by RJ Crayton
Only, Elaan didn’t feel sure. She felt worried.
* * *
Greg had told her when she came out for lunch that he couldn’t talk because he was in charge of monitoring communications and relaying messages. In addition to his bevy of radio equipment, he had a computer and he occasionally relayed typed messages. There was also a phone similar to the one Josh had had before they left the lake house. His didn’t appear to be on at the moment.
He’d been very terse and said he’d be up for a break in about an hour, but not very long because Thoreaux planned to make his announcement at 4:00 p.m., and he had a lot to monitor.
It was two o’clock and they were sitting around, supposedly putting together a jigsaw puzzle — yes, this tiny cabin was stocked with a cabinet full of thousand-piece puzzles. Only, the puzzle pieces were mainly lying across the coffee table. Everyone was mostly waiting for Greg to remove his headphones and give them an update on what was happening,
Elaan picked up the puzzle box and looked at the picture. A multi-colored butterfly in a field of flowers. She glanced at the scattered pieces. They were really failing at this, she decided.
That’s when she heard the knock at the door. Not a light tap, but a loud thud, thud, thud. She, Josh, and Amadu all turned and looked at the door, and then they turned back to Greg, who was slipping off his headphones. After setting his listening equipment down, his hands emerged with a gun, pointed right at the door. He looked over at the three of them and motioned for them to go to the back room.
They did, and there was another knock on the door. Greg walked over. Elaan was worried who might be there, and she couldn’t remember if the cabin had a peephole or not. They waited quietly in the back, and finally heard Greg call out, “Come on out, guys. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
Elaan stepped out of the hallway and into the main room first, and her heart leapt as she saw her mother and brother standing there.
Chapter 47 - Lijah
Elaan had run at him full tilt, almost knocking him over. She was clearly happy to see him, and their mother, too. Lijah released Elaan to let her hug their mother. Josh came over and bro-hugged him, as did Amadu. Greg had gone over to a desk filled with electronic equipment and slipped on headphones.
“What are you doing here?” Elaan asked. “How did you find us?”
“Your father sent me word two days ago,” Shonda explained. “It was a little iffy trying to follow the maps and the roads aren’t particularly well kept, but we made it.”
Elaan stepped aside and waved toward the sofa. “Sit down, tell us everything.”
Shonda shook her head. “I don’t think there’s a lot to tell, and we don’t want to disturb the general, as I believe he’s got an important job in relaying the communications.”
Elaan’s eyes widened. “You seem to know a lot for someone who hasn’t been involved.”
Shonda smiled. “I’ve not been directly involved, but I was involved in relaying certain communications and” — she turned to look at Josh — “I have something for you.”
“Me?” he said, pointing a finger at himself.
She nodded and reached into the bag she’d brought from the Region 8 SPU. Out of it she pulled a small cylinder, and Lijah realized it was the fix, the thing his mother had injected him with. Of course, she’d bring it for Josh. He should have thought of it himself, but he’d been basically imprisoned for the last few days, so he’d not spent time planning the escape.
“Is that what I think it is?” Josh asked.
Shonda nodded. “Yep. I think it should keep you from…” She turned and glanced at Greg, and said, “It should prevent some of the side effects associated with the first vaccine.”
“It actually works?”
She sighed. “The best I can tell. Ideally, I’d do more research, but we were short on time when we left the SPU. You can wait.”
Josh eyed it and said, “Why don’t I just hold on to it, and if I want it…”
Shonda smiled. “Sure,” she said. “And besides, things should be safer once Thoreaux has been dethroned.”
Lijah lifted his arm to look at his watch. Two thirty. “What time is it supposed to happen?”
Greg looked up from his equipment. He’d clearly been multitasking. “Around four,” he said. “We’ll listen live, and I’ll be monitoring the military radio channels to see what the chatter is. They may think this is simply a public relations takeover, but if they have any inkling there’s military force involved, too, then I need to hear about it.”
Lijah nodded his head.
