You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive

Part 2

After several hours wandering around Harlan's streets without seeing either head or tail of anyone I knew, I entered a small, bright building. I was hungry and thirsty and tired, and from outside it looked like they served food here. There were many people sat around tables eating and drinking. There was a bar along one of the walls with bottles of drink behind it. A girl stood behind the bar. I approached her. She smiled.

"Welcome! What would you like?" she asked me in an almost cheerful voice, the first cheerful voice I had heard in weeks.

I smiled back. "That depends, will I have to pay?"

She frowned. "Yes," she replied bluntly.

"Oh. I have no money. Where do I get money from?"

She laughed. "Are you new in town, by any chance?"

I nodded. "Got here just this morning."

"Didn't they give you any money at the Registry when you registered for work?"

"I haven't been to the Registry." That statement got me some quizzical looks from some of the surrounding people. "I couldn't find it," I added. The Registry was obviously important to new arrivals. I had to make it look I intended to be here, or otherwise I might rouse some suspicion.

The girl behind the bar smiled sweetly once more. "It should be labeled on your map," she said, pointing at the schematic diagram the fat man had handed to me at the gate.

"Oh, I can't read..."

The girl was taken aback by that proclamation. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize. Let me get you something to drink, on the house." She poured out a glass of water, a full glass, unlike the half glass I'd received at the gate. I drank it all down, apparently surprisingly quickly. "Wow, you must have been thirsty."

"Yeah, I am. It's taken me three and a half weeks to walk here. It's hot and dry out there," I said, trying not to sound too bitter.

"You must be hungry too." I nodded. She disappeared through a door behind the bar, returning a moment later with a sandwich. "Here, eat this."

I was surprised that she was being so nice to me. Having grown up hating this city's population because of their war, I was stunned to find someone so kind and generous. This sandwich was larger than anything I was used to eating. It was nearly as large as the plate, and had lettuce and some kind of meat inside. "I can't accept this, it's too much."

I'd stunned her again. "Too much? It's just a sandwich." She said it so casually as if sandwiches this size were commonplace. "Please eat it," she said insistently.

It would have been rude not to eat it as she was being so nice. So reluctantly I ate the giant sandwich. The bread was soft, unlike the stale bread we made in Bayton. The lettuce was sweet and juicy, and the meat was tender. I didn't want to enjoy the evil city's food, but this sandwich was the best thing I had eaten in years.

The girl poured me another glass of water. "So, why have you come to Harlan?" she asked me.

"I'm looking for work." It felt wrong to lie to her after all her generosity, but I couldn't exactly be honest about my intentions. "Everyone in my village came here, there really wasn't anything for me to stay for."

"What kind of work are you looking for?"

"I don't know. What do you recommend?"

She brushed some of her dark brown hair back behind her ear. "The factories pay well and provide accommodation at very cheap rates, but the work is hard and the hours are long. Still, most people go into the factories, and they seem to enjoy their work. Do you have any skills?"