Down and Out: A Young Adult Dystopian Adventure (The Undercity Series Book 1) (8 page)

“Ted.”

“Hey, what kind of life is this? We only live by the whim of people who only want to parade around acting all wonderful.”

“Teddy, calm yourself.”

“And they’re not. They’re not. They are people like us. They possess as much value as anyone else. This is ridiculous. In fact, they are less because they can’t see other people are as good as them.” He jerked around as Henri yanked his arm.

“Done?”

Panting, he shook himself, all the tension in his body dispersing at once in a ranting stream of words. “D... d... done,” he gasped trying to regain his composure. “Sorry. Don’t know why I did that.”

“’Cause you’re weird,” Jolon said, clapping him on the back. “But we all are, so relax. Besides, you made me feel better.”

“That’s good, I guess.”

“Yeah, after your freak out, I realized I didn’t want to seem like a baby like you.”

“Funny.”  He shook himself again and nudged his brother’s shoulder.  “Come on.”

“Shouldn’t we explore these a little more?” Jolon asked while they passed the stores.

“Nah, Pa and I searched these before,” he said as he hurried to keep up with their brute. “Besides, I think Henri’s on a mission. Henri? What do you think you’ll find? Can we slow down a bit? You might not be aware of this, but our legs are not as long as yours.”

“Yeah,” Jolon added with a hand to his side. “And this exercise thing is a heap of garbage. No, it’s a mountain of garbage mixed with toxic waste, cooked in a volcanic river, and thrown up by the belly of the earth.”

“Imaginative. Finished?” Teddy asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, in fact, finished, finished. I should be guarding the door back at safety central. And thank you. I’ve been working on my imagination. You can’t be the only one making up stuff.” He stopped and bent over, puffing. “What you seeking, Henri? Something good, I hope ‘cause I ain’t going through this for anything less than something good.”

“A way out,” the brute admitted, pacing. “This can’t be all. Stories, tales people tell. Can’t read, but listen and must be more—for all. Nice place where all okay.”

Teddy turned to Jolon, dubious. 

His brother shrugged.  “That’s something good.”

“Can’t get much better.”

They grinned and went forward again, searching for even one clue to a real life. Most of the stores they passed carried clothes. He guessed their ancestors had an obsession with garments and shoes, which they found in abundance. Everything seemed surreal. The plastic people didn’t bother him now though he still didn’t like the ones with heads—too life-like. Soon, they reached what seemed to be the end and another set of glass doors. Something glowed beyond them. They all stopped and stared.

Teddy’s heart raced.

“You think?” Jolon asked, nudging him.

“Seems too easy.”

“Too easy? The last ones to go out burned alive. I don’t call that easy.”

“No, I mean the glow, if that’s outside, shouldn’t it be harder to get at than stepping through a door?”

“Don’t care,” Henri said and strode forward.

“Wait,” he shouted, but the brute didn’t listen.  The door pushed debris to the side as he shoved it open. Teddy rushed to put on his mask but was too late. The stale air hit him hard. He tried to hold his breath while he fumbled for his respirator. His sight dimmed, and he began to see stars. He went under, his mask in hand.

When he opened his eyes, Henri’s huge face bobbed before him, his bulbous nose inches from his.

“K? K? Ted? Teddy. I sorry. I not think. Oh, wake up.” He shoved the mask on Teddy’s face.

He swatted at the brute’s hand.  “Don’t shake. I’m okay. Stop.”

Henri pulled off the oxygen mask. “What?”

“I said stop.” He coughed and sat up, taking a breath or two from his tank. “How’s Jol?”

“Alive,” his brother moaned not far from him. “The hulking pack of muscle shook the death right out of me.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Henri said over and over. “Didn’t mean to.  Didn’t think.”

“Okay, all is good,” said Teddy, his head throbbing a fraction. “Slow down, ‘k? Sometimes when you open a sealed area, you get hit with bad air. Kinda like a punch to the jaw.”

“Well, I was right,” said Jolon, rubbing his temples.

“’Bout what?”

“This was too easy.”

Teddy laughed. Still a little wobbly and light-headed, he rose to his feet. He took another shot of oxygen.  The door was still open; the air must have stabilized. He gazed at Henri. “How come you didn’t go under?”

He gave a timid grin and held up his mask. “Bigger person, more air in me. Had time. Sorry.”

