Down and Out: A Young Adult Dystopian Adventure (The Undercity Series Book 1)

by Kris Moger

  “Don’t know, but consider how much time it took us to get through to here. I think most people, in the beginning, were trying to struggle through and survive with what they had. I figure the general way of life became more important as society settled, so no one even thought there might be anything beyond our world. Think about how long that door had been in Pa’s family as a secret treasure before anyone even bothered to venture deeper. Kinda ridiculous to think this was all waiting a few hours’ journey away for all this time.”

  “Yeah, kinda ridiculous. Hey, you wanna read one of those books she gave you? I could use to think of something else for a while.”

  “Sure,” Teddy agreed, taking up one. He propped himself up with some pillows and got comfortable before he opened the first page.

  It was a good story he decided as he stuffed the room with images of elves and trees and magic. The descriptions were rich and the characters fascinating, but after the first chapter Jolon propped himself in a chair so he could stare out the window. Teddy studied him for a while and his brother didn’t complain. He hadn’t been listening; Teddy suspected he had been in another world for a while. Closing his book, he snagged another seat and joined Jolon, putting his feet on what must have been some heating or cooling system in the past. They sat for quite a while, soaking in the view. There was little to see—only trees moving about in a dance that made him wonder if they were alive. The sky was empty, a desolate blue extending forever.

  “Do you think we’ll ever be able to go out?” Jolon‘s voice went quiet as though he was saying something forbidden.

  “Can’t say, but you would think if the trees are thriving, we could too.”

  “But we haven’t seen any other signs of life. Just trees.”

  Teddy rose and peered downward to the ground. “Well, and the other green stuff. That, I think, is called grass or some kind of plant.” He pointed toward the slope of land stretching away from the building at a sharp angle and jutted far below to the beginning of the tree line. “Seems the first floor is almost completely buried underground, so even if we wanted to get out, we would have to find another way.”

  “Don’t start thinking of how to get out.”

  They whirled around. Nuna placed a tray of food on a side table and joined them at the window.

  “That was the first thing we talked of when we arrived here and saw the view,” she said, leaning against the sill. “For days, we would do nothing, but stare out these windows yearning to know what it would feel like. The scene captivates you—pulls you in and you find yourself wishing...” She fell silent, and they waited. “But you don’t know what you’re longing for.” She shoved the tray toward them. “Feed yourselves. Don’t get locked up, or your days will go by, and you’ll dwindle away.”

  “Is that what happened to your wife?” The sentence spilled out of him before Teddy could close his mouth.

  The look she gave him revealed her pain, and she sank on the bed, her eyes shimmering. “No, to me,” she admitted. “I couldn’t stop no matter what she tried. I would watch and cry. I don’t even know why I cried. Everything hurt so much. Never saw anything more than the trees, but your mind messes about with you, and you start to think you have. I swore I saw someone moving out there once. It was right in front of the open patch. I even showed my wife, but she didn’t see anything. I think that was the day she resolved to try to find out if we could leave the building. I guess she felt it was the only way she could bring me back from the hole I had fallen into. It was a slice of desperation, but I couldn’t stop.”

  “So, what happened?” Jolon asked with a cautious glance to Teddy.

  “Don’t know, not sure. It is all muddy, a half-melted picture like some of those you find in the rubble. All I know is she was gone, and it took me days and months to crawl out of my hole.” She sniffed and wiped her face. “I don’t want you people to leave. This place is too large and quiet to live here by myself.”

  “We can’t go back,” he said, leaning on her vulnerability. “At least, not to stay. There is no life there. People are scraps of survival. They mean nothing to anyone except for those who can’t seem to do anything about it.”

  “Teddy.”

  He cut off her protest by placing a hand on hers. “Come with us.”

  “What?”

  “Yes.” The thought improved as he thought about it. “Come with us and see for yourself.”

  “Oh... oh, oh, oh. I don’t... no.” She stood, brushing him away and skittering about the room like a trapped spider.

  “It’s a good idea,” Jolon added. “Our mom would like to meet you, and you would like her lots.”

