by Sam Ryder
“So how does the Guild operate?” I asked. I’d always been curious as to the group’s inner workings, but as a contractor of sorts without a permanent contract, I’d never been privy to such information.
“It’s built on taking initiative,” Hannah answered. “The more you take, the smarter you are, the higher and faster you rise. The Seconds and Thirds try hard, but they’re not smart enough to advance further than that.”
“And yet I’ve never heard about Firsts getting their hands dirty until you.”
She laughed. “That’s true. Why dirty themselves when they can order the Seconds and Thirds to do it for them?”
We reached the place that the bartender told us about. Tied up outside the front door of the building was a decent-sized mule. He seemed well-fed and strong, if a little on the smaller side.
I knocked on the door, and a tall blonde man cracked it open, looking surly.
“What do you want?” he asked, eyeing us with a special kind of disdain. Clearly, he recognized us. “You all have brought a lot of trouble to our city.”
“We don’t mean any harm,” I said, fighting my urge to tell the guy off. “My name is Cutter. This is Gehn and Hannah. We need a ride to Rome. Barley told me you could help us, no questions asked.”
He stuck his head out the door to look at the two women. “Barley sent you?”
I nodded.
He stood up straight again and opened the door wide. “Okay,” he said. “I don’t know you folk, but I trust Barley. Maybe I read the situation wrong. If he vouches for you, fine. It’ll be four dollars.”
“Four bucks?” I said in disbelief. “Seriously?”
“I can’t take any risks. I don’t know what will happen to that old mule. You three are attracting a lot of attention. I can’t afford to lose him unless I’m compensated.”
I looked over to my left at the mule standing there. He wasn’t a huge beast by any stretch of the imagination. But this was our only chance at a ride.
“Can he pull a cart?” I asked.
“He can pull whatever you want,” the man replied.
“Throw in a cart and you’ve got yourself a deal.”
Begrudgingly, the man agreed. Before Hannah could pull out any money, I dipped into my pockets and scraped together the four dollars. I was pretty much broke at this point, but in another couple days she would owe me my wage so I’d be flush again.
“I’ll bring the cart around,” he said, disappearing back into his house.
“You didn’t have to pay for it,” Hannah said. “Even in the old world, women paid for dinner as much as men did.”
“Call me old-fashioned,” I said.
“I can appreciate that,” Gehn said with a small smile. Hannah sighed.
We stepped back from the door to wait.
“What else does the Rising control these days?” I asked the two women. I was feeling even less out of the loop than I realized. The isolation of my little outer-fringe town had left me relying on rumors and gossip, most of which was likely bullshit.
“They’ve got a vice grip on the food supply,” Hannah said. “That’s the first thing that comes to my mind. They wield a lot of power by controlling the food. They can jack up the prices whenever they want. Because of that, we are at their mercy. That’s a recent thing. They bought up the highest producing farms and distributors.”
I kicked a little dust with my right foot. “They’re assholes,” I said. “But smart assholes. Gaining control of food was a good move on their part. They really picked the right thing to focus on. We all need food.”
“Right,” Hannah said. “So what else do we need? What’s the next thing on that list?”
“Technology,” Gehn said. “Starting with electricity. From there, they’ll expand, try to bring back portions of the old world. Sell it for a pretty penny. Increase their power even more.”
I thought back to my days before the Blast. My state only had one energy company. They held all the power. If I wanted electricity in my home, I had to get it from these people and pay them handsomely. The Rising was trying to use the same formula.
“I wonder where the access point is. In Rome?” I asked.
“I doubt it, otherwise they would already have it up and running. Problem is, what will happen if they do get it up and running?” Hannah said.
It was a hell of a problem to face, but we didn’t have time in that moment to worry about it. We needed to get to Rome and get more information. It would be dangerous as hell, but it seemed these days there were no safe places left, at least not for a ragtag, mismatched group like ours.
The blonde man came around the corner, grunting and tugging while dragging a large covered wagon behind him.
I jogged over to help him. “This thing is heavy,” I said as I lifted the front end to take a little weight off his shoulders. “You sure that mule can handle it?”
The guy chuckled. “That mule can handle a hell of a lot more than you think.”
He led the way over to the mule and strapped the cart to it.
We both stepped back to look it over. It was a fairly large cart, with plenty of room for all three of us plus Chuck to ride together. And the weight meant it was good wood, sturdy as hell. The wheels looked okay too. The canvas roof would provide a certain amount of protection from the elements and spying eyes. It was better than I expected.
I slapped the guy on the shoulder. “Thanks,” I said. “This is perfect. When do you want her back?”
“Whenever you are back in Geneva. A few months? Does that work?”
“That should be more than enough time.”
“Good. See you again.”
Finally, we had a ride. While we all got into the cart, I watched the sun begin to rise. We had to go, now.
“We won’t make it out of town before the city is bustling,” Hannah said.
“I have a bad feeling,” Gehn agreed.
“OK. We’re not leaving today,” I said. “Barley can watch over our ride at the bar and we’ll sack out here one more day.”
