"So how do we get in without going through the checkpoint?" Toivo asked.
"Just find a spot where nobody looks and do your thing and we'll have a hole!" Ella suggested.
"Sometimes the obvious solution is the best solution." 32A added.
"Well, let's go then." Toivo simply said and got moving along with the others.
They followed the railroad until they could see the train station outside the city and the border fences of the city.
"There's the train station. Let's stay far away from that." Ella said and stopped walking.
They diverted from the train tracks and turned right while keeping an eye on the metal fence surrounding the city. They went into the woods outside the city and when they figured they were far enough away from the train station, they went back towards the fence.
"There's streets and buildings on the other side. Would it be safe to break the fence here?" Toivo asked.
"Is that a school on the other side? Well, it's Sunday so there should be nobody there. And besides, if we tried to find a place where nothing is on the other side, we wouldn't find one. So maybe this is a good place." Ella answered.
"Let's do this then." Toivo said and focused on the fence.
The fence was made up of several horizontal metal bars that were too close to each other for any person to fit between them. Toivo used his ability to snap parts of some bars and made the bits fall off, creating a gap that they could all walk through.
"Let's just get in quickly and not stay around. We should be gone before anyone notices the hole." Toivo said once they were all inside the city's borders.
They ran onto the main road that was just a few steps away. On one side of the road was the small school house with boarded windows and on the other side were some five story apartment buildings.
"Where do we even go? Where's the central police?" Toivo asked Ella.
"I don't know. I don't know this place well. We need a map and we need to ask directions." Ella replied.
"We are not asking directions! We should avoid talking to people. Anyone might recognize us." Toivo argued.
"Well, what do we do then? How do we get a map if we can't talk to people?" Ella asked.
"What if I do the talking and you two stay in the back? Nobody here should know who I am." 32A suggested.
"That actually works." Ella commented.
"Good idea." Toivo added.
"I knew that I'd be useful. Big sister is right again." 32A said smugly.
"Right. So let's at least go deeper into the city and see if we can find a place where Three could find a map. A store or something might have a map on a bulletin board." Ella suggested.
"And where do we find a store?" Toivo asked.
"I don't know. Somewhere. Eventually." Ella said and took the lead.
They headed south and deeper into the city through the quiet streets on the outskirts of the city. The neighborhood seemed to be well maintained but oddly quiet.
"Is this what cities are like? I thought they'd be busier." 32A wondered.
"They're a lot busier closer to the center. I hope the central police isn't there. But it probably is." Ella answered.
"We shouldn't risk going where the people are just to find that out." Toivo commented.
"Should we go to a library and use the computer and just search where the place is?" Ella suggested.
"Do you know where the nearest library is?" Toivo asked.
"Well, no."
"I could just ask somebody who has a phone to look it up." 32A suggested.
"But of course." Ella said and slapped her forehead disappointed in herself for not thinking of that.
"Somebody like that guy?" Toivo asked and pointed at a worried looking balding man who was walking briskly.
"Sure. You two go away and let me do this." 32A said and casually approached the worried man.
"Hey, baldie. Can I ask something?" 32A asked the man.
"Better be quick. What is it?" The man rudely replied.
"I just need some directions. You know where the central police headquarters are?"
"I don't know where it is." The man simply replied and was about to walk away.
"Well, do you have a phone? Can you show the route?"
"Agh. Fine then." The man said and pulled a smartphone out of his pocket.
"Why are you in such a hurry anyway?" 32A asked.
"I don't know if you heard, but a boat of disease carriers just arrived in the port and some of them ran away into the city. I am not staying in this city anymore. I need to get my things from home and get out. So here's the route to the central police. Is that the place you're looking for?" The man said and showed the screen of his smartphone and the route to the headquarters.
"Thank you so much. And you do understand that the disease that they keep telling you about disappeared almost entirely a long time ago and none of the "disease carriers" are actually carrying it?" 32A said to the worried man.
"Oh. You're one of those crazy people. Get away from me. You've probably been near the disease carriers thinking it's all safe. Get away!" The man said and hurried away.
32A returned to Ella and Toivo who were leaning on a wall on the other side of the road.
"I saw the route and it's still in my memory for now. We should copy it." 32A said to them.
"We could have copied it on that paper that you threw away in the train." Toivo said back.
"Forget about it. The route was pretty straight. But also pretty long. I can ask somebody else if I forget the route along the way." 32A suggested.
