Down and Out: A Young Adult Dystopian Adventure (The Undercity Series Book 1) (13 page)

“Well, you sit, and I’ll show you what true food is like,” she said, offering Pa’s stool.

The Upperlord nodded, her braids wagging with the motion, and she perched on the seat, trying to tuck her legs underneath. “Would be delighted, my lady. Would be most delighted.”

Pa beckoned to Teddy, and they left the main space.

“Don’t worry about your Ma,” his father said as he chose an oxygen tank and stuck it in his stash. “She’ll be all right. She is a little weary, like the rest of us.”

“Can we leave them alone, Pa?”

“They’ll be fine, Ted, but we’ll haul the doors closed in case. I think I might even get Mrs. Fish’s brood over as well.” He handed his stash to Teddy.

“You finish putting this together, and I’ll go round her up. After, we’ll secure the gate to the bridge. Everyone will be snug until we come back.”

“So, we’re going?” Jolon asked when Teddy came back into the house. He was busy demolishing a large plate of eggs and mashed potatoes.

“Yeah,” he said, sitting on his chair. He took the cup of water his mother offered and downed it. “We’re going to fix the world. Not sure if I’m excited or terrified.”

“The canteens filled with enough water?”

“Yes, Ma.”

“You’re going to need several to keep going for a few days. You better take Henri to carry things.”

“Pa wants him to stay here and protect you.”

“Protect me... from what? With the bridge secure, no one can get in. You’re taking Henri and all his brawn, and that’s final.” She whirled around and took a tray of cookies from the oven. “Now, you get the blue container and fill it with these as soon as they’re cool. This is the best food to bring on these trips and I don’t want any of you starving either.”

Teddy did as his mother commanded and the others kept to themselves. He understood she was only worried, but it was not good to antagonize her further by making light of the situation. He let his father deal with his mother and the whole issue with Henri. The addition of Mrs. Fish did sound like better protection than Henri. She had a reputation for her solid constitution and accurate aim with a stick while her husband and sons preferred slings and rocks.

“Caden better?” Henri asked as he added his plate to the cleaning bucket.

Ma stroked his cheek. “Yes, dear, she is much better today. I think she’ll be on her feet soon.”

He held out a part of a yellow flower he had somehow plucked from Uppercity. “Found in crack. You give her?”

She took his offering with a gentle smile. “Thank you, Sweetie, you are so generous.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and he blushed.

“Well, a brute with a sweetheart. What other wonders are in the world?” Georges asked as Teddy and Jolon made gagging gestures.

“Be kind,” their mother ordered as she left with a plate for Caden. “And mind the food or you’ll be eating burnt biscuits for the next few days.”

“So, this is your grand secret,” Georges said upon arriving at the mall. “Well, well. A whole new possible situation, a completely new city.” She sniffed the air. “Well, it’s breathable.” She sniffed again. “In fact, it is quite fresh.” “Fresh and invigorating,” Pa replied with his wacky grin. “Interesting, right?”

“There’s more,” Jolon piped in.

“Lots more,” Teddy added, and they both grinned.

“Yes,” Pa said with a disapproving shake of one crooked finger. “These little gophers snuck in the other night and went exploring farther than they should have. Well, go on grab courage and lead. Show us what you rats found.”

“Rat isn’t bad if you can get a hold of enough potato juice to drown your taste buds in,” Georges said with a slap to Henri’s shoulder.

He pulled at his ragged fleece shirt and sighed. “Good with onions if ya kin get em, onions.” Teddy shuddered.

“You ever eat ‘em?” Jolon asked, his face tinted green as they guided the others.

“No.  Almost did, though. About a week or so after my parents died. The guy down the way ate them every day. He had a special way of catching them—traps he made himself out of bits of wire and other objects. He’d hang them from a rack he had secured to this little hovel he lived in. The place stunk and was disgusting to look at, and he’d build this fire under ‘em to singe the hair off and dry them out.”

“That’s gross,” Jolon said, shivering. “But I remember rubbish like that. I was nonstop scared, and I don’t even remember why I was alone. One day I had a mom and the next I didn’t. I scrounged for anything I could find. I tried bugs once and worms more than a few times. I guess that’s why I can’t seem to stop eating now.”

