"Morning guys," she said, through a yawn. Caleb wondered if she was still thinking about what she had learned the night before. She seemed less cheerful than normal.
"Good morning, Alice," Aaron said, "How'd you sleep?"
"Pretty well," she answered, "It took me a while to finally fall asleep ... thinking about those incinerators."
The happy, carefree look that normally shone from her face wasn't there. She was still struggling with what she had just learned the night before. Caleb could relate to what she was going through. He felt the same way when Aaron had told him.
"I know, Alice. You understand now why I wanted to keep that from you, right?" Aaron asked.
Alice walked over to the bag of berries, took a few out and answered, "Yes, I understand Dad. But it's something that I needed to hear about at some point or another."
Caleb, wanting to change the subject, broke in, "So Alice, you get to babysit me all day today."
Alice looked at him, smiling now, "What do you mean?"
"Your father wants me to learn how you tend to the garden. It looks like I'll be your personal helper for the day."
"Oh, I get my own helper?!" she said jokingly, her mood warming.
Aaron laughed and said, "How do you feel about that? Do you think you can handle it?"
"Sure can. As long as he can keep up with me," Alice said with a smile.
"Challenge accepted," Caleb said, returning the smile.
"I’ll go get my things together and we can head out," Alice said, as she disappeared back inside the bedroom.
Caleb looked over at Aaron and asked, "You're sure you don't want my help around here today?"
"You're going to insult me if you ask me that again!" Aaron replied, laughing.
Alice reappeared moments later with a bag in her hand and her thick leather boots on her feet. She headed toward the door, picked up the shotgun that was leaning against the wall and looked over at Caleb. "Alright, ready?!"
"You bet," Caleb said, crossing the room toward the door.
"Okay you two, be careful out there. Remember Alice, if you see anybody, run or hide. Try not to be seen."
"Yes sir, Colonel!" Alice said, as she pushed her heels together and gave a salute. And with that, Caleb and Alice opened the door, walked outside, and headed into the forest.
****
"How do you like being out here with my dad and I, Caleb?" Alice asked as they made their way through the dense pine trees.
Caleb smiled. "It's been great! You have no idea how much I am enjoying being with you both. There had been nobody I could trust or talk to for so long, since my father was taken."
"I'm really enjoying having you around too," Alice said, in between strides. "My dad has been in such a good mood since you showed up. I think he's really missed my brother since he left us a while back."
Caleb smiled, flattered by the comment, and then said, "Do you remember your brother at all?"
Alice shook her head. "No, not really. I was very young when he left. I don't remember what he looked like. The only thing I can remember about him was how kind he was. My father told me that he loved me very much. I really wish I could remember more."
After Alice had finished her sentence, they passed through the edge of the forest and were now standing by the stream. Caleb took the backpack from his shoulder and let it slide down into his hand. He followed Alice to the stream bank, and both of them sat down. Alice set the shotgun in the grass. As they were taking off their shoes, Caleb said, "Alice I have to tell you something. That first night I was inside the cabin with you guys, I saw you peeking out at me from inside the bedroom."
Alice laughed. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was pretty surprised anybody could find us out here."
Caleb continued, "Don't be sorry. In that moment, something about your eyes let me know that I was going to be okay. You made me feel safe somehow, the same way my father's eyes used to look. There was a certain tenderness in them."
"Wow, really?" Alice said, surprised, "I had no idea. When I was watching you cross the room with my dad's gun pointed at your back, I did feel sorry for you. I didn't know what kind of person you were then, but I had a feeling that you weren’t going to hurt us."
"Really? Thanks. I'm glad your father didn't shoot me," Caleb said with a smile.
"Yeah, me too!" Alice said, laughing. Then, changing the subject, she said, "Okay. Open up the big part of the backpack and take out the canteens, we have to fill them up here." Alice pointed toward a big black zipper spanning the length of the bag.
