Torch

by Tricia Copeland

  The cave was quiet save for the sound of boxes pounding against the cave floor, weapon parts clicking, and bags zipping, punctuated by a hammer clanking on a nail. We worked in pairs, me with Sadie and Amelie with Mace, checking each weapon, ammo box, and tool twice. With weapons and tools organized, we moved to the food station. Each of us would carry three days of food rations, and additional supplies would be transported with the tactical team. As I counted out water sanitation tablets, motion caught my eye, and I looked up to see Turner jogging to us.

  “Captain, sir,” Turner addressed River at the other end of the table.

  Turner’s eyes cut to me and away in a flash. He leaned over and whispered into River’s ear. River replied in a hushed tone and waved over Mace, instructing him to follow them.

  “Amelie, team with Jewel and Sadie,” River called as they strode away.

  “What do you think is going on?” Amelie slid in beside me.

  “I have no clue. I just hope it’s good news.”

  Minutes dragged to a half-hour and then an hour. We finished at the food station and moved on to packing our personal gear. As I bemoaned leaving the bear pelts, Mace appeared in the corridor, indicating that Amelie and I needed to come with him. We followed in silence, me digging my nails into my palms. I could feel it in my gut, something bad happened, and as Amelie and I had been singled out, I figured it must be related to Port Orford.

  Turning the corner, I saw boxes stacked head high blocking off the view of the command center save for a narrow opening. A soldier from the tactical team stood in front of the space, blocking the entry. He moved aside as we approached and retook his post after we entered. Adjusting to the low light, I found Turner hunched in front of a computer screen, River beside him.

  Mace crossed to River. “Captain, Amelie and Jewel.”

  “Yes.” River straightened his back.

  I held my breath, waiting for the worst. Port Orford had been taken, our fathers imprisoned for treason.

  “Turner, you tell them.” River backed away from the computer screen.

  Amelie took my hand, and I squeezed her palm tight. When Turner looked at me, his eyes held hope, elation, excitement even.

  I swallowed. “What’s going on?”

  Turner pointed at some blips on his screen. “See these? They’re transports from Port Orford. It looks like a group from the base is heading west.”

  “How do you know it’s them? What if it’s Butler’s men?” Amelie and I shot question after question at him. With mission prep, he’d switched to a four-hour interval check of the satellites. At noon he noticed the trucks, a caravan of six transport trucks large enough to hold a dozen soldiers in each. They’d made it across the northern tip of California and entered Nevada, stopping to hide under trees when the UNS satellites passed over.

  “How are you seeing this?” I leaned down to get a closer look at his screen.

  “We hacked into old satellites and activated them.”

  “Without the UNS knowing?”

  “They’re so old they forgot they were there. Not the best pictures but good enough to get these images.” He tapped on the keys, bringing up images of six military trucks on a two-lane road.

  I stood up. “So, what are we thinking? They’re evacuating?”

  River paced away. “Could be soldiers to aid us. We have no clue, but we’d be stupid to make a move now when additional troops may be days away.”

  Turner spun to face us. “They have pilots. We could have a strike team. That would assure us victory.”

  “Where are they going to get planes?” I eyeballed him.

  “There are rumors of airplane graveyards.”

  Waiting would drive me nuts. I threw my hands up. “Rumors, maybe more soldiers, we don’t know any of this for sure. We’ve got this machine in motion. We’ve used up half the ninety-day deadline already. I say we keep the plan. By the time they get here, the UNS could be under our control.”

  River put his hands on his hips. “Since when you do think you have any say in this, Jewel? You’re a great marksman. That’s why you’re on the lead team. How old are you? You’re nobody when it comes to this mission’s leadership.”

  My face flamed. “And Turner. Turner is somebody?”

  “Turner knows tech and Port Orford. He’s been instrumental in helping plan this mission from the beginning. I’m gathering the leadership. This will be a group decision.”

  I fought mimicking his words as he walked away. Turner knows tech and Port Orford. He’s been instrumental. You’re nobody. I paced to the end of the tunnel.