"I know that there's a railway inside these borders that's out of use. It begins at the station where we would have hopped off if we didn't do it sooner. That was the final stop so the rails after that stop are all abandoned. The railway leads into the city pretty well." Ella commented.
"And the headquarters are pretty deep in the city. So that's a good idea." 32A added.
"How do you know so much about the city?" Toivo asked Ella.
"One of my old classmates lives here and has told me some things when we've chatted." Ella answered.
"Useful." 32A stated.
"But what did you say to that man to make him run off in such a way?" Ella asked 32A.
"I told him that the disease he's so scared of is no big deal and that the disease carriers he's so scared of aren't actually carrying anything."
"Looks like he didn't believe you." Ella stated.
"I can't fault anyone for being worried. They've been told how things are and they have no way to know how they really are. Only the illegal traders know the truth and even they're getting hunted down now." Toivo commented.
"I just wanted to defend the people escaping the Deadland and I hope I can change at least some people's minds." 32A added.
"Do you feel some kind of oneness with those people?" Ella asked curiously.
"I do. I've seen how it's like in there. During my short visit there I met good people, but I also saw killers. Still, they're all just people trying to survive. People whose struggles I understand and whose language I understand." 32A answered.
"I don't feel much oneness with them. The only people there who were ever nice to me were Ilona and the friends who I now consider my family. Everyone else were just mean commanders and blindly obedient soldiers who bullied the weak. I was held captive and had guns pointed at me in all places that I went to. And you were held in a slave camp before you left that place. That land is covered in rot, but I still want to stop the bomb because the people who live there are still people." Toivo added.
"But the New Tower is gone now. Ilona's letter even mentioned that things are different there now. I saw it myself when I was there. Yes, the slavers are still there but there can't be that many of them." 32A argued.
"I know, but I still can't see those people as my people. When we went there, the first person we met threatened to kill you. Is that who's coming here?"
"It's the victims of those people who are coming here. They're escaping the evil people who live there."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I saw some of the people who I stayed with leave the others behind to come here! And why would the murderers want to leave their lawless land and come here to be under the law anyway?" 32A argued.
"Why are you even arguing about this? We have places to go and things to do." Ella asked.
"You brought it up." Toivo said to Ella.
"Well, I'm sorry that I did." Ella said.
"If it's the people who just want to survive who are coming here, then yes I do feel a kind of oneness with them. I also came here to get out of that place. So I'll give you that." Toivo said to 32A.
"That's lovely to hear that both of you think that way. Now let's get going. The tracks shouldn't be far." Ella said, wanting to end the conversation.
"From the map I remember the tracks being uhh... This way?" 32A guessed and led the way.
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"Are you sure these tracks are out of use?" Toivo asked Ella once they had hopped over some rusty sheet metal fence and landed on some tracks.
"They've been out of use for years. Do you hear any trains around? The final stop was outside the border fence. Nobody is here." Ella assured.
Just as she said that they all heard the sound of furious peddling and squeaking from behind them. They all turned around and saw four young men all dressed in black tracksuits riding bicycles and holding metal pipes. One of them struck Toivo in the jaw with a pipe before he could even react and then the four of them dismounted their rides and surrounded the three tourists.
"Some tourists here!" One of them shouted.
"Fucking clown! One of them is in the coast guard! Look at her jacket!" Another shouted.
"She probably got it from her dad. Look at her." A third one said and put his pipe on Ella's chin as she was crouched and checking on Toivo who fell down from the strike.
"Whatever you want, we don't have it. So back off." 32A warned.
"And who says we want anything?" One of them asked ominously.
"We should ask what you want. Why are you on our tracks?" Another asked.
"Your tracks?" Ella asked with contempt.
"We're on our way into the city. So let us go and nobody will get hurt." 32A threatened and kicked Toivo's foot while he was still holding his jaw.
"Are you threatening us? Do you need glasses? Can you count?" One of them taunted.
Just then one of their bicycles exploded with the pieces flying everywhere. The attackers all took a step back and Toivo stood up with his jaw hanging loose and open. The attackers took another frightened step back after seeing that. One of them hit Toivo in the arm and another hit him in the knee, causing him to go down again. One of them pointed a pipe at 32A's throat but she ripped it away from the attacker's hand and hit him in the gut with it. She then got hit in the back by another attacker and fell down. She dropped her pipe which was picked up by the attacker who she took it from.
