Reentry

by Heather Carson

  There were fresh tracks in the dirt, a marmot probably. She followed the tracks to its den and climbed slightly above the opening, careful not to disturb the entrance. Katrina found some sticks and rocks. Then she took the electrical cords and stripped off the plastic coating. Next, she braided the wires and created an improvised noose snare. She tied the end to a heavy rock on the left of the den entrance and gently held it up with a forked stick as a wire guide so it would lock around the marmot’s body when it came through.

  Once the snare was set, Katrina stood up and watched James fishing across the meadow. She followed the shape of his profile, starting with the outline of his jaw and remembered how it felt to kiss him the last night that they were in the shelter together. Warmth spread into her stomach and her heart quickened as she unconsciously touched her lips. Gosh he was cute.

  James gracefully whipped the line of his fishing pole back and forth while he released more slack with his other hand. As he began gently tugging on the line to bring it closer, Katrina watched the line grow tight and he began furiously reeling it in. He dropped to his knees on the bank and then stood up directly facing her as if he knew exactly where she was. In his hand was a beautiful trout and a triumphant smile spread across his face. Katrina gave him a thumbs up. He quickly turned around to unhook the fish and get his line back in the water. She laughed as she made her way back to Dreya.

  Jayden and Dreya were still lounging under the shade of the tree.

  “He got one,” Katrina called out as she walked up to them.

  “We saw,” Jayden called back. “Let’s see if he can catch another though.” Katrina sat down next to them. “What did you set a trap for?” Jayden asked.

  “I think it’s a marmot den over there. Guess we will just have to wait and see.”

  Dreya turned to look for her sister and her mouth dropped open. “Mia!” she yelled. “What in the world do you think you are doing?” Katrina and Jayden turned to look. Dreya put her hand over Jayden’s eyes. “Put your clothes back on, right now!” Dreya screamed.

  Katrina started laughing as Mia threw her shirt and pants onto the bank. She stuck her tongue out at her older sister and then dove under the water.

  “Mia,” Dreya called out as she ran to the lakeshore. “Get out of that water now. It’s probably freaking toxic. This isn’t some game.”

  Mia swam forward and then flipped to her back to kick water at her sister. “Come on Dreya. Don’t be such a worry wart. We are probably going to die anyway, let’s have some fun before we go.” She gave her sister puppy dog eyes and Dreya turned around to look at Jayden and Katrina. Dreya shrugged and then stripped off her clothes before diving in. The two girls splashed around in the lake for a while. Jayden decided to join them.

  “Come on Katrina,” Dreya urged. “You stink. We all stink. At least get washed off.”

  “I don’t want to get my stitches wet,” Katrina called back from under the tree.

  “It’s been enough time, I think. The wound doesn’t look open anymore. You can flush it out with rubbing alcohol when you get out.” Dreya pushed out her bottom lip.

  Katrina smiled as she walked over to the shore and carefully removed her clothes, folding them into a neat pile. She looked up to see James watching and gave him a wave before she sat down in the shallow water near the bank. Then she crossed her injured leg up over her other knee. “This is as deep as I go,” she laughed.

  Dreya swam over to her. “Here,” she said climbing onto the bank, “turn around and let me help you rinse your hair. You can keep your leg out of the water.” Dreya held the back of Katrina’s head as she let her hair soak out into the water. Katrina’s head felt weightless as the strands fanned out into the lake. Dreya massaged her scalp with her free hand and then ran her fingers through the knotted hair until it spread out smoothly in the water again.

  “This feels glorious,” Katrina sighed. “I’m pretending I’m at a spa.”

  “We should stay here a while,” Dreya told her. “It feels safe. We should at least stay until your leg heals.”

  Katrina sat up and turned around. “We can stay a day or two, but we will run out of food if we stay much longer than that.” Dreya stared at Katrina, her forehead wrinkled, then she nodded and swam away. Jayden grabbed Dreya by the waist when she returned and picked her up before dunking her back into the water. Mia’s laughter echoed through the mountains. Katrina smiled as she watched them play. She ran her fingers through the sand under the cool water and then started to collect tiny colored pebbles to stack into a small mound.

