World in Tatters Ch. 41

Everything was smooth sailing the rest of the ride in. We made it to the outskirts of the city about two hours after our riverside chat. I’d wager we’re half a day or more ahead of the rest of the army. My mother’s probably livid, having most definitely discovered our absence by now.

This far out, Atlanta looks about like it did five years ago. Partially by accident, partially by design, we ended up on the south side of the city, atop a hill with a great view of the skyline. A sea of tents mixed with a spattering of old houses sprawls out before us. In the center of it all rises the core of the old city. Buildings as tall as I’ve ever seen cast their shadows in the afternoon sun. Twenty… Thirty… maybe more… massive structures rising high above the landscape.

This view brings back memories. Hours spent ducking and dodging through the half-abandoned office spaces set hundreds of feet above the ground where Aunt Nora often had business with some of the more prominent citizenry. Old money, new money, anyone who’s found a way to exploit people for their own benefit.

Anyone who had resources and could defend them had power. Anyone with power could use it to gain more recourses, and so on. Unfortunately, the Parliament relied on people like that. Many of those same men and women used to hold seats in the ruling bodies of the Alliance, using their positions of power to corner their respective markets. Most of them not very nice people.

I doubt much has changed on that front.

But there’s something different about the place now. When Alice and I were maybe six or seven years old, there was a major push by the elites to erect a fence around the city. Something to keep out the riffraff, as they called them. It was completed a couple years later.

It was nothing fancy, just a chain link fence about ten feet high. A few checkpoints scattered around the perimeter. Now it’s more. Much more.

In the last few years, they’ve expanded the perimeter. The new wall is about double the height of the old fence. Razor wire coiled between rebar above the corrugated metal siding. Old concrete construction barricades brace against the outside. An undertaking like this would have taken the old regime at least a decade to build. Drum’s people have done it in a fraction of the time. The amount of resources they would have needed for that…a city this big…a wall this big…I honestly have no idea how or where they could have gotten it all.

I guess this just means our work is cut out for us. Luckily, it appears that the checkpoints are letting people through. I suspect that’ll change around sundown.

After a quick word with Richard and Kiera, Artemis and Apollo break off from the group, riding the rest of the way into the city. From our vantage, I’m only able to keep track of them for a little while before they disappear into the throngs below. The rest of us set up a makeshift camp. No tents, just a small cooking fire.

I hadn’t realized it until now, but I haven’t eaten since last night. I feel my stomach rumble angrily as the smell of stew fills the air. We’re able to eat in peace. A camp like ours isn’t an uncommon sight around here. It’s just temporary though. Until the twins get back.

As soon as the food’s ready, Ren dishes out a bowl to each of us. Turns out, they’re a pretty good cook. Even though our supplies are fairly meager, they’d brought enough spices along to make it worthwhile.

I try to savor it, knowing full well I’ll regret it if I don’t. But after the first few bites, my appetite takes over, and I snarf down the rest of my stew. Ren smiles at my enthusiastic enjoyment of their cooking. When they offer me what’s left at the bottom of the pot, I don’t even hesitate. This time, though, I take my time. My eyes flicker closed as the chunks of potato just melt in my mouth with a burst of flavor. It’s the best food I’ve had in quite a while.

The next couple hours pass quickly after that. The twins return just before dark, quicker even than Richard anticipated. They assure us they were able to accomplish their mission. They made contact with the mole, set up a place for us to hole up for the night, and found us a way through the fence. A way big enough to get our horses through at that.

Not long after we set out again, the sun dips below the horizon. It’s not until the natural light fades that I realize the city isn’t darkening with the rest of the world. The skyscrapers glow with a variety of lights. Blues, reds and ambers speckle the skyline, shining from windows all over the city. Even from our vantage, I can see the streets teaming with people going about their business in the capitol.

Alice, Rachel and I pause at the sight. Looking into the electric lights, even from this distance, hurts my eyes. It wasn’t like this before. There was some electric lighting, certain government buildings where it was necessary, but never on this scale. The entirety of downtown is bright enough to wash out the night sky.

“Beautiful isn’t it?” I hadn’t even noticed Jarvis slip up beside me.

“I guess, but…It just feels eerie to me.”

“Yeah, well, keep that feeling. It might be a shiny turd, but it’s still a turd.”

With a pat on my shoulder, Jarvis goes off to catch up with the others. It doesn’t take long to get to the breach. Somewhere along the perimeter down a darkened alley, Artemis and Apollo pull aside a few of the larger panels, making our own personal gateway into downtown Atlanta.

As soon as we’re through the fence, we end up in an open air camp. Barrels burn for light in the cool summer night. There isn’t a tent in sight, but poor retches huddle together, bundling blankets around their loved ones. It reminds me of Corina and her operation back in Picayune. Only difference is, It doesn’t look like these folks have had anyone to help them. Not for a long time. As we pass through, we hear several of them hacking and coughing. I wouldn’t doubt it if many of them are on their last legs. None of them pay us much mind.

Even when we pass into the light of downtown, no one bothers us. Even this late, the city is buzzing with activity. No one pays us any mind because we simply don’t stand out. Hundreds of people fill the streets, some on horseback, some in carriages, most on foot. As I look around, I see a big blue trolley, a set of cables extended from the rooftop.

The decadence is overwhelming.

