The Last Mayor Box Set 1

by Michael John Grist

  Julio laughed. "See, right there, I told you. You do what you have to to survive; for me it's these guns, for you it's the lies. You're a survivor; I don't begrudge that. I respect it. We'd make a good team, you know? So imagine this. If I told you the only way to survive was to come over here and put your finger in this tube, would you do it?"

  She stared at him. "No."

  He laughed and smacked the desk so hard it rung out. "Liar! There you go again, surviving. If it meant your survival, I know you would. These others, they'd let pride get in the way, they'd get upset, but you'd just get it done. It's because you get it and they don't, because what kind of normal person rides with a dead person for months on end? You did it because you had to. Do you follow?"

  She shook her head. She didn't follow at all.

  "I'll break it down. Here we have these people who think that just because we're in a famous old theater with lights and popcorn and names on the street outside, we're still in the same old world. We're not. This is a whole new place with all-new rules, and I know you know that. You saw it in your Daddy's dead eyes while he walked off into the water. This whole world is screwed, and the rules have changed."

  She watched him. He sounded crazy, talking fast with his eyes wide open. It was scary. "I just want to see Amo."

  "Amo's not here now. Robert's not here. None of them are, it's just you and me. Rule number one," he pointed a thick finger at her, "you do what you have to to survive. Number two, you do what you want. That's it."

  She turned to leave.

  "Where are you going, Anna? Aren't we having a nice conversation?"

  She turned back around. "I'm looking for Amo. That's the only reason I came in here."

  He laughed again. She didn't like the laugh. He was the one who'd told her to shut up on the first night, she was sure. Now she just wanted to go.

  "No reason to be rude. You're not a rude little girl, are you?"

  "I'm not rude at all," she said, trying to sound adult, though now her voice sounded weak and babyish in her mouth. "I speak just as well as Alice and she isn't rude at all!"

  He raised an eyebrow. "Alice in Wonderland again? You need to burn that book, kid. Forget your father too. Get busy surviving, because the way things look now, with your precious Amo in charge," he swirled his hands in the air, "it's not going to last forever. So next time I tell you to come over here and do something for me, you had better hop to it for your own good."

  "I will not," she said, and walked sharply out.

  "Say hi to the puppies for me," he called, and his laughter chased her out.

  In the dark hall outside Anna stood and trembled.

  She hadn't felt like this in all the time she'd been traveling. She didn't like it. She didn't like Julio or any of the things he'd said. Amo was good, and Robert was good, and so was her father. Julio was the bad one. Things like this never happened to Alice. People were friendly, well except for the Queen of Hearts, and…

  She made all her muscles go tense so they'd stop trembling. She focused her head like she'd always done when the hurt was rising above her. She'd learned then that the only way forward was to push back or it would crush her, and how was the hurt any different from this feeling, really?

  Julio had a face and a voice, but it came to the same thing. The only way with the hurt was to fight. The only way with the ocean was to face them. Even Alice did it too; she went to the Queen of Hearts herself. She challenged her even though she was afraid, even though the Queen of Hearts said she would cut off Alice's head. Maybe it was the same thing. Maybe it was because of that fear that Alice became strong, and was able to go home and see her Daddy again.

  She walked back into the theater. Julio looked up.

  "You want to talk some more?" he asked. "Maybe you like me now, too."

  "You're trying to make me afraid," Anna said.

  He shrugged. "You think so? Maybe I'm trying to toughen you up."

  "I am tough!" she snapped. Her voice sounded stronger and louder now. "You think I killed the puppies? So think that. You told me to shut up the first night! You shut up. You laugh at me, but I know a man who would eat you to bits, and I wouldn't care a bit."

  He laughed again. "You mean your Daddy? He's a zombie, kid, get over it."

  "He's still better than you. If he saw this he'd eat you up. I saw him eat a person (here she lied a little), and I know he'd like to eat you too. The rest of the flood will as well, because they like me! They travel with me and they talk to me. If I want you gone they'll do it for me, I swear." She pointed her finger at him. "You remember that."

