The soft guttural gurgle of air escaping an esophagus danced in the night. Roxx's snoring instantly made me sleepy. I lowered myself onto the ground and held my arm under my head as a cushion. I fell asleep looking up into infinity. Not a worry on my mind for the first time in all my life, with my newfound friend lying right beside me: peace.
≈ Chapter 9 ≈
Our world has changed; and not for the better as they would have us believe.
In the beginning we were all weary wanderers lost in a downward spiral. The sun reigned supreme all day and all night. There was no rest in a world full of light. As children we used to run to our parents' room terrified of what lay beneath our beds or in our closets, afraid of the unknown in the darkness. Shadows were our darkest fears. Those were the simple days. What I would give to have the fear of darkness back. To feel it's cold hands around my neck as I slept at night, shaking and rattling me within a dream until I woke up panting and sweating. Yes, those were the good days of old, a time when criminals lurked in the shadows. When people locked their doors and lawyers were a surplus commodity because of the corruption and the evil in each of our hearts. No more. There was no crime. No more villains. No more detectives unraveling clues and DNA strands left on the lid of a rusted can in the alley. The world is a darker, more dangerous place these days. And we were only the beginning.
The Enoch returned in three days just as he had promised, except this time it just one Humvee. I was sitting on the porch of Roxx's shop when his Humvee pulled up. I fully expected to see a wave of dust follow as the other Humvees and trucks rolled in, but they never came. Our Enoch jumped out and peered up at the sun. For the moment it was shielded behind a massive storm cloud. I found myself hoping it would rain.
He surveyed the Market and all the people congregating around waiting for the first solar flare peak to come our way. The other Pavers jumped out and made a tight perimeter around the Humvee. The Enoch motioned for them to stay put. It was another hot day despite the sun being dwarfed in cloud, but some of the well diggers thought they had found a new water source and so the Market was full of excitement and chatter. Just a few more days, they claimed, and they'd hit it. We were all silently praying they were right.
The Enoch looked my way and our eyes met. I instantly dropped my gaze and pretended I was fiddling with something in my lap. Truth is, I was fiddling with my thumbs thinking how dumb I must look with a metal rod strapped to my bad ankle to stop me twisting it in the sand. I could feel the Enoch only feet away from me. His shadow stretched out before him as he walked. It rested on my exposed shin moments later. I felt my skin tighten and goose bubbles peak their heads along the ridge of my neck.
‘Miss,’ I heard him speak.
I slowly raised my eyes. I could feel my heart beating quickly. I knew he wouldn't find anything in the precinct. We had seen to that the other night. So what was it? Why talk to me? Out of the hundreds of people surrounding the Market, sitting or standing by the fountain, or strolling the streets, why approach a young woman sitting on a rocking chair with one leg propped up in a horrendous looking makeshift cast, and her left wrist bandaged up? I knew I had to look rough. But he looked even more handsome up close. Definitely dangerous. I squeezed my fingers tight to stop them shaking. Why was I so nervous?
‘How can I help you?’ I asked.
I tried to be as polite as I could without coming off too fake. After all, we are living in a world of hard people. That's what we should call ourselves. The clay people. From dirt we rose, in dirt we live, and in dirt we die. So poetic, Willow. Maybe you should take up writing one day. Oh, wait! That's right, books are banned. Ah, shucks. You really could have had a good career going for you there.
By cause of logic, one could deduce that writing would then be illegal and considered a deliberate act to incite civil unrest and create blasphemous contraband. On that note, maybe I would write something. It'd have to be something good though. Poetic for sure. Like a grand speech before an army going into war. Or, a simple yet profound three words. I was here.
Whatever I chose, they'd have to mean something. You know, with them being my last words and all.
‘Miss, you all right?’
‘Yes, I heard you,’ I lied. ‘Just thinking.’ I was stalling.
Who thinks of breaking the law with the person who can lock you up standing right in front of you? This girl right here. Extra points for style.
‘Anything interesting?’ he asked. He leaned his boot onto the porch ledge, his arms folded on his raised thigh. I found myself staring again. I just shook my head unable to speak.
‘Too bad,’ he said. ‘I was hoping you'd have a good story to share. What happened here?’ he asked, nodding at my foot.
My giddy man-crush syndrome vanished. I could feel my eyes narrow and my brow furrow when I looked at him next. Had he been listening to my thoughts? Could they do that? I knew people over the years claimed they had telepathy, but they were all phonies taking advantage of the hopeful and ignorant. I just stared at him. He didn't seem to take notice and shifted his attention to the swinging door leading into the lounge. Two Sifters exited and stopped in their tracks the moment they saw the Paver at their doorstep.
He retrieved his leg and made to walk towards the two. He turned to me one last time before he went.
‘I'll leave you to your thoughts then,’ he said. ‘Make sure you keep that foot elevated. We wouldn't want to cause that pretty face of yours any more grief.’
Thankfully it was extra hot today; it hid the redness my face was sure to be displaying at that moment. I think my heart actually stopped beating for a second or two. He smiled, and left, heading for the two gentlemen who had just come out of Roxx's shop. I heard him asking them if they had seen anything suspicious in the last week or so. They both shook their heads.
