Chapter 5: Chapter 5- Village Ghetto Land

“Looks like we’re almost there,” Gia said, pointing to the cityscape on the horizon and the huge wall behind it. At the speed that the duo was riding their bikes, they’d reach their destination within the next twenty minutes. It was good news because they’d been riding nonstop since the incident with the wolf and the travelers were more than ready to rest.

“Told you that I knew where we were going,” Lucas said. “Next time you’ll know better than to doubt my world-class navigation skills.”
Gia rolled her eyes. “We’re just lucky that we spotted The Slug. We would’ve been in serious trouble if we didn’t start following it.”

Lucas snorted. “You’re exaggerating.”

She wasn’t. Lucas knew that they needed to head in the general direction of the north, but they’d been flying blind without his maps. Wirewolves would’ve been the least of their worries if they hadn’t found their way back on track. From volatile weather to bandits to unidentified mutant creatures to starvation, there was an endless list of dangers waiting for lost travelers. But Lucas hated to admit when he wasn’t in control of a situation. He glanced up at The Slug, the elevated coal-powered train system that loomed above them.

It was originally intended to be an affordable network of high-speed railroads method of transportation that would connect the country like never before. Those plans came screeching to a halt after The Impact happened. The resources needed to finish building the bullet trains simply didn’t exist anymore. But somebody had the brilliant idea to repurpose the mostly finished tracks and use them to run old coal-powered trains instead. It took a lot of underpaid manpower to get it working, but The Slug succeeded in providing safe travel between the Haven cities. The elevated tracks and the constant presence of Peace Officers inside the cars prevented bandits and beasts from harming the riders.

 A familiar pang of anger bubbled up inside Lucas. He felt it every time he saw The Slug. It was just another reminder of the luxuries he’d never be able to experience just because he’d been born outside one of the Havens. The wealthy civilians of the Havens had pressured the New American government decades ago to prevent the people living outside their walls from “contaminating” their cities and exposing them to radiation and disease. It became illegal for Outsiders to set foot inside Havens. To the Civs, it just made sense to extend this law to their trains as well. Thanks to these laws and the creation of The Slug, Civs could travel between Havens without ever stepping foot on the same ground as Outsiders. Outsider labor had been crucial in completing the construction of The Slug, but they would never be able to ride it themselves. 

Reflecting on all of this was just getting Lucas heated, so he forced himself to think about something else. He glanced over at the Peace Officer riding next to him. She’d surprised him the day before. It looked like she was a walking ball of nerves at first, but she’d managed to put aside her fear and go head-to-head with the wolf. That took some serious guts. And the dust explosion was a stroke of genius that he never would’ve come up with on his own. She wasn’t as useless as he’d originally thought.

“Do I have something on my face?” Gia asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“What? Oh. Nah, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“Sorry, but you’re not my type. I could never be with a criminal,” she said with a deadpan expression.

“I’m everyone’s type,” Lucas scoffed. “But that’s not what I wanted to ask. Why’d you leave your Haven and join the Peace Officers?”
Gia gave him a startled look. “What makes you think that I’m from a Haven?”

“It’s not like you’ve done a great job of keeping it a secret,” Lucas said. “During that wirewolf battle yesterday, you mentioned that you’d never seen a mutant in the flesh. Outsiders usually have their first encounter with muties before they can walk.”

“But I was already pretty sure that you were a Civ before that,” He continued. “It’s just something about the way you carry yourself. You Civs always give off this feeling like you don’t know how the world really works.”

Gia bristled. “I’m not completely oblivious. Why are you even asking me this?”

“We’re headed to a dangerous area. It’s a cliche to say this, but danger does lurk around every corner here. My point is that you need to stay alert. Things can get ugly very quickly,” Lucas said. 

Gia looked a little less defensive after hearing that. “I know I’ve frozen up before, but I can take care of myself when it counts. My grades in the academy were at the top of my class, you know.”

“Were they grading on a curve?” Lucas asked.

“If we weren’t on bikes right now, I’d hit you,” Gia said jokingly.
“What happened to your stance against Peace Officer brutality?” Lucas shook his head in mock disappointment. “Damn, this job has changed you already.”

“Shut up,” Gia laughed. “Anyway, I appreciate the warning. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were actually worried about me.”

