Empire

Chapter fourteen

  I look around and then at myself. I'm wearing loose grey pants and a long dark green shirt. My outfit looks like something Flair would wear. I'm glad for the colours which won't stand out. My shoes look like Flair's too. My hair is French braided. My hand goes to my throat. My necklace is still there. Next I check for my knife. It's on me as well although it has an actual sheath now. I thank Indigo silently.
  I was laying on a blanket. My pillow is actually a black sweater with a hood and pockets on the front. I put it on. In the pocket is a note.
  Dear Susan,
I'm sorry to do this to you but by now you know that this is how the competition works. Your goal is to survive for as many days as we decide in the city. Stealing is allowed but I doubt you will want to do that. My advice is to find some kind of job so you can make money to buy food. I'll be praying for you.
  Love Maroon.
  Ps: watch out for street gangs.

  The part that I notice most is when she says she'll pray for me. Does that mean that she's accepted Jesus? I smile and whisper a quick prayer for her and for my safety. Then I step out of the alley. I'm on a simple street with shops and houses lining the road.
  The first thing I need to do is find work. It's already almost noon and I'm getting very hungry.
  I walk down the street looking at the different shops. "Lord," I pray "Could you please help me find a job quickly?"
  I look in the window of a place called "Fern's bakery" a little sign in the window says "help wanted". I open the door and am immediately hit with an avalanche of different smells. I smell a wood stove and cinnamon, chocolate, bread, and so many other things that I can't identify.
  A plump, friendly looking lady is standing behind a counter.
  "How can I help you miss?" She asks.
  "Actually I was hoping I could help you, I saw the sign outside." I say walking nearer to her "what kind of help do you need?"
  "I need someone to help me in the kitchen, I'm so busy baking and serving customers I don't have time to clean up." she says "I can pay you ten culpa's a day."
  "Oh you don't have to pay me, just let me eat here and give me a place to sleep and I'll be fine," I say "but I'll only be here for a few days."
  "That's fine I'll take what I can get. How about I give you something to eat right now." she says leading me to the kitchen "My name's Fern by the way."
  "I'm Susan" I say.
  We're in the kitchen now. It's small and messy but I've cleaned worse before. While she makes a lunch ready for both of us I start cleaning the floor and clearing counters. The kitchen has a stove, a sink, a few counters, a table in the middle, and a tv.
  "You've got the same name as that girl from Germany" Fern says.
  Girl from Germany? Than I realize she's talking about me. Instinct warns me to keep that a secret.
  "Do you watch the shows?" She asks me.
  "Uh ya" I say. Yes I watch them, I'm also in  them.
  "Which team do you think will win?" She asks.
  "Maybe Germany." I say.
  "Oh well, I thought you'd say that. Here's something for you to eat. When you're finished you can clean the rest of the kitchen." she says giving me a plate with bread and strawberry jam on it.
  I eat it and then finish cleaning, thanking God that I found this place. Fern is talkative and doesn't seem to care if I talk or not. So I listen, I learn more about Emor in an hour than I've learned in my whole life. While she talks she mixes ingredients, kneads dough, and ices cakes. Often the bell from the shop is rung and she leaves for a bit to tend her customers. But she always comes back to finish whatever she was doing. I think she's lonely and she seems happy to be able to talk with someone.
  That evening, with the kitchen in perfect order, we eat supper and she shows me where I can sleep.
  "You did a great job today," she says and hands me five culpa's "you'll need these when you leave."
  I thank her and she leaves.
  I lay down and try to sleep but my thoughts keep me awake. Where are the others and how are they doing?

