“Drew?” I ask.
“Who else? Why’d you hit me?” Now that he’s closer I can just make out his face.
“I didn’t know it was you, the dark and all. Sorry, you OK?” This is the most we’ve talked in days.
“No I’m not OK. You hit me! I think I’m bleeding.”
Now I feel really bad. “Come back to the fire and let me look at it,” I say, trying to be nice.
“Fine.” He shrugs and follows me back. We take a seat near the fire. Sam and Lee are still fast asleep as I search Drew’s head for the source of the blood. There is a small gash near his hairline. I grab the antiseptic ointment out of my pack and dab it on his cut. He winces despite his best efforts to cover it up; always the tough guy. Once I have it all cleaned I have to stitch him up. I’ve never done this before but Ma packed us some needles and thread. I’m sure that in a hospital they use some special kind of thread for this but here we just have to use what we can get. I taught myself how to sew a few years ago so this can’t be much different, right?
“This is going to hurt,” I tell him.
“Just get it over with,” he says. It only takes a few stitches. He’s hiding it well, but I can tell its excruciating. After about the second one, Drew has grabbed hold of my knee and is squeezing hard. I finish closing up the wound but Drew has still not released me. His eyes are closed and his teeth clenched. I examine my handy work. The stitches are crooked but I guess it’ll have to do.
“I’m done,” I say softly. He opens his eyes and looks at me.
“Sorry,” he mumbles when he realizes he’s still holding onto me. He immediately loosens his grip and pulls his hand away.
“You good?” I ask.
“Yeah.” Once again, the silence stretches between us and makes us both uncomfortable.
“Are you ever going to talk to me or are you going to keep being a stupid git?” I blurt out, a little louder than I had planned. At this statement, it’s like a huge weight is lifted off both of us and we start to laugh. Quietly at first, but then we are rolling.
“Blunt much?” Drew asks.
“Sorry. But seriously, why are you freezing me out. I don’t like it and I don’t understand it. I mean, yeah we kissed, so what. I feel guilty about Gabby but I still don’t want to lose you. I need someone to talk to. I need you on my side and if I can’t count on that, then I don’t know if we can save my sister. I think you just need to get over yourself.” Everything I’ve been feeling just spills out of my mouth. I can’t stop it.
He is no longer grinning by the time I’m finished. He looks directly into my eyes as he gives me his response. “Dawn,” he says, “I am always on your side. We are going to get Gabby back.” He pauses for a few moments then grabs my hand. “I’ve never been very good at getting close to people. I always revert to charm and seduction. That’s all I have. When you rejected me I didn’t know what to do. I don't know how to do the friend thing.”
This is a boy that lives and breathes confidence. He makes life seem so easy and yet here he is in front of me, so vulnerable and broken. In that instant there is something I just have to know.
“Drew?” I ask. “Why did you come with me? I don’t think you’re in love with Gabby. I mean, I know you want to find out what happened to your brother, but you could have ditched me when we got over here. Why didn’t you?”
He considers the question before saying, “It was that look in your eye when I first met you. When I came to tell you your sister had been sent away.” At my puzzled expression he continues. “You looked lost. As if your entire world had just come crumbling down. But not only that, you also looked determined, as if you would move mountains to get your sister back. It was the same look I had when my brother was taken. I had nothing left that I cared about in London. Maybe we can save Gabby and find out what happened to James.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, unable to put words to the emotions running through my head, “for everything.”
He shrugs and says, “I was ready for an adventure anyways. England is boring. Never thought we’d make it this far though, well, I never thought you’d make it this far. Me, on the other hand...” Drew winks and I can tell that he’s had as much seriousness as he can handle. I lightly punch him in the arm. “Hey!” he says, “you gonna cut me there too? You’re brutal.” He’s trying to lighten the mood and succeeds. In that moment I am more hopeful for this journey than I have been in a long time. We can do it. I know we can. I push myself to my knees and scoot towards Drew to hug him. He pulls me closer into his arms. He releases me and leans back. I lie down next to him and sleep comes quickly. By the time I wake up, the sun has started to rise.
I am lying with my head on Drew’s chest. His left arm is around my waist and he is holding my hand in his. Our legs are tangled together, making it hard to move. He is still fast asleep so I try to free myself without waking him. Managing to get to my feet and walk away, I find that Sam and Lee are already wide awake and getting some food out for a quick bite before we head out.
