by A. R. Wise
"She's scared of heights," Annie yelled back to him.
"Want me to come get you? I'll carry you on my back."
The thought of the sweaty fat man hoisting me onto his back and ferrying me across didn't sound any more appealing than doing it myself. "No, that's okay. I can do it. Just give me a second."
I inched across the chasm and tried not to look down, which was absolutely impossible. Ollie kept telling me to stare at him, but that didn't calm me and I just stared at my feet as I slid them forward. I took each inch slowly and my hands felt raw as they gripped the frayed ropes, but I eventually made it across. Ollie was there to greet me with a wide grin and a pat on the butt. Then he pointed across the town towards a building that was several floors taller than the rest.
"You've got about six more bridges like that one before we get to the camp."
"You're kidding me." I felt suddenly sick at the thought.
Annie and Hailey made it across without any trouble and Hero was about to cross as well when Ollie told him that someone needed to stay at the hatch. Hero angrily insisted that Ollie should stay, but he said that it was his turn to spend some time with the pretty girls. Hero grumbled and cursed, but eventually took Annie's gun and went to sit by the hatch.
Vineyard was a large town, and bridges connected many of the roofs. Rooftop gardens graced each building and there was an irrigation system of pipes that ran across throughout and kept the soil moist. Annie explained that the residents of each building were responsible for their garden, and the collaboration between the people helped make the town self-sufficient.
"That's right," said Ollie with a wide grin. "That's why we turned the traders away. We don't need their overpriced garbage. We've got everything we need right here. Including as much wine as you can guzzle. In fact, the building we're standing on is filled with more than thirty barrels of the best wine you'll ever drink."
"He's right," said Annie. "That's how the town got its name."
I'd hoped that crossing the bridges would get easier, but it didn't. Each new plank brought a new low to how deep my stomach could sink. I'd spent my life confined to a single floor and never dreamt that I might fall far enough to hurt myself. No situation had ever presented itself that might suggest such a thing could happen. Luckily, Hailey was there to calm me down and hold my hand.
We reached the final bridge and I was elated to see that it was larger and sturdier than the others. It stretched across a sizeable street, but the bridge was three times wider than the others and I was able to easily move across. Ollie led us into the building through a broken window that the bridge connected to. Two men stood beside the entrance, both equipped with rifles, and they watched us as we passed in a way that made me uncomfortable.
"We need to get new clothes," I said to Hailey as we walked into the hollowed out floor of the building. Something about the way the men looked at us made me feel as if I were being hunted. I thought about the calf and the pack of dogs.
Ollie overheard me and turned to answer. "We've got a tailor. Kaleb can get you girls set up with some new clothes if you've got something to trade."
I shrugged and looked at Hailey uselessly. "We don't have anything but the clothes on our back."
"There are all sorts of things you two could trade with."
"Ollie!" Annie screamed at him and punched the squat man in the shoulder. He staggered to the side from the force of her attack and rubbed his arm.
"What? I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about manual labor. Christ's sake, Annie, I thought you had a better opinion of me than that. Besides, you'll always be my one true…"
"That's enough, Ollie." Annie walked ahead of us and opened a door to a stairwell. Ollie stepped in first and started up the stairs.
"It sure is a long hike to get to this place," said Hailey.
Annie pointed up and we looked at the ceiling before stepping into the stairwell. To our surprise, the ceiling was filled with holes that looked up to the floor above. "If a guard spots someone, they can shoot down at them from up there. No raider is going to get in here unharmed unless they learn how to fly." She smiled as if that was a silly thought.
"Coming?" asked Ollie as he stared down at us from the stairs.
We headed up the stairs instead of answering him. He led us up two flights, and by the time we reached the top he was sweating and puffing. He wiped his brow and rubbed the sweat off on his grimy shirt. "You'd think I'd get used to climbing up these damn steps."
"Maybe if you stopped eating Taylor's food," said Annie as she opened the door.
"Life's too short to eat bad food."
