Pushing On

20

Mandy wouldn’t have said that the shower had been a disappointment. In fact, it had been great. She felt clean now for the first time in… she didn’t even know how long. She was grateful.

But if she was being really honest, the hot water had only lasted about half a minute, and it wasn’t exactly what she would have called hot. It was more like lukewarm water, trickling down on her, nothing more than a thin stream. Forget about water pressure, like on a normal shower head. The whole setup had reminded Mandy of water coming out of a leaking gutter after a long rain storm.

There hadn’t been a bathroom. No faucets. No toilet. But at least there had been privacy. Mandy was thin, but she’d had to squeeze to get herself into the cramped, dingy, dark space that approximated a shower stall.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” said Sadie. “They’ve been in that meeting for a long time.”

Georgia, Sadie, and Mandy were alone in the women’s quarters. Sadie sat on her mother’s bunk, and Mandy sat on her own.

Their meager possessions were piled up around them. It was the first time in a long while that Mandy had unloaded her pack. She gazed with some dismay at the dirty and stained clothing, at the battered things that amounted to all her worldly possessions.

The concrete building was even colder now that the sun had gone down. It seemed to suck the heat right from Mandy’s body. She hadn’t been able to get completely dry after the shower, and the damp chill seemed to reach her bones.

She was already hungry. The big meal had only filled her for about an hour, and now the hunger was back. Maybe it was because she hadn’t eaten properly in so long, and her glycogen stores were still perilously low. Or maybe because there hadn’t been any animal protein in the meal. It had tasted good, even though it was simple, but was that kind of food really enough to sustain someone day in and day out?

“What are they talking about?” said Sadie, repeating herself. “Didn’t anyone hear me?”

Her voice echoed a little in the large, mostly empty room.

“Sorry, Sadie,” said Georgia. “I was daydreaming, I guess.”

“I think Kara said it was just a routine meeting, right?”

“But it’s been a long time. Over an hour. What do they have to talk about?”

“I’m sure there’s a lot to talk about,” said Georgia. “They’re running a community here. And that means there’s more than just dealing with the practical things. They’ve got to figure out how to govern themselves.”

“It is a little weird, though, don’t you think, Georgia?” said Mandy.

Mandy didn’t want to admit it to herself, but she had been feeling a little uneasy since the shower. Something wasn’t right, but she didn’t know what it was.

“What do you mean?”

“I thought Kara would have come to talk to us or something, I guess.”

“She’s probably just busy with her meeting. She seems like an important person here.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Maybe I’m just feeling a little uneasy or something from the food.”

“From the food?”

“I’m not used to eating so many potatoes.”

Georgia laughed.

“I’m going to get some fresh air,” said Mandy.

“I’ll come with you,” said Sadie.

“Georgia?”

“I’m enjoying this bed too much,” said Georgia. “When was the last time we got to relax on a real bed?”

It wasn’t much more than a Spartan bunk, but Mandy knew what she meant.

Sadie followed Mandy to the door.

“I hope James is behaving himself and not getting into any trouble.”

“You sound like his older sister sometimes.”

“They say the brains of girls mature faster than boys’.”

“Wishful thinking, I’d say,” muttered Georgia.

“Mom!”

“Just kidding, Sadie.”

The door was metal, and of simple construction. There wasn’t a normal door latch. Just the type of latch you’d see on a shed door, with a hole to put a padlock through.

Mandy pushed on the door, but it didn’t open.

“It’s stuck or something.”

Mandy pushed again. The door felt like it was hitting something on the other side of it, as if someone had put something in front of it.

“Give it a good push.”

“I am.”

Mandy pushed again.

“I think it’s locked. Do you hear that rattling?”

“Locked? From the outside? That doesn’t make sense.”

“I remember there was a latch on the outside too. Maybe someone put a padlock through it.”

“What’s going on? Is the door stuck?” Georgia got out of bed and came over.

“I think it’s locked.”

“Locked? That doesn’t make sense. Let me try.”

Georgia pushed on the door.

“Shit,” she muttered.

She pushed harder.

