by Kris Moger
This last part he said to Teddy; his face grew hot with shame.
“I’m sorry, okay?” he said, so weary he didn’t want to be calm. “But I can’t stand this. I can’t handle sitting here watching us all turn into living corpses because a few people control everything. Things shouldn’t be this way. Sunlight, life, water, it should all be ours. I can’t take this, and I want change. Things must evolve or what’s the point in existing?”
He held his father’s gaze. “And you know it. What is the point of scrimping for leftover air and water, killing ourselves over the whims of others? You know it, Pa. I’m worn out. We’re all exhausted, and we can’t sneak about anymore or there won’t be any of us left.”
It took a moment for his father to respond, but he nodded. “So, windows in the ceiling? Well, this is good.”
Jolon’s face brightened. “Yes, you missed this amazing sunrise.”
Their father raised his thick brow. “Sunrise? You witnessed a sunrise?”
Teddy chuckled. “Yep. The sky was gold and red before turning this soft blue colour. It was beautiful.” “We can do it, can’t we?” Pa asked, his voice quiet.
“Yes,” he replied, the word almost choking in his throat.
“Oh, how sappy can people get? I’m too tired for this mushiness,” Jolon moaned. “We’ve been up for almost a full day without so much as an hour’s sleep.” He drew a large gloop of mud out of his hair and tried to fling the glob away as it stuck to his fingers. “A lot of good my weekly bath did now. I am going to stink like this for the next week, and here you two are being all... all... yuck.”
“Ahh, Jol, let’s get you two home before you fall asleep right here,” Pa said, getting up.
“Oh, shyza,” Jolon moaned, standing, his hand on his lower back. “I think I lost twenty pounds in sweat.” He hauled up his trousers to emphasize his point.
“When we get back home, I’m eating until I can’t move. ‘Course I’m numb now, so that won’t mean much. Okay, until I regained the twenty pounds this torture took from me.”
Teddy attempted to listen to Jolon ramble as they made their way home, but his brain was too fuzzy with fatigue. He didn’t care about food; all he wanted was somewhere soft to plop on until he was no longer drooping. They stumbled in the house, and he realized Henri was not with them.
“Pa? Where’s our brute?”
His father sighed as he sat at the table. “He didn’t want to leave yet. He’s still digging. I tried to get him to stop, but, well, he needs to work things out of his system before he’ll be back.” He shifted toward Ma, and she sat beside him. She appeared so depleted so drained.
“We should all get some rest. I think we’ve done all we can for now,” she told them with a heavy sigh.
“What?” Jolon exclaimed, his eyes wide. “Wait, wha... what, where’s the food? Hungry... nothing but two potatocakes all day.”
Their mother got up and embraced him. “I’m sorry, dear, we shared what we had for now to feed the survivors.” Her voice broke as she held him tighter. “We are out at the moment. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t dismay, my boy. We’ll get more tomorrow,” Pa assured them with hugs. “There’s always a way to find more. Let’s go to bed.”
Numb and foggy, Teddy stumbled toward his bedroom.
“No food,” Jolon muttered as they shuffled to bed. “Rations gone, extras gone, and no credits to buy more.” “It was a worthy cause,” he said though the old terror of starvation threatened to resurface.
“Yeah, but what now?”
He went to his airbed and left his brother to his nightmares.
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Morning came with a start when he dislodged himself from his hammock and slammed to the floor. Everything ached as he got up and stumbled into the kitchen, his throat sore and dry. All the lights were out except one little dot, which kept flicking on and off at the table. A disgruntled Henri sat playing with the handlight Pa had given him. The brute’s face was bent with sorrow.
“Hey, Hen, you’re back,” he said, uncertain of how to approach the brute. He sat at the table and tapped an awkward rhythm on its surface. “Henri? You okay?”
Henri nodded then shook his head. “You own me; family owns me. Wot do I do?”
“We don’t own you, buddy. You’re your own person. We just hired you.”