The floor that we were on now had been gutted except for a single wall with a set of double doors and a series of windows that looked out onto the larger space. I heard muffled voices coming from behind the wall. The group was boisterous, and the sound of frequent laughter filled the room.
"Sounds like we're just in time," said Annie.
Ollie had to rush to get ahead of Annie as they approached the door. His squat legs had trouble keeping up with Annie's long, elegant stride. "We're celebrating Beach and Bonnie's anniversary." He looked at Hailey and me as he explained. "Beach and Bonnie are the two that started this town. They got married on the same day that we named the town, so in a way this is an anniversary for the town too. It's one of our biggest celebrations. The official anniversary isn't until tomorrow, but we always kick off things early. Tomorrow we'll go down and get the meat from the smokers and eat until we're about to bust open."
Annie smacked Ollie on his rotund belly as she moved past him. "You're already about to bust."
"Not nice, kiddo," said Ollie. "I work hard to keep this figure."
Annie opened the door and the noise from the group inside became much louder. Ollie let us in before him and we walked behind Annie. The people inside were laughing uproariously. We moved through a hallway and took a right turn that allowed me to see the gathering place.
A waft of air struck me, along with the smell of smoke, as we turned the corner. Everyone was gathered in a room that had no ceiling, and a starry night hung above them. A fire blazed in the center, roaring inside of a circle of stones. The walls of the building were still intact, blocking our view of the horizon, but the gorgeous blue and black brilliance of the night sky was unfolded before us to enjoy.
There were at least fifty people in the room. They carried bowls filled with steaming food and goblets that sloshed with red liquid that they drank liberally. When they saw us come in, the group excitedly greeted us with their cups held high and wide smiles on their faces. I'd never seen a group as motley, or as jubilant, as them. They looked haggard, with dirty, tan faces and ragged clothes. Most of the men had beards, and the women had hair that was ratted and greasy. The children ran around with little to no clothes, and screamed with laughter as they played a game I didn't recognize. Some of the people looked impossibly old, with wrinkled faces and arched backs, but even they waved a greeting as we entered.
As different as these people were from us, and as disparate our experiences had been, I'd never felt more welcome than I did walking into that room.
"Annie!" An old woman cried out and held her hands in the air. She rushed across the room and embraced the girl beside us. "I'm so happy to see you." She clasped Annie by her cheeks and pulled the tall girl down for a kiss.
The elderly woman was wearing an ornate white dress that had been sullied with time. It was beaded around the neck and frayed at the bottom, but age had stripped it of several of its ornaments. She had her grey hair braided and bound in the back of her head. The end of each braid bore a string of beads that clattered together when she moved.
"Hi Bonnie," said Annie. "These are my friends, Hailey and Cobra."
Bonnie clasped Hailey's hand in both of hers and shook it. "Welcome, darling. You are such a pretty girl. I love your hair."
"Thank you," said Hailey.
"And you're Cobra?" she asked as she moved to me.
"Yes."
"That's a very unique name." She studied me and then nodded. "I like it. It's strong." She looked at Hailey, and then back at me. "You two are probably the prettiest girls I've ever seen. With the exception of Annie and her sister, of course. Are you with the High Rollers?"
"Yes," said Annie before we could answer. "New recruits. Where's my sister?"
"She's out with Stitch, patrolling the area. You know how she can be."
Annie sighed and nodded. "Boy, do I ever."
"They showed up with Harrison and a man named Ben just a little while ago." Bonnie pointed at an older man that was sitting beside another man with dark hair. The older man was finishing the last sip of a goblet as his friend sat sullenly beside him. A tiny dog was curled up in the lap of the younger man. They were on a bench that was part of a circle around the center fire.
"I'm surprised you guys let Harrison in here."
"Oh, he's harmless," said Bonnie. "You just have to remember to keep your hand on your purse around him, and he won't be any trouble." She laughed and ushered us over to the group. "Come on, girls, have a drink. We've got three casks open. One is a red, and the other two are whites." She put her arm into Annie's as they walked. "We only have wine tonight, but Taylor has a batch of beer that he's saving for tomorrow."
