Tier Trilogy: Books 1-3

by Cindy Gunderson

  5am

  Eric. Wow, this definitely took me by surprise. I have so many questions, but now is obviously not the right time to ask. As luck would have it, I am headed out to an assessment today. I think I can swing a pickup if you can meet me—I doubt I’ll be able to make it all the way to your location. Here is my estimated pickup point based on what maps I have available. I should be able to be there around 7:45am.

  --Val

  5:02am

  I’ll be there. --Eric

  Handing the sensor back to him, I meet his eyes.

  “Eric, I’m so sorry I never asked about your time in Tier 2.”

  This takes him off guard. “There wasn’t much to tell,” he says, shrugging it off.

  “I think there is,” I insist. “You obviously built some strong relationships, and it was selfish of me to solely focus on my own loss. When we get a chance, I’d love to hear about it.”

  “That would be nice,” he answers softly, taking the sensor from my open hand. “Actually, do you want this back?” he asks, offering it to me.

  “No, you keep it. We may need to message Val at some point.”

  Nodding, he straps it to his wrist and lets out a long sigh. “What do you think, Bent? Is this better than walking?”

  “Five million times better,” Bentley answers, and we all laugh.

  “You two have been up for a long time,” I say. “Why don’t you try to get some rest. I’ll wake you if anything happens.”

  “Are you sure?” Eric asks.

  “Positive.”

  Bentley stretches out, resting his head on my lap after I pull out some sleeping materials to make a padded seat for myself. By the time we get ourselves situated, Eric is already leaning against his pack with his eyes closed. Though the vehicle is moving fairly quickly, the ride has been surprisingly smooth. I expected it to be much rougher going through the rugged mountain terrain. This thing must have some heavy duty shocks. Hopefully even these small bumps will dissipate when we hit an actual road.

  It doesn’t take long for Bentley to fall asleep. When everyone is resting peacefully, I find myself taking stock of our situation. Tal will get help today, which has eased my anxiety over that situation immensely. But, it has been replaced with my nervousness surrounding this new, unplanned entrance into Tier 2. We will no longer have the cover of night or the organized contacts. I assume Jessica has taken care of that, given the fact that she was in on all of the communication between Eric and Val.

  But what now? I will have to trust Val. She seems organized and competent. I know Eric wouldn’t have contacted her if she wasn’t trustworthy. The weight of our return lands heavy in my mind. We are considered a threat by Berg. If they had any idea that we were back, or got wind of what we are planning...I swallow hard. Why did we allow our children to come? I suddenly question, but then remember Tal and Bentley pleading to not be left to the same fate as Rose.

  My thoughts bounce to the children. Are they going to be left alone a second time? At least this time they would have plenty of resources, I argue, but I can’t do that to them. We have to make it back. My mind shifts again to Beth and Leah, and I shut the door on that hard. I can’t. I can’t allow myself to hope that I will see them. If all goes well, we won’t have any need to go to Tier 1 and I can’t put them at risk. But I miss them so much it hurts. And Nick. I was so sure that he would live a long, healthy life. I still can’t believe he’s gone. Is he gone? Somehow, because I haven’t seen the world without him, I keep forgetting.

  Tears stream down my cheeks from the weight of it. All of it. Why are we doing this again? In the dark, musty storage cab, I list the reasons one by one. I remind myself what Nick was trying to accomplish—why his path was so on point that Berg killed him to stop it. I rewatch in my mind the moments with the boys and Rose in the shed. Hearing how they worked together to make the first step in solving one of the biggest problems of our time. They did it together. I remind myself how different I feel now—how alive I am in this place where I have no protection from anything. Where the loss is deeper, but the joy is higher than I ever could have imagined. I am so lost in thought that I don’t even notice when our ride becomes completely smooth, signaling a return to civilization. Eventually, we roll to a hesitant stop, and voices outside snap me back to the present.

  Chapter 115

  I can’t hear what they’re saying. Val’s voice is recognizable, but the most I can tell about the other is that it’s likely a man. Or a woman with an impressively low register. Trying to limit my movement, I press my ear to the wall of the cab, but it doesn’t improve anything. The voices seem to be growing more distant, and my body relaxes.

  “She’s just doing a routine assessment,” I remind myself under my breath.

  “Huh?” Tal asks, shifting his hips in complaint.

  “Shhhh, Tal, don’t move bud. Let me help you,” I offer, moving gently across the floor on my hands and knees. “We need to be quiet. I think they’ve moved away from the vehicle, but we still need to use caution.”

  “Where are we?” he whispers.

  “Do you remember getting into the truck?”

  He shakes his head.

  “Yeah, I think the medicine had kicked in at that point. Do you remember Val?”

  “I basically remember seeing Dad and a blonde woman, then gripping Dad’s neck and my body being really uncomfortable, then nothing else,” he offers.

  I chuckle under my breath. “That pretty much describes our morning,” I sigh. Keeping my voice low, I explain, “Well, somewhere before the gripping and uncomfortable walking, you took some pain meds that knocked you out. We walked down to Val’s—she’s the blonde—vehicle, and we are on our way to Tier 2. We just had to make an unscheduled stop. And get this—” I meet his eyes expectantly, “—Val drives this truck.”

