“So do we stay here, or keep going?” asks my mother.
“Yanx will find us here once they regroup,” says Patrick. “We really need to keep moving to stay ahead of them.”
“Patrick’s right. The divinity will find us now, even without the help of Washington’s tech,” adds Millie. “They may not be as capable as the forest people but we are an easy mark. We are loud, slow, and leaving evidence of our movement through the forest all around.”
Delphine types out a note, which she passes to Millie. Millie reads aloud from the tablet.
Let’s keep going. We must be close to the fuel stocks now. I’m confident the forest people will find us.
“Okay,” I say. “This is all well and good, but which way do we go?”
We need to keep heading south. That’s the direction we’ve been traveling in. The rivers are running east to the sea. If we reach a river, we must cross it to continue in the right direction.
What Delphine writes makes sense and we agree quickly. We get our bearings and set off in a southerly direction.
The commander is still struggling to keep up, as is the man who injured his ankle back at the river, so our progress is slow. It’s too slow, too loud.
“Please hurry,” I say to the commander. “Here, take my arm. We’ll be quicker together.”
Commander Rothman gives me a strange look but loops her arm around mine as I slide it behind her back. “Thank you,” she utters.
We scramble to the top of a large fallen log. The others continue on, and I reach down to pull the commander up. She tucks her red hair behind her ears and grasps my hand. We scuttle over the top of the slippery, mossy tree and slip down the other side.
“What is your plan once you get to the fuel stocks?” I ask her, as we hurry over the uneven forest floor.
“We have no choice but to take it by force. The Washingtonians want us dead. They aren’t just going to share with us.” She furrows her brow in a defensive expression.
“But why do you need it?” I ask her. “If the fuel was at the root of all the problems before, why are you chasing it again now?”
We reach a dense wall of bamboo. The others are waiting anxiously in front of it. “Let’s go around,” yells Millie.
We trek along the length of the bamboo thicket for a few moments before Commander Rothman stops. She faces me directly and says, “It’s more complicated than you know, Chris. We can’t just start from nothing—”
“Someone’s coming!” shouts Rich from behind us, cutting her off. We all stop and stare in the direction Rich is pointing. We’re bone weary. I can see it on our faces, especially the people from the station. We can’t run much further.
“Can you hear that?” I yell to Rich. “It’s the sound of horses.”
“We’ll never outrun horses,” he replies.
Commander Rothman immediately begins issuing orders. “Open the weapons cache. Prepare for the attack.” Philip and the other man get the box open and the commander indicates a gigantic weapon that looks like a gun.
“Rocket launcher,” says Ben to me, as he takes a stance, his back to the bamboo, his gun ready.
Everyone has his or her weapons drawn, including the man from the station who steadies the rocket launcher. We are ready for the next assault.
The horses stop a short distance away. They are just visible through a copse of oak trees. I hear her voice before I can make her out properly.
It’s Yanx, and she calls out sweetly. “Christopher! Yanx here. That beast rudely interrupted us earlier. I want to talk to you and your new friends. This isn’t a trap. I want to join you. I want to help you find the fuel stockpile.”
“What the heck?” says Ben.
“How does she know about the fuel?” whispers Commander Rothman urgently. She looks at me with an accusatory stare.
“Chris. Don’t do anything foolish. We’ve got you surrounded. We can see you, including your very impressive weapon,” I can hear the derision in Yanx’s voice. “Tell them to lower it, and I will come to you unarmed as a show of good faith.”
“We don’t have much choice,” I say to the others in a low voice. “All that will happen is more bloodshed if we fight them.”
“She’s evil,” says my mother. “We don’t want to do a deal with her.”
“I think Chris is right, Ellie,” says Ben. “I don’t want to see any more of us killed.”
“We’ll talk,” I yell across the forest, not waiting for a consensus. My mother glares at me but I pretend not to notice. “Everyone, weapons down.”