  "They're dumb zombies," Julio said. "They just walk. They don't listen."

  Now Anna laughed. This was resisting the hurt in whole new ways. It actually made her feel stronger, to string impossible things together like this.

  "Did you read Amo's comic? They killed Don to save him. They like Amo. They like me. They'll eat you if I ask them to."

  Julio advanced. His eyes were very bright, now. He came four steps closer, Anna counted each one, then stopped just two rows of seats away. "So call them," he said. "Bring them in and have them eat me right now."

  Anna took a step closer too. This was Jabberwock and vorpal sword time. To back down meant a life lived under the covers, and that was not who she was anymore.

  "I will," she spat back at him. "I might do it any time. You should be afraid of me. You go put your finger in the tube, if you like it so much. Make your rules. Do not try to scare me anymore."

  His body tensed, and for a moment Anna thought he would jump on her, like her Daddy had that first night. She got ready to dive to the side and run along the rows, though she knew he'd run faster than her. He looked so angry. His face twitched.

  Then his body relaxed. His face seemed victorious.

  "That's going to get you in trouble," he said at last.

  "What is? That I'm not afraid?"

  "No. That you're an entitled little bitch. The world's a bitch, you know, Anna? No need to be one. Now get lost."

  "You get lost. I came looking for Amo. Where is he?"

  Julio turned his back. "You figure it out. Ask a floater. Don't bother me again."

  He walked back over to his desk. He looked at his bits of metal. Anna felt her own eyes shine brightly.

  "They like me," she said, though it felt as if she'd somehow lost the exchange already. It made her angry and upset at the same time, even though she didn't understand the word he'd called her. Bitch. The intent behind it was clear. "The ocean, they're my family. Don't forget that."

  She walked out.

  15. AMO

  She found Amo in the office, an hour later. It had taken that long to get the shuddery coldness to go away. It wasn't fear like before, or anger, but something new, and she didn't like it. Julio had caused it.

  She put it to one side. One thing he'd said had been true; she was a survivor. She would survive him too.

  The office was a bright white room in the basement, with decorative bits of yellow wood on the walls, a long brown desk lined messily with chairs, and a big TV at the end. A generator sat next to it silently. They'd been using that in the last few days, flashing up screens from their computers for all to see.

  Amo was sitting at the middle of the desk, looking at a dozen pieces of paper spread across one of the big unfolded maps. At first he didn't notice Anna in the doorway, and she took a moment to admire him.

  He wasn't tall or huge, he wasn't even as big as her father, and he had soft floppy hair, but something about him radiated strength. He was the mayor. He'd dealt with Sophia and Don and he'd brought them all together. If she was like anyone at all here, it was Amo, not Julio. She'd known it ever since she saw the yellow pie-face on the Denver tower. His quiet blue eyes had seen things that all the others hadn't. His face looked tired and worried though.

  He chewed absently on a blue ball-pen.

  "You called me little sister," she said.

  Amo looked up, and his tired fac
e broke into a smile. That was nice to see.

  "I did," he said. "I hope you didn't mind."

  "I don't. I never had a brother, though."

  He got up from his chair and came over to her. It wasn't at all like Julio coming closer. He pulled up two chairs and gestured to one for her. She had to hop up into it to sit down. These new clothes (she hadn't been able to find a new and clean Alice dress yet, so she was wearing jeans) were not too stretchy, so it was tricky. He sat down too.

  "I never had a sister either, but that's how I'd like to think of you, if it's OK."

  Anna smiled. Smiling made her cute, she knew, and it was good to look cute to Amo. "Is Lara like your sister too?"

  He laughed. She'd known he would. "No. She's like a, hmm, wife maybe? Though that's a bit premature... Girlfriend, you know what that is?"

  She got shy suddenly and ducked her head. He laughed.

  "I get it. You're teasing me? Smart cookie, Anna."

  She didn't think anyone had ever called her a cookie before.

