The Outsiders

by L. J. LaBarthe

  "Should be able to." Paul pursed his lips and nodded slowly. "Yeah. Leave it with me."

  "While you do that, we need to find the subway plans, figure out who betrayed us and why, work out what the bloody hell this terrible Event was that drove everyone underground. All while playing at being plain folks." Matty leaned back with a grunt.

  "I took a job in the agriculture unit," Nisha said. "I am able to do plain folks well enough. My family were farmers, I know how to milk a cow." She shrugged. "I start in three days."

  "You'll be working with me," Paul said. "I'll introduce you to my wife. All of you," he added quickly.

  "I should bloody hope so." Matty smiled to soften his words and he rubbed his forehead. "I keep feeling I'm forgetting something."

  Before anyone could say anything else, there was another knock at the door. Matty got to his feet, feeling surprised. "This is so weird," he said to his friends.

  "I bet it's Gina," Nisha said. "Since we've been talking about her."

  "Murphy's Law," Matty said.

  "I'm hiding the device, don't worry," Paul murmured, switching it off and pocketing it in the inside pocket of his jacket.

  Matty went to the door and opened it. It was late at night, now, just after 11pm. He was stunned to see Linda standing on his threshold. "Um, hi," he said. "Are you… can I help you with something?"

  Linda smiled brightly at him and held up a bunch of flowers. "I was at home, finishing up my assignment for work, and I thought, well, you've just moved in, you probably don't have much stuff yet, I mean, we had to go shopping for you to get clothes and things like that, so of course you don't. I thought I'd bring you a bunch of flowers, some bright color to cheer up your apartment. I know it's late. I wanted to do it now before I forgot or something came up, you know? Are you busy?"

  Matty gaped at her, still stunned into speechlessness.

  "Oh, you have visitors." Linda pushed past him and entered the living room. Matty turned, the door still open as she stopped and looked around the room. "Hi, Mr. Paul."

  "Hello, Linda." Paul said. "We were just catching up with one another. We're all old friends here."

  "Oh okay. Hello, Mr. Arkady, I remember you from this afternoon. I don't know you though." Linda looked at Nisha.

  Nisha smiled. "I'm Nisha."

  "Hello, Miss Nisha. You're not from here either, are you, you're like Mr. Arkady and Mr. Matty, from somewhere far away."

  "That's right. I'm from India originally."

  Linda frowned. Matty could see her profile clearly as he closed the front door.

  "I don't know where that is," Linda said.

  "It's not far from Australia," Paul supplied.

  "Oh, okay." Linda seemed to accept that. "Well, I won't keep you from your friends, Matty. I just wanted to say hi and welcome again, I hope you like the flowers." She thrust them into Matty's hands.

  "I do, thank you, that's very sweet of you," Matty said.

  "Well, I'll see you later." Linda gave them all a little wave and turned back to the door. She opened it and exited the apartment, closing the door with a solid thunk behind her.

  Matty stared at his friends. "What just happened?"

  "Give me that." Paul held his hands out for the bunch of flowers. Matty handed them over. He went back to sit on the sofa as he watched Paul go through the blooms with careful fingers, meticulously inspecting each one. He knew what Paul was looking for—the thought had occurred to him too that they might contain a bug or listening device of some kind. Finally, Paul shook his head and handed them back.

  "All clean?" Matty asked.

  "All clean," Paul said.

  "Thanks." Matty set the flowers gently on the coffee table and yawned. "'Scuse me."

  "Go to bed," Paul said. "We can meet up again any time. You look exhausted. Consider it a direct order."

  "Except you don't outrank me." Matty nodded. "Sleep would be good, though."

  "Tomorrow, we can talk at the office," Arkady said to him.

  "Tomorrow night we could go out for dinner," Nisha suggested.

  "Great idea. I'll organize it." Paul took charge of things. "Let's go, everyone. Matty's not the only one who needs to get some sleep."

