Down and Out: A Young Adult Dystopian Adventure (The Undercity Series Book 1) (18 page)

“Nuna’s a difficulty, yes. She’s been living there for quite a while, first with her wife and after by herself. There’s no one else, but she’s afraid if we bring everyone from Undercity there, we’ll drain the resources and end up worse than we are now.”

“But can’t stop us? Not if just her?” Henri said, coming closer.

“No, I guess not, but Pa feels it wouldn’t be right not to consider her feelings. She was there first. She’s willing to let us,” he gestured at them, “stay, but as to anyone else? I can’t tell you.”

“So, we get paradise, and everyone else can live in hell?” Caden scoffed, sinking lower in her chair.

“That’s not the only problem,” Teddy continued. “Georges is afraid the Uppers will move in if they find out.”

“She better not tell.” The tone in the brute’s voice was unsettling. “They got paradise.” “She thinks they’ll all die if the Underlings go.”

Jolon’s chuckle was bitter. “She’s right. Though, I don’t know if they deserve to survive.”

“Eh, they’ll live,” Caden said. “They’ll get a coating of dirt, but they’ll live.”

“Still, we would need to get everyone out without them finding out. That’ll be quite the tricky manoeuvre,” said Teddy.

“Yeah, I figure Georges won’t even need to tell them once their slaves start disappearing,” Jolon added.

“It’s all pointless if Nuna won’t agree to the move,” Teddy said with a sigh.

Henri thrust his bulk to his feet, his face set like a brick. “She no say. She no say. She only one and we many. She can’t turn away, if does then doesn’t deserve paradise.”

“So, what do you suggest we do? Toss her in a pit?” he asked, not liking where the brute’s anger was headed. “No,” he said, pulling himself back. “We can’t have all and refuse to let anyone in, can we?”

“I don’t know if it’s that easy.”

He stalked back and forth, his bulk shaking the room. “So we get mess while all else blah? No.”

“Calm down, brute,” Jolon said, putting out a hand.

“I not brute,” he insisted, pulling his hair back. “I not. People think I am because I big. I didn’t choose. I am. Like all we are.” He left them, and they sat in silence for a while.

“He is strange,” Caden said in a low grumble. “Brings me a different flower every day—some real, some not. Don’t know where he gets ‘em, but he shows up with a flower every day.”

The idea made Teddy smile. He gave a half-hearted laugh. “I guess we all are, strange.”

“He’s right, though,” Jolon said, taking a seat. “We can’t do nothing despite what Nuna or anyone else wants.” He fingered a plastic lamp piece and twirled it. “We’re surrounded by junk and pretending it’s fantastic.”

“No one’s pretending,” Teddy threw the broach aside. Maybe it was all trash. “So, what do we do? Voice our protest? Demand change? Done. Done a few times if you think of the last few days. We wanted to improve things, and now we are waiting on the fringe of growth, and we have no clue how to step over. It seems simple. It’s right in front of us. All we need to do is cross over the line. Do we? No. We stare and say wouldn’t that be wonderful.”

“Oh, shyza. Shut up. I’ve had enough whimpering,” Caden said, rubbing her forehead with her hand. “Let’s go back and face them. Henri spits out strings of rants about the state of the world, and you simper about how powerless we are. This is all so annoying. We’ll find out what the adults want to do and, after, we’ll decide what we want to do. This is all rubble and crap otherwise.”

“Why not,” Teddy said, getting to his feet. He rushed after her with Jolon right behind them. “And I don’t simper.”

“Right,” his brother and sister said together.

When they reached the kitchen, the others were still at the table, but now it was set for dinner.

“Food’s waiting,” Ma said, and they sat down to fried potatoes and bits of scraggly carrots.

After tasting Nuna’s cooking, Teddy disliked potatoes. He reminded himself not to be so self-centered.

“I guess we could slip people out a few at a time.” Georges conceded as she flickered her fork about.

“I thought you didn’t want anyone to relocate to the tower,” he said.

“Not quite true. I’m concerned with the consequences of moving. I’m a chicken like your father said,” she said with more pride than chickens appeared to possess. “Besides, now that we’re back,” She hiccupped and held up her fork with a potato on it. “I don’t want to stay. Done with potatoes. No disrespect, Tisha, they’re good. Just bored with them.”

Nuna tugged her coat around her and gazed at what Teddy used to think of as a pleasant home. Her face was pale and slack as though defeated and she had nothing left inside.

