The Artful (Shadows of the City)

by Wilbert Stanton

  “Whoa, calm down.” Red tried to rub the tension from Gia’s shoulder.

  Gia shrugged her off. “These two morons nearly died doing a favor for you. In order to find out something from you that you should have frankly told them anyway! From everything I’ve come to know of Twist, he would have helped you anyway, and yeah Dodgy here”―she slammed her hand down hard on Dodger’s bruised shoulders, bringing out a string of curses―“might be the shadiest person alive, but he would have, too. All you had to do is tell them one bit of info to help save his life, and you used it to blackmail them. Everyone is acting all friendly like, but the honest-to-God truth is you’re a huge bitch!”

  We all stared in shock. Not a peep could be heard. No one knew how to proceed or dared speak out. Luckily, the tense moment was cut short by Dodger’s laughter. It was the first time I had really seen any positive emotion from him in a while. He laughed as hard as he could before breaking off into a fit of coughing. We all looked at him in confusion.

  “What?” I asked. “What’s so funny?”

  “Priceless,” he said, raising his arms as the nurse began wrapping bandages around his stomach. “Smith is in Brooklyn.”

  “What? What are you talking about? How do you know?” I questioned. My blood began to boil.

  “Because I told him before you guys left.” Red scowled a challenge at Gia.

  “When I asked you to give me a second alone with Red,” Dodger said. “We talked, I tried to sleep with her, and she told me where Smith was. And it was exactly what I needed to know, because I knew then we weren’t going after him. I figured it best not to tell you, so your head would be in the game when we went for the antibiotics. Also, I’m a jerk.”

  “You’re right, Gia. Bitchy as you may seem. I couldn’t hold out on him for my own needs. I had to take the chance they would still help me. Actually, it wasn’t a chance… I believed with all my heart that they still would. Sure, it was wrong of me to initially hold it over them, but after I realized how serious the situation was for Dodge, I told him what he needed to know.”

  “Why?” I stared Dodger down. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I prefer to keep up appearances. You said you would have gone anyway, so it didn’t really matter, now did it?”

  I was at a loss for words. Red, on the other hand, made a show of clearing her throat and smiling in Gia’s direction.

  “Well…” Gia could barely look at Red “I suppose you’re not that huge of a bitch.”

  “Of course, I would have gone anyway.” I looked back and forth between Red and Dodger. “But you should have told me. Stop keeping me out of the loop. We’re partners!”

  “Just like when you ran off to the cathedral and left me behind?” he asked with his arrogant smirk.

  “That was totally different, and you know it.”

  “It doesn’t matter anyway. I didn’t tell you because it doesn’t matter.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, concerned with where this conversation was headed.

  “Because we aren’t going,” he proclaimed with a loud sigh. “We are throwing in the towel and calling it quits.”

  “Why?” Gia and I both yelled together.

  “Why? Because it’s Brooklyn! We aren’t stepping foot in that hell hole, not like we could figure out a way in to begin with. But, even if there was a slim chance we could make it across the Brooklyn Bridge, we’d have to fight our way through the cannibals and slavers that surround the outer perimeter before we even had a chance to think about Lord Chrysler and his army. If you haven’t noticed, I’m in no shape for that kind of adventure, and, even if I was, I wouldn’t have to think really long and hard before I turned down the opportunity. Smith lost his damn mind going in there. He’s probably dead already.”

  “If we don’t go, you’ll die, so why are you being chicken? So what if you’re risking your life? At least there’s a chance, instead of sitting here waiting for death to come looking for you.” I felt sick. . “We have to go.”

  “And where would you begin looking for him?” Dodger asked.

  “I hate to be the bearer of bad news.” Red looked toward me, stern yet reassuring. “But he went to make a deal with Chrysler. Well, not so much make a deal, but close a deal.”

  “What do you mean?” I could already figure out where this was going. What had that greedy idiot gotten himself into?

  “Smith knew what he was stealing. Chrysler put him up to it.” She fidgeted around. “He said it was the deal of a lifetime. He couldn’t afford not to take it.”