"What the fuck did you do? You wanted to fight us?" One of them shouted to 32A and Toivo who were both down.
The four attackers then pointed their pipes at Ella's throat just as she was digging her pocket.
"And what are you trying to do?" One of the attackers said to Ella.
"Don't do it. Just scare them away." Ella said to Toivo, which confused the attackers.
One of them kicked Toivo in the jaw while he was in so much pain he could barely stay conscious, and then turned back to Ella.
"You talking to your friend here? Don't do what? Did he shoot my ride to pieces?" One attacker said menacingly to Ella.
While the four were busy with Ella, 32A put her hand on Toivo's back and used her ability to heal his wounds and give him strength. Toivo got his head back in the game and saw what was happening. He made pieces of old train tracks shatter into splinters, spooking the attackers, and then he made their pipes snap in half.
"You keep your hands off her." Toivo quietly warned.
"What the fuck is happening?" One of the attackers wondered nervously.
"Is there some damn sharpshooter somewhere here?" Another attacker wondered and then they all looked around nervously.
"And how is that dude's jaw all fine now?" One of them wondered after seeing Toivo's jaw all healed now.
"Some freaky shit is happening here!" One of the attackers said and ran away.
The others then followed and ran away too. Ella got low and checked on Toivo and looked at his jaw.
"Are you okay? He hit you pretty hard." Ella asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, thanks." Toivo answered.
"I was hurt too!" 32A complained.
"Well, are you okay?" Ella asked her.
"I am. I healed my own pain." 32A answered and grinned cheekily.
"So what's the problem then?" Ella asked.
"Nothing anymore. I just wanted attention." 32A answered.
"Ugh. Anyway. Let's keep going." Toivo said and stood up.
"And the attackers left their bikes. We can get there faster now. I usually don't want to steal but these guys deserve it." Ella pointed out and took one of the bikes from the ground.
"Let's hope the tracks aren't icy. You two still remember how to ride a bike?" Ella said once she got on the saddle.
"Probably." Toivo answered and got another bike up from the ground.
"Are you wishing you had used my bike some more when you had the chance? I told you that you're both welcome to use it but you never did." Ella said.
"Hey, I used it a few times when I wanted to explore the nearby area around us." Toivo answered.
"You taught me how to ride it and shortly after that, I used it once to ride away when your dad came over to us just to yell at everybody." 32A answered as she was getting the feel of how to ride the bike again.
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The three of them rode along the abandoned train tracks, seeing graffiti filled sheet metal fences on both sides along with rooftops of buildings that they went past. The tracks went under a highway at one point and under the highway were some tents.
"Looks like these tracks aren't as abandoned as I expected." Ella pointed out.
"Do people live here?" Toivo wondered.
"There are no homeless people in Sweden. At least that's what the government controlled media always proudly says." Ella replied.
"Should we go around the tents? The last people here weren't that nice." 32A asked.
"If anyone tries anything, we can just speed past them." Toivo replied.
"Is there even anyone in those tents?" Ella wondered.
"Want to find out?" Toivo asked.
"Let's just speed past them." Ella said and started pedaling forward.
The others followed behind her and once they got to the tents, 32A slowed down. The only sound that could be heard was an eerie sound of wind and the distant noises of the city. 32A stopped completely because something in the tent was interesting to her. She dismounted her bike and got closer to the tent. Toivo noticed what she was doing when he turned back to look, but he didn't speak out in case people were in the tents. He dismounted his bike and ran to 32A without saying a word. Ella also noticed what was happening and ran to the scene. Before either could stop 32A, she peeked inside one of the tents.
"As I thought. Empty." 32A said without trying to be quiet.
"How did you guess?" Toivo asked.
"It just didn't feel like any life was in there. And the other tents look the same way." 32A answered.
"And why is this important?" Ella asked.
"It isn't. I just wanted to know if we had a reason to be worried." 32A said and looked inside another tent that turned out to be vacant too.
"So whoever was here isn't here anymore?" Ella wondered.
"Or they're just away." Toivo added.
"Why would they all be away at the same time?" Ella asked.
"And why would there be a diary here where the latest entry simply says: "It's over. They found us." with fresh ink?" 32A asked.
"What else does it say?" Toivo asked.
"I hate the state. I hate the United Nation Project. I hate the police and I hate laws. Yesterday I was rolling in money as a self employed success and now I'm hiding under a highway in a tent with no-contact refugees because the rulers fear self sufficient people and don't want any around." 32A read from one part.