“And this is a good home,” Ma said with a sigh.

Mrs. Fish bobbed her head and cackled. “This is, this is, but I always wanted a little... well, less rubble in my life.” She stood by Nuna, her countenance hopeful and sceptical. “So there may be enough room for my brood?” She jerked a thumb at the cluster of children clambering about with Deb leading them. Most of them were more orphans she had taken in like his parents had done. They were all strays of Undercity, broken, in pieces, but pretending all was well, smiling and laughing as though there were streaks of sunshine everywhere.

Nuna stared with her lip quivering and her hands clenched. She tightened her jaw and said, “Fine. Fine. I suppose there is room for everyone. Doesn’t matter what the future might hold. Can’t let the present keep going on like this.”

“Well, there’s only the issue of figuring out the how,” Pa said. Georges went to speak, but an alarm rang, and Teddy’s father stood. “We’ve got customers. Guess business must go on for now until we get things all sorted out. Come on, Henri. Let’s see who’s here.”

Teddy went along with Jolon and Caden. They crawled up on a few crates to get a better view without being seen. It was Belinda with three brutes and a shorter man missing an eye.

“Well. Truman, you’re here in person,” Belinda said, giving Pa a raking dismissal. “Good. Have you seen my sister? I checked all her haunts and holes she slips into for days at a time, but haven’t been able to find her. This place is about the last dump left to search.”

“Your concern is quite poignant, Lindy,” Georges drawled as she stumbled in behind Teddy’s father and held herself up by a tall statue of a girl missing her head.

“She’s drunk?” Jolon asked, whispering in his ear.

“Don’t think so. If she is, I don’t know what she’s been drinking. Ma doesn’t let any alcohol in the house.”

“She’s pretending,” whispered Caden on his other side.

“I missed you, too,” Georges drawled. “I missed you at the Drunken Nut and Madame Torvel’s and the Crooked Curve, and I almost didn’t miss you at the Creative Kittens, but this little blondie caught my attention, and I slipped away.”

Belinda shook her head. “You are so pathetic. I’m tiring of digging you out from your messes. Coming here to....”

“Oh, don’t be so wired, Lindy. I wandered down here looking for some of those charming little boxes Tru had last week. Got a few loves in need of some tokens of affection.”

“Ah, and is that where your late night raid of our food supplies went?” Her sister gave a sly laugh and raised an eyebrow. “You think I didn’t notice? I hope it didn’t go to the rabble.”

“You need the rabble, Lindy, you and me and the whole of Upper. We need ‘em,” she said with a nonchalant slouch as she propped herself on a crate. “Yep, it’s a fact. We neglect them, and we lose our world.”

Belinda shifted about as though she was trying to avoid what her sister was saying. “There’re more of them down here than we’ll ever run out of.” She made a derisive gesture toward Mrs. Fish’s crowd of children who gathered by the door. “They breed and breed, making more pathetic rats over and over. So we lose a few, more will pop up.”

“And we’re to keep ‘em in their place, eh?”

Belinda flicked her gaze around the room and backed up a step closer to her guards. The guy with the patch over his eye stepped forward with his chin held high.

“If we didn’t, they would take over and use up all the resources. They don’t know any better.”

Georges stared at him as though he was something seeping from a bag of garbage. “That is quite a judgment to pass.”

“Well, look at them.” Belinda swept her hand around the room. “They have no restraint. Left to their own, they would eat everything with no regard for the future.” She flipped a finger Jolon’s way. “He eats more than his share and where does that leave the others?”

Putting a restraining hand on Pa’s arm, Georges laughed. “I wouldn’t go on too much about eating more than your chunk, Lindy.” She poked her sister in her broad stomach. “We’re both a bit free with our piece of things, aren’t we? Oh, my, we’re all getting far too serious for my amusement to continue. I haven’t got an interest in all things Under despite how things might appear to you, so you needn’t worry.” Patting her sister’s cheek, she belched. As she swayed on her feet, she let her face crumble. “I’m feeling rather sober, now, so I think it’s time I went. Deliver those boxes later, would you, Tru? There are lovelies waiting.”

She wagged a finger in Pa’s direction and careened her way toward the exit, whistling as she went.

“Is there something you want?” Pa managed with a cold tilt to his grin.

Belinda didn’t say anything; she just waited as though frozen, her bitty eyes staring pins into her surroundings.