  “That’s crazy,” I said. “He couldn’t be that dumb. How’d he even get over the bridge?”

  “He was supposed to have a transport. Someone was coming to pick him up. They never showed, so he went on ahead, hoping they’d meet him at the bridge.”

  “Fine.” I’d heard enough stories to know Brooklyn wasn’t a place to take lightly, but my mind was made up. “We go to Brooklyn; we leave as soon as possible.” I gave Dodger my sternest look.

  “No.” He clearly didn’t catch the finality of my statement. “It’s my life on the line, and I say, oh well, we aren’t going.”

  “I’ll just go without you!”

  “And look how well that turned out last time.” He used his good hand to indicate all the bruising on his body.

  “Dodge―”

  “Twist!” Gia grabbed my arm, pulling me closer to her, whispering. “Just let it go. He doesn’t want this. He doesn’t want to put us in danger; can you imagine the guilt he’d feel if something happened to you trying to save him?”

  “Might be the smartest thing that ever came out her mouth.” He smiled at Gia.

  “I won’t give up,” I said, but I was defeated. Everyone was against me, and I didn’t know how to get them behind me.

  “Twist, can I speak to you? Now.” Gia didn’t bother to wait for a reply; instead she walked out of the tent, confident I’d follow. I gave Dodger one last pleading look and marched off, like a spoiled child not getting his way.

  We sat on the swings again. This time I wasn’t filled with anxious feelings toward Gia. Instead I was distraught with worry over Dodger. I needed to do something and giving up wasn’t an option. A couple of times she looked at me as if she wanted to say something, only to shy away. She looked around, smiling at children playing in the distance. I knew this tactic. She wanted to look preoccupied so I wouldn’t realize she was scared to say or ask something.

  I waited. It was mid-day, and the sun was high. The canopy that covered the park kept us covered in cool shade, and a slight breeze ran over my skin. I wondered what it would be like in another world, one that wasn’t broken where people still lived their lives normally. Would we have ever crossed paths? I caught her eyes as she looked over at me, and, for a second, I thought it was all worth it just to know her.

  “Listen.” Her eyes were wide and beautiful. “I have to tell you something, and you have to promise not to get mad.”

  “What?” I felt a slight sense of lightheadedness. She was in love with Dodger and I was wasting my time. I tried to look cool, as if nothing she said could faze me. “Of course I won’t.”

  “Remember how you guys thought it was weird, because I didn’t know a lot about what goes on in the streets?”

  “Yeah, you’re kind of rough, but you seem sheltered at the same time. So it doesn’t make sense, but honestly it’s no big deal. Why?”

  “There’s a reason for that.”

  “What?”

  “I’m not from here.”

  I hadn’t realized I was swinging back and forth until she said it. I planted my foot on the ground, stopping the swing in place. “What are you talking about?”

  “Porky, the guy you saved me from. His name is Randy. He was an ambassador, sent to make some deals with Reynolds. Try and keep the peace.”

  “An ambassador from Brooklyn?”

  “Yeah, and I was supposed to keep him company like I said. Only thing is, I came from Broo
klyn.” She stared hard at me, looking for a sign of judgment, worry, or anger.

  People from Brooklyn and Manhattan just didn’t mix. They hated us and treated us like the scum of the Earth. I couldn’t help thinking she wasn’t like that, but she had lied all this time, and because of that I wasn’t sure of her intentions. She was trying to read me, and I honestly couldn’t help her. I was more in shock than anything else. I stared back, unmoving.

