We emerged from the underground into a gutted building. The grey darkness of Karakul’s night leaked through the glassless windows, casting the building in shadow. The man took a deep breath, hefted his pack over his shoulder, and closed the trapdoor behind us. His team had left hours before after a short debriefing, so the underground city lay abandoned below us once again.

My rescuer turned toward me with a black mask in his outstretched hand. I fitted it over my mouth and nose, and he pulled a hood over his head. “From now on,” he whispered, “we have the dual task of reaching our destination without being followed. If we are caught, we will risk the safety of thousands of other people–death would be preferable. That is why I won’t tell you where we are going until we are about to arrive.”

I nodded, my heart pounding a rhythm in my chest. “We will leave tonight,” he continued. “I will meet you outside of your apartment in two hours. Bring only what you need, and leave your apartment exactly how it is. If they come inside, they must assume that something has happened to you, not that you have fled.”

With that, he turned to slip through the door, but I stopped him with a quick touch. “What should I call you?”

He tilted his head to the side, thinking. “Here, they call me Mask, but it’s Nico where we’re going. You?”

“Anabelle Laurent,” I said, meeting his eyes.

***

I slipped through the doorway ten minutes after Nico, exiting onto a street in the middle of Karakul’s downtown. Not a person was in sight, and the brisk wind blew a styrofoam cup down the sidewalk like a tumbleweed. I glanced back at the building, saying a silent goodbye to the underground; it seemed impossible that the entrance to an entire network was so unimposing. Even so, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the spies’ discovery was imminent, which left a lingering sadness in my heart.

It was uncomfortable being out past curfew, although I knew my night worker identification card would protect me. I kept my head down on the walk to the bus stop and caught the night bus to the Tin District. As I watched the cityscape pass by, I wondered if it was really the last time I’d see Karakul. In the distance, the mountains loomed like a great cage, seemingly asking: “you think you can escape?”

Half an hour later, I pushed open the door to my cramped apartment. My hands shook as I shoved my toothbrush, extra clothes, rations, and savings (half a month’s wages) into my backpack. I paused, staring at the possessions. This is all I have to show for two years of struggle?

I took a deep breath and zipped up the pack. Dwelling on the past would give me nothing but hardship.

Everything was in sharp focus as I showered and dressed my wounds. My ribs and head throbbed, but my anticipation of the journey ahead overshadowed the pain. I changed into a long shirt and pants, washing most of the blood out of my jumpsuit and leaving it on the bed–it would not be traveling with me.

I turned on the radio and listened to the news report as I brushed my hair. “We can expect more frequent bombings from this point forward,” the reporter assured through the static. “His Majesty, King Keon, will release a statement in the coming days. All Amberastans are horrified that Solokia would target our children. Luckily, it appears that the bomber was delayed over the border, which prevented it from arriving during school hours. And it warms my heart to announce that the army has shot down the pilot over the Valram Mountains.”

I scoffed. So yet another Amberastan has died as Keon’s scapegoat.

The reporter cleared her throat and continued. “At this time, two boys are in the hospital and expected to recover. There is one reported death: Chester Harmon, aged thirty-six. There may be more casualties in the coming days.”

I stared at the radio, surprised to hear Chester’s name. I expected to feel some sort of sorrow, but it didn’t come. Instead, I found myself wondering when they'd look for my body or discover that I was missing. Maybe in a week, when I don’t collect my paycheck or pay rent.

I leaned back on my bed, glancing at the clock every few minutes. I grew anxious, thinking of the journey ahead and what it would bring. Nico had concealed our destination from me to protect whatever resistance existed there–if I was captured, I would not be able to reveal its location–but my curiosity was almost all-consuming, and I longed to know if we were traveling North, South, East, or West. I sighed, filing my thoughts away and letting my mind wander to other topics.

When it was finally time to meet Nico, I stood up, tossed my backpack over my shoulder, and stepped into the hallway. The key was heavy in my hand as I locked the door to my apartment for the last time.

As promised, Nico was waiting outside. He stepped into the light as I emerged and appraised me. “Let’s go,” he finally said, “we have a long walk ahead of us.”

