The Ark Plan (16 page)

“I want to help you,” I said. “I do. But I can't. Not yet. I have to finish what I started. I think the reason those marines came after us in the first place was because of this,” I said, holding up my compass. “I need to get it to Lake Michigan, and I need to get there fast before anyone else gets hurt.”

“And what?” Todd said. “You are just going to leave
my mom and everyone I love in the hands of your crazy dictator? No way. You got them taken, and you are going to help me get them back.”

“I promise I'll help you get them back,” I said. “I'll march you right into North Compound myself if that's what you want. But I can't go anywhere near a compound until I see this thing through. I have to.”

Todd frowned. “There isn't anything in Lake Michigan. If you make it there alive, which you probably won't, all you will have accomplished is wasting time.”

“So come with us,” I said. “We make it there faster, and we make it there alive. As soon as I've delivered this plug to, well, whatever is in the middle of Lake Michigan, Shawn and I will help you get your village back.”

“We will?” Shawn muttered quietly, and I stomped down hard on his foot. He grunted in pain, but he got the message.

“We will,” I said. “I promise.”

Todd stared at us, then he looked back up at the deserted tree houses, their rope ladders swinging gently in the breeze. “If I help you,” he said after a moment, “we can make it to Lake Michigan in less than three days.”

“Really?” I said, feeling hopeful for the first time since the helicopters had shown up.

Todd nodded. “If it was any farther, I'd say forget it, you're on your own. But I can spare a few days, especially if it means you help me. I know about as much about survival underground as you know about survival aboveground.”

“So . . . you know nothing,” Shawn said. Todd barked out a laugh despite himself. Shawn had a knack for making people laugh when they felt like crying.

“Really? You'll come with us?” I asked.

Todd nodded. “I've never actually gone to the lake, but I did do some trading trips with my dad to Ivan's, and I know his place is only a day or so from the lake.”

I froze.

“Did you just say Ivan?” I asked. Not daring to hope. “You know an Ivan?”

Todd looked at me strangely. “You know Ivan? Crazy trapper Ivan? Dinosaur hunter Ivan?”

“Um”—I glanced at Shawn—“maybe?” I unscrewed my compass and pulled out my dad's note and handed it to Todd. It was time to put all my cards on the table.

“How many things do you have in that direction-finding thingy of yours?” he asked.

“More than you'd expect,” I said with a strained smile. “Just look at it.” He read it quickly and then handed it back to me.

“So that plug thing you guys were talking about is
in there?” Todd asked, eyeing my compass speculatively. I nodded, fighting the urge to grab it protectively. Todd saw my look and shook his head ruefully. “Don't worry. I'm not going to take it.”

I nodded.

“Your dad wasn't real specific in that note, was he,” Todd said.

“You can say that again,” Shawn grumbled.

I glared at him. “You should be happy. If it is the same Ivan, then we might not have to go all the way to Lake Michigan.”

“Now that,” Shawn said, pointing at me, “is the best news I've heard all day.”

I frowned as something occurred to me, and I turned to Todd. “Can we go back to Adler's trading post before we head out?”

Todd looked startled. “Why? You have all the gear you need.”

“That's not it.” I shook my head. “I don't trust this stuff anymore.” I gestured to my backpack. “I want to trade it all in. I couldn't find a tracker, but there has to be one, or those marines wouldn't have found us. The last thing we need is for them to track us to Ivan.”

“We can try,” Todd said. “But Adler's not going to want anything potentially carrying a tracker.”

I frowned. “I didn't think about that.”

As it turned out, Adler wasn't a problem. The rope ladder leading up to his house swung back and forth lazily in the wind, and the small hut was abandoned.

“The marines must have gotten him,” Shawn said, running his fingers over some of the dusty pots and pans hanging from the wall. He picked up a small box of bits of metal and began pawing through it.

“Or Adler heard the gunshots and took off without even trying to help,” Todd said in disgust. His face darkened, and he glared at me. “Although I shouldn't be too judgmental. All we did was hide in the bushes.”

“There was nothing we could have done,” Shawn said, setting down the box of metal. “If we'd shown ourselves, we'd be in those helicopters too.” Todd just grunted in response and disappeared down a dusty row of what looked like cooking utensils. Shawn's eyes roamed over the cluttered shelves of the store. He was looking for his music box.

