The Great Thirst Boxed Set

by Mary C. Findley

  Talia smiled. “Eve and the forbidden fruit,” she whispered as successively higher quantities of static emitted from Drew’s radio and voices joined the countoff.

  “No.”

  “No.”

  “No.”

  “No.”

  As the voices continued, Drew stood up in the seat, opened his door, and leaned out, looking backwards. “What the –” He shut his mouth on an oath. “Sorry.”

  The motorcyclist pulled out of line and spurted forward. “Boss, Eva Sanchez is not in the convoy.”

  This time Drew did swear, a long string. “What happened? Why didn’t somebody have eyes on her?” He barked into his radio. “Code Seven. Now!”

  Men seemed to materialize around the Rover. More spilled out and formed a perimeter around the convoy, guns of varying sizes drawn and heads turning. Others fanned out, searching the treeline and underbrush. Drew jumped on the back of the motorcycle and sped off down the line.

  “Where could she be?” Talia asked. “How could they miss her?”

  “Are they going to go back to the campsite to look for her?” Keith asked one of the guards surrounding them. The man hesitated before answering.

  “No, Sir. That would undo everything the boss tried to accomplish by leaving on the double-quick like we did.”

  “Then what will you do to find her?” Sophie demanded.

  ‘That’s not up to me, Ma’am,” the man replied. “The boss will let us know what comes next. Appreciate it if you exercise some patience and let us concentrate on watching for trouble.”

  Sophie crossed her arms and looked at the floor. All of them sat silently for a full ten minutes. Keith saw Talia’s lips moving and realized she was praying. He reached back to grab her hand and started praying silently as well. She grabbed Sophie’s hand, who in turn joined hands with Naddy. Out of the corner of his eye Keith watched the men and women of the security detail take turns trotting to the edge of the patches of woods around them, using binoculars and scopes to scan for trouble.

  “I’m having a crazy moment,” Keith said softly.

  “What do you mean?” Talia asked.

  “Eva’s in really good shape for a lady her age, right?”

  “Her age?” Sophie sniffed. “She can’t be more than forty-five.”

  “Right. Sorry. No offense. But Drew’s got women on this detail, right? Hey,” he said, louder, to one of the guards, “Any way you can ask Drew to do a headcount on his personnel?”

  “What?” the man asked.

  Keith repeated his request.

  “What are you thinking, Newton Brain?” the man scowled.

  “Is that my code name?” Keith couldn’t help smiling. “Newton Brain? I’m thinking Eva acted a little strange ever since those people showed up this morning. She stayed behind when we followed them. I thought that was weird, since she came down here because she’s studied the Olmecs and knows the people.

  “She said her back was hurt, but she managed to serve everybody breakfast and lunch. Nobody had much time to tell her about what happened, but she seemed to know a lot of details. And I know you guys would be careful to double-check everybody before we left. I think she switched places with one of your female guards and that’s how she took off, when the alarm went out that she was missing.”

  “Why would she do that? Eva? We have been friends for ten years!” Sophie cried. “She helped Talia choose the Precious Treasure Campground site, and has taken care of everything there.”

  “I don’t know why, and I’m sorry, Sophie, but it’s the only explanation for how she could be in the convoy when we left, and gone now.” Keith glanced at Talia and saw her look of disbelief.

  The guard he had been talking to sprinted away. They sat for another very tense fifteen minutes until the motorcycle returned and Drew jumped off before it even stopped.

  “How did you figure that out?” he demanded of Keith. “One of my women, Cara Townsend, was just found knocked out and tied up in the woods. She was wearing the clothes Eva had on this morning. Still not exactly sure how Eva pulled it off, but she’s gone. Must have talked the guard into a potty break as soon as we pulled over, before Cara could report that she was aboard that Jeep. It was just the two of them in there, since that was our extra gear Jeep. By the time the notifications got that far down the line, I was already moving, but it was still too late to catch her.”

  “Is Cara okay?” Talia managed to ask.

