Wanderers (27 page)

Esther felt it, too.

She had never seen anything so immaculate and felt self-conscious, for the first time in her life, about how filthy she was. Esther could see their images reflected a thousand times, on scrubbed walls that flanked long, metallic staircases, spotless glass cases that contained merchandise, and gigantic, glittering objects that hung directly overhead, higher than the strange bird-men. Even the smaller ones were so enormous, it would have taken three people to encircle one of them with their arms. They looked like fiery stars suspended in midair, sparkling.

Seeing their reactions, Ramon laughed.

“It's nice, isn't it?” he said. “We turned on the power so you could actually see it.”

Esther took note of the building's layout. While clearly a single structure, it was more like an indoor mini-city built in the valley between adjoining buildings. Four open levels, including a basement, were made up of shops and restaurants connected by tiled floors, sweeping staircases, and marble passageways. Esther noticed something incongruous across the lobby: a large gray truck parked against one of the two doors that led to the street. It emitted a low, constant roar and she could make out the familiar smell of gasoline.

“That must be a generator,” Joseph said.

Above were eight more stories that apparently belonged to the neighboring towers, each filled with dozens of windows that rose to the ceiling. Most were dark, although one at the top gleamed with light.

It dawned on Esther that this was a kind of “mall,” where many stores occupied a common space. There had been one a few miles from Prin, where she and Skar had often played. Yet there, the windows had been smashed, the doors torn off their hinges, and the stores empty of everything but trash, dead leaves, and foraging animals.

This one was completely different. It was, she realized,
beautiful.

In silence, she and her friends followed Ramon past store after store. Each was filled with items that were not only new, but rare and expensive. Shelf after shelf was stacked with piles of sweaters, blouses, scarves, all arranged by color; the clarity and richness of the purples, pinks and oranges were astounding. Delicate, fanciful shoes were arrayed on tables; sunglasses, jewelry, belts, and things Esther couldn't even identify filled entire cabinets, exotic and lovely items that somehow you wanted just for the sheer pleasure of ownership.

Joseph was staring at a display of wristwatches behind a window; they were in every color of the rainbow.

“Please don't touch anything,” Ramon called out, although his voice was light. “You'll smudge the glass.”

Too abashed to even apologize, Joseph pulled away, wiping his hands on his filthy robes.

Now their guide stood at the base of twin stairways. They were similar to the kind they had ridden down to escape their attackers, yet with one difference.

These were moving by themselves.

Esther and the others recoiled in fear as Ramon stepped on.

“Come,” he said, turning to them with a smile. “Just step on. It's fun.”

When no one else moved, Esther was the first to try it. With Kai on her back, she stepped onto the moving stairs and staggered to the side. Clinging to the rubber handrail in terror, she rose swiftly upward and, within moments, found herself on the level above, where Ramon helped her stumble off. After a few false starts, the rest of her friends finally joined them, red-faced and panting with agitation. Yet it was easier the second time; and when they reached the fourth floor, even Joseph managed without falling.

Ramon led them to a metal door at the far end of the slippery marble hallway, which he pushed open.

“I'm afraid we have to climb from here,” said Ramon.

Esther and the others found themselves in a dark and stuffy space. Their guide had relit his torch, revealing a windowless stairway with metal railings that threw dancing shadows on the bare cement walls. Ramon was already a flight above them and they scrambled to catch up.

As they passed landing after landing, Esther kept silent count; by the time they stopped, they were on the twelfth floor. “Here we are,” said Ramon, holding open a metal door. They filed past him into a dim hallway, lit by a single electric lamp on a low table.

Thick carpeting underfoot absorbed their steps as the travelers followed him past several closed doors, all identical. Finally, he stopped in front of a set of double doors and indicated that they should enter.

Stepping into the room, Esther was blinded by the last rays of the setting sun. Raising a hand to her eyes, she saw they were in a large chamber, paneled in dark material. A table of golden wood as shimmering and immense as a lake took up most of the space. It was surrounded by at least two or three dozen matching chairs made of chrome and black leather. Facing them, an entire wall of windows revealed the tall buildings of Mundreel and the brilliantly colored sky.

