by Joyce, Anne
“I’ll get some food and water for her, and wake Xiomara. She needs to know about this,” Maria said.
“You’re right. The kid might need a nurse. Julio and I will check the other shack,” Joshua replied.
Maria returned with water, a can of food, and a sleepy Xiomara and Paola. “Hi, I’m Paola. What’s your name?” She smiled at the stranger. The girl gave her a blank stare and looked away.
“She probably doesn’t want to talk right now,” Maria said.
“She’s traumatized.” Xiomara knelt to examine her.
“It’s okay. We can talk later,” Paola said.
“This one’s clean. We’ll sleep here.” Joshua emerged from the shack with Julio.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay here,” Xiomara said.
“Whoever did this is long gone. They got whatever they came for. If they’re stupid enough to come back, I’ll blow their heads off their shoulders,” Julio declared.
“We should still sleep in shifts,” Joshua suggested.
“I’ll take the last shift,” Blane said.
Everyone gathered their things and squeezed into the tiny hut. Julio tore apart the straw mattress and scattered it across the floor so they would all have something to sleep on. Xiomara cleaned the frightened girl with a wet rag. She guzzled down several cans of water and then fell asleep in the wicker chair. Blane carried her to the living room and laid her on the floor. Julio took a rifle and went outside to keep watch. One by one, they drifted off to sleep, despite being rattled by the day’s events.
“Don’t touch her! Leave her alone!” Joshua screamed at the Purifiers in front of his house. One of them pinned him to the ground and pressed a gun to his head. The other two grabbed Isabel by the arms and dragged her down the cul-de-sac. She twisted and shook her body in a fruitless effort to break free. The skinny Purifier grabbed her hair while the other opened the van’s back door. She screamed but stopped struggling. “Do you have her?” the short man asked the skinny one.
“This bitch isn’t going anywhere but in the van,” Skinny replied. He cuffed her hands behind her back and pushed her forward.
“There’s no need to throw a fit. You’ll like your new home, honey. Now be a good girl and get in the van. You need to get used to following orders.” Shorty grinned. She took a step forward and kicked him hard in the crotch. He doubled over, groaning.
“That was a really stupid mistake.” Skinny pulled his gun from its holster.
“Shoot her!” Shorty shouted.
“No!” Joshua cried.
“Josh, wake up!” Maria’s voice pulled him from the dream. When he opened his eyes she was leaning over him, shaking his shoulders. “You were having a nightmare.”
“It wasn’t a nightmare. It was a memory,” Joshua replied. He was shaking and dripping with sweat.
“Who is Isabel?”
“She was my wife.”
“I never knew you were married.”
“I was married to the most astounding, beautiful woman I’ve ever known. The Purifiers took her, just like they took Skylar. Isabel refused to go. She was too headstrong to be anyone’s prisoner. She was also three months pregnant, and I know she didn’t want our child growing up around those people. She put up too much of a fight and they shot her.”
“Josh, I’m so sorry.” Maria lay down beside him on the floor.
“Sleep is cruel to me. Other people get to dream and escape this hell around us for a while. I get to relive the worst moments of my life.”
Maria stroked his hair. “I guess I’m fortunate because I dream of my family. I’ll be home in Rancho Cajon and my mom is cooking something over a fire pit. My sisters are running around the backyard playing tag with the neighbor kids. They’re in high school now, so they probably don’t do that anymore, but in my dreams everything is how I left it. I’m sad when I wake up, because it reminds of how much I miss them. I like to think I’m dreaming of the future, though.”
“I didn’t even know your family was in Mexico. What brought you to America?” Joshua said.
“My dad died when I was sixteen. It was sudden and unexpected. He was working and fell over dead from a heart attack. Life got really hard for us. When I turned eighteen, my mom sent me to America to help support the family. We were living in a two-room shack much like this one. I came to Arizona, graduated from technical college, got a good job and sent money home every month. I was doing all right until I met Juan. I was in the process of divorcing him when the water barons took over. I still can’t believe I ended up right back where I started.”