  Sensing someone behind me, I spun around. Turner ducked down and stared into my eyes. “This could be the help we need. Why aren’t you on board?”

  “You said the mission would succeed. I want Butler behind bars, Nave and my mom free, the cure on its way to the EC. It’ll take days for them to get here and then days to rework a plan. If I were Zhou, I would start embargos at the thirty-day mark. We need to go in well before then to establish command and get the cure. Right now we only have two weeks to do that.”

  Turner gripped my biceps. “This was the best plan we had. But I would give it a seventy-five percent chance of success. With forces from Port Orford, we’ll have enough soldiers to make it ninety, maybe ninety-five percent assured.”

  “You said this would work. That it was a good plan. That I should believe it would work.” I stomped away.

  He caught my arm. “Our fathers could be on those transports. Amelie’s and Mace’s fathers. It could double the size of our team.”

  I hadn’t wanted him to say it, to hope that I’d see my dad.

  “We’re going to need more food.” I spun away and slipped past Amelie and Mace out the makeshift door. Winding through the corridors, I searched for Sadie. Finding her at our gear, I picked up my bow and arrows. “Want to come hunting?”

  “You know something I don’t?”

  A whistle sounded followed by an announcement that we should meet in the mess hall. I wanted to block it all, to be alone in the woods, not thinking of Dad, Nave, or Mom. But even I wouldn’t be stupid enough to venture out by myself. I grabbed my bow and arrows and followed Sadie and the others as we mushed into the space. River briefed the group on the transports they’d detected from Port Orford and announced we would wait to see what route they took.

  I tapped Sadie on the shoulder. “Want to come hunting with me? We need dinner now.”

  She waved me off until River completed the instructions for leaving all the weapons and ammo in the exit corridor and moving our personal gear back to the sleeping quarters. We’d keep training until further notice.

  “See, we need food.” I spun away before she could respond.

  “Could your father be in that envoy?” Sadie caught up with me.

  “I guess he could, but he’s more of a go down with the ship kind of guy.”

  “Like father, like daughter, I see. Your little tough act isn’t fooling me. You don’t want to get your hopes up. I get it. I can play along.”

  I didn’t look back at her. “Thank you.”

  In Port Orford, we experienced some semblance of seasons. By late February, we would see flowers, new growth on the trees, but on the twenty-sixth of February in the middle of Missouri, I saw none of that. The day brought more rain, and I sat up in my tree stand as the last light left the sky, loathing the water dripping off the leaves onto my helmet. We predicted it would take two to three more days for the Port Orford group to reach us. I tried not to think that we would have already been in Des Moines so close to Nave and Mom.

  We’d spent the day like the prior five, training with our team. Even with the wet, it felt good to be outside under a darkening sky, alone. Us hunters were charged with spending as much time as possible in the woods to bring in more food. As soon as we’d finished the evening meal, I’d rounded up Amelie and my bow and escaped the tunnels. If I had to spend one more second underground, I might go mad.

  Hea
ring Turner’s call, I slid to the edge and hung my feet over the side so there’d be enough room for both of us. His helmet appeared and then his face, scruffy with stubbled beard.

  “I can’t believe they let you out of there.” I bumped my shoulder to his as he sat down. “You’re the golden boy now.”

  “What? Because I noticed the caravan?”

  “Yep, and possibly saved twenty-five percent of us from getting killed.”

  “Is that why I didn’t see you all day? You mad at me for saying we didn’t have that great of a chance before.”

  “No, I didn’t see you all day because I like Vitamin D and the sun, so am out of that hole in the ground every chance I get.”

  “I didn’t realize it was bothering you that much.”

  “What? The pasty white didn’t clue you in?” I tilted my head to expose my neck.

  “Now that you mention it, Walker, you’re a disgrace to all Asians.” He cupped his hand on my cheek.

  Hearing my surname struck the wrong chord. I didn’t want to hope that my father would be in that caravan. It would hurt too much when he wasn’t. Backing from his touch, I diverted. “At least I’m not a zombie. You’re practically blue you’re so pasty.”

