The Outsiders

by L. J. LaBarthe

  In spite of his weariness, Matty had to laugh. "Yeah, I guess so. Like I said, I need to think things through. Paul will know soon enough, I imagine he'll tell you."

  "Okay. Follow me, I'll take you home the quick way."

  "Wonderful," Matty said.

  *~*~*

  Much later, Matty felt much better. After his nap, he had put away his new clothes, put his money into his new wallet, which he left on top of the chest of drawers with his new keys and his ident cards. Bare foot, he padded around his new home, not really with any plan in mind, just to get a feel of his new house.

  It was certainly true that the claustrophobia was still there, if he concentrated on it too much, Matty was sure that it would manifest into a full-blown panic attack. For people who had lived underground all their lives, like Linda, they wouldn't understand why he would feel the way he did. He wondered if Paul or Arkady had the same feelings when they'd first left the clinic and come into the city, or if they'd been lucky enough to escape it. He contemplated calling the clinic, then decided against it. For now he'd read through the leaflets about the rules, conduct, and how to contact people before making an appointment with Dr. Andrews.

  He flopped onto his sofa and stretched out his legs and closed his eyes. Dr. Andrews would probably prescribe another kind of meditation. Matty huffed at that memory, amused and annoyed by the contradictory way the man worked out his treatments. Didn't that run true for the whole city? Everything was a contradiction. While he was sure that everyone was right and he would get used to it, Matty was also sure that no matter how used to it he got, he would never lose the desire to see the open sky.

  A loud knock sounded on his door and he groaned, opening his eyes and glancing at the clock. It was just gone 10 p.m. Who the hell would be visiting at this hour? The knock sounded again, louder this time, Matty got to his feet. "All right, all right, I'm coming," he muttered as he went to the door and opened it.

  Paul and Arkady stood there. Their faces were solemn.

  "I was wondering when I'd see you two," Matty said without preamble. "Come in."

  They did and Matty gestured to the sofa, then went into the kitchen to fetch a pitcher of cold water and some glasses. He went back into the living room and set everything down on the coffee table, noting that Paul had sprawled out on the floor on his side, and that Arkady sat in the middle of the sofa. Matty grunted and sat down beside him. The warmth of Arkady's thigh against his own was comforting. "Make yourselves at home. What brings you here at this time of night?"

  "How did it go with Linda today?" Paul asked.

  Matty shrugged and leaned forward to pour himself a glass of water. "Okay, I guess. Got fed, clothed, not yet employed, the usual stuff you guys went through."

  "She was a bit freaked out," Paul said. "She thought she'd broken you with an information overload."

  Matty snorted. "I'm not a bloody china doll, you know."

  "Not that way, you idiot. She was worried you'd do something like go up to the surface of the planet."

  Matty took a drink. "It crossed my mind."

  "Dammit." Paul dug out his device and activated it, setting it firmly in the middle of them. "I can see this is going to get a lot of use so no one can hear us. You know that's a death sentence, right? Even if the atmosphere doesn't kill you, the government here have a very tight control on their citizens, the punishment for anyone who isn't authorized to go outside is death."

  "You think this is okay?" Matty was incredulous. "You're a fucking spy, Paul. You break rules all the damn time, not to mention kill anyone who gets in your way. Your body count is higher than mine and Arkady's put together. Anyway, have you gone outside? Have you seen for yourself that things out there are as bad as they say? Stolen a hazmat suit or whatever and checked it out for yourself? Or are you too busy being Paul the sensible, the voice of reason, which, if I remember right, is a fucking joke in itself because you were always the one with the wild and crazy suggestions."

  "Matty, please." It was Arkady. "It's very different here now. We have to move slowly and carefully. We have to pretend to fit in. We are investigating in our own way, yes, in our own time. I did not spend so long in a cryogenic unit to awaken and be shot a week later, and neither, I think, did you."

  Matty grunted. "Fine. What about all your bits of kit, Paul? Where the hell did you stash all that to have it so easily to hand once you woke up? How come nobody found it?"

