Harvest Moon (Behind the Stars Book 3)

by Moore, Leigh Talbert

  “What was it?”

  “I... I don’t know.” I tried to regain my composure and not act suspicious. “It made me curious. I mean, I thought I might check it out.”

  “Well, if you were caught trying to dig out...” His lips pressed together as he stopped himself.

  What? What would happen? They’d set off my microchip? I wanted to ask so badly it hurt more than my hip, but I had to take it easy.

  He sat beside me and started moving the dirt back into the hole. “I’ve been out there, you know. There’s a creek just over the next hill.”

  “Yes!” I seized on this opportunity. “There’s lots of creeks in the woods around here. Natural springs, too.”

  He continued filling the hole and his voice became tentative. “I could show it to you if you want. But we’d have to sneak. Maybe one day after lunch?”

  It took all my power to stay cool and not reveal the excitement in my voice. My heart was beating so hard, I was sure he could hear it. “But you just said if I were caught—”

  “They don’t really want to isolate anyone. It’s not feasible.” His face softened into that smile again, the one that made me want to trust him. “And I’d take the blame if anyone found out. It was my idea.”

  He stood and swept the dirt from his hands. His palms were orange now from covering my evidence.

  “It’s so hot,” he continued. “We’ve been working double shifts. And what’s the expression? You just took one for the team?”

  I managed to smile back. “You don’t have to convince me!”

  “Can I help you stand? I wanted to check on you since you had the day off, but you weren’t in the dorm.”

  I placed my hands in his and slowly rose to my feet.

  “Exercise is best for something like this—Ahh!” The pain was so intense when I stood, I couldn’t stop my cry.

  Gallatin’s grip tightened, and he practically lifted me off the ground. “I can get more pain relievers. Let me take you back—”

  “I can’t take all the medicine,” I gasped, taking a cautious step. “What if somebody else needs it?”

  “There’ll be enough.”

  His arm went around my waist, and he practically carried me to our sleeping quarters. I rested my head against his firm chest. Without hesitation, he pushed through the screen doors, and his eyes swept the large room. I noticed him frown again.

  “The accommodations here are not what we’d hoped for,” he said before turning to me. “Show me where you sleep.”

  “Back right. There.” I nodded in the direction of my bunk, and he lifted me to it.

  “I’ll get the pills and be back. Try and relax.”

  My thoughts swirled as I watched him stride from the building. He told me so many things without me having to ask. Isolation? Why would they isolate us if they could just electrocute us or inject us with whatever took Cleve down? I’d heard him arguing with Cato about being in the woods. Why would she worry about him sneaking out? What kind of accommodations were they expecting? And what did it even matter if we were prisoners of war?

  I squeezed my hands together as I considered how close I was to finding out what we needed. Now I just had to get well. There was no way I could attempt an escape with my hip raging with pain. Not with all the hills in these woods. It hurt so bad sometimes, I couldn’t breathe. Still, while I healed, I would do my best to keep him talking—and stop throwing my whole body weight on my injury. I was young and healthy. I could be ready to run in a week, maybe less, but I had to be careful.

  Those thoughts consumed my mind when a female guard returned with a small envelope. Two white pills were inside, and on the outside was a note: Sorry, will explain later. Take these and please rest. I nodded and took the pills, lying back on the cot to do just that. Rest and recover. The trowel was still hidden, and I was making progress. It wouldn’t be long now.

  * * *

  In the yard after lunch, D’Lo didn’t go to his usual spot to sit down and rest. He waited for me at the shed, and when I arrived he caught me up off the ground in such a strong hug, I cried out in pain.

  “Sorry,” he said, releasing me quickly, and I saw tears in his black eyes. “Little girl, I was so scared.”

  “I’m okay,” I said, rubbing his huge bicep. “I really was flattened by a calf.”

  “We didn’t know you were gone until lunch, and then no one knew anything. Those guards weren’t around to ask, and that boy you’re always with was missing, too.”

  “Gallatin,” I said.

