“Surely not!” Susan agreed totally outraged. “But it seems the destitute ones know about the privileged ones.”
“Some of us do. Anyhow, you got the picture I guess. Folks in Uptown live like queens, while people in Downtown work hard and even supply them with everything they need.”
Susan’s eyes sparkled by hearing that.
“Then, that’s it!” She said. “Stop working for them. They depend on you, right? Go on a strike, make them sweat, fight for your rights!”
Tess lowered his neatly trimmed eyebrows and shook his head.
“What?” Susan asked.
“I fear for you, honey.”
“Why?”
“Because I like you. And it’s people like you that vanish in the haze.”
“What do you mean vanish? It’s right about time for you to elaborate on that.”
“It’s pretty much self explanatory. Those who make trouble disappear, simple as that.
“Disappear how?”
“I’m not sure and it’s dangerous to talk about it, even in private. Rumor says they are downgraded from employees to slaves. The Gingerbread Dam and the power plant are off-limits. Nobody knows what goes on in there. It’s still better to work like a dog for a salary than for loaf and water. They have dreadful ways to keep us on a tight leash. Those who vanished never came back.”
Tess shifted position near Susan and tenderly held her hand between his.
“Why you did this, Sue?” He asked. “You’re in terrible danger now!”
“I don’t think so. Nobody up there knows I’m down here.”
“Those two uniformed nincompoops who chased you almost found out.”
“Yes and I think I met them before.”
“Really? When?”
“About three hours ago, still in Uptown. I was on my way here.”
“Be extremely careful with those types, my dear. They’re our local Gestapo, you know.”
“They stopped me alright, even tried to be nice and all. They also told me this zone was not safe, still plagued by drifters, lamebrains, zombies, whatever.”
“Well, they would say that of course, to keep you from coming here. But I can see you’re too brave for your own good.”
“So, this area is secure, right?”
“Oh, even more secure than Uptown. Actually, this perimeter and the one around Gingerbread were the first areas they walled. They depend on the power plant to have electricity and on us to have the rest. It’d be stupid to let such important places unprotected. Don’t worry. You won’t see lamebrains in here, not dead ones at least.”
“I got to go now.” Susan announced.
“Oh no! I’m not letting you take any more chances! There’s a curfew going on, and in this very little time we’ve been together, I grew fond of you.”
“I appreciate very much all you did for me, but I still got things to do.”
“No, you don’t! You’re going back to Uptown, forget you’ve ever been here and live a good life.”
“I can’t, especially after everything you told me! Besides, life up there is not for me. I need excitement, do something with my life. I can’t just be an angel playing harps on some cloud.”
“It’s better than becoming a drumstick in some hell.”
“I told you I’m not in danger! Nobody there knows I’m here.”
“Then let’s use this to our advantage. Tonight, you’re sleeping in the restaurant. I have a room on the back. It’s the only place to be. There’re a couple of hotels around, but you’re not going to like them, unless you don’t mind sharing the bathroom with cockroaches.”
“Thanks! Tomorrow first light, I’ll be out of your hair.”
“That’s for sure, only not in the way you think. I serve two restaurants in Uptown. Six o’clock sharp, two of my trucks will go there with supplies and you’ll be in one of them. When they arrive, my men will find a way to sneak you out safely, and that’ll be last you’ll ever hear from us and this place.”
“I appreciate you trying to protect me, but sorry, no can do.”
“You sleep over it. And don’t bother locking the door. Believe me, nobody here is a threat to you.”
“Maybe, I’m the threat.”
“Smarty pants!” Tess said pinching her nose.
Six o’clock in the morning, but Susan rejected each and every proposal to be in any delivery truck.
“Sorry, I still have some errands to do in Downtown.”
“I’m begging you, darling!” Tess spoke with hands together like an angel. “You’re such a good girl. Please, tell me you won’t do anything stupid.”
“Acting stupid makes life worth living.”
“You have no idea who you’re dealing with. Listen, you got a good thing going on up there. And the world is changed now. Don’t ruin everything only for nostalgic notions of conscience.”
“Nothing can ever be good without freedom of will.”
“There will be cops patrolling the boundaries between Downtown and Uptown. If you just waltz in there, you’ll be in serious trouble.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I really doubt that.”
Susan tenderly involved Tess’ hands in hers.
“Thanks for everything you’ve done for me.” Sue spoke. “I’ll repay you as soon as I can.”
“There’s nothing to repay, dear. I just don’t want anything bad happening to you. Please be good.”
“I will.”
Tess embraced Susan in a very tight hug, followed by an affectionate kiss on her cheek. By seeing Susan disappearing on a corner, the owner of the restaurant frowned and shook his head.
“Poor butterfly.”
The town wasn’t so big and things were way easier to find during daylight hours. Susan could also have a much better picture of how devastated the city was.
