“Why?” asked Robert when Daisy told him about the offer of the camp and the safety it would provide. “Why, Daisy, does Madam want this?”
Robert looked around the thick woods where Madam had told Daisy they could hide, where they could start a refuge.
“For me!” Daisy replied. “She did this for me. Because I’m not good at taking pills.”
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you say,” Robert had replied.
Daisy pushed that memory away and returned her brother’s stare even as she felt as if it dissected her.
“Going for a walk?” asked Robert, as he moved between Daisy and where she needed to go. “Suzy’s missing. You going to help search her out?” Robert smiled gentle smile, a smile of few teeth and much affection.
“Yes, of course,” answered Daisy, trying to match his smile.
“Ahh, don’t bother,” replied Robert, “that brat will be back in no time.”
Daisy smiled despite herself. Maybe her brother was on her side.
“Let’s go have a drink instead.” Robert winked at Daisy and pointed to his trailer.
Slipping the note into her pocket, Daisy happily followed Robert. Maybe she was being harsh sneaking around behind his back. Maybe he was on her side.
Danny and BD returned to the SUV, and Danny opened the car door, looked around, and gave Jen and Chandler an all clear. BD stood by his side. Each of them looked into the darkness, their faces as blank as if they’d played poker.
Jen left the car first, Chandler reluctantly following. Chandler shook as she stood, as if trying her best to seem stronger than she was. BD couldn’t help but notice. He settled himself by Chandler’s side. If having another friend by her side did not strengthen her resolve, then maybe a friend with a Shaky might.
“Now, we’ll head to the overpass over there,” Danny said, pointing to an empty freeway overpass far off in the distance.
Jen looked at the overpass in the distance, trying to remember a time when people drove cars on freeways to their jobs, families, lives. She desperately tried to picture people in cars having a normal life, before the venom of Madam and YUM entered their state, country and maybe soon to be their world.
“Are there people?” asked Jen brokenly.
Her question floating in the air as her eyes were distracted by the imagined vision of cars zooming over the freeway overpass.
“People where?” questioned BD.
Jen looked at BD, closely for the first time. She saw him close to Chandler, like a self-appointed savior, and she found that endearing. A big brother she’d never had.
Chandler hugged herself, still quaking but less now with BD at her side. “In the cages,” Chandler said. “Are there people in the cages?” She frowned at Danny.
“Yes,” said Danny, “but we can’t get them now. I only have room for you two.”
“I’m going with you,” BD told Chandler.
Danny did not respond to this verbally, but the slump of his shoulders was all the answer BD needed.
“We can’t leave them there in the cages. How could we leave them there?” Jen’s voice cracked open the night sky. Her once gentle hands were dangling by her sides, her anger bottled in her clenched fists.
In frustration, Danny snapped, “I will save them! They will not be hunted. Once I get you to safety, I can bring them out.”
Chandler’s arms tightened around her body, and she rocked, eyes on the building that housed the cages. She remembered those days where she’d wallowed in the muck like an animal. People were there now in that same muck.
In her mind, she ran toward the building, but her feet were firmly planted where she stood. She could not get herself to go there, and no matter how awful she felt about walking away she could not, would not, ever go back in there.
“He’s right,” Chandler murmured.
Danny’s head swung to her in surprise. He wasn’t sure why but from the moment he’d met Chandler he had instantly believed her to be his adversary.
“Amore,” Danny said and took Jen’s hands, “I will take care of them. I promise, but, please, I won’t be able to focus on that if you are not safely away first.”
Jen stared at Danny. Eye to eye, they both wondered if all that they felt for each other since they were children was strong enough to outlive or outrun Madam.
The sound of a car door slamming made BD, Danny, and Jen jump, and they turned, expecting to see Nutri-Corp police behind him. But it was only Chandler, who had climbed back inside the SUV, her eyes focused on the overpass, her face set in determination.
Everyone climbed back inside the SUV, and BD headed for the overpass.
