“It’s pretty indestructible.” I gave the raft a good kick to prove my point. “And it’s not supposed to tip, even in rough water.” I looked to Eli. “Do you want to check it out yourself?”
“One thing’s for sure,” Reyes said. “It’s safer than a dead tree.” Gritting my teeth, I turned away from Eli to direct my stare at Reyes, nailing him with imaginary darts shooting from my eyes. Reyes returned my glare with a blank expression. “What? It is.”
God, he was thick... and expendable on this trip. Eli was not.
Ignoring Reyes, I refocused my attention on Eli, intent on encouraging him to at least give the raft a try, but Eli was already touching the rubber vessel, his brow furrowed in uncertainty. I tried not to stare at the cross-shaped scar on his cheek. Dena had told me it was the brand the recruiters used to mark him as their property. A shudder went down my spine at the thought of Jack being branded.
“It doesn’t provide much camouflage,” Eli said. “And how are we supposed to walk with it? It’s enormous.”
“We’re walking?” I asked, a little confused.
Eli nodded. He took a few steps away from the boat, squatted over a muddy patch of shore, and beckoned for us to join him. Using a small rock, he drew a series of squiggly lines, clumps of trees, and the odd jagged edge seemingly inserted randomly. A crude map emerged in the mud.
Flicking his head toward the river we were gathered beside, he used his index finger to trace one of the squiggly lines he had drawn. “We’ll follow this river valley south, eventually turning west, heading down to the foothills, and out onto the plains.” He moved his index finger as he explained, following the map he had drawn. “Our end destination is here,” he said, using his finger to make a big X in the mud. “We’ll travel mostly by water, but there will be times we’ll need to go on foot to skirt rapids and change rivers.” He looked at our raft. “I understand there’s not much camouflage for us while we’re on the river, but we need something small and lightweight that fits in with the terrain when hiking through the forest.”
Before I could say anything, Reyes spoke up. “We deflate it, fold it, and put it in my backpack. Once again, easier than a friggin’—”
“We’ll take care of the raft,” I said, cutting him off. Reyes’ lips tightened, but at least he stopped talking.
Eli turned to Dena. “What do you think?” he asked, motioning toward the raft.
Dena eyed me. “I’ll let Sunny make the decision on this one. She’s always proven to have good judgment.”
I smiled my thanks for her trust in me. “It’s safe and easier to transport across land.”
Dena gave a curt nod. “The raft it is.” She held out her hand to me. “Walk with me.”
I took her proffered hand and followed her lead. She didn’t speak right away, and eventually I began to feel uncomfortable with the heavy silence. “How long do you think it will take Willow to calm down?” I asked conversationally.
“If I know Will, not long. She’s too busy plotting out ways to impress me so she can make Protector status next spring.” She chuckled. “I think her long-term goal is to take my job when I’m finished with it.”
“Doesn’t she lack a certain maturity to be an Elder?”
“Unlike your senators, the Elders of our nation must earn their place on the council—and you’re never too young to start.” She stopped walking and turned to look at me. “Are you sure about this?” Her change in subject was swift and well out of earshot of the other others.
“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.” I squeezed her hand reassuringly, appreciating her concern. “I miss him so much.” The admission made my eyes sting with tears, and I blinked them away.
She looked skyward, sighing deeply, and resumed a slow walk. I had learned to let Dena say her piece in her own time. When we came to a fallen tree, she stopped again. “You and Jack have spent a lot of time with us over the past year. Jack often comes seeking my counsel on political matters, but you...” She paused to study me thoughtfully. “I think you mostly come to us seeking refuge.”
I wasn’t sure how to take that statement, yet she was looking at me expectantly, waiting for my answer. She was well aware of the animosity that existed between the Dome and the Pit. Since the very beginning of life in the biodome, strict laws had been enforced to prevent marriages between bourge and urchins. That kind of prejudice didn’t just end with the treaty. Of course the Nation had become my refuge. It was the only place on earth where my relationship with Jack was accepted.
