The Changing Earth Series (Book 3): The Walls of Freedom

by Hathaway, Sara F.

  “Wow, you are tough! No wonder,” he mused.

  “And what do you do?” Erika asked, wanting to direct the attention away from herself.

  “I’m the assistant to Dr. Castanza. We deal with chemical weapons, vaccinations, potential threats from the planet, that kind of thing. I’ve been studying the icecaps since before the Great Quake. I saw it coming,” he whispered.

  “Really? You were a young man back then.” Erika encouraged him to keep talking.

  “Yeah, I did my science project on the effects to the coastlines if the polar caps melted and within the year it happened. After the fall I found Dr. Castanza and started learning and helping in whatever way I could. Right now we’re...” His explanation was cut short.

  “Erika, there you are,” Master Sergeant Bennet said.

  “Hello, Master Sergeant,” the young scientist said clumsily, standing awkwardly at attention.

  “Hello, Mr. Dougan, I see you’ve met Erika,” the Master Sergeant commented, curious about what they had been discussing.

  “Oh yes, sir, and let me tell you how honored I am,” he replied respectfully.

  “Do you have someplace you need to be?” the Master Sergeant asked as Brad stood there nervously staring at Erika.

  “Y...yes sir, I do. It was nice to have met you,” he replied, scurrying off to some unknown location.

  “He seems nice,” Erika commented, making a mental note to get to know Brad. He seemed like a wealth of knowledge just waiting to be tapped.

  “He’s a doof,” Master Sergeant Bennet replied, making his own mental note to keep those two apart. He didn’t need Brad Dougan and his big mouth getting her all fired up.

  They went and got Dexter. He was thoroughly excited to get started. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Trucker could pass the aptitude test, but he was still healing from his recent surgery. Dexter said it was a mixed blessing because now he had more time to practice but he would have to wait longer to start training.

  His enthusiasm blinded him from his mother’s slight wincing as the bus bumped along. Bennet was quiet and focused. Erika felt the pain of this afternoon’s lesson, but she also understood the message loud and clear. She had let her successes give her too much confidence. She was naked here with nothing but her hands to defend herself. She was supposed to be “free,” but she couldn’t carry a weapon to defend herself. Looking over at Master Sergeant Bennet, she suddenly realized why he was fighting this fight: they were all trapped. Survival had caused a forced labor system to replace personal choice.

  They arrived back at the farm just before the boys were coming in from the fields. Erika was doing dishes at the sink when Vince came in. Her muscles ached and her arms stung with bruises. She had known the pain of broken ribs in the past and didn’t feel that was the case now, but she was sore.

  “Hey,” Vince said, joining her in the kitchen. “How’d it go?” he wondered.

  “Good,” Erika answered cheerfully.

  “Really?” he said, advancing his body up behind hers.

  “Yeah, we did a little light sparring,” she smirked. “Dexter decided he wants to try and pass an aptitude test with Trucker and become a K-9 unit.”

  “Wow, that sounds cool. Is he sure he wants to do that? He can go to school and be a normal teenager if he wants to,” Vince responded, hoping his son could step away from the life they were forced to live at the camp.

  “Can he, Vince?” she asked, rinsing soap off of a plate.

  “I don’t know, Erika. I don’t know if I can. Don’t get me wrong, I love the farm and Evan has it set up beautifully. I don’t really even know what’s wrong with me. It’s just been a long road. You know?” Vince admitted.

  “I know and it’s not over. It will never be over.” Erika began to cry.

  He hugged her body and choked back tears of his own. All this time they pictured a free life similar to the one they had once known before the Great Quake, but that life didn’t exist now.

  He turned her around and gazed into her eyes, “I told you in the cabin that I would stand by you, and I haven’t forgotten that. Evan and Trevor are great guys. Their kids are awesome people. There is no reason they should be second-class citizens. This fight is worth fighting, Erika, I mean it.”

  “You are freaking awesome, you know that, don’t you. I love you so much,” Erika replied, truly honored by his words.

  He hugged her around the waist tightly and she winced in pain.

  “Light sparring?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

  “So maybe we did a little bit more than light sparring,” Erika joked.

  “If I know the Master Sergeant, he probably beat the hell out of you and you don’t want me to freak out,” he said, grabbing a glass of water.

  “Whatever. I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” she mumbled to the dishes.

  They were having dinner at Kay and Earl’s home. After so long being apart it was always a pleasure to enjoy each other’s company. At dinner, Sean explained that he went to the seed distribution warehouse with Evan and ran into the guys who had the local band that he had sung with at the party. They were playing a show in town and Sean was wondering if he was allowed to go sing with them.

  It highlighted Erika’s frustration with this life. Why did he have to ask? Erika pondered. He was a twenty-five-year-old man who should have been free to determine his own path.

  Earl explained that he would have Corporal Avery accompany him there and he still had to attend to his farm chores. Sean agreed, looking as giddy as a schoolboy. He kissed Star and held her hand tightly.

