I stopped next to one of my favorite trees. It was an apple tree. Tall and strong. I looked up and in the fading light I could see plenty of apples, sadly they weren’t ready yet. I could go for some fresh fruit. I’m surprised they were even still up there. There was such a lack of fresh fruit that people would pick them even before they were halfway ripe. If you waited then someone else would get them first and you’d be out of luck. Taking a deep breath, I looked up and down the street and sprinted across. I was maybe half way when I heard a truck coming. “Shit.” I muttered. I put my head down and ran faster. At the last minute I dived into a patch of grass behind a low wall, hitting my stomach on it as I dived over it. I rolled as close as I could to the wall, less chance of being seen.
The truck came rolling closer and it was topped with soldiers. I lay in the grass not daring to move. Hell, I wasn’t really breathing either. They passed by me with their spotlight just moving inches away from me. I looked up at them and I could swear that one was staring right at me but he didn’t say anything just kept rolling along with them. I read somewhere once that movement was key, that the human eye was attracted to movement. That as long as I stayed still their eyes would pass right over me. I let go of my breath once they passed but I didn’t dare move until they were further down the block. They may be incompetent but all I had to do was make one mistake and game over. All it would take would be one to see me and then numbers would go against me and I would be dead meat. I didn’t bring any of my weapons with me, so I would be gunned down in the street without complaint. If only Brody didn’t insist on this meeting. If only I could have stayed home and gone to bed, but no.
They turned the corner and I was off and moving again. The rest of the way was uneventful. They didn’t seem to be doing as many patrols around here. I should have been feeling grateful but the closer I got to the meeting spot the more nervous I got. Something was wrong. There was always a patrol every 20-30 minutes. These guys aren’t the brightest but there was a lot of them. They were diligent in doing the same patrol, every night. No change to the schedule, unless an emergency popped up but even then, they would still have some kind of patrol. Maybe this is what Brody wanted to meet about. A change in the patrols. I sat in the shadows watching my watch. I waited almost 40 minutes. No patrol. Something’s going down or will be. I guess I’ll see if Brody’s in there and then scramble if I need to, he wouldn’t have organized this unless he needed to. I pulled my flyaway hair away from my face. I really don’t like this.
I crossed another road and peered into the window of our meeting spot. It was dark, which wasn’t unusual, but there would be some kind of glow stick left in the corner or something reflective that I could see. Just climb in Alice. Maybe he just forgot. There’s no use in hanging out here and getting busted by a passing patrol. Just the thought of it made me look around uneasily. I climbed into the abandoned building through a broken window and hugged the wall. Even with all the windows missing, with the constant fresh air the building still smelt musty. “Brody.” I whispered. Something was wrong but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I stood there just listening. There was nothing. That was what worried me. I didn’t hear Brody. I still couldn’t hear any vehicles doing patrols, nothing. It was just silent. Nope. I’m getting out of here. Something is wrong. I am not getting caught like this. I turned and was getting ready to climb out the window. I had a leg through it and was getting ready to put my other leg through.
“Al. Wait.”
I turned and nearly fell backwards onto the floor, catching myself at the last second. My fingers scraped on the edge of the window frame looking for any kind of purchase. When I finally steadied myself, I turned to look. Brody was holding a lighter, illuminating his face. He waved a hand beckoning me to follow him. He walked back through the door he had come through after looking around suspiciously. I tried to relax my shoulders but something seemed off. Brody was a nervous guy and if anything was wrong he wouldn’t be here. Right? The first sniff of danger and he was the first to go bolting away. He was about as nervous as you could get. Twitchy almost. He was loyal though, if I needed help he was the first to show up, usually with the right materials too. I never had to worry about bargaining with him, our relationship was all about business. Whenever we worked together we just split everything right down the middle. No matter what the goods were. Either that or we just owed each other a favor. But when it comes down to it his skin always goes first. So why was I so damn nervous? If he was fine, then the situation should be fine. Right? I pulled my feet back through the window and set them firmly on the ground before I followed him stiffly through the door. As I came through the door it was slammed shut behind me and I was pushed down onto the ground eating dust. My arms were jerked behind me and handcuffed before I could even get past my shock.
I twisted my head to look up to see Brody being pushed up against the wall and being handcuffed as well. The soldiers that weren’t busy holding me down or cuffing me were pointing their guns at us. Now I know why my nerves were telling me to leave. I mentally screamed at myself. I should’ve left when I had the chance. Why didn’t I frigging listen to my guts? Why? Simple, I trusted Brody. I trusted him.
The soldiers were wearing full body gear, which included gas masks. Why the hell would they be wearing those? It’s not like I had anything to use against them that would make them need that gear. They searched my pockets. Thank goodness I left all my stuff at home. This way they can’t take it and keep it for themselves. I bit down on my cheek till I tasted blood, willing myself to just lay there. I wanted to hit them. I wanted to watch their blood leave their bodies, to watch them gasp for air as they died. The memory of the man being dragged out of his home swam to the front of my brain. But know I know how that he and that woman felt. Completely and utterly hopeless. I had no moves right now. I purposely went limp when they began hauling me to my feet. No point in making it easy, might as well make it difficult for them since they made my night a mess.
