Untitled Agenda 21 Sequel (9781476746852) (29 page)

“Those escapees are my son and his family. I've got to stop Steven,” Joan said, wringing her hands.

“
We
,” Julia said. “
We've
got to stop him.” She put her hand on Joan's shoulder.

Winston nodded. “Yes,
we've
got to stop him.”

They started walking with grim determination.

Through the twists and tangles of fate, the hunters would soon become the hunted.

D
avid had been restless all night, tossing and turning, but he slept deeply now, his breathing slow and even. He was nervous about George being followed and our safety being compromised. I understood his concern, but I also knew we were doing the right thing, difficult though it was. The right thing is not always the easiest.

I stood up and walked to the cave's entrance. The sun had not yet risen, but it soon would. The stars had faded ahead of the competition from the coming dawn. I went to the edge of the clearing and peered into the woods. No sign of Paul.

I walked back to the cave entrance but didn't sit down. My legs were restless, and I paced back to the edge of the woods again. My stomach churned with nausea. I went back to the cave again to peer inside. Everyone was still asleep.

Dawn was slowly rising up from the dark side of the earth. It was a pale pink, such a gentle color. The mother deer and her two fawns that I'd come to recognize rustled through the woods nearby. I could make out the white spots scattered on the soft brown fur of the fawns, as though they had been splattered with paint. They slipped deeper into the woods and went down to the bank to drink from the stream. They could
have all the water they wanted and it would always be there. Surely, there was enough for all the animals and all the people in all the Compounds.

I was suddenly thirsty. My mouth felt dry, my lips cracked. I wanted to drink from the river's cold, fresh flow. It was light enough now I could walk to the water without tripping over a rock or a tree root. I would fill an empty bucket, and make myself useful. The waiting would go faster if I busied myself.

There was still no sign of Paul. Had he made the trip safely? So many things could have gone wrong. He might have been bitten by a snake, or fallen and struck his head on a rock. His fluttery heart might have stopped altogether. Had he been seen by a guard and captured? My own heart felt fluttery at the thought; my hands were sweating. If anything happened to him, it would be my fault.

Enough, I told myself. I had to let go of my worry. I grabbed the bucket and headed for the river. The mother deer and her fawns were already gone. I looked over my shoulder, back toward the cave. No sign of life stirred. I was truly alone out here surrounded by nothing but nature. At the river, I set the bucket down and had a drink of water from my cupped hands. I splashed water on my face and ran my wet hands through my hair.

Another wave of nausea washed over me. That had been happening recently. I remembered having the same nausea when I was pregnant with Elsa. Could I be pregnant again? That would be wonderful if we were in a safe place, far from here. But we weren't safe. Not by a long shot. We were still too close to the Compound. I resolved again to move on soon. Far, far away.

That's what I wanted.

I couldn't wait to tell David that I might be pregnant. Or should I wait until I was sure? No. This was something I had to tell him now, something he needed to know.

Quiet as a shadow, David came through the trees. He sat near me with his long arm across my shoulders and we watched the sun rise fully, casting golden warmth down on us.

“They'll be here soon,” he said reassuringly.

I nodded and laid my head against his shoulder, placed my hand on his leg. “I'm feeling a little queasy,” I said.

“I hope you're not getting sick. Maybe it's nerves.”

“I think it might be something else.”

“What else could it be?”

“I think I might be pregnant.”

He tightened his arm on my shoulder. “What? Are you sure?”

“No, I'm not sure. So don't say anything to anyone.”

“What makes you think . . . ?” His voice trailed off, as if the word
pregnant
was too big to say. As if it would get stuck in his throat and never come out.

Pregnant
. It
is
a big word. It changes everything.

“Some nausea. I didn't think anything of it at first. You know, eating bugs; of course I was nauseated. And that salty fish stew. Other times, like at the farm commune, seeing things that upset me deeply. There was always a reason. But it's more frequent now.”

“If you are, you know, it will make moving on more difficult.”

“You of all people know how important it is for me to find us a home far from here. So, no matter what, we're moving on. End of discussion.”

He put his hand on my abdomen, then quickly took it away, as if my body was too hot to touch.

“I want to start our journey, now more than ever.
If
I am carrying a child, and that's a big
if
, I want to get as far as we can before the baby is born. So far away that no one can take this new life from us.”

He ran his hands through his hair and started to say something but I cut him off.

“No more talking about it. We should start back. The children will be awake by now.”

He didn't answer but instead picked up the bucket and held his hand out to me, helping me stand. We started up the hill together just as Paul and George emerged from the woods.

E
mmeline and David walked slowly up the slope toward them, holding hands. George noticed how pale she looked.

George was filled with awe, his thoughts free-flowing as he watched David and Emmeline approach.
It's amazing that my leg iron is gone, that I was able to walk away from the farm commune, free. It's amazing that Emmeline escaped and found her way to the commune. It's amazing that I have a daughter
. His heart raced at the thought.

“Hello, George,” Emmy said. “I want you to meet my husband. His name is David.”

George extended his hand. “Hello, David. I'm glad to meet you. Thank you for agreeing to this.”

David extended his hand and took George's hand. His grip was firm. “I did it for Emmy. It was important to her.”

“We've walked a long way,” Paul said. “We all need to sit and rest.”

“I'll see if Elsa's awake.” Emmy slipped into the cave. Another wave of anxiety washed over George as he prepared to meet his only child. He could hear a murmur of voices from inside: a child, two women, and the rattle of mugs. The men sat quietly, waiting. Paul cleared his
throat, fiddled with his knife and a piece of wood that looked strangely familiar.

Micah came out first. He sat by David and looked at George a long moment before speaking. “I'm Micah,” he said at last. “I escaped with Emmy and David. I call them Mommy and Daddy.”

