Her of the Wood

by Veronica Watts

  Ailie kisses her and as she pulls away says, "I love you, too."

  They walk quietly the rest of the way to the cave, holding hands and enjoying the comfort of one another. They watch the transition as the sun lowers, as the evening birds bed down and the hungry bats begin to flit across the darkening sky. The dimming light is just starting to make it harder to see when they come to a spot Euodia has never been to before.

  In front of them is a clearing, and just beyond that, a hole in the base of a cliff. The cliff isn't terribly tall. They could probably reach the top if one of them stood on the other's shoulders, and the opening in the face is more than half the height, plenty of room for both of them to walk right in and not be able to reach the walls on either side. She can't see more than a few feet inside, but it looks dark. Ailie stops near the entrance and pulls a stout stick from her bag. There are several pieces of what look like amber sticking out of the end. Ailie lays the stick on the ground and takes a few minutes to make a very small fire. Then she holds the jewel side of the stick in the flames, and it catches. It takes Euodia a moment, but finally she catches on. The stones are dried sap.

  Ailie stands and quickly kicks dirt over the small fire. "This doesn't last for a very long time, and we'll want to be settled before it goes out." She turns and walks away into the cave, as if she knows what is waiting there, as if it doesn't look like she's being swallowed by some huge beast. Euodia stands, watching her move further away into the dark, the light from her torch shrinking. Then Ailie she stops and turns around. She says nothing, but it's clear she's waiting, that she'll wait for as long as Euodia needs.

  Euodia follows Ailie into the cave. She stumbles here and there. Ailie's light too far ahead to see everything clearly. When she catches up, she takes Ailie's hand, and it's as if there's a glow that is just theirs in the world, that moves forward with them into the dark. She's reminded of those first few nights after they were driven out of the city, but she takes a deep breath, and the smell brings her back. The cave smells old and dry and clean.

  There are large cones starting to appear, some are coming from the floor, some from the ceiling, and some connect to create columns. "They're beautiful." There's a sense of awe in her in voice that she can't hide.

  Suddenly the walls to either side of her disappear. "This is the cavern." Ailie walks her along the walls. They swing out in a wide circle, and somewhere out of sight, she hears water flowing. Not having the full layout of the room is making Euodia uncomfortable, and Ailie senses it. "But we want to be here." She leads Euodia to the center of the room where she unceremoniously drops the stick and uses her shoes to put out the already low flame.

  The dark is complete. Euodia wants to speak to be sure Ailie is still there, but she stays quiet, too aware of the fear that she might not answer. Then there are hands on her forearms, and she sighs in relief as a voice very close to her ear says, "Look up."

  TWENTY

  They sleep under a hole in the roof far above them. With the torch out, they can see stars twinkling throughout the night. They lie in silence, holding hands, staring at this piece of the sky above them, and when Euodia wakes up, there is enough light streaming in for her to watch Ailie. This is the most calm she's felt in days.

  When Ailie wakes up, she turns into Euodia's chest. Euodia wraps her arms around Ailie and listens to her quiet breathing. Out of nowhere, Ailie asks, "What is this sleeping sickness you're all so afraid of?"

  Euodia sits up before she answers, pulling her knees up to her chest. "Good morning to you, too."

  "Sorry."

  Euodia leans forward to kiss Ailie. "You want to know. I understand." Euodia rearranges the blankets that have gotten wrapped around her legs during the night before continuing. "The outbreaks that I remember were about eight years ago, and then again three or four years later. The rich usually came down with it first, and they had doctors with access to medicine, so they got cured up, but when it hit the edges, people died."

  Euodia takes a minute to shake off sleep and decide what is important to share. "It starts with a cough, fever, aches, sometimes itching. Then there's disorientation, confusion, and sometimes hallucinations. Eventually everything just shuts down, a little at a time."

  "Does anyone recover without the medicine?"

  "No, even the people who get the medicine are often left damaged, unable to do tasks they were capable of before. It just depends how long they'd been sick." Something this contagious and deadly could devastate Solace.

  "How quickly did it spread?"