  "I had my cousin hide it in a locker in the damn subway that we now live in, like I told you. I had no idea this was going to be how it would go, and yeah, Arkady's right, we have to be damn careful. So cool it with the questions about the outside, okay? Or ask us. We're checking things out."

  "Fine," Matty said. He took a sip of his water. "Did you find out who the other one who woke up is?"

  Arkady nodded. "We did."

  "And?"

  "It's Nisha."

  Matty nodded slowly. "Okay, well, that's good news, right?"

  "Sure. Only one thing—where the hell is she?" Paul ran a hand through his hair, making it stand on end and reminding Matty most incongruously of a wet dog. "We can't find her."

  Matty let out a heavy sigh. "Bloody hell. Is there any sort of citizen database or something? No, don't tell me, no computers to search."

  "There's only a few computers left anyway," Paul said. "The ones in the agriculture unit, which are purely for monitoring the solar and wind power and letting us know if anything needs repair. The robots we have are few and are pretty limited, basically just able to fix anything on the surface of the planet that might get damaged."

  "I checked out the library while I was in the clinic. I couldn't see any computers there either. It looked like they'd been removed and thrown away."

  "From what I understand," Arkady said, "just after the Event, there was a great fear of anything technological. Computers were destroyed, machinery damaged. When cooler heads finally prevailed, some effort was made to fix what could be, although not many people were alive who could complete such complex work. That is why what we have are relics of times long before the PC or laptop were considered as commonplace as a fridge or oven."

  "You know what? I don't like this new world much," Matty said.

  Arkady hummed in agreement.

  "There's a lot of suspicion, a lot of fear, a lot of ignorance. Oh, by the way, did you know that Linda thinks you hate Arkady, Paul?"

  Paul looked astonished, his eyes widening and his eyebrows shooting upwards. "How the hell did she get that idea?"

  "I don't know, she didn't say. She was pretty quiet when Arkady and I were talking outside the newspaper office."

  "Dammit. She annoys me constantly, always with the questions, always hanging around me like a bad smell."

  "It sounds like she's got a crush on you," Matty said. "And hey, how come you're married now? That really threw me at the time and I'm only just now remembering it."

  Paul huffed. "I met a nice girl. We get along well. She's clever and pretty and she doesn't ask too many awkward questions."

  "Do you love her?"

  "I guess."

  Matty rolled his eyes. "He's the picture of romance, isn't he?"

  Arkady chuckled.

  "The poster boy for love."

  "Shut up. It works, that's all that matters."

  "You wouldn't leave here?"

  Paul stiffened, his eyes narrowing. "What are you asking me?"

  "Let's say we get the plans of the layout of the subway system. There has to be a way out that hasn't been discovered yet. No one goes into the library anymore, the place is so thick with dust, you could trip over it. I bet the plans for the subway, the original plans before this Event that everyone talks about, are somewhere in there."

  "And what would you do upon leaving here?" Arkady asked. "Don't look at me like that, Matty, I am merely curious."

  "I want to see how bad things are for myself. I want to know that spending the rest of my life living like a badger is the
only choice available. This is what we do, right? We dig out information that's hidden, we find the truth and we act. That was what we did when we were betrayed, yet we still don't know who did that and that's a solid question that needs to be answered. Plus, I hate living in a cave."

  Paul sighed. "Short answer? No, I wouldn't go with you. I would give you everything in my power to help you get to the surface."

  Arkady hummed once more. "I would go."

  Before Matty could say anything, he heard a knock at the door. The three men froze, looking at each other in surprise.

  "Are you expecting anyone?" Paul hissed.

  "No. Turn that thing off and go into the kitchen with Arkady. Take the glasses, too," Matty said.

  They moved quickly, and when he was sure that his friends were out of sight, Matty moved to the door. The knock came again, a little louder this time. He took a deep breath and opened the door a crack, not sure who to expect.

