Echoes of a Dying World (Book 3): A Dream of Tomorrow

by Esquibel, Don M.

  Yes, they should have. We both know it, but there’s something about speaking it aloud that makes it feel more real. The concern in his voice is deep. So is the guilt. I can practically hear him second-guessing his decision to stay behind. Part of me is still surprised he did so. Because even though he’s only known Lylette for a short time, he’s grown to care for her. We both have. She was the one who found us, who persuaded Byron to take us to their ranch after our farm was destroyed. She spoke up for us when she had every reason not to. Neither of us wants to think the worst. But it’s getting harder not to as the hours pass.

  “There are a dozen reasons that could have delayed them,” I say. “They might have searched the place after the Animals moved out. They might just be moving cautiously or got turned around on the way back. Just because they’re not back yet, doesn’t mean something’s happened.”

  I want him to believe me. I want to believe myself, but the words taste like a lie in my mouth. He closes his eyes and rubs his forehead tiredly.

  “I know,” he says. “But I have a bad feeling that something has.” He turns to me, not even bothering with the forced smile he wears around the others. There’s no need to pretend between us. Not with the situation being what it is. He looks away as footsteps sound behind us. I turn to find Richard entering the classroom with Felix and Frank.

  “They should have been back hours ago,” Richard says.

  Morgan nods. “I know. We were just discussing that.”

  “So were we,” Frank says. That catches me by surprise. Since their fight, Richard and Frank have managed to co-exist, working together when necessary. But for the most part, they’ve made an effort to stay out of each other’s way. I'm not sure what to make of this development.

  “Really?” Morgan asks, evidently sharing my surprise. “And what have you come up with?”

  “An evacuation plan,” Frank says.

  “What do you mean evacuation?” I ask.

  “Exactly that,” Richard replies. “We have no idea what happened to those two. There’s every possibility they could have been caught trying to recon the ranch. Could be the reason the Animals returned. And if that’s the case, we need to figure out where to go before our location is blown.”

  I feel a chill go through me. I hadn’t even thought of that.

  “No way,” Morgan says, shaking his head. “Even if that were the case, they left their people with us. They left children. Lylette would never send Barr after us with them here.”

  “Everyone breaks, Morgan,” Frank says. His words are heavy, sharpened with a painful edge. “Believe me, I’ve broken my share while working for that son of a bitch. If he has them, he’ll get the information he wants sooner or later.”

  I don’t doubt he tells the truth. One look at him as he recalls his past deeds is enough to know how truly dark and twisted they are. Lylette is strong. Loyal. But this is Barr, we’re talking about. There’s no mercy in him, no sympathy. There is only malice and the burning need to kill those who’ve crossed him. If he does have them, they will break.

  Morgan rubs his forehead a moment, eyes closed as if fighting through a headache. “We have to give them more time,” he says. “At least until morning.”

  “Wait till morning?” Richard asks incredulously. “Do you forget how close we are to the DoubleTree? No way we can move everyone in broad daylight. We wait that long, we’re stuck here another day.”

  “I’m afraid I have to agree,” Frank says. “Barr can make two days feel like a lifetime. Maybe Lylette and Ben can hold out that long. But I don’t want to bet my family’s lives on it.”

  Neither do I. I don’t want to believe Lylette and Ben were caught, but if they weren’t, why aren’t they back yet? And if that’s the case, spending another day here seems utterly foolish.

  “What if we give them till midnight?” I ask. They all look at me. “If they’re still out there, it will give them more time to reach us. If not, we can be out of here and somewhere else by sunrise.”

  Richard nods. “I can agree to that,” he says. He turns to Morgan. “I don’t want to believe the worst either, but sitting here with our thumbs up our asses isn’t an option. Like it or not, we have to assume the worst.”

  Morgan looks from Richard to Felix, the only one in the room who has yet to speak. “You don’t have an opinion?” Morgan asks.