Susan had been raised in a family not quite rich, but surely well positioned in high society. The reality of that place was kind of new to her. However, after experiencing the hollowed manners of a real sumptuous life, she was beginning to enjoy such neighborhood.
She calculated that everything there worked like in any small village. News of a newcomer like Frank would surely be in everybody’s mouths and ears in a matter of hours.
There were some shops in town, but only with the necessary stuff, no leisure places, not many chances to have fun, other than nightlife. The only movie theater she found was closed and heading for demolition. Good movies were probably an Uptown privilege.
But at least during the day, people looked more civilized, hard workers trying to make a living, very different from those who roamed the streets at night.
Susan asked for a certain Frank Herrera on a gas station, some hardware stores and a construction site. Over there, a guy named Phil said yes, they had heard of a newcomer, a new “refugee”, but he didn’t know where he was allocated.
Finally, a woman carrying a malnourished kid directed Susan to a car repair workshop and took that chance to ask for a little change. Why the hell not? Susan thought and gave the lady more money than she could have possibly dreamt of. The poor woman walked away practically dancing, her kid was most likely going to be sick.
Susan went to the mentioned workshop, but she didn’t find Frank. He found her.
“Susan!” He screamed and ran to her.
And Susan was involved in another tender hug.
“Am I glad to see you!” Frank said nearly crying. “What are you doing here?”
“Jeez, I could ask you the very same! What happened?”
Frank felt eyes and ears on them. He asked one of his colleagues to cover for him and took Susan to talk outside the shop.
“It was Becky.” He said, nervously looking all around.
“What? What do you mean Becky?”
“Well, she walked into my room one night… You wouldn’t believe. And she knocked me out cold. She put a rag on my face. I guess it got chloroform or something. I passed out. Next thin
g I knew some men in suits dragged me here and I was a mechanic all of a sudden.”
“Becky did that to you? I can’t believe it!”
“She hasn’t been herself, Sue. Come on, she’s been acting weird since we took shelter in that Cinemark.”
“Yes I noticed.”
“It was that Shane woman. She was alone with Becky for awhile. She did something to her.”
“This is a little far-fetched, don’t you think?” Susan shook her head.
“It got to be her, Sue! The way we feel when she looks straight at us, when she touches us, don’t tell me you didn’t notice!”
“Yes, I did notice something, but it might’ve been an impression caused by the first friendly contact we had in days.”
“It’s more than that. You can’t trust her.”
“But I got no choice. There’s something fishy going on here and I can’t figure it out all by myself. I need the help of somebody important and Shane’s the only authority I know.” She took a deep breath. “Now, let’s get out of here.”
“What?”
“Come on. We got a job to do.”
“Um… I can’t leave this place.”
“What? Why not? Just quit this job and let’s go.”
“It’s not that simple, the police, they told me… they won’t let me leave.”
“They can’t keep you here against your will!”
“That’s not what I heard. My coworkers said I might even get shot if I try to come back to… the place I’ve been before.”
“This is not possible.”
“What if they are right, Sue?”
Susan did not answer and remained silent for a few seconds.
“What the heck is going on here?” She sighed. “Okay then. You just stay put and I’ll see what I can do.”
“You got to get me out of here, Sue!” He practically begged her.
“I promise I won’t let you down.”
“Just don’t trust Shane.”
“Maybe she’s not even aware of all this. Perhaps that minister she mentioned has some secret agenda she doesn’t know of.”
“You can’t take this chance.”
“Just trust me on this one, okay! We’re going to be seeing each other soon.”
She said goodbye to him with another hug and walked away.
“Don’t trust Shane!” Frank shouted again.
Susan went to the convenience store at the gas station and bought three power bars and two small bottles of mineral water. That was all she needed to walk back to Uptown.
But she didn’t go very far. After only one hour walk, a police car stopped right by her, blocking the way. And two well known figures left the vehicle, this time not so nice.
“I want to see some hands!” Joe commanded, pointing a gun at her.
“I’m carrying nothing but food and water.” Susan assured them after swallowing hard.
“Bring her, Tony.”
The other cop pushed her against the car and cuffed her. Then, he threw her in the backseat, without many regards for her head. They wore badges and uniforms, but clearly did not have any training at all in police work.
“I want to talk to Shane.” Susan requested on the way.
“You want nothing.” Joe answered coldly.
The road got less bumpy until the asphalt became smooth as a baby’s face. And the houses quality and size improved a lot, starting by their flowery, well taken care façades; they were approaching Uptown all right. It was amazing how that same distance looked so short by car, Susan pondered.
However, a group of cars resembling limousines was blocking the road on the unofficial border to the fancy town. Men in suits were leaning against them, looking very confident.