“Why don’t you guys make yourselves at home, grab some grub before the action starts,” Greg said, and then put his headphones back on.
Lijah looked around. It wasn’t the biggest cabin. Just this main room, and off to the side a kitchen area, with a humming fridge. There was a hallway in the back, and he assumed there were bedrooms.
“Mrs. Woodson, you can bunk in the room with Elaan and I’ll take the couch tonight,” Josh said.
“And there’s a bed in my room, if you want, Lijah,” Amadu said. Lijah nodded. That seemed fine to him, though he noticed Elaan was frowning slightly. She apparently didn’t like Josh giving up his bed to their mother. He decided to pretend like he hadn’t noticed.
Chapter 48 - Elaan
She was glad to see her mother and had taken her back to her room while they awaited the big announcement. Josh had stripped the sheets he’d used the previous night, and her mother had just remade the bed and settled her things in the corner.
She walked over and hugged Elaan. “You don’t know how happy I am to see you,” Shonda said. “I have been so worried about you ever since Alex sent you away.” She shook her head, as if the memory of it was too much to bear.
Elaan sat on the bed and her mother joined her. “I’m fine, Mom.” Elaan forced a smile. She wanted her mother to know she really was fine. “It wasn’t bad. If Thoreaux wasn’t crazy and into breeding a new generation of people, then it might even have been nice.”
Shonda laughed. “When it’s all OK except for the ‘ifs,’ then it’s not all OK.” She exhaled and looked out the window. “I’m glad you’re good, then, and not too traumatized.”
Elaan shook her head. “No, not too traumatized. But what about you? Alex was, um, difficult.”
Her mother shook her head and patted Elaan’s knee. “Don’t worry about me,” she said. “What happened with Alex is what had to happen to make sure that he, at least, helped a little bit. It wasn’t perfect, but both you and Lijah got out unscathed, we have a working vaccine, and in just an hour or so, everyone who’s still got access will know what’s up. They’ll know it’s safe to come out.”
Elaan leaned in and hugged her mother. “I’m sorry I was such a baby back there. I shouldn’t have treated you the way I did. I know you endured Alex for us and I appreciate it.”
“Always, baby,” Shonda said. “Anything for my crew.”
Elaan laughed. “Is that you trying to be hip?”
“Not trying to be. Being,” Shonda said. “I’ve been hip since the day I was born.”
* * *
They were all gathered in the main room; Elaan, Josh, and Shonda on the sofa while Amadu and Lijah had grabbed chairs. Greg was at the desk, surrounded by equipment still, his headphones on. On the coffee table, in a spot cleared of puzzle pieces, he’d set a radio and it was broadcasting Thoreaux’s address to the nation. Elaan leaned in as the president spoke.
“I want to thank everyone who is able to listen to me today. This broadcast is going out to those who are still ready, willing, and able to help bring our nation back from this deadly virus. I want to announce…”
Just then, a discordant sound emerged, that awful whining blare they made before emergency broadcast messages were read. Then, she heard a familiar voice.
“This is James Woodson, former head of the Scientist Protection Unit for Region 1, just outside of Washington, DC. I was also head of vaccine
research for stopping the Helnoan virus. I’m aware that there have been reports of my death. They are exaggerated. I speak to you who listen today to let you know that rumors that our new president unleashed carriers onto our society to further afflict our population are true. It is also true that Thoreaux is attempting to cull nonbelievers from the fold by exposing them to the virus. His hope was to vaccinate all the believers and leave those who didn’t share his beliefs exposed to the cold harsh world of illness. Only, there are those of us who believe we must first do no harm, and that Thoreaux needs to be stopped. We have banded together today to send you this message, and let you know, as we speak, Thoreaux is being removed from office, by senior military officials. If you have…”
The broadcast stopped. Elaan stared at the radio, waiting for the sound to return. Only it didn’t.
“What happened?” Lijah asked.
