If Jo was traveling with her parents and they were killed, what will she do if she can’t find her brother? Will she spend the rest of her life alone? “Do people get married out here?”
“Sure.”
“But how? Do you have ministers?”
“Just about anyone can marry you. Or no one. You don’t need ministers. A couple just starts living together, although I’ve heard some towns make it a celebration. There’s no paper license like mother said people used to have. She was always trying to get my dad to go to a town that had them. She really wanted that paper.”
Her voice trails off and I wonder what happened to her mother. Did she die in the ambush that got Jo captured? If so, I can’t imagine the pain that Jo must be in. No wonder she’s so short. I’d be in a puddle of tears, but I guess this environment doesn’t lend itself to the indulgence of self-pity.
“Is that legal?” Reece asks. “In the UR, a couple has to petition to be married. It’s approved based on educational backgrounds.”
Jo snorts. “There’s no such thing as legal or illegal out here. When are you two going to figure that out?”
Would Evan and I be considered acceptable by the UR to get married? What about Reece and me? I push that thought to the back of my mind. “So what keeps people together if they aren’t legally married?”
“The truth is, there’s so few people that when you find someone who doesn’t annoy the crap out of you, you stick with them. Besides there isn’t much opportunity to meet spouses out here. Most of the people who move around keep to themselves and don’t trust others. That’s why they live in the wilds and don’t stick with a town. So when those people find someone, they just stay together.” She casts a long glance at Reece and her face softens.
Reece misses Jo’s appraisal as he keeps his eyes on the bridge.
The hairs on my neck stand on end, and I force myself to ask another question. “So your family moved around. I can’t imagine not having a home.”
“We tried living in a few towns, but my dad wasn’t much into conforming. Most towns had laws and rules.”
“Like when you tried to live in the city.”
“No, that was more claustrophobia. Imagine living completely underground most of your life. Never seeing the sunshine. Sure it can burn us, but think about everything else it does.”
“I can’t believe that the United Regions lets towns exist.” Reece shakes his head. “My mom said the UR didn’t tolerate organized settlements outside the city boundaries.”
Jo shrugs. “That’s why they aren’t very big, and they try not to attract attention. The UR raids most towns within five hundred miles of their borders.” She pauses for a moment. “Most people would rather take their chances on their own. As long as you’re on your own or in a small group, the UR won’t bother you. But Deacon City is different. The UR leaves it alone. Also it’s the only one so near a bombed city, and one that’s still a radioactive disaster. It’s great for Deacon, though. The radiation keeps most people out and keeps the city protected, but it also keeps people trapped. It makes Deacon a very rich man. The citizens have to pay to live there.”
I have no intention of getting trapped in some underground city. We’ll get in, get Evan’s medicine, and get out.
We’re almost to the bridge so we fall silent. My stomach is a churning mass of bile and terror. I’m about to lose the meager snack we ate an hour ago.
There’s a small family ahead of us as we approach the tollgate. “You said the bridge is busier at night,” I whisper. “Why?”
“It’s easier to travel at night. To stay out of the sun. Nights of the full moon are busiest either here or out in the open. There’s more light to see as they travel.”
It’s our turn next and Jo hands them half a loaf of bread. The guard takes the bread and places it in a wicker basket to the side. “Next,” he says in a bored tone.
We pass the barricade and start across the bridge, walking cautiously to avoid the gaps in the road. We skirt around several that are at least three feet wide.
“People could fall through those holes,” I whisper to Reece.
“And they do,” Jo says.
Jo seems to remember an awful lot from the three weeks she was here as a kid. My back knots as I catch Reece’s eyes in the dark. His face is shrouded in shadows, but I see enough of his expression to realize that he’s wary too.
I stop to look over the edge of the railing and see a large, dry riverbed, with a small stream of water in the middle. “Does this creek have a name?”
“The Missouri.”
My gasp is loud enough to garner the attention of a few people walking past us. Boats large enough to hold casinos line the shores of the fifty-foot-wide Missouri River in my world, close to this very bridge. I’m not sure why I’m surprised. This is the first water I’ve seen other than the bottled water we found on the military truck. Again, I wonder how people in this world survive under these conditions.
When we reach the other side, we walk another mile, following the crowd that walks toward a hill.
Jo points to an area glowing with man-made light. “That’s the entrance to the city.”
I can’t imagine how something underground can hold so many people. If the UR tries to keep out the people outside their boundaries, I wonder if Deacon City tries to do the same. “Is there a fee to get in?”
“Get in?” She laughs. “No. They’ll let anyone in. They charge you a fee to leave.”
“Let me guess,” Reece says. “By the time they’ve paid their rent and bought their food and supplies, there’s not enough left to pay the exit fee.”
“And in a barter system, what could Deacon take that he hasn’t already given them?”
I shake my head in confusion. “Why does he keep them there?”
“Slave labor.”
While I’m worried about getting trapped in Deacon’s city, I’m more worried it’s a pointless trip. “How do we know we can get the antibiotics?” I asked this before, but feel the need to ask again.
“Trust me, we can get medicine at the market, and we have more than enough to pay for it. But I need you two to not call attention to yourselves while we’re here.”