“You couldn’t have known this would happen. What you did for your family is honorable and courageous. It must have been terrifying to leave everyone and everything you’ve known. I hope they realize how lucky they are to have you.” He squeezed her hand. She flashed a tired smile at him.
Maria was even more incredible than he’d ever realized. She’d spent her whole life being strong for the people she loved, putting her own desires aside, and asking little in return. She never ceased to amaze him.
“Do you think the girl will be okay?” Joshua said after a moment.
“Well, she drank some water and she let Xiomara clean her, so I guess that’s a good sign. Xiomara didn’t find any injuries.” She glanced at the girl sleeping on the floor with the others.
“I guess that’s as much as we can hope for, after what she’s been through,” Joshua replied.
“Get some sleep. Tomorrow’s a big day.” Maria laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes.
***
When Joshua awoke he felt someone watching him. He turned and saw the stoic face of the little girl sitting on the floor with her hands in her lap staring at him “Hey, are you feeling any better?” he asked. She nodded. “What’s your name?”
“Danisha,” she said.
“That’s a nice name. How old are you?”
“Twelve.”
“Do you know who hurt your family, Danisha?”
She lowered her head and looked away.
“I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“There will be plenty of time to talk later. You guys need to get up so we can eat and get on the road,” Julio called from across the room.
Joshua, Maria, Xiomara, and Paola got up and cleaned themselves with a wet rag and soap while Danisha sat in the corner. Julio opened several cans of fruit with his knife and they devoured it. Danisha scooted next to Paola and took some peaches from the can. “I used to hate canned peaches, but now they taste delicious to me.” Paola shoveled a handful into her mouth.
“That’s because you’ve been living in this dump for too long,” Julio said.
“Hey, where’s Blane?” Xiomara wondered.
“He must be outside. He’s missing breakfast,” Maria replied.
“There’s more food in the truck,” Julio said.
“Someone should go check on him,” Joshua said.
“I’m sure he’s fine.” Julio slurped the juice from his can.
“You’re going to clean up before we leave, aren’t you?” Xiomara said to Julio.
“I don’t know. Why?” Julio said.
“Because you need to. It’s called hygiene,” Xiomara replied.
“You’re not my mom.I don’t need a lecture,” Julio retorted.
“You obviously do. You smell like road kill,” Xiomara said.
Joshua set down his can of fruit, got up, and opened the door. Nothing could have prepared him for what was waiting. His stomach lurched and he felt like he was going to lose his breakfast. He fell to his knees in total shock and disbelief. Please let this be just another bad dream, he thought.
“Josh, what’s wrong?” Maria ran to him.
“Blane’s gone and he took the truck.”
Chapter Eight
“You had one simple task, General and you didn’t do it!” Mr. Pickett screamed into the phone. “My staff waited all day for your crew to show up with the turbine expert. Where the hell were they?
This is beyond incompetence!”
“Sir, I gave direct orders for them to be there with the turbine expert yesterday. I assure you I will get to the bottom of this immediately,” General Watkins said.
“You’re damn right you will.” Pickett slammed the phone in his ear.
Watkins stormed out of his tent and onto the Purifier base, which was more like a high-end camp ground with an electric fence surrounding it. He marched into the tent of his sleeping colonel, grabbed the man’s shirt, and shook him awake. “Where the hell are Sanders, Masters, and Lyons?” he demanded.
“I thought they went to the turbines,” the colonel mumbled.
“They never showed up. You should’ve told me that they didn’t report back to base last night. Didn’t you think there might be a problem?” Watkins yelled.
“I didn’t know how long their mission would last. Building turbines is a lengthy process, sir.” The colonel rose to his feet.
“I want you to send a few of our best men to their last scheduled stop. The GPS on their phone is disabled; something must have gone wrong. Make sure the men are armed,” Watkins said.
