Gwen replayed images of their travels through her head. “I can’t be certain, but it’s possible. I remember thinking I heard a swarm of bees, but when none of us got stung, I forgot about it.”
“The buzzing sound is higher pitched than bees, but you may think it was bees as you haven’t been exposed to many electronics.”
The President leaned forward toward the microphone. “Colin, if the State already confirmed your location and hasn’t yet acted, I think it’s unimportant if they’re aware of the outposts. We know they’re aware of both of our locations yet refrain from taking action. Maybe we all need to see this for what it is, a defensive tactic.”
“We don’t know anything for certain,” Colin replied. “We can’t confirm if the drone caught footage of me before I struck it down. As this community was built to be invisible from the skies, we don’t know if any of those drones saw us, especially since only one dropped lower to get a closer look. Since then, we’ve been on full lockdown here.”
“Yet you’re concerned that these drones might have seen Gwen and her troop passing through the mountains.”
Gwen was still unsure of what to think, but she knew she liked Colin a lot more than this jerk. “You know, the more I think about it, the more I think we heard them pass by at about the last post.”
President Faris nodded over to two of his Advisors standing by. “I think we’ve heard enough. I will give a speech this evening to inform our people of this development.”
“Oh, you’ll speak to the people,” Colin said, “And what will you tell them? Gwen brought extra horses with her to help those who wanted to leave. Will you share that information in your address?”
Colin’s sharp tone was indisputable. This President was a moron, yet somehow she knew deep in her core that this trip had been in vain.
“As always, Colin, the very core of our governing beliefs is the freedom of choice. I will let everyone know that there is space available for them across the mountains with guides here to escort them safely there tomorrow morning.”
“That’s it? You’re kicking Gwen out after one night. You can’t even give her two days, or a week, so that the travelers can have time to pack and say goodbye to their loved ones.”
“My horses could use some rest,” Gwen timidly added. “If we could have two nights’ rest, that would help.”
“Colin, I thought you’d be happy that I’m dealing with this promptly. You inferred these drones are an emergency.”
Gwen could hear Colin take a deep breath, followed by a pause before he responded. “You can call me an alarmist all you want. But now everyone will see conclusive evidence that we’re all still on Earth—something you up to this point have denied. They’d be nuts to stay behind with you as their leader.”
“Nuts to stay here? I’ll be surprised if a single person packs up and rides those spare horses tomorrow morning.”
Gwen’s stomach fell. Somehow, she felt partially responsible for this outcome, even though she didn’t fully understand it. “I don’t follow your logic. I’m sure plenty of people will come with us.”
He gave a bitter, sarcastic laugh. “The only advantage you offered over our community was that your location was concealed from the State. Now that’s no longer the case, you’ve only got some available women to offer. You don’t have the medical training or facilities that we have—something I’m certain no mother nor any mature individual would want to do without. You live in an anarchist society with no rules or clearly defined leaders. The only people who might go with you are men like Aakil who haven’t been successful in finding a partner.”
Gwen’s coloring flushed as she realized she’d been duped. All the time he seemed friendly was nothing more than a ploy to glean information to use against them. She felt as though she had failed her community and betrayed her new friends.
When she had first met Colin and Freya, she couldn’t comprehend how they could have just left so many of their people behind. But now, she understood these people were never really united. President Faris had seen to that.
Gwen straightened her shoulders and nodded to the President. “I will ready my people for our departure tomorrow.”
Chapter 16
Gwen
Her steps echoed through the hollow, metal space.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
“Would you take a seat already?” Laura muttered as she tucked a strand of auburn hair behind her ear. “You’re driving me nuts.”
Gwen stopped her restless pacing. It had already been a long night, and they hadn’t yet eaten dinner.
An Advisor had guided them to what they referred to as their guest quarters, a vacant area in the space craft. All four of them. Her fellow travelers had seen it as good hospitality that the Advisor offered to post people to watch their horses, but Gwen saw it for what it really was: segregation.
They didn’t want her or her party visible, drawing a crowd. President Faris would be in control of how the information was presented to his people, leaving her little opportunity to counter.
10 men. If we get 10 available men, we can reverse the damage of all we’ve lost.
For so many years, she carried the burden of knowing her community might be doomed. Since the beginning, they had always been careful of crossbreeding—something far too easily done in small populations. Finding a new group to merge with had filled her with so much hope for their future. With every passing moment, that optimism faded.