  “My dad sent me with him. Randy was supposed to be a wealthy dignified man of class, so he deserved the best, you know? Instead, he turned out to be a creep. Once he got some free time, he was all over me, and that’s when you guys showed up. I didn’t want to go back. I’ve always dreamed of getting out and away, far away. And you guys gave me that chance. I’ve felt completely lost here, I’ll admit. I know nothing of Manhattan. But, I don’t know, you guys, even Dodger, kind of make me feel safe, like I belong. I didn’t know how you would react if I told you. I wanted to keep it a secret.” She took my hand in hers and gently squeezed. “I’m sorry I lied to you. You have to understand. At first I didn’t care, but once we became cool, I felt like it was too late to say so. And now Smith is in Brooklyn and you want to go and save Dodger, and―”

  “You don’t want to go back.” I was shocked, but I saw no reason for her to condemn herself. We all had our pasts. Hell, some of us did things we were greatly ashamed of, and it made no difference now. If anything, it made me happy to know we had sort of rescued her from a life she hated. Also, I understood what she was saying. She wouldn’t go back, so it seemed like I was the only one willing to try. “I understand, I wouldn’t dream of forcing you. I’ll figure something out on my own.”

  “Wait, what? No, dummy! I’m the only one who can get you in.”

  “But I thought you didn’t want to go back?”

  “I don’t, but you guys technically helped me escape from there in the first place. I like you, Twist. I know you are going, no matter what. So if I help you, you have more of a chance at making it back. Just promise me one thing.”

  “What?”

  “No matter what, you won’t leave me in that hellhole.”

  “Okay.”

  “No matter what, Twist.”

  “I promise.”

  “And, another thing, we have to go alone, Even if we could talk him into going, he’d only slow us down. This isn’t going to be like your normal tower raids. He was right about the cannibals and slavers. The bads in Brooklyn are really bad. Chrysler and his goons are a whole other story. He keeps a tight leash on everyone. We need to be able to move fast and hard. Another thing about Chrysler, he doesn’t make deals. I’m willing to bet anything that Smith is in a whole lot of trouble.”

  “Do you think he’s dead?” This didn’t sound good. Smith might have split from the group a long time ago, but he was still my brother. We weren’t just saving Dodger now. We were saving Smith.

  “I don’t know. What I do know is Chrysler probably threw him into the arena. He likes a show. If Smith can fight, he’ll have time. If not, he’s as good as dead.”

  “When do we leave?”

  “I say we leave as soon as possible. Now even. We gather some gear, say our goodbyes, and head out.”

  “No, Dodge will only try to stop us. Besides… saying goodbye is only for people who are going to die.”

  March 26, 2025 - Brooklyn

  t was simple, or so it seemed. After we filled our bags with water, stale granola bars, one of those flashlights you have to shake a ridiculous amount of times to power up, and a gun, I snuck out of Red’s tent and we set out. Gia thought it best to cross the Brooklyn Bridge at night so that we could take advantage of darkness. She spent most of our journey through the city explaining what it was like in Brooklyn.

  The rumors we all knew, the dreadful stories meant to keep children up at night, were wildly exaggerated. But key elements were not, and it was these that made our mission very dangerous. There were cannibals and there were slavers, this much was true. Brooklyn was highly advanced and a force to be reckoned with under Chrysler’s leadership. The layout was genius. The Brooklyn Bridge was under constant surveillance. However, the cleverness of Chrysler’s fortifications lay in the cannibals and slavers themselves. They were given free rein over the outside perimeters; cannibals held the outermost rim of the borough, followed by the slavers. Of course, they were at constant war with each other, but this wasn’t important. They served one purpose, and they served it well. They scared the hell out of us and kept everyone out. As far as any of us knew, crossing the Brooklyn Bridge meant being trapped in savage lands. Little did the outside world know, a city thrived at the center of Brooklyn’s carnivorous surroundings. People worked together in equality, with no segregation of upper and lower class. There were only people as a whole and they served under a monarch, Lord Chrysler. Outside of the dangers, it sounded like a great city, one that rivaled the Manhattan streets where I grew up, forced to live a fragile existence underground, while the tower babies enjoyed every bit of their lives. Gia informed me that living under the oppressive hand of a megalomaniac was nothing to envy.

  The bridge was imposing under the pale moonlight, reaching out over the murky water into a foreign land. I felt dwarfed looking at it. All my life I had been running up and down the streets of Manhattan, never once setting foot outside its borders, and now I stood at the cusp of a new world. It made everything I knew feel so minimal, and knowing Gia came from this other world was no different than meeting an alien being from another planet. The night seemed to devour the bridge midway; it was as if we were stepping into a dark void. Spires reached up high into the sky, and suspension cables ran up and down the length.