  The corridor beyond was dimly lit so it took his eyes a moment to focus. When they did, he gasped.

  "You!"

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  She stood in the living room, smiling. Matty couldn't believe his eyes. Judging by the expressions on the faces of Paul and Arkady, neither could they. She looked just as she had when they'd said good-bye, her long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, her dark eyes sparkling, her tanned skin smooth and clear.

  "We were just talking about you," Arkady said, first to recover his wits.

  "I was just thinking about you," she replied.

  "Nisha," Matty said, and he moved to her and hugged her tight. She hugged him back and he stifled a sob against her shoulder. He had experienced many surprises and much frustration in the last several days. It was all building up and he knew that soon he'd explode. How that explosion would manifest, he wasn't sure, though he knew it was coming. He just hoped it would be something like a flood of tears in the middle of the night, when no one could see or hear.

  "It's good to see you again," she said. She pulled back a little and gazed at him, her eyes searching his own. "This has been hard for you, hasn't it?"

  "Hasn't it been hard for you?"

  "Yes. My memories returned quite quickly. What took longer was rehabilitation of my muscles. Some had atrophied quite badly. I was finally allowed to leave that clinic only two days ago."

  "Same as me," Matty said.

  "You two." Nisha looked at Arkady and Paul. "You look the same as always. How are you enjoying living like this?"

  Arkady shrugged. "We adapt," he said. He moved and hugged her, too. It was brief and he pulled back then kissed her cheeks in the Russian manner, once on the left, once on the right, then a second time on the left. "I'm very happy to see you."

  "I'm happy to see you too, old friend." She lightly touched his cheek then turned to Paul.

  Paul shrugged and moved to her. "I'm not going to hug you," he said.

  "Okay."

  "Ah, hell." He grabbed her and pulled her close. Matty could see that Paul's shoulders were shaking. He felt a touch on his own shoulder and looked over to see Arkady gesture to him to join him in the kitchen.

  "They need a moment," Arkady said once they were standing by the stove. "He was very fond of her, you know."

  "Yeah, this is going to complicate his marriage."

  "I don't think so. Nisha has always been her own woman. She and Paul never were involved in more than a professional or friendly relationship." Arkady reached over to open the fridge. He studied the contents for a moment and pulled out an apple. Closing the door of the fridge, he said, "I wonder if anyone else will awaken or if we will wait another two years or so."

  "Who knows? I have no idea how everyone's metabolism reacts to cryo." Matty sighed. "We need to get to work, though."

  "Mm. First thing is to find you employment. That will make it easier for you to move around. Those who can work who do not are regarded with suspicion."

  "I'm thinking of taking the job at the paper, if it's still there."

  Arkady nodded and took a bite of his apple. He chewed then swallowed before speaking. "Yes. I told my boss that an old friend had awoken from cryo and may be interested in the position. He was enthusiastic."

  "He likes you?"

  "Yes. They do not spend long in school here. Most children are out of school and working at age fifteen. To continue and go on to college or vocational training is very rare."

  Matty sighed. "I bet that was a subtle thing done to manipulate people so they wouldn't ask too many questions."

  "Are you sure you are not part Russian? You have a very suspicious mind."

  "I learned from the best."

  Arkady laughed softly and reached out to take Matty's hand in his own. He gave Matty's fingers a quick squeeze, Matty returned the gesture. "Touché. Let us join them and see if we can find out more."

  They went back into the living room. Nisha sat on the sofa and Matty joined her. Paul had resumed his sprawl on the floor, Arkady sat down opposite him, crossing his legs beneath him. Paul looked around the little group then dug out the device that ensured they couldn't be overheard or monitored and switched it on.

  "First thing, before I forget, be careful when using the two-way radio. They listen to every transmission and write it down. Second, I'm certain that there's listening devices around the place, however they're not everywhere. We need to take precautions. It makes sense that we four would meet up because we all know each other, we were all in cryo together and from when Arkady and I first woke up, we said we all used to work together, so there's that."

