by Beth Martin
She smiled, his good mood infectious, but also because she was relieved they would still make it to the capital. Grabbing one lever and twisting another, she got the engine to sputter to life once again. The speed lever made a crunching sound and resisted as she pressed it forward, but it still worked. They navigated a short distance through the grass before they were able to get back on the road on the other side of the bridge. She hoped they would reach their destination in time.
14
AFTER THE TRIALS of crossing the river, the drive that first day was fairly easy. However, the next day the wide and gently curving road gave way to dense trees, mountains, and narrow, winding lanes. As the sickly sounding tractor ascended higher and higher, the air got thinner. Yellow dust had settled in the crevices of the pavement. The back and forth of their path which climbed slowly up and down hillsides was making Roemell nauseous again. He wasn’t sure how many mountains they needed to traverse before they’d finally arrive at the capital.
While he was concentrating on keeping the contents of his stomach down, his focus was suddenly broken my Leona’s voice. “Hey! What are you doing? Stop that!” He sat up straighter and turned to see what had prompted her outburst.
A group of five children had swarmed the tractor, forcing them to stop. All of them looked a little dirty, wearing ragged clothes and no shoes. Two of them unlatched the hood of the tractor and pushed it up as far as they could, and then the others peered inside, examining the interior. “Get out of there!” Leona yelled.
Roemell was more curious about the presence of these kids, although he knew they should be cautious about any group of people they might encounter. Despite his initial impression, each one appeared to be well fed. Children didn’t spawn out of nowhere, so he guessed there was a community nearby. “What are you all trying to do?”
“They’re tearing the tractor apart!” Leona said, her voice high and panicked.
He ignored her and continued, saying, “Do you kids live near here?”
Instead of answering, one of the children reached into the front compartment and ripped out a handful of wires. The two holding up the hood nodded, pleased with whatever they had done to the vehicle, then closed it back up.
“That should be good now,” the tallest one declared. She looked to be about twelve years old. Her brown hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and her face was spotted with a generous amount of freckles. All the kids stepped away from the tractor, and the tall girl said, “You can keep going.”
Leona looked from their vehicle to the children and back. “What the hell did you do to—”
“Just go,” Roemell hissed. She revved the engine, and they continued down the narrow road. The road wound around another peak before plunging down into a small valley.
“At least it still works,” Leona said. “What do you think those kids were doing?”
He shrugged. “Who knows? They could be collecting wires, or maybe they wanted some trophy from the strange travelers. It might have just been an excuse to get us to stop so they could get a closer look.” There were numerous reasons children would descend on a passerby. He didn’t want to tell Leona the most probable case—to pickpocket. Most mobs of children had been taught how to steal any and all valuables from unsuspecting adults. One child on their own wasn’t usually an issue, but a group was almost never good news.
But he and Leona didn’t have anything of value on them, and the vehicle still worked, so he figured that hadn’t been the case here. Plus, Leona was already so visibly shaken, he figured she didn’t need to know about unsavory children.
After taking a sharp turn to their right, the tractor slowed down, and Leona cut the engine. He craned his neck to look ahead of the vehicle. “Why’d we stop?”
“The road splits.” Her knuckles became pale as she squeezed on the levers. “I don’t know which way to go.”
He climbed down from the seat and walked around to the front. The road forked out in two different directions. One looked heavily used and dipped down farther on their right, and the other was a simple dirt path which climbed upwards to the left. He was about to recommend the more traveled path, but before he could say anything, a shrill caw! caw! pierced through the air. Soon, it was followed by a symphony of high-pitched calls. The first call had come from somewhere behind them, but as the noises continued, they seemed to originate from every direction.
He glanced at Leona, whose face was pale, her eyes wide in confusion. Looking around them, he couldn’t find the source of the calls. He wasn’t even sure what animal made that kind of sound. A longer call which warbled up and down in pitch crescendoed above the rest until it was the only sound piercing through the trees. After it stopped, the forest was quiet except for the pair’s heavy breathing and the rustling of the wind.
From behind a large tree flanking the dirt path, a compact man appeared wearing a threadbare plaid shirt and ratty pants. Although his dark hair only had a smattering of gray, his skin was tanned, leathery, and covered in wrinkles. “The children says y’all are all right.” He paused, waiting for a response.
Roemell had no idea what he was expected to say. “You know those kids we ran into down the road?” he asked, pointing behind them.
The leathery man let out a hearty laugh. “I better! Three of ’em are mine.”
Roemell plastered an uncomfortable smile on his face, then glanced up at Leona. She looked terrified. Addressing the man, he said, “We’re just traveling through, sir. Will this road take us to the capital?”
The man grunted, then crossed his arms and said, “No good reason to go there. You’d best be heading home instead.”
“We’ve got a reason!” Leona said quickly, her voice high.
“Suit yourselves. Yeah, that’ll take you there.”
Roemell nodded. “Thank you, sir. We better head on.” He looked up at Leona. “Let’s keep going, okay?” She nodded fiercely. He climbed up into the cab and slid in behind her. Giving her shoulders a firm squeeze, he whispered, “We’re almost there. Just a little longer and this whole journey will be over.” Her body was impossibly tense, and her arms trembled as she adjusted the levers.
