Chapter 28: Chapter 28

We step out of the tunnel onto a platform that's a bit higher than the floor of the massive room, so we descend a set of iron stairs. As we make our way down, the crowd starts to take notice.

Excited shouts and cheers fill the air as they rush to welcome the Japanese soldiers. The room buzzes with laughter and embraces as the community swarms around us.

Kids dart around me, young girls throw their arms around the soldiers, young men slap them on the back, and the older folks watch the scene with warm smiles.

I’m pretty much overlooked as we’re led through the room. Kazuya keeps his hand on the small of my back, guiding me to the other side.

There’s a small stage in the center of the room. It looks like it was once part of a train, but now it stands out in the middle of the room. Four chairs are arranged on it, and a crowd of people gather behind them.

Two men stand in front of the chairs, and a woman sits behind them in another chair. They’re clearly related; the resemblance is unmistakable.

The older man stands with his hands on his hips, a broad smile on his face. He’s the biggest person I’ve ever seen.

His body is a mass of muscle. His dark-red beard is braided, and his dark-brown hair is pulled back to the nape of his neck. He’s dressed in dark clothes and has a gun tucked in his pocket.

His son, standing next to him, is a younger version of him. Just as muscular, he has dark hair that falls into his dark eyes and the beginnings of a red beard on his face.

Two guns are tucked into the belt of his dark pants. The woman behind them is small and thin. Her hair is also red and pulled back tightly. Behind her are six redheaded children.

The oldest is a girl about my age. She’s holding the youngest, a baby, in her arms. The family beams down at us as we approach, their white teeth gleaming.

They stand out from the rest of the crowd, not just because they’re so big, but because they look healthier than everyone else. It doesn’t take me long to realize that the people around us are frail.

There’s no one older than fifty, and those close to that age are hunched over, coughing into handkerchiefs. Many of the young people have bad teeth, thinning hair, and skeletal bodies.

I don’t have time to dwell on it. The crowd pushes us to the front, and Sanoske and Theodor climb up onto the stage. Sanoske shakes hands with the younger man and embraces the older man warmly.

The older man rubs his large hands together and bellows a hearty welcome home to the soldiers. The crowd cheers and presses closer to us.

Orders are given, and I see many young men and women disappearing to carry out their duties. The Japanese soldiers start to mingle with the crowd, and I notice Sanoske and the impressive young man leaving the stage.

Sanoske calls Kazuya over. He takes my hand and pulls me along with him. He and the young man greet each other with a hearty slap on the back.

“I’m glad to see you made it back safely,” the young man says in the same deep voice as his father.

He looks Kazuya up and down, then turns his attention to me. He holds my gaze for a few long seconds, then looks at Sanoske.

“A slave?” he asks.

“A friend,” Kazuya answers for him.

He looks back at me. “What’s your name?” he asks me.

“Alex,” I reply.

He extends his hand and shakes mine. “I’m Roy. Roy Richardson. Nice to meet you, friend.”

He smiles down at me. I return his smile gratefully.

“You must have quite a story. My father is preparing a feast. I’m sure he’ll be interested to hear it,” he tells me.

“Of course.” I nod. Roy nods back, then excuses himself to greet the other soldiers.

“Roy’s the mayor’s son. That’s the mayor, Oscar Richardson. His father was mayor before him, and soon Roy will be mayor. The Resistance is run by that family,” Kazuya explains.

“We’re lucky they’re half sane,” Sanoske murmurs before walking away.

Kazuya introduces me to a few other people, mostly young women who don’t seem too happy to see me with him. Amid the greetings, I notice Roy pointing me out to his father. I quickly look away.

A young woman comes up to me. Her skin is very dark, like Theodor’s, and her frizzy hair is pulled back tightly. She doesn’t look much older than me. She gives Kazuya a small smile, then turns to me.

“You’re Alex? I’m Joy. The soldiers already have barracks to stay in, but I’ll show you to your place,” she tells me.

“My place?” I ask, surprised.

She smiles and nods at me. “Follow me.”

***

Joy leads me away from the cavernous room down a long, brightly lit tunnel lined with mirrors. The tunnel starts with tiles, then changes to packed dirt. Joy chats as we walk.

“This part of the underground is pretty new. It was dug up only a decade ago. It’s for the young people of the Resistance. There are two dormitories, one for men and one for women.”

“This tunnel leads to the men’s section”—she points down a short tunnel—“and up here is ours.”

We turn a corner and take a right down a narrow tunnel, emerging into a large cylindrical room. The far side is blocked by a fallen train. An array of mirrors on the high ceiling lights up the room.

There are twenty rows of ten beds spread across the room. Each bed has a small chest at its foot.

“Your bed will be over here.” Joy leads me to the back of the room. “Grace got married recently and left this bed free. You see, this dorm is only for the single young people of our community.

“Men aren’t allowed in here, and we aren’t allowed in their room. We stick to the rules.”

I nod slowly and sit down on my bed. Joy watches me.

“My bed is right over there. All the girls in this room are on Miss Violet’s list. She’s the matchmaker for our community. She’s almost as important as the Richardsons. She’s the one who handles marriages and births here.

“Let me give you something to wear for today and show you where the baths are,” she says, bouncing over to her bed.

I watch her, feeling a wave of gratitude. She holds up a green bundle and waves me over. We leave the dorm together, and she leads me down another tunnel. This one slopes steeply downward.

