The Girl Who Owned a City (2 page)
Read The Girl Who Owned a City Online
Authors: O. T. (Terry) Nelson
While they ate in silence, Lisa thought about their strange new life. There were no more conveniences like electric ovens or running water. No fresh milk and no eggs. No fruit, bread, butter, or ice cream. All the things that they had once taken for granted were gone. But at least they had a home, and there were empty houses where she could search for supplies.
Now Lisa was thinking of last Tuesday. Or was it Wednesday? She couldn't remember. She and Todd had gone to the Rainbow Foods at Five Corners, hoping to find supplies, but someone had thought of the idea before them. The glass door was smashed and the shelves had nothing that they wanted. The cash register had been broken open and robbed.
What will these kids do with the money? she had wondered. Money is useless now. There are no places to spend it.
She'd never forget the happy look on Todd's face when he found a kite that had fallen behind the candy counter. “Todd, you dummy! We won't have time to play with kites,” she had said, and then had promised herself that they would make the time. “Oh, all right. Put it in the cart.”
Lisa used to hate her little brother for getting more attention than her. But now she needed him and took care of him. It was strange how her feelings had changed. Everything was all upside down.
The shelves of that store had not been completely emptied, though. They were well stocked with all of the things that children don't like. There were cans of asparagus and spinach. She took them. The vitamin and medicine rack was still full. She emptied it. The first invaders had also left valuable stuff like candles, paper plates, and instant breakfast. She took it all.
Soon the cart was filled. Todd pushed a second empty grocery cart toward her, and they began filling it with more supplies. Lisa laughed, thinking of the stomachaches those first invaders must have had from all the candy and pop they took.
In a way, she had been glad that those things were all gone. She would have given anything for some nachos and a Coke, but she knew that Todd wouldn't eat right if their house was filled with treats.
Someone had broken a jar of popcorn, and one aisle of the store was littered with unpopped kernels. They might have been the only treat left in the world. Lisa scooped several handfuls into her coat pocket. As they left, the two children had looked back at the strange, deserted store.
“Can I have some more soup?” Todd's voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Sure. Here, Todd.” She gave him what was left in her bowl and slipped back into her thoughts.
Is this Sunday? Lisa wondered, not being sure. She and Todd had to plan their days, and keeping track of the time was still important. She had given him their father's watch. When she promised to be back at a certain time, she would make sure to do so. Todd wouldn't worry if he could count the hours by his watch.
Since the plague, Todd had worked hard and learned many new things. It was one of his daily jobs to dump the garbage in the Triangle woods across the street. From Lake Ellyn he carried pails of water, which they stored in the downstairs tub. Because Lisa worried about his safety, she made him carry an unloaded gun. He couldn't use it, but he could scare people with it.
Though he hated to wash dishes, he did manage to get the plates and bowls and glasses pretty clean. It was funny to watch him perch on the tall wooden stool by the sink. The dishes were going fastâhe broke at least one each day. Paper plates had been nice, while they lasted.
“Hurry and get the dishes done, Todd. It's getting dark.” Lisa went outside to put out the charcoal, but since the coals were still hot, she decided to make some popcorn. The sound and the smell brought back memories of picnics and family.
Other children, close by, also smelled the popping corn. Pretty soon the backyard was filled with hungry neighbors. They had spent very little time together since the plague.
The popcorn was a little burnt and chewy, but delicious. The children stood outside, while a cold wind blew through their hair and clothing. They ate in silence, washing away the salty taste with glasses of lukewarm fruit juice. They were remembering what popcorn parties used to be like.
Lisa had spotted the gangs roaming at night.
“Todd, bring the hammer and nails,'' she said. ââWe've got to board up the windows before we go to bed.” Todd did as he was told, though he didn't understand why it was necessary.
For extra protection, they nailed several boards over each window. The job took almost an hour and, by the time they were finished, it was dark. The nails were too small, and any strong man could have ripped the boards away. But Lisa and Todd were safe tonight, because no strong man would try to break in. There were no men.
By the light of a Christmas candle, they locked the doors and went to the small room in the basement. The room had no windows and it was, they thought, a safe place to spend their nights. In the months and years before the plague, it had been used by their father as a study. The room was cold and cheerless, and they had never understood why he liked it there. But now, after many nights in that room, the two children had grown to like it. It felt safe.
They climbed into the small bed they had moved into the room. Lisa was glad to have her brother with her, and he was glad to have her, too.
“Lisa, please tell me a story,” he said.
For some reason, tears started to form in her eyes and she wanted to cry. She wasn't afraid, really. Her confidence was growing. She didn't know why she felt like crying. Since that first day when they were truly alone, Lisa had been too busy for tears.
“Please tell me a story. About . . . about . . . about . . . .” He laughed because he still thought his pretended stammer was funny. She laughed too, not because she thought it was funny, but because she just wanted to laugh. He was cute when he tried to be funny.
“. . . about . . . about Todd and Barney and when they went fishing,” he finished.
“Well,” she began her familiar story:
Todd and Barney Beagle wanted to help Lisa find food to eat. She was always bringing canned soup, and nothing was ever fresh. There was never even any hamburger. So Todd decided he would take the fishing pole out of the garage and get some worms and try to catch fish at Perry's Pond.
It was a warm, sunny day, and Todd asked Lisa to take him to the pond. He was afraid of getting lost. She walked with him and made him promise to come home in one hour. Toddy-boy looked at his watch and asked, “Would that be at ten?” She said yes and went back to the house.
