New City

by Deborah Abela

  The Armavan rattled over the cobblestones of the gatehouse and into a maze of streets that snaked downhill, away from the Garrison. On either side were stone apartments huddled together as if they were cold, their windows shuttered tight.

  Bea stared at Corporal Smith’s uniform. ‘Did you always want to be a soldier?’

  ‘I wanted a job that would help people. Plus, my dad was one of the Garrison’s best soldiers of his generation and I want to make him proud.’

  ‘Is he still in the army?’ Raffy asked.

  ‘Not anymore.’

  ‘Did he retire?’

  ‘No’.

  ‘Then where –’

  ‘Raffy,’ Bea said softly, ‘maybe she doesn’t want to talk about it.’

  ‘It’s okay,’ Corporal Smith said. ‘He died in the Chaos. When I was younger, I thought the army was silly, but the Garrison saved our city.’

  ‘How?’ Griffin asked.

  ‘After the Floods, shops were looted, homes were broken into and public buildings destroyed.’

  ‘Why didn’t the police stop it?’ Bea asked.

  ‘They tried but the city was overrun with people who had lost everything and those who wanted to protect what they had. Neighbours turned against each other and streets were filled with bonfires and barricades of furniture and overturned cars. For weeks the police were powerless. Some of them even joined in.’

  ‘The police broke the law?’ Raffy asked.

  Corporal Smith nodded. ‘The Major General knew if something wasn’t done fast the city would be ruined. He gathered people he could trust and formed the Central Garrison. Order was restored and a model city created.’

  The Armavan twisted and turned through the narrow streets until it came to a stop in a large square teeming with people.

  ‘So, this is where everyone is,’ Griffin said.

  Corporal Smith beamed. ‘Welcome to the heart of New City.’

  The square was fringed with regal stone buildings adorned with arched walkways that housed shops and restaurants. People wandered the stores or sat at cafes, but most stood in the centre of the square cheering the action on a large video screen.

  ‘What are they watching?’ Isabella asked.

  Two combatants wearing padded white suits and face masks parried back and forth, each with a sword in one hand and a whip in the other.

  ‘It’s called Citizen Combat,’ the corporal answered. ‘It’s all part of the Major General’s plan to make sure New City is ready for anything.’

  One of the fighters lunged forward and, with a flick of his sabre, sent his opponent’s weapon clanging to the ground. The crowd erupted in applause.

  From the tallest building a belltower rose high against the blue sky, but instead of a clock there was a weather gauge with a needle that pointed to the words FAIR, RAIN, STORM, SNOW and HIGH ALERT.

  Isabella thought she saw figures moving in the shadows beside the bell. Perched on the sides, like mechanical gargoyles, were a series of roving cameras that looked like red eyes. When she searched the other buildings, she saw even more.

  On the screen, the disarmed fighter snapped his whip. It curled around his opponent’s ankles and pulled his legs out from under him. He fell backwards, sabre tumbling through the air, before landing in crashing defeat.

  The crowd cheered in delight.

  ‘It’s time to make you citizens.’ Corporal Smith led the way into the crowd as a melodious announcement rang through the air: Ladies and gentlemen, remember to keep your visit outdoors brief and your eyes alert. Your safety is our priority. Have a nice day.

  The shops began to bustle with activity. Families lined up in ice-cream parlours, kids played in games arcades and a poodle was being shampooed in a hairdressing salon.

  ‘What’s this place?’ Raffy peered inside and saw people lying on beds under bright lights.

  ‘It’s a light cafe,’ Corporal Smith said. ‘Because the weather makes it safer to stay indoors, people don’t get enough sun. Scientists believe a twenty-minute session at a light cafe can make you healthy and happier.’

  As Corporal Smith set off at a brisk pace, Isabella whispered to Xavier and Griffin. ‘Does anyone else feel like they’re being watched?’ She nodded at more cameras attached to buildings and lampposts. ‘They’re everywhere.’

  ‘What are they looking for?’ Griffin asked.

  ‘I’m not sure, but I –’ She froze. ‘Don’t move.’ Isabella’s voice was calm but Griffin could tell something was wrong.

  ‘What is it?’