  She jolted to a stop and stared at them with a slicing glare. “I bet you two think you are clever. You have this plan I’ll be moved to compassion and, and....”

  “And what, dear lady?”

  It was Georges standing in the doorway behind Pa.

  “Let the hordes descend? That’s a side issue. This is an insane thought....”

  “Oh, yes, Georges, we all know what you think,” his father snapped, his face flicking from complacent to annoyed. “You’re a little mouse peeping out from under your covers and sneaking around the edges. The rest of us need more to survive.”

  “Oh, fine,” She pattered off to the window. “Don’t listen to me. The brute I gave you is no match for the squad you’ll have upon you when the Upperlords cling together, but what does that matter? What do I know? I’m a mouse... eep, eeep, eep.”

  Teddy laughed. It hurt, but he couldn’t stop, and it spread through to the others like a cold.

  “Fine, fine,” Nuna gasped as the fit dwindled to the odd twitter. “I’ll come, I’ll see, but I make no promises.”

  Pa bowed and winked. “That’s more than I hoped for.”

  Chapter 10

  “Well, this is... is... well... it is good to meet you,” Ma stammered as she stood with her hands full of old dresses she had been trying to mend.

  Mrs. Fish didn’t rely on ceremony or manners as she paced around Nuna like a bug looking for a place to land, chuckling and clicking her tongue. “A new person. My, my.” She lifted a corner of Nuna’s coat. “Plus, she’s clean, sparkling clean.”

  “Fish,” Ma scolded as she dumped her load on a nearby box and opened her arms. “Come now, Nuna, let’s leave the ware- house. It’s a claustrophobic place. Our home is over here, and I just put a pot of water on. We don’t carry much for tea, but Henri found a few leaves the other day.”

  She gestured to the brute standing by Caden—not too near to annoy her, but close enough to be attentive.

  “Hey, scroungers, it’s about time you showed up,” Caden greeted, falling in behind them as they went to the house.

  Henri doted along, happy to be with her. While he cared for his sister, Teddy didn’t understand the attraction. He guessed they balanced each other out, her aggressive cynicism and his soft mushiness.

  “Good to see you too,” Jolon said.

  Their parents, Mrs. Fish, Georges, and Nuna gathered around the table in a huddle, which left no room for anyone else. Teddy stopped, and they piled into him.

  Caden shoved him. “Give warning.”

  “I’m done with this,” he muttered, not wanting to hear any more of the adult conversations he was not able to be a part of. “I’m going to my office. If you guys want to come, fine, but they’re going to sort out their territory whether we say anything or not. I’d rather wait for the outcome somewhere else.”

  They trailed behind as he ascended the stairs. He halted at the place where they used to climb the rail to get over to the landing. A crude, narrow bridge now spanned the distance.

  “Surprise,” Caden said with a smidgen of enthusiasm. “Henri built it.” She punched the brute on the shoulder. “Didn’t ya, brawny?”

  He glowed red and grinned. “Easy.”

  For him, Teddy decided as he took a step onto the metal surface stretching across the space between the stairs and the land
ing. Well, it was solid. He crossed over and went into his office, making himself comfortable in his chair.

  “So, what like? Is good?” Henri asked, sitting on the floor in front of him.

  “Better than that,” Jolon said, perching on a stool by the window.

  “We live there?” he asked. “Healthy?” He snuck a glance at Caden as he said this, the hope in his eyes vivid.

  “That’s the plan, I guess...I don’t know,” Teddy answered, thinking about Nuna. “The place has running water and power, and rooms, beds, air. I don’t think the Uppercity can even compare. There’s room and sunlight. You can see through the windows...”

  He glanced Jolon’s way. His brother kept his attention on the main floor; his face dejected as though he didn’t like the view.

  “Trees stretch out beyond any distance I ever thought possible,” Teddy added, dejected by how dingy and empty the warehouse had become.

  “So, what’s the problem?” Caden asked. “The lady?”

