Inner City Read online

  Time came to move out and Callen was allowed to walk freely. Ky came to him to let him know what was going on.

  “We have a four hour march to camp, which is where you’ll be staying until they decide what to do with you.”

  Callen was thankful for the explanation and was looking forward to the walk as they set off. He could finally look at all the sights of this new world, without having to worry about being found out.

  Ahead of him, Eve walked at about the same pace and once Callen had satisfied himself with the view of the surrounding countryside, he made an effort to reach her. He passed a couple of the group ahead of him in order to casually stroll alongside the young girl who had captured his attention. One of those Callen passed, knocked his hand into the side of another and indicated with a nod of his head, the change in formation that Callen had initiated. They both smiled. Callen’s attraction towards Eve was clear to everyone.

  The two walked side by side for about twenty minutes, before Callen found the right words to begin a seemingly spontaneous conversation.

  “So, you’re like a soldier?” he asked.

  Eve turned to look at him.

  “A soldier?” The term foreign to her.

  “You know, a guard, a protector?”

  “Isn’t everyone those things?” She asked.

  Callen nodded, feeling a little ignorant and out of place. In the city, people’s roles were clearly defined. Eve began talking more about herself. At seventeen she hadn’t even thought of what she’d do once her time as a border guard finished. All she knew for certain about her future was that she wanted to start her own family before she was too much older. Callen was shocked by the revelation. What was outlawed to him was a completely natural way of life to this young woman. She was talking of finding a partner and conceiving children naturally - the most daring of thoughts within the city’s walls. Callen ended the conversation. He couldn’t concentrate to ask any more questions and he didn’t want to give his flustered state away. Unfortunately, with his mind so captured by a subject so long avoided, Eve continued with it.

  “Do you have a wife?” she asked.

  “No. I had a girlfriend but she ended it a while ago. She got sick of me I guess,” Callen said, trying to sound hard done by.

  “I can’t believe that,” Eve said, as she smiled a provocative smile.

  Callen blushed. He didn’t know how to react to this obvious show of interest. His awkwardly polite smile only made Eve like him more.

  Ky was now alongside and he quietly put a hand around Eve’s shoulder in a show of intimacy, largely for Callen’s benefit. The gesture slowed Eve. Callen paused before realising Eve had been slowed for a reason. He continued on, trying to focus as best he could on what was going on behind him.

  Had he been able to hear what passed between Ky and Eve, he would have known she was being warned off. Her display of affection towards him was obvious and she was already overstepping the mark by talking so freely to an intruder from the city. Ky explained very clearly, that they should limit contact as much as possible. What Callen was to be told about their world would be a decision their superiors should be making. Eve gave her word that her attitude towards Callen, for the rest of their journey, would be far more restrained. Ky was happy to hear it and went to place his hand on the small of her back as they walked. Eve moved quickly out of his reach. Ky tried not to look too disappointed. He increased his speed and moved forward to the head of the group.

  Seeing Ky pass gave Callen confidence to drop back to Eve. Just as he was building up the courage to ask what the private conference had been about, Ky announced they’d take a short break at a water hole to refresh. Callen was initially pleased by this and made sure he sat next to Eve, thinking it would be the perfect opportunity to discover something of the conversation which had excluded him. The hope was short lived. Eve rose to her feet and walked away to sit with others. As he rested, Callen watched her carefully, but she never once let her eyes wander in his direction.

  The water break was called to an end and the group continued for a good hour. From the top of a large hill, Callen spotted the same camp he had looked down on when he’d been his own guide.

  They walked to within ten minutes of the camp when Ky told his group to stop and rest while he went on ahead. He was quickly away. Callen guessed the halt was to give Ky a chance to explain what had happened. The others sat around in nervous anticipation.

  Callen glanced at Eve who was sitting nearby. She looked away. He turned to look at something else, before quickly turning back to Eve who was now watching him and knew she’d been caught. This time Callen stared. He watched Eve grow more and more uncomfortable with his eyes upon her, until she gave up trying to appear as if she didn’t know she was being watched. She began to stare back at Callen. A moment later Callen smiled a nervous smile, not at the awkwardness of the moment or the possibilities that may lie ahead for the two, but at the ridiculousness of the staring match they’d been having. He was trying to relieve the tension that had built up between them. The ploy didn’t work. Eve simply looked away and lost herself in a conversation that had begun nearby.

  Callen continued to watch her. This time, she truly didn’t care that he never once took his eyes off her. She looked perfect in the rags she wore and her top was provocatively loose, her black hair tangled, cut short, but in need of another cut to stop it reaching her shoulders. She was dirty and sweaty and nothing like the girls back home, but to Callen, she was so much more attractive than any of them. Everything she did made him like her more. Her expressions, her laugh, even the way she was blatantly ignoring him seemed to make her all the more appealing.

  Ky arrived at the camp and was quickly ushered below ground to see the camp’s leader, Lien. The dilemma of Callen’s presence was explained. Both men knew they’d need to take the matter to the Elders. For the time being, it was agreed that Callen would be brought into camp. He would live and work amongst them, until Lien had travelled to the Elders for a decision.

