Hardin's Dilemma

  Part of me was excited to get a chance to go and see the place I could only imagine in my nightmares. Another part of me was really scared that they either wouldn’t let us back out or figure out who I was and get rid of me. There was only one thing left to ask. “Why me and not someone more experienced?”

  “You know everything there is to know about what’s inside the wall and Theen knows everything a Dizurian knows about that country. You two are the perfect pair to do this. And I know that you probably want more control over this situation, and here it is. You two are going to be calling the shots here.”

  “But Dizuria!” I said loudly. “If they find out who I am –”

  “They won’t. Has anyone here confronted you about it?”

  “No.” I lied. Nara’s father figured it out real quick when I was at his house a few months before.

  “There you go.” Gilik said happily.

  “I promise this will go well.” Theen said. “I should be able to figure out what’s going on if I can get into a few places.”

  “It will be tricky.” Gilik agreed.

  “I’m up for the challenge.” Theen said proudly.

  “Then that’s it. I will get the train tickets. Be ready by tomorrow morning and meet me at the train station at 6:00.”

  “Tomorrow?” I said, somewhat concerned. “That’s soon.”

  “The sooner the better in this case.” Gilik responded.

  “Agreed.” Theen added.

  I don’t remember much about the end of the meeting or where I went afterward. I had a similar experience when I found out that Dizuria was behind the killings. When I became conscious of my surroundings I was on the ninth floor just wandering about. I don’t know why I chose that floor when I got into the elevator.

  When I got back to the room Mama wasn’t back yet. I wanted to talk to someone about it so I went to Peter and Dala’s room. Only Peter was there.

  “Well, I’m going to Dizuria.” I announced.

  “Really?” Peter seemed almost as mystified as I had been upon getting the news.

  “Yep, Gilik decided it and I’m leaving tomorrow.”

  “What will you do?”

  “I’m going to spy in hopes of uncovering what they are doing and bring back evidence.”

  “Why?” He asked.

  “Hopefully if we can get something on them we can tell the world and other countries will get mad and they will stop, I guess.”

  Peter tapped his finger against his chin, thinking. “Are you sure he is not sending you there to keep you quiet about going back in the wall. I mean if we go back in there we can get everybody out and who cares what happens in there after that.”

  Peter made a good point. I mulled it over for a bit, becoming worried that he was right. “No, I think he realizes that this is the more direct way to handle the problem. I’ve wanted somebody to go in and snoop around and I guess now I can be a part of it.”

  He looked at me quizzically.

  “But,” I continued, “if nothing good comes of this when we get back then we can continue our plans for sneaking in to get everyone out. Or you can go in without me.”

  “I’d rather you be there. You know more about getting around than we do. But we will continue the plan up until the point of going in. So when you get back you can tell us what the story is and we’ll know whether we have to go in or not. I may be speaking for myself, but I really don’t want to have to go in unless we are sure we have to.”

  A few minutes later I was going back through the hallways, not even sure where I was again. This whole thing had me perplexed, but I looked on the bright side. I was actively doing something for the good of Humurom, just like I had always wanted to. I could still remember telling Milton about my plans to save everybody. He usually scoffed at the ideas, and hated when I even brought the idea up. He was comfortable where he was. He had a job he knew and goals that did not exceed his level of commitment. Come to think of it I wondered why I ever looked up to him or believed that he would have taken my side in looking for the Cityers like I had intended on doing. He probably would have stayed where he was and continued doing what he did. For the first time I realized that he was not the visionary I had made him out to be after his death. He was just a guy trying to survive.

  I walked around a bit more. I finally came to the conclusion that if he were alive to see me find Azureland he would have been the first one out the door to get Mama back there safely. That made me feel better about Milton, I didn’t have to put him in the class of people that didn’t want to help. According to me he would have after all.

  I found myself at the elevator. I pushed the button for it to come. I noticed a person out of the corner of my eye and I looked. It was that same girl who was staring at me before, the one that paid for my sandwich. I hit the elevator button again to no avail. I could tell she was walking toward me.

  “Name’s Historia.” She said.

  I ignored her.

  She leaned in close, too close, and whispered. “I know who you are . . .”

  I fought the urge to look at her, but the urge was becoming too strong. I looked at her while only moving my head a little. “You have me confused with someone else.”

  “No I don’t.”

  I decided I didn’t want to wait for the elevator and walked away. She followed close behind.

  “I’m a part of something big,” She said softly right behind me, “something that likes you a lot. If you ever need anything let us know. We run much more smoothly than the government.”

  I stopped, turning toward her, trying to keep composure. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “You can tell your mother and hunter friends too.”

  I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out. She smiled and walked away. I tried forming words but nothing came to mind. How did she know about them? Nobody, not even that crazy newspaper had gotten anything right in the details. I went back to the elevator; more scared and anxious than going to Dizuria could ever make me.

  X

  Early the next morning we all walked over to the train station together. We had to leave the building separately and only communicate once there for fear of journalists. We met up and looked for Gilik. The crowds of everyday work goers were hard to maneuver through. We found Gilik near the farthest platform with Theen and Nara. The hunters and Mama introduced themselves. Gilik took me aside to whisper some final instructions.

  “You ready, Hardin?” He didn’t let me respond. “Theen will tell you everything when you get on the train.”

  “I’m ready.”

  Gilik walked away without another word. I joined the others who were already laughing and joking with Theen.

  “Go ahead and beat up a few of those Dizurians.” Lace laughed.

  “Yeah, for me too.” Morome added. “Get a little revenge.”

  We were far enough away from the busy platforms for anybody to overhear, but I wished they were whispering when talking about that kind of thing.

  A train with only one passenger car pulled up behind us. Theen and I boarded and waved from the window.

  “I love you, Mama.” I yelled over the din of trains and whistles. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

  She said something back but I didn’t catch it. The train moved under us and I waved frantically as the people I loved most grew smaller and smaller into the distance. We came out of the station and got up to speed on a remote track that quickly turned and took us away from the city.

  I pulled my head in and looked around. We were the only ones there. Theen led the way and we picked seats right in the middle. We sat across from each other.

  “Where is everybody?” I asked.

  “This is a special train. Dizuria only lets a few people into the capital at once.”

  “Do you think you can tell me everything that I need to know about Dizuria on this trip?”

  He deliberated th
e scope of what I was asking. “I can tell you enough.”

  I looked out the window. The city had disappeared, being replaced by cute little stone houses set a good distance apart. Each had a large green yard with a wooden fence around it.

  “How long until we get there?” I asked, not taking my eyes off the little houses.

  “Early tomorrow morning since we have no other stops.”

  “That long?”

  “Don’t worry, I brought food.”

  “And the necklace?”

  “Have that too.”

  The stone houses were no longer in sight. They were replaced by large fields and hills in all directions. I really took in how large Azureland was. There was definitely room for the Bozlins and Humuroms. My fragile spirits, which rose and fell more frequently than the sun, went back up.

  “Let’s get started.” I said when tired of watching the fields fly by. The train was moving very fast. “What can you tell me?”

  He was also staring out the window. He looked at me for a second, realized what I had said, and then nodded. “The first thing you need to know is the plan. Now when we get there we will stay in their government building. It’s the only place for foreigners to stay in the city, also called Dizuria, or more usually Diz City. Generally when I go they let me stay three nights. Because this is something they are very interested in it might be longer. The reason they let me stay for so long is because they really want me to go back and tell how terrible the city is.”

  “That makes no sense.” I said.

  “It does if you think about it. The best way to keep people from snooping around is to make sure nobody is there. The