I took my bag off my back and plunked it on the counter. It didn't take long to empty out my worn gray clothing and the few items I'd stolen from the compound. Todd thumped two large canvas bags like his own down without a word, and turned around to poke through the shelves again. Shawn joined me at the counter and quickly emptied out his own bag. His pile of supplies dwarfed mine, and I stared in wonder at
the items he'd managed to get his hands on. I picked up the med kit and the small bag of tools, wishing we could take them with us. But in the end, I put them back on the pile. One of these items had a tracker in it, and nothing was worth getting caught.

Ten minutes later, we had filled our new canvas packs with supplies from Adler's stash and were heading back down the rope ladder. The only thing I'd kept was my journal, tucking it safely in the bottom of the unfamiliar pack. Shawn had kept his old patched-up port. I hadn't known that he'd brought it along, but after a little arguing, he'd convinced me that there was no way a tracker was in the port he'd personally assembled piece by piece. I'd finally agreed. I knew part of the reason was because we hadn't found his music box. He'd tried to hide his devastation when it hadn't turned up, but failed. Everything familiar had been left in the tree house above us. It was bittersweet and freeing all at once.

Todd jumped the last few feet to the ground, landing gracefully. He'd barely spoken to us through the entire exchange of supplies. He stood now, taking in the forest around us, his face wary, his bow strung. At least it wasn't pointing at us anymore, I thought as I hopped off the ladder to land clumsily beside him.

Shawn dropped next, but missed the landing and fell onto his butt with a loud grunt. I bit back a smile as I helped him up. “So we're heading to this Ivan's house?” he asked glumly as he dusted himself off.

“We are,” I said, nodding, but then I stopped and looked at Todd as something occurred to me. “Can you even find Ivan? My dad said that he didn't know where Ivan was located.”

“I can find him,” Todd said. “I think. He relocates every few years, but I know Mitchell just saw him a few months ago to trade for some teeth and bones, and he said Ivan was back at the house I visited with my dad once.”

Shawn didn't look convinced. “Only once?”

“Once is enough,” Todd said, shouldering his pack. “Let's get going. I want to get as far as I can before night falls.” He took a few steps into the woods, then stopped and turned back to us. “Remember what I said about being alert,” he warned. “If the smaller meat-eating dinosaurs are hungry enough, they might try to take one of us out, especially if they are hunting in a pack. We need to stay close together, and we need to have our bows ready.”

“But we don't know how to use our bows,” Shawn pointed out.

“Worst-case scenario,” Todd said, “use it as a club.” He turned and headed into the woods at a jog.

“Was that supposed to be reassuring?” Shawn asked me.

“I don't think so,” I said, heading after Todd.

I
wondered if I would ever get used to this topside world. As I ran after Todd, every breath scraped up my throat in a wheezing gasp, I decided the answer was probably not. Growing up in the filtered, monochromatic quiet of the compound made all the colors and smells and sounds up here overwhelming. There were so many things I wanted to look at but couldn't because I needed to watch where I was going. I managed to catch a glimpse of a bird here or a chattering squirrel there, but I always paid for it with a rather painful face-plant and an irritated look from Todd. And while I appreciated the beauty of the fallen leaves, moss, and tiny patches of multicolored flowers we ran
over, I also found them annoyingly uneven. I caught myself longing for the smooth compound tunnels and almost laughed out loud at myself. I'd spent a lifetime wishing for exactly what I was doing right now, running in the fresh air and the dappled green light that shone down from the trees. I just hadn't imagined it being so uncomfortable.

My feet were killing me. My new boots were wonderful, but the blisters from the day before were still raw, and the bottoms of my feet felt bruised. Todd kept us at a brisk trot for what felt like hours. His face was a thundercloud, and it was clear that talking was out of the question. Except for the occasional glare or snide remark when Shawn or I tripped, he didn't say much. I tried to mimic his constant state of wary watchfulness, but it was impossible. He saw things ages before I did, heard things I couldn't, and smelled things I didn't even notice. Watching him, I realized that Shawn and I had been way too relaxed the day before. I'd thought we were safe in the thick trees, but Todd made it obvious we were not.

I was so busy thinking about how stupid we'd been that I almost ran smack into Todd's back when he pulled up short.

“Look there,” he whispered, pointing through the trees to our left. I looked and spotted a small herd of
dinosaurs, no taller than my waist. They were pawing underneath a fallen log, and as we watched, one of them let out a high-pitched shriek as it came up with a fat bullfrog clutched in its jaws. Immediately the dinosaur next to it ripped the frog out of its jaws and swallowed it whole. The first dinosaur squealed in rage and went after the thief.

“What's so special about them?” Shawn huffed, his hands on his knees. “We've seen little dinosaurs like that all day.”

“What did you call that Big Ugly back in the meadow? A T. rex? Well those, my friends, are baby T. rex,” Todd whispered.