We step into a small room. There are two huge baths in the center of the room, but they’re empty. Joy moves to one side of the room and points to a wide hole in the ground.

“We dug this hole ourselves. It was a lot of work. The water comes from the Thames. It collects here, and we haul it into our baths. They used to be hot tubs, whatever those were.

“We heat the water, and when we’re done bathing, the water drains back into the Thames.”

“Thames?”

“The river. The big river,” she answers.

“Oh, I see. It had a name,” I say softly. She gives me a strange look for a moment, then moves on.

“Since bathing is a lot of work, we usually bathe together after work. I’ll help you set it up for today.”

She throws a bucket down the hole and hauls it back up full of water. Together, we fill the bath. Then she turns on the heat and hands me a sticky cube.

“Soap,” she explains. “It stings a bit, but it keeps us clean. I have to help with the preparations for the feast. This is a big day for us.

“When you’re done, put this on and meet me in the main hall. I can show you around a bit more before we eat.”

She grins at me, hands me the bundle of clothes, and rushes off. Her frizzy hair bounces behind her.

Feeling grateful, I undress quickly and slip into the warm water. I close my eyes and relax, letting my hands float on the surface of the water.

I realize the last time I took a bath was months ago, in the Masters’ mansion. So much has happened since then.

After my bath, I put on the clothes Joy lent me. They’re like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

It’s a dress, dark green, tight around my waist and loose around the top, barely hanging onto my shoulders. The skirt is wide and floaty, hanging down to mid-thigh.

I pull on the soldier boots that I adjusted to my size and slip my gun into them. As I make my way back to the main hall, I pass a few people, young men and women who greet me with wide eyes.

They murmur greetings, then watch me as I walk on. When I reach the main hall, I find it still bustling with people.

The shops along the walls close one by one, and I notice the lights dimming. Joy appears out of the crowd with a smile. She looks me over and grins widely.

“Wow, you look so sexy. I see why they designed you like that,” she says cheerfully.

I blink at her. “Designed me?”

“Come.” She grabs my hand and pulls me into the crowd. “This left tunnel leads to the mines. That’s where a lot of the men work. Down there are the farms and the fields.

“This tunnel is the family tunnel, reserved for homes only. It’s for young couples with children. The school is down there. And Miss Violet’s office. I think I mentioned her?”

“Fields?”

“Yeah, and farms. But that was over there.” She points to the tunnel we passed earlier. “This is the main hall, the center of town. This is where we have our meetings and events and where all the shops are, of course.

“Now, that way, that’s the way to the factories.”

“Really?”

“Yup, this way, over here, that’s the army base. It’s where they train and sleep. I’ll take you to the dining rooms now. It’s about time to eat.”

She pulls me down a wide, brightly lit tunnel. I glance back at the main hall. My eyes are wide, taking in all the mysteries this underground city holds.

We pass the kitchens and enter a large room. Dirt walls are built up halfway, separating the tables into private sections of the room, which is filled with people, young and old, eating and drinking cheerfully together.

The room echoes with their voices. There are many young women going back and forth from the kitchen serving food. Joy points me to the far end of the room where a long table is set out.

“You’ll eat here tonight,” she tells me. “If you need anything else, just ask me. I’ll be over there.” She points to another table.

“Thank you,” I say, “for everything today.”

She nods with a smile. “Don’t worry about it. It’s my job to welcome the new girls into our dorm,” she says, then gives me a small nudge toward the long table and skips away.

At first, I don’t recognize the Japanese soldiers in the mix of foreign faces around me. I look for their dark clothes and dirty faces.

Instead, I find them dressed in clean shirts, their dark hair combed and pushed back off their clean faces.

I notice that the room has grown quiet and most people are staring at me. On some faces I see wonder and interest; on others I see hate.

I quickly lower my gaze from their intense stares and walk stiffly to the long table. Kazuya is sitting at the far end next to Sanoske and across from Roy.

The mayor sits at the near end of the table with Roy, though the rest of the family sits together at another table nearby. Roy’s gaze meets mine, and he smiles at me. He stands and waves me over.

Kazuya and Sanoske turn to watch me approach. I feel my cheeks heating up under their intense stares. Kazuya grins at me as his eyes travel up and down my body. He stands up and pulls out the seat next to him.

Sanoske’s eyes hold mine, a deep, penetrating stare that I can’t quite decipher. There’s a sadness there, a reluctance, and a hint of anger.

I break the connection, looking away.

Kazuya grins at me, his smile warm and inviting. The room’s noise level starts to rise again.

“They were all staring at me,” I murmur to him. He chuckles in response.

“You might need to get used to that. We don’t get many new faces around here,” he says.

I nod, my eyes darting around the room, avoiding the curious stares. I turn back to our table, meeting the mayor’s gaze. He’s watching me closely.

“Alex, my son tells me you’re a friend?” He glances at Sanoske, whose lips tighten. “You look like a Perfect.”

“I am a Perfect, sir,” I confirm.

The mayor raises his eyebrows. “You must understand. To us, the Perfects are the enemy,” he says, his tone grave.

“Perfects have a lot of enemies,” I respond. “I’ve come to understand how easy it is to despise them.”

The mayor’s lips twitch into a small smile. “Sanoske and his men seem to trust you. My son seems to trust you. Even Theodor seems convinced. So, I’d like to welcome you to Resistance, Alex.”

He pauses for a moment. “For now.”