Escape from Harrizel (8 page)

The grey, lumpy soup doesn’t look appetizing
in the least. I bring it under my nose and inhale the bland, almost
mothy scent. I push it away immediately. Just as I’ve decided to
forgo dinner, my stomach offers its own opinion, gurgling so loud
that my hands slip over to cover it.

Food would be smart.

And if I don’t have any of that, maybe this
will do.

Forcing myself, I bring the bowl to my mouth
and slowly sip at the mushy, oatmeal like texture. I nearly gag on
its sogginess, the overwhelming need to vomit rising. It’s like
chewed up bread with grisly bits mixed in, the flavor adding
nothing but a foul aftertaste.

They expect us to eat this shit?

It gurgles on its way down and instantly, I
regret sampling it. It’s like swallowing barf, it’s so gross and I
think I might actually throw it up. Somehow, I keep it down.
Glaring at the mush, I know I won’t last long if this is the only
sort of sustenance they give us.

But I won’t be here for much longer.

I’m leaving tomorrow. After Rebuilding.
During another fight—whenever. I’m not letting Walker or Raj or
anyone else talk me out of it. I’m leaving.

After another brutalizing dismissal, I head
down to the Auditorium with everyone else. Unlike earlier, it’s
filled to the brim, bodies lining the room, occupying this giant
gymnasium of shadowy space. A huge thicket surrounds the center,
swarming the trunk, ready for Reminders and then, as the raw heat
radiating throughout the room suggests, Leisure Time.

Couples already decorate the walls, hooked
into each other. They’re free down here, free to do what they want
and
how
they want—and it’s encouraged. What must it be like
to work alongside your significant other and not be able to speak a
word to them all day? Or touch, hug and kiss, if the urge struck?
They’re able to release all that down here—and they are. Boy, are
they! I try to look away but it’s difficult. Up on the surface, no
one acknowledges one another but here, they’re making up for all
that.

“Good evening friends,” Jeb’s voice
booms.

Someone passes me in a hurry and I’m knocked
to the side, to a narrow space between two girls with a view of the
floating trunk. Jeb’s on it, draped in a crimson robe with black
lining this time, his hands lost in the overlapping fabric of his
sleeves.

“Welcome to another day on Harrizel,” he
grins, surveying the crowd with interest, “and as always, to your
Rebirth. Just a few Reminders before Leisure Time may begin.
First,” he starts as I weave closer throughout the crowd, “please
try to limit your trips to the Water Pole. Remember, without your
continued diligence and hard work, the construction on the upper
floors will suffer and in turn, new housing will be delayed so
please… try to make do with less. Second, please be reminded that
you are allowed only
three
babeebs in your room. We do this
as a courtesy to the others and anyone found with more will receive
a visit from Tetlak. Lastly,” he beams wider as I meander even
closer to the iridescent trunk, “journeying past the gate is
prohibited
,” Jeb’s voice falls a notch. “Harrizel’s jungle
is treacherous to say the least and the only thing that awaits you
out there is death. We know the last thing you’d want is our
sacrifice to be in vain, so do what’s right for your people, not
yourself. Once we can agree to these terms, I think it will fare
better for all,” he continues smiling, glancing around the room.
“And now, as promised, Leisure Time may begin.”

A slow and haunting melody permeates from
the walls, drifting over us as most lose themselves in the booming
erotic atmosphere. They dance along, grinding into one another with
their hands and faces already entwined in wet, lustful passion.

I cringe.

Oh God—what must it be like to live
here?

Tomorrow. I’m leaving tomorrow. This is all
a show for tonight, one I’ll never have to see again. I can skate
through one evening of uninhibited lust if it means a chance to
make for the ruins tomorrow. After that—well, I’ll figure it out
then.

I just need to find Raj for tonight.

But we didn’t pick a place to meet. And the
Auditorium is
huge
. And filled with people. How will we ever
find each other? And what kind of information will she have? I
think about staying put. If we’re both looking for one another and
we’re constantly on the move, then we’ll never find each other.
It’s probably the smarter idea but I’m only able to keep my feet
still for so long. Maybe I could take a quick look and see if I can
spot her. I am, after all, a bit taller and can see over. I’ll
probably find her faster than she can find me.