Pa inclined his head toward Belinda. “My lord? I possess some beautiful pillows my boys found on our last excursion. Would you like to see them?”

“Where do you go?” Her gaze narrowed with suspicion.

“Go?”

“Yes, where do you go on your ‘excursions’?”

He spread his dirt stained hands wide. “We scrounge the tunnels. There are several attached to my little hovel here. They don’t go anywhere. We sift through them until we find little pockets of goods, or crates and boxes. It’s a careful job as you can imagine, but we don’t care. As you say, we’d be lost without our purpose. Can’t think what we’d do otherwise. I can take you scrounging if you like, but it’s dangerous if you don’t mind your step. We’ve had some leakage and snakes this morning, but a flash of fire and they’ll clear out. Good eating, if we can trap ‘em.”

The Upperlord’s lip curled at the corner. “That won’t be necessary.”

“The pillows, my lord? You might fine them quite beautiful.”

Teddy climbed down from his perch and left his father to sort out Georges’ sister. The woman made him feel worse than his trip through the sewer had.

“Everything all right?” his mother asked as joined her at the table. She brushed his hair with her fingers and touched his cheek. “They told me of your accident, my love, are you still hurting?”

Tears curled down to his chin, and she wiped them. “I’m good... no.  I think... I don’t know. It’s all so tiring.”

“I understand, my sweet,” she said with a deep embrace. “I understand.”

“She’s so cold and pompous. She thinks we can’t provide for ourselves when they take everything and hoard it. What an excuse.”

“Okay, okay.”

“But we can. We can,” he insisted, slipping out of his mother’s grasp and turning toward Nuna. “You understand why we can’t stay here? Did you hear her? Did you see her? We can’t live here. We’re nothing to them.”

“Teddy, stop,” his mother said. “You’re upset. You need sleep. We all do.”

Nuna took his hand and rubbed his palm. “We’ll do our best, child. I promise. We’ll do our best.”

Ma hugged him from behind. “Come, now. If we’re going to improve our world, we all will need rest. There is much work to do and no one must suspect anything.”

“Yes, good advice,” Pa said upon entering the room. He kissed his wife and handed her two fat chickens. “I sold your pillows, the silky ones you put together last week and got us some chicken. How’s that for a good deal?”

She took the birds and smiled. “You are my hero, as usual, my love.”

“Now,” he said, rubbing his hands. “Nuna, is there any point in bringing anything with us? As far as I can tell, your world seems pretty complete, but you never know.”

“Not that I can see,” she said, picking up a potato from the stack by the sink. “Some of these might be good. They seem to be quite a versatile crumb of food.”

“Oh, not potatoes,” Jolon groaned. “And here I thought we would leave the worst of this place behind.”

“Potatoes are a good resource, dear,” Ma scolded, holding one under his nose. “You are alive because of potatoes. They grow almost anywhere and make almost anything, so don’t scorn your livelihood.”

“Ah, Ma, you know I’m joking. I love, love, love your potatoes, your potatocakes, your potato pies, potato chips, and potato soup. I just kinda like to think a little variety would be yummy.”

“I’ll give you yummy, my sweet. You’ll be tending these potatoes once we get a garden going, so learn to love ‘em all again.”

“Pa, what about Georges?” Teddy asked.

“We’ll see her tomorrow. Never fear, my boy. She’s not as scattered or careless as she may seem. She wants a different reality as much as we do.”

“How?” Henri asked, filling the doorway with his bulk.

“What do you mean? What has got you worried?”  Teddy’s father asked, turning to the brute.

“All?” he said. “Underling servants. We save?”

“It’s a good question. I think we will start first thing in the morning, bringing those we’re closest to and trust the most through. Mrs. Fish, you get your brood to help gather those who require assistance and get them moving. We’ll need a couple of carts.”

“Won’t that be noticed?” Jolon asked.

“Not if we pass the word we’re having a nursing day to aid those who are in greatest need after the cave-in. We have had ‘em before so it won’t make too many people suspicious. Get them going through slow and quiet, and we’ll build from there.” As he finished, they all started tossing in their concerns at once, but he put up his hand.

“Hey, it has been an adventure of a day, and we’re all more than a tad done in. We’ll talk with Georges tomorrow and work out a system. It may take some time, but we’ll get it all planned.” He took Teddy by the shoulders and gave him a gentle shove toward his room. “Get some sleep.”