Robert’s heart raced like crazy when they reached Seventh City Ghost Town.

‘We need to take the small path to the actual entrance, the one that looks like one is a fake one that’s defended but never opened. There’s another entrance for vehicles too.’ Shirley said, looking at her map and instructions.

‘Wow.’ Robert looked at the closed gate at the end of the street, on top of which he could see a guard in a lookout structure. ‘Let’s slow down and wait for the others,’ he said, looking behind him where Michael, Eliza and even Rafael were catching up on them.

‘So, afraid of going in, big boy? I’m certain the guards have seen you already.’ Eliza said.

‘Stop it, Eliza, he was just waiting for you, and for my stuff. You could drop the meanness.’ Shirley said.

‘Hey, I’m just teasing.’

‘You’re mean to him. He’s done you nothing, and you keep on being like that. While he completely stepped out of his comfort zone to help me. How would you feel before the den of a feral men gang?’

Robert looked from Shirley to Eliza.

‘Okay, I said I’m still learning to be nice to boys. It doesn’t come that easy. But let’s go back to business. Jenny should be waiting on the other side of the door, and she’ll show you your apartment. Robert, would you like to help Shirley with her stuff? Michael and Rafael have some things to talk through.’

‘No-one has let me in yet. I’m still a boy standing in front of a female-only outlaw community that hasn’t let any men in since the days of Manfred except for, eh, Loverboy here, who seems to be as popular with women nowadays as he is unpopular with men. And I am a rated boy.’

Michael stared at his friend, and Eliza started laughing.

‘Don’t be dramatic, Robert. I know it’s all a bit much for you today, but I never give empty promises. And you’re wearing two badges, remember.’

She knocked at a weathered wooden panel in the wall where there was no ivy, in which promptly a door was opened, and the face of a woman appeared.

‘Good evening Eliza and Michael. And you must be Shirley. Oh, you’ve brought two more boys instead of one?’ Jenny looked from Rafael to Robert.

‘Eh, this is Jenny, both administrative brain of Seventh City Ghost Town and assistant of Lady Martha. And this is our fake fiancée Robert, and Rafael is a friend we’ve picked up along the way who needed to talk with Michael. He’s safe.’

‘I trust you on that, but I don’t think our community is ready for the presence of so many males at the same time at this point.’

‘Oh, I don’t have to come in, Lady Jenny. I was just talking to Michael. I haven’t seen him since before he was deleted.’ Rafael said, slightly nervous.

Robert looked at her, but said nothing. ‘But Robert can bring in my stuff while they talk, can he?’ Shirley said decisively.

Jenny looked at the Free Person badge on Robert’s chest. ‘Yes, Lady Martha has agreed on that already. So, Robert, do you pledge your allegiance to all friendly people, regardless of sex, rating or identity status?’

‘I do’ he said.

He found that it almost sounded like a marriage vow.

‘Okay, you can enter. But remember that if you ever break the pledge, you’ll never enter any Ghost Town again. And you’ll be branded as an enemy of all women for the rest of your life.’

Robert swallowed.

‘But if Eliza trusts you, we will trust you too. You don’t have to be nervous, young man. Come, follow me. And Eliza, they expect you in the printing room. You had said you’d do some repairs and some things need to be printed. You seem to have forgotten that with all the robot and radio projects.’

‘Ah, yes. I forgot. Michael, see you later. Shirley, I’ll join you later. Robert, thank you, and sorry for my attitude. Rafael, bye!’

She disappeared in the door in the wall while Shirley said goodbye to the two other boys.

Robert took the baggage and walked into the door, followed by Jenny and Shirley. Everything seemed to happen in slow-motion. Whatever he had expected to see, this wasn’t it. He saw a green village full of buildings of all kinds. Everything was well cared for, and well-structured. Jenny turned to Shirley.

‘Welcome in Seventh City Ghost Town, Shirley. As you probably cut ties with your father by coming to live here, we’ll call you by your selfname here, which would be Shirley Shirleys.’

‘Oh no. I don’t want that name anymore. Can I choose another first name too?’

‘If you want. Breaking with your past is a painful thing, and you can take the time to think of what you want to do and want to be.’

‘Can I change my hair too? I never want to be blond again. Ever! I don’t want to be anything that is attractive to Dave, or to any man at all. Let all their eyeballs and testicles and all the rest rot in the hells of all possible religions!’

‘Hair can be cut and coloured however you want. Your life will be completely yours here. You’ll only have to do some work to contribute to the community,’ Jenny said.

‘I know I’ll have to work. But it’ll be my own work, not free slavery work for a lazy man who owns me.’