Todd put his hook into the water just like Uncle Pete had shown him. Barney was wagging his tail. He liked the feel of the sun on his fur.
Nothing happened. No fish were biting. Toddy-boy wondered if there were any fish in that dumb pond. Maybe they got sick and died too, he thought.
Then he remembered that he didn't have a worm on the hook. He pulled out his line, laid it down on the bank, and thought for awhile.
He remembered that Uncle Pete used to find worms under the leaves in the wet dirt. Todd walked toward the woods and dug with his hands until he found a small worm. Barney got excited and barked at the worm.
Todd laughed at the image, and Lisa continued.
Todd went back to the place where his fishing pole was and put the worm on the hook. It looked funny hanging there, but that's the way Uncle Pete did it. Todd put the line in the water and waited.
He waited and waited, but nothing happened. He said to Barney, “We're not going to quit. We've got to catch a fish. I don't want any more soup.”
They waited for a long time, and then Todd decided to move to another spot. Maybe the fish live over by that big rock, he thought, so he dropped his line in the water near the rock. He waited some more. It seemed like forever. He waited and waited until it was almost ten. I've got to catch a fish, he thought.
Suddenly, something pulled on his line. Todd pulled back. Barney stood up and barked at the strange splashing in the pond. Out came a fish. It landed on the grass and flopped all around. Barney went crazy barking at it.
Todd ran all the way home. He was proud.
Lisa cooked the fish for supper, and it was delicious. Much better than soup.
“Did you like that story, Todd?”
“Please tell another one, Lisa,” he asked, in a way that answered her question.
She said, “Tomorrow night. I've got a special story about Todd and Barney and about how they solved a real mystery. But now we have to go to sleep.”
The little boy did fall asleep, almost instantly. Lisa tried to sleep, but her mind was too busy thinking about tomorrow. Maybe Todd would catch a fish, but there were other important things to be done.
As Todd fell more deeply asleep, Lisa was alone once again. During the daytime, she was too busy to think or to feel lonely. But every night, in the dark and cold basement, a bad sensation came over her. She realized at these times that she was on her own.
Lisa was fearful and confused. What will become of us? was the question that seemed to pound at her in the stillness. Somehow she would have to find a way to keep them alive.
They needed food, first of all, but the supply would soon be gone. The average house contained only enough for about two weeks. By “dieting,” as Lisa liked to call it, that supply might be stretched to four weeks. Those four weeks would go by all too quickly.
The stealing helped, but most of the houses and stores had already been looted. The supply of food was going fast.
Could she hunt for food? Lisa laughed at the thought of tramping through the forest with a shot-gun. It would never work. Besides, she doubted that she'd have the courage to skin a rabbit even if she was lucky enough to find and kill one.
Fishing was a good possibility. It would be easier than hunting, but there would still be the problem of cutting and cleaning the fish. She could do it, though, she decided. After all, she'd seen her father do it often enough. She would teach Todd how to fish, and he could spend some time each day at Perry's Pond. But they couldn't depend on any one plan. She had to figure out another answer.
Could she raise food? Not until spring, and then only if she spent some time during the winter learning about gardening. There was a book about it in the study that she could read.
The thought of gardening gave Lisa a brilliant idea. Tomorrow, she would ride her bike north on Swift Road to some farms she remembered. There, she might find large quantities of food. Wow! she thought. Maybe I can find a live chicken. We can have some fresh eggs.
Now she was really getting somewhere.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of scratching in the wall. It must be a mouse, Lisa decided, after hearing it a second and third time. I wonder how he survives.
Animals, she thought, were lucky in a way. They had their instincts to help them survive. It was sort of automatic, the way they knew how to find food in their surroundings. But for people, it wasn't that simple. We have to invent traps and guns and learn how to raise food. People have to think to stay alive.
Lisa had never worried about it before. Food and clothing and television and lights were always there for her use. Now everything had changed. Everything had come to a stop.
She saw the answer clearly. It was
thinking
that kept people alive and that gave them all the wonderful things. Now that grown-ups were gone, she had to start thinking every day. Her thinking would let them keep on living.
Obviously, finding food would be a constant and frustrating problem. But at least now she had some good ideas. She couldâyes, she
would
âfigure something out.
Lisa glanced at the wind-up clock. It was almost ten. “I'd better go to sleep,” she decided. But her mind was racing with many new ideas. Some of them made her laugh, but others were actually workable. It seemed that she had a million things to do tomorrow, and she couldn't wait to get started.
It was midnight when she next noticed the face of the clock. Lisa smiled in the dark. For the first time in a long time, she was ready for the morning.
CHAPTER THREE
M
onday used to be Girl Scout day. Her old scout uniform caught Lisa's eye as she scanned her closet for something to wear. It was just a useless piece of clothing now, because Troop 719 no longer existed. The uniform still belonged to her, but she belonged to very little.
Once she had been a Girl Scout, a fifth-grader, a daughter, a ballet dancer, a friend, and so many other kinds of “belonging” that she couldn't name them all. Now she belonged only to herself and to Todd.
She tried on the uniform anyway. Somehow it made her feel good.
Anxious to start her trip to the farm, Lisa did the morning chores as fast as she could. She made the bed, wound the clocks, dressed, checked the doors and windows, and prepared breakfast in less then 20 minutes.