Rebel Bound

by Shauna E. Black

  “Don't bother making my quarters too permanent,” I say.

  Lucio raises his delicate eyebrows. They’re darker than his hair, making a stark contrast. “I was under the impression that at least Mardy would be staying here. She seems quite taken with the Impartialist movement. I hoped she might persuade you.”

  His words spark my anger, but I keep myself in check. “You’ve been very good to us, but Mardy and I can't trespass on your generosity much longer. As soon as I’m ready to scavenge again, we'll get out of your way.”

  Lucio's smile vanishes, replaced by a look of concern. “There is safety and strength in numbers. Why do you think so many scavs struggle so much topside? They don't band together—they don't take care of each other.” He leans forward, his eyes intense, like two dark glowing coals. “Why did you return to Lincoln Shelter?”

  “Excuse me?” His sudden change in subject baffles me for a moment.

  “Jate told me you dragged yourself a couple of miles across the city. Why did you go back for your sister after you got stabbed?”

  I hesitate. His open expression seems to invite confession. “I couldn't leave Mardy alone,” I find myself explaining. “I promised my mother I’d take care of her. I promised Mardy I’d come back.”

  Lucio nods as if he expected this answer. “Loyalty. That's what I value too. I know you understand taking care of each other. That's all we’re trying to do here. Being Impartialist means we’re all friends, Caelin. It means we help others, ensure that everyone has their needs met. We don’t decide who gets help and who doesn’t. We offer what we have to everyone.”

  I arch my brow in what I hope is a fair imitation of Gemma’s stern expression. “Then why don’t you let more scavs into your shelter? You could fit at least twice as many people down here as Lincoln Shelter holds.”

  He leans back in the chair. “You’re smart, Caelin. I can see that. But let me explain something to you. The Impartialist movement is yet in its infancy. Not everyone believes in it, particularly the Coalition. They’ve spent the last eleven years holed up in their Undercity, denying the luxuries they enjoy to those they left on the surface. We must build up our opposition to them carefully, so that we have the military strength to combat those we can’t persuade to join our cause, before we will be able to protect large numbers of the general population. We have to get our feet under us, so to speak, before we can lift others.”

  His argument makes sense. I chew at my lower lip, deciding if I have the nerve to ask him more of my questions. “The food,” I finally stammer. “Why do you have to steal it? Can’t you just grow your own? You seem to have the resources.”

  He’s unruffled. “The Coalition has more than it needs for the Undercity. We’re simply taking the excess, giving it to those who need it most.”

  “The Duponts?” I can’t keep the scorn from my voice.

  His eyes widen. “Didn’t Jate tell you? Every time we raid the Coalition fields, we distribute it to shelters throughout the city—not the Coalition ones, of course, so perhaps you’ve never tasted the spoils of our efforts.”

  I keep the surprise off my face. “What do you ask from them in return?”

  “Nothing. Just like you and Mardy owe me nothing for saving your lives. I told you that before. I just—” He hesitates, as though reluctant to voice his thoughts. “Mardy has become like a member of our family. She’s talented, young, enthusiastic. Every person who joins our cause makes us stronger, makes it more possible for us to offer a good life to everyone. We need her. We need you. I hope you’ll think about that.”

  He reaches out to pat the lump my knee makes under the covers. This time, I don’t move away.

  “Your sister will be here soon, so gather up your belongings. You can stay a room with her however much longer you are with us.” He stands and replaces the chair in the kneehole of the desk. His expression becomes wistful, even pleading as he turns back to me. “But I hope you'll decide to stay. We are deep enough here that you are completely protected from the radiation. You have a bed to sleep in, good food to eat. I hope you don't decide to place you and your sister back into your previous circumstances.” He leaves the door open when he goes out.

  Several minutes after he disappears down the hall, I see Mardy approaching. She’s a bundle of energy, practically bouncing on her toes. “Finally! They're going to let you sleep in the same room with me! Verina moved out so you could come. You're going to love it there. All the girls are so wonderful.” Some of the excitement seeps out of her expression. “Well, most of the girls. But you're going to love it, really.”