  "Are you looking for Robert?" he asked. "I think he's in the housing block still. Does he know you're here?"

  "No. It's OK, I'm looking for you."

  "Ah, well you found me. I wanted to talk to you too, anyway. It's been so busy, we never had a chance. Can I go first?"

  She nodded.

  "OK. So I just want to say how lucky we are to have you here. You've told us all about your travels, and I think we're going to need someone like you with us. I'm serious. You know the ocean in ways most of us don't. You've seen and lived things none of us can really imagine."

  She felt herself swelling with pride. It really felt like a balloon was blowing up inside her, with nice hot air.

  "Thank you," she said. "That's very nice."

  He smiled. She smiled. They sat there smiling for a little while.

  "Now it's your turn," Amo said at last. "What did you want to say to me?"

  She cleared her throat. This was the big one. "I can't stay."

  Amo just nodded. He didn't say anything about she was too young or too weak, like she'd been afraid of. He just said, "OK. Where do you have to go?"

  The way he accepted it made her feel close to tears. His eyes looked into hers and understood. Probably that was his gift too.

  "I have to find my father," she said.

  Amo leaned back in his chair. He tapped on the armrests for a minute. "That's a big job, Anna. They go into the ocean, don't they? How can you find your father when he went into the ocean? We have no idea if they come out anywhere, or if that's even possible. We don't know where they're going."

  "I do."

  "How?"

  This was her big secret. She couldn't tell it to just anyone, not after she'd spent so long figuring it out. Her Daddy had explained the main bits a long time ago, and seeing so many maps since then, and phones with their map apps all gone gray now, with the internet down, had made it clear.

  She could only tell it to Amo.

  "I have a tracking chip in my Daddy."

  Amo blinked, then frowned, then leaned forward in his chair. "What?"

  "He's got a tracking chip in him. He ate my dog on the first night, the Hatter, and the Hatter had a chip in his back, and now the Hatter's in my Daddy and I have my Daddy's phone and it tells me where he's going."

  Amo stared at her a moment longer, than he laughed. "A pet tracking chip! It must be RFID, what, maybe even keyed to a satellite? I've heard of this, they've been putting them into cars and phones for years, so why not dogs too? That's genius, Anna. You're a genius."

  She blushed. "He just ate my dog. His name was the Hatter. He was just a little puppy, so it was sad."

  Amo calmed himself. "Of course, I'm sorry for the Hatter. I lost a dog too, in New York. It hurt and I didn't even know that dog's name. But look what the Hatter's done for you. With his help you can find your father again."

  She nodded. A few of the tears crept out. To hear Amo say the Hatter's name made her go all wobbly inside. To have him talk about finding her father? It was all she could have hoped for. "He's somewhere in the ocean still, I think. In the water. The phone just shows gray, but it knows the direction."

  "That's amazing." He leaned back again. "I never thought of it."

  "So can we go?" she asked.

  A gray cloud came over his face then. The happy smile faded. "I don't think so, Anna. I don't want to lie to you. I don't think we can go any time soon."

  "Why not? We don't have to take everybody. It could just be you and me. You and me and Lara, maybe. We'll find him."

  Amo took her hand in both of his. He looked into her watery eyes.

  "And what then, Anna? I don't think he'll come back with us. He wants to go wherever he's gone. You know that."

  "I don't need him to come back," she said, crying properly now. "I just want to see him. I want to know where he went, and why he left me. I want to say goodbye properly."

  He squeezed her hand. He rustled in his pockets then in a bag by his feet, and pulled out tissues which he used to wipe her eyes and nose tenderly.

  "Hey now. It's OK. Listen, Anna, you know why I came here, don't you?"

  She tried to speak through the tears. Sobs were creeping up that made her hiccup. "Because you like movies?"

  He laughed a little. "Yes, good point, but it's not only that. I wanted to make a place for people to come. Like a lighthouse, you know what that is? So I made the cairns, like Pac-Man and Michael Jordan and the others, to guide people here. I made the comics. I wanted to stop people from hurting the ocean, and stop them from hurting themselves. It's hope. And now you've arrived, you're the first! I can't leave now. I have to do more."