  Right next to Griffin’s ear, crawling on the wall beside him, was a giant spider. Isabella slowly removed her boot and drew it back, ready to squash it, when Corporal Smith cried, ‘Stop!’

  She hurried towards Isabella. ‘I know it seems real, but it’s actually a robot.’

  Isabella inspected it closer. Beneath a fine layer of hair was a metal body.

  ‘Oh.’ Griffin saw the spider and slowly backed away. ‘That is big.’

  ‘Why do you have robot spiders?’ Raffy asked.

  ‘They help keep an eye on things.’ Corporal Smith picked up the spider and carefully turned it. ‘It’s operated remotely, and the eyes are actually eight small cameras.’

  ‘Why are there so many cameras here?’ Isabella asked. ‘Is it unsafe?’

  ‘Quite the opposite; the cameras make sure we don’t miss anything that may disturb the happiness of others.’ She placed the spider back on the wall, where it crawled away. ‘Consider them your little guardian angels. Now, we need to –’

  ‘Cakes!’ Raffy sped away to a shop window crammed with chocolate profiteroles, luscious cheesecakes and plump custard tarts. He looked at the corporal imploringly. ‘Could we?’

  She looked at her watch. ‘We might just have time. Who would like one?’

  The three youngest threw their hands in the air. Fly lifted Jeremiah’s hand with hers.

  ‘We’ll wait here,’ Isabella said.

  Corporal Smith hesitated. ‘I think we should all –’

  ‘We won’t go anywhere,’ she promised. ‘Everything is so fascinating and I’m still trying to take it all in.’

  The corporal reluctantly agreed. ‘We’ll be right back.’

  They stood in a stream of people pushing prams and carrying shopping bags. A few adults glanced over and offered brief looks of recognition when a small girl tugged at Isabella’s sleeve. ‘Are you the one from the TV? Is it true you survived three years in Grimsdon?’

  ‘Yes.’ Isabella felt uncomfortable at the attention when a young boy asked Xavier, ‘And were you the one who had a flying machine?’

  ‘That was me.’ Xavier puffed up. ‘I built it and we flew all over the city.’

  More people gathered to ask questions, which Xavier was only too happy to answer, even offering his autograph, but the young girl wanted to know more about Griffin. ‘Is Isabella your girlfriend?’

  ‘Oh … I … I … don’t think –’

  ‘Because I watched you on TV and I think she might be.’

  While Griffin struggled to answer, Isabella smirked and turned away when she saw two winged soldiers who seemed to appear from nowhere and land in the square. Their wings folded away neatly against their backs. On their legs were the same metal extensions that the soldiers on the rooftop wore.

  A young man began to run, dodging and weaving through the crowd. The soldiers followed. The metallic clang of their footwear rang throughout the square like a clash of swords.

  Families swept children out of their way. The fleeing man pushed tables into the soldiers’ path, but he was no match for their speed. He was caught and easily overpowered. They held him to the ground as he struggled in their arms.

  ‘No! Let me go!’ he cried.

  An Armavan pulled to a sharp stop beside them. He was pulled from the ground and forced inside. He gripped the roof and tried to resist but the soldiers were too strong.

  ‘I’ve done nothing wrong, please, I –’ His
voice was muffled as the door slammed shut and the van drove off at high speed.

  The incident was over in seconds.

  The crowd of questioners had cleared. Children were hurried away by anxious parents who shielded their eyes.

  Griffin looked around. ‘What did he do?’

  Isabella shrugged. ‘I’m not sure.’

  Her hand instinctively went to her belt.

  Her knife was gone.

  She spun round to see a boy in a large coat and beanie moving quickly away.

  ‘Wait here.’

  ‘Where are you …?’

  Griffin’s voice faded as Isabella hurried after the boy. He was walking fast. Isabella couldn’t run or she’d attract attention, but she kept him in her sights. He slipped past a young family, even stopping to pick up a doll that had fallen from a pram, before he crossed the street. He looked back briefly and slunk into an alleyway beside the belltower.

  Isabella followed, but when she entered the alley, he’d gone.

  She ran to the end and looked down the street on either side, but it was like he’d vanished. Griffin and Xavier appeared behind her.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Griffin puffed. ‘You took off so fast.’