  “There is one other thing you should know,” Ky said with a worrying tone.

  “Eve seemed to be getting a little close to him. I spoke to her, let her know she may be causing problems.”

  Lien nodded acknowledgment with a wry smile. He knew Ky had been trying to win Eve for himself and felt the news was being relayed to put an end to any possible competition from the intruder. Lien held few real worries about it, certain Eve would realise how forbidden any union would be. Ky headed away to bring Callen back into the camp.

  Back outside the camp, much of the conversation amongst the group had trailed off and most were spending the time dozing under the warmth of the sun. Callen was deep in thought when Eve approached and asked how he was coping. He admitted to being a little bruised, but otherwise in perfect shape. Eve nodded, then turned and walked away in a fairly cold manner. Callen watched her lay down alongside others who were almost asleep. He felt a little dejected, already fearing whatever it was he was feeling towards this extraordinary young women was not being reciprocated.

  A long time passed before Ky arrived back. Callen realised he’d been waiting for a decision on his future when it was announced he’d received permission to enter the camp. His mind began racing. What would happen if once inside the camp, decisions started to go against him? He may well be trapped forever in this world. Not because the city wouldn’t have him back, but because the Outlocked wouldn’t let him go.

  As they moved towards the camp, Callen lost all thoughts of Eve. He walked quietly amongst the others and stared at the camp beyond the one remaining hill. His nerves increased as they approached and he reacted with a start to the touch that ran up the back of his arm. It was Eve. She rounded her hand to his shoulder.

  “You’ll be fine,” she said.

  Callen looked at her and nodded as confidently as he could. He didn’t know what lay ahead of him and the fact he hardly noticed the reassuring gesture from Eve, only confirmed to her, he was wor
ried about what lay in store.

  Entering through the large wooden gates of the camp was the eeriest moment of Callen’s life. There was complete silence and almost one hundred people, the camp’s full contingent, stood staring at him from every vantage point. Callen didn’t know where to look. From a passageway that led into the ground, strode an imposing man, dressed in natural cloth that put the escorting group’s rags to shame. He came to a stop in front of Callen and looked him up and down.

  “Welcome,” he said without any hint of humour. “My name’s Lien, I’m in charge here. Come with me and I’ll explain things to you.”

  With that Lien walked back towards the passageway he had come from. Callen followed. He walked the fifteen or twenty metres to the passage leading underground, and not a single set of eyes broke their stare until he was out of sight.

  Once underground, Lien approached a door, one of many in a long row. They entered and found themselves in Lien’s office. Lien gestured for Callen to sit. The chairs were comfortable, hand stitched in leather. The room was imposing in the way it was set out. The desk faced the door and a high backed chair sat behind it. Pictures hung from the walls all around. Lien sat into his chair and looked at Callen.

  “So you’ve been here before?” he began, having already heard the details from Ky. Callen nodded, not yet ready to speak.

  “You were healed?” Lien continued, pressing further and even asking to see Callen’s scars. Callen stood and lifted his dirty, ripped shirt. He pointed out the scars that were stitched on his last visit and he explained the ongoing argument that raged around him, as to whether the stitches were administered by a city doctor or someone else. Lien laughed at the thought.

  “You didn’t believe them?”

  “No. I woke up in a hospital while I was here. Once I got home, I found these stitches in me,”

  Callen pointed to the curved scar he wore as proof. Lien knew the story. Callen was amazed. It was the first time in ten years he hadn’t been accused of having an over active imagination.

  Lien told his version of the same event once he saw the intrigue on Callen’s face. He detailed how long Callen stayed in hospital and how he was supposed to remain unconscious. He detailed Callen’s return to the hill near the city and how he was chased home, before warning that his return home this time, may take a little longer.

  Callen was free to move about and use any facilities he found, share the food, drink, and hospitality of members of their small community, but he was not to leave the boundaries of the camp. Callen understood. He tried to return to their previous conversation to gain answers to some of the riddles he had about the Outlocked world, but Lien made it clear their time together was over. Callen was ushered to the door and a younger man was asked to escort him to other quarters where he’d be housed and clothed. As he left, Lien issued one further piece of advice.

  “Sometimes, not knowing isn’t such a bad thing.”

  Callen considered the advice. He decided to go quietly, but the comment made it clear that no-one in this world knew anything of his nature.

  Callen was shown to a large dormitory. It housed two dozen of the young males from the camp. He settled down onto the bed he’d been assigned and rested for an hour or two, before some of the others in the dorm began to head off for the evening meal. Callen joined them and entered the long hall lined with tables and long bench chairs. Above him, large wooden beams crossed each other in a patterns that signalled great strength. Callen followed those ahead of him as he queued in a line leading to a table with large steaming pots. As he got closer he picked up a bowl and a plate. There was metal cutlery sitting neatly in segregated trays. Callen strained to see what was being served. It was a simple stew, but the smell was extraordinary and like nothing from the city. There were potatoes and a tomato and onion dish baked with a cheese and bread crust. Callen took large helpings of each. As he moved on towards the tables to eat his meal, he came across bread, not perfectly symmetrical and round like city bread, but of differing shapes. Large sliced pieces, some with holes straight through them. Callen smiled at this. If someone served a loaf of bread in the city that was smaller than the others or containing holes, they’d spend all their days issuing refunds and fielding complaints.

