Lila had left for new adventures and challenges. Mathis left to bring her home.
Mathis took one last look back at Canamith and thought to himself, Well, dad, you said someday I’d be needed for something important…I hope this is what you had in mind. What could be better than bringing your father his daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter? I’ve got to make Lila believe me. If she wants to live, she’ll come with me.
He had been traveling an hour or two when his first near disaster struck.
Heading down the mountain, he stepped clumsily and tweaked his right ankle. He momentarily feared the damage was worse, but within a few steps the pain dissipated and he returned to his quick gate. He hadn’t planned an exact timeline, but he knew that if he left the village too soon, Rex would have sent out a search party to bring him back home. If he waited too long, he’d never have a chance to make it back before the tunnels were sealed. If his timing was right, Rex wouldn’t even notice his departure until it was too late to go and find him. Mathis risked it all for that chance.
Mathis had now ventured farther from Canamith than he had ever been. He had no desire to see the rest of the world the same way Lila craved. But the variety of birds, trees, grasses, and other natural wonders he saw along the way that were not present in Canamith surpassed his expectations in beauty.
Four hours into his journey, Mathis’s confidence grew. He knew where to find the college where Lila taught. It was one full day’s walk and part of the next. He had studied the maps from the library and had them safely stuffed into his backpack. He set his sights for a small campsite near the main road.
He brought enough supplies for three days. Two days for the trip to find her, and one for the return to Canamith. His pack included a blanket, rope, flashlights, various natural insect repellents, a first-aid kit, rations, and lots of water. The water was weighing him down, but he couldn’t rely on the water outside Canamith being safe for him to drink.
Mathis was surprised his trip had been free of danger, but then realized his situation was changing. A small pack of dogs were following him. He couldn’t see them at first, but he had been blessed with a keen sense of smell, and had kidded with his mother years ago that her dinners had to pass “The Mathis Smell Test” before he would even try the delicious food on the table. He would grab the plate with both hands, slowly bring the food to his nose, and breathe in deeply. More often than not, he would wink at his mother and devour the meal, but there were occasions when no matter how hard Sara tried to convince Mathis to “just taste it”, he wouldn’t budge from his convictions and skipped dinner altogether.
This moment was beginning to smell like a rotten dinner.
He quickened his gait. Beads of sweat burned as they dripped into his left eye. It had been a long day, and the warm temperatures, heavy load and the distance traveled took a toll on him. He knew he was no match for a pack of wild dogs. If they were hungry, and they found him, his right leg would be a late afternoon snack.
The two weapons Mathis brought with him were a six-inch hunting knife and a four-foot-long stick. The wooden stick would be handy to ward off a single creature, but one man with a knife and a stick versus an unknown number of wild dogs was not a proposition that interested him.
Mathis checked his map and noticed that a small creek ran parallel with his route to Sanderell and he could use the water for two purposes.
He entered the creek on the eastern side. The water was colder than he imagined. He held his pack high to keep it dry. The middle of the creek surprised Mathis. It became shallower and he stumbled. His knee buckled, but he planted his lower leg into the soft muddy bottom of the creek and it took hold. His regained footing, and crossed the water safely. Mathis covered his arms with mud from the embankment. He hoped it would eliminate his scent and the dogs would lose his trail.
Minutes later, six hungry and mangy-looking dogs gathered on the far side of the creek. They lapped up water to quench their thirst. The alpha dog raised his nose and searched for Mathis, but couldn’t find his scent, and walked away. The rest of the pack followed close behind. Mathis waited another fifteen minutes before moving. He brushed the dirt from his clothes, wrung out his shirt, and headed back on the trail to Sanderell. Daylight was fading and now he was behind schedule. His original overnight plans were out of the picture.
“Looks like this a good time to implement my own Plan B,” he said to himself. “Now, if I just had one, I’d be in good shape. I’ll be prepared for the next one. Thanks, Dad.”
Mathis found an abandoned barn to stay for the night. The doors were locked. He shattered a small window with the stick, reached in, and unlocked the door. He entered the building making as little noise as possible. His feet trampled scattered bits of trash on the floor, but nothing else tripped his senses. Once inside, he locked the door and blocked the window as best he could with a piece of cardboard he found on the floor. He spotted some old aluminum cans, tied them together and placed them next to the door. If anyone or anything decided to push through the glass, the falling cans would be his alarm.
Mathis set his watch to wake him at dawn, laid his exhausted head down, and was asleep in minutes.
When the horn of a passing train blared, Mathis jumped to his feet, heart racing. He got his bearings, found his bag and assessed his immediate surroundings. He appeared to have survived the night. He planned on returning to Canamith before he slept again.
The rest of the journey to the college was uneventful. His new route was free from populated cities or towns. The world he found hardly appeared headed for destruction. Birds sang. There weren’t any raging fires or explosions. Mathis had no doubt that the end was coming, but from his early morning stroll towards Sanderell, the world seemed a fine place to live.