  “She got hit pretty hard, but she’s hard-headed,” Drew replied. “We’re searching for Eva. Drs. Ramin, this is pretty close to that all hell breaking loose I talked about. That woman knows everything about your work, your safe location at the campground, and who knows what else. We need to remove to a place of safety. I suggest we get you out of the country immediately, and that you find a way to discreetly notify the people she put you in touch with. Just tell them you had an emergency. Don’t say Eva’s missing. Don’t say you suspect her of anything. We don’t know who we can trust at this point. I have an exit strategy if you’ll trust me to just get you out of here quick and dirty.”

  “Yes, of course,” Naddy said. “It must be as you say, Drew.” Sophie had begun to cry softly against his chest. He patted her little back with his broad hand. “We are in your hands.”

  “Eva …” Talia whispered. “Oh …” She bent over and clutched her midsection.

  “What’s wrong?” Keith catapulted out his door and yanked Talia’s open.

  “Cramps … I think I’m bleeding … oh …”

  Keith pulled her into his arms as a large aircraft blew up a dust storm appearing over the trees. It was the biggest helicopter Keith had ever seen. “What is that?” He screamed at Drew over the noise.

  “We commandeered an experimental bird from a mining facility near here. It’s based on a Sikorsky design. Everyone can go in it, even the vehicles and equipment.”

  “Talia needs a doctor.”

  “Understood. Our doctor is onboard, with more medical staff. Cindee and David are there too. I took the liberty of arranging this before I asked your permission, Drs. Ramin. I hope you’ll forgive me, but we have to get out of here now, and I’m not going to say where we are going yet. Everybody get back in the Rover. I can drive us right up on board.”

  “Yes. Yes. We must hurry.” Naddy supported Sophia, who was crying harder than ever, and Keith set Talia gently back on the seat and got in.

  “Go,” he said.

  Chapter Seventy-two –Peace and Patience

  “Hello, beautiful,” Keith said to Talia. She looked up at him from a cot only a few inches off the floor. He took a seat on a camp stool beside her.

  “Where are we?” she asked, looking around at the whitewashed stucco walls and seeing no windows.

  “Not sure, but I think it’s a ways underground,” Keith replied. “I was supposed to tell the doctor as soon as you woke up. Is it okay if I just step outside for one second?”

  “First I need to know … did I lose the baby?”

  “No. No. The doctor said it was a close thing, and it’s not all safe yet … You’re going to have to be on bedrest, and they’re going to have to watch you. But the baby is good. Let me go …”

  “Hurry back.”

  “Yeah. Like I wouldn’t.” Keith opened a door and poked his head out. He was practically pushed back by a medical crew. When they finally stopped spilling in, he dodged around them, calling out, “I’ll just tell the others you’re awake,” and fled. It was a small room, and the people and equipment packed it. Talia stared, wide-eyed.

  “Hello, Mrs. Bradley,” said a man who looked familiar. “I’m Doctor Cornell. I was at the base camp, and went with David and Cindee to the hospital.”

  “Of course,” Talia said, relaxing a little.

  “I’m very sorry to tell you that we don’t have a real Doctor of Obstetrics here. I am a Doctor of Osteopathy, and I’ve consulted with some other medical professionals and examined you. With your permission, I would li
ke to do so again, and run some tests, now that it’s been a few hours. We think your baby should be fine, but we need to be as sure as we can that you will be.”

  “Okay,” Talia said, and the crew got to work.

  Later, Keith came back and sat holding her hand while everyone paraded in and out. Naddy and Sophie both cried, and Jiggly almost did. David came by, too, and said Cindee was doing well.

  “They had to take her left eye,” he said shakily. Then he breathed in, slow and deep, and smiled. “But they are going to do reconstructive surgery, and I told her she’ll be the prettiest pirate on the Spanish Main.”

  “Don’t make me laugh,” Talia moaned. “But thank you for that good news.”

  “Sorry,” David said.

  “Just glad you and the newest adventurer are going to be okay,” Jiggly put in. “Keith, take care of Warrior Angel and her .. umm … her cherub, all right?” He glanced up at David and turned red. “You know. Baby angel. Not his baby, your baby. You know what I mean.”