‘If you see or hear anything, you'll be sure to let me know?’ he asked.
They both nodded like bobble heads.
‘Thank you.’
They both shuffled off quickly and merged with the crowd. He stood there examining the porch, then raised his head, turned, smiled at me once more, and headed towards the mass of people by the fountain.
My heart immediately felt elated.
‘What did he want?’
I jumped in the chair jerking my ankle in the process inciting a whole new wave of feelings. Not good ones. I clenched my teeth.
‘Don't do that!’ I yelled. ‘You're going to give me a heart attack if you keep sneaking up on me.’
Roxx walked around and stood in front of me, looking at the fun unraveling before us.
‘Looks like your heart's already fluttering.’ He didn't need to turn his face for me to see the huge grin spread from cheek to cheek. I felt my face blush again.
‘Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about, old man.’
‘Old man?’ He cocked his head and scrunched his chin in contemplation. ‘I've been called many things over the years, never been called that before. Not sure how I feel about it.’
‘I'll have you know, I have my heart under complete control.’ I crossed my arms.
He turned to me; that grin still etched on his face. Had I been able to, I would have gotten up right then and there and swiped it right off his face.
‘If you say so, love bird.’
I ignored him and we both turned our attention to the Enoch as he raised his voice over the commotion.
‘I'm sure all of you know why I am here,’ he began. ‘Someone was seen coming this way with illegal contraband. SIND has sent me here to collect.’
He stood like a grey tower of authority in the midst of turmoil. No one spoke.
‘Looks like your boyfriend isn't really a people person.’
‘He reminds me a little of you,’ I retaliated.
‘Hmmph,’ Roxx grunted. ‘I'm nothing like him.’
I could feel the tension in the air rising. The Enoch was telling the culprit to come forward or be given up. We had thre
e minutes to comply.
‘What happens after three minutes and no one's come forward?’ I asked.
‘I imagine nothing good,’ Roxx said.
And as if to confirm both our fears, the Enoch voiced, ‘After three minutes, if no one has come forward or the stolen items not returned, you will leave SIND no choice but to assume you are unwilling to cooperate and harboring terrorists.’
‘He can't be serious,’ I said. ‘They think we're terrorists?’
‘Looks that way.’
My mouth hung open and I was shaking my head in disbelief.
‘But, it's just food,’ I said. ‘It's not like someone stole equipment or ammunition.’
‘It's hot out here,’ the Enoch was saying, ‘and I know the living is tough. But the people of Precinct 11 have proven to be a resilient group, willing and able to do whatever it takes to survive.’ He was holding up his hands in mock surrender.
‘Trust me, I know how you must feel.’
‘How could he possibly know how we feel,’ I heard Roxx grumble under his breath.
‘I do not want to cause you any more discomfort or distress. But if you do not comply within the next three minutes, you leave me with no choice.’
The Enoch pointed to the west.
‘The next shipment of food, water, medicine, and HydroBeta tablets are en route as we speak. The trucks are sitting idle three kilometers away, awaiting my instruction.’
He met every eye as he allowed the weight of his statement to settle. He walked towards the Humvee, tapped his suit on the wrist, and said, ‘You have two more minutes to comply and then I'm calling off the shipment.’
I was standing next to Roxx wondering what was going to happen next. Even if someone did come forward, there was no contraband to return. We had disposed of it all two nights ago by way of digestion.
‘What do you think's going to happen?’ I asked. ‘There's nothing to give back. Even if we were to turn someone in.’
‘They'd never be satisfied,’ he said. ‘There’s something more amiss.’ He turned to me, a sternness I have never seen engraved in his eyes.
‘A plan is already in motion,’ he said.
‘What plan?’ I asked.
‘You'll see.’
I didn't have to wait long before an explosion rocked the whole precinct. I nearly toppled off the porch from the shock wave. The Pavers were immediately on their coms confirming where the explosion came from. Their weapons were drawn and raised to the crowd.
The Enoch yelled over the commotion.
‘We take that as a no.’ He grabbed ahold of the handle, jumped into the Humvee and sped off in the direction of the small mushroom cloud to the north.
‘What did you do?’ I asked. ‘You might have just doomed us all.’
‘We were already doomed,’ Roxx said, and turned and entered into the shop.
I stood there watching the panicked faces. Everyone was running around in a frantic manner, or standing around gawking at the orange fire ball floating in the sky about twenty kilometers away from us. The only thing I knew that was in that area besides old farmlands and a dried-up lake was an abandoned shipyard. Why would someone blow that up? The place was a skeleton of old boats. There was nothing out there.
I grabbed my wobbling stick and wobbled my way in after Roxx. Something was going on and I knew he was the cause of it.
≈ Chapter 10 ≈
‘What did you do?’
The words came out as a yell rather than a question.
‘You just doomed us all. You know we can't live without those rations. How do you expect us to survive? People are barely hanging on as it is.’
Roxx was shuffling his stock and counting the number of items in his inventory.
‘Are you even listening?’ I said.
