Fi looked up, startled, and then realized that with Gary out of commission, Asher was in charge of the Seekers.
“We have to get Gary back as quickly as possible, but we’re worried that we might be followed.” Worried whispers rippled through the group. “I want us to split off at the main Dead Zone. Our unit will go straight home. The rest of you head in different directions into the forest and then circle back around. Just make sure to cross the tracks multiple times and then hightail it home. Got me?” Everyone agreed and ran for their vehicles. Asher leapt into the back of the Jeep with Fi and Gary. He smacked the roll bar. “Let’s go, Tim. Haul ass.”
Fi’s head snapped to the side as Tim took his instruction seriously and they jerked to a start. The sky was brightening. They had to move quickly. Fi did her best to cradle Gary’s head in her lap to keep him from feeling the bumps as they sped along. Her head jolted up as they hit a root. She caught a glimpse of Asher and her heart twisted. His face was set like stone, save a single muscle twitching along his jawline. His blue eyes stared into the distance and thick, black blood crusted the right side of his face and neck.
“What happened?” Fi yelled, shouting over the air whipping by, and the jostling of the Jeep.
Rage ghosted across Asher’s face before it reset into stone. “We were ambushed. We went to see this small Topsider Family that we know. Whenever we Seek nearby, we always check in and give them a little of our rations. Their Family was like ours, Fi.” He stared into the distance, like he was watching the memory play out. “Only they had no fighters, no weapons…only women, children, and old men.”
“They attacked you?” Fi asked, completely confused.
“No, not them,” he responded, looking at her this time. “When we got to their home, we could see it was ransacked. We ran inside…” his voice trailed off.
Fi waited and stroked Gary’s hair as they jolted along. The Seek groups hit the Dead Zone and the other vehicles peeled off, each leaving circling dust trails as they went, while their own vehicle shot straight toward home. Fi watched, worried, as the others disappeared into the forest on either side. Their Jeep reached the forest and the dust cleared. Traveling through the forest you usually had to slow down, but Tim was still flooring it, and they bounced around in the back. Once, Fi and Gary both caught air and then slammed back down.
“Jesus, Tim, we have to make it back alive!” Asher shouted. Tim nodded, slowing slightly. Asher turned back to Fi. “When we got to their house and went inside, Fi, they were all dead, all of them. They slit their throats, Fi, even the old woman,” he said, and she gasped. “Just vicious, senseless…just like the Lobos.” Tears of anger hovered in his eyes.
Fi shivered. When Asher had been the Leader of the Dragons in the ruined bowels of New York City, he’d had to endure violent attacks from a rival gang, the Lobos. The memory always turned her to ice. She reached out and grabbed Asher’s hand and squeezed. He looked up at her, almost startled, his memory so intense that he was lost in it.
“Who killed them, Ash?”
“Another Topsider gang. We didn’t know them, had never seen them before, but there were a lot of them for a roving gang. They outnumbered us three to one. We had just found the bodies and were in shock, when at least five of them came at us inside the house. Gary and Nate were outside when they were jumped. One of them got Nate’s gun,” he choked. “Shot Nate in the head and then Gary in the chest. Bam, bam. Just that quick. Thank God we only have a couple rounds in each weapon.”
Fi bit her lip as the story tumbled out of him. Nate was a good man, a man with a family. And Gary…she looked down at the unconscious man and fought off tears. What if Gary didn’t make it?
“We shot several of them and I killed three myself, but it was a rough battle. They had machetes,” he winced.
Her heart jumped into her throat again. Machetes? That was what those animals swung at her love’s head? Thank God Asher had escaped that stroke, or he wouldn’t have come back to her. It had been so close, her mind fretted, so close. Nausea swept over her again, and she gulped fresh air as Asher continued.
“We eventually got them all either dead or down and we ran outside, grabbed Gary, and ran as fast as we could into the forest. We stopped once to tend to our wounds and Leo stood guard. We hid and waited them out. They searched for us all over for the forest. It was horrible, Gary was bleeding so badly and we knew we had to get back, but we couldn’t lead them to the rest of you…”
She glanced behind them and shuddered, glad that they were working to cover their tracks. They couldn’t lead anyone back to Eden.