Yanx waits until the rocket launcher has been lowered to the ground and then walks casually through the trees. She stops several cubits from us. She twitches a long leather whip theatrically.
“Now we are all together again, we can talk business,” she says. Crack, goes the whip.
“How do you know about the fuel stocks,” demands Commander Rothman.
Yanx closes the distance to us and walks in a circle around the commander. Yanx towers over her and flicks the whip lazily in the air. Commander Rothman stands straighter, her brilliant red hair practically glowing where the sun hits it.
“You’re the captain of the ship, aren’t you? You’re every bit as beautiful and stubborn as they said,” purrs Yanx.
The commander stiffens but keeps a straight face. “I am the commander of Station MMC. And who, may I ask, are you?”
“I am the queen around here,” replies Yanx. She stretches her arm out languidly then rolls her head. “I know who you are. I know more about you than you think. I’ve got ears inside Washington.”
I think about Lincoln, Yanx’s lover. He must be trading secrets in bed.
“So, will you join forces with me?” asks Yanx. “Washington still thinks I am working with them, but I’m prepared to change sides for the right price. Remember that there is only one right answer to this question.”
Yanx cracks the whip loudly, and the commander startles.
“What price?” asks the commander.
“I want an equal share of the fuel. I’ll give you full protection in exchange for half of what we find. You’ll never survive without me. I own these sad and desperate lands. We tolerate the little people,” Yanx looks dismissively at Birch. “But every gang in this area is loyal to me, or as good as dead. I won’t let them touch you.”
Commander Rothman stares at Yanx, drawing herself up to her full height. She gestures to Ben and my mother. They both come closer to her and whisper urgently together. We are all watching them. My mother shakes her head and is getting increasingly angry.
“I’m sorry Ellie,” says the commander loudly. “I think it’s in the long-term interests of all of us.”
The commander turns back to Yanx. She’s about to speak when she’s interrupted by the sound of a crow calling.
“That’s my people,” says Birch. “This is getting interesting.”
Chapter Twelve
We have our backs against the wall of dense bamboo, with nowhere to run should things escalate. The people from the station have a rocket launcher aimed at Yanx. A chain away, loitering in the ancient oaks, are the divinity and Apollo, with their huge black guns. And somewhere close by, the forest people are waiting to attack.
“Come out and face me!” yells Yanx into the forest. She turns slowly, flicking her whip. Her eyes are wild and she exudes a raw, powerful energy. Everyone is silent, watching her. The sounds of the forest rise up to fill the space left by her words.
Rich looks at me urgently. “What do we do now? We are about to get caught in the crossfire.”
“If things turn bad, get the others and run. Don’t hang around,” I say to him. “I’ll stay and fend off Yanx and the divinity for as long as I can.”
Birch is watching us intently. Before I can stop her, she steps forward next to Yanx. Yanx looks at her incredulously as she takes another step in front of Yanx and raises her arms. “It’s okay,” calls Birch. She spins in a circle, her hair splaying
around her as she moves, like an unfurling flower. “Please don’t attack. Yanx is with us.”
For a moment it seems everyone is holding their breath. Then—as though by magic—thirty or so forest people materialize between the trees and out of the shadows all around us.
“They’re incredible,” I whisper to Rich. He nods, his dark eyes darting around the forest.
A tall man I recognize from the camp on the plateau is the first to move. He walks to the commander and searches her face.
“Rowhan, thank you for finding us,” says the commander. She brushes her red hair back and tucks it behind her ear. It’s barely noticeable but there is a slight tremor in her hand.
“Mary, please explain what’s going on. Is what Birch said true?” he asks in a soft voice. He has the same tanned, muscular build as the rest of the forest people and wears loose cotton clothes in the colors of the forest. He has a bow and arrow looped over his shoulder and a short-bladed knife in his hand.
Every head turns to look at Commander Rothman. “Yanx has offered to help us take control of the fuel stocks,” she says simply, with no apology in her voice. Yanx grins broadly and walks closer to the commander, twitching her whip so it lands softly at Rowhan’s feet.