  "In the city center, slowly. People there stay home when they're sick, and they call the doctors pretty quickly, but in the edges, people have to work, and they don't let a cough or aches stop them; they can't afford to. But when a whole area gets sick, the government takes care of it."

  "What does that mean?" Ailie asks.

  Euodia looks up from the ground. "They collect those who are well enough to walk. If they are sick, they put them on a truck. If they don't look sick yet, they go into holding." She drops her eyes again before continuing. "Then they burn the place. The section I grew up in no longer exists. I survived quarantine, went on my referral transfer to the city center, and never looked back."

  Ailie's quiet. The gentle light grows dim as clouds pass over the sun. Euodia stands up and heads towards the cavern entrance. She's almost there when the dark catches up to her completely, and she realizes that she can't leave here alone. Besides, she isn't angry with Ailie. "Now you understand why we're so worried?"

  "Yes." She's already folded up the blankets, and now she's starting a small flame to relight the torch. Euodia doesn't come back, but when everything is ready Ailie goes to her and passes her the blankets to carry. "I'm sure it'll be fine. People get sick, even here. That doesn't mean it's the same thing." She takes Euodia's spare hand with her own and follows the path. There's a confidence in her voice that she doesn't feel, and she hopes that her touch is soothing.

  Soon they see the morning light filtering into the tunnel. They turn the last corner, and there's the opening, bright and sunny with morning light. Euodia stops as they step out, blinking in the bright light. Ailie turns back to her, kisses her, and leans her forehead against Euodia's. "I'm here."

  Ailie snuffs out the torch, and the rest of the walk back to town is quiet. They pass Hans at the edge of the torch circle and stop to talk. He seems on edge. "Things have been crazy tonight," he says. "Where have you guys been?"

  "Auston knew where we were," Ailie tells him. "What do you mean crazy?"

  "Jobe was walking around town making all kinds of racket but not making any sense, and there are three more people sick, including Henley." He looks to Euodia. It's no secret that the group that came in together is close.

  It takes her a minute to answer. She's worrying about Thackery, but that's not what she says. "Is Callie okay?"

  "I don't know. I'm not sure who the other two are. I only got some of the information because I've been out here all night." Euodia starts towards the community immediately.

  "Who told you?" Ailie asks this over her shoulder as she follows Euodia.

  "Broderick." Hans has to raise his voice a little to be sure they hear him. They're moving fast. As soon as they hit the community they head to the elder house where Callie sleeps. They're surprised to see people carrying bags out of the building. They walk up to Rayne who is on the edge of the crowd to find out more.

  Euodia hugs him, but she speaks as she does. "Callie?"

  "She's fine. It's just Hen from our group." His voice is more calm than his face. He hugs Ailie in greeting before he continues. "Since there are more sick now, they're moving into the elder house for quarantine, and we're to stop using the workspace next to it. Broderick says Manny's place isn't big enough since they're expecting more people to become sick."

  Ailie's tone is biting. "This was Broderick's idea?"

  Rayne looked confused. "Yeah, why?"

  She shakes her head. "He's using this
to make a power grab. He hasn't liked you guys since the beginning. He doesn't think we should help drop offs from the city. He wouldn't even have gone on the scouting trip that led us to you if it had been with anyone other than me, and I didn't even want him to go!" She takes a deep breath to control her anger. "I don't know what he's planning, but it won't be good for you guys. We need to get ahead of him somehow."

  Euodia isn't sure what Ailie means, but she says a quick goodbye to Rayne and follows her across the square. She realizes pretty quickly that they're heading to Lorna's, and she wants to stop in her tracks. She understands that for Ailie, Lorna is an adoptive mother, but for Euodia, Lorna is the leader of Solace that has taken her in and she could kick her out just as easily. Lorna is a woman who seems to have great sway over the people here, a woman she has seen only a handful of times. She has to fight to keep up with Ailie who doesn't stop, even when she gets to the door.

  When they open the door Ailie rushes in, Euodia slinking in behind her. Lorna, along with the man and woman with her, look up in surprise. Ailie speaks quickly. "Why are you expecting there to be more sickness?"