The small truck Danny had stashed under the freeway overpass looked as if it would fall apart at any moment. The rusting truck was covered in dirt and had a broken back window. Danny smiled at Jen. She looked the truck over, then at Danny and back at the truck.
“Are we going to have to push it back to the Gardeners?” asked Jen.
“No,” Danny answered.
BD chimed in, “It’s more than what it seems. Those are new off-road tires.”
Danny walked to the truck and lifted the hood. “New engine,” he said.
“Nice,” responded BD. He and Danny fist-bumped.
Danny walked to the rear of the truck and lifted a section of the bed to reveal a secret compartment.
“And check this out.” Danny pointed to the contents.
“Shakies!” exclaimed Chandler, some life finally resonating in her voice.
When she saw the Shakies, Chandler felt as if every nerve in her body that had shredded since she had been taken from The Hills repaired themselves. The Shakies were Chandler's manna in the land of the forsaken.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The Chaos of Want
Ten years ago
All noticed Megan’s queenly posture as she stood waving at the crowd of Nutri-Corp citizens gathered to the left of her, turning slightly as she waved at the crowd of people to her right.
It was as if the sun shone that day only for Madam. Her wedding dress gleamed amid the sun’s rays, shards of light hitting all that looked towards her sharply in the eye.
On her head, Madam wore a short veil lightly tinted the same pink as YUM. In her left hand she held a bouquet of white roses in a death grip, as if she was doing her best to choke out the flowers before they blabbed her secrets.
As Madam waved, the crowd stood as still as they could. Most strained to be still, no doubt hiding their many tics from Madam’s steely gaze.
Months ago, Madam decided she’d marry Sir in the middle of Nutri-Corp City’s main avenue. She did this to stop all work and force the people of Nutri-Corp City not only to come look at the commotion on the street but to see it with genuine surprise.
In planning a surprise wedding, Madam was aiming for shock and awe. A spectacle to remind everyone that she owned this city and those in it. She could have her wedding in the middle of the damned street on a busy workday if she so pleased.
She was master of it all, including her new husband, Sir. Madam had chosen that name for him, believing it a perfect fit with her self-appointed title of Madam.
Madam needed Sir, but she didn’t want him. She needed someone to stand by her side for the public to see. A thing to be the jelly to her peanut butter. Better yet, the pill bottle to her YUM. Madam knew Sir did not love her. He’d taken the deal she’d handed him after she’d watched him guard her home for months. He never allowed his attention to waver from the duty of keeping her safe. Every day, he stood like a statue, a vigilante watchman at her doorstep.
One night when Sir, then nothing more than a guard named Joe, handed Danny a toy car from his pocket, Madam noted his kindness and started imagining how Sir would look sitting on her couch, standing by her side in publicity pictures, and finally lying in her bed.
After those thoughts had rushed in and took root, she soon realized that she could tolerate him and he was a needed thing
.
Now at their street wedding Sir stood by Madam’s side, waving in unison with her. There was a clownishly large smile on his face as he walked with her down the street throwing handfuls of YUM from a basket he held.
Sir laughed at the hordes of people dashing to catch the YUM. The citizens of Nutri-Corp City scrambled on the street like roaches, not caring if they trampled one another in pursuit of YUM. An extra YUM or two in their pockets was better than gold and worth more than their neighbors’, coworkers’, and siblings’ lives.
Madam headed for her stretch limo, tossing the YUM with more vigor, not caring if anyone was hurt. In fact, she enjoyed the fact that the masses would harm one another for her invention.
The chaos of want for YUM was more proof that what she did was right. The people wanted what she had to give; in fact, they’d kill for it. What more proof did anyone need?
Noticing the crowd followed at her pace, their hands outstretched, the expressions on their faces like addicts jonesing for a fix, Madam picked up her pace, turning her stroll into a focused walk. Her eyes on the prize of her limo. She could feel the pulse of the crowd behind her and Sir, skittering towards them, faster and faster. The limo. She’d be safe from them in the limo.