He shook his head again. “I not bright.”
The brute spoke as though his words were difficult to say.
“I no schooling; I don’t; I no understand much and I clumsy because I don’t think. And I not good brute.” He gave a bitter laugh. “I not mean. Wish I was. If I was mean, I... I... I go up to bullies, those...”
“Scumbags,” he offered.
“Scumbags and rip heads off each until none left.”
“That is a noble sentiment despite how bad it might sound.”
Teddy jumped and turned to see his father resting his bent frame against the nearby wall. “Pa.”
His father chuckled. “Didn’t mean to intrude and startle you, but I couldn’t rest either. Your mother went to sleep and I hope will stay in bed until she has rested.”
He put a hand on Henri’s shoulder and squeezed. “Don’t worry, Henri. We understand. It hurts to witness this world go on this way, but what can a person do? Those people in Uppercity don’t seem to possess compassion or empathy, or any awareness of the suffering they cause. Well, most of them don’t. A few like Georges understand, but are too fearful and comfortable to do anything.”
“They worse than others,” Henri said.
“No, they just feel as powerless as we do. Who’s to say who is to blame for our situation? Do we live as puppets of Upperlord bullies? Or do we give them power over us?”
“I always thought you wanted to be an Upper,” Teddy admitted.
Pa’s expression turned sour. “At one time I thought that was the solution. If I joined them, I might influence them, but now I don’t think so.”
“Then we defeat them,” Henri said, his voice cold.
“And become them? Not an option I like. No, I think the boys are right. We have no alternative, but to alter our living arrangements.”
“So, we’re going back and see if we dreamed everything?” This time, it was Jolon who stumbled in. He shuffled over to Pa and hugged him.
“Yes, my sleepy one. I’m sure you didn’t dream it. Might be our best option. If we can establish our own colony, we will have the leverage to coexist as neighbours with Uppercity. We are taking a chance, but I cannot picture any other choice.”
He flipped open his well-supplied stash and rummaged around until he located a few cookies. “It’s not much, but it will be a start,” he said as he handed them each one. “Caden is too weak to come with us, and Deb is too young, but we can’t leave them here by themselves, unprotected.”
“I stay,” offered Henri, his face solemn. “I keep safe.”
Pa shook the man’s hand. “I appreciate your help.” He turned toward the others. “However, that does not solve the current problem of no food in this home. That must be our priority. Therefore, we will first make a visit to a friend or two. Jolon, please make certain all the stashes are prepared for a few days’ journey,” he said, handing him his sack.
“Fill the water containers and make sure the oxygen cylinders are at maximum. Plus, if you can find a few extra, throw them in, and make sure we take whatever batteries you can find. Dig into the new supply we brought back last time. We don’t want to risk running out of light.”
“Can’t Teddy help me?” he asked with a groan.
“’Fraid not. He and Henri are going to accompany me to the Uppercity. We should be back in an hour or so, and, with luck, with some food for everyone. Now mind you, don’t tell your mother where we’ve gone if she happens to get up. She’s had enough upsets for quite a while and I don’t want her to worry,” he added as they left.
“So, are we going to visit Georges again?” Teddy asked, doing his best to k
eep up with his father. They had set such a pace to reach Uppercity he felt stitches in his side muscles.
“That’s where we’ll start,” Pa said, passing the giant entrance. He paused and showed his travel permit to the sentry on duty before they went through as the guard opened the gate.
It was early morning now, and a gloomy glow touched Uppercity. No one was about. It was unsettling to realize this was the same sort of sunrise he witnessed the day before. The sunroom dawn had been so dramatic and bright. This one seemed dusty and dirty as though it was a leftover that slept under the mat all night.
“Where is everyone?” he whispered.
“They don’t rise until near midmorning,” Pa answered in a similar tone.
He wasn’t sure what to think. It seemed such a waste of time.
“Besides, the day is still new, and I don’t think even you are up this early on a regular basis.” He had a smattering of amusement in his voice, and Teddy chuckled.