  Felix flushes with guilt. Like Morgan, he’s second-guessing his decision to stay behind. Not that it was his first choice. He offered his help, but Lylette refused, insisting she couldn’t let him risk his life for her family. He argued the point, but eventually, he relented. Now he’s here, safe, wondering what has become of them.

  “We promised Lylette we would look out for her people,” he says. “If they’re not back tonight, then leaving is how we do that. We’ll only be putting ourselves in danger by staying any longer.”

  Morgan holds his gaze for a moment before turning toward the window and the rapidly approaching twilight. “If they’re not back by midnight, then we leave,” he says after a minute’s silence. He turns back to face us. “But where to?”

  “I’ve been thinking a lot on that,” Frank says. “If Barr learns of our location and finds the place deserted, he’ll assume we either backtracked west on 160 or went down Wildcat. I say we use that against him.”

  “A false trail?” Richard asks.

  “Naturally,” Frank says. “We send a small team out to lay an obvious trail to follow while the rest head for another safe house. They can double back after a couple of miles and meet the rest of us.”

  A clever plan. Better than anything I can come up with. “Where will we go then?” I ask. “160, or Wildcat?”

  “Neither,” Frank says. “We go where they’ll least expect us to be.”

  “Into town,” Richard says finishing the thought. Frank nods. Richard considers this a moment. “DoubleTree sits right at the end of the road...The Tech Center?”

  “That’s what I figure,” Frank says. “At least for now.”

  “Bold,” Richard says. “Practically spitting distance from the DoubleTree...But it could work.” He says this last bit with the hint of a smile, one that Frank returns.

  They’re more alike than either of them would care to admit. That’s what Morgan said about the two of them. I’d have to say he was right.

  “Tech Center’s not too far from here either,” Felix says. “It wouldn’t be too hard to keep an eye on the place.”

  It’s this last point I think that fully sells Morgan on the idea. “It’s as good a plan as any,” he says. “I’m not thrilled about being so close to the Animals, but I’ll give you credit: it’s definitely not where they’ll expect us to be.”

  We go over the plan with the rest of the family. Most are alarmed at the prospect of moving further into the town, and more importantly, closer to where the Animas Animals call home. But with Morgan, Richard, and Frank all on board, it’s hard to argue against the action. Once we’ve convinced them of the relocation, we have other details that need to be ironed out. Morgan and Richard will scout the route ahead to the safe house, while Felix and Frank will lead a small team to lay the false trail.

  “We’ll leave out at midnight,” Morgan says. Though he speaks to all of us, his eyes settle on the two women and children who were entrusted in Lylette’s care. “I wish we could stay longer, but that’s as long as we can give them.”

  With a plan in place, everyone drifts back to the positions they held throughout the day, either murmuring assurances to one another or else reflecting silently on our predicament.

  “Just because we’re preparing for the worse, doesn’t mean the worst has happened,” I say quietly, my words for Morgan alone. “They could still show up.”

  He lets out a tired breath. “Yeah,” he says. “I hope so.” I do too. But as the night deepens, that hope fades bit by bit. Almost subconsciously, we begin to pack our meager belongings. Morgan suggests people try and get some sleep while they can
. Some actually manage it, but with Lylette and Ben still unaccounted for, and the prospect of another midnight escape, most are barely able to keep themselves composed. They sit, frozen and worried, shivering under whatever layers they can find while every thump and gust of wind becomes the tread of approaching Animals in their minds.

  The wait is brutal, one that seems to drag on and disappear all at once. All too soon we are on our feet, weapons in hand, ready to depart.

  “Stay safe, Chavo,” Morgan says, hugging him briefly.

  “Don’t worry, Moe,” Leon says, walking up. “I’ll keep an eye on our boy scout.” He pats Felix atop his head as if he were a child. A second later his hand is twisted behind his back, Felix holding it at a painful angle.

  “What was that?” Felix asks calmly.

  “Mercy,” Leon says in a grunt of pain. Felix lets him go with a small smile. “Just a joke you overgrown chihuahua,” he adds, stretching his arm with a grimace.

