While we set up our tables, Ryan announced that he and the group of fey who’d brought us over would be back in a few hours and asked if there were any volunteers from Tenacity willing to go with them.
Looking out at the hungry faces that were already gathering, I saw no one was interested in leaving the safety of the wall to hunt for supplies. They’d rather slowly starve and fight over the meager offerings we were willing to trade than risk their immediate lives.
I felt a new level of hopelessness. What I’d said to Merdon about watching their pet humans die wasn’t as far in the future as I’d thought.
“What will you take for that box of noodles?” a man asked me.
“Any kind of alcohol you have,” I said after a quick glance around. It wasn’t necessary, though. All the fey had left with Ryan.
“I have an apple,” he offered.
“Did I say I wanted an apple? No. Booze only, people,” I said loudly. There were a few grumbles. Several people broke away from my line to go to another. One guy just completely walked away.
Most remained to press forward and offer up something else as equally useless as the apple.
“Use your ears,” I said. “Alcohol. I want alcohol.”
Someone told me to fuck off. I gave him the finger. After several minutes of no one approaching me, the man I’d seen leave earlier approached with a glass jar. It had two inches of clear liquid in it.
“This is just a sample,” he said quietly. “I don’t want no one knowing what I have.”
He uncapped the jar and held it out to me.
“If it’s what you’re looking for, you’ll have to come get what you want for the whole box.”
He nodded to my yet untouched supplies.
I took the jar and sniffed. The smell of alcohol was so strong it tickled the back of my throat and made me cough.
“Rubbing alcohol?” I asked.
“No, that stuff would kill you.” He glanced around and leaned in close. “It’s moonshine.”
Liquid gold as far as I was concerned.
I lifted the jar to my lips and took a drink. It burned in the best way. I coughed lightly again then finished my sample.
“That’s good. How much do you have?”
He looked around.
“Take a break and walk with me. We’ll talk where it’s quieter.”
I nodded thoughtfully.
“Fine. But the supplies stay here for now.”
“Deal.”
I looked at my neighbor.
“Watch after my stuff, will you? And don’t trade it. I know what I have.”
He gave me a pissed off look. I wasn’t worried. He was from Tolerance, which meant he was a rule follower. My supplies would be safe enough with him.
I waited until my new friend and I left the crowds behind to speak.
“How many of those jars do you have?” I asked.
“Enough to make this little walk worth your while,” he said. “This moonshine is stronger than most anything you’d find in a bottle. Four jars this size,” he held up the empty pint sample jar, “would equal one of those big economy bottles.”
“Sounds like you’re trying to negotiate low,” I said. “Moonshine doesn’t have much value. Food does. You’re going to need to do better than four pints. I could easily trade what I have for eight quarts.”
“If you could find the people with it. People who had liquor already drank it and are too afraid to go find more. And if they did leave, it wouldn’t be to find a drink; it would be to find food.”
“You haven’t answered my original question.”
“I have twelve quarts. But I’m not trading eight. Just like you know what you have, I know what I have. Supply and demand, sugar. We both have what the other wants, so let’s try to keep it fair. Build a partnership if you will.”
He was right. I needed to think long term. It was better to trade for a small batch, in case it was taken from me again, than a large one.
“If I settle lower, I need to know that you’ll save the rest for me on the next trade.”
He smiled and motioned to a nearby house.
“Let’s step inside and negotiate.”
A weird feeling tickled my stomach. I didn’t like the way he was looking at me, all smug. He reminded me too much of Merdon. But this asshole was willing to give me a drink; the other one only took my drinks away.
“After you,” I said.
I followed him into the house. It was toasty warm and very quiet. My nerves kicked up