“Damn… c’mon just stand up.” One of them groaned, his voice full of static from the mask.
“What you too much of a wimp to help a lady stand after slamming her into the ground?” I shot back.
“Screw you. You’re the one who broke curfew.” He yanked my arm and pulled me to my feet. “If you don’t cooperate I’ll knock out some of your pearly whites there and show you what pain can be.”
I turned and glared at him. My face was throbbing from the scratches and then being dropped onto them made it feel like they reopened. As if to prove my thought another soldier stepped up. “Damn, did you do that?”
The first guy shrugged. “There ain’t nothing on the ground that would have done that to her. ‘Sides, I don’t scratch. I ain’t a chick.”
The second guy grabbed my chin and tilted my head so he could get a better look. “They sure look like damn scratches. How the hell you get them girl?”
“None of your damn business.”
“Boss won’t be too happy seeing your face all screwed up like that. Get them in the car.”
The first guy grabbed my arm and led me out of the building. I had soldiers on all sides of me with loaded guns pointed indirectly at me. They weren’t giving me any chance to get away. I guess their training must have been stepped up lately, I’d never seen them be this professional. They were all older men, so there was the possibility that they were original soldiers. At this point all I could do was hang my head and try to not trip while they marched me out of the building. Two SUVS pulled up in front of us with a truck close behind them. I was ushered into the first SUV with a soldier on either side of me. I looked back and Brody was being shoved into the second SUV.
Screw him. He could have waved me off or something. The first chance I get I’m socking him right in the face. If he had given me a hand gesture or anything! I wouldn’t be in this mess. How did he even let this happen? What did they bribe him with? Or what did they hang over his head to get him to do this? Damn him… I scrunched my
eyes shut and focused my breathing to calm down. I’d only get myself into deeper trouble if I allowed myself to get pissed off. Anger does nothing to help the situation. Only makes you do stupid things, like get yourself killed. Maybe I’d get a chance to talk myself out of it. Maybe. But I could only do that by not pissing these guys off.
But why would they be worried about what the boss thought of my face? Shouldn’t they just throw me in jail or something? Why would they take me to their boss? There’s no reasoning behind that, unless. Oh, crap don’t tell me it’s going to be like a public sentencing or something. If it was going to be that I guess they wouldn’t want me looking that I had been beaten up. They wouldn’t want me to look pitiful, they’d want me to look like a trouble maker. But I still feel like I’m missing something. Something wasn’t making sense. They didn’t usually set trap like that, unless they wanted to keep it hush hush. With busting people for being out after curfew they liked to make it as loud as possible.
All these questions with no answers was grating on my nerves. Instead of stewing I looked at both soldiers on either side of me. They both still had their guns pointed at me. Arms tight around their weapons. They would shoot me if I gave them any reason to. This night was getting better and better as the minutes rolled by. As the vehicle started up and began moving I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. Whatever happens, happens. It’s out of my hands now. I purposely kept my mind blank. If I let any of my emotions set in then I would be as good as dead. This situation was like being outside of the wall. I had to have complete control over myself or I would die. Even then I might die, but if I was going to die it would be because I ran out of options. Not because I made a mistake. If they killed me it would be because they got the better of me and they would deserve the honor of killing me.
The ride ended up being close to an hour or close enough that it didn’t matter. My butt was numb so when the vehicle pulled to a stop I was almost grateful even if it meant I was closer to dying. The soldier on my right got out first and the one on my left pushed me out. He didn’t give any warning, just stabbed me in the side with his gun. He kept the pressure up until I stumbled out of the car. I stepped away from the car surrounded by more soldiers who had poured out from other vehicles and from who knows where. Like rats from a sewer. I had to squint my eyes because there was so much light being put out. It lit up the entire block, it was so bright out that it could be daylight here. It took me I’m ashamed to say, several minutes to realize I was in front of the capitol building. They dragged Brody over to where I was standing. He didn’t look at me or even acknowledge me in any form. Still squinting, Brody and I were led up the steps and through the front double doors. I had enough time to register that the whole building that my house was in could have fit into the main hall stacked on top of each other twice before I was yanked to a door and pushed up stairs. Was that high of a ceiling really necessary? I’d hate to have to paint it.
We climbed set after set of stairs for what seemed like hours. Of course, the stairs were circular, as we climbed, we went around and round. Till I thought I might be sick. I knew it was only minutes but being surrounded by men who were not afraid to put a bullet in my skull made time slow down. Seconds felt like minutes. Minutes felt like hours. After the fourth set of stairs some of the soldiers were beginning to breathe heavily. I raised my eyebrows and laughed at them. “Sounds like you boys need some more cardio. I guess sitting around doing nothing is finally catching up with you.”
Someone hit me in my back knocking me to my knees. “Shut up.”
They picked me back up and continued moving up. I kept my mouth shut the rest of the way.