‘No man will ever be able to claim you for Marriage here. You’re free now. I would normally say completely free from men now…’ She looked at Robert. ‘…but we’re less strict on them nowadays, and it’s possible that one day there even will be mixed couples here. As Lady Martha says, even men are human and maybe one in hundred will be a good person, and we can’t reasonably exclude a good person. But be assured, any unsafe man that comes close to this place will be put to sleep, and left in the wilderness just wearing a green robe with nothing else on him, and possibly even marked, as a warning for all of us to not trust him again.’

‘You’re scaring Robert, Lady Jenny. It took a lot of courage for him already to do this today. He shouldn’t be punished for that.’

‘Just say Jenny. And he has no reason to be scared. And we don’t really discriminate here. We would do the same with a woman if she goes too far.’

‘Does that happen often then?’

‘Well, a few years ago we had a drunk woman who became aggressive, and we left her in a green robe faraway in the forest like we do with the occasional man that tries to attack this place. She later went on to live in another Ghost Town and I don’t think she ever behaved like that again…’

‘And the men? Do they come back alive?’

‘Who knows? They won’t tell us. And look, here we are.’

Jenny stopped at one of the higher buildings.

‘Tracy should be awaiting you on the third floor. Do you want to use the stairs or the mechanical elevator?’

‘The elevator, please, Miss Jenny.’ Said Robert, slightly out of breath.

‘Robert, dear boy. You could have asked for help too. I thought you were asked to help to get her to here safely, not to just be her carrier boy. We’ve always managed that without men, you know.’

‘I think it’s sweet of him, and he just took over from Michael who brought it to the gate here. Thank you Robert, I’ll take it from here. You have been a great help, and I’m quite surprised you even went in here.’

‘I haven’t been abused. I just said that I would do it. Maybe there’s a lot of things about Be a Man that is toxic, but keeping promises isn’t one of them. Neither is helping people, including women.’

‘Come, we take the elevator, so I can show you how it works.’ Jenny said, leading them to an ancient lift.

When they arrived on the third floor the saw a door decorated with painted flowers. Jenny knocked and a girl opened the door, and stared at the trio.

‘So, eh, everybody. Tracy, this is Shirley, and Robert has come with her. Shirley, this is Tracy. She’s going to be your roommate like I told you yesterday.’

Tracy was about Shirley’s age, had a dark face brown eyes and tiny curls, and stared at Robert.

‘Robert has been helping her.’ Jenny said apologetically.

‘You actually brought a real boy? Jenny here said you might do so. I’ve never seen one here before. Isn’t he dangerous?’

Robert froze.

‘Tracy, behave yourself. He’s a Free Person, not an exotic pet.’ Jenny said.

‘I’m just surprised. I’ve never seen one before. He doesn’t look dangerous. Where did you meet him? How did you get him to work for you?’

‘He’s a friend of Michael, who was my friend’s Wife School fiancée, and I met him when I was the chaperone. He was so unlike anything I knew about men that day, and so afraid…’

‘Come girls. You can talk later. I think Robert wants to get back and maybe you can meet him another time.’ Jenny said tactfully.

‘Oh Sure, Miss Jenny.’ Tracy said.

‘Put your stuff there, Shirley. I have other work to do. Will you find the entrance back, Robert.’

‘Oh, eh, yes Miss Jenny’ he said, a bit overwhelmed.

He could hear Tracy whisper. ‘I never realised men could be cute. I thought they would be scary.’

‘Eh, Shirley, bye?’ He said.

‘Don’t be so shy, I’ll help you get out of this building. See you in a few minutes, Tracy.’ Shirley said, and she took his hand and dragged him out of the room and back into the elevator before he could say something.

When they arrived in the great hall on ground level she turned to Robert, took his hand, and looked in his eyes.

‘What is it?’ He said.

‘Thank you, Robert! For everything.’ she said, and suddenly hugged him.

‘I didn’t do much.’ He said.

‘You were there, and you didn’t do anything bad indeed. You’re a good person, for a boy.’ She said, and looked him in the eyes. ‘You were safe.’

She looked him in his eyes again, and suddenly she kissed him full on his lips.

‘Thank you for everything!’

Robert looked at her, touching his lips in disbelief.

‘What are we doing? What has just happened?’ He asked.

‘Well, if you hadn’t been here today, tomorrow the Dave would have done with me whatever he wanted, and afterwards claimed me as his slave in his house forever. No matter if he’d called it marriage it would have been that. And now I’m free. Free from being forced to “love” anyone. And I’ve crossed every line now.’

‘Eh?’ Robert stared at her again, unclear about what she meant.