The Seekers’ return sparked a flurry of activity as the medical team was overwhelmed. Gary was rushed right to surgery and Asher was spirited away from her by clucking nurses. Fi paced in the glistening white waiting room while she awaited Doc Ron’s return. When he finally emerged two hours later, she struggled to fight off tears.
“Is Gary…is he ok?” She hardly dared to ask.
“Yes, Fi, he’s going to live.” Doc sighed, and Fi felt a huge wave of relief. “He lost a lot of blood, so it was close, but we were able to stabilize him, and Dr. Patterson did a great job, got the bullet out clean. He’s going to be out of commission for a while though. Probably six to eight weeks before he can go on a Seek.”
Fi frowned, suddenly reminded that with Gary down, Asher would be in charge of the Seek groups. Reassured that Gary was ok, she touched Doc’s arm. “Can I see Asher now?” Obliging, he led her out of Gary’s room and down the hallway.
When Fi slipped into the room, Asher was sitting on the doctor’s table with his back against the wall and his eyes closed. His grey t-shirt was still soaked with dried blood, but his face and neck were clean. Fi stood watching him, her mind flying back to those long hours of waiting in terror. As she approached, she saw the four-inch gash above his ear, fresh with stitches, and she gasped. It was worse than she’d thought.
Resolution
---------- Asher ------------
Asher leaned against the cool white wall and groaned. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, the only feeling left was the jackhammer pounding inside his skull. He heard a small sound and opened his eyes. Fi stood frozen in the doorway, her hand over her mouth. His attempt at a weary smile tugged his fresh stitches and he winced. “Is it horrible, Fi?”
“You’re worried about your looks, Ash?”
Tears brimmed in her eyes. She walked to the table and climbed up beside him. She straddled his legs and settled facing him. Never in all their time together had he seen her look like this. Her beautiful golden eyes were wide and hollow...like eyes that have seen every horrible thing that could possibly happen in the world. Of course, he thought, they basically had. Everything she’d imagined was possible, was real, in this new world.
She threw her arms around him. Her embrace was desperate, her hands crushing him to her like a life raft in the torrent of her fear. She shook with silent tears and his stomach burned. He knew that it wasn’t his fault that she’d been so worried, but he felt guilty anyway. The day when her Seek group had been late was the worst in his life. That feeling…the unbearable choking as he tried to draw breath, wondering if her breath had been stilled. Fi’s body shook harder and he stroked her hair.
“It’s ok, Fi.”
“It’s not!” She pulled away and glared at him, her cheeks wet. “I can’t do that ever again. I can’t. I just can’t. We Seek together.” Her small hands pounded his chest, but her words were more plea than demand. “Together. Promise me. Never separately again.”
Asher wished for the billionth time that Fi would just stay home inside Eden where he wouldn’t have to worry about her. But, he acknowledged, also for the billionth time, that wasn’t Fi. She could no more stay cooped up inside Eden than he could, and he loved her for that. Neither of them could give up Seeking, but she was right that they didn’t have to be apart. If anything, today had convinced him that she couldn’t Seek without him. Not now, knowing she
could have faced the same kind of ambush without him.
He touched her wet cheek. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “Never separately again.”
Fi exhaled hard and embraced him again, gently this time. Asher stroked her back as they breathed together. If it weren’t for the excruciating pain in his head, he would have liked to stay there forever. But fatigue settled more deeply into his muscles with every breath. They needed to rest.
As if she had read his thoughts, Fi slid off the table and held out her hand. Asher grabbed it and yanked her to him as he stood. He’d meant it as a joke, a chance to catch a quick kiss, but somehow when their lips met, it all changed. Her mouth was so incredibly soft. He felt his focus shift from his pain and fear to her…just her, as he dissolved into the kiss. Her hands wound around him and pressed into his back. She breathed hard, a small whimper escaping her throat as she grabbed fistfuls of his shirt. He’d started to slide his hands to the inside of her shirt when his brain kicked back in, and he broke away.