  “I was scared he’d decided to take you or something. I knew he wouldn’t kill you.”

  “Where would he take me?”

  “Back to wherever they came from.”

  “What!?” I almost started laughing. “To his intergalactic harem? Do aliens do that, Dee?”

  I winced as I tried to sit on the table top, but Dee lifted me easily. “More like the intergalactic zoo. Smallest, most smart-assed white girl in the galaxy.”

  “I was thinking she’d be in the circus,” Roxie said with a smile. “Driving the midget car.” She slid over to where I sat and started braiding my hair back.

  “You haven’t lost your mind and started believing this alien crap too, have you?” I elbowed her knee.

  “No,” Yolanda answered, dead serious. “We were making a plan. All that talk your brother’s done about rebels and pine boxes. I wasn’t letting my only chance at escape go down without a fight.”

  “I’m trying to figure out if that makes me feel better. I’m not sure it does.” I squinted in her direction.

  “We never were friends in school,” she continued. “I didn’t like you much. You were too blind to that boyfriend of yours.”

  I wasn’t sure what she meant, but her words made me think about school and Jackson and normal life. Those days seemed so far away now. I looked down, but Roxie yanked my head back up so she could finish.

  Yolanda continued. “I’m sorry I was mean to you back then. Star might’ve bested you, but you’ve turned out to be a mighty strong person.”

  My brow lined as I studied her face. I didn’t understand what she meant about Star, but we didn’t have time for getting side-tracked into the past.

  “I just want to survive and get out of here. Just like all of us,” I said. “I’d like to consider you my friend.”

  She nodded. “Me, too.”

  Braxton broke in on us without warning, and he was beside himself. “I went to the barn, but you weren’t there,” he almost shouted. “Oh, little sister.”

  He made like he was about to grab me in another painful hug, but D’Lo stopped him. “She’s hurt, man. Take it easy.”

  Braxton hesitated and looked me over. Then he took my hands. “What did they do to you?”

  “Nothing—it really was the calf! I’d just started to pull his legs when he shot out and landed on me.” Repeating the story was making me tired. Actually, as I blinked my eyes, I realized I was tired, period.

  “I didn’t know what to do,” he sat and put his dark head in his hands. “I didn’t sleep all night. Losing you would’ve been the last thing I could take.”

  “I hope you were praying for me.” It was my attempt to lighten the mood, and it totally backfired.

  “Pray?” he snapped. The bitterness in his voice shocked me. “Why would I do that?

  I tried to laugh, but it didn’t work. “Because that’s what you do?”

  “C’mon.” D’Lo pulled Roxie’s arm, and Yolanda joined them. I watched as the three headed out of the shed, leaving me alone with my brother.

  We sat in silence for a bit, listening to the quiet swell of wind somewhere down in the bottom. There was no breeze here, but in the dark trees, it was like a spirit was moving all the time, always pushing through the limbs. I thought about the Indians believing the spirits of their ancestors lived in the trees, and I thought about those boxes the guys had buried. I wanted to share my thoughts with my brother, but I wasn’t sure where his min
d was now.

  “So you’ve just given up?” I said.

  “On foolish things that don’t make sense? Yes.”

  I sighed and put my head in my hands. “I prayed, Braxton. I prayed that little calf would come out, and he did.”

  “And how did that work out?”

  I couldn’t answer him, because I didn’t have the right answer to his question. The calf almost killed me, but at the same time, it moved me forward like ten spaces with Gallatin and my plan.

  “I prayed I’d marry Lisa,” he said, looking out into the shadowy woods. “I prayed Daddy’d stop drinking and beating me up. I prayed you’d find happiness. Real happiness. I prayed for a future...”

  His voice broke off, and I glanced at him. He was still staring straight ahead, but I saw his Adam’s apple move up and down. A glimmer of sadness filled his eyes.

  “Those things could still happen,” I said softly.

