Down and Out: A Young Adult Dystopian Adventure (The Undercity Series Book 1) (9 page)

“Ducky and I are going swimming,” she said, slipping on the strange goggles Teddy had found her on one of his scrounges. They seemed to be a useless item in their world, but she loved to wear them under water.

“Wait for Ma before you go in,” he told her. “She needs to warm up the water first.”

She saluted him. “Yes, sir, I shall secure the area before the general gets here.” She started to sing, as loud as her lungs would let her, an odd tune their father had learned from his father. “I got the music in me, I got the music in me, I got the muuuusic in meeeee.”

Teddy laughed and thought of all those discs of ‘music’ he discovered, wondering if her song was on one of them and how a person got to listen. Somehow he doubted she was singing it right.

“Lovely, sweetheart,” his mother said as she passed him. “Breakfast is ready. Be sweet and bring some to Caden.” 

Yawning, he cleared the sleep from his eyes. The bath refreshed him a little, but he was still so exhausted. He snagged a plate, put several pancakes with jam on it, and proceeded to Caden’s room as he munched his food.

She sat up in her bed, which took up most of the room. Deb decorated it with everything bright and colourful despite her objections. Bits of cloth of every colour stuck to the wall with pins and streamers dangled from the ceiling.

“Well, you’re missing all the fun,” Teddy told her as he put the plate on her blanket. “Fuel up. Ma will torture me if you don’t. This new?” he asked, glancing at the portrait of Pa displayed with all the other sketches on the wall.

Caden made a face but plucked a potatocake roll.  “Yeah.  Did it yesterday. What fun?”

“Oh, nothing much. We’re just working on a plan; that’s all.” She licked jam off her lip and arched her eyebrows.

“Who?”

He swallowed and snatched another cake. “Me, Jol, and Henri. It’s a surprise for you, and we’ll show you once you’re better, so rest and get well so you can join us.”

“Is that a pep talk? ‘Cause it sucks. Why Henri? He’s just a brute, a stranger.”

Teddy licked his fingers. “Yeah, but he’s pretty good. I mean, yeah, he’s all soft inside; he cares.”

“We don’t need a caring brute. They’re not supposed to possess feelings or anything human. He’s an enormous, overstuffed kitty with no claws. What good is he if we need to protect our home?”

She started coughing, and he gave her a tumbler of water.

“Don’t think of those problems. Doesn’t do you any good; won’t help.”

His sister dragged up her blanket and gave him a glare that was more hurt than annoyed. “What should I do, talk about bunnies and flowers as though I know what they are? I’m not you, Teddy. I can’t read books and make them come alive in my head. I haven’t got the imagination.”

“I’ll make them live for you,” he said though he wasn’t sure what he meant. It seemed to be the best answer he could give. “I’ll read to you, I’ll sketch them with you, I’ll dig holes in this wretched world until I find utopia for you.” He grasped her hand and stroked it. “Get better ‘cause you’re family, and I’m keeping my family. I’ll not lose any one of them.”

Caden stared at him for a second before she chuckled. “Jeepers, you’re a dose of drama, aren’t you? Next thing you know you’ll be as mushy as our brute.” She snatched a slip of paper by her desk and showed it to him. “That was on my pillow this morning when I woke up. Little creepy to think he was in here when I was sleeping, but it was kinda, and I do mean kinda, sweet.”

It was a card with balloons floating in a blue sky and the words ‘Get Well’ over the cream paper. Henri’s signature was scrawled in childish letters across the bottom. He must have found it when they were in the mall.

“Sweet,” he said with a grin.

She tossed the card aside. “Guess so, but don’t ever think I want more of this. In fact, you tell him I’m not in any way interested in his kindnesses. They freak me out.”

“If you want me to,” he said as he went to get up. The fatigue of his night out was beginning to weigh on him. He ached to snag a little more sleep before his father came looking for him.

Caden grasped his arm as he went to leave. “Well, tell him not to be too mushy.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I know; no bunnies.”

“What about bunnies?” Deb chirped as she bounced in the room looking fresh and sweet in her new little dress. “They sound cute. What are bunnies?”

“They’re the monsters living under the bed and nip at your toes when you won’t lie still at night,” Caden told her and Teddy hugged her as she squealed in terror.

