by Linda Harley
“You said that over an hour ago,” Kip grunted as he stretched out his back. “Are you lost?”
“Nope,” Anna said, skipping back to them. She was glad they weren’t pointing weapons at her anymore and had finally decided to trust her enough to come along. “We should be there soon. Want some help?”
“We can manage,” Kip said, bending down to pick up his end of the stretcher, and Findley picked up the other end.
Anna tuned out their grumblings as she strolled through the forest. The first time down this path, she had barely noticed anything, only what had been right in front of her feet. Signs of life were all around her. Squirrels flew between tree branches. Rabbits and mice scurried around her feet. Birds sang in the treetops high above. She had even seen a porcupine for the first time in her life. The smell of wood and fresh grass, berries, and animals swirled around her and made her feel alive. She was glad she had left the Cryoplex, even if it was only to enjoy the fresh air for a time.
In the mid-afternoon, the greenhouse came into view. “We’re here!” Anna exclaimed and hurried forward, leaving the others to follow in her wake. She was careful to hide her ability from these men, so did not outpace them completely. The less they knew about her abilities, the safer she felt.
“We’re back!” Anna shouted to the kids who sat around the kitchen table. They all startled at her voice.
Dave barreled into her and flung his scrawny arms around her waist. “There, there. I’m here now. Everything is going to be fine.” Anna spoke softly to him as she patted his back.
“Who are these people?” Radnt asked, crossing his arms over his bulging chest.
Iona pushed through the crowd that had formed around Anna and fell to her knees next to the stretcher that was now on the ground by Anna’s feet. Placing a hand on Leith’s forehead and then pressing her fingers into his neck, Iona proceeded to examine the man meticulously. “He’s burning up, and his pulse is weak. We should get him to the medical ward. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Not before we know who these people are,” Radnt said, moving to block the entrance to the waiting room beyond.
“I’m Kip. He’s Findley, and our dying friend is Leith. We’re fishermen.” Kip said eyeing the entire group. Kip was about twice Radn’t size, and it was obvious who would win in a fight between the two of them.
“How’d he get hurt?” Radnt asked.
Findley and Kip stared at each other. Findley shrugged, and then Kip said, “The bots shot him.”
Radnt’s arms dropped to his side. “Why? Where did this happen? When? Are we safe here?”
“Enough!” Iona said, rising. “If we don’t help Leith now, he will die.”
“But –” Radnt tried to protest, but Anna cut him off.
“Iona is right. Radnt and Olavi carry Leith to the medical ward. Trald, get the flashlights I found this morning, and see if you can help Iona with anything. Dave, can you go find the man a blanket and some pillows and take it to the medical ward please.” Anna undid Dave’s arms from around her waist and shoved him slightly to get him moving. Dave hurried off. Anna barged towards the kitchen not waiting to see if the others would listen. She was tired, and she was thirsty.
Ekiny stood in the kitchen cooking up some steaks, mushrooms, mashed potatoes, and even an apple pie. Miina sat at a small table, drawing pictures of the food. “Lunch will be ready in 10 minutes. Miina, can you get the plates and pour everyone some water.”
Miina left what she was doing and got out the glasses and the pitcher of water. Carefully she poured three glasses and then handed them to Kip, Findley, and Anna.
“Thanks,” Kip said.
“Thanks, sweety,” Findley replied.
“That smells delicious. You have no idea how hungry I am,” Anna said, sinking into her usual spot at the kitchen table, thankful to finally be off her feet. She gulped down the water, and then poured herself another glass and gulped that one down too. She sighed in relief, next time she would have to remember to grab water and food before she sprinted away. Using her ability had made her ferociously hungry and thirsty.
“Where’d the meat come from?” Anna asked, eyeing the steaks as Ekiny deftly started plating.
“Radnt killed it this morning,” Ekiny said while her arms moved about like magic wands creating a meal out of nothing. The presentation of the food on the plate, made Anna want to take big bites; it was so inviting.
“With what?” Anna asked, stealing a piece of apple to nibble on, the hunger overcoming her.