I nod. I’ve never been one to call attention to myself anyway, so it won’t be a problem. Reece, on the other hand, is a wild card. He’s always been the smartass kid that has gotten him into plenty of trouble. Evan bet him fifty dollars back in seventh grade that he couldn’t stay out of trouble for an entire week. Reece lasted two days.
My throat squeezes as I realize the memory isn’t mine. That’s two flashes from the other Julia within thirty minutes of one another.
What’s happening to me?
Fear saps the strength from my body, but I take two deep breaths to regain control. I don’t have time to focus on losing my mind, because I’m facing a more pressing situation that demands my attention. We’re at the entrance of Deacon City, standing behind a small crowd waiting to be ushered in. This is my last chance to change my mind about going on this mission. But I remember Evan’s pale face, flushed with fever, and I know there is no choice. We’ll just have to be careful.
The first thing I notice is the electric lights burning at the ten-foot-wide square opening cut into the rock on the side of the hill. It looks like a truck-loading dock. Men with rifles stand at either side. My breath catches at the sight of them, but the guards’ relaxed stance suggests that the guns are a precaution, not a threat.
I lean closer to Jo and whisper, “Is this the only way out of here?”
“It’s the only one I know of.” She looks me over and puckers her mouth in disapproval when she sees the fear on my face. “Calm down, Chipper. Don’t get so worked up. We’ll get in, get what we need, and get out. See that line over there?” She points to several people on the other side of the entrance, separated by a four-foot-tall concrete block wall. “They’re getting out, no problem. We stay out of trouble, and we’ll be fine.”
I wish I had her optimism. We walk into the opening and are stopped by a man with a clipboard. He’s hunched over his sheet and doesn’t look up. “Name and area of residence.”
Jo hooks her thumb onto the opening of her coat. “Jo Duncan. Area Ten.”
I try to keep the panic from my eyes as I steal a glance at Reece. He appears calmer than I am, which I’m guessing wouldn’t be hard right now. Why didn’t Jo prepare us for this? She moves forward and Reece takes her place.
The guard looks up when we don’t answer. “Name and area of residence.”
“Tom Smith.” Reece looks up at Jo. “Area Ten.”
The man scribbles something on his paper then raises his chin, his eyes searching my face. His eyebrows scrunch, as though something about me seems off.
I swallow. I need a name. “Anna.” My sister’s name is the first to roll of my tongue.
“Anna what?”
“Anna Pinkerton.” I pause. “Area Ten.”
He writes on his paper and chuckles. “First time in Deacon City, Anna Pickerton of Area Ten?”
I swallow again to coat my dry mouth. My heartbeat thumps in my ear. “Yes. How did you know?”
He laughs this time and shakes his head, looking up at me. “Because you look scared to death. A lot of first-timers look like they’re about to retch when they come in. The caves make them think they’re walking into their tomb.” He turns to the next person. “Name and area of residence.”
Jo slips her hand under my arm and pulls me away, then leans into my ear. “Way to not draw attention.”
“You could have warned us they’d ask our names and residence.”
She stops and tilts her head, confusion creasing her brow. “Are you kidding me? That’s the first thing anyone asks you anywhere you go.” She snorts and starts walking again. “You stupid fools. You’ll never make it out here.”
Her attitude mixed with my anxiety over walking deeper into the stone cavern teases my frayed nerves. “That’s what we have you for, isn’t it? That’s our bargain. Next time, warn us.”
A small smile lifts the corners of her mouth. “Fair enough. Now let’s see if I can keep you two from getting killed.”
Chapter Eight
We head deeper, down an endless tunnel, caught up in a crowd of people intent on putting one foot in front of the other. Something seems off, and it takes me several seconds to realize that it’s the noise, or lack of it. A crowd this size should be loud, but the people filing up and down the corridor talk in hushed tones, their faces drawn and serious.
The cave makes me claustrophobic. Part of me worries that the ceiling will crash down upon us, but I’m slightly reassured by the massive six-foot stone pillars spaced every twenty feet or so. Still, pieces of stone lay on the floor in chunks of various sizes.
After we’ve gone a couple of hundred feet, several corridors split off from the main one, but Jo forges deeper until the tunnel opens into a large room full of tables and tarps spread on the floor. The surfaces are covered with food, tools, clothes and other items. People of all ages stream up and down the aisles, haggling with the vendors. Their clothes are faded and worn, and their complexions are even paler than those of the citizens of Evan and Reece’s Springfield. A despondency permeates the room, weighing down my already heavy heart.
I grab the straps of my backpack and hold tighter, worried that someone will try to steal it from me. I’m not even sure what bartering goods my pack holds, but if what I carry means getting Evan’s medication, I’ll chase down anyone who tries to take it.
There are hundreds of vendors, more than I expected, and I’m overwhelmed. “Do you know where to look?”
Jo shakes her head as she scans the room. “I was here years ago and I never looked for medicine. From what I remember, everything is spread everywhere. We just have to start looking. The market is open twenty-four hours and the products are always changing. It might not be here tonight.”