“Is that wrong?” I asked.
She took a seat on the tree and patted the spot next to her. I sat down.
“Coming to us? No. Seeking refuge? Yes,” she said. “I know you never asked for it, and you’re so very, very young, but the fact is that life gave you and Jack an important role to play. Your Dome has preserved the best of humanity... and the worst.” She ran her hand along the sleeve of my nanosuit. Her eyes met mine. “And God knows you are a powerful nation,” she said with such conviction that it sent a chill down my spine. “With the ability to destroy what’s left of humanity... or save it.”
Her eyes were misty and, it seemed, beseeching me to do something about the future of humanity. I was stunned. Dena—leader of the Nation’s military and one of the greatest women I had ever known—was looking to me for help. “I promise I’ll find Jack and bring him home.”
Softly, she shook her head. “It wasn’t Jack I was thinking about.”
The statement left me speechless. Was she thinking of me? “Dena—”
“We’re not blind to the tension that runs between the bourge and urchins.” She said the words with distaste. “And Jack has voiced those concerns to me on many occasions. I’m also aware that there have been outbreaks of fighting recently, so I’m left to assume things are escalating.” She took my hand in hers and gripped it tightly. “This earth hasn’t fully recovered from the last war, yet we all fear another. And you and Jack were our one connection to peacefully sharing this valley with your people.”
There was such intensity to her gaze that I couldn’t hold it. I looked down at her dark and weathered hand clasped around my pale one. It wasn’t as simple as she made it sound. “Bourge and urchin have had almost three hundred years to nurture their hatred, and I won’t lie to you and say I’m above it all. I’m not. I remember the beatings—still have the scars—and so does every single person who lived in that hole with me, because everyone who lived in the Pit was a slave.” I lifted my eyes to meet hers. “But it took meeting Jack to discover that not everyone in the Dome was a slaver. In fact, a lot of bourge were victims of President Holt’s insanity too.” I patted her hand. “Jack and I have done everything we can to bring our people together through the creation of the Alliance.”
“So Yean-Kuan tells me,” she said with a coy smile. “She says she’s certain you’re with child.”
Dumbfounded, I blinked. “How did she—” I stopped as I realized I was about to confirm the claim.
“My wife has an uncanny insight into people, and I’ve never known her to be wrong. I do feel slighted that I learned it from her and not from you, though.”
“I only just found out myself a little over a week ago,” I said.
“So you knew when you came to us a few days ago to help plan the search.”
A guilty flush spread across my cheeks. I nodded. “It’s just...it’s new to me, and I need time for it to sink in.”
She studied me for a moment. “The news of your child is too important to hide. He’s the first of a new generation. A victory for your Alliance.”
Where my child was concerned, the Alliance hadn’t even entered into my thoughts. I had been too preoccupied with Jack’s disappearance, and the few times I’d actually allowed myself to think about our baby, I had ended up in tears. Less than a year ago, his existence had been illegal among our people, so what kind of life lay before him? Ridicule? Rejection?
“And by new gener
ation do you mean he’ll be a half-breed among people who hate each other?” I asked bitterly.
She looked at me, surprised. “You’re scorning your own child before he’s even born?”
My eyes widened in shock. “I’m not scorning him. You misunderstood.”
Dena raised her eyebrows in question. “Half-breed is the endearing nickname you’ve given him?” My mouth opened in retort, but she didn’t give me a chance to speak. Pressing her hand against my belly, she said, “He is the first of a new generation—a generation that hasn’t yet been taught to hate. Please don’t be the one to teach him.”
The excuses all died on my lips as I realized she was right.
Chapter Five
Jack
“Throw him in the woods for the cats,” Kane shouted as our caravan pulled away from the river. He was referring to the soldier on the ground.
