Matt does his best to act casual when he arrives home, but it’s not easy. He’s spent months having to suppress his emotions, but the close encounter with the Hater this afternoon was another unexpected release of pent-up frustration. It was cathartic. Adrenaline-fueled. Fucking awesome. Better even than being out on the garbage truck run with Smithy.
Jason’s beaten Matt back and is sitting in the kitchen, talking to Jen. Matt deposits his earnings in the middle of the table and watches their reactions. Jen’s excited, because some of the things he’s got hold of are hard to find. He slips a couple of chocolate bars to Mrs. Walker for the kids.
“Word to the wise, Matt,” Jason tells him. “The economy’s all fucked-up. Supply and demand is all over the place. We don’t need luxuries. Focus on essentials. Try and get the basics, ’cause that’s what we’re going to need more than anything.”
“You mean stuff like this?” Matt says, pointing out the tinned food, fruit juice, and rolls of toilet paper he also brought back with him tonight.
“You got pineapple!” Jen says, spotting a tin among the pile. “I love pineapple!”
“I know you do.”
“I mean, it’s only tinned, but it’s ages since I had any.”
“I know.”
“I used to live on the stuff!”
“I know! I saw it and thought of you.”
She hugs him tight, and he holds on to her, not wanting to let go.
It’s late and dark. The temperature has increased steadily all afternoon and evening and even now, long after the sun’s disappeared, it’s still stifling and close. Matt’s sitting out on the small patio with Jason. Jen was here too, but she made her excuses a short while ago and went up to bed. It’s just before midnight and still the air is filled with noise. The steady hubbub of the overcrowded camp is a constant earworm, regularly punctuated by other interruptions: crowd control, helicopters and drones, attacks being launched over the border … The city never sleeps was always the old expression. Matt thinks that’s because it’s too afraid to close its eyes.
“There’s still people coming in, you know,” Jason says. He’s staring into space, his features outlined in the moonlight. “Down at the gates, I mean. The queue I was in today got funneled close to the entrance and I had a decent view. You wouldn’t think after all this time that there were still that many people left out there.”
“Yeah, I know. Crazy, isn’t it?”
“You’ve seen it too, have you?”
“Not today, but I have seen them.”
“Right.”
“I guess people have just been hiding and waiting to be picked up.”
“Suppose. Don’t know where they’re all going to go, though. We’re running out of room.” He pauses, then adds, “Running out of everything, actually.”
There’s a lull in the conversation. A black helicopter hangs in the sky a mile or so north of the house, close to the main entrance to the camp according to Matt’s estimations. It hovers for a while, perfectly still, bathing the ground with its searchlight, before a drone Matt didn’t even realize was there unleashes hell on the enemy below. “Fuck me,” he says under his breath as muffled, grumbling explosions fill the air, noise on noise on noise. The ground shakes with the cumulative vibrations.
The helicopter drifts away and the sound slowly fades. The relative quiet is equally uncomfortable. Matt senses that all is not well with his housemate. He can feel Jason’s eyes burning into him. “So where do you see this all ending?”
It’s a simple enough question. Trouble is, there’s no easy answer Matt can give. “It’s like you said earlier, the economics of this world don’t work. We have to assume the CDF are out there in decent numbers dealing with the Haters.”
“And do you think they are?”
“I don’t know. Thing is, it’s out of our hands. We have to hope they do their job, but we need to keep our options open here.”
“Stockpile supplies, that kind of thing…”
“Exactly. But there’s another problem.”
“Go on.”
“Like you said, there are still more people coming in. By all accounts the food stocks are struggling with the existing demand. Too many mouths, not enough food. More mouths coming.”
Jason’s contemplative silence indicates that he understands the gravity of their situation, but his silence doesn’t last long. “I’ve got another concern.”
“What’s that?”
“Are you selling us short?”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Deadly. Who you working with? Where did you go today?”
“I told you this morning, it’s none of your business.”
“Where did that food came from, then?”
“Which part of ‘none of your fucking business’ don’t you understand?”
