Among the Enemy

Chapter Thirty-One

For a moment, Matthias didn't understand. He'd had too much to try to make sense of, going back to Tiddy's death, Percy's and Alia's injuries, Samuel's death. No — going all the way back to his parents abandoning him. He still couldn't make sense of the earliest events of his life. How was he supposed to make sense of this?

"We think the Population Police did it that way on purpose. They must suspect there are saboteurs around who wouldn't strike if they feared destroying the food as well," Nina was saying.

"So the commander was using me, showing me the food," Matthias said, his panic growing. "He must suspect — that's why he bugged my room."

"You can't be sure of that," Nina said. "They have bugs in lots of rooms. The Population Police are bug crazy. Anyhow, after you told me about the warehouse, we heard the same story from other sources."

Matthias shook his head, trying to clear his mind.

"It's just spare food, in that warehouse," he said slowly.

"Maybe," Nina said. "I hear things sometimes, in the kitchen. There was a bad harvest this year — with the Government changing, too many people were out fight" ing and not enough people were out getting crops from the fields. So that food in the warehouse may be… nec^ essary… to get our country through the winter."

"May be?" Matthias asked.

"How can we know for sure?" Nina said with a hopeless shrug. 'And yet — we have to know for sure before we make any decisions. Before we take any action."

The cold seemed to be seeping all the way into Matthias's soul. Or maybe it was just the despair in Nina's voice getting to him.

"Trey says this is irony," Nina said bitterly. "He says that we've got to make the same decision that the Government faced all those years ago, after the droughts and famines. Protect third children and take the chance that other people will starve. Or let the Population Police kill third children and make sure that other people live."

"Isn't there another choice?" Matthias whispered.

"You tell me," Nina said.

Matthias could only stare at her, openmouthed, his breath freezing right before his eyes. After a few moments, Nina whipped the last of the wet towels onto the line and headed back toward the kitchen.

"Come on," she said. "I'm going to get in trouble for staying out here so long."

He blindly stumbled after her. Neither one of them bothered to look at some pretend insect on the ground.

It didn't seem to matter anymore.