"Sounds good," said Annie.
Bonnie led us to an empty bench around the fire and several members of the group welcomed us. They took turns introducing themselves, and the multitude of people made my head swim. The man named Harrison got up and came to sit beside us as he carried a guitar that he was tuning.
"My name's Harrison," said the old man as he sat down.
"They've already been warned about you," said Annie. "They don't have anything worth stealing."
"Annie, you and your sister need to learn that I'm not as bad as you think. I'm a sweet old man, with the best of intentions and nothing but love for my fellow man." He smiled at me and added, "And woman." He plucked the strings on his guitar. "I can tell that you girls are probably Greens, but you still might have good taste in music. Do you two like the Grateful Dead?"
"Hey kid," said a woman's voice behind us. I turned and saw a tall girl standing behind Annie. She was dressed in a green and brown uniform and had her hands on Annie's shoulder.
"Hi Kim," said Annie as she stood to greet her sister. They embraced and Kim laughed when she saw Annie's face.
"What's with the make up?"
Annie wiped her thumb across her cheek and smeared the greasy make-up. "Shit, I forgot I had this on."
"Where did you go that you had to paint your face?"
"It's probably better if you don't ask," said Annie as she used the bottom of her shirt to wipe her face.
"Why? Where did you go?" Kim was perturbed by Annie's refusal to answer.
"Hero thought the traders might've been headed out to DIA. Turns out he was right."
Kim's expression turned angry. "So you went to the airport?"
"We just wanted to see where the traders were coming from, and you should be glad we did."
"And why is that, Annie?" Kim moved to stand in front of her sister and we could all sense her frustration. "Why should I be glad that you risked your life like that? Why would that make me happy?"
"Because we found some important shit out, Kim. Settle down."
Harrison leaned in close to me and whispered, "I'm going to get out of here before these two start pulling hair."
"Like what?" asked Kim.
Annie clenched her jaw and spoke quietly, but with an angry tone. "Like that they're putting bodies into trucks that are covered in the powder. We stole one of them and…"
"Don't tell me you drove it here, Annie! You know they track all of their vehicles."
"No, we didn't drive it here, Kim. For crying out loud, stop treating me like I'm an idiot."
"Hey, girls," said a bald woman that walked to stand beside Kim. "Stop acting like bitchy sisters for ten minutes. Please?"
Hailey looked at me with wide eyes and then back at the girl. I knew what she was reacting to, because the same thing shocked me. The girl that interceded in the argument had a tattoo on her upper and lower lips of what looked like string that tied her lips shut.
The tattooed woman extended her hand to Hailey, who eagerly shook it. "My name's Wendy, but everyone calls me Stitch."
"Hi, I'm Hailey and this is Cobra. Is that a tattoo?" Hailey touched her own lips in reference to the tattoos on Stitch's.
"Yes, but I'm not the one that put them there. It's kind of a bummer of a story. Not great banter for parties."
"I'm sorry," said Hailey as her cheeks blushed.
"Don't be sorry, sweetheart. Tell you what, girls, I'm going to get some wine for us, and we're going to drink until we get stupid and these two bitches start being nice to each other."
"We've got to head back to camp early tomorrow," said Kim, but Stitch put her finger up and stopped her from continuing.
"Tomorrow is another day, Kim. For now, just sit down, shut up, and enjoy yourself for a change. How's that sound?"
"Sounds fucking impossible," muttered Annie.
Stitch kicked Annie's foot and pointed at her with a wry smirk. Kim sat down beside Annie and put her arm around her shoulder. "You know I'm only giving you a hard time because I love you, right?"
"Yeah, yeah," said Annie as she set her head on her big sister's shoulder. Despite their argument, they clearly loved one another.
"So what's your story?" asked Kim as she looked at Hailey and me. "What's with the get-up?" She pointed at our clothes.
Harrison strode back into our group before I could answer and he started to strum his guitar with vigor. "Are you two done fighting? Because there's no way in hell I'm going to sit over there while a bench full of beautiful girls sit all the way over here by themselves. Sorry, ladies, but I'm just not willing to do that."