  "But," Anna mumbled, "but…"

  "Shh. I know. I know it's important; I want to know where they go too. I want to help them if I can, I promised that to Cerulean, to Robert. But think of all the actual proper people out there who are lost, who are alone, like you were and I was. I have to find them all now, Anna. I have to make this lighthouse a bright and safe place where they can live and be happy. That's a hard job, I think. I don't even know if I can do it. The world's so different now, isn't it? Plus, not all of the people who come will be good. I'm hopeful, but I'm not living in a fantasy. You read about Don in the comic? I have to deal with people like that, who might be good or might be bad, but we just don't know. I can't trust anyone else do it. I need to protect them. Do you understand that?"

  She sniffled. "Because you're the mayor?"

  "Because I'm the mayor."

  "Julio's not good," she managed to say between tears.

  "What? Why do you say that?"

  She didn't feel bad to tell him what had happened in the dark theater. What Julio had called her. Amo's teeth grated together while they spoke. His eyes got angry.

  "I'll deal with him," he said when she was done. "There has to be some kind of punishment for that. He absolutely should not have said any of that to you, Anna, not at all. There is no excuse whatsoever, and I'm very glad you told me. That was very brave. But I don't want you to be afraid. I don't think Julio is a real threat. He's just scared too, and he took it out on you. I have to watch out for things like this, and do what I can to change them. I think you do understand why I can't go with you now."

  She nodded. It wasn't fair but it made sense. What if there were other little boys and girls out there, and other Julios and Dons to scare or hurt them, and there weren't people like Lara and Amo to help? She couldn't be the cause of that.

  "So when?" she asked.

  He smiled, and gave a little sigh. "I don't know, Anna. Honestly. When this place is ready. When you're ready. I really don't know when that will be. But there are things we can do to get ready. We can try and get the coordinates out of your phone. I don't know how much range it has, or when the satellites will start to fail. We can learn about sailing across the ocean. I don't think we'll be flying again for a while. We build this place and ourselves up. Can you agree to that?"

/>   She nodded. She shifted her hand in his so it was a proper handshake, and they shook.

  * * *

  Later that night she sat alone in her new room, in her new chair looking out of her new window, holding her Daddy's old phone in her hands. The yellow dot was flashing, flashing, flashing on an empty map of gray.

  She looked out to sea. Every now and then gray people walked past her, like shooting stars coming out of the cereal box but extra slow, headed for the water.

  Her Daddy was out there still. He was leading the flock, first in line to do whatever he had to do, marching onward with a thousand others just like him.

  It made her feel tingly to think of. She watched the dot flash and flash and flash like a pulse, like the phone itself was alive, reminding her of all her promises. She'd made the Hatter a promise that she couldn't keep, to love him forever. She'd made the puppies a promise she couldn't keep. She wasn't going to break this promise too.

  "I'm coming, Daddy," she whispered. "I'll find you."

  LOOKING GLASS

  16. 10 YEARS LATER

  Anna's single hull racing yacht cut through the waves off Muscle Beach like a comet. The wind rushed through her long dark hair and she leaned back at full stretch off the starboard rail, hiking the craft hard into the wind with the weight of her body. It tore along at a sharp forty-five degree angle, tilted over to port. Her every muscle flexed like a bowstring at full tension and she reveled in the rush.

  "Yee-haa!" she screamed into the spray and the surf.

  Waves crashed by only inches beneath her, each one strong enough to rip her grip away. One mistake and the yacht would capsize and all her efforts to fine-tune it would be lost. That's what made the rush so high.

  The sun beat down on her deeply tanned skin and she yanked hard on the halter, turning the keel beach-ward just enough to ease off the pressure and let her bend out of full stretch. As she bent inward the yacht responded and the sail flapped as the wind fell away, coming out of full racing sprint.