The Girl in the City Read Online Free PDF

him.
    Isaac looked down at her, the sadness back in his eyes. “You still don’t trust me, little one? I had ample opportunity to turn you in, did I not?”
    Leah looked towards the leather bag of food. It was the only thing stopping her from running. She didn’t want to leave without at least the bag. “Can I have my bag back?”
    Isaac lifted the bag’s flap and peered inside. He glanced across at the Transport policemen, then closed the bag again and handed it to Leah, still full of food. “Go straight home. Don’t let them catch you with that. You’re young, but that won’t stop them punishing you.”
    Leah took the food. The smell of the ham wafted over her again. Leah smiled. “Thank you.”
    “Ah ha!” said Isaac. “You do smile.”
    Leah blushed, making Isaac grin. “Do you know The Free Man Inn?” he said.
    “I think so, yes.”
    “I’m going to be staying in the city for three days. If that policeman causes any trouble for you, find me, and God willing, I will help you. Okay?”
    Leah nodded.
    “Good. Now you’d better go before Transport start snooping around again.”
    Leah slipped the strap of the bag over her shoulder. It was heavy and awkward, and it was dangerous to be carrying this much food around, but the risk would be worth it to see the look on her father’s face when she gave it to him.
    She smiled at Isaac again, not quite sure what she should say.
    “Go on, little one,” he said. “Get out of here.”
    Leah checked the square to make sure Transport weren’t watching and hurried away.

Leah knew something was wrong as soon as she reached her street. Bright orange tape hung across the road, blocking off access to some of the houses. A black van was parked diagonally behind the tape, the Transport Authority’s blue-and-gray logo painted across the back doors. A tight-knit group of people Leah didn’t recognize stood nearby, whispering to each other.
    Two men and two women, all of them wearing dark blue Transport uniforms, stood around inside the tape. They were watching the crowd very carefully. A white globe buzzed above the scene, darting to and fro as though it was a sand fly—a TRACER drone. Four camera lenses protruded from the sphere, and a cluster of flashing red lights on its top warned everyone that the drone was active.
    A young man moved away from the edge of the crowd. As he approached the tape, the drone moved forward. Its red lights pulsed, and it emitted a high-pitched beeping. The man raised his hands and stepped back from the tape. The drone hovered nearby for a moment, then resumed its seemingly random darting.
    It took Leah several seconds to realize the orange tape was blocking off access to her house. Fear swept through her as she fought to find an explanation. An attack by TRACE was the most obvious, maybe even the explosion she’d heard from the square. But why would they target her home?
    She checked the sky above the buildings. There was no fire, no telltale column of smoke. As she got closer, she could see the house was undamaged. Which meant Transport was there for some other reason.
    Leah didn’t know much about Transport beyond what her father had told her, and that was precious little. They ran the City—the country, actually—and made the rules people lived by. They were to be obeyed at all costs, and there were consequences for going up against them, consequences she’d seen herself, time and time again.
    She knew one other thing: you did not want Transport coming to your home to talk to you.
    Leah slapped her head as though she’d suddenly remembered something important, turned on her heels, and walked back down the street. She tried to move slowly and act naturally, but she could almost feel the hot breath of the Transport officers on her neck. Any second, an accusatory hand would grab her by the shoulder, and she’d be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the van.
    She turned the corner, out of sight of the officers and their drone, and