“Sleep well?” Sam asks when he sees me. From the way he is laughing I can tell he saw Drew and me together.
“As a matter of fact I did.” I’m trying hard not to show him the embarrassment I’m feeling. I’ve never slept next to a boy before. There is nothing going on between us but it’s still new territory for me.
“Well, go wake up lover boy. We need to get on the road.” I grab some dried meat and head back to wake Drew. We eat breakfast and then head out, one day closer to my sister.
Chapter 29
Gabby
Everything has gone back to normal since the count two nights ago. My days are filled with work, both in the groves and back at camp. I have wanted to keep myself busy so I’ve been helping prepare meals. In the evenings people work on rebuilding parts of the camp that were destroyed in the storm. I’ve started helping with some of this as well. It’s difficult because we don’t have the materials we need. We have to use whatever we can find in the forest. Mud is used to hold everything together. It has only been a little over a week since the hurricane but it seems like that was worlds away. Spending the night talking with Jeremy and Claire seems like a dream; the night on the beach, a fantasy. I touch my lips, remembering. What I wouldn’t give to have the two of them around again.
They say that these camps are meant to break you. To make you into sheep; obeying everything they say. That’s the purpose of instilling fear and making examples of those who think for themselves. It causes despair, and that is a person’s worst enemy in a place like this. Despair is the complete loss of hope. Hope is what keeps us going, keeps us fighting. When I first arrived in the colonies, I was full of hope. I thought of my situation as temporary; I was going to get out. Ever since Claire’s death, though, despair is beginning to take root in my soul. I hate to think of myself becoming more like the people here; accepting loss and moving on. They act like pain and suffering and loss are just an acceptable part of life.
Every single day here is the same. We wake up, work all day in the hot sun picking fruit, return to camp, go to sleep, and then wake up the next day and do it all over again. When nothing changes and there is nothing new to look forward to, it is easy to become a zombie; devoid of feeling and emotion. It’s a way to survive.
Ever since the count, we have had rankers stationed all around our camp. They don’t speak to us, but I have caught them watching us, although glaring at us may be more accurate. There are men scouring the fence every day, probably trying to find the spot that allowed Jeremy and me to get out. I don’t know how they are going to find it. The night of the count, I went back out to the fence and removed the torn cloth that Claire had tied on the fence to mark the spot. I don’t know why, but I didn’t want to completely lose that way out so I found some rocks and piled them near the fence. The soldiers won’t look twice at the rocks and hopefully won’t find the place at all. Every few days I venture out to the fence to check and make sure the rocks are still there.
Nothing has changed yet but I can’t keep doing this. We are constantly watched and someone is bound to notice me sneaking off and suss out what's going on.
I miss Jeremy. With him gone, I have no one else to talk to. Amanda is great but she is more like a mother than anything. I can tell she is worried about me. I wish she would stop hovering. I don’t say much to anyone else, I’d rather stick to myself. More than ever, the people here think I am trouble. Everyone knows I was with Jeremy on the night he was caught and they probably think it was my fault. Maybe I am trouble. Maybe I shouldn’t blame them for wanting to stay away from me.
I am angry at the world right now and it scares me. I’ve never felt this way. I am angry at my captors but also at myself because I am starting to give in to this feeling of hopelessness and I’m not strong enough to resist it. Even though I don’t really think I’ll actually succeed, I need to try to get out of here. It gives me something to focus on rather than the likely reality that I will die here.
I don’t know how to swim, but it can’t be too hard can it? If I made it back to the beach I could try to swim somewhere, I don’t know where. The dogs couldn’t follow me in the water could they? No, that’s a stupid idea. I’d probably drown, or worse, get eaten by one of the sea creatures I’ve heard about. What if I made it back to the woods and took a new path? It has to lead somewhere right? I could die out there wandering the woods forever but I guess it’s better than dying in here. What about Jeremy? I don’t even know if he is still alive, but what if he is? Well, I can’t help him from in here so my first priority needs to be getting out. Once I am free, I can figure out what to do next. I made Claire a promise and I am going to try my hardest to keep it. I just hope it’s not too late for him.
This is going to be difficult with all the soldiers around but they have to leave their posts to sleep and eat right? The next night, I leave the hut and make my way to the fence. Tonight I’m just watching. Luckily, the spot of the fence that I need to keep an eye on is near a rather large patch of trees. I duck behind a big oak and settle in to watch. I feel like one of those secret agents I see in the movies but it’s a lot less cool in real life. There are two soldiers walking this length of the fence. There’s no way I can get past both of them.
