by Linda McNabb
Finally the buildings gave way to streets of empty warehouses and at the end of the main street their new home loomed in front of them.
It was the ugliest and largest building that she had ever seen and from this angle it looked to be even taller than the metal dividing wall that was behind it. It was at least ten stories high and surrounded by a large tar sealed area marked with white lines.
As they reached the beginning of the bare black land leading up to the building Kala saw an old broken sign lying on the ground. Curious, she put Alissa down, picked it up and showed it to her father.
It said.. 'Welcome to Clover Downs Mall - All cars parked at owner's risk'. The writing was faded and very difficult to read and it meant absolutely nothing to Kala but her father seemed very interested in it.
There was nobody in sight but Kala had a very uneasy feeling that they were being watched. She could tell that her father thought so too as he dropped the sign and looked around the empty land. Mother was still in some sort of a trance, just following them without speaking, and Alissa now clung to her mother's limp arm looking pale and frightened.
“We have a welcoming committee,” Roma said quietly and Kala noticed a group of men coming from what must be the main entrance to the building.
Kala and her family began walking towards the men and the two groups met not far from the large doors that the men had come out of.
“What business do you have here?” A short man stepped forward and Kala took an instant dislike to his tone of voice. He puffed his chest out and folded his arms across it while his black beady eyes flicked from one of them to the next. He didn't look much older than she was but he seemed to be in charge. “We haven't any room for beggars.”
“Come on Gil, let's find out who they are first,” one of the other men whispered. “They don't look like beggars in them fancy clothes.”
Kala wouldn't have called their clothes fancy but when she compared them to the worn and very patched clothes that the others were wearing she saw they were indeed fancy.
“We were sent here,” Roma held out the paper that was getting very creased. Gil snatched it and read it quickly.
“I guess you do belong here.” He didn't sound any friendlier and he handed back the paper. “You're on the top floor, apartment twelve.”
Gil turned and pushed his way through his companions and walked briskly back towards the building.
“Don't mind Gil. He's always suspicious of newcomers.”
The group of six men that were left seemed much friendlier and they all introduced themselves. Kala didn't even hear their names as her head was starting to throb and she wished there was somewhere to sit down.
“Johan normally meets new people but he was busy. I'll show you to your apartment.” The man that stayed with them as they walked on was about the same age as her father. “I suppose they dropped you on the other side of the sector?”
“How did you know that Cal?” Roma queried.
“They do it to everyone. They seem to think it's funny to make you walk as far as possible.”
They reached the huge double doors and Kala saw that they were made of rusty metal and looked very heavy. As they came through the doors several men started to push the doors closed and as soon as everyone was in, the doors banged shut.
Kala stood motionless for a few seconds as her eyes adjusted to the sudden dim lighting. She wasn't sure what she had expected to see but it definitely wasn't this. A large area in front of them seemed to be a general meeting place with several dozen people milling around and none of them seemed to take the slightest interest in the newcomers.
“This is called The Square,” Cal informed them and then began to lead them across it.
All around the sides of The Square were wooden doors that Kala decided must lead to apartments and many of them stood open. The ceiling was very high and Kala noticed three levels of balconies overlooking them'.
People had started to gather in the middle of the square and something was obviously going on. Their guide left them standing halfway towards the stairs at the far end and went to see what was happening. He came back, running, and looking very surprised.
“Is one of you Kala Palent?”
“I am,” Kala answered cautiously, not sure what she was letting herself in for.
“There's a Holocom message coming through for you!” Cal all but pushed her forwards into the now large crowd gathered around the Holocom platform in the centre of the square. Who could be calling her and for that matter who even knew that she was here? Kala could heard people muttering as she passed.
“Who does she think she is? I've been here two years and never received a Holocom....”
“Bit of a snob if you ask me...”
“Look not even one patch on that dress...”
“Hasn't been a call come in for years...”
Kala did her best to ignore them all as she reached the centre of the crowd and saw the small screen flashing her name.
“Answer it.... Answer it...” came the calls from the crowd and Kala's curiosity about who it was completely disappeared. She would happily just walk off and get away from all these people. The crowd were getting louder and Kala was about to turn and run when Cal grabbed her hand and pressed her thumb against the sensor.
“They haven't had any entertainment for years and there's no way they are leaving without it. So, if you don't want to be an outcast on your first day here, I suggest you talk to whoever it is.”
Kala reluctantly placed herself on the footpad in front of the sensor and the Holocom began to form into a figure.
“Where have you been?” came the accusation before the form was even complete. “I waited for half an hour last night and I nearly missed the concert!”
The large, immaculate form of Suan was clear now for everyone to see even though Suan couldn't see them. Only the person on the footpad could be seen.
Kala didn't know what to say. How was she supposed to explain it all to Suan when she didn't really know what had happened herself? She also wasn't keen on talking with all these people watching.