  She helps me gather up the few things I own—the clothes Ryanne left, a toothbrush and comb from the bathroom, and my bundle of food from under the bed. I can put the sling on my broken arm by myself now, but she fastens it in place for me.

  Mardy gives me a funny look as I reach up under the frame and stuff several pieces of food into an extra pillowcase. I pause when I pull out the apple. It’s shriveled even more, just as Jate predicted, and has begun to smell a little sour. But I can’t bring myself to eat it. It seems as though I will destroy his gift if I do.

  “What about this?” I ask, pointing at her mosaic.

  Mardy avoids looking at me. “Leave it there.”

  I study the picture, stepping back. Then I see it. “Lucio?”

  She nods. “He’s been so good to us, Caelin! I haven’t felt safe like this since—” She breaks off, staring at the toe of her boot making tiny circles in the pattern of the carpet.

  “Since Papa left,” I finish for her in a whisper. I firm my jaw. It’s time to go. “Did you find out where the exit is yet?”

  Mardy glances up at me furtively. “I'm not sure. I haven’t been everywhere in the shelter. But I think it might be over near the old art gallery.”

  I clutch the bag of food to my chest with my good hand. Mardy carries everything else. “Take me there.”

  “But I'm supposed to show you our new room.”

  I glance at the open door. Hudson is nowhere in sight. I lower my voice anyway. “This might be the best chance we get. You're the only one assigned to lead me to this room, right?” She nods. “We’ll just get ourselves a little lost and find the door that leads to topside. It’s PM, so we can get to safety before the sun rises.”

  Mardy's expression falls, all of the excitement drained out of her. She nods limply.

  As we leave the room, Hudson comes scurrying out of a doorway farther down the hall. He holds a bottle that rattles with pills. He hands the bottle to me.

  “Here are your pills. Keep taking them until you finish off the whole bottle. Once a day. Then you should be as right as rain.” I wonder at the archaic expression, since rain is usually full of acid radiation, and not something that is right with the world at all.

  “I'll be seeing you around, Caelin,” Hudson says with a wink. “But hopefully not in the infirmary again.” I give him a weak smile in return. If I have anything to say about it, he won't be seeing me again at all.

  Mardy leads me to the opposite end of the hotel from where I exited with Ryanne on her grand tour. I’m stronger now and don't have to rest as often. As we pass one of the doors, Mardy glances at it several times. I guess that's where our room is supposed to be, but she dutifully leads me to the end of the hall and another glass door.

  “We’ll go around through the empty side,” she says as we exit and come out into the concrete tunnel. “There aren’t as many lights, and not many people go this way.”

  Avoiding people sounds like a good idea to me.

  CHAPTER 12

  We walk for a long time. The lights come fewer and farther between. It doesn’t bother me. Darkness is a protection I’m used to. After what seems like a long time, we come to an open space like the training area Ryanne showed me. This one is not walled off, and there are no mats or racks full of weapons against the walls. We turn to the left, following the curve of the tunnel as it loops back around on a parallel route to
the one we came from.

  This way is shorter than the one Ryanne led me on before, but I’m still exhausted by the walk, and have to stop to rest more and more often. We pass a noisy generator and a chicken coop. Mardy says they keep the birds far away from the living quarters due to the smell. I don’t think it smells nearly as bad as our nook under the stairs at Lincoln Shelter, but I’m still glad to put it behind us.

  There are more people here. They give us curious looks, but smile and nod in greeting. I can’t get over how friendly people are, even when they’re strangers.

  The tunnel curves around into a semi-circle. It widens, with one side of the floor raised in a platform. The raised area is covered in white tile. With each step, my shoes make a tapping noise that mingles with the echoing murmur of voices. There’s an opening in a wall to the left through which I can see the bottom steps of a stairway.

  “That could be it,” Mardy whispers.