  Teddy picked up a broach he kept to fix for his mother. “Look at this thing. I found it in a jumble of rubbish after my parents disappeared. I replaced a couple of the jewels, but the hinges are bent, and the clasp doesn’t want to stay closed. Doubt I’ll ever get it right.”

  “Nuna’s a difficulty, yes. She’s been living there for quite a while, first with her wife and after by herself. There’s no one else, but she’s afraid if we bring everyone from Undercity there, we’ll drain the resources and end up worse than we are now.”

  “But can’t stop us? Not if just her?” Henri said, coming closer.

  “No, I guess not, but Pa feels it wouldn’t be right not to consider her feelings. She was there first. She’s willing to let us,” he gestured at them, “stay, but as to anyone else? I can’t tell you.”

  “So, we get paradise, and everyone else can live in hell?” Caden scoffed, sinking lower in her chair.

  “That’s not the only problem,” Teddy continued. “Georges is afraid the Uppers will move in if they find out.”

  “She better not tell.” The tone in the brute’s voice was unsettling. “They got paradise.” “She thinks they’ll all die if the Underlings go.”

  Jolon’s chuckle was bitter. “She’s right. Though, I don’t know if they deserve to survive.”

  “Eh, they’ll live,” Caden said. “They’ll get a coating of dirt, but they’ll live.”

  “Still, we would need to get everyone out without them finding out. That’ll be quite the tricky manoeuvre,” said Teddy.

  “Yeah, I figure Georges won’t even need to tell them once their slaves start disappearing,” Jolon added.

  “It’s all pointless if Nuna won’t agree to the move,” Teddy said with a sigh.

  Henri thrust his bulk to his feet, his face set like a brick. “She no say. She no say. She only one and we many. She can’t turn away, if does then doesn’t deserve paradise.”

  “So, what do you suggest we do? Toss her in a pit?” he asked, not liking where the brute’s anger was headed. “No,” he said, pulling himself back. “We can’t have all and refuse to let anyone in, can we?”

  “I don’t know if it’s that easy.”

  He stalked back and forth, his bulk shaking the room. “So we get mess while all else blah? No.”

  “Calm down, brute,” Jolon said, putting out a hand.

  “I not brute,” he insisted, pulling his hair back. “I not. People think I am because I big. I didn’t choose. I am. Like all we are.” He left them, and they sat in silence for a while.

  “He is strange,” Caden said in a low grumble. “Brings me a different flower every day—some real, some not. Don’t know where he gets ‘em, but he shows up with a flower every day.”

  The idea made Teddy smile. He gave a half-hearted laugh. “I guess we all are, strange.”

  “He’s right, though,” Jolon said, taking a seat. “We can’t do nothing despite what Nuna or anyone else wants.” He fingered a plastic lamp piece and twirled it. “We’re surrounded by junk and pretending it’s fantastic.”

  “No one’s pretending,” Teddy threw the broach aside. Maybe it was all trash. “So, what do we do? Voice our protest? Demand change? Done. Done a few times if you think of the last few days. We wanted to improve things, and now we are waiting on the fringe of growth, and we have no clue how to step over. It seems simple. It’s right in front of us. All we need to do is cross over the line. Do we? No. We stare and say wouldn’t that be wonderful.”

  “Oh, shyza. Shut up. I’ve had enough whimpering,” Caden said, rubbing her forehead with her hand. “Let’s go back and face them. Henri spits out strings of rants about the state of the world, and you simper about how powerless we are. This is all so annoying. We’ll find out what the adults want to do and, after, we’ll decide what we want to do. This is all rubble and crap otherwise.”

  “Why not,” Teddy said, getting to his feet. He rushed after her with Jolon right behind them. “And I don’t simper.”

  “Right,” his brother and sister said together.

  When they reached the kitchen, the others were still at the table, but now it was set for dinner.

  “Food’s waiting,” Ma said, and they sat down to fried potatoes and bits of scraggly carrots.

  After tasting Nuna’s cooking, Teddy disliked potatoes. He reminded himself not to be so self-centered.

  “I guess we could slip people out a few at a time.” Georges conceded as she flickered her fork about.

  “I thought you didn’t want anyone to relocate to the tower,” he said.