“Don’t pay attention to her, Deb. Bunnies are adorable little creatures with long ears and fuzzy tails.”

“Pa’s looking for you,” Deb said and stuck her tongue out at Caden. “He says you are to meet him in the tank section by the tunnel door.”

He stifled a yawn and left them with a wave. So much for catching a little more rest. Still, they would be going back again, which meant exploring the sunshine area in full daylight. Full daylight with all those sky windows, the prospects fired up his spirit, and he quickened his pace.

“How can you be so hyper?” asked a disheveled Jolon as he sat at the table playing with a pancake.

“Pa’s going back in the tunnels,” he replied as he slung his stash on his back. His oxygen tank needed recharging, and Pa would question him on that. He guessed he could say he didn’t recharge it from the other day.

His brother shook his head as he slathered a heavy dose of jam on his potatocake. “Nah, he’s not.”

Teddy stopped in his tracks. “What do you mean? Ma said he wanted to spend most of the day there.”

“Change of plans. ’Parently, Mrs. Fish was here this morning going on about another cave-in, which took out a large part of the Nest, so we’re to get whatever cruddy supplies the Uppers don’t want and bring them to the survivors.”

“The Nest, huh? That’s going to be interesting.”

“Yeah, what will the Uppers do for cheap entertainment now?”

The cynicism in his brother’s voice was understandable, so Teddy ignored it. He had his own disappointments and issues to sort out. True, his goal was to save the rest of Undercity, but now he had to spend the day delivering mothy blankets and loads of potatocakes.

“Jolon, take your bath,” Ma ordered, bustling about mixing potato flour and water. “You stink like an old shoe.”

“The orphans won’t mind, Ma,” he said as he stood and licked his fingertips clean. “In fact, the odour might help them be more comfortable.”

She thrust her spatula at him. “Wash yourself.”

Teddy laughed until she turned her utensil in his direction. “You get to your father. There is much to do and few who are willing to assist, so go.”

He turned to escape, but she stopped him with a fling of her spoon, which almost covered him in potato batter. “And get the lump out of bed too. We need all hands today, strong ones.”

“How true, how true,” Mrs. Fish said as she entered their home.

A stringy lady with little muscle and warm, tawny skin, she had lots of head and mahogany hair. It was an odd picture that left him wondering how her neck could support so much, but she was kind despite how much she liked to talk. She swept her floor-length cloak, with its fading red flowers, around her.

“It is a horrible tragedy. I don’t know what we’ll do. The elder Underlings are talking of organizing their own government again to address such events. They plan on sending a delegation to meet with the council of Upperlords to ask for some aid and extra water. Doubt they will help. They seem to be determined to exterminate the Underlings, but they’d be in a stew, wouldn’t they? Who would do their work for them? They’d need to get dirty and dig for themselves.”

Taking up a spatula, she set about turning potatocakes with impressive efficiency. “A few of the other ladies are gathering some rat goop to take as well, but we’re short on bandages.”

Ma jabbed her spoon at him. “He and his brother can get that together if he ever gets over his wonderful imitation of a statue and gets on with things.”

Teddy got the hint and left to get Henri. His mother was one of the kindest, happiest people he ever met, but when serious work needed to be done, she became stern and efficient.

“Hey, Hen, we need you,” he said and kicked at the bed. The brute grunted and continued to snore. He kicked harder. “Heeennnnrriiiii, wake up, up, up,” he shouted. “My Ma is on her way armed with a spoon, and her skirt’s in a knot, so we’ve got to get going.”

“Huh, uhhnm?” he said, yawning with a smile on his face as though he was leaving a good dream.

“Come on; we’ve got to get moving. There’s been a cave-in and they need assistance.”

That got him started. He bolted upright, still clothed from last night’s adventure, and almost knocked Teddy over as he rushed to get out the room.

“Hey, wait up,” he called, scrambling after him. “You need breakfast first.”

Ma stepped in front of Henri and stuck her spoon under his large nose. “Eat; help after.” She tapped her utensil on a fresh plate of potatocakes. “Devour those, and then you two take these containers of food to the wagon. Pa is filling it with blankets and other supplies, and we’ll leave as soon as we can.”

Jolon ventured out of the bathroom somewhat cleaner than he was before. “Done, Ma. Water’s still warm.”

