The Bottle Stopper by Angeline Trevena Read Free Book Online Page B

stocked. Why are you sleeping?”
    “We're low on water.”
    “Then I'll go and get some more.”
    “You can't. It's dredging day. You have to let the river settle first.”
    He pressed his boot down harder. “I know that. But there's flu going around on Lynstock. I need a full shop.”
    “There's just not much we can do until the river settles. You'll kill everyone if you use that water.”
    Lou removed his boot, and crouched down. He placed a finger on Maeve's knee and ran it up her thigh. “Well, if we can't open the shop, I'll have to find another way to occupy my time.”
    “I'll finish up with the water I've got. I'll use small bottles.”
    “Just make sure they're cheap bottles. The Lynstock lot are cheapskates.”
    He roamed his eyes over Maeve's bare legs before standing, and sauntering out of the room.
    Maeve quickly dressed and hurried downstairs. Lou was in the storage room, peering critically into the barrel of water.
    “I'll eke it out,” Maeve said.
    “Looks like you're low on bottles and cuttings too.”
    “I'll get some.”
    “I want that shop fully stocked by lunchtime.”
    “Of course.” Maeve grabbed her cardigan from a hook in the kitchen, and pushed her hands into its deep pockets.
    She stumbled across the mud that had baked hard into ridges and trenches, and stepped onto the wooden planks. The Wall was almost empty today. Almost everyone on The Floor was down at the riverbank, waiting, in hope, for treasures to be unearthed by the dredgers.
    “Maeve!”
    Maeve looked up to see Topley perched on the railings outside the bakery. She dismounted and hurried down the steps.
    “I was just watching all the commotion at the river. I think they may have found something.”
    “Well, let's just hope it's not cholera.”
    Topley coughed, bending double to spit out phlegm.
    “Are you alright?” asked Maeve. “I was just joking about the cholera.”
    Topley waved her hand before slowly straightening up. “It's just the stench of the dredging, it's really getting to me today.”
    “Six months worth of God knows what.”
    “Yeah, and six months between dredges is just long enough to forget how bad it is.”
    “But the vultures are still there, hoping to strike gold.”
    Topley closed her eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. “Anyway, where are you off to?”
    “To find more bottles. Easy pickings when everyone's preoccupied at the river. Are you up to coming along?”
    Topley nodded, but her cheeks were pale.
    “We'll take it slowly then,” Maeve said, offering her bent arm for Topley to link hers into.
    “Have you ever been down on dredging day?” Topley asked.
    “When I was a kid. I remember going with my mum a couple of times. I used to love hitching my skirt up, wading out into the water. I liked the way the mud sucked at my feet. I found an amazing brooch once, just unearthed it with my toes. But Uncle Lou pawned it years ago.”
    “Can I ask what happened with your mum?”
    Maeve stopped and stared at the floor. “I don't even know, not really. One day a group of officers came for her. Uncle Lou was there, and he didn't do a thing. Just watched them take away his sister. He held onto me so tightly. I tried to get to her, but I couldn't do anything other than scream.”
    “But the administration has no authority on The Floor.”
    “Technically, they do, they just don't really care. Just let us get on with it. I don't know why they wanted Mum. I used to ask Uncle Lou about it, but he'd always tell me to shut up.”
    “Do you think she's still alive.”
    “I'm sure it's just vain hope, but something has always told me that she is. I feel like, if she died, I'd just know somehow.”
    Topley nodded thoughtfully.
    “Let's go and find some bottles.”
    As they entered The Squeeze, Topley stopped again, gripping her stomach.
    “Are you alright?” Maeve asked.
    Topley braced herself against a wall as she bent over, vomiting into the mud. Maeve watched helplessly. Topley slowly