  ‘Someone stole my knife.’

  ‘You were robbed?’

  ‘So much for the cameras making us safer.’ Xavier frowned. ‘Did you get a good look at him?’

  ‘I’d recognise him if I saw him again.’

  ‘We should go back and tell Corporal Smith,’ Griffin said.

  ‘No,’ Isabella decided. ‘I can deal with this.’

  ‘He might be dangerous.’

  ‘I can handle myself. Didn’t I prove that in Grimsdon?’

  Griffin couldn’t resist Isabella’s smile. He shook his head. ‘More times than I want to remember.’

  ‘Good, so we keep this to ourselves. Let’s get back before they notice we’ve gone.’

  As they hurried along the alleyway, a pair of watchful eyes peered out from behind a stone column, carefully following their every move until they disappeared from sight.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  A Surprising Encounter

  And so New City became one of the world’s most advanced cities.

  A glass video wall hung in the foyer of the City Library. A friendly voice narrated over images of pristine countryside and tidy houses with smiling families.

  Rescued from possible devastation by this man.

  A solder wearing an eye patch and a crisp white uniform with a line of medals pinned to his chest stood against a perfect blue-sky day.

  Major General Grimes. Without his leadership, our city would have been lost forever.

  He lifted a young, laughing girl into his arms.

  New City – the cleaner, greener, safer city.

  Jeremiah stepped forward, his face pale. ‘But how much of the world was affected by the Floods?’

  ‘I’ll show you.’ Corporal Smith led them to a glass cabinet with a world map laid out inside. ‘If you activate this model, you’ll find out. Griffin?’

  Griffin hesitated. This was the moment when they’d discover what had happened to the world outside Grimsdon. He carefully placed his finger onto a small green button. Immediately, blue ocean water surged inland. Rivers began to swell and overflow.

  Jeremiah moved closer. ‘It’s worse than we thought.’

  His eyes ran over the drowned areas. ‘The Netherlands, Kiribati, the Maldives, parts of China and Bangladesh.’ His head sank to his chest.

  ‘So many cities are gone.’ Isabella watched as they disappeared. ‘Alexandria, Grimsdon, Hong Kong, Venice, parts of New York.’ She looked to Jeremiah. ‘It’s exactly like you and the other scientists predicted.’

  Jeremiah leant on the cabinet, barely able to hold himself up. ‘We didn’t pay enough attention.’

  ‘Governments are paying attention now, Mr Pain,’ Corporal Smith said. ‘Installing green energy programs, building better flood barriers, and there are satellites and international monitoring stations watching for even the smallest changes. As soon as a city or island is threatened, its name is sent to a central agency which immediately rolls out a plan of action.’

  ‘Will the lost parts of the world ever be recovered?’ Griffin asked.

  ‘I’m afraid not, but some countries have become clever at adapting, like the Dutch, who are leading the world in the construction of floating homes. We’re also working very hard to save the land we have left, so you’ll always be safe here.’

  The interactive map was reset and the water slowly drained from the flooded areas and crept back into rivers and oceans.

  ‘If only we could rewind time like that,’ Jeremiah mumbled.

  Corporal Smith led them further into the library. Isabella silently read the titles on a display shelf:

  ‘Help Your City, Help Yourself.’

  ‘A Brighter Future is Waiting for You.’

  ‘My Life as a Reluctant Hero.’

  They were all written by Major General Grimes.

  The heart of the library sat beneath the glow of an opaque glass dome. It was alive with activity. Kids in booths played virtual chess on floating digital boards. Families watched as picture books were acted out in front of them by small holographic characters, and at long tables old men pored over ancient books beneath green lampshades.

  They arrived at a set of glass doors marked ‘City Archives’.

  ‘This is where you will be registered as citizens,’ Corporal Smith said. ‘How about the young ones go first.’

  Raffy looked at Isabella.

  ‘We’ll be right here when you’ve finished,’ she assured him.

  The doors to the archives slid open and Bea, Fly and Raffy disappeared behind them.

  Jeremiah stood still, shoulders hunched. He looked lost and suddenly very old.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Isabella asked.

