Nahla~

Ramae sees us all out the door and disappears back inside. Darius, Holly, Nadya, and Allarie walk down the street to the streetcar stop. Lena sprints up the mangrove stair at the end of the street into the high-rising treetop district. I climb on my bike and head to the city center. 

Ten minutes later, I lift my backpack out of my bike basket with a happy sigh. I've gotten used to being busy around the city through four years of messengering, but I'm still always happy to crash on my bed. I push open the door from the lobby, climb the stairs, and plop myself on my bed. For a minute I just lie there, looking out my window at the sky and the trees gently swaying in the breeze, looking up at the solar glass and wrought iron designs on the domed ceiling, feeling my thankfully soft comforter. And then I sit up, alert again. Belle and Rhyker are stealing my city, my capital. We have to get them.

I dump my backpack onto the floor of my room, sorting through its contents, picking what to take and what to leave here. 

Nahla~

The contents of my backpack are now spread out over my bamboo wood floor: laptop, notebook, pens, water bottle, energy bars, hoodie, phone, toolkit, first aid kit, citali credit card, map, and the file folder on my current projects: in this case, Rhyker.

I pack everything back in, then add extra energy bars, socks, and water. I don't know how long we're going to be out of the capital, looking for Belle and Rhyker. We will stay as long as it takes.

Two hours later, everyone is in my room, sitting on my floor, window nook, bed, and couch. Holly pins a map on the wall and starts talking, explaining what we're going to do. 

"We'll leave Citali through the turbine wall exit, near Darius's warehouse," she says. "The road there extends through the whole country -- it's basically the main one. We can travel that way as long as we need to, following any lead we can find on Rhyker and Belle. Let's do this."

She folds her map, and I lead us back down the stairs and outside. Everyone mounts their bikes, including Holly and Nadya, who are riding together on a tandem bike, and we set off towards the edge of Citali. 

Nahla~

The bearded old man runs away at the sight of the newcomer. How we didn't see the tall shooter is a total mystery -- the land is flat, and the wall is bright yellow, contrasting with everything else. 

The tall man whips up an arm holding a pistol faster than any of us can move. Nadya, examining the wall, freezes in terror. As if in slow motion, the rest of the scene plays out: The squeezing of the trigger, Nadya, tackling the librarian to the ground. The  bullet hits the wall of gold with a bang like a steel drum and just stops. Like that. As if it was never fired.

Darius is the first to react. "Who are you?"

The tall man gives a slow grin. "Good question, Darius Gamma. But another good one is -- why are you and your friends out here?"

Wait, sorry 'bout this, but I'm confused. How many Rhykers are there? 

Nahla~

Darius helps us get through the door. Allarie is still holding her gun ready, but the Rhyker looks like he's done here. We collapse on the ground outside the wall as the golden door slides shut, cutting off our view of the Rhyker... and of Citali. 

I bend over Allarie with a bandage, and Nadya produces a vial of cream.

"That was crazy," she comments, handing Allarie the supplies. "Holly, is this normal?"