I wasn’t looking forward to the trip, which would be bumpy and fraught with risks. I enjoyed the rest we were getting, because Lord knows we were going to need it. At the same time, we weren’t exactly welcome in this place.
I didn’t want to start traveling down the road at night, but we didn’t have a choice at this point. Maybe later we could switch to day travel once we were well away from Geneva and the Council. The only way to make it to Rome safely would be if I stayed up at night and kept watch over everyone. One more good night of sleep would go a long way toward making that possible.
We rode through town on the way to the bar, hidden away from any early risers tromping along the streets. As we rode, my anger simmered inside of me.
I hated the Rising. I hated their control over the food supply. It was why I didn’t eat much at home. The prices were expensive, and the rates went up all the time. In ten years, nothing got more affordable. Whenever the Rising wanted more money, they just raised the prices of everything.
Electricity would be the most major development thus far in the Ends. No one thought it was possible.
If anyone could get the power grid up and running again, they would be worshipped and paid handsomely for it. We had gone far too long without it. And once electricity could be activated, we could start reinventing and implementing some new systems and technology.
Life would get a hell of a lot easier.
But that was only if everyone had access to it. If the Rising took over that too, we’d all be stuck. I wasn’t interested in that. In my mind, we had to get to Rome as quickly as possible, figure out the situation, and decide what to do next.
I was becoming very motivated, and not just because I was being paid. Slow down, cowboy, I thought, not wanting to get ahead of myself.
Some people could grow their own food. They could raise cattle and learn as they go. With a few bucks and some hard work, sustainability wasn’t out of the question.<
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But that was food. It was easy to figure out food.
How could we figure out electricity if the Rising controlled the power grid? There was no sustainability. We didn’t know how to harness electricity from any other source. The only people smart enough to do that were the Firsts, and they were being handed over by Elias to the Rising. Well, except for Hannah, who’d managed to escape. But she’d been a lawyer, not a tech person.
We reached, guiding the mule around to the back of the building. We tied her up to a post near the back door. “There you go, girl,” I said, rubbing her snout. “We’ll be back in the morning.” Inside, I thanked Barley again and gave him my last coin to watch over our ride while we slept until the following night.
Chapter 16
Biding Time
We slept like the dead for a time, a warm wind breezing through the window and making Chuck’s ears and nose twitch. It was good, having the two sisters beside me, one on either side. When we awoke, there were a few smiles, despite our precarious situation. Because we had a ride; things were looking up.
Barley decided to close his joint early so we could come down and throw back a few drinks with him. I admitted to the bar owner I was out of coin, so there would be no more tips coming, but he seemed happy for the company either way. Still, I felt a little guilty that he was missing out on some income because of us.
At night, most people in the wastelands drank. Barley’s was a hell of a great place to do that until we showed up. Thankfully, Hannah got the hint. She stuck a hand inside her ripped black skinny jeans and pulled out a small pouch that jingled. So that’s where she keeps her coin, I thought, amazed she could fit anything inside the form-fitting pants. She slid fifty cents onto the bar, thanking Barley. The good man tried to refuse the tip, but Hannah insisted, which was extremely attractive. She wasn’t some cheapskate, even though we obviously needed the money. I felt warm inside because of the company I kept.
As dusk fell once more and Barley checked that the front door was locked and secure, the women moved upstairs to get ready to depart while I took Chuck around back to take a leak. My knee was still in considerable pain, but it was lessening. I could limp on my own now, and I was beginning to think I hadn’t torn anything seriously. Maybe stretched a tendon or sprained something, but I would recover sooner rather than later. That was crucial. Laid up in our wagon for a few days should do the trick.
While out back, I checked on our mule. She was still there, and I strapped on a feed bag that the guy had given us to take care of her. Chuck wandered out to pee in the meantime.
My relationship with animals was a lot stronger than my relationship with people at this point in my life, though it felt good to have had a few positive human interactions over the last few days.
I had scrambled in a panic when I emerged from my hovel days after the Blast. The entire thing had felt surreal. I didn’t know how to react. Does anyone know how to react in that scenario? Fleshless corpses littered the streets. Grass disappeared. Buildings crumbled. In a flash, the entire world was unrecognizable.
Sprinting around in circles was my kneejerk reaction. I was frantic about the people I loved, but I couldn’t check on them. I needed to know who in the area even survived.
I was one of only a few soldiers who listened to Si’s warning and got to a bunker. I knew Si better than anyone, and I knew when he was serious. I listened, and I ran. Most didn’t.
I didn’t know that until after the Blast when I surveyed the damage. I’d never felt more alone in my life than in the moments following the end of the world.
Checking empty bunker after empty bunker was heartbreaking. I begged God to let somebody be safe in one of these things.
After I said that prayer, I found Chuck.
He was a little golden pup. His innocent energy was infectious. I lost everything and everyone I ever loved in that instant, and Chuck just wagged his tail, happy to see me.
I needed that positive energy in my life, and that was why I took Chuck with me.
Life became very lonely. Up until a few days ago, it still was. I was okay with that. I had Chuck with me.