“Good thing you know better,” Lucas said. “I just can’t have you croaking before we find Isaac.”

“Of course,” Gia smirked. 

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you haven’t answered my question yet,” Lucas said. “Why’d you leave your Haven? If you wanted to become a Roach, you could’ve done that without leaving home.”

“I didn’t want one of those cushy gigs inside the walls. Getting sent outside seemed like a chance to do something that mattered and actually protect people,” Gia said.

“So basically, you thought you’d come and save the poor Outies because they couldn’t possibly take care of themselves without a Civ around.”

Gia started to get angry and then instantly deflated. “Maybe you were right about me being a little sheltered, but I want to change that. This job can give me some perspective.”

“You seem to care more than most Roaches, I’ll give you that,” Lucas said. “But I still think it’s crazy that you’d give up the good life just for this.”

“Things in the Havens aren’t as perfect as they might seem from the outside,” Gia mumbled.
Lucas didn’t know what to make of that but he didn’t care enough to pry further. “I’ll have to take your word for it,” He said.

“Can I ask you something now?” Gia said.

“It wouldn’t be fair to say no after I just bugged you about the Civ thing,” Lucas said. “Ask away.”

Gia hesitated before speaking again. “What really happened between you and your brother? I’ve read the files on the two of you, but I want to hear your side of the story.”

Lucas stared ahead silently for a long time. Gia was about to give up on getting a response when he finally spoke. “Isaac was my hero. After our parents died, he raised me all by himself. No matter how bad things got, I always felt safe as long as he was by my side. Eventually, we met Abbott and he took us into his crew. Isaac and I were just common pickpockets, but he taught us how to take our game to the next level. Everyone in the crew had each other’s backs and we all became like a family.”

He smiled wistfully for a moment, but his expression quickly turned sour. “You already know what happened in Dallas with Callahan’s son. Our crew pulled a heist and we were in the middle of our getaway. The streets were crawling with Roaches and Isaac heard someone behind us so he opened fire. He couldn’t have known that it was Callahan’s kid.”

“Looking back on it now, that’s when everything started going wrong. Isaac changed after that. I was the one who pushed for us to do that job and he blamed me for it going off the rails. Isaac became angrier and closed off after that. Didn’t trust anyone anymore, not even me. He started questioning Abbott’s leadership all the time and causing problems in the group. And then one day he’d just had enough.”

Lucas looked over at Gia. “You ever heard of The Blackwood Boys?”

She shook her head no.

“They were a group of two-bit bandits. Our crew had some nasty run-ins with them over the years and there was a lot of bad blood between us. They offered Isaac some money to lead them to our crew’s base. And that piece of shit accepted the deal. We fought them off, but Abbott died during the battle… And Isaac was the one who pulled the trigger.”

“He deserved better than that. After everything he’d done for us, he didn’t deserve to go out like that,” His voice quavered. “We buried Abbott, but Isaac was the one who died to me that day. I haven’t seen him since.”

The air felt heavy after that. Gia wasn’t sure how to respond. She could see how deeply painful the experience had been for him but she couldn’t pretend to know how it felt. Still, she was glad to get a look into why her traveling companion acted the way that he did. It was no wonder why he was always making abrasive comments to push people away. He didn’t want to take the chance of someone breaking his trust again.

“I’m sorry that you had to go through that,” She finally said. “Thanks for sharing your story with me. What made you decide to open up like that?”

“We’re here,” Lucas said, changing the subject. 

The two cyclists looked up the road as the makeshift metropolis of The Charlotte Ghetto drew closer. Technically, this area was just outside the Haven city of Charlotte, but the name had stuck. Since they weren’t allowed inside Havens, many Outsiders chose to live just outside the city limits and pick through the scraps and junk that Civs threw over the wall dividing the two cities. Fighting over scraps on trash day was safer and more reliable than venturing into the Radland to search for food. Outsiders kept on coming to the Charlotte area and over time it had developed into a sizable community. Shantytowns like this one were a common sight outside Havens around the country. 

Lucas and Gia stopped a few minutes outside The Ghetto and found a large overgrowth of plants that they used to hide their bikes. Gia would’ve preferred to take the bikes with them, but Lucas convinced her that it would just paint a target on their backs to carry around so much equipment. They brought the bare essentials with them and left everything else behind. 