Smile still plastered on her face, she walked even faster.
Then, she heard the chant. “DON’T BE GLUM. TAKE SOME YUM!”
Madam slowed, paused when she heard the crowd chant, and she laughed as Sir tossed the final handfuls of YUM to the crowd that would surround them at any moment. The crowd didn’t hate her, she saw, but she wasn’t going to let them kill her with their love on her wedding day.
When the crowd saw there was no more YUM, it seemed to swell in size and violence. Addicts willing to kill for a fix. A wallowing growl started at the back of the crowd and inched its way forward, creeping up Madam’s back and neck. She managed to hold onto her smile until she tossed herself into the limo and screamed at her driver to get them away.
With Sir finally inside the limo, the driver hit the locks and revved the engine, a warning to the now immense crowd of Nutri-Corp citizens not to linger near the vehicle.
When Madam felt the limo sway and then lean to one side, she hooked her long nails into the driver’s shoulder yelling, “Go now!”
“They want more, my love,” said Sir, reaching for another basket in the footwell of the limo and preparing to roll down the window.
Madam shot out her hand, catching his, a wild look in her eyes. Was he that dumb or suicidal?
“Floor it!” Madam screamed at the driver as fists hit the roof and the chant grew louder.
“DON’T BE GLUM. TAKE SOME YUM!”
“DON’T BE GLUM. TAKE SOME YUM!”
Madam held her hands over her ears, kicking the floorboards hard enough to break the heels of her shoes. She glanced down at her ruined heels and out the window to the Nutri-Corp citizens. They’d pay dearly for this.
The driver hit the gas, sending people flying. Others went down, the wheels of the massive car smearing them over the asphalt. Finally, the citizens moved out of the limo’s way.
But the chant, “Don’t be glum! Take some YUM!” didn’t stop. Madam heard it blocks away even with her hands over her ears.
“Are they following?” she asked Sir calmly, with only a wisp of worry to her words.
“No,” replied Sir, “the drones put a stop to it.”
“Ah.” Madam smiled. “Well then. Let’s go home.”
That night, Sir pretended not to notice the tremble in his wife’s hands or the pout of her lips, not in seduction but in holding back a sob.
Smiling yet again, Sir watched his wife’s fitful sleep. He settled down for a deep slumber. After all, he was now in the queen’s cozy bed, and it was the best place to be to buy him some time.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
DON’T BE GLUM. TAKE SOME YUM!
Lola had never bothered with hope. She couldn’t remember the last time she thought about hope, the last time she had even uttered the word hope.
Yet, now, she stood in the forest thinking of hope as a long-lost friend. She wanted hope to come home again, linger with her, and spread light on the dreariness that was now her existence. Despite that, all Lola had was a clinging fear that Suzy would not be found.
When they’d emerged from the mound, Ani was there, almost like a wraith from some hellish realm. She stared at them, uttered the word, “Come,” and started walking. Jacob followed her, as did Lola and Manuel. No one spoke but flowed in a line like determined ants. Lola never took her eyes off the top of Ani’s head. Ani's head was a beacon that would lead her to Suzy.
Twenty minutes later, Ani turned to Jacob and pointed to something, then she ran. Jacob moved to run after her, but Manuel stopped him, but he couldn’t reach Lola. She ran after Ani, toward the spot where Ani had pointed, tripped over something, and went flying forward, almost crashing face first into a tree.
Luckily for Lola, she managed to twist her body to graze the tree, but she still ended up at its base. The tree’s bark had scraped along her side, almost as if her clothes weren’t there. She moaned and grabbed her side. A moan answered her moan, an echoing moan that was soft, lost, and Lola knew it was Suzy.
Crawling forward, Lola spotted the top of Suzy’s head. Forest sprawl covered Suzy, burying her under leaves, dirt, broken branches. Jacob spotted Suzy at the same time as Lola. He flung the debris aside, desperate to save his best friend.