“Really?” I asked, looking again. These dinosaurs were a muddy brown instead of the flashy greens and reds of an adult T. rex. And while the adults had a smattering of thin, whiskerlike feathers on their heads and backs, these had thicker feathers covering large portions of their bodies. Camouflage, I realized. The young dinosaurs blended in with the forest floor. The giants that roamed the open areas must send their young into the trees for protection. The adolescents crouched on all four feet, using their front legs to balance out their well-muscled back half. Their forelegs must stop growing soon, I thought, picturing the adult T. rex's useless front legs.

“I forgot this area was a T. rex breeding ground,” Todd whispered. “Roderick only marked your map for the trip to Lake Michigan. If he'd known we were going this way, he could have warned us.” He trailed off, and I knew he was remembering that Roderick was dead. I pulled my map out, and Todd silently pointed to a spot to the right of my dad's original path. We were still heading north toward Lake Michigan, but we were now heading there at an angle instead of the direct route my dad had drawn. The miniature T. rex pulled their heads up to stare at us, their eyes bright and intelligent. Todd motioned for us to follow, and we were off and running again, leaving them to fight over the discovery of another frog.

Shawn and I kept up with Todd for another hour as he led us through the woods. He seemed to know instinctually exactly where the thickest trees were and led us out of our way to avoid any dinosaurs we came across—all while running at an almost unbelievable pace. I gritted my teeth, determined not to be weak, but I was worried if we kept our pace up much longer, I was going to pass out. “Todd,” I finally called, “if you're trying to kill us as payback for getting your village taken, you might just get your wish.”

Todd stopped and looked back at us, taking in our sweat-drenched shirts and Shawn's bright red face.
Todd wasn't breathing hard at all.

He frowned. “What's the problem?”

“We can't run much longer,” I said as Shawn plopped down on the ground and started digging out his canteen. When he finally found it, he stared at it a moment, as though he'd forgotten that he'd given up his smooth metal compound one for the dingy glass one from Adler's. Then he shrugged and took a long drink.

“I think I hacked up a lung about a mile ago,” he wheezed. “Don't worry. There is a fifty-fifty chance I'll survive without it.”

“The air up here is too thick,” I complained.

“Too thick?” Todd said. “What are you talking about?”

“It's the humidity,” Shawn said, taking another long drink. “The compound didn't have any. We had filtered and recirculated air with a higher oxygen content to make up for the increased carbon dioxide levels of the tunnels.”

“Whatever,” Todd said. “We can walk awhile, but I want to get as far as possible before dark.” He turned and started walking swiftly through the woods, his bow drawn. I offered Shawn my hand and helped him up.

“Why does he have to be so fast?” he groaned.

“Because he wants to survive,” Todd called back.

“What is with the freakishly good hearing?” Shawn muttered to me.

“Different question, same answer,” Todd replied, and I had to grin. I hurried to catch up with Todd. Shawn was right; I practically had to jog to keep up with his ground-eating strides.

“I know I've already said it,” I told him. “But I am so sorry about what happened.” Guilt was gnawing at me. I needed him to tell me we were okay before it ate me alive—even if it wasn't even close to being okay.

“I know you didn't mean for it to happen,” he said, puffing out his cheeks and looking at me. “But I would forgive a lot quicker if Shawn didn't keep defending the people who took my mom.”

“Yeah, about that.” I sighed. “You have to understand that in the compound, the Noah's word is law. He's the world's protector, the reason we've survived this long. Every rule, every law, every everything in the compound is to ensure the survival of the human race. Shawn never could have imagined them capturing a village like yours. He couldn't even imagine a village like yours existed two days ago.”

“And you have to understand that out here the Noah is somebody to be feared,” Todd shot back. “He's a dictator who brainwashed the human race into thinking that they had to give up their independence to survive.
According to Jett, the Noah will stop at nothing to keep power. Nothing. Even if it means eradicating the last pockets of freedom and acting like they never existed. And after what I just witnessed, my version of your precious Noah looks a lot more accurate.” I stopped walking and stared after him, struck dumb as I tried to reconcile his version of the Noah with my own.

“What was that about?” Shawn huffed, catching up to me.

“Nothing.” I frowned as I started walking again. “Just friendly small talk.”

“It didn't look like Todd was feeling too friendly. Not that I can blame him.”

I nodded, my mind churning as I thought about everything Todd had said. The Noah he described was not the Noah I'd learned about in school or heard from during mandatory assemblies.