Caleb complied, removing the canteens one by one and laying them on the ground. Alice stood with her pants rolled up around her shins and picked up a couple of them. Caleb did the same, and followed her into the stream. They filled the canteens with water and began to walk back toward the bank. On their way back, Caleb felt a splash of water land on his neck. He stood frozen in place, shrugging his shoulders for a moment, before hearing Alice giggling behind him.
"Was that you?" he asked, laughing.
Alice, with the canteens bundled in one arm, bent down and used her free hand to cup some water in her palm and fling it at Caleb. "Nope, wasn't me," she said playfully.
Caleb tried to mimic what Alice had done and hit her right in the stomach with small droplets.
"Is that all you've got?!" she yelled.
Caleb tossed the canteens down onto the bank of the stream and started splashing water at Alice with both hands, laughing. Alice threw her canteens onto the bank and the two of them splashed each other with water, dodging, running, jumping, until they were both out of breath. Then they collapsed on their backs, soaked, breathing heavily beside the canteens. "That was something ... different," Caleb said, with a big grin, still catching his breath.
"That, Caleb, is fun!" Alice exclaimed, gently hitting him on the shoulder and sitting up, leaning back on her hands.
They both sat there silently for a moment, staring up at the sky. A thin layer of wispy looking clouds passed like a film overhead, but didn't interfere with the sun's brilliance.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Caleb said.
“It most certainly is,” Alice replied.
Finally, Alice stood up first and held her hands out toward Caleb. He grabbed them, and got to his feet. They stood there holding hands, staring into each other’s eyes momentarily before Alice said, "We should probably get moving, we don't want to get back too late."
"Yeah, okay," Caleb responded, still somewhat lost in the moment.
"Besides," Alice continued, "I really want to show you that place with the big towers when we get to the garden."
"Right," Caleb said, filled with both curiosity about the compound and a bit of uneasiness.
Alice handed the bag to Caleb, which he swung back over his shoulder. She then picked up the shotgun, and they both began heading toward the mountain range in the distance, side by side.
2.11 (Beyond)
Caleb and Alice had been walking for several miles uphill before finally reaching the garden. Between the trees, inside a large clearing, lay a patch of dirt with vegetables lined in straight rows. Caleb admired the area. The sun shone brilliantly into the clearing. It was beautiful. Birds were chirping overhead, flying from tree to tree in the forest behind them and across the clearing to the forest on the other side. There was a warm, gentle breeze blowing across the hillside that wrapped around Caleb, comforting him after the long hike up the hill.
"Well, are you coming?!" Alice called out, with a smile. She was already halfway between where Caleb was standing and the garden.
Caleb came back to himself and began walking toward Alice. She stood waiting until he caught back up with her. Alice showed him the different kinds of vegetables in the garden, where the plastic bags were inside of the backpack, and how to wrap them up once inside. After they had collected enough for the next few meals, she stood up and continued walking past the garden toward the other end of the clearing. Caleb could see a small hil
l directly across the forest where they had entered the clearing. "Now I can show you that place I was talking about," Alice said, as she waited for Caleb to follow her.
They crossed to the other end of the clearing and climbed a small hill overlooking some trees on the other side. Far off into the distance, Caleb could see the pair of cylindrical towers, but could not as easily make out the buildings around them. "That's where you saw the smoke coming out of before?" Caleb asked.
"Yeah, right there," Alice said, pointing toward the two large cylinders, "Smoke was only coming out of one of them, the one in front." She took out a pair of binoculars and surveyed the complex. "And there are some other buildings around them, they’re much smaller though."
"Can I see?" Caleb asked.
Alice handed the binoculars over to Caleb. He put them up to his eyes and slowly traced the outline of several brick buildings. "The buildings don't look like the ones that we had to live in back inside the grid. These are darker. Some of them are tall. The buildings inside of the grid where I lived were all gray and small, all the same shape and size."
