The City Still Breathing Read Online Free PDF Page A

Nothin.’
    She angles the rear-view so she can see his face. ‘What’s up with him?’
    He squirms around in the back seat. ‘I’ll just get some quarters inside.’
    After he’s gone she looks back out the window, Christ the King down at the end of the street, a bit of pale sun coming through, lighting up the big stained-glass rose window in the tower. The first colour she’s seen all day.
    She changes in the back seat, jeans and her favourite purple Vuarnet sweatshirt, and she’s still trying to dig the underwear out of her ass when she gets to the sign, that big monkey grinning down on all the traffic passing by. Top Hat Amusements.
    Inside it’s all lights and noise – pinball machines and pool tables and arcades and all the other shit she grew out of ages ago. Kids in outfits so lame it’d make you sick, things they were wearing down south like last year. Kids skipping class to go to the arcade, while their parents skip work to go to Elm Town Square or Towers or god knows where, just to get away from something. Each other maybe.
    Francie makes for the back where the old ones hang out, past Heck shouting, ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck,’ at some cabinet, passing Feldman leaning against a pillar keeping an eye out, and there’s Slim lounging at the Moon Patrol tabletop, across from Duncan, who’s plucking at his green mohawk. They’re just finishing up, Dunc sliding a small vial across and Slim sliding a few bills back.
    Before Slim spots her, she ducks into the photo booth, sits on the ripped leather cushion in all that beaver panel. Her fingers find the cool disc of a quarter in her pocket and she thinks, like what the fuck, and drops it down the slot. The machine purrs and then Francie hears Slim’s chair slide back and then Dunc’s raspy voice.
    â€˜Slim, thought you should know – Milly’s comin in from ­Spanish.’
    â€˜Okay.’
    â€˜He’s looking for his brother.’
    â€˜Okay, so?’
    â€˜Disappeared a few days ago, just walked straight off the farm, and y’know Lemmy’s a fuckin retard, so Milly figures he mighta got himself froze to death.’
    â€˜Bummer.’
    â€˜Yeah, so anyway, word is cops found some dead kid out on 17 last night.’
    â€˜Lemmy?’
    â€˜Dunno, but Milly thinks maybe, so he’s comin to make sure. He fuckin loves that kid, practically raised him.’
    â€˜That’s a bummer.’
    â€˜Yeah. Anyway, I’m just sayin cause the word is the cops lost the body.’
    A shutter click, a flash, and Francie’s world is a white sheet.
    â€˜So maybe someone took it or somethin. That’s what’s goin around anyway – that someone took it.’
    Click, flash.
    A groan from Slim. ‘Fuckin Heck.’
    Click, flash.
    â€˜Yeah, well, anyway, thought you should know. It’s gonna look pretty bad for whoever stole that body. Milly sure loved that kid.’
    Click, flash. She rubs her eyes. Trying to brush the white spots out.
    A clunk and a strip spits out of the machine. Slim walks past the booth, heading back into the mass of brats. Francie grabs the strip, four white squares fading in, and stuffs it into her pocket, slides out of the booth. Dunc leaning over the tabletop, his face lit up by the game like he’s telling a ghost story and maybe he is. He flashes her some teeth. ‘Hey, Franc ine .’
    She gives him the finger and heads for the door, dragging Heck away from his game yelling, ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck,’ the whole way.
    Back in the car she doesn’t bother with the window anymore, she stares straight at Slim. Even Heck shuts up when he feels the air go sour, or he’s still sulking about his stupid arcade game. Slim keeps giving her sideways glances and his forehead’s softened up. Then they turn off Regent and she finally loses it.
    â€˜Where the fuck are we going?’
    â€˜Just hold