"Sounds like somebody got a bad break." Ella commented.
"If all these people were taken away, it looks like the police is not playing around." Toivo added.
"Yep. So off to the central police headquarters we go!" 32A said jokingly.
And so they continued their journey along the rails, hearing some distand sounds of the city along the way and being nervous about knowing that the police has been there. After a while they arrived at the entrance of a tunnel that goes under a part of the city. They saw nothing but darkness in the tunnel.
"You think we should go through? You think there's anything on the other side?" Toivo asked.
"It's a tunnel. But it might be sealed." Ella theorized.
"That would make it a cave then. We're not afraid of caves. Remember our little bunker adventure long ago? This is a little like that." 32A said to Ella.
"I guess it wouldn't be too bad to at least go see. Even if it's a cave, we can turn back. So let's go through." Ella said and took the lead.
The others followed and the daylight behind them faded away quickly and soon they were surrounded by complete darkness.
"I think we should slow down before we crash into a wall." Ella commented with her words echoing in the darkness.
"Who's there?" A voice from the distance echoed.
Everybody went quiet.
"Who's there?" The voice called again, this time more angrily.
"We're passing through!" Ella shouted back, hoping that the shouter would believe it.
"My home!" The voice shouted from the darkness.
"Your home?" Ella shouted back.
"My home!" The voice shouted even more angrily.
"Can we just pass through and get to the other side?" 32A shouted into the darkness.
"Who's there? My home!" The voice screamed from the darkness.
The voice kept repeating: "My Home!" from the darkness, getting closer and closer. Ella remembered that she had the flashlight still with her. The voice kept getting ever closer to the point that they all almost panicked until Ella managed to find the button that lits the flashlight. Once there was light, Ella saw some pale and bony man an arm's length away from her. The attacker shoved Ella down and started stabbing a rusty shiv into her gut repeatedly and screaming. Ella's flashlight was on the ground and pointing somewhere else, making the brutal details invisible to the others. As soon as Toivo comprehended what was happening. He tackled the attacker away from Ella and was ready ready to kill him. He wrestled with the attacker on the ground until 32A hit the attacker in the head with the flashlight, causing him to let go of Toivo. 32A then pointed her light at Ella who was on the ground with a pool of blood on her gut, struggling to breathe. Both of the twins noticed it and rushed to Ella.
"Don't just let her die! Save her!" Toivo shouted to 32A desperately.
"That's what I'm doing!" 32A shouted back and focused on Ella's gut and put a hand on her shoulder.
Toivo glanced back at the attacker and in the dim lighting he saw that the attacker was moving but not attacking.
"How is she?" Toivo asked 32A while keeping an eye on the attacker who was rolling around and holding his own head.
"Getting more lively." 32A answered.
Toivo turned back to Ella and saw her coming back. Ella's eyeballs were looking around.
"Don't let go of her until she speaks." Toivo insisted.
He wiped the pool of blood away from Ella's gut and opened her jacket to look if any wounds were left and just as he did that, he saw through the punctured holes in her shirt as the rest of her wounds closed.
"Please say something, Ella." Toivo begged.
"Look out!" Ella shouted at Toivo when she saw the attacker getting up.
Toivo just left a confused sound but 32A stood up and smashed the flashlight into the attacker's head a second time. Toivo lended a hand to Ella and they both stood up to look at the attacker who was on the ground again and getting a light pointed at him by 32A.
"You! Why are you here?" 32A asked the attacker in her native language once she recognized the attacker as one of the tent people whose name she never found out.
"Why are you here?" The attacker asked back.
"I had to come back here for my family." 32A answered.
"I had to leave that dump. There's no future there." The attacker explained.
"And why did you attack us? We explained what our intentions are."
"I didn't understand your answer. All I knew how to say was "Who's there?" and "My home." so that's what I said." The attacker explained.
Toivo then grabbed him by the collar.
"Why did you attack Ella?" He furiously asked him.
"I'm not letting anybody get me! Not after I've gotten this far. Anybody could be a cop. I've already had to get rid of one who found me." The attacker said threateningly.
Toivo was about to punch the man in the face but then just let go of him and stepped over him.
"You don't want to punish him?" 32A asked.
"He's in the same situation as us. Just dealing with it differently." Toivo said and stepped on the attacker's shiv.
He then looked at it and made it shatter into pieces.