Ekiny glanced at Kip and Findley, who had sat down next to Anna. “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask him.” Ekiny turned her back and went to work. Anna did not press harder, picking up on her subtle uneasiness.
Both Kip and Findley were drenched in sweat and smelled awful. “Would you like to wash up before the meal?” Anna asked, hoping they would take the hint.
“We’re good,” Kip replied on behalf of Findley.
Anna looked over at Findley, who shrugged at her. “What is this place, and how did you find it?” Findley asked.
“We stumbled across it,” Anna replied with a smooth lie. From now on she was going to keep her secrets.
“Where did you kids come from?” Findley continued to press.
“I can ask you the same thing,” Anna said coolly.
“Look. I gather you want something from us, else why are you helping us,” Kip said, cutting straight to the point. “Are you refugees?”
Anna bit her lower lip, puzzling out what to tell them. What would make sense? She did not know nearly enough about what was going on outside the world of Cryoplex to have a reasonable answer.
“We ran away from the bots,” Miina said in an innocent voice, as she looked up from a drawing of a bot she was working on. The bot looked somewhat like Nick. Anna guessed in a manner of speaking, Miina was correct. They had gotten away from the nasty bots that had woken them up so abruptly and without explanation from cryo. Sticking close to the truth would make lying easier.
“I see. I suppose you want us to take care of you?” Kip said a knowing smile growing on his face. Anna did not like that smile; it was a toothy greedy grin.
“As you can see, we can take care of ourselves. Thank you very much.” Ekiny dropped a plate of food in front of Kip. “Miina, go tell everyone lunch is ready, please.”
Miina sprang up like a tightly wound spring and raced away. Anna supposed that she was nervous because of the two intruders, but even if she was, she was doing an excellent job of hiding it.
Several agonizing awkward minutes passed before everyone spilled out of the Cryoplex and joined them for lunch.
“Where’s Iona?” Anna asked, as they all took their seats and Ekiny served them the food.
“She’s back there working on Leith. She told us to come eat; that she had everything under control.” Radnt said, picking up his knife and fork and digging them into the steak. He took a bite, chewed, and swallowed. Then he eyed Kip and said. “Tell us the full story of what happened to your friend.” It wasn’t a question. It was a demand to know.
Kip wiped some steak juice from his chin with his sleeve. “We have a shack not far from the river where we stay for a few days whenever we are up this way. Findley and I had gone out to fish this morning. Leith had stayed behind to work on tanning the deer hides that we are planning on taking to the market. When we had shoved off, we heard a shot fire. Fearing the worst, we raced back to the shack and found Leith had been shot in the chest. We dragged him to the boat, and that’s where Anna met us.”
“Why do you think it’s the bots who killed him? Did you find any evidence that a bot had done this?” Anna asked.
“There are rumors of rogue bots wondering these hills. Do you know anything? Maybe they were after you, and Leith was just a casualty in their pursuit.” Findley said eyeing Anna suspiciously. “You did appear suddenly out of nowhere.”
“If it was us, would I have offered to help?” Anna countered.
“Who knows, maybe that had been the ploy from the beginning. Maybe your friend here didn’t kill the deer, and this is our meat that you’ve prepared.” Kip said, glowering at Radnt who sat across the table.
“Deer’s outside. I can take you to it now. No way would I have been able to drag a dead dear from your lousy shack.” Radnt said, shrugging while he plopped another piece of steak into his mouth.
“So you don’t know who shot your friend,” Anna concluded.
“No, we don’t. But we weren’t going to stick around and ask questions. Best to get back to civilization.”
“Where are you from?” Ekiny asked.
But before the men could answer, Iona appeared in the door to the waiting rooms that led into the mountain. She wiped the blood from her hands. Her face looked grim. Iona plonked down at the table, her head hanging low. “I’m sorry. I did all I could, but I don’t think your friend will make it through the night. He’s lost too much blood, one lung has collapsed, and he is unconscious. We don’t have electricity here, and so I don’t have access to all the equipment that could save his life. I removed the bullet, stitched him up, and gave him something for the pain. Only time will tell whether he lives or dies.”
