by A N Sandra
“I’ve got it!” Danica told Bud as he came to help her lift a flip top box to a carport shelf.
“Randy wants me to come in late tomorrow,” Bud cut to the chase, helping Danica lift the box against her will.
“Oh, shit,” Danica sighed. “Here we go.”
“There can’t be any trouble,” Bud said half-heartedly.
“Randy can make trouble—”
“Randy needs me to run the quarry even if he doesn’t like it. No matter what he wants to chew my butt for, he can’t replace me,” Bud said with a sigh. “I’ll work at the quarry until I retire. It’s my fate.”
I sold the quarry,” Randy told Bud almost as soon as Bud shut the door of his truck. Randy had been waiting with his own truck parked in Bud’s normal parking spot. In crisp clean jeans that were never meant for work, Randy was untouched by quarry dust. Bud hated him more than ever before. In fact, Bud hated him with new hate, manufactured for this very moment.
“I didn’t know it was for sale.” Bud wondered if he was still dreaming. He must be in bed, and all this must be a dream. I dreamed Randy managed to sell the quarry. Boy was I mad.
“It wasn’t,” Randy admitted. “The Hollister Foundation made me an offer last Tuesday and we worked it out by Sunday morning. I have two months of severance pay for all of you. Then the Urban Relocation people will help you all find jobs in Sacramento. They want their own Youth Corps to do the work here. They’re the ones using all the rock already. There weren’t any road repair contracts all year.”
“Two months?” Bud felt the air sucked out of his chest. That wouldn’t even include all the overtime he brought in every summer.
Randy was impervious to Bud’s plight. He stood in the morning sun with his sunglasses on, and Bud almost punched him in the gut right then.
“That’s standard,” Randy told him. “The Hollisters will help you move and get a new job in Sac. Susan, Caleb’s wife, worked out our whole deal and told me how good it would be for your family to move to Sac. She’ll be a big help to you.”
“Enjoy your money,” Bud said bitterly. In a moment all the early mornings flashed through his mind. He’d given the quarry as much loyalty as he had his wife and Randy’s betrayal was too great to process as quickly as he’d taken in the information. In his mid-forties who was going to hire him? No one. There were few employers left locally anyway. The national and state park in the area had been aggressively expanded and the only reason Blythe was still a town with a school was because the Parks Service and the Forest Service both had bases close by. Bud wouldn’t qualify for any job in Blythe that would keep their family from Urban Relocation without actually working for Urban Relocation, and he would move his whole family to Sac before he worked for Susan. Randy had been bad enough.
“Do you have anything that needs to be returned to the company?” Randy asked.
After all these years he’s accusing me of stealing? I’m losing my job, I’ll lose my family home, I’ll end up living like trailer trash in Sac and he’s worried I have something that belongs to the company that he doesn’t even own anymore.
There was no way Bud was going to dignify Randy with an answer. Bud ground his heel into the quarry gravel as he turned. Climbing back in his truck he was so angry that he truly understood the phrase, “beside himself” for the first time. As if he were not in control of himself. As if another person in his body drove to the other end of the quarry and got out of his truck, walked past the caution tape, and stumbled into the dry streambed over the rocks until he found the one Ben had shown him weeks ago. With strength he didn’t known he had, Bud picked it up and carried it awkwardly back to his truck. It was at least sixty pounds and Bud wished he had put his work gloves on because it cut into his hands before he set it in the back of his truck, trying not to drop it. Randy was already in the office. Bud knew the surveillance cameras in the office could pick up what he had just done, assuming Randy knew how to use them correctly. Though Bud had never seen any evidence that Randy could use those cameras to any degree of efficiency. He didn’t care what Randy saw. He had the rock and wasn’t giving it back.