  ‘Just a little tired. I think I’ll sit for a while.’

  She watched him shuffle away. ‘I’ll go with him.’

  Griffin took Isabella’s arm gently. ‘He was hoping he was wrong about the Floods. Let’s give him some time alone.’

  Xavier, Griffin and Isabella wandered deeper into the aisles of books. The musty smell of paper wafted between them. So many of Isabella and Griffin’s afternoons were spent with that smell, reading and studying while they waited for their parents to pick them up after work. Isabella ran her fingers over the spines and felt a little better.

  Until she saw him.

  She stepped closer to the others, took a book from the shelf and pretended to read. ‘That’s him.’

  Griffin’s eyes skimmed over the top of his book. ‘Him who?’

  He followed Isabella’s gaze and saw a boy reading on a lounge in a far corner. He wore a coat and had straggly hair sticking from out under a beanie.

  ‘The boy who took my knife.’

  ‘What are you going to do?’ Xavier asked.

  Isabella thought about it. ‘I’m going to say hello.’

  ‘I was hoping you’d say that.’ Xavier grinned.

  ‘He might hurt you,’ Griffin protested.

  ‘He won’t.’

  ‘He has a knife.’

  ‘Yes. My knife … and I want it back.’

  Before he could respond, Isabella headed towards the boy.

  ‘Come on, Griffman.’ Xavier slapped Griffin on the back. ‘Let’s go catch a thief.’

  CHAPTER NINE

  Meeting a Mooch

  Despite there being lots of room on the lounge, Isabella sat very close to the boy who took her knife. Before he could move or say anything, Xavier sat snugly on the other side while Griffin pulled up a beanbag right in front of them. He sank into it, trying to look as in control as the others, but overbalanced and almost fell to the floor before pushing himself back up.

  They said nothing and pretended to read. The boy’s eyes shifted either side of him. He took a small breath and slowly began to close his book.


  ‘Finished so soon?’ Isabella said quietly. ‘But you couldn’t have been here very long.’

  ‘I have to go home,’ he muttered.

  ‘So you can inspect your new knife?’ Xavier asked. The boy shifted. ‘I don’t have a new –’

  ‘Yes, you do,’ Isabella whispered. ‘And it’s mine.’

  Xavier nodded at the bag on his lap. ‘And I bet it’s in there, along with everything else you’ve stolen today.’

  The boy looked cornered. ‘I … I …’

  ‘Great, he’s got a story.’ Xavier settled in. ‘I love a good story.’

  ‘How did you know I had it?’

  Isabella smiled. ‘I’ve been robbed by better thieves than you.’

  ‘I’m not a thief,’ he insisted. ‘I only take what we need.’

  ‘We who?’ Griffin leant in. The boy refused to answer.

  ‘Are you in a gang of thieves?’ Xavier asked. ‘Are there more of you we should watch out for?’

  ‘No, it’s just me.’

  ‘So who’s “we”?’ Isabella asked before realising.

  ‘Are you from the camp?’ The boy nodded. His fists clenched. ‘You’re not supposed to be here, are you?’

  ‘I needed some stuff.’

  ‘Like a knife?’ Xavier suggested.

  ‘I wasn’t planning on it, but I noticed the outline of it against your coat.’ He made sure his bag hid the movement of reaching into his pocket. ‘And it’s not in my bag. It’s here.’

  Isabella slipped it into her jacket.

  ‘You’re very good,’ she admired. ‘I never felt a thing.’

  ‘I’ve worked hard at it.’ He paused. ‘Please don’t tell the Garrison.’

  ‘Why shouldn’t I?’

  He looked down. ‘I’ll be punished.’

  ‘So why come here?’

  ‘We don’t have much.’ He shrugged. ‘And I like to read.’

  Xavier frowned. ‘You’d risk being punished for a book?’

  ‘Every time.’ His smile stretched from ear to ear. ‘We’re not allowed to have books in the camp.’

  Griffin was baffled. ‘Why not?’

  ‘Books give you ideas, and in this city that’s not encouraged. Mum and Dad were university professors and believed that books were more important than almost anything. Sometimes I’d even have to remind them that it was dinnertime.’