“Always thought you were somewhat of an airhead,” Jolon muttered but patted Henri’s arm. “So, do we go on, or go home? It’s gotta be getting late by now, and they’ll discover we’re gone if we’re not at breakfast.” His stomach grumbled, revealing his real concerns.

Teddy took a crisp biscuit from his supplies. “Here, nibble this.”

“Oh, perfect, cookie power. Got another?”

He grinned and gave his brother one more. “Okay, by my figuring we have been down here for about three hours... two hours to get here and another hour searching around. So, we can afford another hour before heading back in time to get a moment’s sleep before Ma comes for us. Do we go or do we come back tomorrow night?”

Henri shifted from foot to foot and pulled at his trousers. 

“Do you gotta go?” Jolon asked.

The brute blushed.  “Yes.”

“Uh, huh,” said his brother and stood. “So do I. I’m finding a corner before continuing. Saves any embarrassment in case of flight.”

Teddy went and located a pillar off to the side to relieve himself. Between the debris and decay, he figured a little urine wouldn’t cause much more work to clean up if Underlings came to live here. As he did up his pants, he paused, certain he heard movement in the store nearby. He told himself it was something small, but the nagging voice inside his head didn’t agree. The sound was too human. Keeping his eyes glued on the eerie room, he backed his way to the others.

“Ummm, walking works better when you face where you’re going,” Jolon said, touching his back.

“I heard something,” he admitted, and they all peered in the direction he had come.  The three of them waited, staring.

“It was a rat,” Jolon whispered.

“Sure,” Teddy whispered back.

“Yes, rat,” agreed Henri.

“Wait. Rat, rat or ratdog?” asked his brother, his voice panicked. He nudged Henri. “You’re the brute; you check.”

“Don’t like rats or ratdogs.” “Maybe something else?”

He scowled. “That helps. Let’s go the other way.”

“And if we’re followed?”

Teddy jerked his thumb toward Henri.  “He can deal with it.”

Doubtful, Jolon glanced his way and Henri attempted to appear menacing. 

“Let’s go.” He sighed and went forward.

They entered a walkway almost identical to the one they travelled through to the mall the first time. The walls were glass in the past; they could tell by the frames and shards scattered about. Now, they were blocks of mud and rubble. They were not outside, but the light still glowed at the end of the tunnel. Moving together, they approached the next set of doors while keeping an eye behind them in case the noise was more than a rat. Their feet crunched on shards of glass, but no other sound pursued them.

“Masks on,” Teddy said, not wanting a repeat of the last time, but he didn’t need to worry. Jolon had his on already, and Henri fished his out too. For a moment, Teddy wondered if this was the best idea. What if they discovered nothing? What if they did end up outside and the sun fried them alive? They would be dust their parents would never find. Fatigue was messing with his head—fatigue and fear—that was it. He was fine. They were okay. He took a deep breath and tilted his head toward Henri, who picked up a piece of metal and smashed the glass.

Teddy threw his arm up, protecting his face. He glared at the brute who donned a sheepish grin.  “You’ve wanted to do that for a while?” he asked, his words muffled by his mask.

“Break fun.”

Jolon pushed on the bar across the frame, and the door swung open, scraping on the shards spread over the floor. “Fun, yeah. Unnecessary, definitely.”

Sick of wondering if it was safe, Teddy went in. If he fried, he fried. His boots crunched on the glass as it ground into the tile.

“What’s the glow?” asked Jolon, joining him.

“Couldn’t say.  Kinda like the same glow in Uppercity, but that’s during the day.  It can’t be day yet.  Might be dawn?”

“What’s that?” Teddy asked.

“Don’t know. Heard a drunken Upperlord talking about it. He said dawn was the glimmer of the morning coming, the dawn of the day. Sounded magical.”

“Sounds mushy.”

“He was drunk.”

“Yeah, they always are.”

The area was similar to the last section with a lineup of stores, which appeared to carry the same kind of content as the last one except for one glowing difference, which made them step forward and stare upward. Glass in the roof. Rows of panels shimmering with what Teddy could only decide was the morning light. Shocked at the sight, he took off his mask, forgetting to analyze the quality of the air. It barely registered they could breathe.

“Wow,” Teddy said, gasping.

They glanced at each other and started laughing.

“Wahhhoo,” shouted Jolon.  “That’s more beautiful than Uppercity.”