  In the morning Fern tells me that she is not working today. She gives me breakfast and tells me I should explore the city. She also gives me a map. I thank her and walk out the door saying I'll try to be back by dark. I bring the money she gave me just in case.
  I wander around rather aimlessly, yesterday I had a goal, today I don't have anything I need to do.
  Suddenly I hear a cry of pain from an alley to my right. My instincts warn me not to go into the alley. But I do anyway.
  A boy is sitting on the ground clutching his leg. I walk over to him but when I'm ten feet away he gets up, perfectly fine.
  It's a trap.
  Two more boys are behind me when I turn around. One of them, he has bright red hair, comes closer "Well look at what we have here, a pretty little school girl." he says.
  I back up looking for something to use as a weapon. I can't take them all down with just my knife.
  "How about you give us whatever money you have and maybe we won't hurt you." says the boy.
  These are not just actors. I remember the last line of Maroon's note warned me to watch out for gangs. I see a wooden broom and pick it up.    Not great but it will do.
  I wish Tretan was here.
  "I'd rather keep it thank you. But I have an offer, how about you leave me alone and you won't get hurt." I say. My "fans" are going to love this.
  "Ooh she's a feisty one." says one of the other boys. They all pull out a knife and spread apart to get behind me. I back up further till my back is against the wall of a building.
  Red hair says "Know what, we just might keep you."
  "I don't think the officials would like that." I say trying to stall them.
  "They wouldn't care, you're just another random girl, a pretty one though." says Red.
  Actually I'm not, but I'm not about to tell them who I actually am. Then again maybe they don't watch "the shows". I grip the broom tighter. As soon as the first boy is within reach I stab the broom at him. It hits his stomach hard.    The other two charge trying to get close enough to use their knives. I stuff the broom end in one of the boy's face and then swing it around to hit the other boy in the head.
  They back up, wary now but not willing to give up.
  "I suggest you leave now, before you get hurt" I say. That only makes them more mad and they charge again. I focus on hitting them in the stomach and on the arms. Two of them back up and walk away slowly leaving me and Red alone.
  I'm farther from the wall by now. I try to stab at him but he dodges it, drops his knife, and grabs the broom. He yanks it from my hands sending me off balance. He breaks the broom over his knee and walks towards me. I go for my knife but he grabs my wrists and backs me against the wall.
  "You'll pay for that, little miss." he growls.
  He's a bit too close for comfort. I bring up my knee as hard as I can between his legs. He let's go of my wrists and doubles over in pain. I pull out my knife and while he's recovering I pick up the one that he dropped. Then I start running. He'll want revenge now and he probably has more people working for him.
  I hear shouts behind me and know that they're after me. I'm completely lost by now and worried that I'll run into another dead end. I have a map but I don't know where I am so it doesn't do much good. I don't have time to stop and look at it either.
  Running past a side street I see a ladder going to the roof. I climb it as quickly as possible. But not quick enough. One of them sees me and yells for the others.
  At the top of the building I look around for some way of escape. There is a garden and a small shed on this roof. I can't hide in the shed but there might be a hoe or something else in it. I run over to it. There's a shovel. I pick it up and turn to face the gang of boys coming up the ladder. But someone else is here as well.
  It's Grey!
  The boys stop when they see him and I walk over to stand beside him.
  "I couldn't help but hear the racket" he says "what happened?"
  "They wanted my money, I said no, and then they said they where going to hurt me. I didn't want them to." I say trying to sound calm. In reality my heart is pounding so hard I think it will come out my chest.
  Red comes up the ladder. I can tell he's still hurting.
  "Grey," he says "I haven't seen you in awhile."
  "I've been busy." says Grey.
  "I thought you said you wouldn't interrupt us when we where robbing someone." Red says.
  "And I thought you promised not to hurt my friends," Grey says.
  "We didn't know she was your friend, we'll leave you both alone if you pay us," says Red still trying to get money.
  "Really," says Grey "You know you can't beat me. You tried already remember?"
  I notice he has his sword, how he got it I don't know.
  Finally Red decides it's not worth it and they all retreat down the ladder.
  "Thank you." I say.
  "You're welcome. Although you where doing all right by yourself." he says nodding at the shovel that's still in my hands.
  "Maybe, but I wouldn't have lasted much longer," I say. He looks like he's about to leave.   I say "Could you help me find my way back?"
  He laughs "Our rolls have reversed" he says "usually you're the one in the lead. Follow me."
He runs and jumps to the next building.
  "Don't look down" I tell myself and follow him. He keeps going and I can tell he's not planning on going down.
  "Could we just walk on the ground?" I ask when I catch up.
  "Fine, but it will take a lot longer" he says. I'm okay with that, better late than dead. We climb down a ladder and walk the rest of the way. I don't recognize any of the shops or signs.
  "Do you know where I'm staying?" I ask him.
  "No, I didn't know you had a place." he says "You're better off just coming with me for tonight though. It's getting late, you don't want to be out when it's dark."
  I follow because there's nowhere else to go.
  "Have you seen anyone else?" I ask him.
  "I saw Flair, I think she is staying at her house, and I saw Song yesterday." he says.
  "Where are we going?"
  "To my home." says Grey.
  A few minutes later we stop in front of a large building. We go inside and up a flight of stairs. He knocks on a door at the end of a hallway. A little girl opens the door and jumps up to give Grey a hug. He hugs her and spins her around.   She must be his sister.
  I walk into the small room that is Grey's home. A woman is washing a huge load of clothes on a balcony. A wash line goes from their house to the one across the street. Four other children are in the room. One girl looks to be about Della's age. The other children look like they're the ages of my siblings.
  The woman notices me and says "Hello, you must be Susan. Are you staying with us for the night?"
  "It's okay, I have a place to stay, I don't want to trouble you." I say.
  "It's no trouble," the woman says "you can sleep on the balcony with Vivian. I will not allow you to go out in the dark. Grey can bring you back in the morning." 
  Grey's mother finishes her laundry and starts making supper. I help where I can.
  "Grey tells me that you are a sister." she says quietly.
  For a minute I don't understand "what do you mean?" I ask.
  "He said that that you are a Christian" she says even quieter.
  "Yes I am, I didn't know that you where!" I say with a smile.
  "Grey isn't, the officials took away his father last year. He is bitter against God. But he provides for us and takes care of his siblings." she says sadly.
  "I didn't know he had a family" I say.
  "He doesn't want the officials to think he cares about us because then they can use us to get to him." she says.
  "How is he going to explain staying here?" I ask worried.
  "I don't know, but he'll think of something." she says.
  We eat a small meal. I can tell the children want more food, but there is no more.
  I help with the clean up and then we all lay down to sleep. Grey's mother has her own small room, the two youngest children sleep with her. The second oldest boy takes the cushions off of the couch and sleeps there. One of the girls puts blankets on the cushion-less couch and Grey, Vivian, and I sleep on the floor.     They try to make me sleep on the couch but I refuse saying it will be nicer on the balcony.
  Laying down looking up at the sky you can barely see the stars. This family lives in Emor, they are supposedly the privileged. And yet they own a tiny room and don't have enough to eat. I'm guessing the mom does laundry for people but it's not enough. We're supposed to be the poor people but we have a big house compared to this and rarely go hungry. I try to think of something I can do to help them.