  “Seriously.” Wrapping his hand around mine, he squeezed my palm. “You never said anything about hating the cave before.”

  “I don’t want to talk about this. It’s not a big deal. Two more days and we’ll be back on track.”

  “Is that it? You’re scared this isn’t going to happen? Because it is. One way or another, it is.”

  “Something good has to come out of all of this. We worked so hard. I need it to, for Nave and Mom.”

  “It will. You’ll see.” He kissed my lips with a quick peck. “I gotta go, you know, golden boy and all. Hey, we’re probably sending a team to meet the transports. River doesn’t want them getting too close just in case. You want in?”

  “Definitely. Amelie and Mace shouldn’t though. If our fathers are there, it’s going to be hard not to react. We’re sort of incognito, but if Amelie and Mace change up their look, it’ll seem strange.”

  “Agreed.” Spinning, he lowered a leg down to the first two-by-four of the makeshift-ladder.

  “Are we really agreed? Because last time you said something like that you guys went behind my back.”

  Continuing to step down, he peered up at me. “Yes, really agreed. Our identities are almost all we have left. I’m not compromising those.”

  His wide eyes and seeming devotion to our cause got me every time. “Hey, come back up here a second.”

  I lay down on the platform and hung my head over. Climbing two steps, he pressed his lips to mine. Everything would be okay as long as I had him. We’d figure whatever happened out together.

  The next day felt worse. The waiting drove me insane, and I found every excuse to go outside, check on the cookers, scout for ducks or deer, take an extra run before dinner. Sadie accused me of trying to kill her, and I insisted she’d be stronger for it.

  “I don’t really thrive on that. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. What doesn’t kill you sometimes just makes you tired.”

  “Come on, old lady. We can eat now anyway.”

  After dinner, River called a leadership meeting. He wanted to decide on the team and route for contacting the group from Port Orford. Although we hoped they were coming to help with our cause, we couldn’t be sure. With six large vehicles, they could have seventy people or more. We couldn’t move our whole group. It would be too much of a risk. We’d have to be tactical about the meeting location, use some vantage point, a roadblock or other barricade. There weren’t many if any landforms on the road across northern Missouri or Kansas. It would be best for them to take a southerly route, skirting south of the federal forest lands, a course that would take them through the Ozark Mountains. This could also offer us the opportunity to stop their caravan with fewer soldiers. Could we risk communication to tell them to go south? What if they were Butler’s trucks meant to bait us?

  I watched Turner’s leg bounce, thinking I might put a knife through it myself. He jerked forward and started tapping on his keyboard. “If they were hacking into the same satellites, then we should be able to see their signatures. Perhaps they’d see us move and copy our path.”

  Again, the plan depended on the trucks being manned by actual Port Orford soldiers, not forces sent by Butler.

  “Wait. If you can see who is hacking into the satellites, can’t Butler?” I questioned Turner.

  “Yeah, but I reroute the signal back to an IP address inside the UNS.”

  “So, if Butler found this IP address, they would go to that house and confiscate their computer?”

  Turner shrugged. “Or just realize it was a deflection. Not traceable or not easily followed. By the time they found us, we’d already be gone. Don’t worry. I got this.”

  It was hard for me to imagine Turner being such a computer geek. But he excelled at everything he did.

  Turner pointed to his screen. “Someone’s hacking into the same satellites. If the hacks were coming from inside the UNS or Butler, then we would have heard something by now.”

  “And the group from Port Orford is probably using the same technique as us, rerouting the signal?” I paced behind the bank of computers.

  Turner stuck out his leg halting my steps. “Again, we would have seen some movement from Butler.”

  “Got it.” My palms grew sweaty. Thinking of the danger we were all in twenty-four seven would send me off the deep end, and I took deep breaths. Our fathers could be in that convoy.

  We decided to take two small fast vehicles each with teams of five people south to the Ozarks, hoping that the Port Orford vehicles would change course and intersect our path. Half of our best shooters would meet them. One team could reroute north if they didn’t change course and were traveling straight across the state through the federal forest.