We finally leveled out at a hallway. The carpet was a dark brown, almost a coffee color while the walls were a cream colored. There were no decorations. The walls were empty, no paintings, nothing. Don’t places like this usually have corny pictures hanging everywhere? No? Hm, I must be thinking of doctor offices. We marched down the hallway. Passing doors on our left and right. At the end of the hallway a set of double doors loomed. I had the distinct impression that was where our final destination would be. We approached the set of double doors where we were finally stopped. The captain stepped forward and knocked three times on the doors. He then he casually stepped back.
I looked up at Brody. Hell, I had to look up to everyone, being five foot nothing made me feel like a kid standing with these guys. All of them towered over me, with the exception of one of two soldiers, I felt like a child standing with adults. Brody looked back down at me. There was the faintest bit of remorse on his face. He looked like he was about to say something. He then broke away when a faint voice from inside the doors said to enter. What was he about to say? Was he about to apologize? Now I’ll never know.
We were marched in with the captain leading us. The carpet and walls were the same as in the hall. Except instead of being empty the walls were covered in maps. They ranged from the city where the safe zone was located, to the county and out to the state. There was even a few that had the country on it. The maps had writing and circles drawn over all of them. What did they mean, the circles? What did the writing say? It looked like it was even color coded. The writing was small and cramped that from here I couldn’t make out anything. On top of the maps pieces of official documents were hung, with even more writing on them. There was almost no space that wasn’t covered in cramped hand writing. Unwillingly I tore my gaze from the walls to watch the man behind the desk.
The captain had strode forward to whisper something in his ear. The old man smiled and stood up. He came around his desk and walked up to me. “Hello sweetheart.”
Brody leaned forward, “It’s not a good idea to call her that.”
He looked at Brody and one of the soldiers knocked Brody on the side of the head. Brody staggered under the hit and would have gone down if another soldier hadn’t grabbed him. The man turned back to me, nothing indicating that he could have ordered Brody to be shot on the spot instead of almost being knocked out. “I’m assuming you know who I am.”
I looked him in the eyes. I swallowed the spit that had gathered in my mouth and pursed my lips together. I knew him alright. Romero, bastard that he was, he enjoyed lording himself over everyone. Thinking he was high and mighty, that no one could touch him. He was right though. No one could get close enough to do anything to him. No matter how much he hoarded food and medical supplies for himself. No matter how much he mistreated the people here. No matter how much he allowed the military to get away with. But at the same time as much as people complained about him, no one wanted to know what it would be like without him. He kept the chaos mostly in check, by keeping the infected out. By having some sort of order and society going. If it wasn’t for sheer luck on his part he wouldn’t be in this room. The only reason he was in power was because he had been a major political figure at the time of the outbreak and coordinated the walls going up around the city. He organized everything into what it is today. He kept people alive, gave them food and safety. He’s all they’ve known for the past ten years. People don’t like change. That’s how he’s kept the power for so long. Having the military eating out of his pocket has its benefits.
He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it and began to puff on it. Purposely blowing the smoke into my face. I put on a bored face, just to show him that blowing smoke in my face wasn’t going to bother me as much as he hoped it would. He seemed to realize that. “Captain, I want you and this young lady to stay. The rest of you leave.”
Without a second glance back they left, taking Brody with them. I stood as tall as I could when his eyes fell back on me. They were brown, just like the flooring. Instead of being warm they were cold. This man didn’t care what happened to me, I was a tool that could be used or just a piece of trash that could be discarded. It all depends on what he thinks he could get out of me, on how much use I could be before I had to be thrown off to the side. “Now young lady or should I just call you by your name?”
He puffed his cigarette. “I watch everything that goes on in this city. I have eyes everywhere, always watching. Safety is my number one priority. So naturally, I know that you venture into the city to get your goods to trade. So why wouldn’t I know your name, Alice.” His lips curled into what was supposed to be a smile, exposing white straight teeth.
I stood stiffly. “So,I’m here not just because I broke curfew but because you’re tired of me bringing in stuff from outside. You don’t want me exposing myself to infection which could mean the death of this entire place. You used Brody to bring me in, why not just get me while I’m at home where I’m vulnerable? Why go to so much trouble? And why wait so long, if you’ve known?”
He shrugged. “I don’t want to upset your family and have them do something they might regret, people do the most ridiculous things when upset.” He waited for me to respond. Instead I raised my eyebrows and nodded my head for him to continue. He knocked some of the ashes off the tip of his cigarette before continuing, a frown taking over his features. I didn’t rise to his bait, and he didn’t like it. “Traders are a valuable asset. You bring in supplies that the general populace has difficultly acquiring. In a sense you help keep everyone happier and complacent. And happy, complacent people make my job that much easier. That’s why I didn’t have you brought in sooner. Now, I want you to look at something.”
He walked over to one of his maps, puffing on his cigarette the whole while. The captain grabbed my elbow and forced me to follow. “Now Alice have you heard of rumors of people being immune to this nasty virus?”
“What?” I frowned at the back of his head. “That’s just a rumor to give people something to talk about. There’s no truth in it, just talk to give people something to look forward to happening eventually. Because of these rumors people actually think that eventually they’ll be able to go back to their old lives. That’s not going to happen. So yes, I have heard of it. But do I believe it? No.”
Dead Paper Birds Page 4
