The Changing Earth Series (Book 2): Without Land

by Hathaway, Sara F.

  Erika’s brow folded into a concerned look as she thought about Dexter. He was very quiet these days, which was extremely irregular for him. He had always been a chatterbox. Erika wondered what was on his mind, but he wouldn’t talk about it, which left her baffled. His instructors at his daily training sessions said he was highly focused and his skills were progressing rapidly but he was shifty when dealing with authority and untrustworthy. Erika couldn’t believe the last part. It was so unlike him. He was always kind to his brother and respectful to his family. Erika just figured it was his age. He just needed time. Erika made a mental note to spend her next free day with him and see if she could find out some more.

  But today was not about him. Today was about Daniel. He was turning nine today, and it would be his first birthday outside of the refugee camp. Erika turned as she heard the door open. Daniel ran through with his hands over his face and sobs emanating from his lips.

  “He said no?” Erika questioned Vince as he stepped through the doorway. His brow was wrinkled in frustration.

  “He said no,” Vince answered, “Daniel is a mess. Some birthday, huh?” He looked tired. “I gotta go to the bathroom.” Vince turned and went into the little room by the front door, leaving Erika without another word.

  Daniel had ran through the doorway connecting the two rooms and she could hear him crying even though she knew his face was muffled in the pillows. She softly entered the room and sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing his back.

  “We can just have another party with your friends from the camp, baby. How about that?” Erika questioned him, trying to calm him down.

  “It won’t be the same thing, Mom. I wanted them to come here and see the pool,” Daniel sobbed as he spoke. His little face was all puffy from hours of crying.

  “Mathew said…” Daniel was huffing and puffing.

  “Calm down, Daniel. What did Mathew say?” Erika said, soothing the small boy.

  “Mathew said they were too dirty and we couldn’t have every one swimming in mud. He said they were skuzzy people who didn’t belong here.” Daniel choked on the words as he spoke them. “They are my friends, Mom.” He couldn’t understand the difference.

  “I know, honey. I know. They are your friends,” she agreed and held him tightly. She felt so much anger but what could she do? She didn’t control the gate. She couldn’t jeopardize her position.

  “And they’re not skuzzy!” Daniel hissed angrily.

  “I know, baby, they’re not skuzzy,” Erika had no other answer for him. She just held him and rocked his small body. She rapidly searched for something to say that would cheer him up: “Well, you’ll get to see all your friends from school.”

  “I hate those kids from school!” He spat the words out spitefully. “And they hate me. They call me a dirty refugee and throw spitballs at me in class. They’re just coming because of Greg.” He pulled away from her and stuffed his head back into his pillow.

  Erika had been so busy training and worrying about fitting into her new role, she felt as though she had been entirely too neglectful of her small son. She thought he was happy and this move had been the best thing for her family, but watching her son crying, she had to wonder.

  “It’s still new, honey. We are all still adjusting. Things will be better. You will make new friends.” She was trying to convince herself as much as she was him.

  Daniel kept his head buried. “You just don’t get it, Mom. I don’t want to fit in. I can’t fit in. My friends lost their homes, just like we did. The kids at school think the refugees are animals. They even say so. I can’t, Mom. I just can’t,” he was a flurry of sobbing all over again.

  “Well, son, I don’t know what to tell you, except I love you just the way you are. You just keep on being you, but we are going to your party tonight and we’re going to have fun, me and you together. You just relax a little and we’ll talk some more when you have calmed down, okay?” Erika’s heart was torn. She had no idea what else to do or say. The party was planned; all her superiors would be there. There was nothing that could be done now.

  She got up gently from Daniel’s bed and turned to go back through the doorway into her room. Dexter was standing there, scowling in the doorway. He loved his little brother so deeply. Erika knew this was going to be trouble.

  “What did you do, Mom?” he asked her.

  “I didn’t do anything, Dex. Mathew told him his friends from the camp couldn’t come to the party,” Erika said, a little appalled by Dex’s tone of voice.

  “I know. I heard your conversation. I meant, what did you do about it? What did you tell Mathew?” Dexter was all fired up.

  “Nothing, Dex, what can I do? He is a superior. I can’t…” Erika began going through all the new regulations for proper disagreement-handling in her head.

  “He’s a superior? He’s a freaking turd, mom. If you’re not going to do anything, I am.” Dexter made a move toward the door.

  “No, you are not!” Erika knew if Dexter went over there all full of fury, there would be hell for the whole family to pay. She tried to grab him by the arm but he used an escape move he had been learning and broke free from her grasp. Erika was impressed at the amount of strength her young son was now harnessing.

  Dexter grabbed the door handle but he had not seen Vince standing in the doorway of the bathroom. Surprised at Dexter’s interaction with his mother, Vince grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him up against the wall with a thump.

  “What the heck, Dad?” Dexter was astounded by his father’s actions. Vince was normally so calm and collected.

  “You will not treat your mother like that, ever! Do you understand me, boy, do you?” Vince would never allow anyone to disrespect his wife, including his sons. “We are a family, a team. We make decisions together. We stand together and we survive together and that is it. Without one another we are done.”