A strong cocktail of garbage and excrement greeted their nostrils as they entered the shantytown. The smell wafted down from the mountain of trash at the far end of the city and seemed to stick to the surface of everything in the city limits. There were structurally unstable buildings made of old pieces of wood and sheet metal as far as the eye could see. 

The pathways were packed with locals wearing patchy clothes and shoes that were barely held together. A man with leathery skin and a dirty white beard held up a bowl & begged for change, but nobody paid him any attention because they were doing almost as poorly as he was. Tears of joy rolled down his cheeks when Gia gave him a few coins as she passed by. He thanked her profusely before Lucas dragged her away.

“Remember how I said earlier that we need to keep a low profile and stay out of trouble?” He said. “Flashing a bag of coins around isn’t a good way to do that.”

Gia glared at him. “I was just trying to help that man out. He looked like he needed the money more than I did.”

Lucas sighed. It was Gia’s job to keep him in check, yet it usually felt like he was the one babysitting her. “That’s sweet and all, but your little act of charity has put a lot of eyes on us.”

Gia looked around and noticed a group of people on the other side of the street staring in her direction. They didn’t have happy expressions on their faces. Two men broke away from the group and started walking a few paces behind Lucas and Gia.

“I think we’re being followed,” Gia whispered. 

Lucas rolled his eyes. “No shit. If you don’t wanna get mugged then I suggest you pick up the pace.”

You are reading story The Radland at novel35.com

They weaved their way through the crowd of people in front of them and eventually managed to lose their pursuer. After wandering the streets for a few minutes, Gia noticed a broken-down building called Irene’s Inn. The grimy exterior was unappealing but she was anxious to get off the street in case they were still being followed. She opened the door and Lucas followed her in, desperate to get off his feet and rest. 

A bell chimed as the two travelers entered the inn. The inside of the building was not much nicer than the outside. It looked like someone had found an abandoned hotel and opened it for business again without bothering to do any repairs. The lobby was decorated with the latest in trash heap interior design: rotting old furniture and paintings with holes in them. A young woman with pierced ears and a skimpy outfit was sitting behind the front desk, engrossed in a book. She looked up from what she was reading and smiled widely as the travelers approached her.

“Welcome to Irene’s Inn! My name is Candy. How can I help you?” she said.

“Why’s it called Irene’s Inn if your name is Candy?” Gia asked.

“Irene is my grandma. She’s the owner but I help out with running the day-to-day stuff,” Candy said.

Gia smiled. “It’s nice that you’re keeping the business in the family.”

“Yeah, it’s fantastic. Can we get two rooms please?” Lucas said impatiently. “We’ll be staying for a night or two.”

“Actually, we’ll be taking one room,” Gia said. 

Lucas shot her a quizzical look. 

“I’m not letting you out of my sight. I can’t take the chance of you trying to give me the slip,” she whispered.

“One room it is,” Lucas said to the innkeeper.

Candy giggled as if she’d just heard a stand-up comedy routine. “We only have one unoccupied room available right now, so that works out perfectly!”

“We’ll take it,” Lucas said.

“Great! I’ll need half of the payment upfront and the second half when you’re checking out,” Candy said, pointing to the sign behind her with the prices.

Lucas immediately turned to Gia. She sighed, reached into her bag of coins, and placed a few on the counter. Candy smiled and handed her a key.

“Your room is impossible to miss. You just go up the stairs over there and it’s the first one on the right,” Candy said. “Oh, and don’t forget what I said about the rest of the payment.”

Her eyes turned cold as she pulled up a crossbow from under the desk. “I always collect what I’m owed, one way or another.”

Gia let out a nervous chuckle. “We’ll keep that in mind.”

Candy’s bright smile returned as quickly as it had disappeared. “Have a nice night, guys! You know where to find me if you need me.” She waved her crossbow at them cheerfully.

Lucas hurried up the stairs with Gia not far behind him. “That lady is batshit crazy,” he whispered.

“Shut up, she might hear you!” Gia hissed.