‘Calm down,’ he said, not bothering to make eye contact.
‘Calm down? Calm down!’ I choked. ‘How am I supposed to be calm? A bomb just went off.’ He continued to busy himself in the shop. ‘Look at me!’
He raised his eyes.
I could feel myself getting lightheaded from all the standing, so I found a nearby barrel to rest on. My chest was heaving with rage and fear.
I could feel him looking at me.
‘Everything is going to be okay,’ he said. ‘I have a plan. But for right now, I need for you to trust me.’
How can I trust him? He was full of secrets. I wasn't sure I even knew who he was any more.
‘I don't even know you,’ I said.
He looked hurt. Good. But I immediately regretted it. Roxx had been a father figure my whole life.
‘I thought you were just like all of us. Working to get by, but now I'm not too sure. You lied to me.’
‘I would never lie to you,’ he said.
‘No?’
‘No.’
My hands were shaking on my thighs.
‘What about the tunnels? What about the corn and the stockpile of food buried a hundred feet beneath the surface? What about that? Were you ever going to tell anyone about it?’
He walked towards me and held his finger over his lips.
‘Lower your voice,’ he said. He looked around the shop to see if we were the only ones within earshot. We were. He knelt on one knee and took my hands in his.
‘Willow,’ he whispered. ‘Look at me, sweetie.’
His eyes were more blue than usual. I could see my reflection in those blue orbs. I could see the fear on my face, the tangled knots my hair had formed, and the stress streaming down my cheeks in dried, crusty tears.
‘Look at me,’ he said again. I did, unable and unwilling to fight. I was too weak to stand alone.
‘I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you.’ He held my hands firmly in his own. Hi warmth felt good.
‘I probably should have told you sooner about the bunker. I'm sorry about that,’ he said. ‘But, what's done is done and we have to move on.’
‘Did you cause the explosion?’ I asked sternly.
Now that everything was out in the open. Why waste any more time? Just cut straight to the chase.
He shook his head.
‘No. And I'm going to find out who did.’
He stood up and walked to the door.
‘Who do you think it was?’ I asked.
‘I'm not sure, but my guess is someone from one of the neighboring precincts. I've heard rumors over the last month about an uprising forming.’
‘What do you mean, an uprising?’
‘The people are scared, Willow. More so than they are here. It may come as a surprise to you, but we are actually one of the better precincts around here. Many others are on the brink of starvation and collapse. The only things holding them together are the ration runs. And sometimes the storms are so bad that those don't even make it. The people think SIND is responsible.’
‘But why blow up a shipyard?’ I asked. ‘Where's the value in that?’
‘I don't know if it was the shipyard or not,’ he said. ‘The explosion did look like it came from that area, but I can't be certain until I see for myself.’
I wobbled over to stand next to him. Looking out through the door I could see that most of the people were still congregated by the fountain and were talking frantically.
‘There's nothing out there but the shipyard,’ I said. ‘Right?’
He pulled away from the door and disappeared into the storage closet in the back. He came out a few moments later with a large black bag and started stuffing it with food stores and supplies.
‘What are you doing?’ I asked.
‘I'm going to find the answers to all of your questions, and mine.’
‘What do you mean? You're not going out there, are you?’
‘That's the plan. I should be able to get to the shipyard within a day or two and once I see it for myself, I'll be able to formulate a better plan from there. But until then, we're shooting blind.’
‘But the Pavers are out there. If they catch you, they
'll think you caused the explosion. They may even kill you on the spot.’ My voice cracked at that realization.
‘I'm coming with you,’ I said.
He challenged me immediately.
‘NO! You need to stay here.’
‘Why? If another precinct is setting off bombs, and the Pavers are out there, you'll need someone to watch your back.’
‘If another precinct is responsible for this, I'll find out. But I need you here. I need you here to be my eyes and ears until I get back.’ He pulled a pistol out from under the counter and tossed a box of ammo into the sack. More secrets. I didn't even bother to ask him where he got those.
‘And besides,’ he said, ‘you would just slow me down.’
He zipped up the bag and walked around the counter.
‘And I don't mean that in a negative way. You need to rest your ankle.’
‘I'll be fine,’ I snapped, but even as I said those words I felt a throbbing emit up my leg. My heart was saying one thing but my body another. As much as I hated to admit it, Roxx was right—I would slow him down.
‘If you really want to help me,’ he began and reached for my face with both his hands, ‘you'll focus on getting better. I need you fully operational if we're going to make it through this. I need you. You're all I have left.’
He kissed me on the forehead.
‘Be my eyes and ears?’ he asked.
I couldn't say no. I nodded my head.
‘Thank you.’ He threw the strap of the sack over his shoulder and peered out the open doorway leading to the Market.
‘I knew I could count on you. I'll be back in a few days. In the meantime, would you mind looking after my shop? I wouldn't want these hoodlums to get any bright ideas in my absence.’
He managed a soft chuckle.
‘I can do that,’ I said. ‘And if someone asks...’
‘Tell them I'm out scavenging,’ he said. ‘You won't be lying.’
He winked and walked out.
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