Flowertown

by S. G. Redling

  Ellie dropped the files on the end of the table, far from where the clerk was working. She intentionally set them crooked, and the pile instantly slid to the floor in an avalanche of paper. The little clerk let loose a torrent of obscenities that even Ellie thought was excessive.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll get them.”

  “You sure will. And you’ll put them in the right order or you’ll get out of my file room.” Under the table, out of sight of the cameras, Ellie first flipped off the angry little woman, then opened a file. There was no way she could sneak the whole file out. It was too bulky and she didn’t even have the pathetic hiding place she’d had for the other files. Instead Ellie leafed through the pages quickly, trying to find the identity page with the photo. If she couldn’t know what she was stealing, she could at least know who. She found the photo page, as well as a stapled med center receipt, and tore it from the file. She grabbed two or three pages behind it as well and jammed the pages down the front of her pants. Closing the folder, she stacked up the spilled files and dumped them before the clerk.

  “There you go. That’s enough for me today.” The little woman gaped at her, taking in a breath for another tirade, but Ellie waved her down. “No need to thank me. Good luck!” She turned and hurried down the hall, catching the tail end of the newest rant as she cleared the nurses’ station.

  She knew she couldn’t just run out. She had to find Big Martha, and she had promised to wait for Rachel. Ellie leaned against the high station desk, both to catch the attention of the woman behind it and to wiggle the papers farther down her pants.

  “You waiting for Rachel?” The young girl in pink scrubs smiled up at her. Ellie nodded. “We just love her. I think it’s so great that she’s doing so well on the detox.”

  “Me too. She really needs to get out of here.”

  “Who doesn’t?” The girl leaned over her keyboard. “I’ve been here eighteen months. Ugh. Six more months and I am out of here.”

  Ellie leaned on her elbows and stared at the girl. “Eighteen months? Really?” The girl realized she was speaking to a local and her faced flushed deep red. She started to fumble through an awkward save that probably would have gotten her deeper in trouble, but Ellie held up her hand to silence her. “I’m looking for somebody.” The girl nodded, relieved to be able to recover from her fumble. She put her fingers to the keyboard.

  “Name?”

  “Logan. Martha Logan.”

  The girl typed and studied the screen. “Yes, she was brought in yesterday afternoon. Burns, respiratory issues.” She studied the screen, scowling. “It says she’s in secure quarters.”

  “What does that mean?”

  The girl shrugged. “Could mean she’s under arrest. Maybe she’s been quarantined. It could just be that someone pulled some strings and got her a private room. It doesn’t say.”

  “Well, can I go see her?”

  “Huh-uh.” She looked up at Ellie with a worried look. “Unless you have class four Feno clearance. Do you?”

  “No.” Ellie saw the relief on the girl’s face and knew she had just been classified as unimportant. “Can you at least tell me her condition?”

  The girl clicked the keys with precision and tipped her head primly. “No.”

  Ellie closed her eyes. There you are, old friend, she thought to herself. Deep in her spine, firing up from her fingertips, she felt that old, hot rage that she knew so well. It didn’t burn as bright as it had in the past, and didn’t flicker as fast, but Ellie would know it anywhere. One, two, three breaths and Ellie opened her eyes and smiled.

  “Thanks for your help.”

  Ellie headed back to Rachel’s room. It didn’t matter how much they smiled and patted Rachel, she knew. To these women, to these “caretakers,” Rachel and Ellie and Marvin Delmuth and his daughter-in-law and all the other good people who had suffered in these halls were nothing more than stained, second-class citizens. They were temporary lists of tasks to be completed while Feno poured money into their bank accounts. Their two-year stints in Flowertown were nothing more than a paragraph in the adventure of their lives, a lucrative anecdote that they could tell again and again after they returned to their real lives, their clean, unstained lives far away from the stinking pit that was Flowertown.

  Ellie had to catch herself to not kick open the door to Rachel’s room. One, two, three breaths and she knocked softly.