She flicked her spoon and showered the floor in remnants of potato. Her wild hair floated about her with a life of its own. “Later. You and Teddy cut up those rags in the bin by the stores of odd statues.” “Ma, you told me to take the potatocakes to the....”

“Just do it,” she said, rushing back to her stove.

“But I can’t do two things at once,” he protested, and she started to cry.

“Just, oh, I don’t know, my sweet. It’s all so...”

Mrs. Fish put an arm around her. “All right, dear, everything’s all right. Teddy isn’t trying to cause trouble. He’ll do the bandages with Jolon; the big guy can move the bins into the cart. All is well. Let’s you and I do the cooking.”

His mother nodded, and the boys escaped.

“Wow, this must be a bad one,” Jolon said as they entered the warehouse.

Mrs. Fish’s husband was stacking supplies in the wagon with Pa. His two sons were with them, taking things from the highest shelves with their long arms. They all had Mrs. Fish character traits—quite tall and strong with sizeable heads while Mr. Fish was stockier with broad shoulders, black hair, bronze skin, and a long beard. Teddy waved at them as he set to work cutting up the cloth with old scissors. He always liked them. They were funny and generous and helped him out a few times when he had been on his own.

“I’ve never seen Ma in such a state,” Jolon added as he grasped some scissors.

“I think she’s worn out from existing like this.”

“We all are. That’s the good part of what we’ve found. Might mean freedom, right?”

Teddy bobbed his head in agreement. He hoped so, but he was scared. There was still tremendous risk in separating from the Upperlords and their horde of brutes.

“I suppose.”

“You suppose? Did you see that place or were we dreaming? It was stunning, and we didn’t get through the whole area.”

Teddy snipped and rolled, creating a large pile of multi-coloured bandages. “There’s still so much to explore, though, and.” His voice went soft as he leaned close. “And we don’t even know how safe the place is yet.”

His brother made a face. “Safe? Look what we’re doing; we’re making bandages to try and help a pit load of people injured in a cave-in. There’s no doctor, no nurses, no emergency people to pitch in, just us their neighbours. That’s it. I don’t think life can get worse.”

“All right, boys, that’ll have to do for now. Mrs. Fish is going to round up a couple of the younger kids to help, so you two can assist with the digging,” their mother said as she came up behind them. “Take what you can and let’s get going.”

They packed the cart with lanterns, blankets, food, and shovels, and dragged the worn wagon after their family as they left for the East Side. The wheels wobbled and creaked in protest of its load as they crossed the bridge. It took a while to get to their destination. Teddy rubbed his eyes as he went, wishing for an hour’s more sleep, but he started to see the toll the new cave in had taken on Undercity and he felt ashamed. People he knew, people he grew up with huddled in the gloom, crying and moaning. Rubble, broken beams, and broken people—the devastation was frightening. Cement dust filled the air and made breathing difficult.

Coughing, Teddy flicked on another lantern.

“Oh, hell,” Jolon said, gazing about. “This is going to be fun. Little light, bad air, and it’s hot. Jeeze, it’s hot.”

They halted at a carved out hollow where members of their mother’s emergency committee were putting together an aid station. Several bodies lay in a corner under dirty blankets, and a line up of people bloodied and wounded, waited for assistance.

“Come on, boys,” Pa said; his face twisted grim as they finished unloading the cart. “It’s shovelling time.”

Jolon swung a shovel to his shoulder. “Eh, not much left to salvage, is there? I hate to be pessimistic, and this might sound bad, but what’s the point?”

“Yeah, well, the point is there may still be people alive in pockets.”

“In pockets. Yes, in pockets of what? This whole stinking city is the back pocket in the pants of the devil. And now, he’s taken a shit.”

“And we get to wipe the crap up,” Teddy agreed and put his shovel to work.

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A
fter several hours of digging through broken cement and crumbled drywall, Teddy began to doubt they would find anyone else alive. 

Dust clogged his throat and he stopped for a moment, propping himself with his shovel as he coughed.

“Here,” his father said and passed him a bottle of water. 

He took a long sip and then wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve.  “What do you think, Pa?  Do we keep searching?” he asked as he passed the bottle back.  He gestured toward the mess of dangling beams, fallen wires, and collapsing walls blocking the passage in front of them. “I don’t think that ceiling is going to last much longer.”

“Or the floor for that matter,” Pa said, his brows drawn together with concern.