  I watch the people walking by. It isn’t as crowded as the tunnels Ryanne showed me, but there are enough to stop us from leaving, if they want to. When no one seems to be looking, we slip into the shadows beyond the opening.

  We haven’t gone far up the stairs before I can tell the way is blocked by a slab of metal at the top. Mardy pushes on it, but it doesn’t budge.

  “Keldon said most of the openings were blocked,” she grunts as she shoves once more before finally giving up. “He said it’s easier to guard the shelter from the Coalition soldiers and scavs if there’s only one way in.”

  “Okay. But which way is the one that’s open?”

  She shrugs and leads me back down the stairs. I hope that no one has noticed us as we slip back out into the circular tunnel. We continue around. There are more people now. Some even seem to know Mardy, and wave as they pass. It’s strange not to be ignored. Even strangers smile a little before moving on. In the other shelters, people sat side by side without acknowledging the presence of those around them, as though there were thick walls between each person.

  The attention we get here makes me uncomfortable, but at the same time, I like it. I remember what Lucio said about people helping each other.

  We’ve just finished checking another sealed entrance when I recognize a familiar figure in the crowd of people ahead. He moves like a cat, gliding along the floor with a casual gait. His dark hair reflects the electric lights above. He’s shaved today, and his fair skin makes a sharp contrast to the dark outfit he wears.

  Instinctively, I grab Mardy's arm and turn swiftly in the opposite direction.

  “Caelin? What—?”

  I hiss at her to be quiet, but it’s too late.

  “Hello again,” a deep voice says from behind us.

  I clench Mardy’s arm so tight that she gives me a dirty look. She digs in her heels and looks back. “Oh! Hi, Jate.”

  “I was just coming to check on you two,” he says.

  She giggles nervously. “We’re fine. Just out for a walk.” I nudge her with my elbow. He’s going to get suspicious if she keeps acting like that.

  “You’re a little far from the hotel.”

  I turn to look up at him calmly. He’s so tall, he towers over us, but then, just about everybody towers over me. “I’ve never been in this part of the shelter. Mardy was just showing me around.”

  “Besides,” Mardy adds, “she needs her exercise.” She is a terrible liar. I hope Jate doesn’t notice.

  His eyebrows rise into the tuft of unruly bangs on his forehead. “You’ve come a long way for somebody still recovering from radiation. Can I carry something for you?”

  He reaches for the bag of food I clutch in my good hand. I pull it away from him, then berate myself as a frown flits across his face. It’s gone so quickly, I’m not sure it was ever really there.

  “You’re going this way? So am I. I’ll walk with you.”

  “Actually,” Mardy points out, “we were going the other direction.”

  She turns and continues around the circle in spite of the glare I give her. Jate falls into step with us.

  “I'm sorry I didn't come visit you again. I've been out on a scouting mission.”

  “Looking for more farms to raid?” I immediately regret my words when I remember what Lucio said they do with the produce they steal.

  Jate gives me a sidelong look. “No. We’re all set for now. That reminds me—how was the apple?”

  I clutch my bag tighter to my chest. “Fine.”

  “Tasty, right? I bet it’s sweeter than anything you’ve had since you were a kid.”

  “Um. Yeah.”

  He raises one eyebrow in a better imitation of Gemma than I’ve managed. “You didn’t eat it, did you? I told you it would go bad if you didn’t!”

  “She won’t eat it,” Mardy interjects. “She just stares at it all day, rubbing her fingers on the outside.”

  I start to elbow her to keep her mouth shut, but she dances away from me.

  Jate snorts with an air of disbelief. “I think Roen put some in the fridge. I’ll get you another one.”

  “That’s okay,” I stammer.

  “No, I insist. And this time, I’m going to stand there and watch until you try it.” The look he gives me is positively evil.

  “No, really, you don’t have to—” My words trail off as I notice the walls we’re passing now.

  A black background makes the colors of the images seem even brighter, as though they might leap off the wall at any moment and begin to dance right in front of me. There are words and shapes blending seamlessly together, figures and faces stunning in their detail.