Mathis saw the main gate of the college by mid-afternoon. His mapping program worked and he stayed on the outside edge of the campus as he made his way closer to the science building, where he hoped to convince his sister to return to Canamith. The hardest part was figuring out how to get past the security checkpoint in front of the building. He contemplated how he would approach the guard and realized that his body and clothes must have smelled from his dip the river. That would not be a good first impression. The small towel he carried wasn’t going to suffice to provide the type of the cleaning required getting into that building. He thought about telling the guard the truth. He had practiced the lines repeatedly during the trip to the college.
“Hello, I’m Mathis Templeton. I’m here to see my sister, Lila Jenkins.”
“Hi, I’m Lila Jenkins little brother. May I come in and see her?”
“Hi, I’m here to save my sister’s life. Can I come in?”
None of these options sounded great. But first, he had to clean up. He spotted a kiosk and found the Recreation Center on the map. He stashed his bag, knife, walking stick and anything that the college would consider contraband under some brush near the Science building. Confident that he hadn’t been seen, he made a direct path for the recreation center. He would find a shower facility inside the building where he could clean up.
Students came and went from various buildings and the strange looks he received were expected. He stunk, he was dirty, and he looked more like a local townie coming off a three-day bender than a member of the student body.
One co-ed passed him and said in a voice loud enough for him to hear, “Rough night, buddy?”
Mathis couldn’t have known that campus had been in shut-down mode and half the student body had returned home over safety concerns. To Mathis, this was the largest group of buildings he had ever seen.
He didn’t respond to the question but when the next group of students, four of them, all well-built males, stopped in the middle of the path, essentially blocking his way, he wished he had either the knife or the stick. He wouldn’t have harmed them, but could have used the weapons for self-defense. As he approached the group, they laughed and the shortest kid of the group said, “Hey, pal, you
stink like shit.”
This was not the welcome he had anticipated, but under the circumstances it wasn’t much of a disappointment. When he reached the recreation center, a student stood by the turnstile, checking for proper identification. Mathis quickly came up with his own Plan B.
“Can I help you? Whew! Whoa, I gotcha man! You need a shower!” The student grabbed his nose and gestured to Mathis to stop in his tracks with his other hand.
“Uh, yeah. Hey, I’m having trouble getting my ID card out of my pocket. It’s kind of full of mud and I thought you could—”
The one hundred and twenty-five pound guardian of the building interrupted his plea.
“Seriously, man, go ahead. You know where the showers are right? Dude, you stink.” Whad’ya do, sleep in a barn?”
Without missing a beat, Mathis answered, “Yeah, you could say that. Thanks.”
He combed the building, trying to avoid more security and find the shower facilities. He came across a large gymnasium. He saw a group of men playing basketball and working up a sweat. It seemed logical that the showers would be located near the place where people were sweating. He saw two entrances at the far side of both ends of the court. He couldn’t distinguish from that distance, but one of them had to be the door to the men’s locker room. He waited for movement from the openings. Minutes later a woman came out of the opening that was closest to him. He made his move for the other room and ducked inside before any else could call him out.
Mathis spent the next few minutes showering, washing his skin and his clothes. He stood in front of the automatic hand dryers and the machine instantly turned on when he placed his hands below the opening. He had never seen these before, but the metal boxes gave him an idea. He put on his clean, but soaking wet clothes and stood in front of the dryer. He held small portions of his shirt in front the hot air machine, which dried his shirt slowly. He wisely turned a second dryer to blow hot air on his left pant leg, and he positioned the machine on his right to blow air on his right leg. It was a decent idea. His pant legs were drying, but his crotch was soaking wet. Any student would have described him as a man who had urinated in his own pants. He disregarded the sign that read “Please place used towels in the basket” and used one towel to hide his wet pants.
He exited the building without talking to anyone and returned to the brush where he’d hidden his belongings and was relieved to see that they were still there. He used the towel to brush off as much dirt from the bag as he could. He was moments away from seeing his sister for the first time in years.
Confidence rising, he arrived at the small brick security area where the guard was responsible for securing the Department of Science parking lot. The science department was accessible by using the walk-through next to the parking lot. A school ID machine was there for the students to swipe their card into the magnetic reader and allow them entrance into the area. Mathis was clean, but he lacked the ID card. He was going to have to gain entry by talking to the security guard.
Mathis felt prepared to give his speech that he memorized back in Canamith. He felt more confident that ever that he would get his sister back to Canamith. He wasn’t sure how Lila would receive his message, but that didn’t matter. He had to try. This effort would give him the respect he longed for from his father.
Mathis was spotted near the entrance to the science building. The security guard, Finch, the same man who spent many a night protecting the woman Mathis was coming to see, stopped him.
“Hello,” Mathis said.
“The building is closed. Nobody is allowed in or out.”
“That’s not going to work for me. I need help right now,” begged Mathis.
“We all need help ‘bout now. There ain’t no help today. If truth be told, I’d just as soon go home, but my boss said that nobody comes into this building. That sounds pretty clear to me, what about you, son?” said Finch.
“I’m Mathis Templeton. Lila Jenkins is my sister. I must speak to her right away. It’s urgent. Can you tell me where I can find her?”
“Her brother? She doesn’t have a brother,” declared the guard.
“I’m afraid I misspoke a moment ago. She has two brothers. Can you please tell me where she lives? I’ve made a long journey and I need to speak to her right away.”