Greg had removed his headphones. “I’m not sure,” he said. He furrowed his brow and stood. “I’m not getting any communication over anything. It’s possible they sent out a pulse to stop communication for a few mile radius. That would kill Jim’s broadcast, as well as Thoreaux’s.”
Greg grabbed his jacket, which was hung on a hook nearby, and said, “I’m going to go outside and check my antenna. If it’s not that, I need to ride over to the next communication center. It’s about a mile from here. I’ll take the ATV.”
“What should we do?” Shonda asked. “I mean if the equipment comes back on.”
“Nothing,” he said. “Just sit tight.”
With that, Greg jetted out of the cabin, slamming the door behind him. Elaan stared at the radio, worried. “Do you think Dad’s alright?” she asked her mother.
Shonda nodded. “I’m sure he’s fine. It’s probably something they did to block the broadcast. I’m sure your father is in a safe location.”
Elaan bit her lower lip. “He didn’t say he was going somewhere safe. When we left, he was still at the compound.”
“I’m sure he just didn’t want to chance anyone overhearing him telling you he was leaving. He’s somewhere safe. Somewhere fine. He wouldn’t have been the person to make the announcement if he wasn’t.”
She’d thought her father was simply a bystander, a person who was on the periphery. Only, he seemed to be right in the thick of it. “Why did he make the announcement?” Elaan asked.
Her mother shook her head. “Dear, I’m not entirely sure. He and I were only able to communicate on a limited basis, and he told me the things it was crucial for me to know, like how to find you. He didn’t mention this, but I suspect he wanted to be more involved this time. He had a lot of guilt over what happened before. Maybe he thought this was his chance to help, his chance to make a real difference. And his face was out there a lot before things got so bad. Maybe he thought the familiarity of his name, his voice, would help people believe.”
Elaan bit her lip. She supposed it made sense. She opened her mouth to ask another question, but there was a banging on the door, a hard clang, and it burst open. Standing in the doorway, an axe in one hand, a pistol in the other, stood Alexander Caldwell.
Chapter 49 - Elaan
It took her a moment to process exactly what she was seeing. And as it really sunk in, a new fear emerged in her.
Shonda stood. “Alex, what are you doing here?”
He stared at her, gave her a pointed look. “You know what I’m doing here,” he said.
Her mother frowned, and then took a step toward Alex, shaking her head. “I’m not sure what you’re doing here,” she repeated softly. “Did you want to put the gun down? And then we could talk about what you wanted.”
Alex sneered. “What I wanted was trust and honesty. What I got was betrayal.”
“How did you find us?” Lijah asked.
“The director’s car has a GPS locator,” Alex said, his voice eerily calm. “I turned it on and tracked you.”
Elaan wondered briefly why. That was insane. Was he really that obsessed? It didn’t take long to get an answer.
“What about your people, Alex?” Shonda asked. “You’re the director. You’re supposed to stay and protect them.”
He glared at her. “Don’t you think I would have liked to stay and protect them? The lieutenant director said I’d compromised security by bringing in outsiders. Said I needed to step down until they had figured out what exactly you’d done. You could have killed everyone in that facility by shutting down our power.”
Shonda shook her head. “It was a temporary reboot,” she said. “No crucial systems like air circulation were taken offline.”
“But my system was compromised by you. You made me look like a fool,” he said. “There are many things I could forgive, Shonda, but not this.”
Lijah took a step toward the Alex, his expression reassuring. “Alex,” Lijah said. “I understand that you’re upset, but you don’t have to worry. Thoreaux is about to go down. You’re here with us. You can be on the winning side. Just put the gun down, and we can talk it through. Remember, you said you and I were men who understood the way the world worked. We can figure this out, you and I.”
Alex shook his head and jabbed the pistol forward. “Yes, let’s work things out,” Alex said, only he didn’t sound like he wanted to work things out. He sounded deranged. Elaan had a desire to run and hide, but her mother took a small step toward Alex.
“It’s clear I’m the one you’re upset with, Alex,” she said. “Why don’t you and I go outside and talk?”