“It is my business, though, isn’t it? Whether you like it or not, we’re all in this together. The kind of stuff you brought home tonight doesn’t come cheap.”
“Right place, right time.”
“Bullshit. You expect me to believe that?”
“I don’t expect you to believe anything. To be honest, I don’t care.”
“Well, you should. There hasn’t been food like that available in the camp for weeks, not from anywhere I’ve been. Like I said, we’re all in this together and—”
“What exactly are you saying, Jason?”
He pauses before answering. “Look, I’ll level with you, you’re making me nervous … I don’t know if I can trust you.”
“Of course you can trust me. As much as I can trust you, anyway.”
“Then tell me where you really got that stash.”
“I worked for it. I hit it lucky, obviously.”
Jason gets up and starts to pace around the patio, hands deep in his pockets, trying to appear calm and in control, but failing miserably. Matt thinks he’s acting like a parent working out why the kid who should have been in by ten didn’t get home till gone midnight.
“We’re in a really dodgy situation here, mate,” Jason says.
“I agree, we are.”
“I’ve done everything I can to keep the people in this house safe.”
“I know you have. And I appreciate it.”
“I’m not going to stop just because you’ve come home.”
“No one’s asking you to.”
Jason thinks again, choosing his words carefully. “Thing is, we all need to be pulling in the same direction here.”
“I thought we were? Jen and Mrs. Walker are here looking out for the kids and each other, you and I are putting food on the table.”
“I’m not so sure…”
“So what exactly are you saying? Are you accusing me of stealing that food, Jason? You didn’t seem to have a problem when you were shoveling it down your neck at dinner.”
“I didn’t say you were stealing the food, but I don’t know where you got it from and the fact you’re being so cagey about it just makes matters worse. Like I said, some of the stuff you brought back hasn’t been seen around here for weeks.”
Matt knows he’s got to tell him something to shut him up. “It is what it is. Look, I was out there on my own for a long time. I learned how to forage.”
“So you did steal it?”
“No, I worked for it with some people I met when I did that other job a couple of days back. They’re responsible for resource management, boring shit like that.”
Jason’s not convinced. “I don’t buy it.”
“And I don’t care. Look, what difference does it make?”
Jason continues to pace. Matt watches his every step, looking for a way out of the conversation. But to get up and walk away now would imply some kind of guilt, and Matt’s got nothing to feel guilty about. He just wishes his unwanted houseguest would keep his fucking nose out.
But he’s not about to do that anytime soon.
“I don’t trust you, Matt. Haven’t done from the start if I’m honest. I don’t believe anyone could survive on their own out there for so long.”
Matt holds his hands out to his sides. “Well, here I am.”
“Yeah, but look at you … you’re nothing special. No offense, but you’re just a fucking accountant.”
“True. I can’t argue with that. I know what I’m doing, though. Shove us both out onto the other side of the wall and I reckon I know who’ll last longest. We can try it if you like.”
“Cut the crap. Whatever it is you’re doing, you’re playing with fire. The risks are greater than I think you realize. This is a different world now, you know. It’s a different city to the one you walked out on.”
“I’d noticed … And I didn’t walk out on anything.”
“Thing is, mate, I’ll level with you. I don’t give a shit about you, but I’m not going to let Jen get hurt.”
“Jen’s my responsibility.”
“Yeah, well someone had to step up when you weren’t around.”
“And I’ve already thanked you for that. I’m back now, so you can butt out and fuck off.”
For a second Jason looks like he’s ready to hit Matt, but he doesn’t. Both of them know that any physical aggression these days could be catastrophically misconstrued.
“Just watch your step,” Jason says.
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s a warning. There’s a difference.”
“Well here’s one for you—stay away from Jen.”
“She deserves better than—”
“I said stay away from her. You’re just a kid, Jason, a jumped-up little kid.”
“I care about Jen and I won’t let you hurt her.”
“No, you care about yourself and making sure you’ve got a roof over your head and food in your belly. I went through hell to get back to Jen, put my life on the line again and again. I’m not going to let you or anyone else fuck it up.”