“You’re not making this up, are you? I see the resemblance, a bit in the nose… yeah, I see it now. I’ll be damned, she’s been holding out on me all these years. That girl. I’m gonna get her for this one. Two brothers you say? This is a joke, right?” questioned Finch.
“This is most assuredly not a joke.”
“I’m sorry, even if I believed you, and I’m inclined to do that, she’s not here. She went to the capital with the ABC group. Didn’t you hear about the big conference? It’s been all over the newspapers and TV lately. Do you live in a cave?”
“Not yet, but soon. Can you help me reach her?”
“I could. I’ll call her mobile phone. It’s been hit or miss lately with the signals. Problems with the cell towers.”
“Yeah, I believe that,” said Mathis. “Could I borrow your phone? I have the number. She has a landline that should be working. I’ve got it tucked in my bag here.”
“You and your sister close?”
“Uh, not exactly, but I’m here to change that.” Finch sized him up. “Are you as smart as she is?”
“I doubt it. She was the smartest one in the family. I don’t mean to rush you, but I’m in a hurry…”
“Oh, yeah, the phone. Hold on a sec, let me try from the gatehouse. What was your name again? Mathias?”
“Mathis…Mathis Templeton.”
Finch tried the reach Lila’s number several times. “Sorry. The call won’t go through. It’s against my better judgment, but I’ll try to reach her husband. Maybe I can get him on the line?”
“That would be great. Thanks.”
The Security Guard turned his back on Mathis and whispered into the telephone. Mathis couldn’t make out the words. Two minutes later, Finch handed the phone to the young man.
“Here you go. I thought it was a prank, but her husband wants to talk to you.”
Mathis wiped the sweat from his hands on his damp pants and grabbed the phone.
“Hello.”
“Is that you Mathis?”
“Yeah, it’s me. I’m trying to get a hold of Lila. Do you think you can help me?”
“The phone lines to the capital are for shit. You’ll never get through. What are you doing there? What about the tunnels and the ‘we are doomed’ talk?”
“Please, J.J., I’m not looking for an argument. Can you help me or not?”
There was a long pause on the other end of the telephone. “Stay there. I’m coming to get you. I don’t know why I’m doing this. I guess it’s because I love your sister. Wait in the gatehouse. It should be safe there. Don’t walk around. You’ll get funny looks. Or worse.”
“I already got those. I’ll stay put.”
“I’m leaving soon. Don’t move. Put the security guard back on the phone.”
“Okay, got it,” said Mathis.
Mathis handed the phone back to Finch who talked with J.J. for a moment and then ushered the young man into the gatehouse to wait for J.J. to arrive.
Two hours later, J.J. pulled up next to the gatehouse and stuck his arm out of the window and shook hands with the man that had kept a watchful eye on his wife during the late nights she had stayed at the college.
“Hey, old timer. I heard you met an interesting trespasser today.”
“You could say that.”
Mathis stuck his head out of the guardhouse and scampered to the car.
“Get in,” J.J. scowled. “Thanks, Finch. Be careful.”
“Say hello to the missus when you talk to her.”
“Deal.”
Mathis started to speak. “J.J., I wanted to thank you for—”
J.J. interrupted.
“Skip it. I don’t want to hear anythi
ng you have to say, but I’m sure Lila does, so I’m gonna make sure you’re alive and in one piece. Do me a favor? Don’t speak to me right now. Keep your eyes open and let me know if you see anything that looks like trouble, all right?”
Mathis was disappointed with the answer. “I can do that.”
This wasn’t the way the plan was supposed to unfold.
CHAPTER 26
Three days in the capital came and went without any new revelations. The terrorism plot theory had been eliminated from the discussion, but events throughout the world continued to escalate. The scientists huddled in the capital spent hours poking, prodding, examining, and drawing blood from every type of living creature on the planet. Drake insisted the species were communicating with each other. Morales thought that their biological code must have mutated or changed, and Goldman didn’t have anything to add that she was confident enough to bring to Massey. Aldo was in his glory, soaking up knowledge from this wise, but overworked and tired, collection of experts.
Roger Drake used his communications skills to tap into the computers of the ABC team and found the thread of articles linking him and Rothschild. Nothing good could come from that association becoming public, so Drake sought a way to remove the two eager detectives from the building. His plan was part genius, part chivalry.
On the fourth day of meetings, Drake asked Aldo to make up a reason to dine alone with Lila. The group usually worked together while they ate. This enabled the rest to meet without Lila.
Aldo went on to great lengths about a girl that he had met in the makeshift library at the hotel and wondered if Lila knew anything about her. While his conversation dragged on, the rest of the group met to discuss Lila’s fate.
Drake opened the impromptu meeting.
“It’s come to my attention that Lila has a young daughter back home in Sanderell. I assume everyone is aware of that?”
Hearing no dissenting voices, he continued. “I believe a mother’s place is with her children. There’s no question that Professor Jenkins is a smart woman, but I feel she’d be better served spending this time with her child. Wasn’t her child one of the kids hurt a few weeks ago? Something like a rabbit bite?
Escape to Canamith Page 14