  “Fine! Then you tell me who my mother is now?” Dexter looked at Erika, standing there stunned by her son’s attack. “Just a few months ago you would have been down there in Mathew’s face. You would have stood up to him and told him about the injustices of his actions. You would have fought for those people down there in the camp. What happened to you, Mom? Where did you go?”

  Dexter’s disapproval of her made Erika stammer. They had always been so close. Partners fighting for good and freedom. She felt threatened and had to quickly regain her composure.

  “I did this for us. To get us out of that hole. We spent nine years as prisoners clawing for scraps. I saw a way out and I took it. Now look…” Erika spun around, pointing. “We have food and purpose and freedom.”

  “Freedom?” Dexter questioned, “I don’t think so. Living in that hole we had more freedom, we’re just better-fed prisoners now. We have been silenced and now there is no one to speak up for those people.”

  “Why me, Dex? Why do I need to sacrifice my life and that of my family for them? No one else wanted to stand and face the consequences. Why should I?” Erika had been feeling the pressures of her inner moral struggle and felt like she and her family had endured the brunt long enough.

  “Why not, Mom? Why not you? I always stood by you. I always protected you, but this,” Dexter spun around, pointing at the room like his mother had done. “My, my, what a fancy cell it took to silence your protests and finally extinguish your fire.”

  “Now, you stop it right there. I did this for us, for Daniel. He never knew life outside that pit. He deserves better!” Dexter had hit way too close to Erika’s heart, and she would not stand for that.

  “Way to go, Mom. It really looks like he’s enjoying his new life. He’s not even allowed to paint, but then I guess you didn’t know that. Too busy impressing the superiors to spend time with your kids?”

  Erika was dumbfounded. She had wondered why Dex had been so quiet. Why Daniel was walking around in a daze. She just stared at her son and took a step back. Vince saw the reality of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks.

>   Daniel was suddenly in the doorway, his face all puffy from crying. “Just stop it, Dexter! It’s not Mom’s fault. Just stop it!” he yelled at his brother.

  CHAPTER 40

  JUST THEN STAR walked in the door. She had heard yelling in the hallway but her cheeks were still red from smiling. As she entered she saw the faces of her family. Her father looked deeply concerned and her mother looked crushed. Dexter was bright red and sweaty with anger and Daniel was a puff of sadness.

  “Whoa…what is going on in here?” she mused.

  “We were just filling Mom in on how great life is here,” Dexter said sarcastically.

  Erika felt like she had been kicked in the guts. She had no idea that everyone was so unhappy. She didn’t know what to say or how to heal the pain of her family.

  “Oh…” Star said slowly and looked at Daniel. It was obvious to Erika that Star had known all about the plight of her youngest as well.

  “You knew too, Star? Why didn’t you guys tell me what was going on? Why didn’t you at least talk to Dad?” Erika felt like she had been ostracized, but it didn’t appear that Vince had been aware either.

  “I did talk to Dad,” Star admitted. Star and Vince had grown really close over the years. Vince was sometimes less abrasive and easier to talk too than Erika, so Star had found a special comfort in talking with her adopted father.

  Erika was blown away. She stared into Vince’s eyes and saw the truth there.

  “Oh, I get it.” Erika was perturbed. “You guys didn’t tell me anything. Just let me go on believing everybody was happy and life was good. Then when it all blows up, you blame me for not doing anything about it?”

  Vince could no longer stand in the shadows and let the rest of the family work this out. “That’s not how it happened, baby,” he said, acting like she was being silly for suggesting such a thing.

  “Don’t you baby me right now, Vince! You knew about all of this. You knew all along and didn’t tell me? What about no secrets?” Erika was pissed at him for putting her in this situation.

  “It’s not like that.” Vince raised his voice.

  “Really? Then tell me what it’s like, Vince.” Erika’s rage was loose.

  “We all knew the pride you had to swallow to be here. We all knew you did it for us. We thought you were happy now and no one wanted to fire you up again,” Vince admitted in the most loving tone he could muster.

  “A lot of good it did me.” Erika knew he was right but didn’t want to face that now. Deep down she knew she had to, though. Here it was being thrown right in her face.

  “It’s not his fault, Mom,” Dexter spoke up. “I told him not to tell you,” he admitted under his breath.

  “Then how can you stand there and wonder what happened to me? You all know exactly what happened to me and you all helped create it!” Erika had never spoken to her family about this, and she regretted the words as soon as she said them.

  “All right, all right.” Star spoke above them all. She had always been such a steady, level-headed girl, and she needed to be the voice of reason now. “Let’s all just slow down,” she commanded. “We’ve all kept secrets from one another for the sake of each other. We just need to face that.”

  “I haven’t kept anything from you guys,” Erika said hastily.

  “Really, Mom, really?” Star looked her in the eyes and Erika fidgeted, “then why have you been putting in all those extra hours cleaning gear all morning before training? It’s because of the guy you killed on our first operation, right? Failure to follow orders to the T, right?”

