Hardin's Dilemma

about it how long would it take for Dizuria to find out? “No idea, but I hope they aren’t too mean.”

  “Everyone was pretty excited when you got here.”

  “That’s probably worn off by now, especially since they’ve kept me so secret.”

  “You’re right. Nobody really cares so much now. Everyone just wants to go on with their lives. But something as big as this will bring pressure on the government.”

  “Why?”

  She looked out the window. “Who’s paying for them to stay here? Who’s paying for their little town?”

  “I don’t know, the government?”

  She nodded slowly. “And where does the government get their money?”

  I honestly didn’t know where governments got their money. I shrugged.

  “In this country the people pay the government. And when they find out things will not be pretty.”

  I waved my hand to show I didn’t care. “By the time people figure out the whole situation the town will be built and people won’t care.”

  “Never underestimate people’s ability to care.” She looked at her watch. “I’ve got to go. Goodnight all.”

  Everyone said their goodnights. Within a few minutes I was alone with Mama. She went on to bed, telling me again how glad she was that I was there. I fell onto the couch and tried to sleep. After an hour of trying I got up and left the room.

  There was too much swimming around in my head for me to sleep. The future of Humurom was in most danger, but thanks to Nara I now feared for Bozlin. What if the people of Azureland didn’t want them? Would they ever find out?

  I stepped off the elevator back into the deserted lobby. I went straight for the doors, wanting nothing more than to be out in the cold air, hoping it would clear my head.

  There were still people out that late. They sauntered about, some more coordinated than others. I watched as a group passed me, all singing and stumbling over each other. I paid little attention to them.

  It was cloudy out. I wondered if it would rain. I liked the rain. It cleansed whole areas at a time; and me along with them. I hoped it would cleanse me, as I needed it desperately.

  I could remember the first time I felt rain. It was only my second hunting day with Milton. I remember how stupid I was to freak out when I started feeling the water land on me. He had to calm me down and keep me moving.

  “Haven’t you seen rain before?” He had asked.

  “Not like this.” I said stupidly. Of course I hadn’t ever felt any kind of rain, I had never been outside.

  “Keep quiet and come on.”

  I felt safe when Milton was in charge of our hunting trips. He kept me in line and made sure we kept on a schedule. I would have given anything for him to be in charge of my current mess. He would probably know just what to do and do it.

  I suddenly realized how hungry I was. I hadn’t eaten for hours, and hadn’t had anything filling in days. I stopped at a little store and looked around. They had all sorts of things in wrappers, mainly pastries, which I was very fond. They did have sandwiches already made up and I took one of those. I put the sandwich in front of the cashier. They looked at me expectantly.

  “You gonna pay for this?”

  I felt around in my pockets but didn’t have any money. “Never mind, I’ll put it back.”

  Someone came up from behind me and put some coins on the counter. “I’ve got this.”

  I looked over to see the same girl that had stared at me earlier. Not wanting to be in debt to her I shook my head and left the store.

  “Hey!” She called as I attempted to get distance between us. I looked back. She ran up to me. “Don’t you want this?” She handed me the sandwich. “And don’t worry about paying me back; I never liked those coins anyway.”

  Before I could say anything she disappeared into a nearby alley. I thanked her under my breath and went straight back to my room. I still didn’t know who she was, but I had enough of dealing with her already.

  Before going back to the couch I looked out the window. The dome glowed mysteriously on the edge of town. It still housed so many secrets. There was no way I would learn them all, but I didn’t want to. There was only one thing I wanted, and after I got that I would leave it forever, hoping to forget all I knew inside it.

  VIII

  It was raining when I woke up. I sat in a half conscious state on the couch watching the droplets hit the window. Nothing was on my mind, I couldn’t have asked for a better time. I dragged myself out of bed, washed up, and went downstairs. Mama had gotten up before me and was undergoing treatment.

