Many Shades of Black

Many Shades of Black

The single street lamp that still worked provided little illumination as he trudged along the frozen sidewalk through the thick snowfall. His breath escaped in dense clouds, hanging in the air and marking his path. His footsteps crunched, echoing in the silence of the empty street. He walked past piles of snow burying abandoned cars with rotted tires, and two-story brick apartments with shattered windows, their doors either ajar or boarded up.

His eyes locked onto a dark shape propped against the side of a concrete stoop. An old man, his eyes wide and vacant, his face frozen and covered by a layer of frost. He retrieved a phone from his pocket. The screen casting light on his pale face, square jaw, and messy blond hair.

"Pick me up at the end of the block." He glanced back at the body. "And send a recovery van over here. They'll be able to see it from the street. About 200 pounds. You tell them I want full credit." He tapped the screen and slid the phone into his parka, hunching his shoulders as he continued on.

He lifted his head when he heard the scream. Stopping, his gaze searching the empty street, his breath collecting in a gray cloud around his face. A metallic clank. Another scream, closer and in his path of travel. He crunched forward, scanning the street and the side alleys.

A man yelling, scuffling from the alley to the right and a sharp slap. He turned. A light above a door to the left, a figure with a raised club, a smaller one behind, wearing a hoodie, and a shape hunched against the wall to the right.

"Please, don't!" A girl's voice.

He strode into the alley, using his hip to nudge a garbage can. The rattle was enough to get their attention.

"What's dis?" said the man with the club.

"Let it go," he said.

"The hell you say." He turned, brandishing the club, a wooden baseball bat with nails driven through and a faded Cubs logo in red. 

"I said leave it."

Hoodie stepped up, a glint of polished steel in his hand. The light reflected from his eyes. Just a dirty-faced kid. "Back off. Dis our meat."

"Lower that poker or I'll use it to spill your guts," he said. He stepped into the light. The man holding the club drew a sharp inward breath and lowered it. 

"We got dibs. You get y'own," Hoodie said.

"Micky, back off, brah," Club-man said. "Look. Red arm-band. Dat Lyron Black."

Hoodie's face fell faster than his knife. "No ways."

"Sure nuff. Seen him a few. Big-time clout." Club-man grabbed hoodie's shoulder and pulled him back. "Pologies, Mr. Black. The boy don mean no harm." He gestured at the huddled shape. "Dis one all yours. Cmon boy."

Hoodie whispered a protest, but Club-man turned him and guided him down the alley in the opposite direction.

The girl looked up. She had bright blue, piercing eyes, black hair, and a pouty mouth. She licked her lower lip, bleeding and swollen.

"Get up," he said.

"Please don't hurt me." She raised a hand, lowered her gaze, shivering. She wore a ratty parka, missing one sleeve. Below the hem of the coat, a thin dress or skirt, and rotting sneakers, exposing the toes on her right foot. They looked black.

He grasped her arm, pulling her to her feet. 

"I just want to go," she said.

"Where you from?"

She lay her hand on his chest, wetting her lips, her eyes hooded and glistening like a puppy. "I can be good to you, mister."

He pushed her back against the wall.

"You're not local," he said.

"Out there." She tilted her head, pointing. "Beyond the wall."

"You saw the signs?"

"I know about the signs." Her hand slid up his chest to his neck. She breathed in, pressing what she had beneath her filthy coat against him. "I have nowhere to go. I just need food and a warm place."

He stepped back, yanking her away from the wall and pushing her back up the alley. She lunged, but he was on her in a flash. Gripping her upper arm, he walked her to the street.

"You're hurting me," she said, stumbling.

He dragged her to the right, up the street. A dark car with black windows turned the corner, headlights flashing, moving towards them on the opposite side. He crossed over in front of the car, pushing her in front of him, opened the rear door and shoved her inside. He squeezed through the door, closing it behind him.

"Where to, sir?" The driver's dark hair showed above the headrest. His eyes, dark and oval, Middle Eastern, reflected in the center mirror. 

"What's the closest gate?"

"A gate?" His eyes narrowed. "Don't you wanna go..."

"Closest gate."

"A5."

"Go there."

"Yes, sir." 

The girl scooted across the seat, hugging the far door. He popped the top on a blue cooler at his feet, retrieving a small, clear bag and dropped it in her lap. She glanced at it, hesitated, tore it open, holding it to her nose. She dug her hand into it, stuffing slices of meat in her mouth. He offered a plastic bottle of water. She snatched it, unscrewed the lid, and took a deep drink before returning to the meat.

"Where are you taking me?" she said between bites.

He didn't answer.

The baggie empty, her jaws working the tougher pieces. She gazed out the window. A car passed in the opposite direction, only one headlamp working.

"Where are we?" she said.

"You saw the signs." 

"Yeah, outside the wall."

"What'd they say?"

"No entry."

"And?"

"And what?"

"You miss the part about dying?"

"Dying?" She frowned at him. "You mean the part about violators will be dealt with severely?"