  “Not quite true. I’m concerned with the consequences of moving. I’m a chicken like your father said,” she said with more pride than chickens appeared to possess. “Besides, now that we’re back,” She hiccupped and held up her fork with a potato on it. “I don’t want to stay. Done with potatoes. No disrespect, Tisha, they’re good. Just bored with them.”

  Nuna tugged her coat around her and gazed at what Teddy used to think of as a pleasant home. Her face was pale and slack as though defeated and she had nothing left inside.

  “And this is a good home,” Ma said with a sigh.

  Mrs. Fish bobbed her head and cackled. “This is, this is, but I always wanted a little... well, less rubble in my life.” She stood by Nuna, her countenance hopeful and sceptical. “So there may be enough room for my brood?” She jerked a thumb at the cluster of children clambering about with Deb leading them. Most of them were more orphans she had taken in like his parents had done. They were all strays of Undercity, broken, in pieces, but pretending all was well, smiling and laughing as though there were streaks of sunshine everywhere.

  Nuna stared with her lip quivering and her hands clenched. She tightened her jaw and said, “Fine. Fine. I suppose there is room for everyone. Doesn’t matter what the future might hold. Can’t let the present keep going on like this.”

  “Well, there’s only the issue of figuring out the how,” Pa said. Georges went to speak, but an alarm rang, and Teddy’s father stood. “We’ve got customers. Guess business must go on for now until we get things all sorted out. Come on, Henri. Let’s see who’s here.”

  Teddy went along with Jolon and Caden. They crawled up on a few crates to get a better view without being seen. It was Belinda with three brutes and a shorter man missing an eye.

  “Well. Truman, you’re here in person,” Belinda said, giving Pa a raking dismissal. “Good. Have you seen my sister? I checked all her haunts and holes she slips into for days at a time, but haven’t been able to find her. This place is about the last dump left to search.”

  “Your concern is quite poignant, Lindy,” Georges drawled as she stumbled in behind Teddy’s father and held herself up by a tall statue of a girl missing her head.

  “She’s drunk?” Jolon asked, whispering in his ear.

  “Don’t think so. If she is, I don’t know what she’s been drinking. Ma doesn’t let any alcohol in the house.”

  “She’s pretending,” whispe
red Caden on his other side.

  “I missed you, too,” Georges drawled. “I missed you at the Drunken Nut and Madame Torvel’s and the Crooked Curve, and I almost didn’t miss you at the Creative Kittens, but this little blondie caught my attention, and I slipped away.”

  Belinda shook her head. “You are so pathetic. I’m tiring of digging you out from your messes. Coming here to....”

  “Oh, don’t be so wired, Lindy. I wandered down here looking for some of those charming little boxes Tru had last week. Got a few loves in need of some tokens of affection.”

  “Ah, and is that where your late night raid of our food supplies went?” Her sister gave a sly laugh and raised an eyebrow. “You think I didn’t notice? I hope it didn’t go to the rabble.”

  “You need the rabble, Lindy, you and me and the whole of Upper. We need ‘em,” she said with a nonchalant slouch as she propped herself on a crate. “Yep, it’s a fact. We neglect them, and we lose our world.”

  Belinda shifted about as though she was trying to avoid what her sister was saying. “There’re more of them down here than we’ll ever run out of.” She made a derisive gesture toward Mrs. Fish’s crowd of children who gathered by the door. “They breed and breed, making more pathetic rats over and over. So we lose a few, more will pop up.”

  “And we’re to keep ‘em in their place, eh?”

  Belinda flicked her gaze around the room and backed up a step closer to her guards. The guy with the patch over his eye stepped forward with his chin held high.

  “If we didn’t, they would take over and use up all the resources. They don’t know any better.”

  Georges stared at him as though he was something seeping from a bag of garbage. “That is quite a judgment to pass.”

  “Well, look at them.” Belinda swept her hand around the room. “They have no restraint. Left to their own, they would eat everything with no regard for the future.” She flipped a finger Jolon’s way. “He eats more than his share and where does that leave the others?”