  Erika was shocked that Star had found out. She hadn’t told anyone. It was so embarrassing. She had helped lead the rebellion and had been put in their solitary confinement. Now here she was obediently shining boots because she saved a young man. She should have been livid, but she quietly completed the assignment and said nothing.

  “What?” Vince broke in. “They have you cleaning gear because you killed a guy to save their jerk-off soldier?” He paced the floor.

  “How did you know that?” Erika questioned Star.

  “Ron told me. He said he saw you cleaning the cage one morning,” Star admitted.

  Erika should have known when she saw Ron that morning that he would spill the beans to his girlfriend.

  “So now it’s all out on the table,” Star continued. “Daniel is living in peer pressure hell, Dexter is miserable working for a system he doesn’t believe in, I walk around with soldiers whooping at me like I’m a refugee whore, Dad is torn between operations he doesn’t want to go on and gardens he loves in a miserable refugee camp, and you swallow your spirit and ambition every day to pay dues for something you did for a good cause and the sake of your family. There it is, folks. No more secrets!” Star said finitely.

  The five of them all stood quietly, reflecting on the pains each one had borne for the sake of the others. They were together, but were they? Each had chosen to keep their secret to protect the other, and in the process they had shut each other out.

  “Well there’s only one thing left to do,” Dexter broke the silence. “Hug it out.”

  Erika smiled at his silliness in a time like this. They all came together in a big family hug and cried. Their individual pain was released and the space was filled with a deep family love. They felt drained but much better after this difficult altercation.

  “We are outta here.” Vince and Erika had reached individual conclusions but said the words aloud in unison. They looked at one another and laughed. Then they looked into the eyes of their children and knew that was the only way to get them into freedom. They would just have to risk whatever consequences they would have to face. The family embraced again.

  “We’re with you,” Dexter and Star said. They had waited a long time for their parents to come to this decision.

  Daniel was confused and didn’t fully know what this course of action for his family would mean, but he had a feeling it would be a good thing in the long run.

  “But for now, we have a party to get ready for,” Erika said. She knew they would have to maintain the status quo until they had a quality opportunity to make a break for it.

  CHAPTER 41

  THE BOYS WERE dressed and ready first. They headed down to the pool area. Vince wanted to find Greg and talk to him about this exodus plan. Star and Erika remained in the rooms to finish getting ready.

  “What about Ron, Star?” Erika questioned Star as they were fixing their hair in the bathroom.

  “You know, Mom, Ron’s a great guy. He’s full of drive to achieve some kind of status in this government. He would definitely not go with us. Me, on the other hand, I have trusted you and been by your side since I was eight. We have had to leave friends behind many times before and I have had the feeling that we would have to do it again. Honestly, I just didn’t expect it to take this long,” Star said nonchalantly.

  Erika was shocked by her honesty. She had always been so straightforward, such an awesome quality for a young woman with her beauty.

  “You know I love you, right? I have loved you since day one. I am so glad you would choose to stay with me after all we have been through,” Erika said, her eyes full of love and respect. They embraced deeply and smiled at one another. Star was now quite a bit taller than Erika, and they were an unlikely pair, but their bond was deep. They finished up and left. Erika and Star headed down the dim hallway to the brightly lit pool area.

  When they arrived Nancy waved to them. She had been waiting for her daughter to arrive. Erika was unsure what to say to her mom. She knew there was no way Nancy would want to live in the wilderness on the run from the all-powerful government, and she never had been very good at concealing her thoughts from her mother.

  “I’ve been waiting for you to get here.” Nancy started the conversation as she gave Erika a much bigger hug than usual. Erika knew immediately her mother had her own something going on. “Look who made it to the party,” Nancy continued excitedly.

  Brett Reyn
olds stepped up from behind her. He had been talking to another gentleman, but Erika was still surprised she didn’t notice him when she walked in.

  “Wow, Brett! Oh my God! You look great. How have you been?” Erika was overjoyed at seeing an old friend. She had not seen him since they had been brought to the camp so long ago. His daughter, a landowner in Texas, had come looking for him then and took him home with her.

  “I’ve been well,” he said with his usual flat demeanor. “I think about you guys all the time.”

  “Man, it’s great to see you again. I wondered if we ever would.” Erika was shocked. “How long are you staying?”

  “Not long. I have to get back to Texas. Honestly, I was hoping to take your mother with me,” he said just as mundanely as before.

  “What?” Erika did not see that one coming.

  Nancy spoke up now, “There is a position available at the textile plant there in upper management, furniture and clothing design.”

  “Really? Wow, that’s great, Mom,” Erika said. She had mixed feelings about being separated from her mom, but it was a godsend right now. Erika knew the realities of the journey they were about to embark upon.

  “You think so?” Nancy said uncertainly. Erika could tell she was struggling with the idea as well.

  “I think so, Mom,” Erika said reassuringly.

  “What about the kids? I want to stay close to my grandkids,” Nancy admitted.