices to fade, then she led me through the back door of a medical clinic. It had a second floor, where we’d be able to look out onto the main road and plan our next move.
“Neil’s old workplace,” she said quietly. “Never thought I’d be here again.”
We headed to the upper level, which was mostly offices, and crouched below a second-floor window. I took in the scene: a large, wide open green space was full of people, all gathered around a raised platform. Claire peered over the sill and frowned.
“They’re in the central park,” she whispered to me. “Must be that Gathering they mentioned. I don’t think we’ll be able to go that way.”
I cursed. “Is there another way?”
“Yes, but it’ll take longer.”
We went downstairs to leave, but there were voices outside. We ducked behind a wall, out of view, but the glass door didn’t open.
“Jensen, you’ll be stationed here to oversee the procession,” someone said just outside. “Don’t leave this post until His Address has been given and the Gathering has begun.”
A masked cultist parked himself outside the entrance, facing away from us. Judging by his wide stance and the lazy way he held his rifle, he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. We tried another exit, but it was also blocked by a guard who was watching the crowd.Goddamn it.Every minute stuck here was a minute that Kimmy couldn’tafford.
“We’ll have to wait them out,” I muttered. “No choice.”
We went upstairs again and sat in what Claire said was Neil’s old office. It was surreal, being in my girlfriend’s dead husband’s office, but it had a clearer view of the park. The crowd only got bigger. Most of them wore the painted eye masks. On the platform, an altar stood, draped in black with a large golden eye painted on the front.
“What do we do now?” Claire whispered.
“Lie low and wait for our chance,” I answered, sounding more confident than I felt.
We sat on the floor beside a floor-to-ceiling window. The blinds were down, giving us decent cover, but I made a small opening so we could watch outside. Several minutes later, there was the rumble of drums, and it seemed like whatever was happening was about to begin.
A tall, thin, light-skinned man in his forties took to the platform, smiling down at a crowd that instantly started losing its shit. Unlike the rest of them, dressed in all black, he wore an elegant navy-blue suit. He ran a hand through his wild brown hair and long brown beard. When he spoke, his voice was amplified.
“Family,” the man said, raising his hands to the crowd. “A warm welcome, as always, to our weekly Gathering. Odessa, Lady of Shadows, Mistress of Cruelty…she blesses us with this shroud of night, and with her Eye, we see through the darkness to the ultimate purpose: Dominion. For the benefit of our guests, I’ll introduce myself: my name is James, but friends call me Jim J, your Prince of Pain. The Order of Odessa is delighted you’re here for this joyous occasion.”