***
“You can’t be serious.” Xiomara ran to the door with Julio and Paola right behind her. Their food, water containers, and burlap sack lay on the doorstep along with a note.
My friends,
I’m sorry for leaving like this, but I can’t let Skylar stay with those horrible people. I only took what I needed for supplies. Once again, I’m sorry.
Blane
“That little jackass left us stranded here with murderers who decapitate people! When I see him again, I’m going to kick his damn head in!” Julio kicked a can of peach juice across the room. It hit the wall and splattered everywhere. Danisha screamed.
“Nice job of scaring her,” Xiomara snapped.
Julio turned to Danisha. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just upset with Blane, okay?”
“How could he do this to us?” Paola sank to the floor.
“He’s not thinking straight. This thing with Skylar’s got him acting like an idiot,” Julio replied.
“He took the bolt-action rifle, but everything else is in here.” Maria rifled through the burlap sack.
“Well, that’s just great! I guess we’re stuck here.” Xiomara threw up her hands.
“There’s no way in hell we’re hanging around this place,” Julio said.
“We’ll be lugging our supplies for miles in this blistering heat,” Xiomara replied.
“I know this stuff is heavy and awkward, but we can’t wait until our supplies get low and take off walking,” Joshua said. He felt his anxiety rise, so he took a few deep breaths. Panicking was not an option.
“The guys are right. We can’t stay here.” Everyone turned to face Danisha. She stood in the corner with her eyes wide fixed on Joshua, looking small and scared.
“Why can’t we stay?” Xiomara said.
“They’ll be back.”
“The people who killed your family will be back?” Joshua said.
She nodded. “If you have anything worth taking, they’re going to take it. They think everything belongs to them.”
“Do they have guns?” asked Maria.
“I don’t think so.”
“How many of them are there?” Julio said.
“At least eight. Looters always travel in packs.”
“What are looters?” asked Xiomara.
“That’s just what we call them,” Danisha said. “They usually come out at night when it’s cool, but if they see someone during the day, they won’t pass up a chance to kill them. They can tell when there’s somebody new on their turf.”
“How do they know?” Paola said.
“They pay close attention to the land. They’ll see the tire tracks before the sun sets, and they’ll come back tonight,” Danisha’s voice trembled.
“It would be nice to have that other rifle right about now,” Julio complained.
“We don’t need it. We have enough weapons to handle these looters. I’d still rather not deal with them, though, so we should leave this evening. It’ll be cooler, but the sun will still be up and hopefully the looters won’t be,” Joshua said.
“And go where? Where will we be safe from them?” asked Xiomara.
“We’ll get as far away from their pissing ground as we can today and try to find shelter,” Joshua replied.
“What if we don’t? We’ll be out in the open for them to find us,” Xiomara said.
“Don’t forget that we’re the ones with the guns,” Maria interjected.
“It’ll be a miracle if we make it all the way to Nogales on foot without meeting up with a looter or a Purifier,” Xiomara said.
“You’re Catholic, aren’t you?” Julio pulled the rifle from the burlap sack and flung it over his shoulder.
“You know I am. Why do ask?” Xiomara replied.
“I suggest you start praying for a miracle,” he replied.
***
“Something terrible happened here. This is much worse than I thought.” Townsend stood over a dried pool of blood in the sand.
“They could still be here waiting to ambush us.” Weston, his young comrade, drew his gun.
“Don’t be stupid,” Thomas retorted. “Look at the drag marks on the ground and the tire tracks on the road. They killed Sanders, Lyons, and Masters, buried them somewhere, and stole the supply truck.”
“We should still secure the area.” Townsend leveled his rifle and approached one of the huts.
Thomas crept over to another hut and kicked in the door. “This one’s clear,” he called.
“Hey guys, come look at this,” Weston called from a third hut.
