The Other Side of Nowhere by JN Chaney Page B

said.
    “Love you, too.”
    “Bye,” she said, shyly.
    He kissed her forehead and walked to the door where his mother stood talking with the babysitter, Ms. Cartwright. “I’ll only be a few hours,” Mother said. “If it takes any longer, I’ll message you.”
    “Don’t worry about a thing, Mara,” Ms. Cartwright assured her. “You take all the time you need.”
    Mother turned to him. “There you are,” she said, taking his hand. “Come on, or we’ll be late.”
    As they left the apartment, Mother’s hand tugging him along, Terry tried to imagine what might happen at school today. Would it be like his home lessons? Would he be behind the other children, or was everything new? He enjoyed learning, but there was still a chance the school might be too hard for him. What would he do? Mother had taught him some things, like algebra and English, but who knew how far along the other kids were by now?
    Terry walked quietly down the overcrowded corridors with an empty, troubled head. He hated this part of the district. So many people on the move, brushing against him, like clothes in an overstuffed closet.
    He raised his head, nearly running into a woman and her baby. She had wrapped the child in a green and brown cloth, securing it against her chest. “Excuse me,” he said, but the lady ignored him.
    His mother paused and looked around. “Terrance, what are you doing? I’m over here,” she said, spotting him.
    “Sorry.”
    They waited together for the train, which was running a few minutes behind today.
    “I wish they’d hurry up,” said a nearby lady. She was young, about fifteen years old. “Do you think it’s because of the outbreak?”
    “Of course,” said a much older woman. “Some of the trains are busy carrying contractors to the slums to patch the walls. It slows the others down because now they have to make more stops.”
    “I heard fourteen workers died. Is it true?”
    “You know how the gas is,” she said. “It’s very quick. Thank God for the quarantine barriers.”
    Suddenly, there was a loud smashing sound, followed by three long beeps. It echoed through the platform for a moment, vibrating along the walls until it was gone. Terry flinched, squeezing his mother’s hand.
    “Ouch,” she said. “Terrance, relax.”
    “But the sound,” he said.
    “It’s the contractors over there.” She pointed to the other side of the tracks, far away from them. It took a moment for Terry to spot them, but once he did, it felt obvious. Four of them stood together. Their clothes were orange, with no clear distinction between their shirts and their pants, and on each of their heads was a solid red plastic hat. Three of them were holding tools, huddled against a distant wall. They were reaching inside of it, exchanging tools every once in a while, until eventually the fourth one called them to back away. As they made some room, steam rose from the hole, with a puddle of dark liquid forming at the base. The fourth contractor handled a machine several feet from the others, which had three legs and rose to his chest. He waved the other four to stand near him and pressed the pad on the machine. Together, the contractors watched as the device flashed a series of small bright lights. It only lasted a few seconds. Once it was over, they gathered close to the wall again and resumed their work.
    “What are they doing?” Terry asked.
    His mother looked down at him. “What? Oh, they’re fixing the wall, that’s all.”
    “Why?” he asked.
    “Probably because there was a shift last night. Remember when the ground shook?”
    Yeah, I remember , he thought. It woke me up . “So they’re fixing it?”
    “Yes, right.” She sighed and looked around. “Where is that damned train?”
    Terry tugged on her hand. “That lady over there said it’s late because of the gas.”
    His mother looked at him. “What did you say?”
    “The lady…the one right there.” He pointed to the younger girl a few feet