I watch the man from the forest closely. He looks down at the whip with distaste and tightens his grip on the knife. I lift up my gun, ready in the event things deteriorate.
The man from the forest looks at Yanx and they stare at one another for a long moment. There is the loud call of a wren close by and I’m suddenly acutely aware of the intensity with which Rich is clasping his gun. “Steady,” I say to him. He doesn’t look at me but remains focused, ready.
Rowhan, the forest man, and Yanx are each survivors of the mainland in their own way. Something passes over Rowhan’s face and Yanx draws the whip away from him, pulling the leather cord behind her. Another beat, another deep inhalation, and Rowhan holds up his hand. Yanx bows her head slightly and presses her hand to his. They hold their free hands out to Commander Rothman, who pauses and then steps forward to briefly touch her own hands to theirs.
The three of them have formed an unlikely alliance.
Yanx raises her arms up and twists towards the Divinity. “Come, ladies. And Apollo… We are all friends here.” She catches my eye and winks, a twisted smile on her pretty mouth.
The Divinity and Apollo ride closer, appraising us coolly. Apollo dismounts his horse and is walking near to us when there’s a loud growl and Ben pushes past me, charging at Apollo.
Ben tackles Apollo to the ground and the two men are rolling around in the overgrown understory, grunting from exertion and smashing each other with their fists. Commander Rothman is yelling Ben’s name and the divinity are jeering loudly.
“Ben,” I yell, running over to them. I grab hold of Apollo’s arm and try to drag him away. Apollo twists and smashes an elbow into my face. The blow stuns me but I stagger back to them. There’s an anguished cry from behind me and when I look at the two men, Apollo has Ben pinned underneath him, the blade of his knife at Ben’s throat.
“Get off me, you animal,” gasps out Ben. “Or are you going to kill me like you tried to kill my daughter.”
Apollo laughs maniacally. “I might just do that.”
I don’t hesitate and rush at them, knocking Apollo sideways off Ben. Apollo drops the knife and I hear it scuttle away on the ground. I have my hands around Apollo’s throat and I’m squeezing. His face is bright red and his eyes are bulging grotesquely.
I hear Yanx laughing behind me and suddenly all the anger leaks out of me. I release my grip on Apollo’s neck and jump up, stepping backwards. Ben moves next to me and puts his arm around my shoulder. We both stare at Apollo lying on the ground.
“It’s okay, son,” says Ben in a low voice meant only for me. “You aren’t like Yanx. You never will be. Ada wouldn’t want us to kill him. We need to let this go. For our own sakes.”
The sharp crack of a whip makes us turn. “Have you got that out of your system, boys? Can’t we all just get along?” Yanx cackles to herself.
And so, with that less than auspicious start, our small misfit army assembles by the bamboo. We’ve got a dozen people from the station and our Martha’s Vineyard fugitives, together with Patrick and Birch. The forest people and Yanx—with her elite warriors, the divinity—make up the final numbers. There’s a deep sense of unease in the group. We don’t mingle, keeping to our segregated groups.
“Well, this is certainly an unexpected turn of events,” whispers Abigail to me. “I could not have predicted this a few days ago.”
We are sitting on the ground in a small circle, watching the others around us and talking in low voices while we wait for Rowhan, Yanx and the commander to hammer out the last details of the plan.
A divinity walks close to us, the shaved sides of her head adorned with the tattoo of a bird in flight. She pauses and stare at the tattoos on Patrick’s dark, muscular arms. He used to be a member of the Runners, but deserted and was in hiding until recently.
The divinity narrows her eyes and reaches for her knife. Rich has his gun drawn in an instant and points it steadily at her. The woman purses her blood-red lips and mimes slicing the knife across her throat, all the while staring at Patrick. He stares back at her defiantly.
“You need to be careful of those women,” says Millie, running her hand through her close cropped hair.