  They left him, after parting with warm hugs and farewells, and Matty closed his front door with a click, making sure that it was locked. He leaned against it as he yawned once more, feeling a wave of weariness wash over him. It had been a very long day and his weariness was catching up with him.

  His gaze fell on the flowers. It had been nice of Linda to bring those over. He decided to put them in water before he went to bed. He'd sleep and get up when his body was ready, so he could go see Arkady at the newspaper office. He felt his lips tighten in a smile as he thought about Arkady. God, he'd missed him.

  *~*~*

  "Well, if you want it, the job's yours." Arkady's boss—now Matty's as well—looked at the two of them. "Though really, you're overqualified for this."

  "I just want to ease myself back into things," Matty said. "It wasn't really so long ago that I was in a cryo tube. I think that taking it slowly while contributing to society here is probably the best way to go."

  Frank Romanesco nodded and shrugged. He was an older man with a receding hairline and was overweight. He wore a shirt that was one size too small and a pair of brown trousers that were one size too large. His fingertips were ink-stained and he had dark circles under his eyes. Matty imagined that the man spent a lot of time worrying and stressing over the contents of each issue of the paper.

  "You know what you need better than anyone, I guess," Frank said. "We don't need you to start until next week though, is that all right?"

  "That'd be fine. I can learn the way around the city so I'm not always consulting a map." Matty smiled, hoping that his new employer would return it. Frank didn't.

  "Okay. Well, I'll leave you with Arkady, he knows how we work here. Arkady, take a few days, show Matthew around, get him settled in, all of that. I know he's got a mentor, Paul over in agriculture, good guy. You'll be helping him get settled in here at work."

  "Of course," Arkady said.

  "Yeah. Both of you, take the week. Start again on Monday."

  "Thanks," Matty said.

  "No problem. To be honest, I was beginning to wonder if anyone would take the job. It's been advertised for a while. Seems no one wants to work for the press these days." Frank sighed. "Anyway. I'll see you both next Monday."

  "See you," Arkady said.

  Frank nodded again and turned, leaving the two of them standing alone in the dimly lit space out front of his office. Matty shook his head. "I wasn't expecting it to be that easy. He didn't even want to see a sample of my writing. For all he knows, I could completely suck as a reporter."

  "Didn't you hear him? He's had no one apply for the job, so he's desperate. Anyway, as a reporter, this gives you the right to investigate things." Arkady leaned in close. "Like the library. For research."

  Matty blinked and then he grinned. "Right. I do need to study maps after all. I need to know where everything is around here."

  "That is exactly so. Allow me to show you how to enter the library from here."

  "I'm very grateful for your help, Arkady," Matty said, sketching a shallow bow. He was grinning the entire time.

  "I live to serve," Arkady said with an elegant wave of a hand. Then he laughed. "Let's go."

  They left the offices together, keeping their conversation light and not discussing anything that could be considered dangerous. Arkady talked about working for the newspaper and what the other staff members were like, from the secretaries to the journalists to the printers and delivery workers. Matty listened attentively—it was information he'd need anyway—and asked questions as they went. Soon, they were leaving the Concourse and heading down a long flight of stairs.

  "What's down here?" Matty asked as they came to the landing.

  "This is where one of the old stations used to be, I believe. There is an entranc
e to the library up ahead. It is a service entrance. That is the only other way in that I know of, apart from the entry from the clinic."

  "Maybe we can find another map that'll let us find other ways in," Matty said. "It'd be a bit obvious if we kept coming down here, especially if we don't find what we're looking for straight away."

  "That's a good idea. Though we should also borrow some books, too."

  "I was just going to suggest that."

  They continued to walk, the old platform lit only by security lights. No one was down here and the ground was rough and littered with debris. Matty looked around, searching for any sort of surveillance equipment, however he couldn't see anything. He wondered at that.

  "No cameras down here?"

  "No. It's used as a storage area now."

  "Handy." Matty still moved with caution, making sure to put his feet down carefully so as to make as little noise as possible.