  Tal blinks.

  “She actually drives it.”

  He blinks again. “I feel like you are looking for a reaction from me, but I don’t see why this is a big deal,” he whispers.

  “How is it not a big deal? You’ve never seen someone drive a vehicle manually!” I whisper energetically.

  “Mom, people drive vehicles in Tier 2 manually all the time,” Tal says, and I laugh. How had I forgotten that this was his experience?

  “I guess it’s pretty cool for you, though,” he comments, unimpressed.

  I purse my lips and raise my eyebrows. “You’re definitely making it feel less cool,” I tease.

  Tal suppresses a laugh, until he sees that my hands are moving to lift up his pant leg. “No, mom, please don’t—” he pleads, then leans his head back in defeat when he recognizes that I’m not stopping.

  “I’m not going to touch it, I just want to make sure that there aren’t any signs of infection. Your skin is pretty scratched up.”

  “It feels fine,” he argues.

  “Anything would feel fine with the amount of medication you have in your system,” I counter, inspecting his leg.

  “It’s still pretty bruised and swollen, but I guess that’s normal, considering. Here, can you shift this way a little?” I motion for him to move his hips away from Eric, which he does obediently. Gently, I lift his leg, allowing the end of the splint to rest on one side of Bentley’s pack.

  “This is kind of uncomfortable,” Tal complains.

  “Well, that’s because you need to lie down,” I say, pulling a rolled up jacket from my bag and helping him lower his shoulders to the truck bed. “Better?”

  He nods. “Thanks.”

  “This will hopefully bring down the swelling a little.”

  Quickly, I place a hand to Tal’s lips as voices become audible from outside the truck. They move much closer this time, and their proximity sets me on edge. I motion for Tal to lie still. Please don’t wake up yet, I think, looking at Bentley as his eyelids flicker slightly.

  The voices are right next to the doors, probably two feet from my outstretched legs. I can’t tell if Val is with them, b
ut if those doors open, we will have a lot of explaining to do.

  “No, that’s alright,” I suddenly hear Val say. “I can load these up on my own. I know you have a lot to get through.”

  “With all of these guys, we could be done in two minutes,” a man argues, obviously trying to be kind.

  “I appreciate the offer, really, but I actually need to rearrange some things in the back and it’s going to take a few minutes. Really, go ahead, I’ll be fine,” she explains congenially.

  I hear a few muffled responses, but eventually the air falls silent. The latch rotates, and the door swings out, filling the back with bright sunlight. My hand moves involuntarily to my face, but not fast enough. I’m momentarily blinded by the bright light, but I can feel that Val has jumped into the truck with us. Eric shifts, obviously awakened by the interruption.

  “Hey, how is everyone doing in here?” Val whispers, crouched into a deep squat.

  “Good,” Eric answers, his voice thick with sleep.

  “Caught a little nap?” she comments through a broad smile, “Good, you’re going to need it. I’m going to load up a few crates that need to be sampled and then we should be on our way—” she spins at the sound of the door opening behind her. By swiftly placing her body directly in front of the open door, she is able to shield our view and block much of the incoming light. Which hopefully means that the view of our guest is shielded, as well. Even so, in that split second, all of us instinctively shrink down as close to the floor as possible. Tal’s leg is the only thing sticking up above the packs.

  “Hey Burke, what’s up?” Val asks, slightly out of breath, but attempting to sound cheerful.

  “Val, I had one more question for you before you go,” he starts, but Val quickly cuts him off, jumping from the back and pushing the door closed behind her. It doesn’t fully shut, but at least we’re completely hidden again. Slowly releasing the breath I’ve been holding, I listen.

  “I’m sorry, I know there’s a lot more we could discuss, but I really have to get going if I’m going to get these samples processed tonight.”

  “I don’t think they need to be finished same-day, if that’s your worry,” he drawls. “I was thinking we could get you something to eat? It’s about lunch time and I thought you might be hungry.”

  “That’s very kind, but I don’t think that would go over well at headquarters,” she laughs.

  “How would they know if our assessment took a little longer?” Burke cajoles. I look at Eric, my eyes wide, amazed at his persistence. Eric smiles and shrugs.

  “Burke, I appreciate the offer, but it’s not going to happen. I have work to do,” Val cuts in, her voice sharper than before. There is silence. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but I really have a lot to catch up on.”

  “Alright, maybe next time then,” Burke recovers, and the sound of his boots shuffling away allows me to fully relax my shoulders.

  When the door opens this time, I’m ready for it. Shielding my eyes, I see Val push in a large crate. Moving in the shadow, I grip the edge and pull it back in front of Tal. One by one, she loads four more, and I shift them into position.

  “Okay,” she says, jumping in with us once again. “We need this to look full, but I think we can take advantage of it slipping around during transit to hide you guys in the event that someone takes a peek when we re-enter the city.” She quickly begins strapping in the crates, forcing them to hold, but somehow look disheveled in the process. It’s impressive.

  “Val,” I ask as she tightens her last line, “I’m sorry about that guy—Burke, I think?”