***

I pushed myself closer to the ground. Beside me, I could see Nico’s warm breath in the air, illuminated by the compound’s dim yellow lighting. His gaze was fixed on the train tracks fifty yards ahead.

He adjusted his position slightly; it was the most he’d moved in forty-five minutes. Between the walk to the warehouse district and the stakeout, my legs were beginning to cramp, but I didn’t dare leave our hiding place. Nico had said that we would have a very limited window in which to act.

I flinched as the blast of the train’s horn split the night. It roared into view–a huge, black locomotive that seemed to stretch on for miles. A stream of smoke poured from its smokestack, and the words Valram Freight were stamped across its side. The wheels screeched against the track as it braked, its momentum carrying it into the station. I shifted, but Nico held out a hand. “Not yet,” he whispered.

A station worker emerged from the buildings behind us, carrying a flashlight, and the engineer’s door swung open as he climbed down to meet him. They spoke briefly before the worker pulled a tube from a rectangular apparatus and hooked it to the front of the train.

Another ten minutes passed as the train refueled. Eventually, the worker withdrew back into the building, and the train began to crawl forward again. I glanced at Nico nervously, but he held up a hand.

The train was picking up speed. “Now!” Nico hissed, and I dragged myself out from under the concrete mixer and threaded my arms through my backpack straps. Nico was already running toward the train, and I rushed after him, my ribs screaming. As we neared the tracks, the noise was overwhelming. Hard earth sprayed into the air as the wheels gained traction on the track.

“There!” Nico shouted, pointing at a rapidly approaching train car with sliding doors.

“Holy shit,” I gulped.

Nico backed up from the tracks. “Get ready. You jump first.”

“What?!”

“Don’t hesitate.”

My heart thudded in my chest. “I-”

“Go now!”

I took off, running toward the train even though every fiber of my being wanted to turn away. I leapt into the air, reaching out as the massive wheels churned near my feet. My hands grabbed something–a ledge, a handle–and my feet scrambled for a hold against the side. The train’s momentum threatened to rip my hands from their positions, and my fingers began to slip, until-

Suddenly Nico was there, jumping through the air with the grace of a bounding cat. He gripped the side of the door, planted his feet firmly on the bottom of the car, and steadied me with his other hand. The wind rushed past as the train continued to pick up speed.

My hands found new holds, and I gripped them with all of my strength. Nico withdrew his hand from my back and grabbed the handle of the sliding door, wrenching it to the side until it gave way. He half-stepped, half-jumped inside, then pulled me in after him.

I fell to the floor of the car, panting. “Shit, I- I almost-”

Nico slid the door closed until only a gap half a foot wide remained. “We made it,” he sighed.

The car rattled, shaking the wooden crates inside. I pushed myself up and wiped my face. My heart threatened to jump out of my chest. “That was insane. Did we really need to jump onto a moving train?”

Nico took a deep breath. “With Karakul’s travel ban, the only way out is by truck or train. And this one happens to cross right through the Valram Mountain Range.”

“What?” I asked, shocked. Karakul was right in the middle of the range, where the tallest peaks lay. If we were to travel through the range, we would have to brave the great southern mountains.

I rested my head against a crate and tried to catch my bearings. Nico set down his pack, braced himself against the wall, and watched the city flash through the gap in the doors. Before long, the nose of the train tilted upward as we began to climb.

“Look,” Nico said, gesturing at the gap. I pressed myself against the floor and I crawled forward.

At first, all I could see were the trees, stripped bare from Karakul’s cold. But then, the train began to slow, turning and wrapping up the first of the hills. The world opened up all at once. Karakul sprawled out below us, its skyscrapers already dwarfed by our height. The city was bathed in grey smog, but beyond it, the sun was beginning to rise. Its rays spread soft yellow light over the snow-covered mountains, only fading away when they reached the great city. Past the buildings lay a forest of beautiful evergreens, a sight so incredible that I realized that I had stopped breathing.

“My god,” I whispered.

Nico looked past me. “Nothing compares to the feeling of leaving this damn city.”

Incapable of answering, I watched until the train turned again, leaving Karakul behind forever.