  Lorna does not seem thrown. Euodia can't picture her any way but calm. "Prepare for the worst, and your outcomes will be the best." She turns to the people she's reviewing maps with. It looks like plans for the late harvest crops and winter greens. "Can we finish this later?" They nod politely, roll up their papers, and leave.

  She turns back to Ailie and Euodia, still standing by the door. "Would you like some water?" She gets up to pour them both a cup and places them on the table. "Euodia, it's good to see you again."

  "You as well." She responds quickly, bringing the cup to her lips. She's sure her word come out as a mumble, but no one seems to mind.

  Ailie is calmer now. "We were out last night, so we just got back and learned about what's been happening. What worries me is that we're preparing for more people to get sick. Don't you think that introducing the idea of more sickness before it happens could cause a panic? People afraid of an outbreak can do more harm than the disease itself." Ailie talks quickly. Her emotions are getting the better of her.

  Lorna thinks before responding. She's obviously already thought about the situation, but she seems to pause out of respect. "I don't think you give our people enough credit. Everyone has been supportive, helping the older ones move to new places and helping Manny carry things that he will need to the elder house. I think that our people are capable of understanding that this is a precaution, not an expectation."

  Ailie's head is down. She's looking at the table trying to hold it all together. Euodia wants to reach over and hold her, but she this doesn't seem the time or place for that. She compromises and reaches out to hold Ailie's hand. Ailie squeezes hers back, but she doesn't look up, and then Lorna says the exact thing that needs to be said.

  "This isn't like what happened with your parents, Ailie." Euodia sees Ailie's lower lip tremble before she sees anything else, but then the tears come. She crumples into herself and lets out a torrent. Euodia is turning to hug her when Lorna comes around the table. Ailie turns into Lorna without hesitation.

  This is why they really came here. Ailie was scared, and she needed her family. Euodia feels guilty. Telling Ailie about the sickness put her on edge. She might have handled this news well if they had not had that conversation. She hadn't even thought about Ailie's parents. Ailie needed comfort, needed her mother, and Lorna is that for her. She watches Lorna embrace Ailie's fear.

  When Ailie's tears let up and she's wiped her face dry, Lorna squats down in front of them. She takes Euodia's hand as well as Ailie's. "Solace is strong because our people are strong. We will take care of each other and deal with whatever comes our way."

  Ailie doesn't speak. She doesn't need to, but Euodia needs the formality that words offer. "Thank you. It means a great deal to hear you say that."

  "You are one of us now, Euodia, all of you. More than that," she looks from Euodia to Ailie and back, "you are family."

  Ailie looks at Euodia with surprise on her face and smiles. She seems caught off guard, like she hadn't realized she was dragging Euodia to see her family for the first time since they had become a couple "I know I'm busy, but I hope Ailie will bring you over some time soon to chat, when things calm down."

  This gets another smile from Ailie, and she turns to Euodia. "Right, I forgot to tell you that you would have to be interviewed."

  Euodia wraps her arms around Ailie. "For you, it's worth it."

  Lorna stands as she speaks. "Well, there's a point in your favor already."

  They stand with her and head to the door. "I'm sorry I barged in like that. I do trust you." They hug with a warmth that only family can, and to Euodia's surprise, Lorna turns and embraces her as well. Ailie and Euodia leave, their arms around each other, and Lorna goes back to her table where she takes a drink of water and lowers her head into her hands.

  TWENTY-ONE

  Euodia and Ailie are eating lunch in the dining hall when a murmur rises through the group. The noise starts from the kitchen end of the room and creeps towards them. As Euodia turns to see what's going on, she can feel the mood changing through the room. She sees Rayne shake his head. People abandon their half-eaten lunches and begin to stream outside. Rayne walks over to them and kneels down next to their table. "Manny is sick, and apparently Broderick is calling for action."

  Ailie is the one shaking her head now in anger, and Euodia can see her muscles tensing, her frown deepening, etching lines into her face. "I can't believe him!" She reaches across the table to take Euodia's hand, and together they head for the door, leaving their plates on the table. Rayne follows.