“Sorry,” he gasped. Jesus that was difficult, he panted. He hadn’t expected…but then, they’d both been so scared. It just…took him by surprise.
“No, you’re right.” She dropped her eyes as her cheeks flushed. “I think if I kiss you tonight, I won’t be able to stop.”
Asher’s stomach turned over. Did she really just say that? God, that was so tempting…but no. He knew better. They were sticking to the plan. Marriage first. They weren’t going to skip ahead just because he’d had a near death experience for the umpteenth time. Besides, what they both needed tonight was rest. Now that he was no longer distracted, he was painfully aware of the throbbing in his skull. Fi slipped her hand in his as they walked toward the door.
“Seriously though, Fi, how horrible does it look?” He waved to his wound, “Because it feels horrible.”
Fi swatted his arm. “You’re so vain! It’s not that bad, believe me. Your hair almost covers it. Besides, the important thing to remember is that my hair will always be prettier.” She gave her braid an impish flip.
Asher chuckled in appreciation. It was so like her, to try to make him laugh…to draw him forward, away from the darkness. “All right, I can’t argue with that.”
The Seeders
The Mission Changes
--------- Fi -----------
“Did Gary say anything about what this was about?” Fi asked as she and Asher headed to the meeting. Gary was still recovering from his gunshot wound, so they were having the meeting in one of the medical pod waiting rooms. At least he was up and out of bed now, Fi thought thankfully. She’d grown pretty fond of Gary since they’d joined Eden.
“Nope.”
They turned right toward Sean’s pod. Just as they arrived, Sean stepped out of the common room door. “Hey guys, let’s wait a second, Sara should be here any minute.”
They leaned against the tunnel wall and chatted until Sara appeared. After the last Seek, Fi was surprised when Sara continued to train. She’d been sure that she would quit. Heck, it had nearly made her consider quitting, which she’d shared, but Sara had jumped on the word “nearly” and wouldn’t let it go. If Fi wasn’t quitting, neither was she. Knowing that Topside was so dangerous only made her more determined.
“I don’t want to be hiding underground, hunted down by the wolves from above,” Sara had declared. “And I don’t want to leave innocent people up there to be murdered by them either. I want to do something about it. I want to fight!”
Though Fi had been thoroughly drained when Sara had cornered her to have the conversation, she’d been heartened by Sara’s resolve. Plenty of people were brave enough to give combat a try, but few went back again once they’d seen it up close. Whatever Sara’s motivations, Fi thought, she was brave.
When the group arrived, Larry stood at the door, holding a large plastic storage container. They followed him into a small waiting room that had been blocked off to give them privacy. Gary sat in a large, soft chair in the corner of the room. He was dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants rather than his usual cargo pants and boots. It was always disarming seeing Gary appear vulnerable. At least there were no more IVs or tubes, Fi thought. He was definitely on the mend.
“So what’s up guys? Why all the secrecy?” Asher asked.
“It wasn’t really secrecy,” Larry said. “We just had to talk it all out before we approached you. It’s time to change your mission from Seeking…to Seeding.” He popped the top off the plastic container and pulled out its contents. There were several giant Ziploc bags filled with seeds, as well as batteries, a tablet, wires and cables, a radio, and a small solar panel.
Sean gasped. “Our solar radio!”
“With the exception of the repeater antenna, of course,” Larry confirmed.
“You understand this, Sean?” Fi asked.
“Yes. We’ve been working with the Forge to build solar powered repeater stations for radios, you know, so we could give them to Topsiders.”
Fi’s eyes widened. “We’re going to start giving out radios to Topsiders?”
“Not just radios, Fi,” Larry said, grabbing a bag of seeds. “We’re going to give them heirloom seeds too. We want to seed the landscape with safe foods and communication tools. For now, radios are still our best option.”
“And you want the four of us to do it,” she scanned the faces of her fellow Seekers. “Sara, too?”