  Erika and Vince made passionate love that night, enjoying the constant comfort they found in one another. It was the one thing in their lives that was always right. She lay awake watching Vince dream, listening to his breathing. She tried to convince herself she could make a difference and set her mind to finding out how. As she was dozing Daniel came quietly into their room. He was still having a hard time sleeping alone. Erika snuggled him into bed with them and fell asleep, holding him tightly.

  Chapter 34

  The next morning Erika was up early with Vince. She had found a new sense of purpose. She helped Daniel get ready for the day. Earl had found a tutor for him so Daniel would spend the morning on the farm and his afternoon with the tutor.

  Erika saw them off and then went with Dexter to meet at Master Sergeant Bennet’s pod.

  “Good morning, cupcake. How we feeling this morning?” he laughed and his eyes sparkled.

  “Awesome,” she replied, not giving him the satisfaction of reveling in the battle he had won. “In fact, I feel so good I think I’m going to head into town with Earl today.”

  The Master Sergeant scowled, but Erika had not finished talking yet.

  “Is Corporal Avery available to accompany me?” she asked.

  He smiled, glad she was not going to fight him on this.

  “Why do you want to go to town?” he asked.

  “When we were shopping the other day, I saw they have a library. It’s been a while since I had new books to read,” she explained.

  “That’s fine...Corporal Avery,” he called for the young man.

  Corporal Avery and Erika went to flag down Earl in the driveway on his way into the office. Earl dropped them off at the large building with an intricate suspension system that sat nestled amongst the pods. When they entered, Erika took a moment to revel in the smell of the books.

  She told Corporal Avery that she promised to stay in the library and it was okay if he wanted to wait by the door. He obliged her and she headed off to the fiction section first. She picked an adventure story for herself. Then she chose a magical story for Dexter and a story about dragons for Daniel.

  When she was done she crept over to see if Corporal Avery was looking and headed into non-fiction. She pored over books about the laws made in the last ten years. They read like stereo instructions, but basically The Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA, ha
d used legal means to take control after the Great Quake. Executive orders had been written giving the agency control of all resources in time of disaster, even back then. The people had remained quiet when it was passed. They had lived in a time when Erika’s reality was a fictional story read for amusement. They didn’t know that the bureaucrats in charge would think of themselves as gods, acting with the infinite knowledge of what was best for everyone.

  Erika took a moment to look at the old Constitution of the United States of America:

  We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

  Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression.

  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

  Amendment 2 - Right to Bear Arms. A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

  Amendment 3 - Quartering of Soldiers.

  No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

  Amendment 4 - Search and Seizure.

  The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

  No wonder they had to get rid of this thing, Erika thought, laughing at how badly the current government had trampled all over what the original Constitution had stood for. I wonder when that happened. She began scrubbing the Internet for new headlines from the past ten years when a reserved gal with short blond hair sat down at the machine next to Erika’s. She was studying pharmaceutical law cases from the past, and Erika was intrigued. It didn’t appear that this young lady wanted to talk, though, so Erika continued with her work.

  “Have you been in a time machine?” the girl commented.

  “I’m sorry?” Erika responded, surprised she had spoken at all.

  “It looks as if you’re reading those stories for the first time,” she explained.

  “Oh, I am, actually,” Erika said.

  “That’s why I asked if you were in a time machine,” she retorted.

  Erika’s assumption that this young woman was reserved was incorrect. She was calculated and intelligent.

  “I’ve been in a refugee camp,” Erika replied honestly. Why should I hide anymore? she thought to herself.

  “Then what are you doing in a landowner library?” she said, assuming Erika was a refugee.

  “It was a mix-up. We weren’t supposed to be there.” Erika held her ground.

  The young woman sat back for a moment.

  “Then you must be Erika Moore. I heard your family’s land was in this region,” she replied.

  “It appears you have me at a loss,” Erika responded, wanting to know more about her.

  “Gwen Farley. I’m the elected official for the Congressional Party in the region.

  “Really? I wouldn’t have expected that,” Erika blurted out.

  “Why? Because I’m so young?” she asked.

  “No...because you’re so...normal,” Erika admitted

  “My dad was the CEO of a pharmaceutical company and now he manages vaccinations and disease prevention. Basically, he still runs a pharmaceutical company. I’ve been assigned as his replacement,” she explained.

  “Assigned?” Erika didn’t understand.

  “Yeah, everyone has a place we fit in to keep society running. Mine is taking my father’s job when he is no longer fit to do it anymore. Where have you been assigned?” she wondered innocently.

  “I don’t really know...” Erika was caught off guard. “We’re just settling in. My husband works his father’s farm.”

  “Oh well, there you go,” she declared. “You will be assigned managing the farm’s refugees, taxes, production schedules and food requirements.”

  “Sounds like fun,” Erika said sarcastically.