“Guess so.”
They wandered through the market where the shops were all shut up with curtains and boards covering their goods. The only other people around were a few brutes who stood guard and stared with suspicion as they passed. Teddy thought they were going to find Georges in the same place they had before, but instead of going to the auction pavilion they turned off a side street that ended at a simple door. Pa knocked, and they waited and waited. His father knocked again. Henri seemed to run out of patience, and he pounded on the wood, rattling the door on its hinges.
“Calm, Henri. Remember, she’s our friend,” Pa cautioned. “Remember, she was good to you.”
The brute agreed with a reluctant grunt.
“I understand. You want the world to improve, but you need enough patience to let it evolve over at least a day. Otherwise, it won’t be for the better, and the shock will cause havoc.”
A small door to their left opened, and a face appeared: ugly and cross. “Yeha? Who are yeh and what de yeh want?”
“It’s Peterson, Duras, I need to see your Lord.”
“Eh, she’s going te bed. Yeh too early.”
“Come now, Duras,” his father continued, holding out a necklace with a green bauble on it. Teddy recognized it as something they picked from the first store they inspected at the mall. “I brought you a present.”
Her red, blue eyes went wide, and she reached for it through the tiny door with a wrinkled hand.
“Ah, ah, you must let us enter if you want it,” he said, and she cast curse eyes at him, her mouth working over ugly, distorted teeth.
She shut the little door with a bang. They heard her clicking lock after lock before the door opened wide and she held out her hand. Pa dropped the necklace on her palm as they invaded Georges’ home. She grasped her treasure and scurried away while he secured the door, turning the row of locks.
The room was grey except for a sliver of light filtering in through a half-covered window. Teddy peered through the glass, but all he discovered was a wall of dirt a few feet away, which went up and up.
He turned away.
Pa sat on an old armchair across from a couch. The lone figure of Georges lay on the dilapidated sofa, her hair askew and a bottle clutched in her hand. A dreadful noise similar to a dying motor emanated from her.
Henri hoisted one end of the chesterfield and dropped it. He shrugged and blushed as his father shook his head at him. “That’s how she always had me wake her up,” he explained and did it again.
This time, Georges snuffed and snorted before she half sat up. “Wha? Who, Duras, why are you letting riffraff in my home?” she bellowed as she glared at them. She rummaged under a cushion and wrenched out a lengthy blade, brandishing it. “Who are you and what do you want?”
“Georges, it’s me, Truman. Stop with the knife. We’re harmless.”
“Eh? Duras, get me a damn light.” She made an attempt at standing and fell back on the sofa.
Teddy lit a candle with a match from a pack sitting on the end table by his father’s chair.
She held her hands over her eyes. “Ahg. Damn people don’t realize it’s too early to be visiting no matter who the hell you are.”
Pa dropped a bottle in her lap. “Here, take a spot of what troubles ya. I’m in need of your assistance, and I need your head clear.”
The woman glared, her nose scrunching as her lips squished together, but she snatched up the bottle and took a dramatic drink. She belched, dragging her shirt across her chin. “I don’t take refunds on brutes,” she said, eyeing Henri. “I told you he was a horrible brute when ya hired him.”
“No, no, He’s fine. It’s another problem.”
“The kid?” she asked, thrusting a finger Teddy’s way, and he backed up. “I told you to hide ‘im, charming thing that he is.”
He had an urge to bathe as she scrutinized him.
“No, Georges, it’s not Teddy either.” His father leaned forward and caught her gaze. “You heard about the cave-in, yes?”
The Upperlord groaned and collapsed back in a listless heap. “Uhgh, Peterson, of course.” She guzzled more wine. “It rumbled through Uppercity the instant it happened. You know as well as I do, no one up here is going to help. You must petition the council like every other Underling.”
“Georges, you’re not listening.”
“No, Peterson, I’m not.” She drank again and burped.
