tasting it all again … sparks, that was wonderful. I looked up at Sam, and he grinned at me. We couldn’t recapture it all. The world was a different place now.
But damn it, we
could
have proper hot dogs again.
I turned to look around the city. Nobody else had gotten in line, and people passed with eyes cast down. We were at First Union Square, a holy place where a certain bank had once stood. It wasalso the center of the new city’s crossroads. It was a busy location, a prime spot for a hot dog vendor.
I set my jaw, then slapped some coins down on Sam’s cart. “Free hot dogs for the first ten who want them!” I shouted.
People looked at us, but nobody came over. When some of them saw me watching, they lowered their eyes and continued on.
Sam sighed, crossing his arms on top of his cart. “Sorry, Steelslayer. They’re too afraid.”
“Afraid of hot dogs?” I said.
“Afraid to get comfortable with freedom,” Sam said, watching a woman rush past and head into the understreets, where most people still lived. Even with sunlight up here now, and no Epics to torment them … even with painted walls and colors … they still hid below.
“They think the Epics will return,” Abraham said with a nod. “They are waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak.”
“They’ll change,” I said, stubbornly stuffing more of my hot dog into my mouth. I talked around the bite. “They’ll see.”
That was what this had all been about, right? Killing Steelheart? It had been to show that we
could
fight back. Everyone else would understand, eventually. They had to. The Reckoners couldn’t fight every Epic in the country on our own.
I nodded to Sam. “Thanks. For what you do.”
He nodded. It might seem silly, but Sam opening his hot dog stand was one of the most important events this city had seen in ten years. Some of us fought back with guns and assassinations. Others fought back with a little hot dog stand on the corner.
“We’ll see,” Sam said, pushing away the coins I’d set down, all but two nickels to pay for our hot dogs. We’d gone back to using American money, though only the coins, and we valued them much higher. The city government backed them with food stores, at Tia’s suggestion.
“Keep it all,” I said. “Give free hot dogs to the first ten who come today. We’ll change them, Sam. One bite at a time.”
He smiled, but pocketed the money. As Abraham and I walked off, Tia’s voice, terse and distracted, came in over my earpiece. “Do you two have a report?”
“The dogs are awesome,” I said.
“Dogs?” she said. “Watchdogs? You’ve been checking on the city kennels?”
“Young David,” Abraham said around a mouthful, “has been instructing me on the local cuisine. They
are
called ‘hot dogs’ because they’re only good for feeding to animals, yes?”
“You took him to that
hot dog
stand?” Tia asked. “Weren’t you two supposed to be doing greetings?”
“Philistines, both of you,” I said, cramming the rest of my hot dog into my mouth.
“We are on our way, Tia,” Abraham said.
Abraham and I hiked toward the city gates. The new city government had decided to section off the downtown, and had done so by creating barricades out of steel furniture to block some of the streets. It created a decent perimeter of control that helped us keep tabs on who was entering our city.
We passed people scuttling about on their business, heads down. Sam was right. Most of the population seemed to think the Epics were going to descend upon the city any moment, exacting retribution. In fact, after we’d overthrown Steelheart, a shocking number of people had
left
the city.
That was unfortunate, as we now had a provisional government in place. We had farmers to work the fields outside, and Edmund using his Epic abilities to provide free power for the whole place. We even had a large number of former members of Steelheart’s Enforcement troops recruited to police the
But damn it, we
could
have proper hot dogs again.
I turned to look around the city. Nobody else had gotten in line, and people passed with eyes cast down. We were at First Union Square, a holy place where a certain bank had once stood. It wasalso the center of the new city’s crossroads. It was a busy location, a prime spot for a hot dog vendor.
I set my jaw, then slapped some coins down on Sam’s cart. “Free hot dogs for the first ten who want them!” I shouted.
People looked at us, but nobody came over. When some of them saw me watching, they lowered their eyes and continued on.
Sam sighed, crossing his arms on top of his cart. “Sorry, Steelslayer. They’re too afraid.”
“Afraid of hot dogs?” I said.
“Afraid to get comfortable with freedom,” Sam said, watching a woman rush past and head into the understreets, where most people still lived. Even with sunlight up here now, and no Epics to torment them … even with painted walls and colors … they still hid below.
“They think the Epics will return,” Abraham said with a nod. “They are waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak.”
“They’ll change,” I said, stubbornly stuffing more of my hot dog into my mouth. I talked around the bite. “They’ll see.”
That was what this had all been about, right? Killing Steelheart? It had been to show that we
could
fight back. Everyone else would understand, eventually. They had to. The Reckoners couldn’t fight every Epic in the country on our own.
I nodded to Sam. “Thanks. For what you do.”
He nodded. It might seem silly, but Sam opening his hot dog stand was one of the most important events this city had seen in ten years. Some of us fought back with guns and assassinations. Others fought back with a little hot dog stand on the corner.
“We’ll see,” Sam said, pushing away the coins I’d set down, all but two nickels to pay for our hot dogs. We’d gone back to using American money, though only the coins, and we valued them much higher. The city government backed them with food stores, at Tia’s suggestion.
“Keep it all,” I said. “Give free hot dogs to the first ten who come today. We’ll change them, Sam. One bite at a time.”
He smiled, but pocketed the money. As Abraham and I walked off, Tia’s voice, terse and distracted, came in over my earpiece. “Do you two have a report?”
“The dogs are awesome,” I said.
“Dogs?” she said. “Watchdogs? You’ve been checking on the city kennels?”
“Young David,” Abraham said around a mouthful, “has been instructing me on the local cuisine. They
are
called ‘hot dogs’ because they’re only good for feeding to animals, yes?”
“You took him to that
hot dog
stand?” Tia asked. “Weren’t you two supposed to be doing greetings?”
“Philistines, both of you,” I said, cramming the rest of my hot dog into my mouth.
“We are on our way, Tia,” Abraham said.
Abraham and I hiked toward the city gates. The new city government had decided to section off the downtown, and had done so by creating barricades out of steel furniture to block some of the streets. It created a decent perimeter of control that helped us keep tabs on who was entering our city.
We passed people scuttling about on their business, heads down. Sam was right. Most of the population seemed to think the Epics were going to descend upon the city any moment, exacting retribution. In fact, after we’d overthrown Steelheart, a shocking number of people had
left
the city.
That was unfortunate, as we now had a provisional government in place. We had farmers to work the fields outside, and Edmund using his Epic abilities to provide free power for the whole place. We even had a large number of former members of Steelheart’s Enforcement troops recruited to police the
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