Chatty Town

Chapter Six : The Contraband

He calls the group back down and Wren is the first one down with narrowed eyes fixed on me. Dem steps between her and me and says, "We're going out. Grab me a gun."

Wren scoffs and folds her arms and Zeph raises his hand, "I'll get you one!" He runs to the other side of the elevator where the car is and he makes a ruckus of what I imagine to be a drawer of pistols.

Wren leans over to Dem beside me and judges me "You sure you wanna go out there with her?" 

Zeph runs over and gives Dem two pistols. 

Zeph nods in my direction, "I got one for the new girl!"

Dem shakes his head and hands Wren the extra pistol. "She's not one of us, yet."

Dem walks over to the door and I follow him. He pulls out a key hanging on a chain around his neck and he unlocks the chunky lock, and throws it back at Wren who catches it with ease. His voice is clear and deep. "Lock it after us." 

Dem cracks open the door with a long barrel gun in his hand and he turns back to Wren and Merrick inside. "Keep everyone safe. And don't open the door unless it's the knock."

Wren nods her head, "I don't mind if she dies, but you better come back in one piece or I'm going to kill you."

Dem looks at me and he nods then he opens the door wider- in an instant- and walks through it. I follow.

He's careful. From the way he walks to the way he holds the pistol in his hands. Light on his feet, quick and agile. Every move is methodical. His right hand wraps around the handle of the pistol. It's a thin black gun, with rounded edges and texture around the handle. The veins in his hands bulge as he wraps his other hand around it- steading the gun with both hands as he slows his feet to a stop and brings the gun close to his chest as he gets ready to peer around the corner. He leans his back against the brick building and carefully inches out to the street for a second and then he looks at me and nods. "It's clear. For now. We gotta be quick."

I nod, wondering to myself why he's so afraid of someone like Olsen. He's a killer, but what does that really mean? Who'd he kill? Was it justified? I just can't imagine Olsen, the guy who laughed with me in that shop this morning, could be a dangerous killer.

Dem nods and turns the corner and starts a light jog while staying close to the fences and I follow him.

Dem crosses the street and I stick close to him even though his fear is irrational to me. There's no one out here. As my feet touch the new sidewalk I ask him "Why did you let me come out here?"

Dem shrugs, "You said what's in the bag could get someone in trouble."

"Yeah... But why does that give you the green light to trust me?"

"I never said I trust you." Dem peers around the corner and looks back at me, "But the only thing in this town that gets anybody in trouble is being part of the Resistance." He nods at the street around the corner, "Is that your bag?"

I look over his shoulder and see the brown paper bag lying on the sidewalk spilling clothes and the blue sweater that Arden used to wrap the book. I nod. "That's it." I take a step forward to go after it and he stops me with a hand on my abdomen. I look at him.

"I'll get it." He says.

I shake my head, "Wren would kill you if you get hurt. I'll go." I push his hand away and start running to the bag on the floor. I must've dropped it when I saw the man running. It's on the sidewalk near one of the last houses I was absentmindedly criticizing, in front of the pizza shop. As I get closer to the sidewalk and the bag, I breathe out relief when I see the sweater still looks intact.