  “Come on in. I’m dressed.” Rachel sat on the edge of the bed, pale, her hair dark with sweat. Ellie could see her arms were red where the nurse had scrubbed her skin. “Are you totally bored?”

  “No. It was fine.” Ellie leaned against the wall, her arms folded as the nurse in green scrubs filled out a form.

  “Okey dokey, sweet girl.” The nurse smiled at Rachel, and it was everything Ellie could do not to kick that stool directly into her abdomen. “The samples are on their way to the lab. Fingers crossed everything comes out A-okay. We will call you later this evening and tell you when you can pick up your paperwork.”

  “You mean I don’t get it now?” Rachel’s eyes widened. “You said I got them today.”

  “No, today was the last day of your detox. You still have to pass the final screening. Then you’ll have to get your clearance papers and get fitted for your suit and have your anklet adjusted. Then we have to coordinate our GPS with your itinerary and work out transport.”

  “But the wedding is Friday morning. You said I’d be out Thursday. Tomorrow. I’ve only got forty-eight hours once I’m out, and all the arrangements have been made.” Rachel’s voice began to rise. “They’ve made all the plans and the rooms are booked!”

  The nurse patted Rachel on the arm. “I think our protocols are just a little bit more important than a cocktail party, don’t you?”

  Ellie experienced that very familiar sensation of tunnel vision as she pushed herself off the wall and came at the woman. Rachel saw her expression and leapt from the table to block her. Ellie could hear her roommate talking her down, but all of her attention was on the patronizing look of the nurse as she signed off on Rachel’s form. Clearly blowups in the care center were not unusual.

  “Can you at least try to get things to go on schedule?” Rachel asked.

  “Of course I will, dear. We’re not in the habit of arbitrarily screwing people over.” Ellie snorted at that, and the nurse’s voice turned to ice. “On the other hand, we are not going to endanger the entire country so that you can go see Wayne Newton.”

  “I understand.” Rachel had to shove to get Ellie to move, and Ellie kept eye contact with the nurse until the door closed behind them.

  “Let’s get the fuck out of here, Rachel.” She grabbed her roommate and hurried down the hall. Several of the nurses at the station started to say good-bye until they saw the black look on Ellie’s face. They didn’t stop until they were halfway across the street and Rachel began to cry.

  “Please slow down, Ellie. I can’t run like this.” She bent from the waist and threw up in the street. An army truck blew its horn, wanting her to move, and Ellie flipped both middle fingers to the driver. He started to blow the horn again until he saw Rachel heaving. Wiping her mouth, Rachel straightened up and waved an apology to the driver. He waved back as Ellie jerked her out of the way.

  “Don’t apologize to him, Rachel. He almost ran you over.”

  “Well, I was blocking the street.”

  “And he can wait. You’re sick. You’re more important than whatever he’s doing.”

  “Am I going to get out of here, Ellie?” Rachel started to cry. “Am I?”

  Ellie hugged her tight to her chest. “You’re getting out of here. Trust me. You will.”

  Rachel fell into bed while Ellie got her the jug of iced tea from the refrigerator. “Need a glass? Because we don’t have any.”

  “Then I think I’ll skip the glass.”

  “Good choice.”

  Rachel took a shallow drink from the jug and set it on the floor. “Would you mi
nd sitting with me until I fall asleep? I know I’m a huge pain in the ass.”

  Ellie made tsk-tsk sounds. “You know how that language upsets Bing. He’ll never marry you if you keep it up.” Rachel giggled as she climbed under her sheet. Ellie tucked her in and returned to her side of the room. Opening a win dow, she lit a cigarette and stared out over the hardware storeroom. Part of her was hoping to see Mr. Delmuth on the far corner, sweeping away the dirt and waving to her. Instead she saw another army convoy rolling past the store. Ellie looked away.

