Young Writers Society

To Have and Have Not – Julia

Saturday dawned, fresh, bright, and chilly. I woke slowly, rubbing sleep from my eyes. Today was going to be different. I could feel it. Dragging myself out of bed, I stretched and stumbled downstairs, where I found a note, hastily scribbled in Mother’s hand.

Went out for a meeting. Jules, don’t wake your father up. Bill, don’t take anything out of the fridge until I get back. Love you both.

That was fine with me. I could do with a little less of Mother micro-managing.

After a quick breakfast, I made my way upstairs again, to get ready for the day. I wanted to call Blaine, but if he yelled at me again, that would push me over the edge. He was my friend, after all. So, after dressing, I called his number. I got a busy signal. Who could he have been calling at seven-thirty in the morning?

That was fine. He was probably still mad at me.

I tramped downstairs, finding my father at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper and eating cereal. There was no way I could have known what was going to happen next.

“Morning, Jules.” His mouth was still full as he thrust the paper at me. “Look at this.”

I smoothed it out on the table, where he had folded and re-folded it to a short, one-column story with a picture. It looked like a mug shot, but it was so grainy it was hard to tell. I blinked a couple of times. It reminded me of Blaine.

My stomach lurched. My eyes traveled to the story next to it.

“Redfield, N. H.: A lone Common was found running about five miles away from the boundary. It has been identified that he escaped through a tunnel. He has been taken to the high-security Runaway Facility, where he will stay until the cause of this mysterious escape is known. He is about eighteen years old, is branded as a Common, but his name has not yet been released. Anyone with information regarding the young man should come to the Facility as soon as possible.”

I swallowed hard past the lump in my throat. He had done it. He had really escaped, no matter how long. I knew the Runaway Facility was about an hour from the boundary, but it was hard to find. It was underground.

“Isn’t that great, hon? I got a promotion.” My father grinned.

I nodded, realizing I had read the wrong story. “Yes, Daddy. That’s amazing. Congratulations.”

“We should celebrate. I’ll call your mother.” He stood, balancing on one leg while grabbing his crutches with the other hand.

“Daddy? Is it all right if I just go for a drive? I promise I won’t go too far.”

“Sure, hon,” he said, picking up the phone and dialing. “Just be back in time for Daniel to pick you up.”

Then it all came back to me. Prom was tonight, and Daniel was taking me. After a short silence, I nodded.

“All right, Daddy. I will.”

My first order of business was to let Blaine’s family know. I scribbled down his address on a scrap of paper and tucked it into a pocket in my jacket. As I drove, I realized just how far Redfield was. Everything that passed my windows was rolling hills, fuzzed out with new growth.

Half an hour later, I entered the Redfield city limit. Turning onto Stratford Avenue, I proceeded to one of the most ramshackle parts of town. The houses here were wood and rusting corrugated metal, the street just wide enough for two cars to pass without getting their mirrors torn off. Faded newspaper served as most of the windows, and ragged bands of children and dogs ran between the fragile houses.

Blaine’s house was past the school, a building so tumbledown that it appeared abandoned. It was slightly bigger than the others, with a piece of yellow paper nailed to the front with the number 870 written in a child’s hand.

I barely squeezed into the narrow driveway, killing the engine, locking the car, and picked my way through the overgrown yard to the door, peeling bits of red paint still clinging on.

Smoothing down my dress, I knocked firmly, the door rattling on its hinges.

An unkempt woman with wild eyes peeked out. Two dark-haired little girls stood behind her in the dim interior of the house.

“Who are you?” Her voice was husky, and she narrowed her murky eyes at me. “You ain’t collectin’ taxes agin, ‘re you? ‘Cause I got three kiddies. No money,”

“No, I’m not here for taxes, Ms. Davenport. My name’s Julia Cartwright. I’m a friend of your son’s.”

“You look like you got money on you, eh?” She cracked a grin, her blackened teeth showing.

“No. I don’t.”

“Didja kidnap him, little lady? ‘Cause you Elite folks have fun wi’ that, eh?”

“No, I…”

“Yeah? ‘Cause I kin kill ya. You ain’t immune to that now, are you?”

All of a sudden, the door was standing wide open and there she was, holding a long shotgun and looking wilder than before. The barrel was pointed straight at my chest.

Panic coursed through me. “Whoa! Okay! I know where your son is! Lower the gun! Please!”

She lowered it, the barrel at my stomach now. “Talk, then. I been stayin’ up all night, wonderin’ where he is,”

“He’s at the Runaway Facility. The authorities found him…um…running…outside the boundary…and they caught him.”

“You Elites put ‘im up to it, eh?” She cocked the gun.

I gulped. “N-no, Ms. Davenport. I tried to stop him. I really did. But he wouldn’t listen to me. He’s headstrong, Ms. Davenport. That’s good. He’s mad because of the Elite-Common thing.”

“Why wouldn’t we be, eh? My girls can’t even go to school full time.”

“He wants to start a rebellion. Against the government, I mean. And he said he was going to run away, test his boundaries until he could muster a Common army. But…he tried escaping, and that’s how he ended up where he is.”

“Well, Lord save us all. I tell you what’s gonna happen, little miss Elite Cartwright. You get on outta here before I change my mind about firing this baby. And don’t ever talk to my son agin, or you got the authorities after your pretty little head. You hear, eh?”

“Yes, I do. I do. I won’t bother you again. I apologize.” I backed away, tripping on the uneven walk. She leered at me, raising the gun.

Great. She was going to let me get a hundred yards away and then kill me. I watched her warily, unlocking the car and sliding in, slamming the door almost with relief. Then she fired, and I heard the bullet ricochet off the side.