“You said we could get it here.” My voice rises in panic.
She turns to me in exasperation. “Calm down, Chipper. This is a city. They have medicine. We’ll just wander around until we find it.”
Reece takes my hand in his. “Julia, this is our best chance. There’s bound to be something here. We’ll find it, okay?”
I nod, my stomach a twisted knot.
“You two stay back when I’m talking to someone. The three of us together will make them nervous. They do better one on one.” Jo’s gaze drifts to our joined hands then back to the market. “Let’s get going.”
Reece leans into my ear. “We need some other things too. Like a change of clothes for each of us. Be on the lookout and let me know if you see anything else of interest.”
Jo heads down a row, leaving us to follow.
“I don’t trust her, Reece.”
“Neither do I, but I wasn’t the one to insist we bring her, now was I?”
I clench my jaw to keep from responding.
“Still, she’s proved useful in several instances,” Reece says in a grudging tone. “We never would have known about this place without her.”
“I don’t buy her reason for insisting I come with you two.”
His hand squeezes mine tighter. “Neither do I. If it weren’t for Evan I wouldn’t have had either one of us come at all. She’s a huge risk, but we don’t have many options here.”
“I know.”
He moves ahead of me, pulling me behind him with our joined hands.
I study the people around us, trying to figure out where they came from. During the walk to Deacon City, Jo said that most of the people in this room don’t live in the city. They scavenge things, bring them to the city to trade, then head back out for more.
I try not to draw attention, keeping my eyes on the items available instead of looking into the faces of the people around us. But we garner attention anyway. We’re obviously outsiders, based on our newer clothes and our countenance. Reece walks with a confidence that few people in this market wear. Even though I’m not feeling confident at the moment, I’m not beaten down, either. I’m not sure what to do about it other than hunch my shoulders and continue to try to avoid eye contact. These people live in a world where they have to fight for everything they get. Reece and I have something these people have either lost or never had to begin with, and it burns like a supernova. We still have hope.
Jo stops at a table and converses with the vendor in low tones I can’t hear. He says something and Jo’s face contorts in displeasure. She points a finger and narrows her eyes as she responds. I’m amazed that she’s brave enough to confront the man. He’s well over six feet, and sports a stubbly beard and long, greasy hair. His biceps bulge under his tight t-shirt and he could easily reach over and strangle her on the spot. Jo’s not a large girl, probably my height and weight, but she’s an intimidating force in her own right.
The vendor closes his eyes and shakes his head, then he leans forward and says something that seems to appease Jo. She stands up straighter and nods, then moves further down the aisle.
“What just happened?” I ask Reece.
“The hell if I know. That’s what worries me. I wish we could get closer to hear.”
I can’t help worrying that her reasons for keeping us away while she haggles is to keep us from hearing what she’s talking about.
We tag along and I’m fascinated by the marketplace. It reminds me of a flea market or a garage sale after it’s been open for several hours, and the only things left are what nobody wants. That’s what most of the items here look like, the Goodwill rejects. But here, they’re treasures and people haggle over things I would have thrown in the trash. A hairbrush missing bristles. A screwdriver with a broken handle. A blackened frying pan.
Jo turns back and gives us a scowl. “You two are dragging behind. Keep up.”
“‘Don’t listen to me bargain.’ ‘Don’t drag behind.’ I wish she’d make up her mind.” I grumble.
She stops and talks to another v
endor and I hang back at the table next to her, fingering a chipped plate.
“Be careful with that.” A woman behind the stand picks up the plate as though I was about to smash it on the ground. She has long scraggly, unwashed brunette hair, tinged with gray streaks. Her face is almost wrinkle-free, except for her deep frown lines. The dark circles under her eyes look like bruises, and I struggle to figure out how old she is. The loose-fitting dress doesn’t help. Her long skinny arms remind me of a praying mantis.
“I’m looking for antibiotics.” I say in a hushed tone. “I can pay.”
“It don’t matter how much you can pay,” the woman says, with a sneer. When her lips pull back, I see that she’s missing multiple teeth. “Ain’t nobody got what you’re looking for.”
Jo moves on to the next table ahead of me, and I worry about losing sight of her, but I’m not ready to give up yet. I nudge closer to the table. “Surely, someone has figured out a way to get it.”
The woman cocks her eyebrows. “What makes you think that?”
“Simple law of supply and demand.” Jo’s still not noticed I’ve stayed behind, and I’m not wasting time. “You look like a smart businesswoman, and I’d be willing to pay you for information.”
“I ain’t got any.”
“Antibiotics or information?”
The woman grins and lifts her chin to appraise me as a little girl slides up behind her, and clutches the woman’s dress with dirty hands. “What kind of information?”
“Who’s most likely to have what we’re looking for?”
Reece moves behind me and places a hand on the small of my back.
The little girl looks up at me with large, dark eyes. “Howard. He’ll know.”
The woman smacks the girl on top of the head. “Don’t be tellin’ ‘em that.”
I cringe. “How can I find Howard?”
A deep frown makes the woman look like she’s sixty years old, but the way the girl hangs onto her, I suspect she’s the child’s mother and closer to thirty.
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