He was a loyal puppy. I couldn’t get rid of him if I tried. I’m glad that I couldn’t. Yes, it was one more mouth to feed, but I wouldn’t change that decision for the world. This might sound weird, but I’d die for my dog.
Having a dog at my side during the toughest moments of my life was a comfort I couldn’t get anywhere else. When I had a down day, Chuck was there, wagging his tail. He was loyal and happy, and I couldn’t ask for a better companion.
Now, he trotted over to me after taking care of his business. I crouched down, listening to my bad knee creak, just to rub his head.
“Atta boy,” I said to him. He wagged his tail.
Chuck was the only bright spot in a time of grief and desperation. I could talk to him. Confide in him. He knew everything about me, and I wasn’t worried about him spilling the beans to anybody else.
He was an excellent guard dog, too. Like Gehn, he had a good sense of when trouble was brewing. He’d yank on my pant leg or bark furiously to get my attention, giving me ample warning to react to whatever was going on.
“How’s it going out here?” Gehn said as she approached.
“Is your sense acting up?” I asked, immediately on high alert.
“No,” she said. “I actually feel okay right now. I just wanted to walk around in the open air a little before we’re stuck hidden away in the back of the wagon.”
Gehn wasn’t wearing her top hat. I imagine it was freeing for her to be out with her horns in the air. Having to hide her true self beneath that hat all the time was probably a downer. I hated that Geneva hadn’t turned out to be the safe place it was supposed to be for people like her. Enders.
I leaned up against the post with Chuck at my feet, staring at the cart.
“It’s a nice ride,” she said.
“We did all right,” I agreed. “At least there’s enough room for all of us. Hell if I would ride something and make the rest of you walk.”
She smiled in the moonlight. “You’re a good man,” she said. I didn’t respond. There was a moment of silence, and then she said, “I know you don’t like being here.”
I snorted. “To say the least.” I realized the error in my words as soon as they came out and I quickly backtracked. “I don’t mean I don’t like being with you and Hannah. I just mean…I hate being around all the idiots in cities like this. Rome will be even worse.”
“But you’re still here. Even after all that’s happened. Why?”
“I’m getting paid,” I said. “Hannah is paying me well.”
“I don’t believe you,” Gehn said. “You pretend to chase coin, but that’s not what drives you, is it?”
I took a deep breath. Her senses were strong in other ways too. It almost felt like she was reading my mind. Though initially I had taken the gig for the money, there may have been other factors too, I had to admit.
“The Rising pisses me off,” I said. “The Guild too.”
“Hannah’s a First. Does she piss you off?” Gehn asked.
I shook my head. “She’s good, but that’s because she’s different from other Firsts. Plus, she was smart enough to get away from Douchy McDouchebag when she had the chance.”
Gehn chuckled. “You really don’t like Elias, do you?”
“Do you?”
She laughed again, and I realized how much I enjoyed the sound, which reminded me of falling water. “No, he’s an asshole.”
“A perfect description,” I agreed.
“It wasn’t easy for Hannah to leave,” Gehn said. “The Guild was the first place she’d felt safe in a long time. Plus, she believed I was safe there too. She didn’t think Elias would betray her—all of them. He’s a smooth talker. He says what he thinks people want to here, but I believe others are starting to see through him too.”
She leaned up against the post, bumping her shoulder against mine.
“Are you talking about a rebellion?” I asked. “Are the other Firsts who haven’t been handed over to the Rising going to stage a mutiny?” I was half joking. It seemed ludicrous to even think about considering how little things had changed for the better over the last several years.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’m hoping the dream reader in Rome can tell us. I’m looking forward to seeing him.”
“Who is this person anyway?” I asked, trying to hide the note of incredulity in my tone. Though I believed that Gehn believed in the truth of her dream, that didn’t make it real. Nor did it mean some scam artist could tell her what it meant or what we were supposed to do next.
“And Ender living amongst the wolves,” she said.
“Shit, seriously?”
She nodded.
“Well then, I guess the adventure is just beginning,” I said. “We can’t let the Rising control The Grid, especially if it’s what we think it is. I will not let that happen. Fuck ’em. I’m no boy scout, but the Rising are entitled bastards if they think they can pay to have people killed just to get them out of the way. I don’t need them controlling anything more than they already do.”
“You think we can stop them?” Gehn asked. I could hear the unspoken question behind the innocent one: Do you believe my dream?
I tilted my head and sighed. “Your sense has been spot-on so far, hasn’t it?” I said, hedging. “If you’re right, then yeah, I think we can.”
It was a big admission from me. Trusting Enders wasn’t a habit of mine. But Gehn gave me a good feeling when I was with her, both talking like this and when she’d been riding me the night before.
Speaking of which…
The horned Ender leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. I turned and locked eyes with her, and she had that look. I knew what she wanted. I lifted her chin and kissed her back. Then I took her by the hand and walked her over to the cart.
The cart offered a little bit of privacy, and that was all we needed. Chuck, the ever-loyal pup, waited outside, keeping guard.