  Broderick is standing in front of the elder home, a crowd gathering around him. Euodia would prefer to hang on the edges of the crowd, but Ailie plunges right into the middle of the group and pulls her along. Broderick's words reach them as they approach. "We haven't had a sickness like this in years, but we all remember the last time it got bad." For a moment, he looks straight at Ailie. Her hand tightens on Euodia's.

  "Nothing else has changed, except that we brought these people in. They came from the city, and who knows what they brought with them." Euodia is caught off guard as some of the people around her murmur in agreement. "I'm not saying we send them out empty handed, but I do think we should ask them to stay out of Solace until this dies down. We need to keep our community members safe."

  Suddenly Ailie's hand is gone, and she's stepping towards Broderick with a fire that Euodia has never seen in her before. "They are part of Solace, Broderick! They are community members."

  He's interrupting before she's even finished his name. "Did they grow up here, like you and me? Have they put in the years of blood and sweat and love and joy that the rest of us have?" There's a sincerity to his voice that worries Euodia. She looks around for others that she knows came here from Dracon, but like Ailie told her, it's been years since they brought anyone else in. She sees a few others on the edge of the square, quiet, like her. Ailie may not mind the attention, but she was born here. She doesn't have as much to fear.

  Then the door to the elder house opens. Manny is standing there, staring out at them, pale faced and sickly. He looks like he's having trouble breathing as he leans against the door frame. He steps forward to speak, but his muscles fail him, and he falls. Broderick starts to lean down to help him, but Callie rushes out from the door to help him, and Broderick pulls back as if he's afraid to touch her.

  "This woman here," Broderick says, speaking to the crowd.

  Callie stops and looks at him. Euodia can see the worry in her eyes at being pulled into this mess.

  "We've all seen her coughing. She's been with the sick just as long and often as Manny, and yet she's still strong enough to walk out here and help him up." Callie doesn't say a word. She finishes pulling Manny to his feet and slowly helps him back inside. Disappointment wells up in Euodia. She had hoped, just for a brief second, that Manny would say somethin
g to put this right.

  Broderick starts to walk across the porch as he talks, as if it's a stage. "I'm not saying that she's done anything on purpose, but what if this woman has carried something here that she is immune to? Do we really want her to continue to spread it inside Solace?"

  "Her name is Callie." Ailie is angry. There is a shift happening in the crowd around her that Euodia isn't sure they can fight.

  "Right. Callie." The agreement is so sincere that it makes her skin crawl. "Wouldn't it be better, for all of us really, to have Callie and the others leave the community?"

  There are nods and murmurs of agreement running through the crowd. Euodia moves slowly back towards the edge, but Ailie steps forward again. "They'll die out there, Broderick." Some of the crowd hear her, but the focus is on him.

  "They were doing fine out there before we found them. The carriers can survive for a while until we get this sorted out." There it is. They're no longer Callie and Euodia. He's changing the language in small doses, just enough to get the others to go along with it.

  Ailie turns to the group. "They don't have the skills we do. The city sends people out here to die, and they will die without us. They were only out there for two days, but this? How long are you talking about?" She's not going to sway him, but maybe she can get some of the others to listen.

  "I think you're underestimating these people, Ailie, or maybe you're just thinking of your own concerns." He looks directly at Euodia, and every eye in the square follows. Euodia freezes. By reminding the crowd that Ailie is with one of the newcomers, he has discounted every argument she can present.

  She tries to continue. "Henley is sick. She came with Callie. How could she have traveled with her the whole time and not gotten sick until now?" They're speaking over her now. Never mind that she is trying to remind them that these are people they have come to know. Never mind that her arguments are logical. They see her bias and ignore her words. The volume increases, tiny conversations breaking out all over, until the crowd is shouting around them. Euodia hears people she has come to know shouting phrases like 'Get them out'. A man grabs her arm, and before she can do anything, Rayne steps between them. The man drops her arm, but he continues to shout, and not once during the encounter does he look her in the eye.