But he knew he couldn’t give up and live a simple life. Not anymore. Not after everything he had been through and learned. For whatever reason, he was on a path that had given him a chance at revenge and much more.
“It’s harder to press things at a distance,” Carlee said. Jeff got the feeling that she was talking because she didn’t want to think about her friend, not because she wanted to teach him. It was fine with him. He didn’t want to think about Stefani either. “Lots of vagrants can’t even press anything unless they are close enough to touch it once it’s in our reality.”
“Interesting,” Jeff said. There were plenty of questions he wanted to ask, but he knew Carlee wasn’t finished teaching yet.
“And there is a complexity issue as well, which is related to the size issue. Basically, the bigger and more complex something is, the harder it is to create a connection strong enough to press it from one reality into another.”
“Transports are doable, but Apostles are too big? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Apostles are alive and extremely complex, and they also like to be massive. I think that one we saw back there was the smallest I’ve ever observed.”
“But what about parts of them? The parts that aren’t temurim? Couldn’t you just replace one of their legs with a bomb or something?”
“And that’s the final limitation. You can’t press parts of things. It has to be an entire object. Half-leg bombs probably don’t exist in any reality anyway.”
“So, it doesn’t seem like there is any quick way to kill an Apostle,” Jeff said.
“There is no way to kill an Apostle. That’s why we don’t try.”
“Stefani sure did.”
“No, she didn’t.”
“What do you call that back there, then?”
“Distracting it so we could get away. She’ll be fine.”
Some indicators lit up in his vision, showing that they were approaching a large group of life-forms. Sure enough, a moment later, a giant herd of sheep came into view. They grazed and wandered aimlessly. He spent a minute trying to get to know how to use the interface of his uniform. It didn’t take him long to figure out that it tracked his focus and somehow knew when he wanted to do something. It was eerie, but he felt like it would become second nature with practice.
“These things scan our brain somehow?” Jeff asked.
“The hoods? Yeah. They have a neural sensor that . . .” Carlee’s voice faded out. He could tell it was a subject that might usually interest her, but her heart wasn’t in the conversation.
“I’m worried about her too,” Jeff said.
“She’ll be fine. She’s escaped worse before.”
They cruised in silence for a while, passing more wildlife than Jeff had seen in his entire life. As awful as the Apostles were, they were extremely effective at achieving their objectives, and Petra had managed to create a sanctuary for all forms of life like none Jeff had ever seen.
It seemed appropriate that this peaceful haven, created by endless amounts of bloodshed, carved from land that used to be occupied by millions of humans, was destined to be the site of another battle. He wasn’t sure if it had been Horus’s leeches or Petra’s they had encountered, but one thing was certain: if they were able to waltz into Petra’s territory, then there was nothing keeping Horus out.
“I think we finally found the others,” Carlee said.
“Well, that’s good news.”
“If you don’t consider the fact that we are a few minutes away from an Apostle, then I guess you’re right.”
20 FUNNEL
“I HAVEN’T SEEN ANY GLIMPSES of her,” Jane said. “Our path is a narrow one. The deviations I can see are all slight. And as we’ve gotten closer, there seem to be even fewer of those, less relevant glimpses. I feel practically blind.”
“That’s . . .” Carlee trailed off, trying to find the right words. Without Jane’s glimpses, she would have to rely on telling herself that Stefani would be fine.
“Not what you wanted to hear, I know.”
“I understand. Thank you for trying.”
“Talon, give us a minute,” Jane said as she raised her hand to stop Carlee from getting up. They were so close to what used to be downtown Dallas that they hadn’t bothered to set up camp, except for Jane’s tent.
Talon left the tent without a word, and Carlee feared that his dismissal would only further damage their slipping relationship.
“Is there something else?” Carlee asked.
“Jeff—how is he learning?”
“He’s eager. I think he will get the hang of it soon enough. His instincts are good.” Carlee answered the question quickly; she was sure this wasn’t the reason Jane wanted to talk alone.
“You care for him.”
“I do,” Carlee said. “He’s been through a lot, and he’s filled with anger over what happened. But I’ve already seen him trying to find other motivations.” It was as good of an answer as she had.
“You’ve always believed in the best in people, and I’ve always been envious of that.”
“Why are you talking like this?”
“I’m afraid,” Jane said.
“We all are. But we’ll make it through. We’ll shake that Apostle off our trail, and we’ll keep going.”
“I haven’t been able to see any paths where these upcoming events have already unfolded. I don’t know what that means.”
“It doesn’t mean anything. We control our own path; nothing has changed that.”
“Do you still think this was the wrong decision?” Jane asked.
“I . . . we’ll know soon enough. But I believe in you. I always have. And if things don’t go as we hope, I’ll be by your side still. We’ll find a way past this. We always do.”
“We haven’t always agreed on matters, but I’ve been pleased you have remained with us for so long—with me for so long.” Jane reached out, and Carlee squeezed her hand in friendship. “You are right. Our path surely does not end here.”