  “Will do,” Keith said with a grin.

  “So we really don’t know where we are?” Talia asked when they were alone again.

  “I don’t,” Keith admitted. “Had other things on my mind. Drew and the others are conferring about the next step, where to go and what to do, but for now, wherever here is, it’s home to you and baby Bradley, and me, of course. Hey, speaking of Baby Bradley, the doctor said in the course of the testing he found out what it is. He asked if we wanted to know. I wasn’t sure, so I thought I’d ask you first.”

  “Well, I’m sure it’s a baby,” Talia said with a smile.

  “Funny. Do you want to know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

  “I don’t think so. We can just call it Cherub, like Jiggly said. That will work for a boy or a girl.”

  “Cherub Bradley.” Keith tried to keep his face serious. His next thought made that easy. “Man, I didn’t get to know Eva that well, but this is so hard to believe, that she betrayed us.”

  “Eva,” Talia said, her eyes filling up. “We have to find out why she did this, and how much she revealed. Has anybody notified the campground residents? Where will they go? What will they do?”

  “You know there was an evacuation plan in place,” Keith replied. “Everybody’s safe. We weren’t told where they went, but Drew says they have places to stay. Apparently everybody’s okay at Bradley Central, but dad already has substitute teachers lined up for us, because we don’t know yet how long it will be before you can get off bed rest. The doctor said sometimes it lasts until they can deliver the baby. They aren’t sure yet how well things will heal.”

  “You mean I hurt the baby when I tried to save Cindee?”

  “Not the baby. You hurt yourself. The doctor said it’s hard to tell, even with all kinds of equipment, when it’s soft tissue, what the extent of the injury is. So they’re saying rest, and trying to get us to the point where it’s safe to leave. Before you ask how long, that’s another thing nobody knows. He said the fact that the baby is healthy and growing is actually a risk factor, because if it gets too active too soon you have to stay on bedrest longer, and be even more careful. Just relax.”

  “But we need to …”

  “Before you start making that list, just remember that we don’t need to do anything but get you well. The school’s covered. Drew’s working on finding Eva. Naddy and Sophie are in touch with their own Olmec contacts, not Eva’s, putting out feelers to see what’s real and what might have been a show put on to lure us into that trap. We could have gotten suckered from the beginning on this whole thing. As far as finding tablets or ancient tech or that broadcasting capability … it’ll have to wait.”

  “How do we know it can wait?” Talia asked. “People who depend on physical Bibles are losing them or being tracked or made sick through them. People who study online are being given the runaround, distracted, and probably spied on. Persecution of believers is increasing everywhere. And don’t forget, Jenny Kaine is out there, trying to make sure nobody has any Scriptures.”

  Keith sighed. He had gotten up and started pacing the room, but he came back and took hold of Talia’s hands. He tried to unbend her clenched fingers. “Look at you, balling up your fists and going into warrior mode. Calm down. ‘Peace, perfect peace,’ like Naddy says. All through the Scriptures, God says, fear not. You want to be up and doing stuff, but God says be still. The Sea of Galilee and that whole big storm that scared veteran fishermen didn’t scare Jesus. Sit down. Be quiet. Be still. That’s what He wants to tell Typhoon Talia. Shhh.”

  “Don’t make me laugh,” Talia whispered.

  “Sorry.”

  She finally relaxed her hands. He kept holding them, and prayed for awhile. When he finished, she said, “I want to sing, but that takes muscles I don’t know if I should be using. Singing always makes me feel better.”

  “Maybe keep it soft, like you used to do with Joana.”

  “You heard me sing with Joana? I tried not to disturb anybody. It helped her get to sleep.”

  “Why would you think your singing would disturb anybody? Your voice is beautiful.”

  “I just love singing. I need to sing.”

  “Okay, then we’ll sing.” He started and Talia joined in after a moment, her voice just above a whisper.

  When peace, like a river, attendeth my way

  When sorrows like sea billows roll

  Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say

  It is well, it is well, with my soul

  Later, David brought Cindee to visit in a wheelchair. Most of the left side of her face was still bandaged. She and Talia hugged and cried.