Putting an arm around his younger sibling, Teddy laughed. “You’re safe. It’s all good now. You and me, we’ve got family and,” he turned them around to get a view of the full expanse of the area, “all the potential of a new home. Imagine. This could be a place with food enough for everyone. Where families stay together and children grow up healthy.”

“You’re such a dreaming dope,” Jolon said, pushing him, but he grinned.

“Yeah, well, you’re a weird freak of nature.”

“Oh, funny, is that the best you can do?”

“Nope, but I’m not gonna waste my best on an annoying little brother like you,” he replied and whistled as he sauntered ahead.

“Hey, not too fast,” his father called out, as Jolon took off after Teddy. “We still don’t know what’s out here.”

“What’s out here?” Georges asked, her face glistening with sweat. “What could be out here?”

“Not much,” Pa said.

“Just goblins,” Jolon said.

“And trolls,” Teddy added.

“What trolls?” Henri asked with a worried expression.

“Boys, don’t be troublesome,” their father said. “We face enough real troubles down here without making up new ones. Relax, Georges, Henri. There shouldn’t be anything worse than snakes and rats, but we have found ratdogs and the odd alligator in the sewers. Can’t say if they are in these parts, but it never hurts to keep an eye out.”

“Lovely,” Georges groaned. “How about rest and food?” She scooped a tiny glass box from the ground. “I would not mind a moment to explore some of these stalls.”

“Oh, no, we haven’t even come near the best part yet,” said Jolon.

Teddy nudged him in the ribs.

“Ow, what?”

“Nuthin, except you’re babbling.” he said, trying to be subtle.

Pa patted him on the shoulder. “Calm, Teddy, we agreed to share everything with Georges.”

“Yes, it seems, your father wants to trust me.” She winked at him. “But don’t you do that. Don’t you follow his standards; you construct your own. It’s a good survival trait in this world.”

“Thank you, Georges, for such terrible advice. I would like my children to grow up a little less jaded if you don’t mind.”

The Upperlord snorted. “Bad idea, Tru.”

Teddy wasn’t certain whether the woman was joking or not, but he figured it wasn’t important. He would go along with his father, but he would only trust so far.

“Fine,” he said, at length and gestured to their left. “We go down this hall, and there’s a door to our best find.”

“The sunrise room?” his father asked, his voice holding a hint of excitement.

“Sure, if you want. Works for me,” Jolon said. “Not bad at all.”

“Accurate,” Teddy said. “All right. Let’s go.”

A while later they sat in the same spot as last time, staring up at a blue sky.

“This is paradise,” Pa said in a tone of awe, and he agreed. “This is amazing,” Georges said, her gaze glued to the endless sky above. “This is more light than the entire Uppercity gets, except for the greenhouses. They’re well defended, though. Protective, greedy buggers don’t like to let anyone in.”

“Paradise needs a cleaning,” Teddy said, gesturing toward the tables and stalls. Faded pictures and signs curled away from the cement walls and pillars, and garbage lay scattered everywhere as though people left in a hurry.

“So this is a f... f... foo... food court,” Jolon said, pointing up to a sign hanging from a beam high above them.

“Good, Jol. Yes, this is where people came for food,” Pa said, turning a tray over in his hands. “This is good. This has some potential. Not certain what for, but I’ll get to that later.”

Jolon tugged on Teddy’s sleeve and motioned toward one of the booths. “Come on.”

“Check for cooking oil,” Pa said. “These places should have a good supply, enough to keep us going for quite a while.”

They rushed over to one of the stalls, and his brother flipped up a part of the disgusting counter to get in behind. It was a stinking mess of mould and grime.

“Looks like we have oil and lots of it like Pa thought,” Teddy said, searching through a couple of cupboards. He pulled out two hefty jugs and stuck them on the cleanest part of the filthy surface.

“Okay, so the only things feasting here are bugs,” He edged his way past an indistinguishable lump and got the nauseating sense at one time it wasn’t food.

“I don’t want to know,” Jolon said, and they chose to go back. “Well, if there was anything edible here, it turned to insect food forever ago. Can’t even find new bugs. Just empty shells,” he said with a dejected slump to his shoulders. He sat down at one of the cleaner tables and Pa threw him a cookie.

“Eat up. I think I might even have some boiled eggs in here,” he said as he dug through his equipment.