For these people, it’s all normal, not one of them looking twice at the streetcar as it barrels down the main drag. Restaurants— real restaurants— line the street, the sweet smell of meats and sweets wafting in the air. Most of the places that once sat abandoned, now bursting at the seams with patrons.

How do they power this place? How have they been able to revive the once starving city?

Before the famine, Atlanta was a bustling trading post, but this…This is something else entirely.

Jarvis was right. It’s beautiful. Nice, shiny, polished. On the outside it looks great, but we’ve already seen parts of the underbelly. Shiny turd’s still a turd.

We take refuge in a deserted garage attached to the hotel where we’re supposed to meet our spy. The steel and concrete structure has degraded since the Fall, but it’s still sturdy. There are a few of the homeless camped out on the lower floors, so we head up high and tie up our horses in a secluded spot. We pull their saddles, stuffing them into a supply closet out of sight. Each of us grabs our bags, and begins the hike up to our room. Chris and Jarvis hang back to feed the horses before joining us.

After a long trek up the stairs, we wind up on the thirteenth floor. Apollo leads us into the largest suite on the hall. There we meet up with our mole. She’s…not at all what I expected. Not that I know what I was expecting. She’s a short, stocky woman, dark hair, olive skin. Mid-fifties, maybe. I catch her name when Kiera greets her. Leeta. From what I can tell, she’s well acquainted with Richard’s team.

As soon as we’re all inside, she starts fussing over the twins: fixing Apollo’s hair, straightening Artemis’ clothes. Oddly, she’s only paying that kind of attention to them. I’m embarrassed to admit how long it takes me to realize why.

“Mom, please stop.” Apollo whines. “My hair’s fine…Yes, we’re eating well.”

Now I see the resemblance. I mentally kick myself for missing it at first. I mean, it’s uncanny. Artemis looks exactly like her mother. Well, not exactly. She has her mother’s height, and their faces share similar features. But their eyes are different. Leeta’s eyes are a deep, rich brown, like the fertilized soil of a garden. Artemis’ eyes are a brilliant blue-green, like an ocean wave. She must get it from their father. Apollo has his mother’s eyes, but the resemblance pretty much stops there.

Lucky for us, Ms. Leeta has some food already prepared for us, including some homemade bread. Over dinner, we discuss our next moves. Turns out Leeta works in the kitchens at Drum’s mansion, so she’ll set a couple of us up with a daily work detail. That’s how we’ll make first contact with Nora Falstrom. The others will survey the grounds and surrounding area, figuring out the best strategies to stage our rescue.

“You and Alice will be the ones making contact.” Richard tells me. “She knows you, and well…Alice is her daughter. She’ll trust you two when you approach her. None of us have even met her. Rachel and Chris will be with Jarvis and Peggy, hanging back on the survey team. Artemis and Apollo will also be on the grounds with you for backup, but keeping their distance to avoid drawing attention.”

I look over at Alice, but she’s staring out the window. I can tell she’s only half listening. I know, because she used to do that to me all the time. Usually it was because she had some plot cooking up in her head, but this time, it’s different. This time, I know she’s thinking about her mother. I know her well enough that I think I can guess how she’s feeling. She’s preparing herself for a bittersweet reunion. I don’t think she expected it so soon.

“It’s a good plan. When do we leave?”

“We’ll have to be at the mansion early.” Leeta chimes with a smile, a motherly kindness in her voice. “Just after sunrise if you’re to join the pool of day workers.”

“Great.” Kiera says, “Well, then. Everyone better get some rest. Sleep well.”

With that Kiera grabs Richard by the hand and leads him into another room, pleased, I’m sure, to have a moment alone with her husband. Apollo, in true sleezy fashion, starts making kissy faces behind them. Right up until his mother smacks him that is, breaking some of the residual tension in the room. The rest of the company gets a hearty laugh. Even Alice is pulled from her dark mood to join in, if less enthusiastically.

After that, everyone breaks off to find their place to crash. All of us have been up all day and night, so most of us pretty much fall asleep immediately after bedding down. I don’t. Not because I’m not exhausted, but because I notice Alice slip out to the hall.

I quietly follow her out, only to find her slumped against the wall two doors down.

“You alright?” I prod.

“I…Yes…No…I don’t know.” She mutters.

“You’re nervous about tomorrow. Right? Don’t be. Aunt Nora…you’re mom…This’ll work. It’s just the first step. Besides—”

“It’s not that.” She pauses for a long time, pulling her knees up to her chest. “I still don’t know if I can face her. And tomorrow, I have to. It’s…all just too fast. I think I just need to rest.”

“Do you want me to go? Leave you to it?”

“I…”

I nod, taking her silence as an affirmative. I turn to head back into the suite with the others.

Right as I reach for the doorknob, “Wait.” She squeaks. “I don’t really want to be alone.”

“Alright. Give me a second. I’ll be right back.” Turning back away from a confused Alice, I slip into the suite where the others are fast asleep. I sneak over to my bags and pull out my blanket. Once back in the hall, I slide down the wall beside her.

I drape the blanket around her shoulders, wrapping us both in its warmth. She grabs my hand, pulling it up over her head, tucking herself under my arm. She lays her head comfortably onto my shoulder.

It’s nice being like this again. Close, I mean. Emotionally, not just physically. I lay my cheek against the top of her head, her coarse hair tickling my nostril. I close my eyes, taking in the rare peaceful moment.

And that’s it.

Next thing I know, it’s morning.