I started the engine and got out of there as fast as I could.

As soon as I was out of Redfield, I sped towards the boundary, but stopped short, overcome with fear. I had never been threatened with a gun before. I realized just how bad Blaine had it, and how paranoid these people were. She could have killed me. Then I have no idea what would have happened. I counted myself lucky that she only fired once I was in the car, but how was I going to explain the bullet pockmark on it to my parents? Nobody in my neighborhood even owned a gun.

It was only then that I realized just what I had gotten myself into. How reckless could I have been?

I had to tell Blaine. I had to tell him that I couldn’t talk to him or his mother would sue me. Then again, how could I say that to him, once I had told him that I had gone and seen his family, the exact living conditions in which he was stuck? I guess I just had to. It was the only way.

Spotting Blaine’s truck parked a couple hundred feet from the boundary, the point hit home then. I rubbed the necklace pendant, gripping it so hard my knuckles turned white. I had to see Blaine. Once I made it past the wall (I only had to show the guards the necklace), I took the road that led to the facility. I knew it would be hard to spot it in the fog that blanketed the barren land, and kept my eyes peeled.

After about ten minutes, I reached a gate, high and chain-linked, with more fence extending off into the whiteness in both directions. I didn’t see any way to get in from here. I debated whether I should get out and unlock the gate by myself, but as I was about to do just that, a shadowy figure appeared out of the fog, dressed in an army uniform.

“Visitor?” He stared straight into my eyes, giving me the impression that he meant business.

“Yes, sir.” I was beginning to feel uneasy; this was not a place I wanted to stay.

He gave a tiny nod, a motion that was barely detectable. Crossing over to the gate, he unlocked it and waved me through, his eyes watching me the entire time.

There were four gates after that, each one guarded by twice as many army men as the previous one. I had to provide more information as well, pieces like my name, my age, reason for visiting, and the high school that I went to.

Finally, after an intense questioning and an inspection of the necklace that labeled me as Elite, a guard escorted me to Blaine’s cell.

“You got a visitor, Davenport.” The guard slid back the door, writing something on his pad of paper.

Blaine raised his head, and I suppressed a gasp. His left eye was an angry purple, swollen completely shut. His lip was split open, shiny and crusted over, and although he had been here only three days, he appeared gaunt and haggard, the hollows of his cheekbones evident in the half-light.

I tentatively entered; it was not often that visitors to a prison saw the inmates in their cells. Only the guards were allowed back here.

“Hey, Blaine.” I spoke softly, cautiously shuffling toward him.

“You were right, Julia,” His voice was weak. “I shouldn’t have run away. None of this would have happened.”

“Blaine, don’t blame yourself. I suppose I’m partly to blame too, being an Elite and all.”

“No. You’re not. It’s my fault. I got you into this.”

I knelt down in front of him. “You’re my friend. Friends let friends get into things like this. Do you think I would have visited you if you weren’t?”

“Guess not. Still, you’re Elite. You shouldn’t get your hands dirty.”

“I did, and I will. I’m willing to do anything for you, Blaine. You know that.”

He nodded, and a ghost of a smile played around his mouth. “How’d you get dirty, then?”

I took a deep breath. Here it was. The moment of truth. “I…well…I visited your family today.”

His head shot up, his good eye flashing. “Why? Why in the world would you do that?”

“I wanted to let your mother and sisters know where you were.”

“Julia, listen to me. My mom’s completely paranoid about anyone coming to the door. Especially Elites. Even if you told her about me, she probably freaked.”

“Yeah…um…well, she threatened me with a gun.”

Blaine’s good eye widened, dark, deep, and shining. “Did she say anything else?” His voice was soft, almost a whisper.

“She said…she…” I felt helpless before him. He must have seen the pain in my eyes, because he sat up straighter and gave me a disarming smile.

“Don’t worry. You can tell me anything.”

That was comforting, but I felt I couldn’t tell him what his mother had said to me. Don’t ever talk to my son again, or you’re going to have the authorities after you.

I nervously looked away, running a hand through my hair. “She said…” I started again. “She said…she would sue me…if…well…if I…” Oh, come on.

Here I was, in front of my best friend in all the world, and I couldn’t even make a complete sentence. It was ridiculous.

“She’d sue you because…” Blaine was looking up at me expectantly.

“Because she doesn’t want Elites associating themselves with Common people.”

“Wait…what are you saying, Jules?”

Tears rose inside of me, gathered behind my eyes, and crowded out, blurring my vision. “She doesn’t want me speaking to you, Blaine. She almost killed me, right on the spot.”

His chain rattled; he had attempted to reach forward to wipe my tears away, but was pulled up short. “Jules, you realize that nothing can keep us apart, right? We’re friends, and that’s a bond stronger than a love relationship. And it might seem grim now, but don’t worry. I’ll still be with you, no matter what happens. We’ve got something that no one else has. As long as we stick together, nobody can hurt us.”

I wiped my eyes, and smiled. His situation was far worse than mine, yet he was the one telling me that everything was all right. Throwing my arms around him, I held him tightly to me, his angular body pressing into mine.

“I’ll write or something, okay, Blaine? Just don’t let them harm you.”

As I straightened, he grinned, the split in his lip cracking. “I won’t. I promise.”

“Sorry I couldn’t stay longer. Daniel’s picking me up at eight. I have to get ready.”

“Daniel?”

I patted his arm. Just before getting to the door, I turned to look back at him. “My prom date. I’ll tell you about it.”

Blaine nodded once. “Sounds good. I’ll be ready to hear the whole story.”