Strolling through the crowded mass, my eyes
dart from face to face, which is hard because most are clinging to
one another. Does
everyone
use Leisure Time to make out? Or
just the people in here?

Maybe not everyone—

Something hard bumps into my right shoulder,
knocking me off balance. I stagger, ready to glare at the passerby
when I spin around and see
him
.

The boy from the ruins.

“You,” I say, inaudibly at first. “It’s
you
.”

His eyes pierce mine, lightning flashing. He
backs up, nearly disappearing but I grab his wrist before he can
get away.

“Wait!”

He snatches his wrist back, staring down in
astonishment. How did I find him? Or was he really foolish enough
to bump into me? We stand looking at each other, dumbfounded. At
six foot, he’s taller than I expected—taller than me—with a lean
shape to match his height but heavily muscular in proportion. In
the wild he was just a face, a combination of confusion and
surprise but here, he towers, his short, shaggy brown hair the same
color as his high arching brows and deep, penetrating gaze.

“I saw you out there…”

He glances beyond me, quickly calculating.
He brings both pinkies up to his mouth and whistles, the sound
sailing behind me. I know he’s calling for someone but the sight of
him keeps me frozen in place. He’s the only one I know for certain
that’s done it. The only who’s gone beyond the gate—and returned.
Did he slip through? Between the rods like I’d planned? Or is there
another way? A thousand questions erupt as I replay seeing him out
there, the most important thought rushing to the surface.

“What were you doing?” I ask, unable to keep
my eyes off him, “everything went black. I woke up and…”

He whistles again, catching eyes with
someone in the distance. There’s a commotion behind me, a shuffle
of feet and I know we’re about to be separated. He must know it too
because the right side of his mouth rises, a fishhook caught in his
cheek. He’ll be rid of me soon enough. What a punk. I desperately
want to knee him, but this is my chance. Violent tactics, though
they feel appropriate, may ruin the whole thing. And if I lose him,
I may never discover how he got out there.

“What happened to me?” I demand and his
sight drops back down. “I can’t remember anything… what did you
do
?”

His lips part, but as it looks like he may
actually utter a response, I’m cut off, pushed back by several
bodies which begin dancing between us. The boy—whoever he is—uses
the opportunity to escape into the crowd, but not before offering
me one final look. It holds guilt, confusion… maybe he wanted to
tell me. But he’s gone before he can change his mind and I’m left
peering after him and into a hive of dancers.

He’s not getting away that easy.

Shifting to the side of the new group, I
start after him when more bodies conveniently block my way. I dodge
them but more appear, creating an impenetrable shield between us.
I’m about to barrel through, knocking everyone from my path when
Raj’s voice sails over.

“Fallon? What’re you…” she scurries up to
me, her eyes wide, “what’re you
doing
?”

“I have to find…” I’m still attempting to
dodge past the dancers but they’ve entangled themselves like a
nest, “…this guy…”

“Who?”

“I don’t know his name,” I nearly run into a
hard torso. “Uh—could you move?”

“Fallon,” Raj grasps my hand, yanking me
back to her, “you’ve got to be careful.”

“Why?”

“You can’t…” she glances around, “you can’t
just do whatever you want.”

“Why not?”

“There’s a system,” she whispers.

“What do you mean a
system
? Raj?” I
focus in on her, completely abandoning my search of the boy. “Raj,
what aren’t you telling me?”

She leans in and cups her hand to my ear.
“The Clans.”

“Clans?” I jerk back.

“Sshh! We don’t talk about them! Not out
loud, at least.”

“Why not? What are they?”

She resumes cupping her hand to my ear, her
words leaving in an exasperated rush, “They’re two rival groups.
Gangs, if you want the truth. They run everything here, including
the Market, which is where we buy our
real
food. But you
have to be careful. You can’t walk around accosting anyone. It’ll
get back to them. It’ll cause trouble.”

I pull back and look between her eyes. She’s
completely serious.