  Erika finished up, checked her books out and left with Corporal Avery to go meet Earl. Everyone was back home when she got there, and they delighted in the books Erika had chosen for them.

  *****

  The next few days fell into one another. Erika talked with her mom often, and spent her days alternating between going to the base with Master Sergeant Bennet and Dexter, hiking in the woods with her bow, and going to the library to read and study. She ran into Gwen often and they talked about the upcoming regional meeting.

  The dogs had healed and much to Jack’s dismay, Trucker had passed the aptitude test and was now training with Dexter for the K-9 unit. Jack would miss playing with Trucker out in the fields.

  Dexter would burst into the house with a huge smile on his face when the mayor of Brainerd, Paul Gardner, came out to the base. Erika overheard Dexter talking with Jared and Megan about Caroline coming with her father. Dexter was absolutely smitten with her and Jared would encourage him to go after her, while Megan didn’t see what the big deal was.

  Sean and Star were enjoying their new life. Kay was so excited to have a granddaughter, and Star was eager to get to know more about her family. They spent days together working in the kitchen and managing the farm’s operations. Star spent her nights with Sean, watching him sing. His band was getting more and more attention, and they were getting asked to play in other Northern Region States.

  Daniel loved the farm and the boys from the refugee families. They worked hard during the day, and the refugee boys were even invited to be tutored in the afternoons with Daniel. It was highly unusual for refugee children, but neither Earl or Kay saw the harm in it when Daniel had made a passionate plea. When they were done with their lessons the boys would play; sometimes even the older children found themselves wrapped up in the games. They would have suspenseful soccer games or nail-biting baseball games. When the game got really intense they would even drag the adults in to be tie-breakers. Erika loved every minute of it, watching the faces of her family laughing with new friends.

  Vince loved the farm just as much as Daniel, and his body was showing the rippled muscles of his hard work. He was learning the details of operations and the intricacies of the government tax system. He praised Evan’s work ethic and streamlined process and hoped Evan wasn’t feeling threatened by his arrival. He explained that it was always important to have a strong manager. Vince was just fine if that individual wasn’t him.

  Compared to the life they had led for the past ten years it was comfortable and reliable, but there was still a part of Vince that longed for a break from the same routine, and he was happy when the day of the regional meeting approached.

  Chapter 35

  Erika had bad news for Vince. The morning before they left, they found a moment of silence while they packed up a couple of backpacks to take with them. Erika explained what she had learned from Master Sergeant Bennet, Gwen and her studying. The Northern Region Board Meeting was not a welcome home meeting: they intended to question her and Vince about laws that were broken while they were in the refugee camp. In all her studies Erika had not found a case as intricate as theirs, but she told Vince about the possible outcomes. There weren’t just FEMA camps, there were prison camps as well. Erika did not intend on ending up in either place.

  “What are you saying, Erika? They could lock us up? For what?” Vince was unsure of her direction.

  “The most punishable crimes are rebellion against the government and harmi
ng soldiers. We’ve done both,” Erika informed him.

  “But we were in that place. We didn’t know,” Vince defended.

  “I know, Vince. That’s what I keep telling myself, but we both know what happened at the camp,” Erika reminded him.

  “We didn’t kill any soldiers there,” Vince retorted.

  “But we did take actions against them when they came to arrest us,” she explained.

  “So we were supposed to just sit there and do nothing while our children screamed in the other room?” he raged.

  “Yes...they were there lawfully and we didn’t go willingly,” she retorted.

  “But we were landowners then. My parents were searching for us and Mathew was going to kill us,” Vince argued.

  “But Vince, nobody else knows that, except Mathew,” Erika answered.

  “And Master Sergeant Bennet,” Vince thought out loud.

  “Yeah but Mathew didn’t tell him that himself. He was told by another guard that’s loyal to the government,” Erika sighed. “Sergeant Bennet arrested us on rumors of us leaving.”

  “We should have been able to leave, because we were landowners! And then they put out the ‘wanted’ message over the radio. Everyone heard that.” Vince was shocked. There was no way he was getting caught in this pickle.

  “I don’t know what’s going to happen, Vince but I do know: landowner or not, once we were in federal custody, for whatever crime, escaping is severely punishable; whether we were right or wrong won’t matter.” Erika stared at the floor. “I just wanted to let you know what we are up against here. I’ve been doing a lot of homework at the library. These are not the laws of the country that we used to know. The constitution has been circumvented. I’m just not sure how they will handle it,” Erika worried.

  “Damn, I was looking forward to this. I didn’t even realize all this crap was hanging over us,” he admitted, thinking hard. “No, Erika! This sucks! Look what happened to Dexter and Star!” He circled the floor.

  “I just wanted to tell you before we left so you can help minimize damage.” Erika knew his dilemma all too well. Maybe that was why she had put off telling him until the last minute, worrying wouldn’t have solved anything.