“Six Wardens seems like a bit of overkill for little you,” she teased in a whisper as we started walking. “Are you secretly an assassin or something?”
“That would be a lot more interesting than the truth,” I muttered in response.
Unibrow cut us a reprimanding glare and we fell silent as we kept walking.
We headed back towards the elevators, the numbers on the doors descending as we passed them. A Warden, who I named Needs-a-wash as a waft of rancid air blew into my face from his direction, held the elevator door open for us.
Needs-a-wash opened the secret pad as before and the retina scanner did what it does. I surreptitiously moved as far away from him as the elevator and my escort allowed as I held my breath, not looking forward to being in an enclosed space with him for the ride up.
"Warden seven-five-five-four, where would you like to go?" the smooth voice asked over the speakers.
“Transport," he replied and the elevator soared up. My ears popped and my knees buckled a little under me.
The journey took several minutes before coming to an end and we stepped out into an empty corridor.
“Level eighty, alight here for Transport."
“Are we there?" I asked.
"It's not in this tower," the pretty female Warden supplied. She had kind eyes, soft blonde hair and didn't look much older than me. I wondered what had drawn her into a career with the Wardens.
We headed on down the corridor at a brisk pace and people moved aside to let us pass.
"But there are no Walkways up here," I said to her, feeling confused.
“Wardens don't have to use the Walkways to get around," she replied before going quiet at another look from Unibrow. It may have been a frown but it was hard to tell.
At the end of the corridor, we moved through another pressure sealed door into a huge chamber with the far wall open to the air. The wind whipped around us as it was funnelled through the confined space and whooshed back outside again. My heart pumped wildly at the feeling of the fresh air on my skin and I couldn’t contain the smile which tugged at my lips.
The chamber was at least two storeys high and was lined with small helicopters. I’d seen the helicopters flying back and forth between buildings, usually whilst I was trying to forge a path along the Walkways. I’d never thought I’d get to see one up close though, let alone ride in one.
They were mainly painted the sleek grey that marked them as Warden property but here and there I spied some with different coloured paintwork. Those had names scrawled across their sides which labeled them as belonging to various high ranking officials and Guardians within the city.
Each of the helicopters were stationed on wheeled platforms which moved along tracks that crisscrossed the ground.
We moved towards a grey helicopter whose propellers were slowly starting to rotate. The pilot was already onboard and preparing for departure.
Lucretia quickly moved into the seat next to the pilot and tightened a buckle across her lap.
Hook-nose was in front of me, he jumped onboard and turned to help pull me into place behind him. I scooted over to sit by the window and peered out excitedly.
The rest of the Wardens clambered up behind me, settled into the other seats and buckled themselves in.
“Its not all bad, hey?" the female Warden whispered to me as she slid into the seat next to mine. "Laurie." She introduced herself.
“Maya." I smiled back. If she was willing to be friendly then maybe I wasn't in too much trouble.
The helicopter lurched forward as the carriage beneath it started moving along the tracks. We manoeuvred out of the line and turned sharply to face the open wall. I could hear the blades spinning faster and faster as we closed in on the exit. We passed out from under the roof of the cavernous room onto a ledge which protruded from the side of the building and the pounding of my heartbeat turned into an all out sprint.
As we reached the furthest edge where the city sprawled away beneath us, the carriage stopped moving and the helicopter began to lift into the air.
The bottom dropped out of my stomach as we soared higher. I snatched at my seatbelt in panic and fumbled with it as I tried to work out how to do it up. Laurie leaned over to do it for me and I smiled gratefully as I tried to get my breathing under control.
The platform sped away below us at an astounding rate. We got level with the top of The Wall, which was around one hundred stories up then soared over it for maybe fifty feet.
I strained my eyes, looking towards the horizon, searching for something out there past the dusty brown landscape that surrounded the city in every direction but one. As I looked towards the ocean, I could make out waves crashing to and fro, creating white lines along the deep blue surface which called to me with promises of adventure and the unknown.
The helicopter began to bank hard right and turn back over The Wall and I was soon looking out at the wasteland again, dirt and dust extending eternally.