That was when Esther noticed them.

There were perhaps a dozen people seated across the table. It was hard to see them at first; with their backs to the giant window and its blinding light, they were no more than silhouettes. Still, Esther could not help but notice that at least one of them was armed, a rifle held loosely against his shoulder.

This boy was leaning forward, gesturing out the window with his free hand; and although he was talking in an animated way, the words coming from his mouth seemed to be nonsensical, gibberish. Confused, Esther remembered what Joseph had told her about the signs on the road.
It must be the other language,
she thought. The guard was addressing the one who sat at the center, the one whom everyone seemed to be facing.

It was a girl. And she was already rising to her feet.

“You must be our visitors,” she said. “Welcome to the District. I'm Inna.”

Esther was relieved to find that their hostess spoke in words she could understand. Yet Inna's voice, musical and low, had a slight hoarseness to it, an odd quality that Esther could not identify.

“I'm so glad you managed to get past the Insurgents outside,” Inna said. “Not everyone does, you know. We haven't had visitors in months. Over a year, I think.” She had moved around the table as she spoke, and Esther could finally see her in full.

The girl was of medium build, with large dark eyes and black, curly hair held away from her face with a silk cord. She was dressed in strange and luxurious clothing: loose-fitting garments of pink and coral and cream that flowed and shimmered with her every move. Gold chains and sparkling stones dangled at her throat and ears, and a sweet smell arose from her skin, the faint scent of roses and jasmine.

But as she drew closer, Esther recoiled.

Something was wrong with her.

The skin on Inna's face hung slack off her jawbone and in folds across her throat. There were fleshy swags around her eyes and on either side of her nose and mouth. Horizontal lines were etched into her forehead, and her hair, at first glance as dark as her eyes, had streaks of gray in it.

As Skar and the others also drew back, horrified, Esther's first confused thought was that Inna had contracted the terrible wasting disease. Yet she seemed to be free of the telltale lesions, the purple, black-edged sores.

Only Joseph had no fear. He stepped forward, squinting in order to see the girl better. Then he had a visible reaction, one of shock, followed by excitement; and when he spoke, his voice quavered.

“You're
old,
” he said.

A murmur of amusement passed around the table and Inna smiled even wider. This deepened the lines around her mouth and eyes.

“Yes,” she said. “We all are.”

She pointed at the others. “Ravi and Liat are the youngest. They're thirty-seven and thirty-nine, respectively.” The two bowed their heads. “I recently turned forty-four. The rest of us are also in our forties and early fifties, including Ramon, my partner, whom you've already met.”

She nodded at the boy who had served as their guide. He had unwrapped the gauze cloth from his face and joined the others. To Esther's shock, she saw that his hair was silver and his face as creased as Inna's.

What they had heard about Mundreel was true. Even Joseph, the oldest of them all, was only twenty-six; and that, Esther realized with her shaky grasp of arithmetic, was far younger than these people claimed to be.

“But how did you—” Esther began, then stopped.

Inna had stepped in front of Esther and, unexpectedly, took her hands in hers.

Her touch was astonishingly soft and cool, like an infant's. Esther had a pang when she noticed how dirty and rough her own hands were by comparison, and how torn her fingernails were. Yet Inna didn't seem to care.

“There'll be time for explanations later,” Inna said.

Up close, her face didn't look frightening; and her expression was kind and direct. Yet Esther noticed she was looking not at her, but at Kai. When the woman reached across her shoulder and stroked the side of his face with a finger, Esther found herself tensing up.

“A baby,” Inna was saying. “It's been so long since we've had one here.”

Then she smiled.

“But I'm forgetting my manners. First, let us get you settled in.”

Esther sat with her knees pulled close to her chin, shoulder-deep in bathwater that was already black with dirt. She had seen many bathtubs before—there had been one in her apartment in Prin—yet she had never understood their purpose and always assumed they were meant for storage. It was a strange and even frightening sensation to find herself immersed in warm water like this.

She wasn't sure if she liked it.