  Mardy watches me carefully.

  “It’s gorgeous!” I say. I suddenly remember an impression of bright colors from my stay in Dupont as a child.

  “Don’t tell me you’ve never seen graffiti before,” Jate says.

  “Sure. But topside, the colors are all worn out. It’s painted on crumbling buildings with debris everywhere. Even if it’s newer, it’s nothing but gang symbols and swear words. Nothing like this.” I shake my head in wonder. It reminds me of Mardy's mosaics, except this is more permanent. I wonder if Lucio might be able to secure some paint for Mardy so she can try her hand at this type of artwork. Then I remember we’re not planning to stay.

  We’re coming around the curve of the tunnel now, and I see another opening to the right with stairs, but people are going in and out of this one. My heart jumps a little. Is that the way out?

  Jate steers us toward the opening, and my heart pounds harder. But we haven’t gone far before I realize that this exit, too, is blocked above. Instead of going topside, people here are pulling one-piece tan outfits from hooks pounded into the wall.

  “What's this?” I ask as he hands me a suit.

  “Protection from the radiation. I'm not going to have Doc kicking my butt because I exposed you to radiation right after she's got you cured.”

  Mardy and I look at each other, unsure of what's going on.

  “You can pull them on right over your clothes.” He waves another suit at Mardy. She takes it reluctantly.

  As if to show us how it’s done, he pulls a third suit from a hook and shoves his feet down into the legs. I see no other option than to follow his example. I put down my bundle against the wall. Mardy helps me pull the tan fabric on. It feels tight and slick. I keep my broken arm close to the torso so the suit’s arm is left dangling. There’s a glove for my right hand. I’m sure we look positively ridiculous.

  Jate zips his suit up the front. He pulls a hood on with a clear window for his face, and I recognize it. I realize this is the outfit I saw him wearing topside the times we encountered each other, and wonder if this is what protects his skin from radiation burns. He grabs a jacket from a hook farther up the stairs. It’s similar to the one scavs wear with a hood to cover his head.

  “So, we put the radiation suit over our clothes, then more clothes over the suit?” Mardy asks. “Three layers?”

  He turns to look at us. “Whenever you go
topside, protect yourself with everything you’ve got. Remember that.”

  He pulls the scav hood up to shadow his face. By keeping his head down, he would easily blend in topside, especially since scavs work hard not to notice each other.

  “These are your jackets and gloves, I think,” he says, tossing them to us. They look cleaner than the last time I saw them. The hole where Torres’s buddy stabbed me is patched up with thread. “Radiation particles will cover them whenever you’re topside, so keep them washed. The sink in Lincoln Shelter will do. Just be sure that you don't wash them in topside water.”

  Jate goes back down the stairs as another man dressed in a radiation suit enters, pulling the hood off.

  “Hey, Jate,” says the man. “Going topside?”

  “Just for a minute,” he replies.

  Mardy and I look at each other. I know she's thinking the same thing I am. What is Jate doing?

  With resignation, I gather up my pillowcase of food, and Mardy picks up my other things. We both follow Jate down the stairs. He leads us to the end of the curve, where the tunnel narrows and heads out in a straight line again. There’s another opening with stairs here. This time, I know we’ve found the right exit. But when leaving is somebody else’s idea, the elation I should feel turns sour.

  Jate goes up the steps. The walls here are painted with reds and golds in an elaborate design that includes faces and curling swirls of mist. But I can’t appreciate the artwork now. As we stand at the bottom of the steps, I can see the door open above to the PM sky. The ash clouds seem thinner than usual tonight, and stars wink in and out of the clear patches.

  “Do we have to go?” Mardy whispers. Her voice is small and fragile.

  I take a deep breath and put my foot on the first step. “Come on!”

  It’s good to be outside, even though I imagine all of the radiation particles that are now falling on me again. I didn't realize how cooped up I felt trapped in that little room of Lucio's. I have a small inkling now of what Mardy must feel, living inside a shelter all the time.