Wicker City had its moments of beauty, such as now with the way the setting sun worked through the haze to cast a rosy tint over the vine-covered cars and half-collapsed buildings.
Elena couldn’t help but smile, but she knew that when that sunset was over, the city returned to its normal, gloomy form. Where electricity only worked for the ones with clout, where children lived on the streets and starved, and where she had her job—listen in the shadows and report through her father to Sabin, the man who’d taken charge of this city three years prior.
That’s what she was doing here on this rooftop. Taking it all in. Processing all she had learned in the hours since arriving in the city. Her dad was alive and served Sabin, who had gained the keys to the city. Then there was the situation between him and her mother. It was all so confusing, and yet his rise to power with Sabin, inspiring.
If they could rise up like that, so could she. And along the way, she would have the answers she so longed for. What the hell had really happened six years ago in the events that led to her exile? Following that, who had killed her mother just yesterday?
Elena had been taking it slow, at first, poking around in the corners of town where Rodin directed her. In a sense, it was insulting that she had been put under someone so junior. On the other hand, it gave her freedom. Given who she was and how she had mysteriously reappeared, they would likely be keeping an eye on her, but if they were at Rodin’s level, she knew she could slip them if needed.
“You found my spot,” a voice said.
She turned to see Lilly. “Hey there, stranger. Used to be mine.”
“I remember.” Lilly stepped close and eyed her with heavily eye-shadowed eyes. Traditional makeup was long gone, at least in any circles Elena knew of. This had to be some sort of natural replacement.
The girl stood beside her, staring out over the city. As they both enjoyed the moment, Elena considered the humor in the situation. In many ways, this was the closest to having a friend as she had had recently.
It was Lilly who broke the silence. “This will be our spot.”
“Our spot?”
Lilly nodded. “When we need to meet. You with information for me when you have it, me with information for you when I do.”
Elena nodded in agreement. “And how will we know when it’s time?”
“We’ll know. Pass on word, it all comes together. Rumor has it, I’ll have something for you soon—so stay alert.”
“Soon, but not yet?”
“Soon but not yet.”
At that, Lilly turned to go, but Elena said, “Wait up.”
“Yeah?”
Elena fished into her bag and retrieved something she had been saving since finding it in an old MRE bag. “Ever had Skittles?”
Lilly tilted her head, then shook it.
Walking over to squeeze a couple of the small, colorful candies out for her, Elena grinned. “Try a couple, maybe I’ll have more for you next time.”
“Is this an attempt to bribe me?”
“If it were, Skittles would work. Trust me.”
Lilly eyed the candies in her hand—three green, a blue and a red, and then nodded, going on her way.
Elena lingered a moment longer, popped a Skittle in her mouth, and considered the city while letting the sugary sweetness fill her mouth. Her eyes weren’t on any old random spot in the city anymore but on one particular building. Tall and mostly intact, a gray apartment complex that boasted an old billboard on top with a redheaded woman holding a bottle of cologne. She would never forget that image, and often it was what had come to mind out in the wild when she dreamed of one day returning.
It was in that building that Elena hoped she would find Sabin’s Sister, Wendy. She started toward it, opting for the makeshift sky bridge that connected the two buildings—maybe not the most stable, but it worked well enough for now. Basically, an old crane that had been set up for construction and toppled over during the war. Now parts were rusted and falling off, but in other places, it had been reinforced over the years.
The ground seemed far away as she went, telling herself not to look down. Dark, confined places had never bothered her. They had been part of life growing up, necessary for survival. But out in the open, especially when heights were involved? She was quickly realizing that was a bad combination for her.
Instead of letting her mind wander to thoughts of falling and splattering across the uneven cement below, she replayed memories of Wendy, to be ready for this prospective meeting. The woman was several years her elder but had taken a liking to Elena. She had been like a big Sister, taking her under her wing and showing her the ropes. Then the woman had started dating that boyfriend of hers, what was his name? Elena shook it off. All she could remember of him was the annoyance she had felt when Wendy had stopped being able to spend so much time with her because of this guy. Wendy, who had told her all about how to work the food lines to get an extra-large helping without letting the others know. Who had told her how to kiss a guy, and more when Elena wouldn’t stop asking. Elena laughed at the nervous way Wendy had gone into detail at Elena’s insistence.
Living outside the walls hadn’t exactly given her opportunities to learn firsthand, although now that she thought about it that had clearly been thanks to the protection from her father. She had no doubt there would have been ‘opportunities’ to learn otherwise, but not the pleasant kind.
She had never had a chance to say goodbye to this woman, and so wondered about their reunion. Would she be mad at Elena for leaving? Maybe have heard rumors and lies about what had caused her departure?
Gods, Elena hoped not.
Each of her last steps from the crane came with more caution than the last, because here she needed to make it over the broken sections without letting the rusted, jagged metal get her.
Finally, she was across. She eyed the windows, worked her way down one floor and to the left, and was there. This had also been her entry method all those years ago. The brick outside Wendy’s kitchen window still had a little upside-down smiley face that Elena had carved into it with a nail one night while waiting for Wendy and her boyfriend to stop arguing. One of the last nights when she had tried to come and visit but given up eventually when that arguing turned into the sort of noises Wendy had taught her about—the makeup-after-arguing variety.
This day, there were no such noises, yet.
Suddenly, this whole trip felt incredibly silly. Elena had no idea what her old friend would think of her showing up like this. No clue if she would welcome her in or pull a gun on her.