They quickly found their room and unlocked the creaky door with the key that Irene had given them. The cramped room had the same dingy vibe as the lobby. It had a cracked mirror, a rickety wooden chair, a dirty rug on the floor, and a single queen-sized bed on the far side of the room. The room didn’t even have any windows. A lantern on the wall provided them with light. Lucas dropped his coat on the ground and flung himself onto the bed like a rag doll. The soft embrace of a mattress for the first time in almost a week felt like heaven. It had a couple of suspicious stains on it, but he was so exhausted that he chose to pretend that they weren’t there. Gia stood awkwardly by the door.

Lucas noticed her uneasiness and sat up on the bed. “What’s up with you?” he said.

She let out a deep breath, pulled the wooden chair until it was leaning against the door, and then sat down. “Nothing. Everything is fine.”

“We should probably get some shut-eye,” Lucas yawned. “We’re gonna need to bring our A-game when we meet up with Santi tomorrow. That guy is always full of surprises.”

“That sounds good to me. Good night,” Gia said. She took off her coat and draped it over her body like a blanket.

Lucas smirked. “You’re sleeping there? That can’t possibly be comfortable.”

The Peace Officer shifted her body and tried to reposition herself. “It’s more comfortable than sleeping next to a crook. And I need to make sure that you can’t leave the room in the middle of the night.”

“You sure you don’t wanna just sleep on the bed? There’s plenty of space.” Lucas patted an empty spot next to him for emphasis.

“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life,” Gia gagged.

“Suit yourself,” Lucas said, getting comfortable under the covers. “But at least take one of these.”

He picked up one of the pillows on the bed and chucked it at her. Gia caught it and looked up at him in surprise. Lucas nodded then turned over in the bed to face away from her. Gia smiled briefly before reaching over to put out the lantern hanging on the wall. The room was instantly shrouded in darkness, leaving Gia alone with her thoughts. 

Lucas was not exactly what she had expected. Reading his extensive record of crimes had left Gia with the impression that he was a violent man devoid of any redeeming qualities. His sharp tongue hadn’t given her the best initial impression of him either. But even though he tried to act tough all the time, she could see that he did have a heart somewhere deep down. Despite her best efforts, Gia felt some empathy toward him after learning more about what happened between him and his brother. She wouldn’t wish something like that on her worst enemy. Still, she couldn’t afford to let her guard down around him. She would remain vigilant.

Gia woke up the next morning feeling like someone had tap danced on her spine. She opened her eyes groggily. The light of the lantern shone in her face with the intensity of the sun. She yawned and glanced over at the empty bed across from her. It only took a second for that to sink in. Lucas was gone. She got up from the chair so fast that it fell over on its side. The Peace Officer threw the door open and ran down the hall just as Lucas was turning around the corner. They both ended up sprawled on the floor from the head-on collision

“Why do I always seem to get injured when you’re around?” Lucas said, rubbing his head.

“Sorry,” Gia groaned as she picked herself up. “I thought you ran out on me.” 

Lucas stood up and leaned against the wall. “God, can’t a guy use the outhouse in peace?”

Gia narrowed her eyes. “How’d you even get out of the room?”

“A magician never reveals his secrets,” Lucas said. He could tell that Gia was dying to figure out the secret of his disappearing act, but he didn’t offer up any information.

Gia sighed and turned back toward the room. “Whatever. Give me a second to get ready and then we’ll head out to meet up with your friend.”

“That reminds me of something I wanted to talk to you about,” Lucas said. “After what happened last night, it’s a bad idea for you to be strolling around in your Peace Officer gear. 

Gia frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Word has probably spread around town by now that there’s a Roach with a lot of money in the area,” Lucas said. “And even if it hasn’t, it’s not like Roaches are all that popular around here.”

“There’s not much I can do about that. The only clothes I have with me are a spare uniform,” Gia said. “Unless you can magically pull another pair of clothes out of thin air.”

The sound of upbeat whistling drifted down the hallway. Lucas looked behind Gia and found the source of the tune. Candy was heading in their direction with a cart of cleaning supplies looking like she didn’t have a care in the world. She had on an outfit that showed off even more skin than the one she was wearing the night before. A devious smile crept across Lucas’ face.

“Hey, Candy!” he called out. “You wouldn’t happen to have a spare outfit lying around, would you?”

He could hardly hold back his laughter when he saw the look of utter horror on Gia’s face.

You can find story with these keywords: The Radland, Read The Radland, The Radland novel, The Radland book, The Radland story, The Radland full, The Radland Latest Chapter