  "We pretended not to remember what it was that we did when we worked together," Arkady continued. "It was safer that way. We did not know how long it would be before you woke up, or if anyone else would wake in our lifetime. We took those few precautions and went about life."

  "They were okay with all of that. I mean obviously, look at where we work. I'm running shit down in agriculture and Arkady's a top-notch reporter. Oh yeah, try and avoid the bank train. There are a million cameras and listening devices there."

  Matty swore. "Fucking hell, that's where Linda took me. Though she kept calling it the money exchange. It's a bank, isn't it?" He shook his head. "I'm a bit stuck on this, I know I am. It's as if the bank versus money exchange thing is where I'm focusing all of my confusion and curiosity, even though it's a relatively minor thing."

  "Yeah, of course it's a bank. Why the hell did she take you there? I told her to take you to the local exchange. Which, yes, is also a bank, though not full of surveillance." Paul scowled.

  "Maybe she was trying to show off? I have no idea. A violinist was there, busking. I gave him five bucks." Matty shrugged. "They'll know from what they saw and heard of me that I'm confused, that I find the whole thing very different, that I have questions about how the city works now and… oh. Oh shit."

  "What? Don't just go 'oh shit,' what is it?" Paul demanded.

  "I wanted to know what it was like outside."

  Paul's posture relaxed. "Oh, that's okay. We all asked those questions in our first couple of days. I think they're aware that we ask that sort of thing. Just don't be obvious about it again, especially if you have to go to that part of the city."

  "I find this all very strange, I must confess," Nisha said. "When I learned that you three were awake, I was delighted. I was told by my mentor that one of us awoke even earlier, and has been living here for nearly four years."

  Matty leaned forward, amazed. "Do you know who?"

  "It's Gina. My mentor said she was from South America. Who else would that be, right? Gina's from Ecuador."

  "Where is she?" Paul sounded frustrated. Matty could relate to that. It felt as if every waking moment since coming out of cryo had been full of nothing but.

  Nisha shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. We should be careful anyway. Now tell me. Who's going to find a way to get outside and do recon to see how things really are?"

  Matty burst out laughing, shattering the air of tension
in the small room. Arkady joined in and Paul groaned, burying his head in his hands.

  "What? What's so funny?" Nisha looked from one to the other.

  "We were just talking about that earlier," Matty said, his laughter fading. "Arkady and I are game. Paul won't because he's married now—"

  "That's so sweet! Congratulations, Paul! —"

  "He said he'll help us out with whatever we need that he can get us." Matty finished.

  Nisha nodded. "Count me in. I don't know how these people can stand to live like this. I feel as if the weight of the city above me is going to crush me at any minute, even though I know that the subway system was built to last and is sturdy and strong. Simply knowing that it is forbidden to leave here…"

  "I feel exactly the same," Matty said.

  Paul heaved another sigh. "I can feel myself going gray with worry as we speak."

  "You were a leader once," Arkady said. "Now you have retired. You chose family and duty over service to the planet. We have not yet surrendered our oath to that service. I don't say this to criticize or to blame. We are individuals of course, we were all told when we were first promoted to the rank that we each had when we set our first plans in motion in 2016. Time has passed. Those of us—and Gina may be of like mind—who have chosen a life free of the turmoil and the violence and the spy world should not feel as if they have chosen wrong."

  "Well said," Matty said. "C'mon Paul. You're the oldest here anyway. You deserve retirement."

  Paul nodded. "Okay. I want you three to keep in touch when you go outside." Matty noted that Paul didn't argue the point. That was significant somehow, he thought, yet he couldn't quite remember how.

  Matty mentally shook his head at himself. If it was important, he thought, it would come to him eventually. He just hoped—somewhat wryly—that when eventually came it wouldn't be too late. He forced himself to pay attention to the conversation around him instead of his thoughts.

  "Wrangle up some radios and we'll be able to." Nisha was saying as she leaned forward as well. "Wrangle is such a good word. Anyway. Can you do that with what tech is left?"