Only one way to find out, though. With a gentle knock on the window, followed by a pause and then two more, Elena notified her old friend of her arrival. For a moment that seemed to last an eternity, nothing.
Then a figure appeared, unclear through the glass and darkness of the unit. As the figure approached, a light went on and Elena’s heart nearly jumped at the sight of this stranger. She started to turn to go, but the window opened and the voice was unmistakably Wendy’s.
“Elena?”
Elena turned back, seeing the source of her confusion. While Wendy had once worn her natural dark-brown hair chopped short, it was now long and died with purple strands. More than that, though, she wore makeup to hide her heavy wrinkles. Nobody her age should have had wrinkles like those Elena could see under the makeup, but then again, the stress of the post-war world could do much worse.
It only struck her as odd because the Wendy she had known never would have worn makeup. She talked about the way locals in the market made it with various chemicals, how it was so much worse for women than makeup of the pre-war time had been. They had spent days on the roof with the older woman going on about how women shouldn’t dress to fit some image of femininity men in society placed on them, and yet, here she was with that long hair, makeup, and wearing a dress.
“Hey,” Elena said, not sure how to address the situation. She decided it was best not to. “Can I come in?”
Wendy blinked, chuckled, and then moved aside to let her in through the window. Once they were situated and out of the way—given the cramped kitchen—Wendy opened the fridge and pulled out a jug of water. “Thirsty?”
“Parched.” Elena accepted a glass half-full and took a sip. Water wasn’t exactly scarce in the city, but good, pure water was. And this was some of the best.
Wendy’s eyes were unwavering, focused. “First… what brings you back?”
“Surprised to see me?”
“Well, I still have my ear to the walls.”
“You heard then… So soon.”
Wendy smiled, always one to pride herself on her network. “When I heard you were in town, I wasn’t sure I believed it. Everyone figured you were dead.”
“Dead?”
Wendy nodded. “After you went missing, I mean, most of them assumed. Thought you wouldn’t last a week outside. Me, I had a sense you were alive and out there, but never figured you’d be stupid enough to return.”
“Go to hell.”
Wendy arched a brow.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean that.” Elena took another sip. Bliss. “Thing is, you don’t know what it’s like out there. As bad as it gets in here, I’ll take it any day.”
“That bad?” She poured herself a glass of water—only a third.
“From what I’ve seen, I’ll say it’s best you never find out.”
“I never plan to.”
Each sipped their water, eyeing the other.
“What brings you back?” Wendy finally asked.
“My mother,” Elena said, leaving out the full truth. The part about having returned almost a year ago and camping outside of the walls. That part of returning had been more driven by fear of a continued existence out there. Going with the mother story felt stronger. Gave her more credibility.
Wendy ran a finger along the underside of her chin in thought, stopping and then quickly pulling her hand away. “Everything that happened… I’m so sorry.”
“Did you know she was alive all this time?”
“Shit, Elena. You’re getting to the bones of it so already?” Wendy set her glass aside, moving to the round table between the kitchen and the living room that doubled as a bedroom, as the actual bedroom had been closed off long ago since it had no floor.
“You knew…”
“I didn’t know, but I didn’t not know.”
Elena glared, not liking the way this conversation was making her left forearm twitch. “Explain.”
With a sigh, Wendy turned back to face her, but indicated a simple painting on the wall. It was just colors, but had a streak of blue along the top, possibly resembling sky. “This was by Alex. You remember Alex?”
That was his name, the man. Alex. “Sure.”
“He painted it, thinks it’s art. Even if I don’t think it is, I don’t know if it’s not.”
“You’ve changed.”
The words seemed to hit Wendy, and again her finger went to her jaw, for some mysterious reason. “Maybe I have, but I have a point. There were rumors on both sides, and in spite of all that, Kevin, your father, rose right up alongside Sabin. Your mother kind of disappeared like, what? Maybe a year ago. It was weird. Before that, she had vanished for a while, too, even after you were gone. There was a time I thought she probably was dead, then maybe figured she was having an affair. Your dad went ballistic, but I didn’t know if it was that, or because it was what my brother wanted of him.”
“And so you just sat on the sidelines?”
“Come on, El. I was in the process of getting married! You wouldn’t know that, because you went all apeshit just like your old man, hanging with the Sisters. Of all the people—”
“Don’t you ever talk bad about the Sisters. Do you hear me?” Elena’s voice was pointed steel.
Wendy took a step back, tripping on her couch and falling into it. Her eyes were creased with worry, and it was only then that Elena realized she had advanced on the woman, water glass held up as if she were going to bring it down on her head.
Elena took a step back, lowering the glass. “Don’t ever compare me to him. Ever.”
A click sounded as the door unlocked with a key, and Elena booked it, making it to the window as the door opened and Alex stepped in. He froze, eyes going to her and then Wendy, and nodded. The man looked exactly as she remembered him, not a difference. Tall, smooth brown hair combed to the side, wearing a leather jacket over a blue button-up.
“Good to see you again, Elena,” Alex said, moving to the table to set down a box of fruit. “I hope you’ve been well.”
“As well as I’ll ever be,” Elena said, and then continued out the window. She would be back, probably to apologize for losing her temper and make amends with Wendy. She hoped.
For now, she had at least a hint of an answer. It was dark now, so she decided it was time to head to the bar she had been assigned to and do her spying.
But first, she needed another damn Skittle.