He was right. The multitude of windows were free of debris, unbroken, and secure-looking. The glow emanating from them grew until Teddy had no need of his lamp.

“We live here,” Henri said, his face tear stained with joy.

“Perhaps,” he said with a lengthy sigh as reality settled in.  “It might be possible. I mean, yes, we have light, but what about water and soil? What about food or power and consistent air? We don’t even know if the structure is safe. There’s a lot more to go through than one night is going to show us.”

“You sound like Pa,” Jolon said.

“So? He only wants the best for us. He wouldn’t bring us to this place unless he answered all those questions and a few more I’m too exhausted to think of.”

His brother held his hands up. “Hey, I wasn’t saying it was a bad thing.”

“We should go now,” said he, though he didn’t want to leave the rising sun. “We’ve got a ways to go to get back and no more time to explore further.”

Henri continued to stare at the sunrise. Teddy tugged his arm.

“Come on, before they find we are missing. We’re cutting things close as it is. All is good. We’ll come back. We’re changing the world, remember?” He smiled at him, and the brute grinned back, nodding.

“All right, adventurers, let’s get out of here. I need my bed,” Jolon said, yawning.

The future seemed exciting for once, and this gave them the energy to return home. On the way, they discussed the incredible possibilities their discovery presented. However, once Teddy slipped back into his bed, he was asleep in seconds. Only a moment went by before someone was shaking him. He brushed away the hands touching him.

“Go away.”

“Teddy,” his mother scolded. “Do not talk to me that way, sleepy or not. What’s the matter with you? You’re one of the first awake. You sick?” She touched his forehead, and he tried to wake up.

“No, nope. I’m fine. Just stayed up too late...”

“Doing what, writing?” she asked with a disapproving shake of her head.

“Umm, yep, uh-huh, writing. I couldn’t sleep so I got up and got inspired. Didn’t fall asleep until a second ago.”

She frowned with a suspicious glint in her eyes as she brushed strands of hair from his face. “Well, that explains you, but what explains Jolon and,” she snapped her fingers at Henri, snoring with vigour under the blankets, oblivious to everything, “I don’t know him well enough to know his sleeping patterns, but he does seem to be asleep.”

“Jolon is Jolon,” Teddy answered. “He’s always, well, Jolon.”

“Hmmm.” She shook her head. “Yes, that pretty much sums him up. Well, your father hopes to get an early start scrounging today, so you better rise, child. I’ll get breakfast going while you give yourself a cleaning. It’s your turn to bathe first, but hurry, mind you. Deb is wearing more muck on her than those dirt pies she’s always trying to make. Plus, Caden needs a good wash. It’ll refresh her and make her feel a little better.”

“How’s she doing this morning?” he asked, swinging himself out of his hammock.

“Stronger, I think. The coughing isn’t so bad, and she is less pale. You can sit with her for a while and tell her a story. She’d like that.”

He nodded and plucked a fresh shirt from his pile. She tossed him a towel as she left.

“Don’t use all the soap. We are almost out.”

Teddy stubbed his toe on the bed and yelped, but Henri only snored and rolled over. He put his towel around his neck and headed to the little room off the main space.

It was a bathroom from days gone by, but the water did not come from a tap to fill the tub. Instead, it dribbled in from a hose protruding through a hole in the wall, which led to a large metal container, which sat over a fire barrel in the kitchen. It functioned well except the system connected to an offshoot from a main pipe supplied by the Uppers. The valve was at their end, which meant they regulated when Underlings would get their water and how much. Pa rigged the bathtub, so the drain went to a filter system he had devised to make the water usable for longer. Still, he was restricted to a hand’s span of steamy water to bathe in.

To go first was a treat because the water was clean, but as each person washed up, they added a couple of inches to reheat the tub, so the last one got a full soak. It was a good system, a luxury most people did not possess. Most Underlings owned a drifting, pungent scent similar to rotting rats in a pile of crap, which arrived well before they appeared.

After he had washed, he dried off with a ratty towel decorated with shells and got dressed, wrapping his privates in a cloth he secured around his waist to make his pants more comfortable. Once, he managed to scrounge a wearable pair of briefs, but they wore out a while ago. Still, he never enjoyed the feeling of coarse trousers against the more sensitive parts of his skin. Rubbing his head, he bumped into Deb as he left the room. She grinned at him and held up a fragment of blobby yellow plastic with painted on eyes.