"How big do you think the compound is?" Alice asked. Only a portion of the Reassignment Sector could be seen from where they stood, the rest was hidden behind the tree tops in front of them.
"No idea," Caleb replied, "It's probably pretty big. Want to try to get a better view?"
"Yes!” Alice said excitedly, "Maybe if we head down the hill closer to it we can find another spot to watch."
"Ok, but let's not get too close."
"We won't. We'll just see if we can find a better view down there," Alice said, looking over the edge leading down the hill.
Slowly, the two made their way down the hillside, making sure to remain hidden inside of the forest. The Reassignment Sector was a good distance away, but Caleb didn't want to take any chances. They eventually reached the bottom of the hill, where a dirt path was running along the tree line and a large field lie beyond that. They stepped out into the field, the tall grass reaching their waists, and continued moving closer to the buildings, which were growing larger with every step. Caleb's stomach began to flop, being reminded of the grid. "Maybe this is far enough, Alice. We shouldn't get too close," he said.
"I think we can get a little bit closer, just to the end of the field," Alice said, "We should be okay."
Caleb kept a close eye on his surroundings. He knew, having lived inside one of the grids that Guardians would come and go in Humvees on occasion. He spotted a road off to their left going from the entrance of the Reassignment Sector to somewhere beyond the tree line. As they crept closer, Caleb noticed a different kind of vehicle than the Humvees he was used to seeing. "Get down!" he said, gently pulling on Alice's arm.
They both ducked into the tall grass, hidden from sight. They slowly lifted their heads up, just enough so they could see. There was a large truck with what looked like canvas pulled over the top and around the sides of metal poles. There was a wooden panel on the back. The truck stopped and they could barely make out the image of numerous people being taken from the back. A pair of Guardians held their guns pointed at the people as they jumped down from inside. They walked around the side of the truck and began to disappear one by one beyond the front guard post, out of their sight. After a moment, one of the men came bursting back from around the guard post. He was running as fast as he could, hands tied in front of him. He tripped and fell several times on the dirt road, sending a small billow of dust into the air before quickly stumbling to his feet again and pushing forward. Without any sense of urgency, a Guardian slowly walked alongside of the truck. He pointed his gun toward the running man and fired one shot. Alice shrieked as the man went face first into the dirt. Caleb put his arm around her and tightly grabbed her hand. She had put her other hand over her mouth, and tears began to build up in her eyes. They both watched in horror as the Guardian slowly walked toward where the man lay, motionless in the dirt. Then the man began to squirm onto his side, then onto his back, just as the Guardian had reached him. He put his hands up, covering his face, as the Guardian pointed his gun down at him and fired one last shot. As the shot rang out Alice began to whimper, trying not to let the full force of her cries escape her lungs. Caleb held her tightly against him, trying to comfort her. He could feel her body quivering against his. "We need to go, Alice," he whispered.
She nodded her head and they both began heading back toward the hill they had just descended, keeping their heads low. Without speaking, they left the field, entered the forest, headed back up the hill and into the clearing with the garden. It wasn't until they had gotten back to the stream that Alice spoke, "Is that what it's like for everyone living inside of the Sectors, Caleb? Are they really that cruel?"
Alice continued to choke back tears again. Caleb grabbed her hand and said, "Yes, Alice. It's horrible. This is why your brother left you and your father. He wanted to help these people in any way that he could. This is why I need to find the Resistance group. I need to help these people." Caleb gently wiped the tears from under Alice's eyes with his thumb. "Your father told me where Patrick had found a Resistance group. I’m planning on looking for it at some point, but I wanted to stay with you guys for a little while longer."
"Why didn't you look for them right away if that's what you wanted to do? Why did you want to stay with us?"
"I was getting comfortable with you and your dad. I was enjoying my life for the first time since my father was taken from me." Caleb briefly looked down at the ground, then back into Alice's eyes. "I didn't want to leave you yet."