  The next morning I wake up, eat breakfast with Grey's family, and then help clean up. Today Grey is bringing me back to the bakery.
Vivian asks if she can come with us.
  "You have school to do." her mother says but I know it is because Grey isn't supposed to care about his family. Walking around with them wouldn't help.
  I gather my things and we go out the door.
   "So where are you staying?" Grey asks me when we're on the street.
  "It's a place called Fern's bakery." I say.
  "I know where that is" he says "follow me."
  Five minutes later I'm standing in front of the bakery. I didn't realize it was so close to Grey's house.
  "Thank you for your help" I say.
  "You're welcome, just try not to wander into dark alleys." he says.
  I laugh and agree. He walks away, snatching an apple from a fruit stand as he leaves.
  I go into the bakery. Fern's face lights up when she sees me "Ih dear," she says "I thought that you had left me or gotten kidnapped by one of those gangs." she gives me a hug that nearly suffocates me and then brings me to the kitchen to start cleaning.
  The kitchen is already messy again. I wonder how she's going to survive when I'm gone I think with a smile.
  Then I have an idea.
  "How old would someone have to be to work for you?" I ask Fern.
  "I don't care how old they are I just care if they do a good job." she says absentmindedly.
  "Can I go somewhere after lunch?" I ask.
  "As long as you come back before two o'clock." she says.
  It's very hard to wait for lunch time. When it finally comes I eat quickly, put my sweater on, and practically run out the door. I remember the way from this morning and soon I'm back at Grey's house. I knock on the door and his mother opens the door.
  "Susan," She says surprised "did you forget something here?"
  "No but I wanted to talk to you about something," I say.
   "Come in." she says.
  "I am working at a bakery right now," I start "but I have to leave soon. The lady I work for still needs help, and I was wondering if you or Vivian would want to help her"
  "Where is the bakery?" She asks.
  "A few blocks away, it's called Fern's bakery." I say.
  "How much will she pay?"
  "She offered to pay me ten culpa's a day." I say.
  "Could you take Vivian back with you to see it?" She asks me and I can tell she's getting excited.
  Vivian comes to the door hearing her name.
  Soon we're back at the bakery again and I'm introducing Vivian to Fern.
  They talk for a bit and it's decided that Vivian will come next week to start work. I'll probably be gone by then.
  I spend the night at Fern's again. In the morning an official walks into the bakery.
  "Come with me." he says.
The challenge is over. I get into a car and we drive back to our hotel.
  In my room I take off my sweater and wait for Maroon, Indigo, and Magenta to come.
  I feel something in my sweater pocket and take it out. It's the culpa's Fern gave me. I put them in my bag from home. Who knows, maybe I'll need them.
  When Indigo comes she says "darling you need a shower." and suddenly I realize how much I stink.
  I wash off and change into the clothes Indigo left for me. When I go back into the main room Flair is there. I seem to always be here first.
"Hello" I say with a smile and a hug "How did you do?"
  "I think I did fine" she says. I can tell this challenge was rough for her emotionally. Grey said she was staying at her house, so that means she talked with her dad.
  We have a meal in our room and then we board a train to our next destination.