"Yeah, that."

"Have you been on the other side lately?" She snorted, letting her head rest against the window. "There's enough death for everyone out there."

"Plenty going on here, too."

"What are you going to do with me?"

"At 25 a pound, you're three G's in my pocket."

"You're going to sell me?"

He looked at her legs. "Kind of skinny. Maybe just two."

She huffed, shaking her head.

"You know, I don't think those guys wanted money," she said. "They wanted to hurt me."

"Local hunters. You gotta have one of these to collect a bounty." He patted his red armband. "They wanted meat."

"Seriously? So, you turn me in, then what? They throw me back outside?"

"Processing. They hang you up by your feet. Cut your throat. Let you bleed out. It's quick. Easy. You could feed a family for a couple weeks."

She raised her hand, covering her throat, her eyes wide, shifting. She yanked the door handle, but it wouldn't open, pounded on the window with her fists and screamed. He grabbed her collar, pushing her back into the seat. 

"Why are you doing this?" Tears bust from her eyes, clawing at his hand. He slapped her. She fell on her side, her hands cupping her face, shoulders shaking.

"It's the law." He sat back, looking out his window. "You saw the signs. You took a chance."

"I didn't realize." Her voice muffled. She lowered her hand, eyes glistening in the low light. "There's no guards. Why aren't there guards? If someone had told me..."

"Ignorance of the law is no excuse."

"The law?" She sat up. "I was on the other side. There's no law. I heard... Some guy told me it was better in the city."

"Processing agent. They lie to get people to come in."  

"Asshole."

"It's no better in here. We're dying, but slower."

She sat back. Wiping her cheeks, she watched the brick buildings and dark windows slide by. An occasional light behind curtains, a hint of life and warmth.

"No one said anything about this." She laid a hand on the window. "The gate was open. I just walked right in. I should have known."

"You saw the signs."

"Bullshit."

The buildings fell away, replaced by a flat, white plain. The lake, frozen, stretching to a massive gray wall of ice and snow rising from a fog bound base. The glacier.

"It's not fair." She sniffed, tapping her finger on the window. "I'm 18. I've never known anything but that." She looked at him. "Why do you do this?"

"Food. A warm place. This," he said, wagging his finger. "The car. Plenty of fuel. I get to live a little longer. A little better."

"Is it worth it? Does it make you happy? You catch people like me and drag us to..." She choked, jamming her eyes shut, thumping her head on the window. "It'll happen to you too."

"In my time."

"Will you run?"

"Run where?"

The car turned away from the lake. Big flakes fell past the window. Flickering lamps lining the street. The sidewalks cleared, exposing uneven concrete blocks. One man shoveled snow into a wheelbarrow. Black limos with tinted windows parked on the left. A couple, hand-in-hand. She had a fur coat, and he wore long gray coat. They stopped in front of a restaurant. 'Fresh Meat' scrawled on a chalkboard next to the door. A door man, dressed in a red coat and top hat, smiled and held the door for them. A line at the movie theater purchasing tickets. A scrolling marquee above the ticket booth: 'Now Showing...The Promise...July 8 - 15'. A bank sign with a working display: -35 F.

She looked back as the lights faded from view and they rolled into darkness again, the sidewalks covered in fresh powder. 

"How much further?"

He glanced at her. "Not far."

She cried.

The car turned left onto a narrow passage between piled snow and dark brick walls. The street ended in a 20 foot corrugated steel wall supported by concrete posts, the top strung with ice crusted coils of razer wire. The car swung wide, turning parallel to the wall.

He opened the door and stepped into the snow, leaving it open. She slid to the door, peeking out. Stenciled in tall, white, faded characters above a deep recess: 'A5'.

She stepped out of the vehicle.

"What's this?"

"It's open, just like the one you came in." He pointed. "This one, you're going out."

"Your letting me..."

"Just go. Before anyone sees. I'm breaking the law here."

She turned and squinted at the open door buried in the alcove. A black rectangle leading to a world she knew and understood.

"There's nothing out there," she said.

"There's nothing in here."

She looked back at him.

"Thank..."

"Go." He waved toward the gate.

She entered the alcove, placing one hand on the steel door and peeking outside.

"Wait." He came over to her. Tugging the armband off, he removed his parka and draped it over her shoulders. Turning back, he entered the car and shut the door. She slipped her arms into the sleeves, zipping it up. Taking a last look as the car pulled away, she disappeared through the gate.

"Where to, sir?"

"The office."

The car turned right and headed down the middle of a broad avenue. The snow eased up, then stopped. The sky grew lighter. From between some tall buildings ahead, to the east, the horizon glowed.

"Might see some sun today," the driver said. They turned left into shadow.

"Mr. Black, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"That was a lot of money you let go."

He gazed down at his hands in his lap, then back up, his eyes fluttering. "She reminded me of someone."

The driver glanced in the mirror, then back to the road.

"Drop me off at Stella's Bar," he said. "I need a drink."