Impersonator (Forager Impersonator - A Post Apocalyptic Trilogy Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

trimmed it to the right length. That done, I tied my hair into a ponytail, put on the baseball cap, and pulled the hair through the hole at the back. This was the way my brother wore his hair, which was lucky for me, because it was easy to imitate. I would keep the cap pulled low to hide the large purple birthmark above my left eye and to shield my face. Not that hiding my face particularly mattered, because I was the female version of my brother anyway. All the same, if anyone who knew him got a good look at my face, they might see through my ruse.
    To complete the transformation, I had to dirty myself up. Since he was a forager, it didn’t matter how often Brandon showered and scrubbed, he was never entirely clean. I went over to one of the potted plants on the windowsill, and using a mirror, smudged dirt on my face. Next, I scraped dirt under my fingernails and into the grooves around their edges. My fingers were finer than his were, but once I put my hands in the fingerless gloves, I doubted anyone would notice.
    Checking my appearance in the full-length mirror in the wardrobe, I was shocked. I really did look like Brandon. The loose fitting clothes concealed my feminine figure, and with the cap and dirt, I believed I could pass myself off as him for a few hours. That was all I needed to make my escape.
    Not wanting my family to fret because they didn’t know what happened to me, I wrote them a short note:
     
    Dear Family, please don’t worry about me – I’m OK. I’ve impersonated Brandon today and will run away in the ruins while foraging. Don’t take it personally; I’ve been looking for a chance to escape for years. Brandon will explain more when he comes home. Love, Chelsea.
     
    I hid the note under Mother’s mattress, so she would find it when she washed the sheets on Sunday. That done, I skimmed through my notebook to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, and then popped the book in the backpack.
    Now I had to escape the flat without anyone seeing me. Having enhanced hearing at times like this was a bonus. I waited until I heard Father go to work and the sound of my mother and sister returning to the kitchen to have their breakfast. Then I made my move.
    I exited the bedroom and moved as furtively as I could, darting through the lounge-dining room and slipping out the front door. As I stood on the walkway outside, it hit me that I was embarking on a foolhardy venture guaranteed to fail.
    There I was, a young woman, outside my apartment and without a chaperone. It felt completely inappropriate; going against everything I’d been taught. Waves of guilt and tangible physical discomfort washed through me. Newhome law stipulated that girls and younger women – women under thirty-five – were not permitted outside without a suitable minder. This would normally be their mother, mother-in-law, or one of the men of the family. This was done to protect women, preserve their reputation, and prevent men and women falling prey to sexual temptation. Those who committed adultery or fornication were executed or consigned to hard-labour prison-factories.
    Standing on the walkway, I felt exposed and self-conscious, convinced that everyone in the adjacent apartments as well as the two men behind me, knew I wasn’t actually a guy, but a girl in disguise. I froze on the doorstop and held my breath as a middle-aged man from several doors down caught up to me. He was dressed in a black business suit that had seen better days and his grey eyebrows needed trimming. I kept my head forward and my gaze averted, but my hands shook so severely that I had to grip the doorknob to hide it.
    This is so not going to work!
    “Morning, Brandon,” the man said as he passed me, inclining his head slightly.
    “Hey,” I replied in my deepest, most Brandon-like voice.
    Yes! He bought my ruse! He thought I was my brother! Maybe I could pull this off after all?
    I hefted my backpack over my shoulder and followed the man towards the