Chapter X - Part I

"He's gone!" Aggie yelled and Andy came out again. She hadn't expected to see the spy again and certainly not that close to where she was staying. Andy pushed her hair behind the ear and picked up the broom.
She had been cleaning since early morning. When Aggie and others had promised her a part in the revolution, she didn't think it was the role of a servant. It was like she had exchanged one slavery for another, but she didn't complain out loud. There was still a chance she could be of use.
None of the other guards had shown any attention towards their house but Andy was still worried about her family. Home would be the first place they'd go looking. She swept the floor lazily. Cleaning wasn't something she was used to. At home, she didn't have that kind of responsibilities.  In a way, she felt like a spoiled child.
Aggie noticed her awkwardness and smiled. "You'll get used to it!"
Andy didn't find any consolation in that. She wanted to be doing something completely different.
"I guess I'll have to," she agreed unwillingly. "Unless we give the cleaning job to Morgan."
"I'd like to see that," laughed Aggie and sat on the table. Andy put the broom aside and sat next to her.
"Is he always so ..." Andy couldn't find the right word to describe Morgan's presence. The authority behind his every word and move.
"No," answered Andy understanding what she meant. "But he's been through a lot so I don't blame him."
There was a weird affection in Aggie's voice when talking of Morgan.
"You mean the scar?"
"That is a separate story. And not one for me to tell!" responded Aggie reluctantly.
"Tell me something else then!" Andy pleaded. "Something you can tell."
"I'm not much of a storyteller, Andrea."
"You're not much of a cleaner either!" smirked Andy and poked Aggie with her finger.
Aggie's lips curved into a smile. "I see you have a sense of humor." And then her smile faded. "Such a rare thing in Sencor. But of course, you're a Cirren."
"Is it a common trait Cirrens have?" Andy felt excited to find something new about her kind.
"Not necessarily," Aggie answered. "It's just that you're immune to a lot of things."
"Like?"
"To most poisons, alcohol, the leaves in the soup you've been eating for years."
"What's in the leaves?" Are the leaves poisoned? she thought.
"They work like sedatives," Aggie said and Andy calmed a bit. At least the soup won't kill my family. "Have you never wondered why everyone around you is so emotionless?"
"I ..." started Andy but Aggie cut her off.
"We only found out ourselves thanks to Hodge."
"I have to tell my family," Andy finally said.
"You can't!" Aggie uttered. "What would they eat then? We're having trouble feeding just the five of us, let alone an entire city."
"Six," corrected Andy. "You said the five of us but... Never mind."
Aggie got up from the table. "I'll go see what we could have for dinner. You finish up the sweeping!"
She disappeared into the other room. Andy had started regretting not looking around when she had been hiding in there. She picked up the broom and started sweeping again.
What are they not telling me? I'm alone in a house with strangers who have discovered some of the most well-kept secrets of Sencor. Andy's fears were starting to arise, but leaving was out of the question. She would have nowhere to go.
When others came back from work, they looked exhausted. None of them had found anything but their clothes were wet and hair dripping. I just finished cleaning, Andy thought seeing their muddy footprints on the floor.
"We had a visitor today," Aggie declared while pouring soup. It was the same one with meat-flavored leaves as the day before. There was no bread or eggs or anything else she had seen on the table when she first met them.
"Who?" asked Hodge though he didn't seem concerned.
"A guard," Aggie replied. "Must have been a new one because he seemed afraid of me."
"You can be quite intimidating," Hodge agreed and Aggie sent him a mischievous look.
"Yeah, sure!"
Aggie was swirling her spoon around in the soup. She coughed. "So, um, I was thinking, um, maybe I could go get some food tomorrow? We are running short." She seemed oddly nervous not knowing where to look or hide her eyes.
"I don't think we can afford it, Aggie!" Morgan's answer was firm and left no room for argument, but Aggie was not done.
"Why not?" she asked. "We still have some money in the wall. I could just..."
"That money is not for food!" Morgan dropped his spoon and stared at Aggie.
"What are we supposed to eat then?" Aggie was growing more and more agitated. "Do you want us to start stealing again? Isn't that what got us into this mess in the first place?"
Aggie's eyes were burning and she seemed to be on the verge of crying. Hodge put his hand on her shoulder but she pushed it away.
"Calm down, Ags!" comforted Hodge. "Roger said there might be shower soon."
"That's what he said last time."
"It did start raining," Hodge defended.
"Not here!" Aggie was on edge. She pushed her bowl away and stood up. Andy watched as she walked into the other room.
"I have an idea," said Paine once Aggie was gone. "Why don't we send the girl outside and earn some money? It could work."
Andy was stunned. It's as if I wasn't even here.
"It could. What about her hair?" Morgan seemed to agree with the idea.
"I tried dying once. Did nothing," said Hodge stroking his own blue hair.
"Ergon root?" suggested Morgan and Hodge nodded.
"Maybe. We could try."
Andy had had enough. "Could you please stop talking as if I'm not even here!"
All four men looked at her as if they were just noticing her presence. Hodge was the only one of them to even look embarrassed of the fact.
"I'm sorry," he apologized.
"Let me get this straight. You want me to go outside and earn money?" There were too many parts in that sentence that seemed impossible.
"If it's okay with you," said Hodge.
"How?"
"There's plenty of simple jobs. You could be a servant or clean ..."
"I meant, how will I get outside?"
"Oh..." Hodge smiled as if it was obvious, "through the tunnels of course!"