have her weight off her feet at last.
"Oh, no, I couldn't," said Margaret.
"I insist. I won't eat while others around me go hungry. I've managed to get this far without a history of regular meals."
The two women picked at the plate of food, consisting of microwaved appetizers, a fried chicken TV dinner, and a can of Coke. "This is a five chip meal?" asked Hope, astonished. "What do most people eat?"
Margaret made a face. "It's this nasty oatmeal stuff. It has almost no taste and probably almost no nutritional value. The Deuce's people say we can live on it, but that's no way to live. A lot of folks will skip a meal or two just to get better food. People are slowly starving to death. Is it any wonder none of the women have gotten pregnant?"
"God," said Hope. "And when people can't afford even the gruel anymore, they go into the basement to generate power?"
Margaret looked around as if to check for listeners, even though they were alone in her suite. "We're not supposed to talk about it. Everyone knows about the Pit, but it's taboo to discuss. People who go down there are usually never seen again."
Hope pushed the tray over to Margaret. She'd lost her appetite. "There's someone down there I need to see. I need to find out if he's who I've been looking for."
"The father of your baby?" asked Margaret.
"No. Not exactly." Hope sighed.
Margaret's laugh was gentle. "Dear, either he is or he isn't."
"Then he isn't. We never hooked up."
"So what is he to you?"
Hope didn't answer right away. What was Undead Elvis to her? He had been her guide, her confidant, and her sounding board during the first portion of her journey. He'd given her a destination, listened to her rambling on, and carried her when she no longer had the strength to walk for herself. He'd helped her to discover a vast well of fortitude, both physical and emotional, that she hadn't known she'd possessed. Without him, she felt sure she would have died many months ago. She realized, with some astonishment, how much she'd transformed over the course of her pregnancy. Now she'd become to others what Undead Elvis had been to her. Was this part of how her child was supposed to fix the world? Would her son have those same qualities that Undead Elvis had inspired within her and now she inspired in others?
She hoped so.
"He's a friend," she said at last. "And if he needs me, I have to help him."
"I can show you where the entrance to the Pit is," said Margaret, "but I can't take you down there." She offered a wry smile. "It's not wheelchair-accessible. I wish I could do more than that, but I'm afraid of what's down there."
"What is down there?"
"The stuff of nightmares. People who've lost their humanity over the Deuce and his goddamned chips. People who'll do anything, sell anything if the price is right. People who are killing themselves on the treadmills and cycles, starving to death just to get that one chip so they can run upstairs and pull a slot machine lever."
Fidel rolled over on the bed, splaying his paws up in the air, and groaned in his sleep. Hope patted his soft tummy. He opened his eyes and looked at her, still more asleep than awake. She could see herself reflected in the dark pools of his pupils, and the woman she saw wouldn't be afraid to face down the monsters below if it meant she could save her friend. "Okay, you show me and I'll take it from there."
"Tonight?"
"Now, if you will."
"I don't know…" The bravado Margaret had displayed earlier vanished as the woman seemed to sink into her wheelchair.
Hope reached out and squeezed her hand. "Margaret, listen. I said I'm leaving as soon as this storm clears up, and you can come with me."
"You mean… leave the Casino?"
"Yes. This place is poison to everyone in it. If it doesn't kill you all, the Righteous Flame will when they get here."
"The what?"
"The worst thing you can imagine. They're coming. They've been coming for months. Every time I get a little further ahead of them, then they catch up. I believe that if we make it to Graceland, we'll be safe from them there."
"And then what?"
Hope cradled her belly. "And then we fix the world."
Margaret shook her head. "Nothing can do that now."
"Not yet. Please, will you show me the Pit?"
"No, I can't. I'm too frightened."
"Then tell me