United We Stand by Eric Walters Page A

that was empty. Like our neighborhood, here, too, the streets were almost empty, stores and schools and businesses closed and dark. It was like there was some sort of holiday … although it was nothing like a holiday. I was going to say something about it to James, but hewas staring intently out the window and I didn’t want to bother him.
    The door at the far end of the car opened and the conductor came in. He stopped at the first man, took his ticket, punched it, and then returned it to him. There were so few people that he wouldn’t have much work to do today. He quickly worked his way along the car until we were next.
    The conductor looked as if he hadn’t slept. His eyes were red and he had a stubbly beard—he obviously hadn’t shaved.
    “Tickets, please,” he asked.
    James continued to stare out the window. He hadn’t heard or noticed the conductor.
    “James,” I said, tapping him on the leg.
    He turned to face me. He looked unsure, confused. He glanced up at the conductor but it was like he didn’t understand who he was or what he wanted.
    “He wants our tickets.”
    “Tickets? Didn’t you get the tickets?”
    “Me? I gave you all my money, remember?”
    “Oh, yeah, right.”
    “So you boys don’t have tickets,” the conductor said.
    “No, I’m sorry. We each thought that the other one had bought them,” I tried to explain, but it sounded pretty lame even to me.
    “I’ve heard that story more than a few times,” the conductor said.
    “It’s not a story, honest!” I suddenly had visions of us being arrested or given a big fine—they were allowedto fine us about five hundred dollars each. “We could pay you now,” I pleaded. “James, give him the money.”
    The conductor shook his head. “Keep your money. Today, it’s okay. Hard not to be distracted. Don’t worry about it.”
    “Thank you so much. It won’t happen again.”
    “It’s not worth worrying about. Not with everything that’s going on. What stop are you boys going to?”
    “Grand Central,” I said.
    “And from there?” he asked.
    “We’re going south.”
    “That could be a problem. The subways are running off schedule, and some of the lines have been closed down completely. Better to go on a surface route, take a bus. Besides, I’d be nervous getting on a subway right now. You know, they could be targeted.”
    “Targeted for what?” I asked.
    “Lots of rumors. Who knows what the terrorists are going to try to hit next?”
    I felt a rush of fear surge through my body. I hadn’t thought about any of that. Yesterday we’d heard rumors of other attacks but nothing had happened. Of course, that didn’t mean something couldn’t happen today. People were talking about America being at war against the terrorists who’d done this, and it seemed like we were living in a world now where anything, absolutely
anything
, could happen.
    “How far south are you going?” he asked.
    “Down close to the bottom,” I said, without saying exactly where.
    “Can’t get too far down. The whole southern tip has been barricaded off. It’s restricted to emergency personnel.”
    “Thanks. That’s all good to know.”
    That’s what I’d figured. And maybe now that James had heard it himself we could just turn around and go home.
    “Take care, boys,” the conductor said. He started to walk away and then spun around. “I was just wondering,
why
are you boys going into the city today?”
    I clearly knew the answer but I didn’t know what to say, or what I
should
say to him.
    “The authorities have requested that anybody who doesn’t need to be in the city stay away,” he told us.
    “We have to go,” I said.
    “Yeah?” he questioned.
    “Yeah,” James said. “My father is down there. He’s a firefighter.”
    “Your father is one of New York’s bravest?” the conductor said.
    James nodded.
    “In that case, I have something for you two.” He took his pad and scribbled something on it. He ripped off the sheet and