George smiled at him. “I am glad to meet you, Micah. Escaping from the Compound must have been scary.”

“Oh, it was! I heard guns and there was a fire and a lot of noise and Emmy woke me up and asked me to come with her. And then we ran. We ran a lot and walked a lot. My shoes wore out but David, I mean Daddy, fixed them. At the beginning Daddy hurt his arm and after a while we were hungry and tired of walking. We had to hide in the daytime and walk at night. It was kind of scary walking in the dark, but I did it anyway.”

The women were still in the cave. George ached to see Elsa. Paul sat leaning back with his eyes closed. George looked over his shoulder to the entrance of the cave but couldn't see anyone.

“I think they're making something for us to drink,” David said. “They should be out soon.”

“So, Micah, what did you have to eat when you were walking and running?” George asked him.

“Oh, berries, and grass, and bugs. Stuff like that. Daddy knows about things to eat. And one time, we went to the farm commune. We got some peas there. And things we found in some of the tents. And we saw a lady fall down.”

“You did? You were at the farm commune and saw a lady fall down?”

“Just for a minute. Then Mommy covered my eyes. We both wanted to help the lady but we couldn't. So we ran away, ran back to Daddy and Elsa with some peas and other things.”

So that explained it. The mystery of why two of the tents had been rummaged through and things had gone missing. The guards were
vicious about that, questioning everybody, convinced that one of the workers had been the thief. The missing things were never found. And Micah and Emmy saw the woman who had collapsed. Did they see how she was discarded? Oh, Lord, George hoped not, especially not the boy.

“That piece of wood Paul is working with. Was that a tent peg?” George asked him

“Yes. I pulled it out of the ground.” He smiled proudly and made a little muscle with his flexed arm.

“Wow! You are very strong!” George said.

David reached over and stroked Micah's hair. “He's strong and brave and very smart.”

“And we are going to keep walking, after we are all rested up. Mommy wants to get all the way to where she lived when she was a little girl. It's far away.”

George frowned. Did she really think they could travel that far with two children? It would be dangerous. Impossible, he feared.

Ingrid came out first with two mugs. One was for Paul, the other for David.

“Micah, help me carry out the rest.”

He followed her into the cave and they came back out with four more mugs. Ingrid handed George one, and he welcomed its warmth in his hand, his fingers curled around it. Steam rose warm and moist against his face. A warm drink in the Human Free Zone was yet another of today's miracles.

Ingrid sat next to Paul, holding her mug in brown spotted hands, her wrist bones sharply pronounced on her thin arm. She looked at George with open curiosity but said nothing. Even though she was a frail old woman, her eyes were piercing. She was taking her measure of George, deciding if she could trust him.

George didn't know how long they would let him stay. Would he have to leave as soon as he had seen Elsa? George had said he would,
but he now realized how hard that would be. What if he promised to help them find food, firewood? Would they let him stay longer?

And then Emmy came out holding Elsa.

George stared at his daughter. Her hair was the color of corn silk, and nearly as fine. A small breeze ruffled through it, lifting it so it was floating like a halo above her head. She had round, smooth cheeks, and rosebud-shaped lips. Her eyes were a startling blue. One soft baby arm rested across Emmy's neck and she was sitting comfortably on Emmy's hip, smiling at her.

George stood, his legs shaking. He put his arms out to hold Elsa. She pulled closer to Emmy and hid her face against Emmy's shoulder.

“Don't rush her,” Emmy said to George. Then she sat next to David. David held his arms out for Elsa and she sat on his lap, keeping her face turned away from the stranger.

“Micah said you are planning to go back to where you grew up,” George said to Emmy, while looking at his daughter.

“Yes. Kansas,” she answered.

“You know there aren't many people out there. All the people were relocated to the East and West Coasts.”

“Good,” she said. “Then there won't be any Authorities or Enforcers. And you can't know for certain that there are or aren't people out there. No one can know that for sure.”

“Before we came here to the cave, the people running the meetings talked about the rights of indigenous people to have their original lands back,” Paul said.

“Indigenous people?” David asked.

“People who first occupied the land . . .”

Ingrid interrupted. “Do you know how to clean a snapping turtle?” She asked George.

“Yes,” George said. “I do.” The question puzzled him.

“Good. Good because it's too much work for Paul. Cutting the shell and all. But I do the cooking. Understand?” she said, rubbing her hands together as if some great concern of hers was resolved.

Paul finished the last of his drink and stood. “I'm very tired and need to lie down. George needs to rest, too. Follow me.” He motioned for George to follow him into the cave.

George followed him gladly. His invitation to rest meant he didn't have to leave right away. It meant he might be able to stay long enough to hold Elsa. His arms ached with wanting.

“I
thought he was going to see Elsa and then leave,” David said. He stacked our mugs by the entrance with an angry intensity. “But, no. Now he's sleeping in the cave. And the guards at the commune are probably searching for him right now. When they search for him, they will find us. I know it.”

“Can I go look at the turtle?” Micah asked.

“No. Stay away from the turtle.” David shook his finger at Micah.

“But I won't touch him. I promise.”

“I said no,” David said, his voice louder. “Don't ask again. Gather some wood.”

Micah glanced at David with a puzzled expression. David had never used that sharp tone with him before.

“Go on. Do what I tell you.”

With a backward glance, Micah set off to do his chore. Ingrid followed him, her braid swinging back and forth, the importance of gathering wood the only thing on her mind.

“What's wrong with you?” I asked David. “Why are you talking to Micah like that?” Elsa crawled over to the log bench and started pulling
herself up. David picked her up and she tugged on his ear with her plump fingers.

“Emmy, I'm so worried. It's chewing me up inside. You might be pregnant, and we're all at risk. My job is to protect you.”