  “Tonight is not the time for jokes,” Felix says. Though his voice is stern, a smile clings to his lips.

  Leon rolls his eyes. “Shut up,” he says. “But I guess it’s about that time. Game faces.” He grows suddenly serious as we join the others. He catches my eye and winks, making me smile despite myself.

  “Safe travels, Frank,” Morgan says, extending his hand. Frank extends his own hand and they shake.

  “You too, hermano,” he says. “Buena Suerte.”

  To our right stands Richard, packed and ready. The two men meet each other’s eyes for a brief moment.

  “Good luck,” Frank says with a respectful nod.

  Richard returns it. “And you,” he says, his voice less frosty than usual. “We’ll see you soon.”

  I watch as Frank joins his small party after kissing his wife and briefly hugging each of his children. When he reaches his nephew he extends his arm as if to wrap it around his shoulders. At the last second, he withdraws, settling on an awkward pat on Felix’s shoulder who tenses at the touch. Their relationship is so far where it once was. Hopefully working together might help heal what's broken between them.

  Felix and Frank are the first two out the door, Leon, Angela, and Val following after them. The door swings shut behind them, the sound echoing in the silent hallway. Even with them gone, none of us are quick to move. But eventually, there is no denying the time has come.

  “We should head out as well,” Morgan says. The two women from the ranch do not protest, only nodding their agreement. They know we waited as long as we could and what we risk in staying longer.

  That first blast of wind hits with a cold fury, the kind that reaches right through your layers and steals the breath from your lungs. My face is numb within minutes, the wind howling as we trudge through the snow. My feet fare no better, my boots still damp from our escape. At least they’re dry, the plastic bags I tied around my socks keeping the moisture from soaking through. I only hope it lasts.

  I strain my eyes and spot Morgan and Richard atop a small hill ahead. Their backs are to us as they scan the highway below. I survey the buildings we skirt, gun held in a tight grip, ready in case something unfurls from the shadows. By the time we crest the hill ourselves Morgan and Richard have reached the bottom and are moving toward the backside of a small tow-yard. I expect them to continue on, but instead, they wait for us on the hillside overlooking the yard.

  “Best if we stay together from here,” Richard says. He points to a series of townhomes. “After we pass those apartments we should be able to cut through the hillsides to the Tech Center.”

  We continue past the yard and a small storage facility until we reach the outer edge of the apartments. As we creep along the perimeter, I catch a familiar whiff of woodsmoke, faint, but undeniable. My mind drifts toward the source of that smoke, to the fire and those that warm themselves by its flames. Since our home was destroyed my mind has been focused solely on our own plight, on our struggle to survive. It’s easy to forget there are others out there trying to do the same. As big and terrible as the Animas Animals are, they haven’t taken over everything. There are still those who live free of their influence.

  I don’t know why, but I find the thought comforting. I may not know those people. I don’t know if they are good or bad or the things they’ve done in the name of survival. Either way, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that they are there—that there is a larger world outside of our little group. It makes the problems we face seem less horrific somehow, knowing we are not alone in facing them.

  My feet begin to ache again, the plastic keeping them dry, but offering nothing in terms of insulation. The distance may not be bad, but traversing hillsides covered in knee-deep snow is seriously taxing. There are stretches where there is no choice but to carry some of the youngest children, their extra weight a burden. Surprisingly though, they are coping extremely well all things considered. Some tears are shed. Some fears voiced. But none of them have fully broken down yet. That in itself is quite remarkable. It’s what keeps me from dwelling too much on my own pain. If they can handle this, so can I.

  We come to a steep embankment about eight feet high. Not too difficult, but some need help up. I lift Abigail in the air and Morgan grabs her arm from above, hauling her the rest of the way up. I help Morgan with three more children before climbing up myself.

  We crest a ridgeline halfway up a tall hill when Morgan stops. “This is it,” he says.