  James came walking up with a stringer full of trout. He laid the line in the water to keep the fish cold and then took off his t-shirt. Katrina watched his stomach muscles tighten when he lifted his arms. Her eyes traveled down to the lines of his hips and she quickly turned away blushing when he dropped his shirt to the ground.

  “Enjoying the show?” He winked at her and her cheeks began to burn. “I stink like fish,” he said smiling. “I’m going to go rinse off. I’ll be right back.” James glided through the water with each powerful stroke of his arms until he reached the others. Jayden put Dreya on his shoulders and Mia climbed up James’ back. The sisters wrestled each other from their elevated seats. Dreya won by pulling Mia into the water first.

  Katrina cheered them on from the shore. I’m glad I didn’t leave alone, she thought. This would have been a sucky hike all by myself. James swam back to her and they sat on the bank as he told her all about the different types of trout he had caught and planned to catch. The day grew late and Mia finally agreed to get out of the water.

  “You sure these are okay to eat?” Jayden asked as he salted the fish.

  “Guess we will find out,” James shrugged. “But they don’t look sick, they look perfectly untouched.”

  Jayden fried the trout in a little oil for dinner and Katrina gathered Yampa roots to eat alongside the meat. At dusk, the boys went to look for worms so that Jayden could fish with James in the morning. Katrina checked her trap and found a marmot in it. She skinned it and then cut off the meat which she put in a pot of salt water to soak.

  “Does marmot meat taste any good?” Mia asked.

  “Not really,” Katrina laughed. “But I’ll brine it overnight in the salt water to make it edible. I also found some wild onions growing over there so I can flavor it up.” Mia grimaced but nodded her head.

  At dark, they sat around the fire wrapped in blankets. Katrina leaned her head against James’ shoulder and he unconsciously stroked the top of her head as he talked more about the fish. Katrina was almost asleep when she heard Dreya say, “I’ve been thinking about what happened at the town. How did they know about us and why did they call us Project Dandelion?”

  “Well Nanny said we all have the dandelion gene. That’s one of the reasons we were picked to live down there,” Jayden answered her. “I’m assuming that is what the Project Dandelion is.”

  “Yeah, but his eyes got big when he figured it out and they were going to kill us because of it. The only reason they didn’t is because he figured we were worth more alive.” Dreya’s brow furrowed.

  Katrina cleared the sleep from her throat. “I’ve been thinking on it too. They were genuinely scared of the government for some reason and we were part of some government program, so they definitely didn’t trust us.”

  “Did your dad tell you anything about this Project Dandelion thing?” Mia asked as she yawned.

  “Not really. I know he was working on the survival lessons for it.” James stopped touching her hair to watch Katrina’s face. “He didn’t tell me that or anything. I just know that he uses those same videos to teach the Marines and that was all a part of his program that we were learning.” Katrina looked at James. “A few months ago, he did have a talk with me about radiation sickness, again.”

  “So, they’ve been preparing for this and setting up the shelters for a while then?” James asked.

  Katrina nodded. “That’s what I’ve bee
n thinking.”

  “How do we even find out what actually is going on?” Dreya pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders.

  “Get to the cabin.” Katrina closed her eyes again. “And hope my dad is there so that we can ask questions.”

  Chapter 8

  The next morning Jayden and James went fishing as soon as the dawn broke through the sky. Katrina stayed wrapped up in her blanket as she started the fire. The kindling caught the flames from the dried grass and she carefully laid more branches on top. The smoke smelled bitter from the sap that hissed as it melted off the fresh wood. Once the fire was roaring, she went to pick wild onions. She rinsed the salt from the meat and then browned it in the pot along with the onion bulbs and some stinging nettle leaves that she carefully plucked from the stem. Then she added water and let it simmer. When Dreya and Mia woke up, she added the rice.

  “This smells amazing,” Dreya said as she blew on a spoonful of the stew. “Then again, after eating MREs for two weeks almost anything fresh smells good.”

