Page 34 of Us Dark Few

“Winnie, I’m sorry, but they said the surface will not be livable again for hundreds, if not a thousand years. Nothing’s up there anymore.” She turned and slumped down in the chair. “The closest we will ever get is Genesis.”

Winnie shook her head emphatically. “You’re wrong! You can’t believe everything they say. The system wants to keep us down. Doesn’t want us to live.”

Khalani rolled her eyes to the ceiling, trying to figure out how to restore logic to the conversation.

“We survive by staying down here, Winnie. The workers who built Genesis died from radiation poisoning. All of them. The destruction on the surface will linger way past ourgeneration. We survive by staying put and waiting it out,” she repeated the words ingrained in her and every Apollo citizen’s head since they were little.

Some people believed the surface was livable again years ago, but the Genesis workers proved them all wrong.

Winnie didn’t yell or protest. Her expression changed to a look of sadness and sympathy.

Why was Winnie staring at her like that?

LikeKhalaniwas the one who was lost?

“I’m sorry they got to you. Made you forget that surviving is not living,” Winnie whispered.

Khalani frowned, opening her mouth in rebuttal but found no words. Winnie’s words sank deeper into her skin. Deeper…

And deeper.

Till they consumed everything.

She was alive. The air she breathed each day attested to that fact. But words failed to leave her mouth. Because she knew they were lies. Even before she was sentenced to Braderhelm, the best parts of Khalani’s life were when she slept.

The harsh truth made her skin prickle. Her parents knew better. Taught her better. They died because they fought for the quality of other people’s lives; for something bigger than themselves. And what was she doing, other than wasting away, waiting to die?

She peered up at Winnie, who studied her intensely with her purple monocle.

For a woman so small, Winnie was still trying to make a difference for future generations, even in Braderhelm. By helping Winnie, no matter how far-fetched the idea, her life could have meaning, too.

Khalani lifted her chin, steeling herself to a new task, a new mission. “I will help you with your book, Winnie.”

“Really?” Winnie asked.

She nodded.

“Oh, this is wonderful!” Winnie wrapped her in a giant hug. “From the moment Winnie saw you, she realized you were more than a pretty face.”

Her lips curved up. “What can I do to help?”

Winnie rubbed her chin, looking down in thought. “Hmmm. Well, I am due for the next few pages from Charles. Have they scheduled you for a city cleanup yet?”

“I go sometime next week.”

Winnie’s purple dress whirled around as she raced to grab papers on her desk. “These are from the Apollo Council meetings. They meet every month, and the notes are stored in the Archives. This information is vital for my book’s accuracy. You can get me the next report.”

Her forehead puckered. “How?

“Charles.” Winnie’s eyes lit up. “He’s my friend who owns the old artifact workshop and works in the Archives. I’ll send a message to him. During the street cleanup, he’ll find you.”

“How will you get a message to him, and how will he know how to find me? Won’t the guard’s notice?” The words came faster as her anxiety doubled.

Winnie adjusted her monocle and gave her a crooked smile. “Winnie has her ways. Messages travel farther than people can. Don’t worry. He’ll find you when the guards are distracted. Winnie knows you can do this.”

She nodded slowly, not as confident as Winnie but resigned to her role. If the quirky old woman could rebel while imprisoned, so could she. After all, Khalani was already branded a criminal.

How hard could breaking the law one more time be?

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