“Damn!” Kip slammed his fist down hard on the table, causing everyone to jump in their seats. Staring into the kid's shocked faces, he cooled his features and apologized. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay,” Anna soothed. “I’d be more worried if you weren’t upset about your friend.”
“What are we going to do Kip?” Findley asked as he chewed open-mouthed. “There’s no way we can deliver the goods on time to the master if we have to stay here. Nor can we carry it all by ourselves.”
Kip reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. He pressed the barrel against Anna’s temple before she could even register what was happening.
“No!” Radnt screamed, pulling out his gun and taking aim at Kip. “Let her go, or I will kill you.”
Kip slipped an arm around Anna’s neck and then forced her to get up. Anna was too afraid to disobey, the cold metal an awful reminder to do as she was told. She had been stupid to think these people would want to help them.
“If you want her to live, you will put down the gun, now,” Kip shouted.
Radnt stood for a moment longer, then dropped the gun. He looked at Anna with eyes that radiated blame, shock, anger, and despair.
“Get some rope, Findley. We’ve found ourselves some volunteers.” Kip laughed sinisterly. His foul breath caused Anna to choke down some bile. “Don’t worry, sweety; we’ll take good care of you.”
Chapter 13
“Where are you taking us?” Anna asked as Kip shoved her forward. She struggled against her rope-bound hands. Multiple times she had considered running away but had decided against it. She could not leave the others. After all, they were in this mess because of her.
“The shack to load up our tools and goods. Now, keep walking!” Kip gave her another shove for good measure. Not that she needed prodding. She wasn’t about to let these men take Dave somewhere without her.
Before her, walked the others, all strung together on one lead rein. No one said anything. They were too busy watching where they were going as Kip and Findley marched them down the mountain. Dave and Miina had to practically run to keep up with the longer legs of the adults.
Miina tripped and fell. Her hands bloody, she sat up, and then the tear works exploded. Olavi hugged her, and then hoisted his sister up on his back, talking to her in a calm, soothing voice. Just as quick as it had happened, they were on the move again.
“Stop!” Findley hissed, dropping down into a crouched position.
“What now?” Kip asked, drawing his gun from his holster.
“Something is up ahead,” Findley said, as he notched an arrow to his bow and drew.
Afraid the kids all huddled together.
“What’s going on?” Dave asked, peering around Anna.
“I don’t know. Stay behind me.” Anna said, facing whatever was about to come down the road. She would die before anything touched a hair on Dave’s head.
At first, only the wind blew lazily through the trees, but then as if from nowhere a large mountain lion emerged from the left, and on the right stood a big black bear with snarled lips over sharp teeth. Behind them, a pack of wolves howled. The kids all shrieked as the wild animals surrounded them.
Findley shot at the bear while Kip fired on the lion. The noise was so loud that Anna dropped down instinctively covering her ears. Both the lion and bear retreated, and the howling grew a bit softer.
“Kip, let’s forget about the gear. We can come back for it.” Findley suggested.
“I agree. Run!” Kip said, picking up the human lead rein.
As they ran down the mountain, animals of all sorts kept pace with them. Deer, squirrels, foxes, wolves, and all manner of birds swarmed all around them but kept their distance. They were herding the humans on and away from the mountain. More wolves and bears appeared by the side of the path, growling and howling as they all passed. They kept moving, pumping their legs and arms. Anna could outrun them all but kept pace because she was still bound to the lead rein.
Anna never thought she’d be happy to see Kip’s boat, but the animals had them all spooked. The boat was exactly where they’d left it. Gangplank was down and inviting them on board. They all rushed up onto the boat, and Findley and Kip swiftly pulled in the gangplank.
“Put them in the hold,” Kip ordered stepping into the cockpit. “I’m getting us out of here.”
“You. Open that door,” Findley slapped Radnt on the back and pointed to the hatch door that was centered in the deck floor.
