The two stood there staring into the thick fog, and then they heard it. The thump, thump, thump, thump of helicopter blades beating in the air. They must have been closer to the shoreline than they realized. Toni explained that the chopper never ventured too far out from the shore. They were hidden in the marine layer, but once the light worked on the soupy cloud that shrouded them it would be a much different story. Eventually the floating island would be discovered in one way or another, and Erika and Toni both agreed here was not where they wanted to be when that happened.
When everyone rose from their slumber Toni made breakfast. She was proud to present real bacon to the group. Erika’s mouth watered as it sizzled and splattered. It had been so long since she ate bacon that she wondered if she could even remember the flavor. They found some bird eggs from some nests and Dexter retrieved them, much to the dismay of the mother birds that dove at him. Star took care of that problem with some carefully aimed shots from the .22 rifle, and they ate them too.
The women explained what they had heard to the men over breakfast, and everyone agreed they would gather what they could from the battleship and head out in Vlad’s boat as soon as they were loaded. Working hard all morning, Daniel was moved to a comfortable spot on Vlad’s boat. Any supplies were carefully lowered down; every mango, even those that weren’t ripe yet, were stripped from the boat. Then Dexter, Star and Boris found every bottle of water, candy bar, medical supply cabinet and anything else of value and piled it by the staging area to be hoisted down into Vlad’s vessel.
Chapter 10
Vlad’s craft was beautiful. As Erika stepped aboard, she wondered at the life some wealthy individual had enjoyed in the past, complete with a luxury yacht. The boat had been modified with a sail to keep her moving and preserve the precious fuel. It had been lived in, but the decadence still remained. Every non-living space had been stuffed with supplies but Toni cleared two cabins for the family that would be joining them for a time.
Boris bounded around the boat, excitedly showing off all its features to Dexter and Star. There was even a hot tub that still functioned. Dexter and Star had never imagined boats like this even existed. Its white decks were meticulously cleaned and before long they were lounging on the sofas playing an old PlayStation Video game system that ran off the boat’s solar power.
“Hey, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I remember that game,” Erika exclaimed as she entered the room to join them.
“Too bad Daniel’s not awake,” Dexter mumbled, with a sad look in his eyes. He was quickly distracted from his thoughts as Boris stuffed the controller into his hands and started giving him instructions on how to play it.
The boat quietly left the USS Missouri behind it as they gently rumbled away in the fog. They were headed for Reno, or as close as they could get before they would have to walk.
Vince stared aimlessly at the small wake the boat left. His curly hair stuck out under the sides of his hat, swaying with the wind that swirled around them.
“Don’t worry, my friend, we’ll get there,” Vlad declared, coming up to him.
“I think I hear the chopper again, Vlad,” Vince huffed, growing tired of living in fear.
“Finding that ship will keep them busy for a long time. May be a blessing in more ways than one.” Vlad pondered the helicopter.
“I think you have a point, Vlad. Thank goodness for this fog,” Vince added.
“You have a very long road ahead of you, my friend,” Vlad continued. “We’ve made the trek to see Dlores, the medicine woman, many times. Toni loves that woman and enjoys learning all of the medical information. More than that, baby George is alive because of her.”
“Really? How’s that?” Vince wondered, trying to find out more about his traveling companion.
“Toni had a very difficult pregnancy with that boy. He just didn’t want to stay put in his mama. We ended up staying there for the last three months so Dlores could monitor Toni. He was...how do you say...breech, and the cord was around his neck. Colored like a blue bird he was when he came out, but Dlores knew what to do and had him crying in no time,” Vlad revealed.
“It’s so hard to know who to trust anymore. Thanks, Vlad.” Vince sighed, showing his deep appreciation of the man’s kindness and enjoying a moment to let his guard down.
“I hear you, my friend, I hear you,” Vlad agreed, reflecting on his own experiences. “Working the coastlines as we do, you never know who will be in charge the next time you visit a group and how will they receive you? I worry about not coming back to my family every time, but a man has to make a living.”