  Mia looked skeptical but she took the bowl handed to her anyway. “Here goes nothing,” she said taking a bite. Dreya and Katrina watched her intently as she chewed the meat. “That’s actually not horrible,” she said after swallowing. “But I prefer rabbit.” Mia finished her bowl just as the guys returned.

  “How’s the marmot?” Jayden asked as he spooned out soup from the pot into his bowl.

  “Better than I thought it would be,” Mia laughed.

  James put the stringer of fish in the brook next to their campsite and pulled out a spoon to eat his stew. “She can cook?” he said looking at Katrina. He blew on his spoon before taking a bite. “Mmm, she can cook.”

  Katrina smiled as she put her feet up. “Sure can, and you can do the dishes.”

  *

  After the dishes were cleaned, Mia made the announcement that she wanted to learn how to shoot. Katrina pulled out the box of bullets for the pistol. There were twenty left. “We can’t waste a bunch on shooting practice,” she said. “But I think it will be okay to fire off a round or two.”

  Jayden went to put an empty soup can on a rock three yards away. Mia was shaking as she stood up to hold the gun. Dreya hung back and bit her bottom lip as she watched her little sister.

  “This is important,” Katrina told her. “The safety. This lever right here. This always stays on unless you intend to shoot. And by intend, I mean you better be ready to kill something.” Mia nodded.

  Jayden walked back up to them. “Don’t scare the crap out of her Katrina.” He smiled at Mia.

  “It’s serious though.” Katrina narrowed her eyes. “Guns aren’t toys. You have to know that you are holding a powerful tool in your hands and you should know how dangerous they can be before you choose to use that power.”

  “I agree,” said Jayden, “but they are just tools. And if she keeps shaking like that, she’ll never hit the target.” Katrina sighed and walked back to stand by Dreya.

  Jayden showed Mia how to hold the gun and breathe before she took the shot. They practiced dry firing and made sure she knew how to handle the weapon before loading the gun. He stepped back as Mia fired. The can went flying off the rock. Mia lowered the gun and pointed it at the ground like she was told to.

  “Beginner’s luck,” James called out.

  Mia rolled her eyes and Jayden walked out to set the can up again. He placed it at seven yards.

  “Not a chance,” James said as Jayden ran back. Mia took her stance and shot again. Clink. The can went flying. Katrina and James looked at each other wide-eyed.

  Jayden gave them a big smile. “One more?” he asked Katrina. “Just to see?” Katrina nodded and Jayden ran out to fifteen yards. They all held their breath as Mia exhaled and fired off a final round. The can shot straight off the rock into the air. Dreya let out a loud whistle.

  “Holy shit Mia,” James said clapping her on the back. “You’re a natural Annie Oakley.”

  Mia smiled as she clicked the safety back on and handed the gun to Jayden. “Nothing to it,” she shrugged and walked away to go get the can.

  *

  After dinner, James took Katrina fishing. They walked to the far end of the valley to get to the stream he hadn’t fished yet. Specks of bugs flew around them as dusk came closer.

  “We haven’t seen any birds,” Katrina remarked as James got the pole rigged up.

  “Did you think we would?” James asked as he finished tying on the fly.

  “I guess not,” Katrina said. “It’s just so odd.”

  James showed Katrina how to stand and guide the pole so that the line danced between ten and two as she pulled out slack before letting the bug land delicately on the surface of the water. He was much better than she was, but she got the job done. She handed him back the pole and he hooked a trout on his first cast.

  The golden skin on the fish’s back glistened as the water beaded away and James held it out for her to see with a smile beaming across his face. The perfect photo, Katrina thought. Too bad she didn’t have her phone. They took off their shoes and waded further down the shallow brook. The frigid water lapped at their ankles and Katrina laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” James asked grinning at her.

  “Nothing,” Katrina smiled. “Well nothing important.”

  “Come on,” he nudged her. “You have that distant look again. I want to know where you are.”