“No matter what happens here from now on, I’m not going to miss this place,” Bud huffed as he settled himself into the driver’s seat of his truck. He didn’t feel any sentimental feelings as he drove down the long driveway for the last time. The whole experience was so filled with emotion that his anger and betrayal caused his heart to pound and his left arm began to hurt. For just a second, he started to panic that he would have a heart attack on this back-country road with no cell service and no one to get help.
Telling his family that they would be moving from home, leaving the last scrap of land his great-great grandfather had homesteaded to move to Sac for Urban Relocation caused Bud to feel like someone had driven an anvil into his skull.
“I’m glad we know what she’s using her new job title for,” Danica fumed as soon as Bud gave her the news. Danica and Twilight’s fists clenched at the news Bud delivered in the kitchen as soon as he shut the door behind him. No one wants flies to get in.
Bud, who had been mostly focusing his frustration on Randy, had temporarily forgotten that Susan was the one to orchestrate the purchase. As much as he wanted to be angry with Randy, who he had never really respected or trusted, Susan was the deceitful one in this scenario. Randy probably felt like selling was a good option since the artifacts had turned up in Area B.
“It doesn’t make any sense that they don’t need Dad to work there anymore,” Twilight noted. “How can they run the quarry without a manager?”
“Susan did it to take Dad’s job,” Danica said. “Making sure we don’t have employment that exempts us from relocating was the point.”
“No one was working today,” Bud said. “We were ahead on orders, so they wouldn’t need to. But the Hollister Youth Corps are going to do the work from now on. They’re the ones using the rock for their landscape projects anyway.”
“So, that’s it?” Twilight burst into tears. “Why should we have to move? I can’t change schools now!”
“We live close enough to the park that it’s supposed to be annexed if we don’t have valid rural employment,” Bud sighed. “We only have twenty acres, we aren’t a real farm.”
“This place is our life!” Danica broke into sobs. Bud reached out to hold her. He remembered putting up the carport on warm fall afternoons. Sunny spring mornings plowing the garden with Papa’s old tractor. The glow of Christmas lights waiting when he came home from work on dark December evenings.
“You will have to make a new life,” Ben told them all kindly. “It can be done.”
CHAPTER 7
June 12th, Denali National Park, AK.
It’s time for a little truth telling,” Tawna began.
“It’s more than time,” Peter muttered too loudly. Tawna didn’t pay any attention to him.
Helena doubted Tawna was capable of telling the truth but waited to hear what she had to say.
“We don’t get to go home from this fun vacation that we are having right now. I mean, we are never going home. We are never going to be ourselves ever again, even. We are going to start new lives right now.” Tawna stumbled over her words, both drunk and angry.
All four of the young people in her charge looked at her blankly. Helena felt as if she might throw up from anxiety.
“Thanks to Christina Harris, we are all wanted fugitives who are going to be in hiding for a very, very long time,” Tawna continued.
Helena bristled up like a cat. “Are you seriously blaming Mom for taking us away from society? You can’t be serious. And you can’t keep someone in hiding in the modern world. We can eventually get home from wherever you’re going to take us.”
“You’ve probably wanted to go home for days now and you haven’t been able to,” Tawna gave a small bitter smile. “I want to go home myself and I can’t. And yes, Helena, I blame your mother completely. Because it’s her fault.”
&nb
sp; Peter tensed like an animal about to pounce. Helena could feel his raw energy vibrating next to her. Neither Peter nor Helena were close to their mother, but she was a beautiful world-famous scientist, and they carried her DNA with great pride. Tawna had never spoken poorly of their mother before. Ray and Lourdes perked up the way they always did when potential conflict started to simmer since both of them were always happier when there was plenty of chaos around.
“Your mother has been working on Project Plan B for more than seventeen years,” Tawna told them, as if they didn’t know. “Most people would say that she is Project Plan B. Your father’s biotech company has had investors from all over the world helping to fund your mother’s master plan, but the Hollister Foundation took over the manufacturing and distribution.”
“We know that,” Peter said. His voice dripped with metaphoric acid. “Are you talking just to hear yourself talk?”