Radnt reached out and lifted the door. The only problem was the door flew off its hinges, over the rail, and into the depths of the river.
Findley stood shocked, his mouth gaping like a fish out of water. “How’d you do that?”
Radnt shrugged. “Sorry.”
Findley snarled at them, “Get in freaks!”
Findley undid their bonds, and one by one they descended the ladder down into the dank moldy cargo hold. Light barely shone through the deck boards, but Anna’s eyes adjusted instantly to the dark, giving everything a greenish tint. Huge barrels lined the walls and floor. To Anna, it smelled like wine with mold tinting everything.
Ekiny sneezed once, twice and then a third time. Her eyes started to water, and she rubbed at them with the hem of her shirt. “Do you smell that?”
“The wine?” Trald asked.
“No the onions. Man, it’s rancid. I wonder where it’s coming from.” Ekiny said, walking deeper into the hold following her sneezing nose. “Ah! I knew it!” she exclaimed when she came across a barrel of rotting onions. She picked one up for closer inspection. “Well, these are no good.”
Something scraped over the deck above, and soon the hole from which they had descended was shut and with it came utter darkness.
“Where are they taking us?” Dave asked, placing a hand in Anna’s.
“Probably Pearl. Don’t worry; we’ll figure a way out.” Anna said, sitting down with her back against a barrel. She pulled Dave into her lap before wrapping her arms around him. “I won’t ever let you go.”
“This is all your fault,” Radnt said. “If you hadn’t gone after those crazy men, we would still be safe.”
“Perhaps, but we’d have had to leave the Cryoplex at some point. We have to find the trisidiumpac, to start the Cryoplex back up,” Anna countered.
“I don’t like this one bit,” Radnt said, balling his fists he hit the ships hull, his hand going straight through. He drew back his fist to hit it again. “I’m getting us out, now.”
“Stop!” Trald yelped. “You’ll drown us all before you make a hole big enough for us to escape through. And where are we going to go? Those wild animals are still out there.”
The boat picked up speed and carried them downriver. Radnt grunted and sagged down, all t
he fight leaving him.
“I know, we never finished introducing ourselves.” Ekiny said a soft smile escaping her lips. “Why don’t I start.” Ekiny settled down and patted the wrinkles in her clothes and then folded her hands in her lap. “My name is Ekiny.”
“We already knew that,” Radnt retorted.
“Hush, let her talk,” Olavi reprimanded.
“Thank you Olavi.” Ekiny said smiling at him. “My parents owned a lovely restaurant where we made all sorts of delectable food. My specialty was baking. When the virus broke out, my parents sold the restaurant and bought a spot for me in cryo. I knew I wouldn’t see them again, but I still miss them.”
Silence settled over the group, until Ekiny nudged Iona’s shoulder who sat next to her. “What about you?” Ekiny asked.
“My father and I traveled all over performing. He was a famous singer, and everyone always wanted his attention. My mother died in childbirth, and so I was left to take care of him. I have no idea what happened to him. We went into cryo together, but only I came out.”
Anna bit her lower lip. She wanted to tell Iona that her father was probably dead, but let it slide when Trald spoke up. “I won the lottery. Both my parents died before I entered cryo. My dad was a nurse and my mom a secretary. They did not deserve to die.”
Olavi reached out and held Miina’s hand. “Our parents were merchants, so they could afford to buy our spots in cryo. We said goodbye to them, but don’t know what happened to them. They refused to go into cryo, claiming that they would find an alternative way to live.”
Anna had already told them all about her and Dave back at the Cryoplex, so the only person left to share was Radnt. It didn’t look as if he was going to contribute, but then he blurted, “My dad blackmailed a politician to get me a spot in cryo, and my mother let him.”
Anna wondered at why Radnt seemed so angry at having survived, but it was clear that she would have to build up his trust before he would ever be willing to share anything with her.
“Try to get some rest. We need our strength for whatever comes next,” Iona said, leaning back against the ships hull and closing her eyes.