  “We found out one of Drew’s guys is a former military chaplain,” Cindee said. “He’s still ordained. Since neither David nor I have any family, we have everybody here we’d want at our wedding. Would it be okay if we have it here in your room, Talia? I want you to be my matron of honor, and Naddy said he’d give me away. We want to do it tomorrow, before I talk him out of it.”

  “Yes. Oh, yes,” Talia whispered.

  David and Cindee’s wedding once again crammed Talia’s room to the bursting point. David had chosen Jiggly as his best man and of course his mechanical hand got stuck again. They tried to pry the ring out of it but it did not budge.

  “It think it happens when I get nervous,” he said apologetically. They had to wait while he got the joystick controller and unlocked it before the chaplain could finish.

  After the ceremony, the doctor gave permission for Talia to sit in a wheelchair for a short time. They left her room and went to a larger meeting room decorated with paper chains and origami sculptures made by some of the regular residents of the facility from pastel-colors of copy paper.

  Keith pushed Talia to a table with a punchbowl and small squares of white cake decorated with Valentine candy hearts. He said to David, “I can’t even believe you had rings. Talia and I borrowed Sophie’s and Naddy’s until we could get somewhere to buy some.”

  “These rings belonged to my parents,” David answered. “I’ve worn them on a chain around my neck since the day the searchers recovered their bodies from the school. I used to slide them on my finger every night when I prayed for vengeance. When I asked Cindee to marry me, I had them resized for us.”

  “Wow,” Keith said. “Everybody has a story. I feel like my life has been so safe and ordinary.”

  “Safe and ordinary sounds good,” Talia said.

  David nodded. “Still, Heart-holder, I heard about your mother and your sister from Evangel, and I know Dan has made your life interesting. I’m also pretty sure you don’t feel that way anymore.”

  “Yeah. I don’t even expect normal. Look at Jiggly trying to table-dance with Cindee. I still can’t believe he went down after her.”

  “As much as I love Cindee, I couldn’t imagine losing that crazy guy too,” David said.

  Talia said, “Such a transformation in him. He was always such a coward; such a whiner.”

  �
��I don’t know how I kept the copter steady, looking down at those two.” David shook his head. “How about we try a little table dance, Evangel?”

  “Maybe a little,” Talia said, blushing.

  “Mind if I go cut in and dance with the bride?” Keith asked. David grinned and waved him away.

  They were still within earshot as Keith sat down at the table with Cindee and Jiggly. They let go hands and stopped swaying to the music.

  “What?” Jiggly asked. “Believe me, you do not want to see how I dance standing up. This is me looking good.”

  “I just wanted to cut in, if it’s okay,” Keith said with a wink at Cindee.

  “Oh, sure,” Jiggly said. “Big guy who already has a wife cuts out the little guy saying good-bye to his best friend. That’s so mature.”

  “Oh, sorry. I didn’t think of that at all. Hey, take all the time you need.” Keith got up.

  “Sorry. I’m sorry,” Jiggly said, and got up himself. “It’s all the happiness. It makes me cranky. And my hand is stuck again, anyway.” He pushed his way out of the room. David went after him and Talia pushed herself across to join Keith and Cindee.

  “He still talks about Maria,” Cindee sighed. “Now he finally appreciates her. But we don’t know what happened to her. She was with us at the dig for awhile, but she left. He just wants a chance to prove to somebody that he’s a new man. He worries about what he calls the ‘cyborg factor,’ and if he has any hope of finding any woman, ever.”

  “This is everybody’s time to try to have a little patience and let God give us peace.” Keith sighed.

  “Once again, I arrive to find you surrounded by invalids,” said a voice from the doorway.

  “Dr. Ewing!” Keith said.

  Those who could stand up did. Dr. Ewing strode through the crowd straight to the table where Talia, Keith, and Cindee sat. She glanced in Cindee’s direction.

  “I have looked at your records and am satisfied that you are receiving adequate care, Mrs. Sharon,” she said stiffly. “Only time will complete your healing. Perhaps wedded bliss will speed that a little, but I have no personal experience to draw on about that.”