21 WATCH
“USE MY HEAD, DON’T DO anything stupid with my arms, and stay low,” Jeff said, repeating the steps to Carlee, who nodded her head. They sat next to a tall tree, waiting for the sun to rise. The only light was from the moon, the stars, and the distant glow of Petra’s leech factories.
“Good,” Carlee said. “It’s our last resort, but if it comes to it, I am going to press a flight suit in for you where your body armor is now. And we’re going to get out of here.”
“Without Stefani?”
“Even without her. We have a place established in case we get separated. We’ll meet up there if she doesn’t find us here.”
“Where is it?” Jeff asked. Carlee looked over to him almost as if to say he wasn’t privileged to such information. “I kinda like you guys. And I’d like to know where to find you again.”
“Roanoke Island in old North Carolina,” Carlee said.
“Why there?”
“Why anywhere? No Apostles are known to make home base too close, and the ocean is nice.”
“I’ve never seen it.”
“That’s right . . . you’re a Fifth Springs boy through and through.”
“Hard to travel without having an army or knowing how to press.”
“Staying put has its advantages, though. You don’t have to be on the run all the time, and you can have a family.”
“Until some Apostle stomps through your community or a warlord sacks it. I think the only way to make a good life is to live a hundred years ago.”
“I felt that way for a while, until I found peace with helping people.”
“I’ll have to give it a try sometime.” But Jeff knew there would be no peace, no matter how much he wanted it, until he had resolved his list.
“You did already. Remember that village?”
“The one where the villagers threw stuff at us while we left?”
“They were just scared. We made a difference for them.”
; Jeff didn’t reply. Some of the villagers were alive when they left, but he wasn’t sure that was still the case. She had done too much pressing while they were there. Perhaps they had suffered the same fate as Fifth Springs.
“Almost morning,” Carlee said after a few minutes of silence. “And we haven’t seen a single leech patrol or anything. That can’t be a good sign.”
“Seems good to me. Nothing has tried to kill us tonight.”
“But we are close, very close, to Petra. It should have armies of leeches patrolling this area. They must be focused elsewhere, waiting for the battle.”
“I still don’t get why Horus is going through all this effort and risk to attack. Petra seems perfectly content to sit here in Dallas, making sure animal life lives in harmony with the planet. Didn’t you say there are worse Apostles out there?”
“Careful, that almost sounds as if you are starting to believe me when I say they all aren’t the same.”
“I think . . . they share enough of the bad qualities that any slight difference in how they like to oppress mankind is negligible,” Jeff said.
“Even after Horus . . . did what he did to you, and you sit here, looking out over where thousands of humans live in peace and safety, you can’t see the difference?”
“How is that safety going to work out for them when Horus shows up? Besides, Petra isn’t letting them have freedom. They have to be naked, live off the land, can’t eat meat, and all that. They are all going to die one way or another without knowing freedom. Horus just gets to the point. Don’t get me wrong, I hope that Petra wins the fight, but I’m not convinced it will matter in the end.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Carlee said. “So cold. So angry. I used to feel that way. But I realized there was a better way. I wish I was in a reality where the Apostles had never turned on one another, and we all lived in peace. But I don’t. So, I try to make the best of it here.”
“You really wish that Bud had still been created, but we all lived in peace together?”
“I do. And I don’t say that lightly. If anyone has earned the right to say it, I have.”
Jeff didn’t press the topic as the sun slowly began to light up the morning. As soon as it reached the horizon, their watch would be complete, and the caravan would try to slip by Petra, using it as a way to mask their trail.
“Sleeping on the job?” Drew said. The oldest of the vagrants strolled by them for at least the tenth time that night and said the exact same thing. Jeff’s guess was that the man was in his forties by his appearance, but his mind seemed much older.
“Still awake and still fighting the good fight, Drew,” Carlee said.
“Good on ya,” Drew said as he wandered out of sight once again.
Half of the camp was on watch tonight, and everyone was prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. They had hardly any supplies on hand, and most of the transports had been destroyed. Everyone knew the rendezvous point in the desert, and the secondary rendezvous point in a few months in the Puget Sound, in case things got dicey. Jeff had been surprised to be granted the details of the destinations, but apparently, wearing the uniform entitled him to the information.
“How long were the vagrants near Fifth Springs?” Jeff asked. He tried to keep his voice neutral, so as not to give away his suspicions.
“We tracked Horus there. We hoped to hide in its track and find some people who might need help in the aftermath.”
“So, you came after the fighting ended?”
“What are you asking?” Carlee was on to him, and he looked away from her before realizing his cowardice. When he looked back, she was waiting for him. “We didn’t pull Horus there if that’s what you are asking. We aren’t that reckless. You should know that.”
“I—”
“How long have you been holding on to that idea? This whole time? You thought I would let you sit among us this entire time, knowing that I brought what happened down on you? No. I promise you, we didn’t cause that to happen.”