The boat putted along slowly and quietly. Star prepared a meal for everyone while Toni attended to Daniel. His situation had changed very little and Toni was baffled by his symptoms. It was like his little body was just giving up. Erika fretted and cried whenever she didn’t have to pretend to be strong for the sake of her other children. Vince was scared to death inside, but outside he was cool as a cucumber. He constantly picked Vlad and Don’s brains for every ounce of information he could gather about how to get to Reno once they hit the shoreline.
That night they retired to their cabins and Erika was on the verge of a breakdown.
“I can’t do this anymore, Vince...I can’t live this life,” Erika sobbed, feeling sorry for herself.
“I know it’s hard, Erika, but what are we supposed to do?” Vince was in no mood to be strong anymore. He wanted time to cry for his young son, too.
“I know it sounds horrible, but sometimes I wish we would have never left the camp,” Erika admitted.
“Then we would be dead now; you know what Mathew was going to do. Can’t have a blemish on his record,” Vince said in disgust.
“Do you think if we are caught they will kill Daniel too?” Erika wondered.
“I think they would,” Vince said, staring at the floor.
“Daniel can’t die now. He’s the main reason we were leaving anyway. He can still carry the family line,” Erika thought to herself out loud.
“We were just lucky to get out when we did. I can’t believe I let those jack-offs touch my children.” Vince muttered the last part, ashamed.
“It’s not your fault, Vince. God knows we tried... Those fucking bastards,” Erika seethed. “Who are they to decide whose family is worthy of life and whose isn’t.”
“I can’t believe it either. Who would vote for that and just think how Dexter and Star must feel...having their bodies altered. To have the joy of holding your own baby stripped away from you because of some bureaucratic asshole. If I could, I would kill all those fucking doctors myself,” Vince sputtered angrily.
Erika approached him and held his shaking body. He was just one man, fighting for his family. His family was strong and proud; the line had to continue and Daniel’s sick little body was the last chance they had, Erika thought.
“We’ll figure this out, Vince. We always have before. We just have to keep going. We have to be strong for Daniel, Dex and Star,” Erika said courageously. She was finding her strength so she could loan it to Vince and keep his mind clear.
They hugged each other for a long time in silence. In the joining cabin, Dexter backed away from the wall. He had listened to their every word. He paced the floor furiously. It’s all about him. All about Daniel, because he can still have babies. They would have let me rot there because I can’t have babies! Why did they let them do that to me? Why did they do that to me? I’ll never hold my own child. I’m a freak show! Those fucking bastards. Dexter’s mind was on fire with feelings he had no idea how to cope with.
The hatred built up inside of him. Deep down, he knew his parents had done all they could, short of dying themselves, but he couldn’t help being a little disappointed in them too. He loved kids and had always pictured his own wife and family. His “procedure” had happened two years ago. Why couldn’t we have gotten out two years ago? Why did they wait so long? It’s not their fault. It’s the freaking landowners who made the decision a
nd those freaking doctors that did this, his mind raced on.
A dark spot started to grow in his heart. His innocence had been tarnished and replaced with a full understanding of the word prejudice. His personal liberty had been ignored, and his body violated, and he was fully aware of its ramifications at this point.
His soft grey eyes grew puffy as he cried through the night. He loved his brother completely, but at the same time harbored an intense jealousy. He came to the conclusion that his family was important and Daniel had to be protected for the sake of his family, but that didn’t mean the bastards that did this to him weren’t going to pay for it, one day, he thought.
Erika and her family had their gear packed and Daniel on a stretcher as they waited for the boat to make landfall. Vlad and Toni approached with their boys and a pack for the toddler.
“What are you guys doing?” Erika wondered.
“We’re going too,” Vlad answered directly.
“I thought you were staying. It’s too dangerous for you and your children to travel with us,” Vince warned.
“It is dangerous,” Toni replied softly, “but...”