Alice gently let the shotgun down onto the ground and threw her arms around Caleb's neck. Caleb shook the backpack from his shoulders and draped his arms across Alice’s back. The two stood, sobbing and embracing. Caleb didn't want the moment to end, feeling the warmth of another person's body, sharing in the same sense of fear and sadness at what they had just witnessed. After a little while Alice stepped back, rubbed her eyes and said, "I want to go with you."
Caleb, surprised, said, "Alice, you can't. What about your father. You can't leave him ..."
Alice interrupted him, "We can get him to come with us. He'll go if I do. I'll tell him about what we saw down there. I can't stay up here, safe and comfortable, knowing what's happening to other people out there."
"Alice, if that's what you really want to do ..."
"It is," she said, with determination.
They both picked up their things and began to follow the stream toward the other end of the tree line. They entered the forest and began heading for the cabin. After a couple of miles, they began to smell smoke. It wasn't the kind of smoke that the wood in the fireplace gave off, this was different. "What is that?" Alice asked.
"I don't know. Smells like something's burning," Caleb replied.
The two continued to walk, nearing the cabin. As they moved closer, the smell was getting stronger. Alice began to run with Caleb right on her heels. They ran for the last mile of their journey until they both came crashing out of the forest into the small opening in the trees where the cabin was. Ahead of them, the structure stood burning, completely engulfed in flames. Alice dropped to her knees and cried out, "Daddy!"
2.12 (Beyond)
Aaron stood in the doorway, watching Alice and Caleb disappear behind a thick wall of trees ahead of him. After they vanished from sight, he walked over to the wood pile along the tree line near the cabin. He slowly bent down and began to pick up logs, one at a time. He was only able to grab two each trip, but worked steadily. Eventually he had brought enough inside to last for the rest of the day and into the night. He pulled a stool over from against the wall with a grunt and sat momentarily, staring at the wood pile that he had built inside. He leaned forward from his seated position and stacked five logs up inside the fireplace. He wasn't going to ignite it until after he had gotten more water from the stream, but figured he could at least get it ready for when he got back. After stacking the logs inside the fireplace, he stood up, mov
ed toward the door, picking the bucket up along the way, and headed out into the forest.
Once inside the tree line, he dumped the dirty water from the bucket onto the ground. Water met dirt, bringing forth a small stream of mud and pine needles rushing away, further into the forest. He continued to make his way deeper, toward the stream. After several miles of walking, which took him longer than it would have for Caleb or Alice, he exited the other side and stood facing the stream. The sun was shining high above as he squinted his eyes and put his free hand over his brow. He hadn't allowed himself to take in the beauty of this area in a while, the gently flowing clear water, the bright blue sky, lush green trees and the berry bushes lining either side. Off in the distance he could see the wall of mountains, spanning left to right in his field of vision, and he wondered how far Caleb and Alice were up into the hills at the foot of them.
Moments passed before he finally took the bucket into the stream and washed it out. After he had filled it about a quarter of the way with fresh water, he turned back toward the forest. He grabbed a handful of berries from the row of bushes along the tree line to eat on the journey back. Slowly, he made his way through the woods, and after a while ended up back at the cabin. He made his way inside, and placed the bucket of water beside the cabinets. Then he pulled a stool over toward the front of the fireplace and sat down to start a fire. Just as soon as the wood began to burn he heard slow and steady footsteps approaching from the forest outside. It wasn't Alice or Caleb. There were more than two, ‘Six at least,’ he thought. He hurried over to the door to see if he could peek through a crack between the wooden panels. All he could make out was one Guardian emerging from behind the densely packed row of trees. Then he heard the voice of what he assumed to be another Guardian, coming from the side of the cabin, "What do you think? Eco-terrorists?"
"Negative," another voice from the back side of the cabin said, in a deep, raspy voice. "The orders said that Eco-terrorists would be in larger numbers. This doesn't look like it could hold many people."
Sector 27- Assignment Page 9