“So, I don’t get it,” Teddy said, taking a canteen of water and a biscuit. “My teacher said the whole world knew this disaster was coming, and they prepared by building the domes and stockpiling food and water. So, how come people went on like it was nothing? I mean, if I knew something was going to happen to change the existence of the entire world, I don’t think going shopping would be high on my list that day.”

“No, mine either,” his father said. “But people are strange creatures, and there’s no telling what they’ll do.”

Georges laughed. “That’s right, Tru. You can’t tell what they will do, and that is part of the problem.”

The Upperlord accepted a cookie from Pa and munched it down. After, she brought out her canteen and took a swallow.

“See, they set everything up, so everyone assumed they were secure, so they went on with their day. They went shopping, and ate food, and had babies, and went to school, to work, and to wherever they went to fill up the hours of their days. Only when it hit, did they stop everything and stare up at the domes as wave after wave of volcanic lava, mud, and water pounded against them and go ‘my isn’t that interesting?’ No, they panicked and rioted, breaking things and each other in their fear. They thought their seismic devices would stabilize the earth’s crust and keep the damage to a minimum, but nature is a fickle thing and did not listen. Hence, more panic. Hence, people went mad.”

With a dramatic stretch, Georges stuck her feet on another chair.  She took another swig from her canteen and belched.

“See, this is the problem with the human race, we’re all off balance when you come right down to our inner workings. We devour each other alive if it’s a choice between death and life.”

Pa snatched the jug from Georges’ hand. “That’s enough.”  He took a sniff of the stopper and made a face as he poured the liquid out on the soil.

“Just as I thought. No more, Georges. The last thing we need is you drunk.” He tossed her back her empty bottle. “The days of cannibalism are over. They ended when people got over their fears and organized themselves.”

“Yes, into Upperlords and Underlings,” she sneered. “And tell me, Tru, if that is so good, why are you here with your ragtag group of pathetic orphans trying to find a happier life? People still feed on each other, Tru; they just do it a little slower than before.”

“We’re here because people can be better than that,” Pa said. “Not everyone panics. Not everyone thinks of only themselves regardless of the cost to anyone else.”

“And you believe this.”

“Yes, Georges, without question, I do. Despite what happened or what will happen. This is what I believe.” A glint sparked in the Upper’s eyes as though she had been testing Pa and liked his answers.

“So, why so many died, panic?” Henri asked in a soft voice.

“Yep.” She and Pa stared at each other, and the Upperlord broke into a broad smile. “They panicked, but we don’t need to.” She did a little dance and giggled. “We have time... time to build a new world. Nothing can get worse than it already is.” Holding out her hand, she turned to him. “Right, Tru?”

They clasped hands and shook. “You are an odd one.  Yes.  It can’t get any worse.” 

He clapped his hands together; the sound echoed off the surrounding brick. “Right. Let’s set up camp, shall we? This courtyard will make a fine base, I think. I promised your mother I would find her a good home to move to if we do. So, let us put on our gloves and masks, find the stall, the most hideous stall, and shove all this mess in there. We’ll seal the room up and see if we can’t make the rest of this place liveable. My hope is this place hides water around somewhere, and I’m determined to find it. Jolon, you’ll work with Henri and me; Teddy you take the other side with Georges.”

Teddy took his synthetic gloves out of his stash’s outer pocket. As a scrounger, he always had them with him and an extra pair just in case, which he handed to Georges.

“Here, you’ll need these,” he said as the woman stared at him as though he had two heads. “You wanted to be all in, right? Well, this is all in. They’re not much, but they will protect you from a certain amount of germs and such.” He passed her a white cloth mask too. “You’ll want to use this against anything air born. Not that it helps with everything, but it is better than breathing in junk, and it saves the oxygen tanks for emergencies.”

The Upperlord took the supplies with some reluctance and put them on. “I would protest, but I fear it would be pointless. However, I would like to lodge a complaint none-the-less.”

“If it makes you feel better.”

“Yes, it does.”

Teddy patted her arm. “Go ahead.”

She laughed. “You are priceless. I think I’m going to like you despite myself.”

Hauling himself on one of the counters, he grimaced at the disgusting oily dirt covering the surface. He shoved aside a large box to let Georges in.