Instead of springing to life, the engine gave a few sputters, then stalled. Her hand shot out, grabbing another lever and twisting it. The engine rolled over and made some strange clunking sounds, but wouldn’t start up. “What’s it doing?” she asked.
He looked around them. The man was still standing on the path, watching them. When Roemell looked behind the tractor, his nose was assaulted with a sickeningly familiar smell. Sure enough, behind them was a trail of a slick, shiny substance. “Those kids cut the gas line!” he yelled.
“What?” Leona asked, turning to look back as well.
“Oops,” the older man said.
“Oops?!” Roemell said. “That’s a pretty big fucking ‘oops’!”
“Well, I told my kids to remove the circuitry, although it seems they didn’t do the job right. They weren’t supposed to take yer fuel, too.”
“They didn’t take it,” Leona said loudly, standing in front of her seat. “They spilled it all over the road. How are we supposed to keep going without gas?”
“That’s yer problem,” the man said.
Roemell jumped down from the cab and strode up to the man, who was at least six inches shorter than Roemell. “No,” he spat in the man’s face, “it’s your problem. Your kids wasted all of our fuel, so you need to fix it.”
“And give us those wires back!” Leona added.
The man frowned. “Nothing I can do ‘bout the wires, but we could probably do something to get y’all on your way.”
“I’m not trusting a bunch of kids to fix our tractor,” Leona said in a huff.
Roemell turned back and glared at her, and she shrunk down into her seat. The other man said, “We got a whole colony here, sweetie. I won’t let ’em kids touch yer chariot again, all right?” She lowered her head in response. He directed his attention back to Roeme
ll. “Y’all can leave the tractor here. Come on, I’ll introduce you folks to the family.” He turned away and started walking up the dirt path. “This way.”
Leona carefully climbed down from the cab and walked up next to Roemell. He grasped her hand. She looked at him quickly, and he gave her a small smile, hoping the gesture would make her feel a little more safe. Her grip relaxed a little, and the pair walked together, following the strange man who lived in the mountains.
• • •
As Leona followed closely behind Roemell and the older man, she heard the distinct sound of little feet prancing behind. Somehow, every time she looked behind her to identify the source of the sound, no one was there. She shook her head after checking yet another time and once more not catching those sneaky kids who had to have been tailing her.
Before long, the ascending path came to a flat clearing. There were a few trees, but overall, the area felt much more spacious than anywhere else she had seen in these mountains. There were semi-permanent structures made on top of wood decks along with canopies constructed from animal skins. It all reminded her of the settlement where she had stayed for a while after her estate had burned down, but much more organic and lively.
As she took a deep breath of the heavily tree-scented air, Roemell started sneezing. After five consecutive sneezes, he held a hand to his chest and let out a low groan.
“Bless you,” the other man said. “Pollen can be quite a son of a bitch if yer not used to it. I take it you two aren’t from ’round here.”
“No, we’re not,” Roemell confessed as he rubbed under his nose with the hem of his shirt.
The man stretched his arm out to indicate the area ahead. “Well, this here is Shenandoah Reserve. My name’s Pete. I’m one of the councilmen here. Yer welcome to make yourselves at home. I’m going to go grab a girl who can get that tractor up and running.”
He swiftly started walking away, and Leona yelped, “Wait!”
“What is it, miss?” he asked as he glanced back at her.
“How far are we from the capital?”
Pete frowned slightly. “There be a lot more mountains between here and there. My guess—it’d take ’bout five days on foot.”
Her eyes grew big, and she clutched onto Roemell’s arm. He started sneezing again, but she ignored him and said, “Five days?”
“Of course, it’d be much shorter if yer tractor was working, so I’m gonna go ahead and get on that.” He gestured with an outstretched thumb to the path ahead before walking away.
After another two sneezes followed by a pained groan, Roemell sat down on a large tree root which stuck out a couple feet above the ground, then lowered his head into his hands. “Ugh,” he moaned. “Feels like there’s a belt tightening around my head.”
Leona had no idea what to do to help, so she took a seat next to him and placed a hand on his back. “Do you think you need to rest, or…”
“I need to eat,” he muttered. Now that he mentioned it, her stomach was starting to gurgle. It had been a while since she’d had a proper meal.
“Let me see what I can do.” She got up and started wandering the area. As she looked around, she saw other paths leading in several directions. Nestled between trees all over the woods were more canopies and structures. The trees and plants were full with bright green leaves, a shade so vivid she hadn’t thought it was possible in nature. Some of the trees had white or yellow flowers, the petals of which speckled the ground on top of old leaves and brown pine needles.
A deep, scratchy voice distracted her as she marveled over the beauty of the forest. “I see the chillens dragged in another stray.” She looked around until she noticed an older woman with who wore a loose dress and had cloth draped over her head which hid her hair. Her skin was even more wrinkled and leathery than Pete’s, and when she grinned at Leona, she revealed a set of yellowed and crooked teeth. “People here call me Ali. Who’re you?”