“They won’t do anything while their leader is working with us to get the fuel, but once that’s done we need to get out of here,” he replies. “I reckon an ‘accident’ might happen that puts me in a shallow grave.”
“We’ll go back to the winery,” says Millie. “We’ll all go back. You’re all welcome.”
Delphine takes out her tablet and taps out a note.
There’s nothing here for us but the spoils of a war that doesn’t belong to us. I will come with you Millie.
Our small group looks somber at Delphine’s words. I scan their faces, taking mental stock of their reactions. I’m pretty sure I can count on Delphine and Rich’s support for my personal mission, but the others are more difficult to read.
Our group continues to rest and make small talk. I stand casually, stretching my back and taking a deep breath of the warm, petty air. “I’m going to get some water. I heard there is a small stream nearby.” I look away and whistle twice. Rich and Abigail stand when they hear the whistle.
“I’ll come too,” says Rich.
“Me too,” says Abigail. She has Delphine’s hand and tugs on it for her to join us.
The others barely register as we stand up and wander away, water bladders clutched in our hands. We step our way through a large group of forest people and they watch us warily as we pass.
We walk away from the bamboo wall and deeper into the oak forest. It’s cooler in here, with the dense canopy shading us. “Thanks for coming,” I say to them all, when we are hidden deeper in the forest.
“Is everything okay, brother?” asks Rich.
“I just wanted to touch base with you three after the recent developments.”
“We can’t get away from her,” says Abigail, shaking her head. I know she means Yanx.
Delphine starts tapping.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to align ourselves with Yanx. I don’t trust her. I am pretty worried about what’s about to happen.
“I agree. And I’m still unsure about the people from the station,” I say, trying to get a sense of where my friends’ loyalties lie.
Abigail, predictably, looks aghast. “Please Chris. We can’t go down this path again, we don’t want anyone else to get hurt.” Her words are sharp and intended to cause me pain. I want to reach out and touch her, but keep my arms by my side. Abigail and I have made strides recently, but evidently we are not all the way there, yet.
I don’t think he means it like that. Do you, Chris?
“No, I don’t mean it like that,” I reply. “I don’t want anyone to get hu
rt either. But our core group should stick together and be slow to trust any of them. I don’t want to align myself with a single one of them.”
We reach the small stream and I bend down to fill the water bladder. When it’s swollen and heavy with cool water, I pass it back and take the next bladder, filling them in turn. I close my eyes and splash water on my face, feeling the cold of the water as it drips down my neck and chest.
I dry my face on my sleeve. “It concerns me that Commander Rothman was so quick to align herself with Yanx,” I say, scanning the forest. “And how could they agree to work with Apollo after what he did?”
“Who are you looking for?” asks Abigail. “Anyone who could want us dead is here.”
“There’s still the Washingtonians,” I say.
“And the monsters,” adds Rich.
I force a laugh, but the image of the beast with the divinity in its jaws will stay with me for a long time.
“We should head back,” says Abigail, shivering. “We don’t know what’s out there.” We agree and begin walking slowly towards the bamboo wall where our misfit army has congregated.
“It’s strange how badly they all want the fuel,” I say.
Delphine nods and taps on her tablet.
Particularly when that was one of the things that led to all the trouble in the past, before the sea levels rose.
We sit back down a short distance from our group under an ancient oak with gnarled, twisted roots that stretch out over the forest floor. I crouch on one of the protruding roots and survey the area. I notice Carl looking towards us. I quickly look away but it’s too late, and Abigail is already calling to him.
“Carl, come over,” says Abigail, smiling warmly at him. I shoot her a warning look which, as is typical for Abigail, she ignores. Carl comes and sits with his back against the large trunk that Delphine and Abigail are sharing.
“Carl, I’ve barely seen you this last few days,” says Abigail.
“I’ve been with Millie and your mother,” he looks at Rich and me. “We’ve been helping Mary copy the collection and prepare for the raid. This is crazy, right? Imagine what we’ll be able to do once they have control of the fuel.”
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