I leaned over and picked up a fallen leaf so I could shred it between my fingers as we walked. It gave off a tangy, lemony smell and made my fingers feel sticky. “He seems to think we're idiots for believing the Noah all these years.”

“I've met a lot of idiots,” Shawn said. “And I promise you, Sky Mundy, that you aren't one. What happened at the village was bad; I'm not denying that. But the Noah always has a reason. Remember history class?
There have been three Noahs that have taken power over the years, right? And every Noah has always made laws and decisions with one goal in mind: to save the human race. I think you can forgive a lot when the alternative is extinction.”

“I'm not so sure,” I muttered. Something inside of me was shifting, and it made me uncomfortable. When I'd taken on my dad's mission, I hadn't really thought through whom I was working against. Stealing supplies and leaving the compound had been minor acts of rebellion. I'd spent years working to ensure the survival of the human race, following the Noah's every decree, obeying the rules. Now, it appeared, I was working against the very man I'd looked up to. The Noah obviously didn't want me to deliver whatever was on this port, and he'd sent his marines to stop me. I glanced up from my shredded leaf to see that Todd was now twenty feet in front of us. Shawn was right; he did walk unbelievably fast.

“Hurry up,” Todd called. “And get out your bows. They aren't going to do you much good strapped to your backs.”

Shawn and I hurried over, fumbling to unstrap our bows. After watching us struggle, Todd sighed and stopped to help us. He spent a minute or so adjusting
our grips and tightening the bowstrings before nodding in satisfaction.

“Okay,” he said. “Let's go.”

“What are we shooting at?” I asked, confused.

“Nothing,” Todd said.

Shawn looked confused. “But shouldn't we have an arrow out?”

Todd shook his head. “I don't feel like getting shot today, and that's just what you'll do the first time you trip.” Shawn looked down at his grass-stained knees sheepishly. “Until you get comfortable with the bow,” Todd said, smirking, “and walking, you don't get any arrows.”

“Is this how your dad taught you?” I asked.

“Yeah.” Todd smiled. “I had to carry my bow around for a whole month.”

“Did you feel like an idiot?” Shawn asked, gesturing to his bow. “Because I sure do.”

Todd laughed, and the tension that had been hanging over us ever since we left the Oaks eased.

“What was it like to grow up topside?” I asked, wanting to keep Todd talking. I liked the easygoing, joking Todd we'd met in the woods the day before. This somber, moody Todd put me off balance. He had every right to hate us, but I hoped he wouldn't.

“Topside,” Todd said thoughtfully as he started walking again. “You two always call it that, but I never knew anything different.”

“We were like that in the compound,” Shawn said. “Until I was five, I always thought that the topside was just an interesting bedtime story.”

Todd shook his head. “I can't imagine that.”

“Did the Oaks have a school?” I prompted. “You know how to read.”

“Not very well,” Todd said. “We don't have a fancy school like you compound moles. A few people still have books, and Jett required that everyone know how to read by the time they were ten. He didn't want the skill to die out. Mostly we learn how to do useful stuff, like hunt, fish, build, and garden. When you turn sixteen, you're apprenticed to someone in the village. I was going to ask to be Roderick's apprentice.” He frowned. “He was going to teach me all about maps, so I could be a trader like my dad.”

“But who did you trade with?” Shawn asked. “Certainly not the compounds.”

Todd snorted. “Definitely not. There are three other villages within a month's travel of the Oaks. My dad used to make the trip to trade goods with them. And we trade with Ivan. He used to come to the Oaks about once a month. Now if you want something from Ivan,
you have to go to him. I haven't seen him in years.”

“You said he was a dinosaur hunter?” I asked. “That can't be a real thing. Can it?”

“You just wait and see.” Todd smiled. “If his house is the same as I remember, you're in for a real treat.”

“Has anyone ever tried to improve your pulley system?” Shawn asked, and I smiled as we fell into easy conversation. We shared stories about our lives and grilled one another about the oddities of one another's upbringing, and I almost forgot that we were walking through dinosaur territory. Almost. The bows in our hands served as a helpful reminder.

“We'll stop here for lunch,” Todd finally said, indicating a small cave built in the side of a large rock formation. “My dad and I used this as a breaking point when I was a kid,” he explained as he shrugged his pack off and let it fall heavily to the ground. “I was too little to make it very far in one day.”

Shawn followed suit, rolling his shoulders gratefully. “I could have gone another couple hours, but if you need to rest, that's no problem.”

Todd barked out a laugh. “Yeah, right. Sit down before you fall down.”

I glanced at Todd. “Is it okay if I go over there?” I pointed to a clump of thick bushes about thirty yards away.