The Water Wars (25 page)

Torq glared at him, but he was powerless. He could kill us, but it would be too late. Kai had given the people water. Where there was water—even just a little—there was hope. And hope was the enemy of despots and tyrants. It shimmered at the edge of the blue stream in the glint of the desert sun.

“It’s not over,” said Torq. His brown body shook with fury, like a man whose kingdom had burned down around him. “We’ll see how long the people remember.” Then he turned, heels clicking, and led his men from the room.

It was only then I noticed Sula holding the harpoon behind her back, her hand gripping so tight that her knuckles were white. I touched the woman’s arm until her hand relaxed and slipped mine between the warmth and the weapon.

“Come,” I said. “Let’s go home.”

W
e said good-bye to Kai and Driesen outside the gaming center. In front of everyone, Kai took my hand and kissed me. It was embarrassing but also sweet, even if Will did make a coyote whistle that turned my head at the last minute.

“See you tomorrow?” Kai asked. He was still weak from high blood sugar, but his voice was strong and clear.

Tomorrow was a school day, I realized, an ordinary day, although it seemed like it couldn’t be. “I’ll see you at the bus stop,” I said. I leaned into him, and this time I kissed him back—on the mouth—and I didn’t care who was watching.

The black limo was waiting at the corner. Its gasoline engine purred, and the exhaust gathered lazily like a cloud. A new bodyguard held the rear door open, and Kai followed his father inside. For a moment he disappeared behind the darkened and reinforced glass, but as the limo pulled away, he opened the window and waved. The last thing I saw was his blond hair streaming wildly behind him and his mouth open to catch the wind.

Ulysses drove Will and me in his pirates’ truck down the dusty road where I had first met Kai. But now I imagined trees shading the shoulders and tall grass swaying in the median. I saw children riding pedicycles and adults walking arm in arm beneath a cool evening sun. I saw the road leading to Basin and beyond, straight and clear and safe. A road that might take us anywhere.

Ulysses parked the truck near the main entrance to our building. He and Sula descended first, and Cheetah bounded out behind them. Will and I stopped by the open gate, taking in the familiar sights of home. Our apartment was just as I remembered it. Painted shutters brightened the windows. Two cacti flowered in a terrarium by the door. A welcome wreath hung from the railing.

We climbed the rickety steps. The lights were off in our neighbor’s apartment, although there was nothing unusual about trying to save credits on electricity. I knocked on our door, and the sound echoed hollowly inside.

“Maybe they’ve gone shopping,” said Will dubiously.

We both knew our mother could not leave the house. If our father was gone, something had happened.

I knocked again. This time we heard shuffling and scraping, and then the door opened. Our father stood there, smiling wearily, not surprised at all, as if we had simply returned late from water team.

“We’re home,” I said.

The man who stepped between us was instantly recognizable. His trim beard and tight face. His white teeth razored perfectly between his lips.

“Hello, Will. Hello, Vera,” said the chief administrator.

There was something familiar as well about the two men in blue shirts who flanked him. Then it came to me: they had been watching Kai at the gaming center. But who were they? And why was the chief administrator here?

“I’m sorry,” said our father. “He insisted on waiting for you.”

“What’s going on, Dad?” asked Will.

Before our father could respond, Cheetah sprang into the room, followed by Ulysses and Sula. One of the blue-shirted men went for his belt, but Sula knocked the gun out of his hand before he could even grip it. Ulysses pulled his gun on the other man while Cheetah held the chief administrator at bay.

“Please!” said the administrator. “There is no need for fisticuffs.”

“They just want to talk to you,” added our father.

“Then talk,” said Ulysses, still holding the gun at the administrator’s temple.

“It would be a more pleasant conversation if we could all be seated.”

Cheetah growled.

“Talk,” repeated Ulysses.

The administrator harrumphed. He was not used to taking orders from pirates, but Cheetah looked as if she was hungry.

“Very well,” he said, eyeing the dog. “We understand you’ve just had an interesting adventure with some of our friends on the coast.”

“You know all about it,” I said.

“Yes.” The administrator tried to smile, but his teeth prevented his lips from closing. “And we know all about your friend as well.”

“Kai?”

“Finds water with his nose. Very useful.”

“You saw the wi-cast. He can find hidden aquifers.”

“How fortunate for the republic. To have this valuable resource right here—in our own town.”

“Yes,” I said cautiously.

“Not the sort of thing you’d want to waste. By sharing him with another republic, for example.”

“That aquifer runs all the way to Minnesota,” I said. “And the water that’s in it falls from the sky. No one owns it.”

“But you’re wrong,” said the administrator. “The Canadians own it. And the Minnesotans. And the Europeans too.” A tiny fleck of blood darkened his lower lip. “Why shouldn’t we take what’s rightfully ours?”

“Because it’s not rightfully ours.”

“The boy lives in Illinowa. In Arch. He can make us all wealthy.”

“It’s that kind of thinking that turned the forests to deserts.”

“Don’t be naïve, girl. You’ll never get the rivers flowing. Your friend Kai needs to help his own people, and we need your help convincing him.”

I shook my head. Now I knew why the administrator was here, and why the men had been following Kai at the gaming center. But I would never help him steal the water for himself. I told him none of us would.

“You’re making a mistake,” he said. “One you will regret.”

Ulysses raised his gun, but I silenced him. “No,” I said. “It’s you who’ve made the mistake, taking what doesn’t belong to you. Now we need you to leave.”

“You heard Vera. Leave.” Ulysses motioned to the door with his gun, and Sula shoved the man in front of her. Cheetah started barking, and the administrator scampered backward.

“Think about it,” he said, as he stumbled out the door. “You won’t have another chance.”

“Neither will you.”

Then I slammed the door behind him.

Our father watched this, wide-eyed and pale. But Will comforted him. “He can’t do anything. Otherwise he wouldn’t have come here.”

“I hope you’re right,”

“Kai, Will, and Vera are heroes,” said Ulysses reassuringly. “The politicians will think twice before making them enemies.”

I told our father then about facing down Torq in the gaming center, and how Ulysses and Sula had saved our lives. Cheetah jumped up and licked our father’s face, nearly knocking him over. He was startled at first, but then his face softened. A real dog slobbering before him, protecting his two lost children, brought tears to his eyes. He never imagined he would see such things. Yet here we were. Alive, safe, home.

“You must tell your mother.”

He invited everyone inside, but Ulysses and Sula, observing old customs, insisted they would remain outside with the dog. Something flickered between them, ancient and familiar, and it made my heart ache.

“We’ll be right back,” I promised.

“Don’t hurry,” said Ulysses. “We’re not going anywhere.”

Our father led us deeper into the house. It was dark and hushed. Even the wireless was silent. “Rose! Rose!” he called. “You have visitors.”

We walked down the hallway and into our mother’s room. The shades were drawn, but behind them glowed the suffused light from outdoors—red and gold, the colors of autumn. Will stopped as if he might fling them open. But I pushed him along, and he let it go.

We went to the bedside where our mother slept fitfully. The pillows were scattered behind her like whitecaps on waves. Her face was freckled and pale, and her red hair was pulled back tightly in a bun. A few stray wisps danced at the edges of her mouth.

I touched her arm, and her eyes flickered, then opened. She looked up and smiled as if we had never been gone. “Will. Vera,” she said. “I’m so thirsty.”

“We brought you some water,” I said.

Then I filled a glass and helped her drink.