“We’re just waiting for some fuel for our vehicle and then we’ll be on our way. My friend and I are starving, and would really appreciate something to eat.”
The old woman tutted before saying, “Don’t look like yer starving.”
Leona looked down at her body. She couldn’t recall ever being as thin as she was now. However, she had never gone without food for over a week like Roemell had.
He got up from his seat on the stump and walked up to them. “I’m Roemell, and this is Leona.”
“Come on,” the older woman said. “I’ve got some jerky in my pantry that my teeth are too old to chew. Y’all can help yourself.” With more grace than Leona thought possible, Ali got up and walked swiftly down one of the paths. Leona followed closely, not wanting to lose the old woman in the unfamiliar woods, and Roemell shuffled behind her.
The trail twisted and turned through the woods, and after about ten minutes of walking, they came to a group of small, wood-clad buildings tucked into the sloped mountainside.
“This one’s mine,” the woman said, pointing at a square structure. It had a small porch had been taken over by a large collection of clay pots, each with a different type of flower or plant growing out of it. The door was painted bright red and had a small window to each side.
Leona followed her into the house, and Roemell stepped inside as well. The interior was much larger than she had expected based on what she had seen from the outside. Although the entrance was narrow, the room widened up to a spacious living area. There were a few wooden chairs, and next to one sat a basket full of brightly colored yarn. Against one wall was a small bed covered with a worn patchwork quilt, and on the opposite wall sat a wood-burning stove. There were windows along the ceiling which let in a generous amount of light. Overall, Leona thought it looked quite comfortable.
Ali walked to the back wall and opened a small cabinet, then plucked out a couple things before turning back to the pair. “It’s not a proper meal, but it’ll curb yer appetite for a spell.” She gave each of them a small strip of dried-out meat. Leona turned it over in her hand, not sure what to do with it.
“Thank you,” Roemell said before tearing a chunk off using his teeth. Before he could take a second bite, he was seized again by a sneezing fit.
“Oh, son,” the woman said, patting his shoulder. “Tree pollen’s really getting to you. I take it you two aren’t from these parts.”
“No, ma’am,” he said, placing a hand carefully on his injured chest.
She gestured at the closest of the four wooden chairs, and Roemell took a seat, then she opened her cabinet and pulled out an assortment of items. She placed some sort of root on the counter, along with a glass jar filled with amber liquid, a mug, and a spoon, and then brought a kettle to the stove. After setting the kettle on the fire, she pulled a cloth handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to Roemell.
“Thank you,” he said before blowing his nose.
Leona stood awkwardly in the middle of the room for a moment before deciding to sit in the chair next to him. She took a tentative bite of the jerky, but her teeth weren’t able to cut through the meat. It was much tougher than she had expected, and pulling off just the one chunk made her jaw hurt. The meat was leathery and almost inedibly salty. After chewing for a couple minutes, her teeth still hadn’t broken it down. She swallowed hard, forcing the still-solid food down her throat, then discretely slipped the rest in her pocket.
The older woman stood at the counter, chopping the root into tiny pieces. “Where you two heading?” she asked.
“The capital,” Leona said.
“There’s no way you’ll get inside. Not in yer current state.”
Leona looked over herself and Roemell. He did look a little sorry, sitting there sniffling and wearing dirty clothes. She was just as dusty from the road, and the gash on her cheek from the crash hadn’t fully healed yet. “We’ve been summoned,” she said. “We’ll be able to get in.”
Their host pulled the kettle away from the stove and poured hot water over the chunks of root
in the mug. Then she added a spoonful of the amber liquid which was thick and viscous, before bringing the concoction to Roemell. “Ginger tea with honey will help clear yer sinuses. Careful, it’s hot.”
He nodded as he accepted the cup, then breathed in the smell of the hot drink. “I haven’t had ginger tea since I was a kid.” He smiled and inhaled again.
“I try to always keep some of the root on hand. It doesn’t grow ’round here, but travelers usually have some to trade.”
“Lot of people pass through here?” he asked.
“Not really. Just a few here and there. Never had anyone going to the coast before, and I certainly can’t imagine anyone wanting to go to the capital.”
“Originally, we were supposed to fly in,” he said.
Leona shifted uncomfortably. They shouldn’t be sitting inside some stranger’s house chatting over tea. How would Pete know where to find them once the tractor was ready to drive? They should be going back to the clearing where he had left them.
Roemell continued prattling on about the reason for their trip, the plane crash, their journey the last few days, and the trouble they had with the tractor at the reserve.
“We should really get going,” Leona said, standing slightly from her seat.
“Nonsense,” Ali said. “You can’t go anywhere without that vehicle.”
“It can’t take that long to get some gas—”
“Things just work a little slower here, sweetheart. You’d best get comfortable. The chillens will come find you when it’s ready to go.”
Leona sank back down in her chair. “Do you have a cell phone or something to call someone that I could borrow?”
“’Fraid not. And I can guarantee that no one else in this reserve has one either.”
“What about a radio or tablet?”
Ali held up a hand. “There ain’t any electronics ’round here. It’s one of our rules. No items with a circuit or that require a battery. Mechanical things are fine, just no electricity.”
