A dull, metallic blast from a truck-mounted bullhorn shattered the cold drizzle hanging over Sixth Street.
Marcus “Mac” Cole steered the heavy utility truck with his flesh-and-blood right hand, his scarred prosthetic left arm resting against the cold windowsill. Beside him, Dr. Victor Corvo peered through the rain-streaked glass, spectacles low on his nose.
In the rearview mirror, Mac saw the converted Morgue Van trailing their tracks, carrying Julian, Clara, Elena, and young Sammy Chen.
They were three miles south of the repossessed District 4 Substation, entering the border where Mill District 9 met District 5. Above the tenement roofs, the sky glowed amber with restored power. Every streetlamp along the main avenue hummed at steady sixty-hertz line frequency.
Near the intersection of Sixth and Ironworks Avenue, the road was chaotic with shouting voices and yellow roof beacons.
“Look at the curbs,” Dr. Corvo said, his voice dropping into a sharp clinical register. “They are assembling around the hydrants.”
Two gray flatbed trucks bearing the municipal crest of the Waterworks Division were parked diagonally across the intersection. Twin public-address horns barked a looped recording through the mist:
*“ATTENTION CITIZENS OF DISTRICT NINE AND FIVE. PURSUANT TO EMERGENCY CIVIC SURVIVAL GAZETTE RULE SIXTY-FOUR, THE CITY DRINKING WATER SYSTEM HAS SUFFERED CATASTROPHIC CONTAMINATION. RESIDENTS ARE ORDERED UNDER MUNICIPAL PENALTY TO OPEN ALL CURBSIDE MUELLER FIRE HYDRANTS IMMEDIATELY.