  “Alright,” she said. “When I was little, I went camping with my dad and we caught some fish for dinner. I caught the bigger fish and I was so proud of myself. Well as my dad was cleaning them in the stream, my fish slipped out of his fingers and floated away down the current. I walked barefoot through the freezing water for what seemed like an hour and I actually found the fish. It had gotten caught on a rock. I guess you could say that I caught that fish twice,” she giggled. “I think that I was even prouder bringing it back the second time.”

  James stopped walking as he turned to face her. “You miss your dad a lot, don’t you?”

  “I do,” she said. “But I hope he will be there at the cabin.”

  “And if he isn’t?” James asked softly.

  “Then I will wait. Or I’ll go find him. I haven’t gotten that far yet.” Katrina watched as James quickly turned away from her. “What is it?” she asked him. “Are you thinking that you want to find your dad too? We can try if you want. Let’s just go get the supplies from the cabin first.”

  James shook his head. “He would have been there when the doors to the shelter opened if he was still here. I’ve made my peace with that.”

  “And you think I haven’t made mine…” Katrina’s voice trailed off. “Oh. I get it. You think I am being stupid for not giving up hope.” James reached out to grab her hand and she pulled it back. “You don’t understand. He has been planning for something like this to happen all my life. If anyone would make it, it would be him. He told me he would be okay, and he doesn’t lie to me.” Katrina could feel her blood boiling and she didn’t know why.

  “He did leave the truck though, like he knew he might not be coming back.” James shrugged.

  “Yeah because we were supposed to meet at the cabin if he didn’t show. He left it so I could get there.” Katrina stormed out of the water.

  “Wait,” James called after her. “Don’t get mad. I just want you to be prepared to face the possibility.”

  Katrina pulled her shoes onto her wet feet and glared at him as he crossed the rocks onto the shore. “You don’t even…” James took Katrina’s face into his hands and leaned down to kiss her.

  She tried to pull back, but he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. She melted into him. Their lips met eagerly. Then James pulled his away- always too soon! Katrina screamed in her head- and he smiled sweetly at her.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “Don’t be mad. I’m just worried about you, probably more than I should be, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  Katrina rolled
her eyes. “Come on,” she said. “It’s getting late. Let’s head back to the others.”

  *

  “Alright. I’m getting tired of fish,” Mia said picking the last of the meat from the bones as she finished breakfast. “I want to go find some rabbits today.”

  James laughed. “I’ll take you to look for some in a little bit.”

  Katrina smiled at Mia’s enthusiasm. “Hopefully you find some. We do need to get ready to start heading down the mountain tomorrow.”

  “What?” Mia crossed her arms. “Why do we need to leave so soon? Can’t we stay here a little longer?”

  “I’m sorry,” Katrina shook her head. “We don’t have supplies to stay here long term. This place is nice but at the rate James is going we will end up fishing out the whole valley soon. There isn’t enough food here to sustain us. Plus, we need ammo, guns, and adequate shelter. All of that is at my cabin.”

  “Couldn’t we just build a cabin here?” Mia grumbled.

  “I’m sure we could,” Katrina said, “but it would be a rough winter without supplies.”

  “Well, let’s just get supplies then and bring them back here,” Mia tried to reason. “Who knows what it is like over at your cabin anyway. We know the air is okay here and that the fish are good. The water hasn’t killed us yet either.”

  “The cabin sits at just about the same elevation as this and that valley is just as nice, I promise you.” Katrina sighed. “My dad chose that location on purpose.”

  “But I don’t want to go.”

  “Mia,” Dreya snapped at her sister. “Enough. We are going to the cabin. End of story.” Mia looked to her feet and clenched her teeth.

  “Come on kid.” James put his arm around the girl. “Why don’t we go look for your rabbits?”

  *

  They spent the afternoon filtering water to refill the jugs for their trip. Mia and James came back with three rabbits for dinner. Jayden made kabobs with the wild onions and rabbit meat. After dinner they boiled water to wash all the cookware and utensils. Dreya fixed her little sister’s hair into tight braids but that did nothing to fix Mia’s mood. She went to bed by herself as soon as the sun set.