Joe had to bring the car to a harsh halt, burning some rubber on the way. “What the f…”
He and his partner got out of the car, steeping heavy on the floor, their faces fuming in anger. Susan just watched, handcuffed in the backseat.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Joe asked angrily to one of the men in suit, who by the way didn’t seem to care. “We’re taking a prisoner here!”
“And I thought it was protocol to check with me first.” Shane said, as if coming from nowhere.
Joe’s attitude changed from lion to kitty in a matter of seconds, same as Tony, his partner.
“Take this woman out of the car and uncuff her, gently please.”
“But…”
“Now!”
Joe obeyed her with his head low.
“This woman happens to be my friend!” Shane revealed outraged.
Susan couldn’t help looking at the cops with a mild smirk.
“W-we didn’t know that, ma’am.” Joe stammered. “But she was caught in the forbidden zone!”
“Because of your incompetence, yes” Shane retorted. “Now, stop wasting my time, do something right for a change and check if the perimeter is secured now!”
“Yes ma’am.”
And, like two school boys lectured by the teacher, they got into the car and drove away.
Shane strode to Susan.
“Are you alright, my dear?” She asked.
“Yes.” Susan replied. “Listen, Shane, we need to talk. It’s very urgent.”
“I couldn’t agree more! Notty, notty, Sue. You should’ve known better than venturing into those woods. It’s still a hot zone in there.”
“Look, I’m really sorry for what I did, but this is one of the things I have to talk to you about.”
“Sure. Did you eat? Did you sleep? Can you work today?
“Of course!”
“Then I walk you to school. You tell me everything on the way.”
And, as they went, Susan told Shane all about her last night adventures, not skipping any sordid detail.
When they arrived at the school, Susan considered Shane’s reaction a very promising one.
“I’m shocked.” She said. “It’s not possible that so many things are happening without my knowledge.” Shane took a deep breath. “I guess I’m not exactly the brightest cook in the jar, am I?”
“Don’t worry, Shane.” Sue comforted her. “The important thing is you have all the facts now.”
“Only knowing facts won’t fix anything! Alright, you go ahead and give your classes while I take all this to Mister Hedgiest. He got a lot of explaining to do. We meet back here by the end of the working day.”
Before Susan could respond, Shane was gone. The place was already packed with children and the bells rang, announcing the beginning of classes.
And the hours went by without further excitement. When the bells rang again, bringing the school day to an end, all children left in their usual, strange orderly manner.
“Time to call in a day!” The principal talked cheerfully in the lobby. “Are you coming, Sue? Maybe we can take a coffee or a tea at Mary Jane’s.”
“Sorry, I can’t today. I agreed to meet with Shane after classes.”
“Oh! We’re getting important, aren’t we?”
“Nah” Susan said flushing.
“See you tomorrow then.”
“See you.”
Susan was all alone in the school entrance, nobody to talk to except for her mind, plagued by concerns. A chill crept through her skin. Nevertheless, Shane didn’t take long to show up.
“Let’s talk inside.” She said.
Susan hesitated before asking the capital question, she very much feared the answer.
“Did you get something, I mean, with the minister?” She finally built her nerves.
“Even better!” was Shane’s surprising answer.
Susan frowned, but the other quickly took her to one of the classrooms.
Frank was waiting in there, sitting on a student desk.
“Susan!” He screamed again, only this time relieved and not anguished.
“F-Frank! Jesus!” She couldn’t believe her eyes. “Come here you!”
Not surprisingly, they hugged again, both breathles
s and gasping in relief. With a new wave of energy powering up her soul, Susan spoke firmly:
“Now, Becky is next on my list. Don’t worry Frank, she and I will have a serious talk.”
“I’ll do that.” Shane said. “It seems I’m not that inefficient after all.”
Feeling they had forsaken their so diligent savior, Frank and Susan immediately turned to their host.
“I don’t know how to thank you enough, Shane!” Susan said.
“Right on sister!” Frank spoke as well “And to think that I doubted you.”
“Don’t worry, folks. It’s always a pleasure to be of assistance.”
Then, Shane drew a gun from her back pocket, pointed it at Frank’s head and pulled the trigger.
A deafening sound roared through the empty corridors, while blood spilled on Susan’s face. The already dead young man crashed against the cold floor.
“AHHHH!!!” Susan screamed in despair and confusion, a rainfall of tears flooding her eyes.
But Shane was not in the mood for scenes. She dropped the gun on a table and with a powerful grip seized Susan by her hair and throat, forcing the desperate woman to face her.
“Didn’t I give you everything you could possibly want?” Shane asked her with a voice deeper than usual. “What was missing, huh? What was missing? And you simply sneak into the impure zone! Oh, you disappointed me, Sue.”
Apocalily Series (Book 1): The Sunshine Dame of Doom Page 10