Edge City

In a dystopian future, an unknown calamity has resulted in the migration of humans into massive cities, where the rich and politically powerful live in luxury while the rest of the citizens deal with shortages of just about everything except bone-crushing poverty. Those not "fortunate" enough to live in the mega-city live in the barren, often poisoned wasteland. Some of the grubbers (those who live outside the city and are forced to grub through the city's garbage to survive) are fortunate enough to have food that they can trade to the city in return for technology and other goods.

"Edge City" is a take on the Judge Dredd Mega City concept. The city is the last habitable city on the edge of a radioactive wasteland. This story describes an exchange of goods between the "haves" and the "have nots". Of course, sometimes it is not always easy to tell who has and who doesn't.

This story was submitted to a Writer's Digest competition (didn't win).