“But we want to go trade with Dlores,” Vlad replied. “We need more supplies and we got some things from that ship Dlores would really appreciate. We owe her that. Plus, I wouldn’t want my comrades getting lost,” Vlad added jokingly at the end.
“We’ll be fine,” Dexter snapped.
Erika looked at him curiously and wondered where that had come from.
“We’ve taken care of ourselves before and we can do it again,” Dex added.
Vince gave him the same curious look. “I agree with Dex, although I don’t think I would have put it quite like that. You guys don’t have to do this. We are all able fighters and we can make it.”
“I believe it, my friend. That is another reason why it would be better for us to travel with you, much safer,” Vlad responded. He wanted to help them but it was the truth. His family would be safer from bandits if they traveled together. “Don will stay to watch the boat.”
“Awesome! I’m happy to have you with us,” Erika admitted, smiling.
Before long they approached the shore. Erika had no idea that they had been traveling over what used to be Highway 50 but was now indistinguishable from the murk of the open ocean. Erika couldn’t help but be amazed by the thick line of trash along the shoreline. The remains of urban sprawl floated everywhere.
Erika was anxious as they rowed the dinghy to the edge and ended up on a shredded highway. They were in a town she had known well at one time. The town of Placerville. It was just miles from were she had once called home, but it was almost unrecognizable. The ocean had crashed in and destroyed it all, leaving little more than scattered remains. She had no time to cry for the past. They had to focus on the now and getting Daniel to someone who could help. Cautiously surveying the landscape for soldiers, they picked their way through the rubble. Erika noticed how fast nature was rebounding and reclaiming the area, but instead of an interior mountain ecosystem it was being mixed with plants that once thrived in the former coastline. Coastal live oaks with their long acorns grew alongside longer-lived canyon live oaks and blue oaks. Seaside daisies flashed their soft colors, and bees floated from them to the California poppies that always flourished in this area.
“It’s good to be home...well, kind of,” Vince said to Erika.
“Oh yeah, we are right by where we used to live, right, Dad?” Dexter wondered.
Erika was encouraged by his cheerful tone. Maybe he was just having a bad morning, she thought.
“We sure are, bud,” Vince replied.
“I think I remember it, kind of,” Dex professed.
“I would rather not remember it at all,” Star commented. “Nothing but pain for me here.”
“I know, Star,” Erika said, remembering Star’s mother, the first person Erika had ever taken the life of. “It’s over now.”
“Is it?” Star wondered. “Growing up, I could have never imagined this. Why did it have to happen?”
“I don’t know, Star. The earth has changed before and it will again. We were arrogant to think that it wouldn’t, but I still ask myself why. Why did we have to live through this? But there are no answers. I will tell you I am glad to have you as a daughter, and that is the best thing that came of all of this misery.”
“Thank goodness for you, Erika. God only knows what would have happened to me without you,” Star said, her eyes welling up with tears. She rarely called Erika by her name, even though Erika wasn’t her real mom.
“Guys, we need to quiet down. Sometimes they have random patrols out here. We’re not landowners either, so we are at just as much risk as you are out here,” Vlad warned them. Boris knew the program exactly, and he stayed right at his dad’s side and didn’t say a word.
Toni kept little George packed tightly against her body. It seemed that even the young child knew to stay quiet.
“Understood,” Vince acknowledged. He signaled for Dex and Star to stay at the ready, fan out and scout up ahead.
Erika and Vince were carrying Daniel and had to maintain a level hold on the stretcher. They had tied him down to keep him stable, but they didn’t want to jostle him too much in his condition.
Daniel’s medical status didn’t change as night fell, except that he seemed to be alert less and less. The need to get to Reno seemed more and more urgent. Erika cursed the night because they had to stop. They didn’t dare start a fire. No one was supposed to be in this area and it would be a dead giveaway. Dex and Star took the first shifts on watch as usual, but Erika couldn’t take sitting around in camp, watching her baby deteriorate, even though she really enjoyed Toni’s company.
