Untitled Agenda 21 Sequel (9781476746852)

by Beck, Glenn

  “No. I’ll go alone.”

  “But why go alone? What if something happens to you?”

  “What might happen to me?” Paul asked, serene once more.

  “You might get hurt. Or lost.”

  “David, I’ll do my best not to get hurt. And as for getting lost, I’ve gone there many times and I know the way. I follow the stars. Men have been following the stars since the beginning of time.”

  “What if he harms you in some way?”

  I had to speak up. “David, he would never hurt Paul. He would have no reason to hurt him. It’s not in his nature. And besides, if he hurt Paul, Paul wouldn’t lead him back here.”

  We sat quietly for a few minutes. The music of the forest was all around us.

  “You need to stay here, and make sure the women and children are safe.” Paul was firm on this; I could tell from looking at his face. There would be no further negotiations.

  “When would you go?” I asked.

  “When conditions are right. When the stars are right but the sky’s partially overcast. I’ll know. It might be tomorrow night or it might be several nights from now.”

  “Sooner is better,” I said. If it was several nights, that meant travel time lost, never to be recovered.

  “A great storm is coming tonight. I can feel it in my bones. When I go depends on the weather.”

  “Why would you do this, going to the farm commune, risking so much?” I asked.

  “Why? Because I can and because it’s important to you, Emmeline.”

  His answer left me speechless. I felt gratitude wash over and through me, warm and soft.

  David looked at me and smiled. He liked Paul’s idea.

  And maybe, just maybe, it would work.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  * * *

  JOHN AND JOAN

  Day 12

  “Stop!” Joan called to John. “Listen!”

  He turned to her, a puzzled look on his face, and put his finger to his lips, reminding her to be quiet. She touched her ear, then cupped her hand around it, signaling for him to listen. He cocked his head to the side for a moment, then shrugged. She listened, too, but heard nothing more than the noises of nature all around them. Bees, birds, breeze. But there had been a sound, a sound of a human being. She was sure of that. As sure as she had ever been of anything. A person was in need, somewhere, within the range of her hearing, and the sound was coming from the other side of the stream.

  John walked back to her. “I heard something,” she whispered.

  “What?”

  “A person. I think it was a woman. Crying, I think, or calling out.” She pointed across the stream. “From over there, somewhere.”

  He put his hand above his eyes, shielding them from the sun, and peered intently in the direction she had pointed.

  “I don’t see anything.”

  “Neither do I, but I’m telling you, I heard something!” She wanted to search for the source of that noise and she wanted to do it now. “Maybe it was David or Emmeline.”

  “I don’t hear or see anything. Do you think maybe you imagined it? Maybe it was an animal.”

  She moved closer to him, and touched his shoulder. “Look at me! I didn’t imagine it. And it wasn’t an animal. We’re not alone here. Someone is over there. It sounded like a woman.” Her chest tightened with the thought. If it was Emmeline, why was she calling out? Was David with her? If he was with her, why would she scream? The back of Joan’s eyelids felt hot, and tears throbbed against them. “Please, John, trust me on this.”

  She could see his face soften, the frown lines smooth, and his shoulders relax. He gave a little nod of his head, took her hand, and together they headed back toward the stream.

  Soon they were at the edge of the shallow water. Joan plunged across, not caring if her shoes got wet. They were pretty much worn out from walking on the rough, stony ground anyway. John was right beside her, his rolled-up Transport uniform hidden under the stolen Enforcer’s uniform. Joan’s white garments were stained green from moss and grass, and brown from dirt. The Earth’s colors had rubbed into the fabric. Her headscarf was draped around her neck and dangled down her chest.

  On the other side, they scanned the area but saw nothing. There was no sign of anyone.

  Risking all, she called out softly. “Hello? Hello?”

  No response.

  John surprised Joan. He actually shouted. “Hello! Hello!” That was the loudest sound she had heard since the chaos and gunfire the night they escaped from the Compound. Then silence settled briefly around them. Even the birds were quiet.

  Then they heard a response, a faint, faraway plea. “Help.”

  They headed toward that sound, running, not caring how rocky it was, not caring that their feet hurt. They only cared that someone needed help.

  Then they saw her in the distance, lying on the ground. It was a woman with dark hair—not Emmeline. She pushed herself into a sitting position, watched them coming toward her.

  When Joan and John were just a few steps away, the woman made the circle sign on her forehead, then put her hands up, as though surrendering. Joan glanced at John. His face was pale, his lips tight.

  She was in the Earth Protection uniform.

  He was in the Enforcers uniform.

  Joan was the only one in clothing that didn’t signify power.

  Even here, in the Human Free Zone, uniforms had meaning.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  * * *

  John wondered who this woman was. What was she doing here? Was she really one of the Earth Protectors? She must be, her uniform had the logo on it. Why was she alone? They always traveled in teams. Always. Then John noticed her ankle. On the outside it was swollen and a painful-looking dark blue. She probably couldn’t walk on it, or, if she could bear weight, she’d walk slowly. Either way, she wouldn’t be productive. But still, where was the rest of the team? Surely they didn’t just leave her here alone. John looked around the area, scanning for any other Earth Protectors. He saw no one. The woman just sat there, staring at John, her hands still raised, her lips trembling. Her face was eggshell-white with fear.