  “Prayer’s for little kids who can’t sleep at night. Prayer’s for people who can’t act because they’re too afraid.” He looked straight at me then, and I felt afraid. “I’m not praying anymore, Prentiss. Not ever again.”

  Chapter 12

  The next morning at chores, Gallatin kept trying to catch my eye. He’d offered to get me another day off, but I’d declined, wanting to keep moving and not liking long days with nothing to do but wait and worry. Still I moved slowly, and I only managed to get one pail of milk compared to the other girls’ two. I was carrying the warm, white liquid to the churn when he appeared at my side and took it from my hand.

  “Let me carry it,” he said softly.

  He took it but didn’t continue walking. He stopped and faced me, right there in the center of the barn. My eyes moved around the room, wondering what everyone might think of this behavior, but the other girls only glanced at us and continued with their work. They seemed satisfied that I needed help.

  “Want to go see the calf?” he said.

  “Sure.”

  I waited as he ran over, emptied the pail into the churn, and then came back to take my arm. The pain was less today, but I still took the pills he faithfully sent every six hours. It was as hot as those movies about Africa always looked, and a bead of sweat tickled my scalp under the braid Roxie’d given me.

  Holding his arm increased the heat with our bodies close, and it seemed like all my effort to walk just made the situation worse. Finally we were through the back door and leaning against the rail watching our little friend practice walking. For the moment, my discomfort was forgotten.

  “He’s so cute,” I said, smiling.

  “I’m calling him Wrecker.”

  “What? Why in the world would you—”

  “I wanted something to commemorate his arrival,” Gallatin laughed.

  “Nice,” I said, narrowing my eyes. Then I smiled. “Steamroller?”

  “Bulldozer?”

  “Yes! Bully for short. It’s perfect.”

  We both smiled and I looked back at Bully. His mother stood chewing hay, and I watched him nose around her belly. Dust flecks hung in the ray of sunlight piercing the still air.

  “It’s miserably hot today,” Gallatin said.

  “Compared to Arizona?”

  “Yes. At least there’s wind in the desert, and the heat doesn’t cling to your skin.”

  “That’s the humidity.” I made my way to a stool near the back wall when his tentative voice stopped me.

  “It would be a perfect day for going to a creek. If there was one nearby.”

  My eyes met his. I would give anything to dip in a creek today, plan or no plan.

  His spoke lower. “Remember that place by the fence? From yesterday?”

  I wasn’t sure why he was being so cryptic. Just then Oma stepped out from behind the wall, and I nearly screamed. She dragged a bag of feed, and Gallatin hopped down to help her. She didn’t look up, but his eyes met mine. His half smile seemed to answer my unspoken question about why he was being so mysterious. I smiled back and nodded. He wanted me to meet him where I’d buried the trowel, and I had every intention of doing it.

  * * *

  I told the girls I had to check on the calf after lunch and then slowly limped down the fence line to the place where I’d dug the hole. The dirt was still loose from where he’d pushed it all back yesterday, and it didn’t look like anyone had returned to inspect the damage or see what was going on here. I looked up and Gallatin was slowly walking in my direction, but he was looking around, too. Once he got to me, he caught my arm and started down the hill fast toward the smaller cabins and the long, narrow guards’ quarters.

  Since I could barely walk, he finally scooped me up around the waist and slipped down to the smaller cabin I remembered was his. He left me outside, obscured from sight and leaning against the wall as he ducked in. My heart thumped like a jackrabbit as I scanned the area. I had no idea what he was doing or what would happen if one of the soldiers found me here.

  Seconds later, he reappeared carrying a backpack. His long bangs covered his right eye, but his left twinkled. He was so excited, I couldn’t help catching a little of his enthusiasm. Imagining our conversation and what he might tell me made my throat tighten, and a dip in cool creek water made me almost swoon.

  “What did you get?” I whispered.

  “Blanket. Supplies.”

  With that, he caught me around the waist again and scurried down the hill from the cabins, away from camp to a break in the fencing. Mentally, I noted our location. An exit like this would mean I didn’t have to dig, but I’d have to make it past several enemy houses and a whole row of guard shacks. Of course, there was also the issue of the electrified microchip and whether or not that was a lie.