I definitely want to know more about this
Market but as I’m deciding on my question, she gestures me to speak
into her ear as she did for me. Obviously, this is not a
conversation to be having openly. It seems silly discussing
something so secretive right here in the middle of foreplay
central, so I motion to the closest Maze entrance nearby. It’s the
green and plum-black checkered wall. The West entrance. “Did you
want to talk back there?”

She follows my gaze, her eyes growing wide
again. “Oh no! That’s where they work. West for Rogues and East for
Kings.”

“Are those their names?”

She nods, biting her lip.

“What about the other two?” I glance to the
North and South entrances.

“Uh… no,” she shakes her head, eyeing the
South wall quickly, “I don’t think they’re used for anything… but I
still wouldn’t go in there. It’s safer out here, with everyone
else.”

“Then where should we talk?”

“Uh…” she looks around, “there’s really no
safe place. We can talk by the West Wall but we just have to be
quiet
.”

“Okay,” I lead the way and surprisingly the
dancers let me pass. When we reach the green checkered wall, I lean
against it. Crossing my arms, I keep my voice low. “Tell me about
the Market.”

“It’s a way to buy things,” she whispers.
“Food, mostly. But you can get almost anything. You buy items—we
call them tokens—by performing services for the Clans. They’ll ask
you to spy on someone or find something out. Sometimes they’ll want
you to get someone to a certain place at a certain time. But it’s
never easy and you almost
never
want to do it.”

“Then how come people do?”

She looks at me with woeful eyes. “They’re
hungry.”

Shit.

“Are the Dofinikes aware of the Clans?”

She nods.

“And they’re fine with it?”

Again, she nods.

Of course Jeb and Clarence wouldn’t tell me
about Harrizel hosting its own black market economy. Why would
they? That would only serve to aid me and neither have done
anything to help me. Well, everyone else can sell their soul to
work for their food. I’m going to find my sustenance. In the
jungle, once I leave tomorrow night. But still, curiosity has got
me asking.

“So you just walk up—”

Raj stops me, indicating I should speak into
her ear.

“So,” I lean in, doing as she requests, “you
just walk up to one of the Clans and barter for a piece of
bread?”

“No…” she shakes her head, “nothing like
that. You never deal directly
with
the Clans. It’s always
done through the Scouts. They’re like… the middle-men. They deliver
the requested token—gupple or marowine or whatever—and tell you
what you need to do.”

“What if you don’t do it?”

“Then the Clans come for you.”

“Okay,” I exhale, lost in all the questions
racing through my head, “then… how do you find a Scout? Is there a
list posted somewhere?”

“They come to
you
.”

“Meaning?”

“The Clans
choose
who they want to
work with. You can’t go asking for tokens. You’ve got to be
selected.
Recruited
.”

“Wow…that… seems like a lot of work just to
eat.”

She shrugs. “It’s what we have to do.”

“Doesn’t anyone…” I lean in again, cautious
to ask, “just
leave
?”

Raj shakes her head adamantly. “The
Dofinikes watch you. That’s what I was trying to tell you earlier.
From the labs on the top floor. That’s how they know,” she keeps
her voice low, “
plus
…”

“What?”

She glances around, then back to me. “The
gate is rigged. They know if you try to pass through it. Some have.
Then… the next day… they were gone.”

Gone?

Okay, things have definitely spiraled to a
new level. Not only is the gate rigged, but they’ll take us if we
try to escape? But how can they get us if we’re already gone? If I
keep going, straight into the jungle, they won’t be able to catch
me. I could still do it. I could still disappear out there… and
then… and then I don’t know…

“So…” Raj goes on, “no one even tries
anymore. There was a rush of people a while ago who thought they
could just make it past the gate. They did. The last thing we saw
was them running off into the jungle.”

“So how do you know the Dofinikes took them?
Maybe they’re still out there?”

She shakes her head, her face dropping.
“They bring them back. At night. If you’re on the North wall, you
can see it from your window. You can
hear
it. They drag them
right through the Courtyard and into the evibola for upstairs.”