Lucy would be at breakfast; she was an early riser. I have a personal vendetta against all hours before 10am. I didn’t bother with any cosmetics, not that many existed. Lucy’s contact on the outside did procure a few things, such as mascara, which she was addicted to. She was the only person who managed to get clothes and cosmetics smuggled in. Worked out for me too – occasionally a new shirt would magically appear on my bed. But my lashes were already naturally thick and inky black – and with my talent of getting more of the mascara in my eye than on my lashes, I never bothered with it.
Starting down the stairs, I made it to the first landing. As usual I rounded the corner far too quickly. I found myself in a collision. We teetered comically on the ledge before managing to untangle ourselves. I recognized the mass of blond hair: it was Lucy. As she pulled back from me, I noticed she was dressed to impress today.
“Cute shirt, Luce. Who did you bribe to get that one?”
Her love of clothes was well known. She’d teamed a funky purple vintage t-shirt with short denim shorts, long socks and sneakers.
“I’ve told you before, Abbs, if you knew what I did for these things I’d have to kill you. Or myself,” she muttered. Glancing down at her watch, she gasped. “I don’t want to alarm you but ... wait for it ... it’s only 8.30 in the morning.”
Groaning, I massaged my temples. “That’s why I feel like this. I hate mornings. Remember that fight years ago? We haven’t talked since.”
“How could I forget? It was the falling out of the century.” Lucy has sarcasm nailed.
“So, I was coming to find you...”
I would work on the little white lies later. In my determination to find the alley man, I’d completely forgotten about Lucy.
Watching me, eyes narrowed, she shook her head. “Liar!”
I smiled. The girl knew me well.
“You were heading out to find your alley man.”
I laughed. A little too well.
“Can’t get anything past you, but I’m just a tad excited.” Bouncing on my feet, it was probably obvious. “Last night in my dream the woman spoke and, holy mother of gold, her accent was the same as the alley man. I kid you not.”
Her eyebrows hit her hairline. “That’s a strange coincidence. You had any ‘I’m a crazy person’ thoughts, Abbs?”
“Every day, every damn day. But this feels different. Or maybe I just wanted to hear the accent again so badly that I made her speak with it. I don’t know.” I was afraid to get my hopes up.
“It does make sense. You obviously feel a connection to this man and his wicked accent.” She shrugged. “But since I’ve misplaced my army tanker, there’s no way you’re getting me out on those streets.”
“Chicken.” I knew her instincts were to rise to a challenge.
Her brows narrowed, blue eyes flashing her annoyance. “You know my requirements, Abby. Do you possess the skills to use a decaying dead animal as shelter? And would you recognize the right plants to eat should we get lost?”
I snorted. “Did I miss the memo? Was the compound shifted to Africa overnight?”
“You can never be too prepared. Just saying.”
“If Bear Grylls bred with Chuck Norris, I would be their love child. That’s how skilled I am.”
Lucy’s face remained carefully blank. “Thank you for that disturbing imagery. But we both know Chuck Norris needs no one. He creates children from thought alone.”
“Agree to disagree, Luce. I’m a Bear fan all the way.”
Crossing her arms, she leaned back to observe me. “Despite the fact it’s lame to still discuss shows from twenty years ago, you will never defeat Chuck.”
I shrugged. “Twenty years? You’re being a little generous to old Chuck. And some shows are just timeless.”
“And why are they timeless? Oh, that’s right – the television industry imploded on itself and no more shows were created.”
“Valid point.” I changed the subject. “So are you ready to leave now?”
Running shaky hands through her blond curls, she groaned. “You’re lucky you’re my best friend and those people are hard to replace, Abby.”
“I knew you’d cave. Let’s go.”
She rolled her eyes, but followed me as I skipped down the last few stairs.
I looked back. “Your life would be so boring without me.”
“Imagine that, a boring life, one where we both lived to, like, thirty. Definitely overrated.”
“I know, right. What would we possibly do with all those extra years?”
Unlocking the door, we left without any drama.
Exiting the compound, we both performed security checks and then were on the street front. We hadn’t been given security clearance until after our seventeenth birthday. I have no idea why they decided that was a good age, although most of the girls don’t leave the compound until they’re kicked out at eighteen.
In the deserted morning streets I couldn’t sense any trouble. I guess gangers like to sleep in too. Lucy followed my lead as I started jogging.
Hurrying along the dirty, desolate streets only reminded me how much had changed in my life.
“This is what New York looks like now?” Lucy was aghast. “What the hell happened?” She hadn’t been out since we were kids; the city was almost unrecognizable.
I shook my head, my breathing even as we powered along. “People happened. And, like history, they keep repeating themselves. These power-hungry dumbasses just keep on sucking the world dry.”