  "Here it is." Arkady pointed at a heavy door. It was pitted with rust and set with a heavy hatch.

  "That's going to be a pain to open." Matty went to the door and set his shoulder to it, grunting with effort as he began to turn the lock. Arkady joined him and the two of them strained and pushed until with a loud clang and a shrill squeaking, the ancient hinges began to work. Slowly, the door opened and once he could fit himself between it and the frame, Matty did so, pushing at it with all his might as Arkady pulled.

  "I think that's enough for us to squeeze in," Arkady said. He was panting heavily and Matty could feel that he himself was sweating profusely.

  "How did you know about this if no one comes down here?" Matty asked as he paused to get his breath back.

  "I got lost." Arkady joined him by the door frame. "I had to shout for help and a maintenance crew found me. They told me what the door was for. I had thought it was a service stair to get back up onto the Concourse."

  Matty gave a breathless chuckle. "I bet you were embarrassed."

  "A little. I have not gotten lost anywhere since I was a boy. As you've said, this is a new world and nothing is as we remember it."

  "Amen to that." Matty straightened. "You good to go?"

  "Yes."

  They entered a corridor that was so dark it seemed as if it were a living, breathing thing. Matty mentally cursed himself for not thinking to bring a flashlight or some matches. He was on the verge of suggesting to Arkady that they go back up to the Concourse and buy something to light the way, when he heard the soft strike of a match and light flared.

  "You're like the bloody boy scouts," Matty said as Arkady pulled a candle from the pocket of his jacket.

  "I always am prepared, so I suppose so." Arkady lit the candle with the match and held it up. "It looks clear. Just some spider webs."

  Matty shuddered. "I hate spiders."

  "I'll protect you," Arkady said, his voice full of laughter, and it made Matty's heart skip a beat. "Let us move on."

  They walked forward slowly, pressing into the thick darkness. From somewhere far away came the sound of water slowly dripping, Matty wondered what it might be and if anyone knew about it—wouldn't it be a waste? The scent of mold was strong, as if something had rotted away only to be replaced with those organisms that thrived in the dark and moist environment through which they walked.

  It seemed to go on forever. Matty felt as though they weren't actually moving, that somehow, they'd become frozen in place, to forever move on the same spot without progressing anywhere. Apart from the water dripping, it was quiet, the sense of claustrophobia he'd felt since leaving the clinic and entering the city grew with each step. He wanted to throw up and run, both at the same time. He forced himself to continue, keeping close to Arkady and taking comfort from him.

  "I think that's light ahead," Arkady said in a soft voice.

  Matty squinted and saw that Arkady was right. In the distance was a lightening of the gloom, and his spirits lifted immediately. He began to walk faster, Arkady moving with him, and before long they were running towards the light as it grew in size and brightness. Soon it was enough to see by and Arkady blew out his candle and pocketed it again as they ran.

  They came out into the library suddenly, as the passage ended abruptly. Matty stopped and looked around him in surprise. This wasn't the area he was expecting—there were no lending counters, no lounges, no piles of novels. This was an archive, the stacks tall and neat, and beside one of them stood a book cart in front of them piled high with hardback books.

  Matty stepped forward and took a look at one of the spines. How the World Changed: The Event and What It Means.

  "Holy crap," he whispered to Arkady. "Here's where they hid the history books from the last hundred years."

  Arkady gasped and grabbed another book. "This one is 'How We Survived: Biofuel, Solar and Wind Power, Creating a New Agricultural Reality.'"

  Matty looked at him and looked back at the book in his hands. "We can't take these upstairs. If everyone's watched like you and Paul think, which, by the way, I totally believe, they'll find them."

  Arkady nodded. His expression was grim. "We will have to memorize what we can."

  CHAPTER NINE

  "To think we came down here for maps." Matty was already opening the book and reading through the contents. He opened the book to the chapter titled, "The Event," and began to read.