“Your Holocom is deactivated. I had such a time trying to find you. I had to override it with Daddy's password and make it search for you. Daddy didn't leave his Securicom on today so I couldn't find you with that,” Suan continued without waiting for Kala to answer and then she suddenly stopped. “Where exactly are you?”
Kala opened her mouth but no words came out. From behind her someone yelled, “Level Ten, Clover Downs!”
“Level Ten... ?” Suan spoke slowly, confusion clear on her face. “Why?”
“It's all been a mistake,” Kala finally found her voice. “They accused father of...”
“The State doesn't make mistakes!” Suan cut her off and her voice was suddenly sharp and unfriendly. “I won't be calling again and don't call me....”
Suan's form started to fade even as she was speaking and the crowd, who had been quiet so they could hear, now erupted into discussion amongst themselves.
Kala stepped back from the footpad and saw the crowd was moving off, satisfied with knowing the latest gossip. Only one young man stayed staring at her and Kala frowned as he looked familiar. She felt sure that she had looked into those ice blue eyes before but surely she must be mistaken as she knew nobody here.
“How do you feel about your precious State System now?” His voice was sarcastic and Kala suddenly realised where she knew him from. He was the man on the wall at the station yesterday.
“You managed to get away,” Kala didn't know what else to say.
“No thanks to you. Let's see your papers.”
“I've seen their papers Johan, everything seems okay. They’re in penthouse twelve,” Cal stood next to her and spoke in her defence for which she was grateful. So this was Johan, the person who was in charge. It wasn't such a good start to be on the wrong side of him on the first day, but Kala didn't care.
“I had nothing to do with you being caught. You w
ere careless and that's your fault, not mine.” She glared at him feeling her anger chase away all the tiredness that she had felt only seconds earlier.
**
Johan saw that the crowd was beginning to gather again, hopeful of some more entertainment and he wasn't keen on being the centre of it. He grabbed the girl's arm and dragged her off towards the stairs. They would finish this conversation in a more private place.
“You show the others to their apartment,” he muttered to Cal as he led the struggling girl away. “I'll bring this one up in a few minutes.”
Johan took her past the stairs and to his office which was behind the last door. He shut the door with a bang and then let go of his firm hold on her.
“If you've anything to say to me you can say it here, not in front of everyone else.”
The girl was rubbing her arm and he could see the red mark his hand had left. Perhaps he had been a little rough.
“Listen,” she blurted. “I don't really care if you believe me or not! Why should you? Nobody else does. The State don't believe my father is innocent. They took everything and dumped us here. Now my best friend doesn't want to know me and won't take my word for what happened. So do you really think I'm bothered what you think? I don't even know you!”
The girl's face was flushed with anger and her hair had come loose from its band causing her to keep brushing it from her face. Johan saw that he had been wrong when he had decided yesterday that she was plain. She really was quite pretty and definitely had a fighting spirit but he still had to be certain that she wasn't a spy.
“I'm leaving, I don't have to stay here,” she threw open the door and took several steps before stopping and asking quietly. “How do I get to my parent's apartment?”
“I'll show you if you answer a question for me,” Johan joined her at the door.
“What?” she asked defensively.
“What's your name?”
“Kala.”
One thing Johan was sure of, things were certainly not going to be boring with Kala around. She wasn’t acting like a spy but it was strange for her to turn up here only one day after seeing her in the first sector when he was so nearly caught. He smiled to himself as he decided he knew the perfect way to find out for sure if she was a State spy or not.
**
Kala felt the surge of energy fade very quickly as she followed Johan up flight after flight of stairs. She refused Johan's hand when he offered to help her and she dragged a little more strength from her stubbornness.
Finally, when there were no more stairs Johan turned down a very badly kept corridor. There were puddles of water on the floor and Kala looked up and saw holes in the roof big enough to see the clouds. Kala didn't really care right now if they had to sleep on the roof, as long as she could sit down soon.
Johan stopped outside a door and knocked. Kala had been a few steps behind him and as soon as she reached the door she felt her knees give way underneath her. She fought ineffectually at the arm that circled her waist to support her as her father opened the door.
“Your daughter seems to need a rest.”
“Bring her over to the couch.”
The voices seemed to be far away as Kala let her eyes close and felt her body sink into the comfort of a soft couch.
It felt like only seconds later that Kala opened her eyes but it must have been much later as the room was almost dark. She could hear low voices from behind the couch and she strained to hear what they were saying. One of them was the deep rumble of her father's voice and the other was Johan's. Why was he still here? Kala tried to roll to a sitting position and felt a spring dig her sharply in the back.
“Ow.”
“Kala, are you awake?”
There was no point in denying it and she stood up stiffly, wondering why she had thought the couch was comfortable before.
“Johan came to ask us some questions,” her father said as she joined them at the rickety looking table.
“Where's Mother and Alissaa?” Kala ignored her fathers' comment. Something that did not escape the notice of Johan and he raised his eyebrows at her in a silent question.