“No,” he said. “No more sweet talk from you, Shonda, baby. And don’t think taking me outside will let you signal for help. I cut the wires for your communications gear. When your friend came out to check on them, I hit him in the head and tied him up. So, it’s just us. No one else.”
Her mother’s face was a mask of disinterest, but Lijah looked angry. Josh was sitting in a chair somewhere behind her, and she didn’t dare look back to see what his expression held. She wondered what Alex planned to do. Right now, he seemed unstable.
Alex turned to Lijah. “So, how is it you think I can be on the winning side?”
“Stay here with us. Stay here until things calm down, until Thoreaux is ousted. We’ll say you helped us. We’ll say you were on the right side, our side.”
Alex stood there, watching Lijah, considering. You could almost see the wheels in his head spinning. “And you’re sure your side will win. Thoreaux didn’t get to power by being an idiot. He has allies.”
Lijah shook his head. “Ours are stronger.”
Caldwell shrugged as he relaxed the arm holding the pistol. He set the axe down and held out a hand for Lijah to shake. “We have a deal,” he said.
Lijah’s face was pure relief, but when Elaan glimpsed her mother there was something else there. Relief, yes, but something else. Distrust.
“Be careful,” Shonda said to Lijah.
Alex glared at her and shook his head. “I’m setting the gun down,” he said, bending down, his hand lowering the gun toward the ground. Elaan watched him eagle-eyed, and right as he was about to set the gun on the floor, in a lightning fast move, Alex turned the weapon just enough to aim and fire on Shonda.
“Mom!” Elaan screamed as she watched her mother cry out and fall. She ran toward her mother, crumpled on the floor, blood was gushing from her abdomen.
Distantly, she heard the ensuing scuffle, and saw the flashes of flesh, of Josh and Lijah rushing past, but she couldn’t focus on that. She had to help her mother. Shonda was collapsed on her side, blood oozing from the wound and soaking the floor. If it had been anyone else, Elaan might have been frozen in inaction, but she knew she had to help. She had to do something. In movies, they always said to put pressure on the wound, so she stuffed her palm onto the gushing hole in her mother’s abdomen, trying to ignore its warmth and sliminess.
“It’s going to be OK, Mom,” she said, stroking her mother’s cheek. It already felt cool, in comparison to the warm blood that Elaan’s other hand couldn
’t stop from flowing.
Shonda croaked out, “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Mom,” Elaan said, trying to look reassuring, but she could feel the flow beneath her palm continue.
“Mom,” Lijah said, and he’d somehow appeared on her mother’s other side. “Mom, are you…” He looked down at the wound. “We’re going to get you help. Josh is going to see if he can find some first aid stuff to help you.”
First aid. That was crazy. “We need 911,” Elaan blurted out, but as soon as she said it, she knew it was stupid. They didn’t have 911. There was no one to help them.
“Love you,” Shonda said, looking up at Lijah. “Tell Jim, love him,” she sputtered, the words sounding increasingly harder to form.
“I love you, too,” Lijah said, and Shonda managed, somehow, a painful smile, and then she closed her eyes. The blood, warm and life-bringing, kept flowing out. That wasn’t what it was supposed to do. She felt the trickle of tears down her cheeks, and stroked her mother’s cheek. “We’re here, Mom,” she said. “It’s gonna be alright.”
But the cheek already felt too cool, and the ooze of the blood was slowing, as if there wasn’t much more to give.
Both Lijah and Elaan sat there with their mother long after any help could be of good. But even the limited help they had in the wilderness, in this wild new world, would have been too late to save Shonda.
Epilogue - Elaan’s Diary
It’s been two months since Mom died, for real. I’m not sure if it was harder mourning my mother’s death the first time or the second time. I think there’s a certain joy in that I got to spend more time with her before she really died. I got to tell her I loved her, that I appreciated her. I got to feel the relief of having a mother again after I spent so long not having her.
But then the harsh reality set in that the thing you prayed for came true — your mother was alive — and was then taken away from you. It seemed like a very cruel twist of fate.