She went to go find Dexter. She crept through the forest and saw him standing stiffly in the moonlight. She thought he was gorgeous. His sandy brown hair was getting long and hung to his sturdy shoulders. He was growing into a man she could respect.
“Hey, Dex,” she whispered as she silently approached him.
He spun around with his gun on her. “Damn, Mom, what are you trying to do? Get yourself killed?”
“Sometimes I think it might be easier,” Erika admitted to him.
“Don’t say stuff like that,” Dexter corrected firmly. “Daniel needs you.”
“And what about you?” Erika wondered.
“And I need you too, Mom,” Dexter appeased her, blushing a little.
They stood in silence for a while, just staring out at the mountains.
“It’s all about Daniel, though, isn’t it, Mom?” Dexter inquired, breaking the silence. He had never been good at hiding feelings from her.
“What?” Erika didn’t know where this was coming from.
“He’s the important one. He can still have kids,” Dexter said spitefully.
“Dexter, I’ve never lied to you and I’m not going to start now,” Erika begun.
“See, it is all about him,” Dexter said, feeling discouraged.
“I’m not going to hide the facts. We got him out in time and he can still carry on the family line. That’s important to us, but...” Erika explained, trying to keep this conversation calm.
“Why couldn’t you get me out in time, Mom?” Dexter cried, with tears in his eyes.
“We tried, baby...believe me, we tried.” Erika had tears in her eyes now too. “Do you think I didn’t try to stop them? We rebelled as hard as we could. You know I did, but what could we do? They just put me in that box and did it anyway.” Her calmness had slipped away into a deep sorrow. There was so much pain, so much frustrations and so much fear, she couldn’t take it anymore.
“I know, Mom...I’m sorry...you know I love you,” Dexter acknowledged, seeing the pain in her heart.
He hugged her tightly. He was now a little bigger than she was, and Erika noticed it.
“Look at you. My big man getting all grown up,” Erika beamed with pride.
“Mom, I love Daniel too. I really do, it’s just.
..just...” Dexter couldn’t find the words.
“I know you love him and you’re brothers. I understand it’s hard to not resent him a little as well. Right now we just have to focus on keeping him alive, and we’ll worry about all this later.”
As they stood there, they heard thunder in the distance and then lightning lit up the horizon.
“Looks like a storm’s coming in,” Dexter said.
“Sure does.” Erika thought it was fitting. She knew a storm was brewing in her son’s heart as much as it was on the horizon. She took solace in the fact that they could share the moment together. The storm would come and pass, just like she hoped these intense feelings would come and pass from her son’s heart.
Chapter 11
The travelers were on the move by first light the next morning. Erika focused on the fact that after today they would get Daniel to safety and pushed their pace. Daniel had gotten paler and his pulse was weakening. Everyone was aware that speed was of the essence.
Vlad had advised Vince that their biggest obstacle would be traversing the gap in the mountain that Vince and Erika had watched rip the mountain apart ten years ago. The eastern side of the mountains had raised up while the western side fell, welcoming the rising ocean tide. When the water receded the gap remained, filled with salt water, but the mountain on the other side was much higher now. At one point survivors had installed a cable to cross the gap. Vlad had crossed it many times, but even he was leery of it. It was an easy spot for soldiers to monitor. Avoiding the cable would add days to their timetable. In the end, they decided it was worth the risk, because it was the fastest and safest way to get everyone across the water.
Dexter and Star methodically scouted the area ahead as they approached the thick steel cable. The two families stayed hidden in the second layer of trees so if their scouts were spotted not all would be lost. Erika hated putting Dex and Star in that position, but everyone knew the realities of the world they faced.
Erika watched from the tree line with Vince, their rifles drawn as their kids safely approached the line. They talked for a moment and then Star started across the cable, climbing hand over hand as her body hung down and her legs clung to the line for additional security. She finally reached the other side far up the mountain cliff and disappeared for a moment. It seemed like an eternity for Erika as she waited for her daughter’s return.
The Changing Earth Series (Book 3): The Walls of Freedom Page 8