“I hoped you didn’t. But . . . it crossed my mind during a lesson the other day. And I needed to know.”
“Well, now you know,” Carlee said. “We were only there long enough to save you.”
It was a relief to hear. He liked the vagrants, and he didn’t know what he would have done if they had turned out to be the reason his family had died. He let the conversation linger in the air until he sensed that Carlee had calmed down.
“Why did you save me? Back in Fifth Springs?”
“You needed help.”
“And that’s why you’ve kept me around this long? Stefani mentioned you’ve helped people like me before, but I don’t see any of them still here with you.”
“I . . . followed my gut.”
“Doesn’t that mean something about other realities?”
“I believe so. I feel like you’re needed. I don’t know why—I still hardly know you—but I feel like our paths are meant to continue on together. For now, at least.”
“That sounded a lot like Jane.”
“Well, Jane is very wise.”
“Is that the only reason?” Jeff asked while staring over at her. It was bright enough that he could make out the strong features of her face and soft eyes.
“The sun is practically up,” Carlee said. She stood up and stretched her legs. Even with her uniform and her body armor, she was beautiful, a combination of strength and compassion that Jeff would have thought impossible.
“Who is Bobby?” Jeff asked.
Carlee looked down at him and sighed. She offered her hand, and Jeff took it, deliberately using his human hand. The sun was peeking over the horizon now, and Jeff could see the other vagrants who had been on watch converging at the center of the camp.
“Bobby was my mentor. He taught me how to press and showed me so much more about life,” Carlee said. “But he’s not with us anymore.”
“Dead?”
Carlee nodded.
“I’m sorry, Carlee . . .” He squeezed her hand, and she let go.
“I’ve made peace with it.”
She started walking toward Jane’s tent where everyone was gathering, and Jeff followed after her. He knew it was a subject that he couldn’t bring up again, so against his better judgment, he pushed further.
“Was that all he was?” Jeff asked.
She turned to face him with tears in the corners of her eyes and forced a smile.
“He was also my husband.”
Jeff trailed a few steps behind her as they rejoined camp. He was busy processing the information. In a way, it made him understand Carlee better. The compassion, the distance—both made sense. But she was also young. Young enough that he doubted Bobby’s death was in the distant past. If she was still trying to recover from those wounds, it made sense why Stefani told him not to fall for her.
He should have listened.
Jane emerged from her tent, wearing body armor for the first time that Jeff had ever seen. Talon, as always, stood by her side, but even he seemed nervous.
“I fear I have let us be forced into this precarious position,” Jane said. “I have done my best, but there are so many paths funneling us to this location. An unnamed Apostle pursues us relentlessly from behind, which has come so close to catching us twice already, while two more of its kind are before us, preparing to do battle. It gets worse. Horus has a vast army of leeches, from its lands in the north, surrounding this position. And I have no doubt Petra has its own.”
The news caused a stir to spread throughout the gathered vagrants. Three Apostles and two armies of leeches, and they were trapped in the middle. He had known things were bad, but this seemed like the worst possible scenario. Jeff looked to Carlee, but she seemed to be unfazed by the news. If he hadn’t been with the most powerful group of humans alive, he knew he would have been living out his last minutes.
“There are many paths, but few, so few, have led us to this spot. I cannot promise anything except that I will do my best to l
ead us through this knot and ensure that we are never so ensnared again. The good news is that we are tiny specks, a needle in the haystack of their world. Keep a low profile, try your hardest not to draw their attention, stick together, and have faith. We will make it through.”
“We’ll follow you anywhere,” a portly man shouted from the side, and the vagrants slapped their body armor in agreement. Jeff even joined them. He had his doubts about Jane, but she had led the vagrants to Fifth Springs shortly after an Apostle attack, where they had eventually found him. For that, he was grateful.
“It is time to thread the needle.”
Without a further word, the vagrants dispersed, heading for their respective vehicles. Some knelt to say a prayer, while others stretched, already wearing flight suits. Jeff mounted his bike and found that his mortal hand was shaking.
“Hoods up,” Carlee said. “And stay close.”
Jeff nodded and pulled the hood of his uniform over his head. His vision lit up with display information about the vehicles and people in the vagrant camp. His head was also filled with chatter from all the vagrants who now shared a communication line.
“Let’s do this.”
“Ready whenever you hobos are.”
“Dibs on Petra.”
“All yours, Paul.”
The voices bounced around in his head, disorienting him. His bike powered on, and he felt sick to his stomach. He searched behind him one last time for Stefani, but he found nothing.
“We’ll see her by the ocean.” Carlee’s voice cut through the chatter and filled his soul with hope. He nodded as the vagrant forces commenced their flyby of one of the twelve artificial gods that had destroyed the world.
22 DALLAS
“I THOUGHT THIS WAS SUPPOSED to be one of the great cities of the old world,” Lionel said.
“Looks like good old Petra leveled it for some kale fields,” Paul, Lionel’s twin, said.
Vagrants (Vagrants Series Book 1) Page 14