Inna had brought her, Skar, Michal, and Kai to a private room on the top floor, fenced off by an ornamental silk screen. A stack of clean towels and a cracked block of soap were set to the side. Then, as the girls watched, two adults came in, carrying large buckets of scalding water. As they poured them into the tub, Inna added several handfuls of what looked like salt, stirring them with her hand until they produced a thick froth of perfumed suds.

Esther and her friends recoiled in terror.

“It's called a bubble bath,” explained Inna.

Since there was only one tub of hot water, the girls took turns bathing. Michal went first, holding Kai, and then Skar, each girl exclaiming when she lowered herself in. It was only when both girls had finished and stepped out, shivering, that a reluctant Esther took the plunge.

By now, the lukewarm bathwater was so filthy, Esther doubted it would do anything but make her dirtier. And most of the bubbles were gone as well, which Esther was thankful for; they were peculiar and bitter-tasting. When some got into her eye by accident, she was convinced that she had blinded herself. The pain was excruciating.

Despite her skepticism, however, the bubble bath cleaned away much of the deep-seated grime, the dust of the road she had assumed was permanently inked onto her elbows, knees, feet, and neck. Afterward, when Esther stood and toweled herself dry, even she had to admit she had never felt so clean.

Thinking about it that way, however, made her uneasy.

What bothered her most was that their clothes had been taken away. Esther knew that her red hoodie and jeans were torn and filthy and that her sneakers were shredded and full of holes. Still, they had been as much a part of her as hair and skin.

“Hello?”

Wrapped in a towel, Esther gathered enough nerve to poke her head around the screen. One of the adults, a tiny woman named Bao, was seated outside and looked up with a smile.

“Yes?”

Esther felt self-conscious, even shy. “Do you know where our clothes are?”

Bao laughed. “Don't worry about those. Here are your new ones.”

She picked up a pile of clothing and tried to hand it over. But Esther demurred.

“We can't,” she said. “Thank you. We can keep our old ones.” Yet Bao, still smiling, shook her head and insisted.

“Nonsense . . . these are so much nicer. Just tell me if they're the right size or if any of you want a different color or style.”

“But we don't need—”

“Don't think of it . . . it's our pleasure. And besides, we insist.” Esther wasn't sure, but Bao's smile seemed steely now. “Anyway, your old things have already been disposed of.”

Esther had no choice but to thank her again and bring the clothes to the others.

Before she could say anything, she was startled by Michal's response. Excited, the girl pounced on the items with a squeal of delight.

Of course,
Esther realized as she watched her sort through the things with swift and expert hands;
she used to be Levi's girl. She's used to nice things.
In an instant, it was as if all of the hardships and cares of the last few months had vanished for Michal. For a few moments at least, she was once again a beautiful young girl, happy to pick out what to wear.

For that, Esther was glad.

Michal found a sundress for herself, bright with swirling designs, and gold sandals with straps that wound around the ankle. She also selected a colorful, sheer scarf, which she draped across her damaged features and fastened around her throat.

Then she turned to her partner, taking her by the hand.

“Let's find you something good, too.”

Bashful, Skar was shaking her head and smiling, as confused as Esther was by the profusion of choices. But Michal was insistent. First, she had the variant girl try on a pleated skirt, then a pair of pants with baggy pockets, then some thick leggings, as well as a variety of tops and shoes. As Skar turned and modeled the different outfits, the two broke into frequent peals of laughter.

Esther watched them, puzzled yet happy that they were having a good time. Finally, Skar found some shorts she didn't mind, as well as a sleeveless top, while Michal dressed Kai in a pair of red overalls and matching socks.

Esther settled on a black T-shirt and jeans, the plainest things she could find. She located Skar's necklace, the one her friend had given her as a going-away gift, which she had put aside for safekeeping. Thankful Bao hadn't thrown it away, she slipped it into her pocket.
It's only clothes,
she thought as she put them on. And the items
were
nice, she had to admit; even she could tell they were of high quality and made to last. Perhaps she was being foolish to be so leery of such generosity.