  “Oh, it’s not a big deal. Happens all the time,” she says, flashing her eyes at Eric, a small smile playing at the corner of her mouth. She jumps out of the truck, latches the door, and in a few moments, we are trundling along.

  Chapter 116

  “Explain,” I say good humoredly when Tal has fallen back asleep. Bentley didn’t ever wake up in all the commotion. He must be exhausted.

  “Explain what?” Eric asks, his head rested against the pack, legs splayed out in front of him. I move close to him and adjust the pack to accommodate both of us.

  “That, back there. With Val,” I remind him.

  “You mean the guy?”

  “Yes, the guy, and her comment.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t think there was anything to explain. Guys try to pair with her all the time.”

  “Really?” I turn to him. “But she’s...older.”

  Eric laughs. “Yeah, Kate, a lot of people in Tier 2 pair older.”

  “Why?”

  “Because not many of them are cleared for propagation. They tend to...bounce around more before settling down. If they ever do.”

  “Really?” I say again, this time more emphatically.

  “Yes! Why is this so shocking to you?” he asks, turning to his side. “You know the Tier 2 numbers.”

  “Yeah, I know, I guess I just forgot…what that actually meant.”

  “It’s a different world here,” he says simply. “You were only ever interacting with people who were actively working to improve—”

  “That’s not totally true, I—”

  “No, it is. Think about it. Did the people with lower numbers ever show up to their appointments?”

  “Sometimes…”

  “More than once?”

  “Rarely,” I admit.

  “Right. The only people who went to appointments—as far as I could tell—were those with something to majorly motivate them. The idea of making Tier 1, or staying alive for family members they love. People with kids go to their appointments. Single people, not so much,” he sighs, shifting to his back.

  “But Berg said that people were happy in Tier 2, happy to contribute in their own ways.”

  “They are in some ways. But there’s a lot of apathy, as you know, and honestly, more anger and frustration than I would have guessed. I’m really interested to see if Kip’s group has acted on any of their plans.”

  “Don’t you think Jessica would have told us?”

  “She may not know. I’m kind of nervous that they might have gone full radical over the last couple of years.”

  “Let’s hope, for our sake, that they’re still reasonable. Hopefully it will be validating to hear that we agree with them. And that we have proof.”

  “Kind of proof,” Eric quips.

  “Ha. Ha. It’s proof,” I shoot back. “And Jessica is working on proof where Nick’s death is concerned. We have to change it, Eric. This isn’t right.”

  He nods. “I know.”

  I listen to his breath, wanting to hold on to this peaceful moment forever. As soon as those doors open, either we are facing immediate danger, or slowly putting ourselves in Berg’s way. Which means danger.

  “Did something happen between you and Val?” I ask and feel Eric flinch slightly. “It’s alright if it did, I just wondered. The messages...and the way she looks at you, talks to you...it seems like you knew each other well.”

  Eric sighs. “When I thought I was on my own, I eventually had to open myself up to new relationships. Val was often around at the farm and...she was kind. She was patient with me, even when I talked about you non-stop,” he grins, raising one eyebrow at me. “I was planning to move forward with things, but that’s when Nick got in touch. Everything spiraled from there.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I say.

  “No, spiraled in a good way. A really confusing way, but obviously having any hope that I could have my life back—that was amazing. It was just complicated. I hate disappointing people, and hurting them is even worse.”

  “Was she hurt?”

  “Of course.” He pauses, and I wait, the truck still rolling gently beneath us. “But I don’t know what hurt her more. Knowing that we couldn’t pair, or knowing that Berg had created the situation in the first place. While she hasn’t been completely satisfied with her life in Tier 2, I think she always hoped that it was serving a purpose.”

&n
bsp; “Don’t we all?”

  “Yes, definitely, but Val...she’s tender. Seeing the look in her eyes when I explained everything—seeing that hope evaporate—that’s not something I will easily forget.”

  “What has she done since then?”

  “You have as much info as I do, I haven’t been in contact. I have no idea. But she is the one that helped me every step of the way, and I will forever be grateful.”

  “Me too,” I whisper, closing my eyes and resting my head on his shoulder.

  The ding of the sensor snaps my consciousness forward, out of the partial sleep I had fallen into a few moments before. Sitting up, Eric checks his wrist and I peek over his shoulder.

  ETA ten minutes. Get in a good position. I’ll need to go through inspection, but they usually just look at my clearance and send me on my way. I’ll message if there’s trouble. --Val

  “Should we wake the boys?” Eric asks.

  “Probably,” I say. “Once we’re through, it won’t be long before we have to anyway. I would rather they know what’s going on so we don’t have to explain it in a crisis.”

  He nods, moving toward Bentley. Crossing through the boxes, I kneel next to Tal and gently shake his shoulders.

  “Hey, we’re almost there,” I say softly. “Time to get up.”

  Tal’s eyelids flutter open and he stretches his arms over his head.

  “You can mostly stay where you’re at, but I’m going to shift this over a bit,” I say, giving him warning before moving his splinted leg. Eric and Bentley go quiet, so Tal and I do the same. Should be any moment now.