Someone else in the group cheered. I saw a man stand up and raise a cup high into the air as he said, "It's too damn quiet in here! Where's the music? Where's the dancing? Is this a party or did we all come here to sit around and be boring?"
Harrison turned with a gleeful leap and pointed at the other man. "That's what I'm talking about! Rocky, get your fucking drums and let’s get this party started!"
Rocky clapped his hands and skipped away as Harrison started to circle the fire. He strummed his guitar and stomped his foot as he went. The fire's shadows highlighted his wide grin as his wild eyes gazed at everyone. He pointed at Stitch as she walked back to us with an armful of filled goblets. "Stitch! I've heard you sing. You've got a great voice. Are you going to sing for us tonight?"
She shook her head as she handed us our drinks. "I don't know, Harry. I haven't even started drinking yet."
"Then you'd better get to work, darling, because I feel a song coming on."
The crowd clapped and started chanting her name. She finished handing out our drinks and then put her finger high into the air before bringing her cup to her lips. She drank the wine faster than I thought possible. Then she tossed the cup into the fire and the group screamed out in appreciation. "There! I've started drinking. What're we singing?"
Various people in the circle began shouting out suggestions and Stitch listened to them all until she clapped and pointed at Bonnie, who was sitting across from us. "What did you say, Bonnie?"
"Do you know Dire Wolf?"
Stitch put her hands on her hips and tilted her head to the side. "Do I know Dire Wolf?" she asked sarcastically. "Harry, what's say we get this party started?"
Rocky carried a large, tall drum from the side of the room and set it down in front of the fire. Then he slapped the top as he started a beat that Harrison soon followed with the guitar.
Bonnie stood up and started clapping before looking around the room. "Where's Jacob?" Then she found who she was looking for and pointed at him with a smile. "Do you have your banjo?"
"Babe, I don't think I've gone anywhe
re without it in almost fifteen years," said the scruffy old man.
"Then why aren't you playing it?" asked Bonnie with a laugh.
Other people began to join in with the rhythmic clapping. Hailey gleefully joined and slapped my leg until I did the same. Harrison continued to pluck the guitar as he walked in a circle around the room. Someone else rushed to get Stitch another drink and she happily accepted it as she swayed with the music.
When she started singing, her voice was timid and quiet, but as the song progressed she gained more confidence. She closed her eyes and snapped her fingers along with the beat. She sang about a wolf and about her fear of death. She pleaded with the wolf not to murder her and her voice got louder with each verse until she was joyously crying out the lyrics. Her voice was stunning, and she inspired others to begin singing as well. Before long, everyone was reciting the song, and even Hailey had picked up on a few of the lines.
When it was over, Harrison stood beside Stitch and leaned in to kiss her cheek. I was close enough to hear him speak to her over the clamor of applause. "I don't know who would ever dare even think of putting those stitches over your mouth. As God is my witness, darling, you've got the voice of an angel. Don't you ever let anyone keep you from singing. Ever."
Stitch put her forehead against Harrison's and I saw a tear in her eye. "Thanks, Harry. That means a lot."
"I'm serious, Wendy. Don't you ever stop singing."
Stitch ruffled his greasy, thinning hair and then wrapped her arms around him before sending him off to start another song. This continued for a while as other members of the circle brought new instruments. There was a tall, older woman with a harmonica and a younger man with a set of maracas. Stitch continued to sing, and her beautiful voice stunned me as she closed her eyes and held her arms up to the night sky as her hips swayed back and forth.
There was a never-ending flow of wine, and after drinking a few glasses I started to feel the effect of the alcohol stir inside of me. I started to stand, but then realized it would be better if I stayed sitting. When someone offered me another cup of wine, I politely declined and Hailey started to tease me, saying I was a drunk. She leaned over and hugged me before kissing my cheek over and over until I had to push her away. She smiled and clasped my hand as she sat beside me.