When Townsend and Thomas stepped inside Weston was pointing at the blood and shards of glass on the floor.
“That explains where the fourth one died. A Purifier murdered in cold blood. I knew it was a bad idea to send these indigent maggots to the desert. We should’ve just executed them all,” Thomas said in disgust.
“I thought they were stripped of all their weapons,” Weston said.
“They were supposed to be, but I guess they procured weapons somehow. Purifiers should never be sent to the wastelands without guns,” Townsend replied.
“No, they shouldn’t. The water barons know better, but they’re more concerned with their own fat wallets. They don’t want to dip into the budget and give every Purifier a firearm with ammunition. This is a hell of a way to cut costs,” Thomas said.
“Why weren’t the indigents executed? Why did we have to drop them here, anyway?” Weston asked.
“A mass genocide can cause a lot of hostility and fear. The water barons wanted good relations with the townspeople, especially after the uprising,” Townsend replied.
“We should probably see where those drag marks lead.” Thomas stared out the window.
Townsend, Thomas and Weston followed the drags marks in the sand to an isolated spot behind the last hut. Several buzzards stood atop a mound of dirt.
“Get out of here!” Thomas waved his arms, scattering the birds.
“That’s foul.” Townsend covered his nose with his hand.
“Nothing smells worse than rotting flesh,” Weston choked.
“Well, it’s safe to say that this is the grave of our fallen comrades. Let’s follow the tire tracks and find these sons of bitches,” Thomas said.
“I think we should call for backup,” Townsend replied.
“I’ll take as much reinforcement as we can get. I’ll ask the colonel to send Hufnagel. He’s a great marksman and he loves killing indigents. They’re going to wish their whore mothers never brought them screaming into this earth.” Thomas smiled.
***
“Mom, this stuff is really heavy!” Paola complained. She wobbled from side to side with her water jug.
“Why don’t we take a break,” Maria suggested. The sweltering heat was making their hike across the wastelands miserable. Everyone took
a drink from their container and sat on the ground. “Your face is really red,” Maria said to Josh.
“White people get sunburned so easy.” Julio wiped his sweaty brow with a rag. “How did you manage to get burned this late in the day?”
“I was already a little scourged from yesterday,” Joshua replied.
“There’s no shelter or signs of life anywhere. We should probably turn back before we experience heat exhaustion.” Xiomara splashed some water on her face.
“No way, we’re at least a mile from the shacks. We need to keep moving. The sun is setting and the temperature is dropping,” Joshua replied.
“It doesn’t feel any cooler to me. Besides, we have nowhere to sleep,” Xiomara retorted.
“I think she’s right. I feel like I’m going to throw up.” Danisha held her stomach.
“Try not to if you can help it. Drink some more water,” Xiomara said.
“The water’s hot,” Danisha complained.
“I know, but you’ve got to keep your fluid levels up,” Xiomara replied. “She doesn’t need to be out here,” she said, turning to Joshua.
“You can thank Blane for this,” Julio said.
“I know this is asinine, but there’s nothing else we can do. We made the decision to leave, and we can’t turn back now,” Joshua said.
“If I remember correctly, you’re the one who made most of the decisions. It wasn’t my idea to start killing Purifiers,” Xiomara retorted.
“I didn’t force you to do anything,” Joshua replied.
“You, Julio, and Blane wanted to wage war. Your minds were made up. What else were we supposed to do?” Xiomara said.
“What do you miss about your grand life in Shackville? The chance of becoming a Purifier bride? Don’t tell me you’re homesick,” Julio scoffed.
“I miss having a home and not worrying about looters!”
“I’ve heard as much of your whining as I can stand today. What was your grand plan? Josh has done nothing but look out for us. Get off his back,” Maria snapped. She picked up her container and stormed off.
“I guess break time is over.” Julio rose to his feet.
Joshua grabbed his water jug and walked alongside Julio. Xiomara stayed far behind.