Suddenly, a line of four people arrived, delivering four meals to their quarters. Judging by their gray streaked hair, she wondered if they were also part of this group of Advisors, or if President Faris had assigned only attendants who would be too mature to be interested in traveling over the mountains come morning.
Her belief in salvaging this trip dipped even lower as she realized that President Faris would go to such lengths to keep their group segregated. Forcing them to dine independently was a low blow, but a silent delivery from elderly folks was even worse.
She sat at the wooden table, digging into her plate filled with a hearty venison steak accompanied by roasted potatoes and carrots.
At least the food is decent.
With how they were being treated, part of her expected a menial meal or dry rations.
It was both a simple delicacy and kind gesture on President Faris’s part, which made her question his motives. Kind gestures didn’t suit him. He may justify his actions, acting for the betterment of his people, but every villain is a hero in their own mind.
The only thing worse than dwelling on the outcome of this night was spending it inside the spacecraft. The windowless room left her with no indication of time passing. Worse yet, President Faris had said he would address the people. He never said he would allow her or anyone from their party to attend.
When another mature attendant arrived to clear their plates, Gwen realized it was hopeless. It was worse than hopeless; understandable.
If Colin had continually been a thorn in the President’s side for all those years, he would lose objectivity. Maybe the President started off with the people’s best interest in mind, but he strayed from his vigilance because of a long-term resentment toward Colin.
Colin may have been right about everything, but he was also reactive. The boy was all heart, leaping without looking. A great revolutionary. This history between them all added up to their current predicament. The President had historically made the right choices for the people until a personal vendetta clouded his judgement.
Gwen was lost in her thoughts that when another attendant arrived, she flinched when Laura called her name.
“Gwen, they’re ready for us.”
She gave her head a shake while jumping to her feet. If there was any chance of swaying these people to come with them, she had to focus and do her best. Gwen had assured Freya she’d bring those pregnant women with her and had promised her community more single men.
They walked through the labyrinth of compartments until rea
ching the ship’s entrance. Her jaw fell open as she saw the President standing in front of the crowd, having already begun his address.
That son of a bitch wanted me to be late.
“The State is as aware of their location as it is of ours—”
“We don’t know that for certain yet,” she yelled from the top of the stairs.
Her feet thundered down the wooden steps.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is Gwen and her co-travelers who will escort any of you who want to go with them to their home.”
Gwen knew she should formally greet the audience, at least a nod or something. But she didn’t trust the President; she couldn’t take her eyes off of him. “Yes, we will escort any who care to move to a more secure location. We have homes available for you.”
“Yes,” he looked down. “They also have work for you. Gwen has shared that since Freya arrived, she has been solely responsible for all their crops. If Gwen could reduce a Queen to hard labor, imagine what she has in store for the rest of you.”
A gasp rippled throughout the crowd.
“That’s not how it is. We all help out. It’s just that Freya loves working in the greenhouses so others who like it less have stepped back to work on other things.”
“Yes. Gwen explained that there are no assigned roles nor any enforcement to ensure tasks get completed in a timely manner. They’re an anarchist society who have probably survived all this time by luring in robust workers with promises of a safe home and women with loose morals. Their men ran off ill-equipped to start a war with the State, having no concrete plan and insufficient weapons—the result of poor leadership.”
Her rage burned white hot; specs danced behind her eyes. She drew in a deep breath to prepare to counter. “Yeah, we lost our men. But do you really think we should just let the State be? We should just live out the rest of our lives wondering every day if it’s going to be the day the State comes for us.”
“Absolutely,” he barked. “You said yourself, the State has retreated into the mountain. I don’t care if they sent us here to kill us, or if we were some great science experiment. The point is, they’re hiding in the mountain because they don’t have the resources for war. We won. We’re a free people living on the surface. If you want to get yourself killed, that’s your right to do so. But I will not volunteer any of my people to be enslaved by your community, then forced to fight an unnecessary war.”
The President had a victorious gleam in his eyes.
She had lost.
He was good, convincing, but she knew he was wrong. She finally cast her gaze around the group, searching for any who would listen to reason, but most looked away from her.
It was time to give up. All she could hope for was that someday, the radio might do some good. She would leave first thing in the morning, even if her only traveling companions were the ones she brought with her.
***
Her eyes narrowed as she looked around the plateau, then up at the pink and yellow hues in the sky. “I think we best set up camp for the night.”
It was their first day on the road. Gwen couldn’t wait to put the mountains behind them but didn’t want to push into the night. Not with inexperienced travelers and weary horses.
“Should we set up some traps to catch some dinner?” One man asked.