  “I want to go.” I raised my hand as soon as the decision had been made.

  Amelie tugged on my sleeve, but I ignored her. River selected Turner and me, Garrison and Shooter from Lovelock, and six others to make the trip. We’d leave at dawn with the gear packed for the lead team of the capitol mission.

  As soon as River dismissed us, Amelie grabbed my arm and pulled me to an alcove. “Do you think this is a good idea? I know it would be dangerous for Mace and me to be included, but no one on the mission knows who you are. They don’t know how important it is to keep you alive. I don’t think you and Turner should be going.”

  “And stay here like sitting ducks?”

  “We’ve been sitting ducks since we got here.”

  Mace appeared from around the corner. “You’re drawing attention.”

  Amelie argued her case, and I defended mine, with me prevailing. As soon as Turner completed his next round of surveillance, the four of us met at the tree stand. Syncing radios to the same frequency, we programmed in coordinates for the rendezvous location and codes for various scenarios. Bananas equaled everything had gone wrong. Donuts represented being surrounded. Mace had been appointed lead tech while Turner was out, so we’d still have access to all the intel and contact with Amelie and Mace.

  Amelie bit her lip. “I still don’t see why you need to go, Jema.”

  I made bug eyes at her. “Jewel.” I corrected Amelie. “I have the right skills. No one is better with a bow and arrow. We can’t be firing guns all over the place. That will get us noticed for sure.”

  “Sadie and I should come too.”

  Placing my hands on both her shoulders, I fixed on her eyes. “I don’t want to leave you, but if your dad is in the convoy, could you or he not react? We can’t risk it. Turner and I will manage the information flow—”

  “You mean the fact that we’re alive, not dead like they believed.” Her eyes filled with tears.

  “I know none of this is ideal. But we’re not sure who is in those vehicles. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
I didn’t want her to hope, but how could we not. Our parents were just as much sitting ducks in Port Orford as we were here. It made sense that they would come help us. Sending Amelie and Mace to help get the cure to Zhou had been their plan from the beginning.

  At 0400 on day T minus forty-three, I woke to my alarm. Amelie, Sadie and I ran our three-mile loop, and after a quick wash in the pond, helped load supplies into the vehicles. After our last inspection, I found Amelie, Mace, and Sadie waiting at the front of the truck.

  “Seriously, we’re going to be gone like twelve hours. I’ll see you tonight.” I rested my hands on my hips. “Go back to sleep, because that’s what I’m doing, grabbing some more shut eye as soon as my butt hits the seat.”

  “Don’t you wish.” Amelie wrapped her arms around me. “Be safe. I love you.”

  “I love you. But we’re not doing this. I’ll see you tonight.”

  As Amelie released me, Sadie wrapped her arms around my shoulders. I froze as we’d never showed this type of affection before.

  “Don’t be such a stick in the mud. I know you like me, or you wouldn’t have kept me around.” She patted my shoulders.

  “Thank you, Sadie.” Squirming out of her embrace, I held her gaze. “Take care of yourself and make sure Amelie doesn’t do anything stupid. Food, that’s your only job. I’ll be back by midnight to check on your progress.”

  Like I was in charge. The statement made me feel like I was in control of something, even the most meaningless thing that no one ever believed. But that day I might see my father.

  “Yeah, we’ll tow your weight while you’re away.” Sadie winked at me.

  “Let’s roll.” River clapped his hands together.

  I put one foot on the tire and swung my other leg over the side of the vehicle, taking a seat in the back, Turner, then Shooter to my left, and Garrison and River in the front. With satellite dodging, the drive would take seven hours to reach the mountainous terrain of the Ozarks. Then we’d scout for a span of road with cliffs on both sides so that we could create a roadblock. It left us a buffer of a few hours before we expected the caravan from Port Orford to arrive. I bounced my leg, thinking sitting and waiting would drive me insane. I rested my head on the back of the seat. The smartest thing to do was sleep.