‘To make things worse, I ran off with another boy on a date. And now that I’ve kissed you I’m certainly damaged goods, and not Wife material anymore. I’d get a ‘probably not a virgin’ stamp in my dossier if I still had one.’

‘Wait. Are you serious? For something like this? We didn’t…’

‘Yes, Technically I was probably being very adulterous already by walking around with you like that. And now even more. I’m very bad Wife material now. And ultimately I’m completely safe here from men who want to take advantage of that.’

‘Wow. All of this is so weird.’

She booped his nose, playfully, to lighten the mood.

‘Boop! But now that I escaped all of that that and am going to live in a completely new world, why not just have a first kiss with a guy that I like? I mean… Few girls ever have a chance to do something like that in this country you know.’

‘You only know two boys, or three now with Rafael.’

‘Yeah, I’m a bit biassed in liking the first one I connected too much… Or you’re just very likeable for a boy. Plus Tracy is absolutely right, you are cute!’

‘Me? You’re crazy. And I thought all the girls were into Michael now, deleted or not. The Loverboy and all…’

‘Probably, so there’s too much competition. Plus he’s an emotional wreck. And don’t make too much of it. I’m not proposing or so. I just say that I like you and I thank you with a kiss. Because I’m feeling wild today. And then you go back to your boy school life and I become an outlaw.’

‘Ah…’ He looked at her, not knowing what to say, unsure of what he was thinking and feeling.

Suddenly Eliza rushed into the door and hugged Shirley too.

‘Ah, here are you. Michael has gone back to the city already with Rafael. Is everything settled here? Do you like your roommate?’

Shirley nodded. ‘She was enthusiastic, and surprised by me bringing Robert.’

‘It’s highly unusual to say the least, bringing a man in a Wife School escape. But she wasn’t afraid?’

‘No, rather interested, strange enough. As if he’s a rare zoo animal.’

‘Oh, well, there are worse responses. But I think you need to get your place ready, and he needs to go home, so I’ll take him from you and release him in the wild again. You can always use the Pen Pal system to write each other. I’m quite sure you’ll manage to convince Jenny to let him visit you soon for a second date.’

‘This wasn’t really…’

‘You had more fun than most actual Wife School couples on a date, Shir. And now he goes home. I’ll see you soon, and I’ll bring Megan. The old days will be back!’

She grabbed Robert by the arm, and he couldn’t do anything but follow her.

‘Eh, thank you,’ he said. ‘Don’t I get a final hug from you too?’ Shirley said.

‘If you insist.’

He sighed and let her hug him too, and he automatically touched his lips again with a finger when she had finally let go of him and he walked out of the building with Eliza.

‘You’re walking me home?’

‘Yes, I’m a lowly nonwife, but I’m also armed and you’d be surprised of how good I can fight. It’s important to get you home unharmed. Today you’re topping the Ghost Town protection list. Which means one last cozy walk home.’

‘As long as you don’t call it a date…’

‘You’d wish, but no, I’m leaving you to Shirley for that if she’s ever interested in such things. Eliza the man-hater is not going to date anyone soon.’

‘Hey, I never asked for any dates today. Not with fake Shirley or the real one either. It’s my second time meeting girls remember. You’re all a bit too intense for me.’

They arrived at the wall.

‘Close your eyes.’ Eliza said, and he obeyed.

When he opened them again the door was open.

‘Is it a secret how the door opens?’

‘I don’t know, but the guard seems to be absent, and it’s my responsibility to keep this community safe. Do you see anyone outside?’

‘No’ Robert looked outside.

‘Kay, we leave then.’

‘Hey, what’s up here? Oh, it’s you, Eliza?’

A woman with another weird little gun-like thing suddenly turned up as if out of nowhere on the outside.

‘I’m escorting our male visitor back to the city, and I’m off too.’

The woman looked Robert up and down. ‘Sure he’s safe? I mean, being alone with a man at this hour?’

‘He’s safe, and I’m still armed too, so I can protect him if needed.’ Eliza said.

*

‘So, Shirley?’ Tracy said, sitting on the couch afterwards.

‘Doesn’t exist anymore!’ her new roommate said, beaming.

‘Ah?’

‘But she gave birth to the new me, so I might keep the selfname as a last name. How does Li Shirleys sound? No, maybe Leya Shirleys? The old Shirley is unavailable from now on and won’t ever be found again. The Dave would have been the end of everything, but I’m still alive and still free, so this will be a completely new life for the girl formerly known as Shirley.’

Tracy nodded. Almost every outlaw had an origin story about a man, but this one was more complicated.

‘Usually they say no more men…’ she tried.

‘But one in a hundred is a decent person, or something like that, and there were even two of them on the good side that made today possible. I’ll always be thankful to Michael for his Wifebot, and to Robert too. And still it feels weird to even say that in a place like this. It doesn’t fit.’