“I wish I didn’t have to talk about this at all.” Tawna looked around and it was obvious she was wishing for a drink to materialize from the thin chilly air. “Last year, your father’s head of IT made an accidental discovery about the reason for the Hollister Foundation’s interest in the vaccination chip. The research teams they have funded in the Middle East have not been doing the research Bioline thought they were. They are planning to hijack the whole project and use it to reform the world, to make it the way they believe it should be.
“So, your mother is going into hiding to try to prevent them from accomplishing this, although it is probably too late. Your father and Todd Wilson are also going into hiding with her, because they know too much and would be killed if they don’t. So that means that all of us are going into hiding, too. Assuming that Project Plan B somehow doesn’t end the world, we will all leave hiding in a few years with new identities. If Project Plan B succeeds the way the Hollister Foundation wants it to, there might not be any point in coming out of hiding at all.”
“What is the evil plan?” Lourdes wanted to know.
“You know that Project Plan B is a microchip that can be implanted in a person’s thigh to monitor their health. The microchip releases vaccinations when a person is ready for them and it helps a person to bypass the need to see a doctor for a lot of things. It is supposed to be the biggest advancement for world health, ever.”
Lourdes nodded.
“Well, the Hollister Foundation had their own researchers change the project so that the chip will genetically select people to die. At a certain point, the chip will release a virus into the bodies of most people so that they will die within hours of the virus being introduced to their bodies.”
“That can’t be true,” Helena protested. “That’s too evil! It just can’t be right. There is a mistake somewhere. We don’t need to go into hiding, we need Dad to expose the mistake.”
“It’s not a mistake,” Tawna insisted. “Your father and Todd spent days convincing me that this is really real. This project means a lot to people at the top of the human food chain, who feel like the world has too many people. Those people want to leave a different world for their kids. They don’t like the world the way it is now.”
Helena had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Was this true? She didn’t know what to think.
“How can our family, and our mom, and the Wilsons all hide?” Peter wanted to know. “That’s ten people, all hiding from the richest, most important people in the whole world.”
“Osama Bin Laden hid for more time than we are planning to hide,” Tawna pointed out. “And the whole world wanted to find him. A handful of people want to find us. They have money and technology on their side, though. We are going to hide in a remote part of Alaska and we already have new identities ready to use if we can leave in the future. When we left Mexico, we left with different identities, and I showed different passports to the pilot in Belize before we left. Hopefully we will be very hard to trace. It is possible that Project Plan B will fall flat without your mother to pull it together and your father to manage the project. Your mother and father did their best to alert the press and news media about this situation, but since it is just too dangerous for them to stay and fight, it may not get any media attention at all.”
“What about all those people who love conspiracy theories?” Helena wanted to know. “Here is a real conspiracy for them. Can’t they draw attention to this?”
“All sorts of alternative media will have been told about what’s going on, but we can’t know what will happen.”
Helena struggled to think of a term. She rifled through her working memory.
“Are you saying that the Hollister Foundation turned out to be something like the Illuminati? Seriously?”
Tawna sighed, rolled her eyes, and nodded.
All the kids were quiet. Helena couldn’t wait to talk to Peter without Tawna and Ray and Lourdes overhearing.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Tawna waved toward the forest around them. “We have a whole week to get to our new home. We’re going on a long hike.”
“Mom!” Ray was clearly even angrier. His sullen face actually registered genuine fury.
Helena managed a small smile. The fact that Ray, Tawna’s pampered favorite, would be the most put out by all the changes Tawna had told them about, was gratifying. Ray could not live in the wilds of Alaska, unplugged from his luxury electronics. He might implode. Unfortunately, that gave a lot of credibility to Tawna’s story.
