Free Pipe Dreams by Destiny Allison Page B

don’t think they had the means or manpower to carry out any kind of real attack. Maybe they did. Maybe they got some shit going, but they couldn’t have killed the internet and phones and everything. They were more the window-smashing, bottle-throwing type. They talked big, but…”
    “Then what about the rebellion? If the People ’s Protest didn’t do it, who did?” Vanessa interrupted. The table lamp cast a warm glow and emphasized the shadows under her eyes. She had pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, sitting like a child in the oversized chair.
    “We don ’t know. The NSO is bullshit. That much is certain. We think they had something to do with it. That’s why we’ve wanted to talk to you,” Jeremy said.
    “Why me?”
    “Because you were an assistant. You had access.” He shot her a glance. She met his eyes and hugged herself tighter.
    “How do you know?”
    “Toward the end of the second year, an assistant found us. Or we found her. Something had scared her and she split. We picked her up, half-frozen and starving from the dumpster she’d been hiding in, and brought her back. She’s the one who gave us the first clues about what might have happened, but she didn’t know much, just pieces.
    We knew we needed to find more like her who could help us put it all together. She gave us your name and helped identify the other assistants. Some of them we ’ve managed to pull in, but some disappeared before we ever got the chance to talk to them. As far as we know, you’re the last of them.”
    Vanessa closed her eyes and gripped her knees. In spite of her shower, dirt was still trapped under her short fingernails. He looked away, focusing on the titles lining the giant bookcase behind her. When she shifted her legs, he refocused his eyes and waited for her to speak.
    “Go on,” she said.
    “Generally, we ’re just trying to survive. Finding food takes most of our energy. We don’t know for sure what’s true and what’s not. Information’s hard to come by.” Jeremy sat forward. He sucked in a deep breath and blew it out before continuing.
    “Vanessa, I think if we had a real picture of what happened things could be different. If we knew what was really going on, we might be able to do something about it. I ’m hoping you’ve got the missing pieces.”
    “Where are the other assistants now?”
    “They didn’t make it, Vanessa.” 
    “I thought you took them in.”
    “We did, but that doesn’t mean they stayed. You know what they’d been through. You’ve been through it, too. They were crazy. I don’t mean to be cruel, but they were. Shrieking and yelling and crying all the time, frightening the kids half to death, running around naked and coming on to the men in all sorts of ways. We did the best we could for them, but in the end, we couldn’t keep them. Most of them bolted once we let them back outside. The first one killed herself. Slit her wrists in the shower. Can’t say as I blame her. Can’t blame any of them really. When I saw you faint earlier, I thought you’d be like them, but you’re not, are you?”
    Vanessa's eyes glinted, but the tears did not spill. Ignoring his question she asked, “So what do you know?”
    Jeremy frowned. He had watched her on many early mornings as she put fear aside to savor a few quiet minutes in the sun. Her attention to Isaac and the way she met his eyes revealed strength. She had been beaten, but she wasn ’t broken. She could be an ally.
    “We don ’t know enough, that’s for sure.” He paused, gauging her reaction. She leaned forward with her hands in her lap and he continued.
    “But we do know the NSO is culling its own population. That’s been a problem for us. Too many people are wandering too close to our neighborhood and they’re hungry. Really hungry.
    We also know supplies come into the Zone and nothing goes out. That ’s suspicious all by itself. If the rest of the world is fighting and diseased and shit,