  “Let me guess,” I said, pointing up at the high encampment. “A sniper’s nest?”

  “Not only that. A number of cars hold hidden guards.” She gestured to the dead vehicles lined up on either side, some parked and abandoned, others shoved off the road, creating a clear space for those who worked closely with Chrysler to travel between boroughs in their fancy cars. “Keep your eyes peeled, and stay close.”

  “How will we get across?” I felt the urge to turn and run.

  “The trick is confidence; you have to act like you belong. The guards are just precaution, but everyone knows no sensible person would try to enter Brooklyn on foot and face the Skinlickers.” She stood a bit straighter. She brushed the hair out of her face and walked into the hungry mouth of the bridge.

  It took great effort to will my feet into motion. “Are you kidding me? They’ll blow our heads off!”

  “Just stay calm and follow closely behind. Hopefully, I get this right.”

  “You hope?” My heart clearly didn’t agree with her methods, but I had no choice.

  An eerie silence surrounded us as we walked; Still, I could hear the slow swish of water way below. A cold breeze washed over us occasionally, bringing with it the toxic smell of the river. Years and years of pollution had left this area quite toxic. As we drew closer and closer to the spire, I searched for a quick means of escape. Surely I could seek cover under or near a car, but even those proved a danger. We were truly out in the open, vulnerable sitting ducks. It didn’t help matters that Gia refused to speak, and every time I attempted to spark conversation she hurriedly shushed me, with a finger to her lips. Were we being spied on? I wanted to ask, but decided I’d had enough of her reprimands. Instead, I followed, with my nerves on high alert. Before I had time to convince myself it was best to dive into the river below, she stopped, holding up her hand, calling for my attention.

  “They are watching,” she whispered, pointing up at the highest spire.

  “What do we do?”

  Without answering, she reached into her backpack and pulled out the small flashlight she borrowed from Red. She held it above her head, aiming it at an opening. She flashed a sequence of flashes; on, off, on, on, off, on, on, on, off, on. After we waited for what seemed like hours, a small light flashed the same s
equence back at us from the spire top. It must have been a code only known to people from Brooklyn, a way to get in and out with no trouble.

  “So what was all that stuff you said about walking like we belonged?” I asked.

  “If they didn’t think we belonged, they would have killed us eight cars ago. We would have never had the opportunity to flash in.” Her smile, beautiful as it was, wasn’t the least bit reassuring.

  “Oh,” I sighed, looking back from where we came. “Please tell me the hard part is over.”

  “Well, that was actually the easiest part.”

  “Yeah, I figured you’d say something like that.”

  Walking off the bridge was like leaving behind everything I knew. We were greeted by scattered car wrecks and cans filled with burning garbage at every other street corner. As far into the distance as I could see, little specks of fire crackled. Bodies of bone and tattered flesh hung from street lights; hungry vultures pecked at dwindling meat as others circled in the night. The rank smell of filth and rot surrounded us; I gagged as wave after wave of death attacked my senses. I died on that bridge and walked straight into hell was the only sensible thing I could think.

  “Takes some getting used to.” Gia rubbed at my arm. “Most of this is for show, to scare outsiders away. But don’t get it twisted; the sick bastards are out there. We have to move, so take it all in, and suck it up. We can’t stand around looking appetizing.”

  “Are we going underground?” I wanted to get into the tunnels as quickly as possible if this was all topside had to offer.

  “Sorry, kiddo, underground is ten times worse; all civilized people live within the city, topside. The Skinlickers own the underground; they only come up looking for prey.”

  “Is that what you call the cannibals?”

  “Yeah we call them Skinlickers, Cannibals, Zombies―which they aren’t, they are completely alive―and generally ‘oh, crap, run!’ Take your pick; let’s just try to avoid them.” She shrugged with a smile; I barely noticed it with the headless body swaying back and forth behind her.