Ryan’s wrists were secured to the rails next to me, the slow rise and fall of his chest reassuring me that he was still breathing. Our cart started moving forward, and his body lolled lifelessly with the rhythm. The arrow had struck high up on his inner thigh. There was blood, but not enough to suggest that his artery had been sliced.
Naoki tapped my foot with his and motioned toward Ryan.
“He’s breathing,” I said. Hollywood glared at me disapprovingly. But now that I had a better sense of my value, I paid no attention to it. “So what’s an Ajun?” I asked him.
Naoki smirked and maneuvered his head slightly to see how Hollywood was reacting. Hollywood was walking on the opposite side of the cart from me, with Phillip beside him. His mouth was set in a thin line, but he looked to be deliberately ignoring me.
“They don’t know how to say Asians,” Naoki said.
I laughed. Not a big, full-on belly laugh, but a short, forced one. “That can’t be possible,” I said with exaggerated sarcasm. “They’re an advanced society.”
Naoki snorted.
Hollywood turned on me. “I swear to the gods, you little freak, if you push me one more time I will kill you.” His face was red and his eyes shiny with rage.
And yet I didn’t care. “Go ahead.” My own anger had been simmering ever since they’d captured me, and now it was boiling up. The only reason I even tried to keep it under control was because I was biding my time, trying to gain their trust so I could find a chance to escape. But after Ryan’s move, there was no way they were ever going to give us another opportunity. Gritting my teeth, I returned Hollywood’s glare. “Kill me then! Go ahead!”
Hollywood heard me. I could tell by the look on his face. But he didn’t answer me. Or kill me. I wasn’t even sure I could die, thanks to Doc’s nanobots. But if I had a choice between getting an arrow in the head or being stuck in this cart slowly dying of dehydration while I watched dead bodies get chopped up, I’d take the arrow.
Naoki kicked my leg, and my eyes snapped toward him. “Sunny would be awful mad to hear you provoked your own death.”
Just hearing the sound of her name snapped me out of it. Her image had been my constant companion since they took me, yet this was the first time I had heard her name spoken out loud. It reminded me that she was more than just a memory. She was real. She was home. And what I wouldn’t give to turn back the clock to that morning when she hadn’t wanted to get out of bed. When she wiggled her warm body against mine, snuggled in, and asked me to hit the snooze button. Why had I wanted to go explore a cold, decaying city instead of spending the day in bed with my wife?
Naoki and Talon were both watching me intently. I doubted very much that provoking Hollywood would result in anything more than a punch in the head. The one important conclusion I had come to was that recruiters needed recruits to get paid, and as far as I could tell, recruits were in short supply. Of the eleven wagons in the group, only four held cargo. The crews of the empty carts organized hunting parties daily, detouring away from the main caravan, and they always came back empty-handed. Finding people was not easy.
“Who’s Sunny?” Hollywood asked without looking at me. “One of the two that got away?”
And now I knew for sure: Sunny and Ted had gotten away. Utter relief and happiness surged through me, putting to rest some of my anxiety.
“I’m glad she got away,” I said.
“As long as it was just a couple of women we lost,” he said. “They’re only good for breeding, and I already have enough wives to feed.”
I took his chattiness as an opportunity to probe for information. “So men are more valuable?”
Phillip good-naturedly elbowed Hollywood in the arm. “Do you believe that stupid question?”
“Coming from him I can,” Hollywood said. “He’s probably one of those weak men Father Ryder is always talking about. A cuckold.”
“Cuckold?” I repeated in amazement. “Geez, that’s an awfully big word, Hollywood. I’m impressed.”
Despite his smile, Naoki shook his head at me, but I didn’t want to stop. On some perverse level I was enjoying it. Not only was it keeping my mind off being thirsty, which seemed to be the dominant thought in my head since I had been captured, but I was also finding out information that might turn out to be useful. That I was making fun of Hollywood in the process was just a bonus. “So Father Ryder must be a really smart guy,” I said.
Sanjay was walking on the side of the cart where I was tethered, and he said, “The smartest man on earth.”