“They are asleep in the bedroom,” Roma replied. “Johan wants any information we can give him that will help his cause.”
“Why should we help him?” Kala glared at Johan but averted her eyes when her father spoke sternly.
“This is serious Kala-May.”
Kala tried to look sorry even though she wasn’t, as her father never called her by her full name unless he was very cross.
“We'll talk later. Get some sleep, it might improve Kala’s mood,” Johan said as he rose from his chair and then he left their apartment.
Kala realised that she was starving as the smell of bread found her nose and she almost grabbed the roll that her father passed to her.
“Johan brought it up for us. We will have to pay him back for it.”
It almost made Kala choke to think of her family being beholden to Johan but her hunger won the better of her and she finished it in record time.
“We can pay him first thing in the morning,” Kala said thinking of the eighteen Marcs still in her various pockets.
“I gave him our last Marc but he suddenly became very suspicious. He demanded to know where it came from and when I told him it was yours he seemed even more wary. I’m glad we don’t have any more. They don’t seem welcome here.”
Kala decided to keep the other Marcs hidden and not tell him about them. The last thing she wanted was to cause her family any more trouble than they already had.
She didn't sleep well and woke up hungry the next morning. Her mother and Alissaa were still sleeping and she decided she couldn't wait till they woke up to eat. She ate her share of the rest of the bread but it wasn't enough.
“When do we get our Food Marcs?” she asked her father as she swallowed the last mouthful. Maybe she could ask around discreetly and see if anyone would exchange her unstamped Marcs for Food Marcs.
“We don't.”
Kala frowned as she tried to understand.
“So what do we get?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Kala echoed. Everyone was given something, surely. “So how do you get paid for your work... What job will you be doing?”
“I don't have a job and I don't get paid.”
“So we'll live off my teaching wage.”
Only one income would make things hard but Kala didn’t let her concern show. She looked across the table at her father and frowned as he was slowly shaking his head.
“Kala please try to understand this. There are no jobs for anyone in Level Ten, therefor the State provide no Marcs for anyone in Level Ten.” Roma held Kala's stare until she finally understood.
“But that's unfair! The State System is supposed to provide for everyone...” Kala stopped when she heard a soft knock at the open door.
“Just as I told you a couple of days ago, the State System is unfair.” Johan leaned casually against the door frame, staring at her, and Kala scowled. She still hadn't forgiven him for dragging her off yesterday and she hated having to agree with him about the State.
“So just how are we supposed to eat?” Kala demanded as she stood up and faced him with her arms folded across her chest. She wasn’t prepared for his reply and she felt reality slap her in the face when he said.
“You come with us tonight, into your old sector... and we steal what we need.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Kala paced the floor in an effort to ease the tightness in her stomach. It had been a long day and she wasn't looking forward to what she was about to do.
Everyone else seemed to have been accepted by the people in Level Ten but she had caught more than a few sideways looks of suspicion and whispered comments that she couldn't hear when she had gone down to The Square this afternoon. It must be the fault of that man who thought he knew everything, Johan. She had seen him watching her when she had taken Alissa down to find some other children
to play with.
Did he still blame her for his brush with the guards? Kala decided that the best thing she could do was to keep out of his way. She had been unimpressed to find that the girl Alissa had made friends with today was none other than Katee, Johan's sister.
Her father was supposed to be going with them tonight but mother had sunk even further into her depression and Johan had said he should stay with her. Johan had told Kala to get a bit of sleep and he would wake her when it was time to go. But sleep had evaded her and she had been pacing the floor in the dark, silent apartment for several hours.
A knock on the door set her heart racing and her mouth went dry. This was it. Kala opened the door and took a step backwards in surprise when she saw a very tall, well-muscled, man standing there instead of Johan. Just the sight of his huge body was intimidating.
“I was expecting Johan,” she didn't even realise that she had spoken aloud until the man answered.
“I'm Cris, Johan sent me up to tell you to come down to the ground floor. It's time to leave,” he spoke quietly, in contrast to his big frame, and Kala felt a little foolish. Of course Johan wasn't going to waste his time running around after her. He had much more important things to do.
They began the long walk down the stairs and Cris seemed uneasy. He looked as if he wanted to say something to her and as they reached the second floor he finally blurted it out.
“I don't believe what they are saying about you.” He smiled childishly at her and looked pleased that he had said his piece.
“Oh, why not?” Kala wasn't about to admit that she didn't know what they were saying. Maybe this was her chance to find out what it was.
“I don't like State spies... I like you so... so there's no way you could be a spy,” Cris smiled as if his simple logic explained everything.
A State spy! Is that what they thought she was? Kala frowned and Cris looked concerned.
“I didn't mean to upset you.” He looked devastated and Kala forced the frown into a smile. He may be simple minded but he appeared to be one of the few people here who liked her. Cris immediately cheered up but before Kala could ask more questions to find out who had started the rumour they reached the bottom of the stairs.