  I tensed and drew back as we entered the woods, clutching his arm. “Will anything bad happen to me?”

  “No one will notice we’re gone, and if they do, I’ll handle it.” He didn’t seem the least bit worried about my brain frying in my skull like an egg.

  “But will I be hurt?” I pressed.

  “Of course not!” His curt tone told me two things: we were getting close enough for him to feel protective of me, and that microchip story was likely another hoax.

  His knowledge of those chips and how to get around them (if they were real) would be my first line of questioning once we reached the creek. In the meantime, I struggled to breathe through the pain in my hip that flared with each bump in the path.

  “How far is it?” I whispered, even though we were down a hill and out of anyone’s hearing.

  “Just over the next rise and down again.”

  Uphill was easier, although he still practically carried me. His strength was impressive as was his endurance. Most times, it felt like my feet weren’t touching the ground, and I couldn’t tell that the effort winded him. We crested the hill and a delicious sound met my ears. The slow ripple of water over rocks.

  “Oh!” It slipped out as I gazed at the sunlight glancing diamonds off the beautiful pond.

  It was so clear, and I knew it would be cool, frigid most likely as most ground water was. A natural stream flowed from the hill over branches and rocks then gathered at the bottom in a small pool before continuing on further down.

  “It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” Gallatin whispered now too, and all I could do was gaze and nod. “I heard it one evening and followed the sound until it appeared.”

  “You heard it?”

  I couldn’t tell if he was teasing me again, but he didn’t respond. Instead he caught my waist again, and we started down the hill, him practically carrying me.

  “So you’ve been here before?” My voice bounced with our steps.

  “Once. I can’t stand sitting in the camp all day with nothing to do. But it’s not much fun being alone here either.”

  We were at the bottom and he lowered me to the ground. Standing in front of him, my head only reached the center of his chest, and the warm, lemony scent of that soap we were all given mixed with his sweat. I
t felt almost intimate, and it made me uncomfortable.

  “Thank you.” I said, limping away.

  A huge tree had fallen nearby, and the giant trunk formed a convenient seat at the edge of the water. I limped to it and eased myself down, my fingers sinking into the fuzzy green lichens that covered the damp bark. I watched as Gallatin pulled the t-shirt over his head and then quickly stripped down to his dark-brown shorts. His back was to me, and studying the scars on the backs of his forearms, I tried to guess how it’d happened. It was as if someone had gone for his face with a sword or a whip, and he’d blocked it with his arms. What cowardly attack had he been talking about to his sister? He turned, and his lined torso was smooth and free of marks. I glanced away embarrassed.

  “You getting in?” he asked, interrupting my thoughts.

  “In a few minutes.”

  “Of course. Catch your breath. I put a blanket and some towels in the pack.”

  He ran around the water and did a cannonball straight into the pool, causing a huge splash. I couldn’t help laughing as drops of the icy water hit me. It was such a familiar sight and sound. Swimming in a creek in the south-Mississippi summertime heat was as homey as biscuits and grits to me.

  His wet head emerged and he swam toward me. “Still hurting?”

  I shook my head. “The pills really helped.”

  “It was lucky I found those in the first aid kit. One bottle of 400 milligram tablets, bandages, and some other stuff was hidden in a locker.”

  I wanted to ask him so many questions, my head spun. Taking it slow and being inconspicuous didn’t come naturally to me, especially since I was injured.

  “Thanks,” I said and reminded myself to seem innocent. I counted to twenty in my head before speaking again. “I guess you miss being in Arizona.”

  He shrugged, and I watched him move his arms back and forth under the clear water. “I remember seeing this place as a little boy. Cato showed it to me, and I thought it looked like a little blue marble. So pretty.”

  “This place?”

  “I was sure I’d love the water most,” he continued without explanation. “But the desert was... I don’t know. Unexpected. Mystical.”