  Callen moved to a table and began to eat. It was one of the great moments in his life. The morning’s experience with the jam faded into insignificance as the sensations of the meal lit up his taste buds. Meat with thick gravy, potatoes and butter and to finish, the bread soaked in the juices of the entire meal. The others sharing the same table watched him eat with amusement. When he wiped the plate clean with the last of his bread, he noticed he’d become the centre of everyone’s attention.

  “I was hungry,” he said.

  The others at his table laughed, before continuing to eat their own meals, still obviously enjoying the fact that the young man from the city seemed to love their food.

  Callen was about to leave the table when Eve placed a plate, heavy with food, beside him. Without a word she took a seat and began to eat. Callen did his best to look as if he had something to finish, but his plate was already spotless. Eve glanced to him in a nonchalant manner.

  “Do you want this?” she said holding her bread aloft. “I’m not going to be able to eat it.”

  Callen thankfully took the slice of bread. Now he had a legitimate reason to stay at the table and enjoy Eve’s company. There was little to enjoy. She sat in silence as she ate, never once even looking at Callen.

  He was fast growing tired of the games Eve was playing with him. On the walk to the camp she seemed to find his company agreeable, only to ignore him shortly after. Here she was again, sitting next to him, only to remain silent. He watched her eat out of the corner of his eye.

  “It’s good,” he said, hoping to spark some ongoing dialogue. Eve simply uttered the word “Yes,” before taking another mouthful. She never even took her eyes off her meal. Callen gave up on her and shook his head in annoyance, getting up from the table and walking out of the hall. Had he bothered to look back, he would have found Eve watching him as he moved away.

  Callen went straight to his bed and slept soundly that first night. He spent much of the next day looking forward to the meals and sitting on his own, thinking about his life and the two worlds he now knew of. He longed to have more details of the Outlocked world. Lien’s trip to see the Elders was all the proof he needed of other communities existing outside the camp. Unfortunately, with his confinement, his search for answers had been placed on hold. He thought of leaving and continuing his explorations of the land without permission, but after his first experience, he’d decided to wait for Lien’s return. Hopefully then, he’d be able to continue his adventure with approval from those with the power to grant it.

  After dinner on his second night Callen wandered the perimeter of the camp coming to rest near the well. He sat on top of the well’s rock wall and peered within. He could see nothing and a small rock dropped gave away a great depth. The camp was dark and quiet. Most had gone to bed, but Callen, without any work to tire him during the day, found himself wide eyed. For the moment, he was happy to sit and think things through. He began to travel back through his memories. He took himself through his life since he was reassigned: his days at high-school, the thrill of gaining marks that allowed him to attend university and finally, a sobering thought, how his parents, Annie and Raegher must be handling his disappearance.

  A hand lightly touched his shoulder and he jumped with fright. It was Eve.

  “Hi,” she said with a flirtatious smile.

  Callen looked at her with cold eyes. Was this to be another of her games?

  “You aren’t happy to see me?” she asked.

  Callen couldn’t believe the question. Why would he be happy to see her? She wouldn’t talk to him at dinner the night before and she’d avoided him since. Eve apologised for her behaviour. It wasn’t enough for Callen who made it clear he was about to turn in for the night. E
ve moved closer and kissed him full on the lips. Callen jerked his head away.

  “What are you doing?”

  “What I’ve wanted to do since I first saw you.”

  “Well don’t,” Callen said, “It’s not safe.”

  Eve laughed.

  “Kissing?” she asked incredulously. “Why is kissing not safe?”

  Callen was well schooled to answer the question and he launched into a diatribe listing a number of serious diseases and infections that could result from such close contact. Eve couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She laughed again at Callen. Exactly the wrong thing to do to a nineteen year old caught up in burgeoning sexual chemistry. He began to move away, heading towards his dorm. Eve chased for a few steps, before taking hold of his arm.

  “What is it you want from me?” he asked in almost despair.

  Eve paused.

  “I’ve got a room on my own,” she said, her meaning clear.

  Callen stopped. He looked into Eve’s eyes for a sign that this was a joke she was playing on him, but she never shied away from the suggestion. She started putting very slight pressure on his arm to guide him towards her room. Callen began to walk with her.

  Together they arrived at a door alongside Lien’s quarters. Eve opened it and passed through. Callen followed her inside. He was shaking like a leaf. The objection to being kissed was a reaction against all he’d ever been taught. It wasn’t because it was unwanted. Now he was in Eve’s bedroom, her bed only metres away, and she was still dragging him towards an experience he’d coveted since he was a seven year old boy, staring wide eyed at a young couple in a secluded park.