“Let’s set up our camp and start a fire. I think with how hard we pushed today, we’ll be better off with dry rations.”
“Will those rations last our entire trip?”
Gwen gave a soft smile. “Don’t worry. Colin and Aakil got those outposts stocked up for the entire population to migrate East. They won’t run dry anytime soon.”
The trip hadn’t gone as well as it could have, but it wasn’t a total wash either. In the morning, six single men and two pregnant young couples came with them.
She may have wanted more men, but having two young breeding couples would also accomplish the same goal: fresh blood.
Gwen knew little about those drones Colin and Aakil talked about, but she knew these people were better off in her community than where the State put them. The State could have seen Colin, possibly a few others, but they wouldn’t have seen their homestead. It was too well concealed.
After so many emotional ups and downs, she couldn’t wait to get home. Once they did, life could be normal. Boring, even. She longed for the mundane.
The sky’s pink and yellow hues melted into darkness. Before she pulled out a portion of dry rations, everyone else seemed to settle in. She propped her bag against a fallen log, wanting to rest her back while she soaked in the sunset.
As she looked down into the valley, she tried to make out the spacecraft. It was really quite the site to see. The size. The sheer magnitude of resources the State had invested to create such a structure. The chambers that kept their people frozen in time for 22 years, all for nothing.
Why did the State do it? It was too elaborate to just kill them. They wanted something. But what?
An odd whistle sounded overhead, pulling Gwen from her thoughts. She looked up but saw nothing. She didn’t know what it was, but she knew it wasn’t natural.
It’s them. I don’t know how or what, but it’s the State.
Just as her mind completed the thought, a deafening crack reverberated through the air. Bright fire illuminated the sky. Gwen’s eyes widened, trying to comprehend the combination of sounds and rush of flame rising. Then the crack came again, and again. More flames.
“What the hell is that!” One of the party cried out.
As the flames danced higher and higher into the sky, Gwen was powerless to respond. Her mind numbed, stifling her words before they could form. With wide eyes, she stared head on into the destruction, unable to tear her gaze away from the glowing embers. Suddenly, the flames retreated as a gust of hot air, dirt, and ash came hurling toward them.
Gwen reflexively flung her arms upward to shield her face and twisted away from the rapidly approaching cloud. “Take cover!”
She dove onto her stomach, covering the side of her face with her hat. Dirt pelted her as a searing heat washed over her. A howling wind filled her ears until all she could hear was the horses’ whinnying.
The horses!
As the wind subsided, Gwen lifted her head to see her companions lying about, heads covered. The air was thick with ash and soot, providing poor visibility. Without visual confirmation, she already knew two things: the colony was destroyed, and they had just lost their horses.
Gwen slowly got to her feet. “Is everyone all right?”
Some laid on the ground coughing while others worked to get up. “What happened?”
Gwen looked back over the valley. “That was exactly what Colin kept warning your people about. The State. I’m sorry, but your colony is gone.”
Through the darkness, Gwen could hardly make out a thick smoke spiral where the colony stood only moments ago. Her mind was numb. All those people, gone.
What a waste. So many people could have come with us and lived.
Just as anger rose in her core at all they lost—an entire community, the radio, trade partners—she realized one terrifying fact: she could have been one of them.
It was only because of the President’s poor hospitality that they left this morning. Had he been more welcoming, no one would have made it out of there in time, not even her or her riders.
Gwen looked back to her camp. The clearing ash and smoke revealed what she already knew; their horses were gone. “I know we’re all rather shaken, but try your best to get some sleep. We pack up at first light.”
“But what about the horses?” one man asked.
“We can’t look for them in the dark. Someone will get hurt or killed if we do. We just have to pack up, get on the road, and hope we find them somewhere along the way.”
Her response neither soothed their concerns or answered their questions, yet everyone remained silent. She hoped they would all worry about lost loved ones, the horses, water, and how the
y would get home on foot. She wanted them to worry about the trivial things, instead of what was plaguing her mind.
Do we still have a home to return to? Or did the State just destroy that too?
Chapter 17
Lewis
Blood splattered on the white countertop in front of him. The image of red droplets registered in his mind before he felt a stinging sensation. Lewis placed the sharp chef’s knife on the counter and inspected his finger. Clearly, he had lost his focus while chopping vegetables.
It was odd. He had woken in a funk this morning and couldn’t seem to shake it off. With all his meticulous military training, cutting himself while cooking felt impossible.
Delivered: A Young Adult Dystopian Romance (The State Series Book 7) Page 11