"What are you two taking about? Do you know that guy?" Ella asked, not having understood any of what 32A, Toivo and the attacked had said to each other.
"He came from the Deadland and he's now hiding from the police. He thought that we were cops." Toivo explained and mounted his bike.
"And he just attacks everyone who comes around? He's a menace!" Ella said.
"Well, maybe that guy can deal with him." 32A said in disgust when she pointed the flashlight deeper into the tunnel and saw a lifeless body in a blue uniform seated by the wall of the tunnel.
Ella and Toivo looked into the distance and saw what 32A also saw. Ella looked away when she recognized what it was. 32A and Ella mounted their bikes too and continued forward. Ella kept her eyes away from the body while 32A kept glancing at it to see if she was close to it, but didn't want to keep looking at it. Once 32A was near the body, she tossed the flashlight to the body and then focused on it as she rode past it, bringing life back to the body.
"Okay. Let's go before he sees us. Let him find the crazy attacker himself. We need to go somewhere else." 32A said and picked up speed.
"So that's what kind of people are coming from the Deadland to here." Toivo commented while pedaling forward in the darkness.
"What are you trying to say?" 32A asked.
"I don't think I believe you when you say that the people who are coming are fine people." Toivo argued.
"I... Can't really say anything to that." 32A replied.
"We're still stopping that bomb for Ilona." Toivo said and kept pedaling when light became visible in the distance.
"Remember where the headquarters are?" Toivo asked 32A.
"I forgot. So many other things have come along. Sorry." 32A answered.
"We'll just ask somebody else then." Toivo said.
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They went through the tunnel and came back to daylight that hurt their eyes but raised their spirits a little. They were once again surrounded by spray painted sheet metal fences on both sides, not knowing at all where they were. Ella was not in the mood for talking after what happened in the tunnel, and so Toivo and 32A both decided to keep quiet too. After a lot more quiet pedaling under daylight that was fading away, the finally arrived at what looked like the end of the road. They saw solid concrete walls and train platforms below a large building around them at the final stop, as well as windows on some of the walls.
"That looks like a train station in some way. Why are the lights on? Isn't it supposed to be abandoned?" Ella wondered, finally opening her mouth.
"Maybe it has a new purpose." 32A guessed.
"Now that I think about it, my friend told me about this. She mentioned how a train station here has been turned into a museum once the trains stopped coming inside the city." Ella explained weakly.
"We're in the city now! But how do we get to the streets? I don't see a straight way into the streets." 32A wondered.
"Guess we'll have to go through the museum." Ella said.
"Don't those require some kind of an entry fee?" Toivo asked.
"They do. But maybe we can get in without it. They won't expect anyone to come in from this side. Let's try." Ella answered and rode closer to the building where the lights were on.
They all dumped their bikes on the tracks. There were several platforms for boarding trains under the main building that was held up by pillars and all of the platforms were completely empty, so it was easy to spot any staircase that leads up into the building above the platforms.
"Let's go in though there and see if we can get inside the building that way, since that seems to be the only way into the streets." Ella said robotically and led the way.
The others followed and climbed up a set of stairs leading to a door at the top. It was a thick metal door with a handle on it. Ella took a deep breath and was about to open the door before Toivo stopped.
"Are you alright? You haven't looked yourself after what happened in the tunnel." He asked her worriedly.
"How am I supposed to be myself? It was the worst pain I've ever felt and I saw my world turning dark! And you did nothing to punish him!" Ella complained.
"It was you who taught me to think that way! I wanted to punish him at first but I came to my senses when I thought what you might think. Punishing the attacker wouldn't have helped us in any way. And besides, Three revived the cop who might get him. You want me to start hurting and killing people now?" Toivo said to Ella seriously and looked at her.
"You thought about what I'd think?" Ella asked.
"I did. And I have for a while now. I avoided hurting anyone when we were being chased at the ice, or when the pipe gang attacked us. All because you wouldn't have wanted me to. This month I've killed someone and broken bones from others, but not after you told me not to. You're the only reason why I haven't hurt more people, and now I don't actually want to hurt anyone if I don't have a reason. Sometimes it's just the only idea I have." Toivo explained.
"Good for you." Ella said coldly.
"Don't be proud of me. It should be obvious. I was just slow."
"Maybe you were. But we shouldn't be slow. We should get going already." Ella said and put her hand on the door handle and opened the metal door.
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