Fresh out of the box car

[Writer]

Cory stood on the sidewalk of 10th street and looked upon the pillars of the California State Capital building. With Mandy riding piggy-back, it had taken an hour to find the building from the train yards. She was a small burden on his large frame, but a mile was still a mile, and he didn’t know the area, yet. It was still early, only a little after sunrise and the streets were fairly empty.

“How is your leg?” asked Cory.

“Horrible,” said Mandy with a silly giggle. Her voice was loud next to Cory’s ear. “I have to be carried everywhere, today!”

Cory let her down easy and observed how she stood. “You look fine. Walk a few steps.”

Mandy shrugged to readjust the backpack she wore, then walked five paces, turned and curtsied.

“You will do okay,” said Cory. “Walk slow, and if you start to ache, take a rest.”

“I’ve fallen out of moving box cars before, Cory,” Mandy said with a huff. “You remember back in-“

“Hush!” said Cory, low and sharp. “Remember, we don’t talk about where we have been.”

Mandy put her hands on her hips and looked around. Then she flung her hands out to either side and thrust her face forward at Cory. “There isn’t anyone around to hear.” Her voice was almost a whisper, though.

Cory turned his head slightly to the right, keeping his eyes on Mandy, and he raised his hand from his side, turning his palm towards her. She caught his meaning and immediately lowered her eyes to the pavement and dropped her arms to her side.

“This is new territory, Mandy,” said Cory, relaxing his posture. “We don’t know anything anymore.”

Mandy said nothing, her face expressionless as she listened. There were no apologies between them. He was her protector, and she knew he was just trying to keep her safe when he brought her back inline. They had done this many times before, so she knew the rules. She had also forgotten the rules on occasion, but Cory also said “Never to apologize to yourself.” No use beating herself up over something when there were plenty of people out there to do that for you.

“You know what to look for, today?” asked Cory. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some cash.

“Breakfast,” said Mandy, looking at the money. She smiled. “Libraries and cheap clothing stores.”

“Right,” said Cory, returning the smile. “I’ll be looking for a place to sleep, and some place to work. Call me at noon.”

“Can’t,” said Mandy. “We ran out of minutes, remember?”

Cory lost his smile and knitted his brow. Anger flashed across his face, then evaporated just as quickly. “We meet back here at noon, then.”

Mandy held back a frown, but lost her smile. She nodded, turned and went off on her mission. Cory watched her walk, noticing there was a slight limp, but she would recover fine.

Now, it was time for Cory’s mission. He needed to find signs of the Forsaken, before they found him. Relations always started better when he approached a pack, asking about the rules, rather than being found and labeled as a trespasser.

[Writer]

Cory and Mandy sat on the grass in the State Capitol Park, watching people as they passed by. Mandy opened the paper bag she had acquired and started handing out bundles wrapped in paper. There were two large bundles for Cory and one small bundle for Mandy. Then, she hefted a gallon of water from the bag.

“Barbeque ribs on a bun,” said Mandy, polite and proud of herself. “Try it. It was dirt cheap. Well, relatively cheap. Nothing here is cheap like back home, but it was the cheapest meat I could find.”

“What do you have for yourself?” asked Cory, ignoring his sandwiches for a moment.

“It is called a chicken wrap,” Mandy said, unwrapping the paper and showing Cory.

Cory sniffed at the wrap in Mandy’s hand, then shrugged. “Lots of rice,” he muttered.

“Not yours to eat, so not your problem,” said Mandy, wiggling her shoulders as she spoke. She took a bite and chewed with a smile. When she saw that Cory wasn’t eating, she pointed her finger at him, then the sandwich, alternating between the two until he started eating.

The ribs weren’t bad, but Cory hadn’t hunted for anything other than open box cars in days. He ate both sandwiches, then drank nearly half the gallon of water in one long draft.

“We will be staying at the Motel 6 on the corner of 30th and N street,” said Cory. He reached out his hand and held a room card for her. “Settle in later this evening, after you wallow in the library.”

“I haven’t found the library, yet,” said Mandy, sipping at the gallon of water. “I did find a couple clothing stores that are dirt cheap. Used stuff, but nice enough for us and college students.”

“Well, then, go find the library, and be back at the motel,” said Cory. “I haven’t found work, yet, but I’ll check the bar scene. They might need a bouncer.”

“How is our money?” asked Mandy, pursing her lips tight.

“If I don’t find work, soon, we might be camping out down by the river tomorrow night,” said Cory.

“At least we can get a nice hot shower and decent sleep, tonight,” said Mandy.

“You don’t sleep well under the stars?” asked Cory, teasing. Mandy may understand the limits of cash, but she sure liked her comforts.

Mandy stood up and pulled on her backpack. “I’m going to go to the motel first, so I stop lugging this thing around. I’m not a burly little girl, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Shoo, little girl,” said Cory, smiling. He savored his smiles with her. If he couldn’t secure decent affordable housing soon, he wouldn’t be sleeping well himself. He didn’t know what threats this new territory brought. When Mandy was out of sight, Cory dropped his smile and stood. He started to stroll through the city for the next few hours, observing the people, the neighborhoods, the flow of the city.

[Writer]

"Do you like it?" asked Mandy. Visibly nervous, she clasped her hands tightly, watching Cory.

Cory stood in the doorway of their newly rented trailer. It was small, run down, but it looked fairly comfortable.

"It came fully furnished," said Mandy. "The previous rentor hasn't been seen in two months, so the rental agency said we can keep everything in it."

Cory glanced at Mandy, then turned a suspicous eye to the furnishings. There were no personal affects anywhere, just basic furniture and lighting. There was a television, but no cable box. A cheap radio sat on top of the television. He went to the kitchen, but the cupboards and shelves were bare.

"You said your new boss at the diner suggested this place?" asked Cory.

"Yeah," said Mandy, sensing this was going well. "His sister was part of the cleaning crew that got this place ready."

After checking the bathroom and bedroom, he came back to Mandy. He would do a more thorough sweep of the place when she was away at work, but it seemed okay.

"You did good Mandy," said Cory, hugging her. He felt her relax into his arms. "You did better than I did."

Mandy knew not to ask. She saw the blood stain on the buttonless shirt. She had some washing and sewing, but at least the shirt was salvagable. That was his business, though. The only answer she ever got from questioning his business was "Keeping you safe". When she pushed too much she got the back of his hand.

"What shift do you work?" asked Cory.

"The lunch shift," said Mandy, "So I don't have to walk out at night."

Cory smiled approval. "Let's go get some paper plates and hot dogs."

Mandy clapped her hands in excitement, then ran to get her shoes on.
Cory checked his pocket. Not much cash left. Mandy's timing had saved them from sleeping under the stars. Cory didn't mind, but it wasn't safe for Mandy.

"Do we have money for phone minutes?" asked Mandy, returning with shoes on.

"Yeah," said Cory, looked down at his hand. "I keep forgetting about the phones. We will be dead broke, though."

"Don't worry, Cory," said Mandy. "I get tips daily, so we will have some cash on hand soon."

That afternoon, they ate hotdogs and buns, with no condiments or chips, then took a nap, listening to a local radio station.