  The oddity of the situation settled heavily on John’s shoulders, weighing him down as if forcing him into the ground, planting him like a tree in the wilderness.

  Joan spoke first, breaking the silence. “Who are you?” she asked the woman. She knelt beside her and tried to make eye contact. The woman turned her face slightly, meeting Joan’s gaze briefly.

  “My name is Julia.” Her voice was low, no louder than a whisper, but the quiver in it was louder than the words themselves. Then she turned back to look at John with that same frightened yet defiant look.

  Joan spoke again. “My name is Joan.” She reached over and gently touched the swollen ankle.

  “Does it hurt?”

  Julia nodded and a slow, shining tear slid down her face. She wiped it away with the back of her hand. John could clearly see her red, scraped knees through her ripped trousers and the blood on her hands. There was no way she could harm either of them. No way. Joan must have sensed that Julia was far more vulnerable than them, despite her uniform.

  “You can put your hands down.” Joan reached up and gently lowered one of Julia’s hands and cradled it in her own. “I mean you no harm.” Julia put her other hand down, dipped it in the water, and splashed some on her face. Strands of dark hair clung to her cheek; she pushed it behind her ear with a smooth motion.

  “How did you hurt your ankle?” Joan’s voice was soothing, motherly.

  “I fell.” Julia reached down and touched her injury with one finger. “I was running and I fell.”

  “Why were you running?”

  Julia shrugged and didn’t answer. John looked around again for the Earth Protectors. The team must be nearby, he supposed. But all he saw were trees, squirrels, and helter-skelter piles of fallen, rotting logs. A large turtle, with random brown and dull copper markings on the dome of its she
ll, lay in the shade on a bed of leaves. John almost didn’t see it because the shell was perfect camouflage, protecting it by using the colors of the wilderness. But the movement of its outstretched head and neck caught John’s eye. That was the secret to survival out here: blend in. John was grateful for the dark Enforcer’s uniform he was wearing, and Julia’s camouflage was perfect for this area. Joan’s clothing, even though it was dirty, was still far too white.

  “Are you really an Earth Protector?” Joan asked.

  “Just a trainee.”

  “A trainee? Really. When did they start using women in the military?”

  Julia responded with a shrug. She continued to glance at John frequently, watching to see what he was going to do. He stood erect, feet apart, with his arms folded across his chest as he had seen other men with power standing. The uniform gave him the right to do that.

  Joan took her own shoes off and put her feet in the shallow water. “Oh, this feels good! My feet hurt from walking.” Julia’s face softened a bit and she smiled at Joan. Joan reached into the water, just as Julia had done, and splashed water on her own face.

  “So, if you’re a trainee, where are your trainers?”

  “Last time I saw them, they were headed that way.” Julia pointed upstream. John turned and looked but saw no one.

  “When did they leave you?”

  “Yesterday at dawn.”

  The sun was high, nearly overhead.

  “Why did they leave you?”

  Julia didn’t answer.

  “Because you can’t walk? And no one stayed with you?” Joan laid her arm across Julia’s back, pulling her closer. Julia didn’t resist. She leaned toward Joan, her small frame resting against Joan’s side.

  “Winston would have stayed. But Steven had a gun and wouldn’t let him stay.”

  “Steven?”

  “The team leader.”

  Bit by bit, Joan was drawing out the information they needed.

  “How big was the team? Surely they could have spared someone!” John saw Joan give Julia’s shoulder a little squeeze. A squeeze that said You’re important and I’m here to help. Seeing this, John knew that Joan would have been an outstanding manager at the Children’s Village if only she’d been allowed to actually care for the children.

  “Six of us, counting me. I don’t think I counted very much. Look at me. I’m not much of a team member.”

  “Who else was on the team?”

  “Steven was the team leader. He’s the one with the gun. Winston.” Her voice softened, then moved briskly on. “Adam, Nigel, and Guy.”

  So, Winston meant something to her. John, too, was absorbing as much as he could from her short answers.

  “And what is the mission of your team?” Joan asked this as though asking what the weather was like, without stressing any importance to the question.

  “You probably already know this, him being an Enforcer and all.” Julia nodded toward John.

  “Oh, he hadn’t been briefed on your team, just on his mission.” She smiled up at John. “Communications are difficult out here, aren’t they?” she asked him.

  He nodded in response.

  Joan took her headscarf from her neck and dipped it in the water. “Let me wrap this around your ankle. It might help reduce the swelling.” With quick, sure motions, she wrapped the ankle. “There. How does that feel?”

  “Good. Thank you.”

  “So, what was your mission?”

  The long pause was filled only with a soft breeze, and a white moth fluttering on a small purple flower.

  Joan smiled patiently.

  “Our mission was to find and return people who escaped the Compound.” Her words were flat, her facial features flat, as though she was emotionally detached from her words.

  “People? More than one?”

  Julia nodded.

  “That’s impossible. How in the world did that happen? How many?”