‘Tell me what. It is weird indeed. But there’s still one hundred and ninety-eight evil men lurking around in the city for those two I suppose…’

‘I’m not sure if he’ll even come back. He’s done so much more than he’s comfortable with, do you know how afraid of women he used to be? All those conspiracies about manipulative Wives and women who win the war of the sexes. We had quite the discussion at Megan’s date when I was the chaperone. And now he just carries my luggage into a Ghost Town… Second time seeing each other. Oh how things have changed…’

‘So you and him are not…?’

Tracy’s look was inquisitive now.

‘I’m an outlaw now, unranked and deleted. I don’t exist anymore, and I just changed my name. I’m beyond unmarriable. No rated man will ever start anything with me like that, I have no illusions about that. I'd be happy already if we can stay friends in some kind of way. I’ve heard the Pen Pal network can be used here too.’

‘Lady Martha uses it, I’ve heard.’

‘I’ll ask Eliza. She knows those things. Ooh, it will be good to be able to see her and Megan again. She said we’d meet soon. I never really believed in the pact of staying friends after Wife School no matter what would happen, but it seems that it worked out. I’m the luckiest girl in the world!’

Tracy looked at her new roommate. Whether her name was Shirley, Li or Leya, and whether she’d actually make the boy return or not, interesting times were ahead, that was for certain.

*

Robert found it impossible to fall asleep that night. The same moments from earlier that day kept coming back in his mind, like little films in endless loops. The most prominent impression had been the kiss, that he still felt on his lips when he thought of it. In a way it made sense in the situation, probably. Without the escape today she’d have been used as a living sex-doll tomorrow, just because of the colour of her hair. He had just helped her out, and she had thanked him with a kiss. That was all. A first kiss with a guy she liked, and also a farewell kiss?

That would have been the scenario in earlier times, a farewell not to him but to all men of the world. Or no, there wouldn’t have been any place for him in the story to begin with. After all he had been the second man to enter the outlaw community since the days of old Manfred. And his role had been played now. She was safe now, in her world without men, with no Daves and Marriages which were destructive to both men and women. He knew that now…

What now? His mind went back and forth between two opposite scenarios for him and Shirley. The first one was her being happy forever in her manless world now, adapting to the traditional Ghost Town life. In this version it had indeed been a farewell kiss to him, and to all men in the world. It would certainly make sense after all that had happened.

But she hadn’t used past tenses had she? And to kiss him? It could also mean that she expected more, and that he actually had an outlaw girlfriend now. Wasn’t that how it used to work in old stories? So maybe she expected something like that now? Something that didn’t even exist and couldn’t even work. Even Michael wouldn’t go so far, would he? Oh, why hadn’t they talked more? Eliza had interrupted them too early.

Ah, Eliza… She’d been haunting him too actually. She had hugged her when they had parted their ways near the Epsilonville blocks before the city centre. His fourth hug from a girl ever, after two hugs from Shirley earlier that day. She had said it was important for him to be able to evade what she called Miss Hunter’s oxytocin effect, and that if he didn’t see other girls as friends he would get too attached to Shirley, which wouldn’t be a good idea. He had only half understood the whole story, but the way she switched between mean and distant and friendly in a very physical way confused him. But no, Eliza wasn’t even interested in boys, was she? And if she was, she’d choose Michael and not him. Being nice didn’t mean anything except that she was just being friendly in a more basic way, in which sex differences didn’t even play a role. She just treated him now as she would treat another girl that she was friends with. Why were girls so intense?

Everyone from the female side had been nice to him actually. Apart from Eliza’s initial distantness they all had treated him as if it was a normal thing to be there, even Lady Martha’s assistant. He, a schoolboy, had walked into Seventh City Ghost Town and survived. The worst thing today had been Tracy the roommate who had treated him like a rare pet. It was clear that any girl coming to his school would have had it much worse…

And then his thoughts went back to Shirley kissing him. The explanation had been clear, but the words ‘why not just have a first kiss with a guy that I like’ kept running through his head. She had been honest, he knew that, but she hadn’t said anything about what she expected from him, and from the future. And that was the third option. Maybe she didn’t even know herself whether she would ever see him again, or want a relationship. But how could he know what it was?

He had to talk to her again, but they really lived in different worlds now, even more than when she had lived in Wife School. But wait, Pen Pal network she had said. It must be available there too if Lady Martha had used it to contact Michael. But should he wait for her to write, or write first? Would that come off as too hopeless? But not writing to her might give a wrong impression too. Aargh… He didn’t know anything anymore, but in the end he fell asleep anyway.