  Below are several buildings, the road leading up to them long and steep. More buildings rise in the distance but the area itself isn’t all that large. Most have the blocky, industrial look of warehouses and business fronts which suits us perfectly. I don’t see the area being very active. Of course, that doesn’t mean we can let our guard down. We proceed with caution, overly aware of how close we are to where the Animas Animals call home. Our eyes survey the buildings as we descend the hill, looking for any signs of life. Nothing sticks out. We come to a stop outside two square buildings. They sit atop the long drive, giving us a great overwatch position over the road and surrounding buildings.

  “We’ll sweep the place first,” Richard says.

  Five of us approach the building: Richard, Morgan, Vince, Jerry, and myself. We reach the first building and find it unlocked. Not the most promising of signs. Richard holds up his fingers and counts down from three. We enter flashlights in hand or else taped to the underside of our gun barrels. We sweep the place, finding nothing but a couple of trucks and various equipment. With the first building clear, we sweep the second, finding it much the same. I breathe a sigh of relief when Richard calls the all-clear.

  We move everyone into the back building, it’s proximity to the treeline a comfort if only a psychological one. If the Animals were to raid us here it wouldn’t end well. I try and shake the thought away, but it lingers in the back of my mind, making me edgy. Not that I’m the only one. It’s not only the Animals but the town itself. Our family has not fared well here. It’s where Julia and Trent were taken. Where Maya died. It’s where the Animals burnt down Uncle Will’s home and forced us to flee for the first time.

  I look to the two women from the ranch, trying to settle the children that have become their responsibility with Lylette and Ben missing. Their fear is just as great. They’ve heard tales of how dire things have grown from the lips of those they’ve taken in. Add that to what the Animals just did to their ranch, and it’s no surprise why the two have been so quiet. The thoughts that must be going through their minds...I don't even want to think about it. Across from them sit the former Animals. Like them, they tend to their younger charges, several of whom were liberated from the DoubleTree only to find themselves orphans after the clash at the farm. They know the dangers of this place as well as anyone. It stands to reason that their fear is the most potent among us.

  I look around, and not for the first time notice the division between us. We might be facing the same problems, the same threats, but there is no denying we are far from united. And yet when
you look at each group you see the same things. Parents worrying over their children. Whispered assurances that all will be well. People huddling under whatever layers they can find, shivering from the cold. If they would just open their eyes maybe they would see it too.

  “Everything good?” I ask my sister.

  “I can’t feel my feet or my face, but other than that I’m good,” she says, flashing me a quick smile.

  I breathe into my gloved hands and bring them to her face. “I’m with you on that,” I say. I lean down and kiss her forehead. “Try and get some sleep, okay? We don’t expect the rest to join us before dawn.”

  “Would I be wasting my breath if I told you the same?” she asks.

  I manage a small smile. “Probably,” I admit.

  “Well I’m going to anyway,” she says. “Get some sleep, Lo. At least try anyway.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” I say. She knows better than to believe me. Still, she doesn’t push the issue, settling down next to Ray and Leon’s parents. I don’t miss the way they smile at one another nor the blush that settles on my sister's cheeks.

  “He’s fallen hard,” Emily says quietly. I feel a nervous flutter inside my stomach, different from what I’ve been coping with since leaving the school.

  “How can you tell?” I ask.

  She laughs. “Because that’s the same smile Leon used to give me when we were their age.”

  I can see it. Ray doesn’t resemble Leon in most aspects. He has darker skin than him. His build is more stocky. But when he smiles all I see is his brother. His brother. My thoughts drift once again outside these walls, to Leon and Felix who volunteered to lay a fake trail away from the school. From Emily’s sudden silence, I know she’s thinking of them as well.

  “I’m sure they’ll be fine,” I say.

  She lets out a long breath. “I know,” she says. “But you know how it is. The waiting is the worst part.”

  Truer words were never spoken. It doesn’t matter what we say or what we do to distract ourselves, the absence of our own is a constant presence, always lingering in the back of our minds. I feel that presence now, and to a higher degree, so does Emily. Because though I love Leon and Felix, I’m not in love with either of them. That distinction makes a world of difference.