“Here, give me a hand.”

Georgia and Mandy pushed on the door together, using all their strength, leaning all their weight on it. Sadie tried to help, but there wasn’t really enough space for her to get in there and push as well.

Georgia got down on her knees and tried to peer between the very small crack between the door and the frame.

“I can’t see anything.”

“They locked it,” said Mandy. “This isn’t good.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” said Georgia.

“We’re locked in?” said Sadie. “What’s going on?”

“Calm down, Sadie,” said Georgia. “Don’t worry. It’s probably a mistake or something.”

“Damnit,” said Mandy. “I knew I had a bad feeling in my gut, but I ignored it. I was feeling uneasy for a reason.”

“You’re not helping,” said Georgia, glancing over at Sadie, who was starting to breathe quickly, as if she might have an anxiety attack.

“There aren’t any windows,” said Mandy. “How are we going to get out? Can we shoot the lock?”

“Let’s not go crazy. I’ll call for help. Hopefully it’s a mistake. But it could be what I feared. I knew something wasn’t right.”

Georgia put her mouth near the crack in the door and yelled for help. “Help!” she cried out, loudly. “We’re locked in here. Someone get us out of there.”

Nothing happened. There wasn’t any sound outside. No footsteps. No voices.

“That’s it,” said Mandy. “I’m going to shoot this damn lock if it’s the last thing I do. I’m not going to be trapped in here like some animal.”

Mandy went over to her bed, where her pack was. She grabbed her handgun, and checked it.

“There’s no ammo,” she said, examining the gun.

“What?”

Mandy threw the gun down on the bed. She grabbed her rifle next. She checked it, and there was no ammo either.

She started rooting through her pack furiously, looking for ammunition. But it was all gone. And she’d had plenty of it.

Georgia rushed over and grabbed her own rifle. “Nothing,” she said.

“How could this have happened?”

There was nothing in any of the packs. Not a shred of ammunition.

“Those bastards tricked us. They knew we wouldn’t give up our guns. So they somehow took all our ammo.”

“Must have been when we were eating,” muttered Georgia. She was shaking with anger.

Mandy, on the other hand, felt suddenly defeated, drained completely of energy. She let herself fall onto the bed.

“Do you hear that?” said Sadie. “It sounds like the meeting let out.”

Sure enough, there was the dim sound of many voices outside, off in the distance. And the sound of footsteps.

“You girls all right in there?” came a voice from the door. It was unmistakably Kara’s voice.

Mandy got up, and all three women rushed to the door.

“We’re stuck in here,” said Mandy.

“You assholes stole our ammunition,” said Georgia.

“Let us out,” said Sadie. “I have to go to the bathroom.”

“I’m sorry for this,” said Kara, her voice sweet and syrupy. “But it’s for your own good.”

“What the hell’s going on?” said Mandy.

Hearing Kara’s voice, now obviously fake and put on, angered Mandy. She felt an intense heat in her chest, and her hands were shaking.

“I’ll tell you all about it soon,” said Kara. “In the morning we can discuss the new plans.”

“You’re not going to get away with this,” said Georgia. “You can’t take our ammo like that.”

“It’s our property,” said Kara, her voice sounding suddenly more serious. “We can do what we want. We’re a self-governing community, and the community has spoken.”

“And what has this so-called community of yours decided?”

“You’re staying.”

“What do you mean we’re staying?”

“You heard me.”

“What does that mean?”

No answer.

“Hello? You still there, Kara, you bitch?” hissed Mandy.

No answer. She was gone.

“Shit,” muttered Mandy, sinking down onto the floor, her back slumped against the cold concrete wall.

“What did she mean we’re staying?” said Sadie.

“It means we’re screwed.”

“What do they want with us?”

“I can take one guess. You were right, Georgia. It’s too many men. They need more women.”

“They fooled me with the food and the showers,” said Georgia.

“What’s going on?” said Sadie, sounding terrified.

“It’s going to be OK, Sadie,” said Georgia.

“Not if we can’t get out of here, it’s not,” muttered Mandy.