At the edge of the meadow clearing was an ancient rusty Bronco. As the group approached it, Helena could see Miss Jan. Her husband, Todd, was the head of IT for her father’s company and was also her father’s best friend. Helena heaved a huge sigh of relief at the idea of being with a trusted adult, even though Miss Jan’s very presence meant that Tawana was probably telling the truth. As the group drew nearer, Miss Jan slid out of the Bronco, looking as stable and solid as she ever had in loose jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and a quilted down vest. Her curly brown hair was mostly contained under a camouflage hat. A really dedicated mom, even though her son wasn’t with her at the moment, Miss Jan looked like the sort of grown up young people are told to ask for help if they are lost.
“I see you’re here for our new venture,” Miss Jan said. Her voice sounded as if she were channeling it from far away, and Helena suddenly knew for certain that what Tawna had just told them was true. Miss Jan had never looked so unhappy the whole time that Helena had known her. There was no chance Miss Jan would get drunk in the afternoon like Tawna, but clearly, she was not herself.
“Do we have any choice at all?” Helena asked softly. Peter, Lourdes and Ray were too upset to talk and Tawna was sullen.
“I suppose not,” Miss Jan answered with a phony smile. “I hope you got some sleep on your flight, because we have several hours of daylight left and we should make some distance before we have to set up camp.”
Tawna didn’t answer, but Helena followed Miss Jan to the back of the Bronco where Miss Jan began to unload camping equipment. Everyone stood around her, not helping at all, just watching as she unloaded backpacks, clothes, and boots.
“Can I help?” Helena finally asked. Maria would have been mortified to see her watching like a princess while Miss Jan did everything.
“Almost done,” Miss Jan said, as she pulled a dark grey pack out of the Bronco. “Everyone is going to have to carry their own pack. I weighed them all at Cabela’s and none of them weigh more than forty-five pounds.”
Lourdes gasped. Ray looked like he might murder something. Peter looked intrigued. Helena was out of emotions.
“We won’t hike long today,” Miss Jan said. “Or tomorrow. It would have been better if you’d worked up to it, but your parents wouldn’t disrupt your last weeks of school.”
“So… we’re hiking to our parents?” Peter asked. “They’re at our final destination already?”
“They are,” Miss Jan said. “They are camping out while they assemble several small modular homes and plant a garden and set up our new life
.”
“We are gardeners?” Lourdes was horrified. For someone who loved animals, Lourdes nursed a fear of dirt that matched Tawna’s fear of kitchen work.
Helena could see that Lourdes was picturing the landscapers who worked around their school. They were the real driving force behind the school garden. They were always dirty and none of them spoke any English. Lourdes was terrified of them.
“We are now,” Tawna said bitterly.
“How come they’re there already and we aren’t?” Lourdes asked suspiciously.
“They rented an airplane and flew,” Miss Jan answered.
“Why do we have to hike for days, but they flew?” Ray demanded to know.
“The main reason is that it wouldn’t be good for us to be seen as a group anywhere. They are making lots and lots of trips with materials for our new life with the plane. There are no good roads to our new home. That makes us hard to find, and it means we can stay out of our neighbors’ way. As a matter of fact, our nearest neighbors are going to be more than a day’s walk away.”
“So, we’re just all alone, in the middle of nowhere?” Ray was incredulous.
Tawna hugged Ray as if he were a teddy bear while he alternated between squirming and ignoring her with his mouth open in shock.
Miss Jan sighed slightly. Helena was sure it was hard to be the only grown up present.
“I spent days organizing all this stuff,” Miss Jan said. “I’ve got clothes for everybody; you’ll want to change into the clothes I have for you and each of you has a change of clothes in their pack. Everyone has the best of everything. You should see my Cabela’s receipt.”
Lourdes, Helena, and Tawna all changed on one side of the Bronco and Ray and Peter changed on the other. Changing clothes in the open meadow was so ridiculous to Helena that she didn’t even complain. Lourdes looked shell shocked too. Tawna had consumed so much wine that she finished changing last, her clothes slightly askew.