Hollywood looked over at Sanjay, nodding vigorously. “He’s the voice of the gods. The chosen one.”
I could almost feel the passion rolling off of Hollywood. He was obviously fiercely loyal to Father Ryder.
“So what was he chosen to do?” I asked.
Naoki silently laughed, his smile tight.
Hollywood finally looked at me. Right at me. His eyes piercing. “Lead the world.” His voice practically trembled with conviction. “You sit in that wagon acting as if we’ve done you wrong when what we’ve actually done is save you.”
“Save me?” I asked in surprise. It was an unexpected spin. “From what?”
“Your cuckolding wife,” Naoki said.
I smiled, happy to see he was going to join in the fun.
Hollywood was getting furious. “From murderers, thieves, and cannibals!” His voice was raised, attracting the attention of others in our caravan. “Father Ryder says it was the War that caused people to lose their moriality. The gods chose him to restore it through their written words.”
“And by ‘moriality,’ do you mean morality?” I asked. Hollywood opened his eyes wide, and his nostrils flared as he took a deep breath then forcefully blew it out. Maybe I had pushed him far enough. “Well, you know what would help my moriality? A drink of water.”
Hollywood ignored me and stared straight ahead as he walked. I didn’t have any energy left to keep poking at him anyway. I settled my back farther down on the rails, relaxed the best I could, and observed my surroundings. Trees. Rocks. Outcroppings. Frozen earth. Not one notable landmark I could use to find my way home. Except for the river. As long as we didn’t leave it, I could use it to guide me back.
When the sun was at its peak in the sky, our caravan stopped for the midday break. I tried not to look too eager for a water ration. After the way I’d made fun of Hollywood, I didn’t expect to get any. But Sanjay put the bottle to my lips and Hollywood didn’t stop him. Phillip gave Talon his ration, and I noticed with some alarm the way Phillip was looking at the younger man. He was far too absorbed in Talon’s lips as he gulped the water. Had Phillip looked at him that way before?
There was a bit of a ruckus farther down the line, and Hollywood left to see what was happening. I stretched as far as my bound wrists would allow and saw a recruit being rolled out of a wagon. Naoki was craning his neck to see.
“Don’t watch,” I said. Naoki was still looking when I heard the first whack of the ax. He turned back around, his face pale.
Hollywood yelled for Phillip to bring something, and Phillip opened the woode
n crate in our wagon and took out the big plastic container that held the meat for the bears. He went to Hollywood with it.
“So that’s what they’re feeding the animals,” I said.
“He’d go to waste otherwise,” Sanjay said.
Phillip returned carrying the container with Hollywood a few steps behind him. I averted my eyes even though the container was an opaque gray. If there was blood on it, I didn’t trust my stomach not to lose the small amount of water I had just been given.
Hollywood clapped Sanjay on the back, pointing to the container as Phillip returned it to the crate. “Do you believe he charged me a wife for that little bit of meat?” Sanjay smiled the kind of smile a child would when getting attention from a neglectful parent. “I didn’t tell him he was getting the ugly one.” Hollywood guffawed, and Sanjay laughed with him.
Sanjay was an interesting guy. One minute contemplating stealing me out from under Hollywood to go in search of more rifles, the next sucking up to the boss.
A hunting party broke away as the caravan started moving again. I closed my eyes and let sleep overtake me.
***
The smell of smoke jolted me awake. Using the rail, I leveraged myself into a sitting position and looked around for the fire. We were no longer moving, but we weren’t setting up camp either. No fires had been lit. So where was the smell of smoke coming from?
A hushed, nervous excitement rippled through the recruiters. I recognized Kane’s voice saying, “Take twenty men with you.”
The sun was low, and long shadows darkened the forest. I looked for the source of the smoke and realized it was coming from the direction of the river. People. These recruiters had found people. Naoki, Talon, and I exchanged silent glances.
New World Order Page 5