Gary shifted in his chair gingerly. “Obviously, Sara is the least experienced Seeker, with only one outing under her belt. However, she’s seen what Seeking entails and doesn’t seem frightened. And, from what I hear from Asher, she’s rather talented.” Sara flushed. “But Larry and I don’t think that we should be the ones to make that decision. If you accept this responsibility, you’ll be putting your lives in each other’s hands. You have to decide yourselves if all four of you wish to go.”
Fi was thoughtful. “Sean has to go, of course. And you knew that if Sean were going…”
“…That you would go, Fi.” Asher finished her thought. “Is there any chance that you’d let Sean go on a mission without you?”
Her silence was answer enough.
“Plus, Fi has expertise with the Seeds,” Larry pointed out. “She can help the colonists plan out their plantings. And if Fi is going…”
Fi chuckled, and finished Larry’s thought. “…Asher’s going. But Gary, what about the Seekers and the security team? Right now Asher’s in charge of them.” Though she didn’t want to make Gary feel badly, she had to ask.
“Yes, we thought about that,” Gary nodded. “I think that Thomas will do a good job overseeing security, and Tim will do a good job organizing the Seekers.”
“Yes.” Asher’s eyes narrowed in thought. “I agree that Thomas and Tim would both be fine. And we have new recruits to take over some of our Seeking responsibilities while we’re gone. I was thinking that maybe we should have a larger Seeding group for more security, but you seem to have intentionally kept the number small. Am I right?”
Gary and Larry exchanged a glance. Larry spoke first. “That’s why we said it’s up to all of you. We could ask someone else to do this, but we do think it needs to be a small group. Small, but fierce. Plus, you three,” he indicated Sean, Fi, and Asher, “have worked as a small tactical team before.”
Fi sat back and thought about that. They were exactly that: small but fierce. Sean, though a reluctant fighter, had become a pretty skilled one. The only question was Sara. “What do you think, Ash? Honestly, what do you think about taking Sara?”
Fi put the question to him first. If Asher voted “No,” she and Sean would follow, despite Sara’s feelings.
He sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. He ran his hand through his long blonde hair as he searched Sara’s face. “I dunno, Sara. Your training has really just begun, and despite your rather impressive learning curve, this won’t be a Seek. It will just be us. You won’t have any armed friends.”
“Yes I will!” Sara interrupted, d
esire burning in her eyes. “Who could possibly be more dangerous than you two?” This comment was directed at Asher and Fi. Sean coughed and Sara looked chagrined. “Sorry, Sean, I know you’re a fighter as well. But the idea that I would be unprotected isn’t true.”
“It’s not just that, Sara,” Asher said. “The question is whether our desire to protect you could make you a liability to the rest of us.”
Sara choked and sat back, folding her arms. “Fi, listen to me, please. When you went on your first raid, how did you know that you were ready?”
Fi dropped her head. “I didn’t.”
“So why did you go?”
“Because my Family needed me to go. But Sara, you don’t have to go with us. You could stay here…” Fi’s voice trailed off as she realized that she couldn’t form the words. Not when she knew they weren’t true. Sara could no more stay hidden inside Eden than she could.
“Asher,” Fi said, “you said yourself that the only way to know if she is ready to fight is for her to fight.” Asher nodded, a silent affirmation. Fi turned her gaze to Sara. “You’re going out there with us very unprepared.” Sara bit her lip to suppress her smile. “You’re going to have to follow our commands, and keep up your training. You’re going to have to face the possibility of your own death. And I don’t mean a nice death. I mean the possibility of being shot, maimed, raped, or murdered. If you aren’t willing to face those possibilities, then coming with us is out of the question. Do you understand?” Sean started to speak and Fi shushed him. “It’s up to her, Sean.”
Sara patted Sean’s leg. “It’s ok, Sean, I want to go. You know I couldn’t bear being here while you three were out there changing the world without me.”
“But it’s not like a Seek, Sara,” he protested. “We’ll be on our own. Even Fi and I have only done that a handful of times.”
“Fi said it was my decision. You can either support me or you can be mad at me, but I’m coming, Sean.”
Seeds of War Page 6