  "Shit," he said after several moments of reading. "Now I know what happened."

  "What have you learned?"

  Matty swallowed hard. "There was a war. A nuclear war."

  Arkady huffed. "Of course. I'm unsurprised."

  "Hush. Anyway, it began because North Korea threatened China, Russia, and America all at once. They bombed South Korea and Japan to show they meant business. So everyone bombed them back. Not before they had time to send bombs everywhere. They'd managed to develop a super long range bomb that could reach the United States from Pyongyang. There was chaos, warships firing on each other and on cities. The bomb didn't reach the US mainland, thankfully. Some bombs did hit China and Russia, who were pissed. Of course, with everything going on, people were dying, starving, and when the dust settled… before the radiation and black rain began from the soot of the bombs landing and going off, groups began taking their loved ones below ground. Every city has its own underground area, either subways like this or sewers or something. There were scientists as well, so the human race was able to survive the nuclear winter."

  Arkady shook his head. "Unbelievable," he said. "And yet… it is entirely believable. Matty, we'll have to bring Nisha and Paul here and show them."

  Matty nodded. "Good idea. I bet that one you're holding is how they were able to survive underground without as much sunlight as before the war."

  "I believe you're right. I'll hide this with the book you have."

  Matty took the book that Arkady had and made a note to himself to remember where they were in the library.

  "Let us find the maps," Arkady said. His voice was still grim.

  Matty nodded. "Roger that."

  They walked through the long corridors, peering this way and that at the signage. Matty was pleased that everything was well-marked, though considering the size of the area, it wasn't really a surprise. Even the most knowledgeable librarian would have needed help to remember where certain sections were; there were always going to be people who were new to the archives and basement areas who'd need help getting around.

  He sighed as they walked, mulling over what they'd just found. A nuclear war was something that he'd thought of as being largely the stuff of fiction—a good trope used to establish a doomsday scenario but not something that would ever be used in the real world. Leaders of various countries, the very countries that he and his friends were the elite spies for, were far too cautious to engage in nuclear warfare, knowing full well that even if they launched a warhead they would be on the receiving end of ones sent by allies of their enemy as well as the enemy itself. In his profession, Matty knew that nuclear was a threat in word only. P
ractically, it was a stalemate, with each of the major powers having similar weaponry and technology but not wanting to risk the wrath of the allies of the country they might wish to destroy. It would achieve nothing, Matty thought, if Russia bombed America, only to be bombed in return by America's allies. There was no victory in that, hence the stalemate.

  While Matty and his friends had come together to work out a way to steer the world from the brink of madness and destruction, they had never considered nuclear war to be the way that destruction would occur. Never once had it come up, except as a consideration as regards to North Korea and… here they were, North Korea having started the whole thing. Matty wondered if any of that country still existed or if it was a barren wasteland now, saturated in radioactivity and radiation. If that were the case, what would that mean for other nations in the area? Places like South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Russia, China? He shuddered mentally as he thought that.

  "Matty. Here."

  Arkady's voice jerked him from his bleak thoughts. "Did you find something?"

  "I believe so. There is a door marked map room."

  "Let's hope it's as useful as the sign leads us to hope it is."

  Arkady shook the door handle. It was locked, of course. Matty shrugged, preparing to knock it down, but Arkady dug into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a standard lock picking kit.

  "There's no need to advertise we have been here," Arkady said as he picked the lock. "We may wish to return, I do not want to come back and find the maps have all been taken away or destroyed."

  "Good point."

  Arkady turned the door handle. It made a soft click as it opened smoothly and he pulled the door open wide and stepped into the room, Matty on his heels.

  Matty felt the wall beside the door for a light switch. He wasn't sure that the lights still worked, though it wouldn't hurt to try. He was acutely aware of how lucky they'd been so far. They hadn't been caught, although he knew he and Arkady were going to need to have a story prepared for when they came out, just in case. As his fingers connected with the switch, Matty took a deep breath and flicked it on.