  The room was dark when she opened her eyes. Ellie started. She had been dreaming about pinning ads to a bulletin board when something snapped her from her dream. She lay on her side, her pillow wet from drool, and it took her several long moments to figure out where she was and about what time it was. Ellie pulled her phone from her pocket. She had gotten two texts from Bing: “Are you there yet?” and “Gonna be late.”

  “Shit.” She jumped from the bed. It was seven fifteen and she was late for the secret meeting. She wasn’t even sure exactly where the church was, just that it was on the northeast end of Flowertown. It wasn’t a place she frequented. Swearing to herself, Ellie pulled her hair back into the ponytail her sleep had destroyed and ran down the steps. How could she have fallen asleep? She had had her first good night’s sleep in weeks last night and she hadn’t smoked any weed. That’s what clean living will do, she told herself, hurrying down the dark streets.

  She was sweating by the time she found the church and took a moment to pull herself together. She didn’t know what to expect in this meeting, if that’s even what it was, but she figured sweating and panting were not part of the first impression she wanted to make. Ellie bent from the waist, taking in deep breaths as she watched the front of the church.

  It was an ordinary-looking building, like most of the suddenly erected structures in Flowertown. This end of the zone was built last and less effort had been made to apply any aesthetics. The buildings lay side by side, with dark, narrow alleys between them for garbage service. Ellie listened for any noise, but there was none. No trucks rumbled by, no security patrols flashed their lights. Maybe that was why they had chosen this location, Flowertown’s closest spot to off the grid.

  She thought about slipping through the alley between the church and the school, but it was dark down there and Ellie’s nerves were high. Instead she jogged around the corner and made her way down the wider alley behind the buildings. As she got closer, the darkness got deeper, and she looked up to see the streetlights were out. It wasn’t an unusual sight, but it made her take her steps carefully.

  There were trucks in the alley. Again this was nothing extraordinary for Flowertown. Supply trucks and convoys regularly jammed up the alleys during breaks from jobs, but Ellie wished her line of sight to the church was a little clearer. There was the door. The light in the back of the church was out and the area around the small door was full of shadows. With a deep breath, Ellie stepped out from between two trucks and headed for the door, stopping when she realized the shadows were figures.

  She stopped in mid-step, still in shadows herself. Were those guards? Was there some sort of password she needed to get into this meeting? Was this even a meeting? For the millionth time, she wished Bing was with her, although her faith in his knowledge of conspiracies had been badly shaken. Still, it would have been nice to have someone by her side. She decided she had come too far to turn back now and stepped once more out of the shadows. She was just getting ready to make her presence known when the back door to the church broke open under the boots of the figures at the door and the night lit up with flares.

  Ellie froze as men poured from the darkness and flooded the church. People were screaming and sirens flashed and suddenly the alley was alive with noise. Ellie didn’t know what was happening as rough hands jerked her backward, swinging her hard against the side of a truck. A gloved hand covered her mouth, blocking her scream, and she struggled against the arm. She tried to kick up her knee, but her attacker was ready for her and twisted to the right. A gun appeared before her eyes and she grew still.

  A radio crackled. “The room is secure, sir. Seven people. No weapons so far, but we’re still searching.” Another voice broke in. “Front is secure, sir. Situation contained.”

  Ellie knew before she even turned her head whose voice she would hear next, and she forced herself to relax, defeated, against the familiar form behind her. Guy took his hand from her mouth to grab his walkie-talkie, keeping his eye on her as he spoke. “Secure the prisoners and take them to the compound. Search the premises for evidence and weapons. And watch for booby-traps. I’m right behind you.”

  Guy dragged her by the arm along the line of trucks. She didn’t resist, instead giving herself over to the tingling sensation of rage that flooded her arms and legs. She could feel the growl growing in her throat as her muscles discussed without her permission which limb would strike out first. Ellie had a good feeling it would be her right foot that would get the glory as Guy whipped her around to the back of the last truck. He held his weapon at the ready, but rather than train it on her, he kept it before him as he looked both ways out the end of the alley. Grabbing her hard by the upper arm, he pushed her against the truck, his breath hot in her ear.