  I didn’t have anything to protect against the rain; not that I would have worn it anyway. I stopped at a diner next to the hotel and got something to eat. I remembered money this time.

  Someone was blocking the entrance to the hotel. I had to tell them that I knew Orin for him to let me in. That was apparently some sort of code. The lobby was filled with people sitting around waiting to be put into rooms. I talked to someone who told me that Orin was on an upper floor. I started with the fifth floor and went up from there, finally finding him on the twelfth. He was going door to door; making sure everything was alright for everyone. He looked overly stressed.

  “How are things here?” I asked.

  He looked around angrily, trying to figure out who was talking. When he noticed me he attempted to smile but the anger was still there. “Alright, I guess, except there aren’t enough rooms for everyone. Gilik won’t let Ret do anything so I have to do it all. I’ve spent the whole night trying to get people to double up in these rooms.” He threw his arms up in defeat. “For a group of people coming from where we came they sure are being picky about roommates. I just hope nobody knows why we are here. Something in the paper this morning said they thought this was some sort of group from some country I’ve never heard of.”

  “At least they’re out of the wall.”

  “It’s not over until we get that town built. And then I’m not sure how we will ever pay everything back.”

  He walked quickly. I waited while he yelled at some people to let somebody in the room with them.

  “They can get jobs.” I said when he was done.

  He looked at me as if I had said the stupidest thing. “Nobody knows how to work. They didn’t have to do anything in Bozlin. Trust me; the only way things will get better is if the wall comes down. I’ve asked Gilik, but he says they need these key things to get it down and that Dizuria won’t give theirs up or they don’t have one or something.”

  “Do you happen to know where he is?”

  He shrugged and pointed behind him.

  I got out of the way as he banged on another door. I hoped he was just tired. All this talk of not being able to pay Azureland back was starting to annoy me. They wanted us to go in and get everyone out so they didn’t die. And now we had to pay them back? They didn’t do it to be nice?

  Gilik was on the next floor up. He looked just as annoyed as Orin. I hesitated before going up to him.

  “Gilik.” I called.

  “You should be more like Orin, Hardin. He always calls me sir.”

  “I wanted to talk to you about going back into the wall. I know that if we get soldiers and guns we can force them out. There were no Dizurian attacks so it will be safe.”

  “Nobody from out here will go in.” He said without looking at me.

  “Then how about I go in with some guns? The hunters and I can go in and force them out.”

  He stopped and took me by the shoulders. “Hardin, nobody is going back in. I made that clear to you before you went in.”

  I brushed him off. “All you have to do is give us the bracelets and let us in.”

  He shook his head sadly. “Hardin, do you know why I won’t let anybody from here in?”

  “You told me.”

  “I’ll tell you again. If I let somebody in and something happens to them, the
n we all have to deal with their families and friends. Any one of those people could tell the entire world about what’s going on. And before you know it everybody around the wall will want to get in, and that includes Dizuria. They will pretend that they have no idea how we got in, and you know what? People will believe them. And all of my people here will want to know why the president and I have been hiding things from them.”

  “What does that have to do with letting us in with guns?”

  He wasn’t pleased with how slow I was in getting his point. “The more people who come out means the more people I have to worry about if something happens to one of you when you go in.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that.” I assured. “We have all been through loss before.”

  He sighed deeply. “Hardin, you are a good kid, you really are. But you need to let that place go. It will ruin you like it almost did to that friend of yours you brought out.”

  I was running out of things to say. “But all those people. . . ”

  “Have made the decision not to leave when they had the chance. Now I have to be going. I have a lot to do.”

  He left me standing there wanting more. I wanted answers and for him to say that my idea was the only one left and I had to get to work immediately. Instead I got nothing of the sort. I got another leader to admit defeat in the face of an idea that would actually work to save people.

  I wanted to punch a wall, or Gilik. My anger reached out for a moment and I clenched my fists tightly, squeezing as hard as I could. And then it was gone. My emotions emptied out. I stood