“We’ve had this conversation before. You seem to think I’m more concerned than I am and you seem to think you can hold that against me. Well, you can’t. I’m as rotten as the rest of those rotten buggers, including my sister, who tell you what you can and can’t do, and don’t give a damn what happens to anyone else as long as they get their little piece of this pathetic society you call a world. So, you are whining to the wrong person. I’m scum and so is everyone else. You are talking to the wrong person.” She hiccupped and lay back down, burying her head in a pillow.
Henri yanked the cushion away, pulling Georges back up to a sitting position. She stared at him, stunned.
“You converted my puffy bear,” she protested. “You made a brute out of him. How dare you? I gave him to you ‘cause you were supposed to save him from such a fate.”
“Don’t dismay, Georges, he’s still a puffy bear he’s just done watching people die.” Pa sat back with his usual grin back on his face. “You are a fake, Georges; you might hide in cynicism, but you are soft inside and you know it.”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Georges objected with a pout.
“We don’t need much from you at the moment; we just need some food.”
The Upperlord narrowed her eyes as he studied Pa. “That’s all? You’re hungry? Well, no problem. The larder’s over in the corner. Go snack on a cookie or something.” She flopped back down again. “I think you might even find a few potatoes too. I’m not too fond of edibles, so there isn’t much, but indulge in something.”
“We don’t need a snack; we need food, Georges, as much food as we can get. I have a family to feed.”
Georges opened an eye, wide and buggy, and stared at him. “Oh, hell, you’re serious.”
“Yes, Georges, I am.”
“What can you give me?”
His father brought out a hand-sized drawstring sack from his jacket. “How about these?” He poured out an assortment of jewellery across the table.
“Oh, double hell with pickles,” she muttered under her breath. “Where did you get those?” She tugged a necklace from the pile and the gold chain shimmered in the candlelight. “I haven’t seen anything this good in years. There hasn’t been anything this good in ages. Even Madame Belle has run out of pieces of such worth. Where?”
“We scrounged it.”
“You scrounged it.” Georges nodded. “This kind of thing is not something you dig out of this pit of a world. I know. Anything worthwhile was collected years ago. Where are you getting this? Is there more? This is quality, Peterson, this... this... this is why you wanted a brut
e, isn’t it? You found a trove, and you need a brute to protect it, and I gave you the puppy brute. Damn.” She thrust her boney body up from the couch and paced, running her fingers through her hair and tugging at her arms.
“Damn, damn. This is dangerous. Don’t you understand? People here will take this from you without giving anything in return. They don’t want you up here, Peterson. I told you before; they don’t want anyone else up here, not even each other. They’re greedy and bored. They will take you and your family apart if they even suspect you found something extraordinary.”
“Calm yourself, Georges. I understand.” Pa got up and put a hand on Georges’ arm. “This is why I came to you. I need your assistance. This is a down payment. Between you and me we can manoeuvre this so nobody will realize anything until it is too late, but for now, I need food.”
“Oh, hell, Tru, you’re trusting me.” She threw a hand above her head. “That is such a bad idea. Why, how can you even think confiding in me is a good idea?”
“Because I know you, Georges. I know you better than you want me to, and you know that. You don’t like this world any more than I do. The only difference is you gave up searching for a solution whereas I still believe in the possibility of a new life. So, I trust you. I have to. This is the truth. My allies are rare, and you have always been good to me. You possess a heart. You hide in a bottle and pretend you’re terrible. Well, this is your chance to be what you are, a good person.”
“Bite your tongue,” Georges shouted, horrified. “That is a lie, a horrible lie... oh, hell....” Her words petered off as she slumped in defeat. “Fine. I don’t believe you, but I’ll humour you for now.”
“Thank you.”
“Wait here. I’ll... I’ll see what I can do.”
Chapter 7
What a dump. That was the best compliment Teddy could come up with for Georges’ place. In the past hour, while they waited, he searched through bags of bottles, stacks of illegible notes, and too many piles of soiled clothing.