  “Run.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Ellie ran. She tore down the darkened streets while behind her the block came alive with lights and yells as people saw Feno goons dragging out neighbors and friends. She was clearing the third block when she saw a familiar figure hurrying in the opposite direction, his head bent in birdlike concentration.

  “Bing!” She cut across the street, dodging a Feno truck, and had to shout again to get her friend’s attention.

  “What happened?” Bing asked, looking disappointed. “We were wrong, weren’t we?”

  “Hardly. Or at least Feno didn’t think so. The meeting got busted.” She held her arm out to steady herself as she caught her breath. “I was late. I overslept. They were kicking down the door as I got there. Said they arrested seven people.”

  Bing scanned the streets nervously. “Then let’s get the hell out of here. How did you get away? Did they see you?” She didn’t want to tell him about Guy. She didn’t know what to think of his letting her go or what his intentions were, and she didn’t want Bing to start one of his rants. She muttered something about hiding in the shadows. Bing dragged her along the street, his long legs making her double-time to keep up with him. “So what are we going to do?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, are we going to contact them? Do we keep digging?”

  Ellie wrenched her arm free and stood still. “Hell no. Are you kidding me? We don’t even know what they’re meeting about. We don’t even know who these people are. Look, I’m not a fan of Feno, but I’m even less of a fan of the detention center. I spent the first two years in here in lockdown. I’m not going back so Annabeth Dingle can stockpile oyster crackers.”

  “Are you shitting me, Ellie? I thought those people were your friends.”

  “They are. It doesn’t mean I’m going to jail for them. I don’t even know what they’re doing. What if they’re the ones who blew up the office? What if they’ve killed people?”

  Bing put his hands on his hips. “So what are you going to do? Just go back and act like none of this ever happened? Just get high and look for another job and wait and see how long your liver lasts?”

  “No.” Ellie jabbed her finger up at him. “You don’t get to play that card anymore. All your talk about conspiracies and social uprising—it was all horseshit that you were making up while you sat around in your underwear playing World of Warcraft. You don’t give a shit about these people; you have no idea what’s going on.”

  “You don’t know anything either.”

  “No, but I do know that I have a roommate at home who is really sick and really nervous that she’s not going to get her pass out of here. She needs me, so I’m going to go ba
ck there and take care of her.” Ellie turned and started walking down the street. Bing waiting only a second before running to catch up to her.

  “Why wouldn’t Rachel get her pass out of Flowertown? Didn’t she pass the detox?”

  “They wouldn’t tell her. They’re making her jump through all sorts of hoops, letting her hang because they can. Because that’s the kind of people they are.”

  Bing didn’t say anything until they crossed onto the next block. “They being Feno, the people who just arrested a group of locals who invited us to a secret meeting.”

  “Shit.” Ellie sighed, trying unsuccessfully to walk faster than the thought. “Shit.”

  “Shit is right. What are we going to do, Ellie?”

  “Well, whatever we’re going to do, let’s not do it here with Feno trucks half a mile away.”

  They hurried along in silence, sticking to the darker streets and avoiding people whenever they crossed paths. Ellie could feel Bing’s nervousness as he scanned the alleyways and tensed every time a security truck rolled past. By the time they made it to the third floor of East Fifth, Bing looked tense enough to bite through metal. Half of the hallway lights were burned out and the remaining fixtures flickered, a sure sign the power was going to fail again.

  “Looks like it’s not going to be hard to stay in the shadows.” Ellie paused as she passed the toilet closets, catching the familiar sound of retching. She tapped on the door. “Rachel? Is that you?”

  “Uh-huh. I’m okay. I’ll be out in a little bit. Did you get to your scavenger hunt thing?”

  Ellie shot Bing a look. “Not exactly. It was kind of a bust.”

  “So to speak,” Bing whispered, and Ellie pushed him ahead.

  “We’re going to the room, honey. You need anything right now?”