“What did she do to her?” Manuel asked angrily, squatting next to Lola and Jacob who were clearing Suzy of all that covered her. Lola looked at Manuel, whose eyes searched around them for Ani. Lola hadn’t even noticed that Ani had slipped away, back into the forest, back to wherever she lived. Lola knew when Manuel found Ani, it would not go well for her.
Jacob scooped up Suzy, and the last of the debris fell away, leaving her with a layer of dirt on her skin and clothes. Suzy wrapped her arms around Jacob, and Lola touched her sister's face. She was not hot. Was her fever gone?
“Ani helped her,” said Lola, giving Manuel a pleading look. “Ani only helps. She did nothing wrong.”
“Vamos a veer eso,” was Manuel’s only reply. He motioned for Jacob and Lola to follow him back to camp. As they hiked back, Jacob held Suzy tenderly. Lola doubted he’d leave her side again for a long time.
Lola thought again about hope. Was it hope that brought Suzy back to her? Could hope be something tangible? A real thing that when pondered moved the mysterious ways of the world? But in Madam’s world, was hope worth bothering with?
If things had gone wrong today, if they had not found Suzy, would Lola have spit on hope forever, sending it away with curses and kicks? Would she have never bothered to pity the lack of hope in her life?
Lola wanted to believe that having hope wasn’t fruitless. Hope might be the one thing that got her through long nights of insecurity about their future.
The sun peeked through the treetops. Lola wondered if Jen was home by now, waiting for her sisters to arrive.
Jen opened the trailer door and rushed BD in. She had snuck him into the Gardener camp. This time, Jen wouldn’t bother with the dog and pony show that Robert, Manuel, and Daisy put all new members through.
But she was so nervous about Lola’s reaction to BD that a dried-up knot of anxiety filled her gut, making every breath she took labored and flavored with salt. Would Lola let him stay long enough for them to formulate a plan?
Jen didn’t dread telling Lola about the death of their parents. Lola, Jen believed had said her goodbyes to their parents many years ago when her role of big sister turned her into the mother.
BD sat on the bed in the back-bedroom, chugging from a gallon of water. Jen sat staring at the empty kitchen, feeling the loneness cling to the trailer walls. Where were her sisters? Life without her sisters, even for a few hours, was an empty void that Jen could not tolerate, but her exhaustion made her limp instead of twitchy.
Chandler handed Jen a gla
ss of water, then sat. Sip after sip, she said nothing. Jen watched Chandler fight sleep. It reminded her of Suzy stubbornly trying not to fall asleep on nights when her older sisters stayed up chatting.
Suddenly Chandler sat up straighter, untied her boots, and pulled her socks off. She flung the socks across the room then laid down on the bench next to their kitchen table. This time, she did close her eyes.
A soft snore came from the back-bedroom. Jen smiled, guessing that BD had finally put the gallon of water down long enough to pass out.
Jen’s body called to her to sleep, but she wouldn’t, not until she knew where her sisters were. Suzy’s fever when Jen had left meant there was no way she was well enough to be out again so quickly.
There was an hourglass in Jen’s mind. She needed time to grieve for her parents. She could feel the grief follow her, hiding in the back corners of the room waiting to be called forward. Jen would eventually succumb, but she didn’t know when or how she would react. For now, for right now, her sorrow would have to wait.
How long had Jen been gone? Her exhausted brain tried to calculate the time. She guessed that it had not been more than ten or eleven hours.
Jen drank the water Chandler handed her and went outside to sit on the trailer steps. She would wait.
Danny chewed the raw oatmeal, washing it down with water. That was the last bit of his food stash. He had nothing else, and he took that as a sign.
Standing in front of the door that led to the cages, Danny savored the sweet apple taste that the oatmeal had. The oatmeal was meant to be cooked in hot water, but Danny had no time for that.
Instead, he stood at the door listening to the soft wailing coming from within and thinking he had no real idea what an apple tasted like. The oatmeal package said apple-cinnamon flavored, so he took that as truth, but was that what apples tasted like? Danny had no clue.
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