  “Two men, two women, a boy, and a baby.”

  “Children? Out here in the Human Free Zone? How will they survive? Have you seen them? Has your team seen them?” For the first time, Joan’s voice had urgency.

  “No, we haven’t seen them. There were clues but no people.”

  Joan managed to look shocked at this information. Her hands flew to her cheeks, her eyes opened wide. “That is truly unbelievable!”

  “I have no reason to lie to you. You asked about our mission. And I told you.” She paused and gave John a cold, brave stare. “Now I have a question for you. What are you doing in this wilderness? What is your mission?”

  There it was. The question John dreaded. He gave a long pause, then answered it the only way he could.

  “My mission is to enforce whatever needs to be enforced.” He knew it was not much of an answer, but a citizen would never dare push an Enforcer any farther.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  * * *

  JOHN

  Day 12

  “When is your team returning for you?” John asked Julia, still scanning the area for any movement.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. They might never return for me. The mission is more important than any single member. Steven made that clear from the beginning.”

  “How could a mission be more important than a person?” Joan asked her, sincere concern on her face. Dear God, Joan, John thought. You know people aren’t important to them. Who are you trying to convince here? Yourself or her?

  “He had no use for what he called ‘weak links.’ My ankle made me a weak link. I made myself a weak link by running and falling.”

  “Let me rewrap that brace. Make it a little tighter and more supportive.” Joan removed the dirty headscarf and rewrapped it, starting at Julia’s foot, crisscrossing it above the ankle, and finally tucking the loose end neatly into the top. “There. Is that too tight?”

  Julia shook her head no.

  “Why were you running?” John asked her. “Was there danger? Did an animal try to attack you?”

  “In a manner of speaking, yes. An aggressive animal.” She lowered her eyes.

  John had tested her and she had failed. She wasn’t telling the truth. If, indeed, she had been running from an animal and fell, she wouldn’t be sitting here talking about it. The animal would have killed her. She fell for a different reason. Joan looked at John with puzzlement, eyebrows furrowed close together, mouth downturned. She must have been thinking the same thing.

  “What kind of animal?” Joan asked her.

  Julia turned to face Joan. “If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me. So what’s the point?”

  John didn’t like standing there, in the open, visible. He didn’t like answers that led to more questions. Frankly, he didn’t like anything about this situation.

  John spoke directly to Julia, his eyes never leaving her face. “Here’s the point. I don’t believe you were chased by an animal. I want the truth. Then I’ll decide if we should help you or leave you. What we do depends on what you say.”

  “Was it a man?” Joan asked, in a soft, knowing voice.

  Julia nodded. “Yes. It was a man. Steven, the team leader. But he said no one would believe me, I had no witnesses, and any other man in a position of power would do the same thing. I would rather die out here than be back on his team. So go.” Her face hardened into a fierce scowl. “Leave me. My ankle will get better. I have some supplies. I don’t want to be near any man who thinks he’s more important than me just because he has power.” She stared at John as she talked, her eyes narrowed.

  “Go away!” she said again while reaching into her backpack, trying to pull something out. Whatever it was caught on the fabric; she shook her head violently and her dark hair fell forward. With an impatient gesture, she smoothed it behind her ears.

  “Can I help you?” Joan asked. “Do you want something out of your pack?”

  “Leave me alone!” And then she crumpled forward, her face in her hands, back bent, shoulders shaking. Joan laid her arm across Ju
lia’s back and patted her shoulder.

  “We’re not going to leave you alone. We’re going to help you.” Joan looked up at John, her eyes begging him to agree. He knew Joan would never leave this woman alone in the wilderness, and he respected her for that. But his wife looked so tired, her face pale and thin, dark shadows under her eyes as though smudged by ashes. He nodded his head at Joan and was heartened to see a faint flicker of a smile play across her lips.

  “But he’s an Enforcer. Why would he help me? Why is he even helping you?” She said Enforcer with a fiercely disdainful tone.

  Joan was quiet for a moment, then said with quiet confidence. “It isn’t the uniform that makes a man evil. It’s the man that makes the uniform evil. They want and get uniforms because they crave recognition, prestige, and, of course, power. But I think this Enforcer may be better than the others.”

  Well done, Joan, John thought. As long as she thinks I am an Enforcer, she’ll never be able to disclose that I’m not. And it might be important in the future that I be seen as an Enforcer to anybody we come in contact with.

  Julia looked at John, her eyes swollen from crying, her face streaked with dirt and sweat. “Are you really different?”

  John nodded. “Yes, we will help you. The first thing we must do is get away from the stream into some cover. You can lean on us.” John saw a faint smile on Julia’s face. “Stand in the water,” he said. “I’m going to erase any signs that we’ve been here.”

  Joan supported Julia and they moved into the stream. John filled their trash bucket with water and poured it over the dirt bank several times. All traces of their footprints melted away into the mud.

  With Joan on one side and John on the other, Julia laid her arms across their shoulders. She was fragile between them, and hobbled the best she could without putting weight on her right foot. Together they made it to the other side of the stream, up the bank, and into the darkness of the woods. John was relieved that they were no longer out in the open.