“How much longer do we have to do this?” the first one asks. The second one looks at his wrist. I assume he’s looking at a watch but it’s too dark to tell.
“A few more hours,” he responds.
“No, I mean how many more days at this post?”
“Are you complaining private?” The second soldier must have a higher rank than the first.
“No, it’s just these slaves. Have you looked at them? There is no way any of them are going to try anything. They’re pathetic. Criminals. The lot of ‘em.” The hatred in his voice is strong.
“I don’t like being around them anymore than you but we don’t question our orders. That’s a surefire way to end up here yourself. Just be glad you got posted here. This is an important post. All of this food gets sent to London. The cities across the pond couldn’t function without us.” They stop talking for a while and walk in silence.
I am about to give up my plan and head back for the night when one of the soldiers begins talking into his radio. I can’t make out his muffled words but then he raises his head to look at his comrade. He raises one finger in the air and rotates it around three times. They both turn and walk away, leaving this part of the fence unguarded. It must be a change in shift. I begin counting in my head. Two new soldiers arrive about the time my counting reaches five minutes. Okay, so, assuming the timing is the same every night, I have just a few minutes to make it through the fence and leg it far enough away so that they can’t see me. This is not going to be easy. I need to try, though.
I can’t waste any time. Tomorrow night is my chance.
Chapter 30
Gabby
I go through the day just like any other. I work hard in the groves and back at camp. At each meal, I only eat a portion of my food and tuck the rest away for my journey. I feel nervous around Amanda. I’m afraid she’ll notice something is different. If she found out, she would try to talk me out of it. If anyone else found out, they might turn me in, hoping for some reward.
That night, I wait until all the fires are out and people have gone to bed. I slip out of my hut and sneak through camp, hoping not to wake anyone. I reach the patch of trees that shielded me so well last night and take a seat. Waiting for what seems like hours, I listen to the endless chatter of the soldiers. It is the same two from last night but they are much more talkative tonight. Just when I am thinking that tonight may be a bust because the shift change hasn’t happened yet, the radio buzzes. The soldier talks into it for a moment and then makes the same one fingered gesture as last night. Just like that, the fence is unguarded. This is my chance. It's a dodgy plan but it's better than staying here.
I make a break for it, running at top speed towards the fence. I search the ground for the rocks I had placed, relieved to find that they are still there. I grab the bottom wire of the fence and stretch it up so that I can squeeze through. Just as I am about to slide underneath, I hear someone yell.
“Hey! Escapee!” There are three soldiers running in my direction. I’m not even through the fence yet so I know there is no way I’m going to make it. I had to try. I let go of the fence and stand up facing the soldiers. My hands are raised to signal surrender and the last thing I remember is a sharp blow to my head and then blackness.
Chapter 31
Dawn
Lee and Sam tell us that we’re almost to Floridaland but I don’t get how they know that. The scenery hasn’t changed much. I guess they’ve been here enough times to know. I have no idea what Drew and I would have done without them. We’d be completely lost. What were we thinking? There is no doubt in my mind that we would have failed if it were not for those two Americans. Now, though, everything has changed.
Every day seems to blend into the next. I can’t even tell how many have passed. From sun up to sun down we walk. Most of the time, we are in overgrown forests but occasionally we choose the easier route of a nearby road. I am shocked at the lack of any sort of civilization here. Sam tells us some of the old stories of the people that once lived here.
“These people were free,” he says one day. “They were able to make their own choices and do what they wanted to with their lives.”
“Yeah, they taught us that in our lessons,” I pipe in. “But we also learned that freedom comes with a price. In England, people have less freedoms and the country is better off.” I look sharply over at Drew when I hear him let out a harsh laugh.
“Do you really believe that Dawn?” he asks “I'd hate to think you're that daft.”
“You’ve heard the stories of all the religious fanatics that caused so many problems,” I respond.
“Yes, but I’ve also seen what our supposedly superior country does to its own citizens. So have you,” Drew says. I stay silent but not because I don’t have anything to say. I’m questioning the words that almost come out of my mouth. I need to stop thinking that everything I’ve been taught is the truth. Everything I think I know is now tainted by uncertainty.
Lee tries to change the subject. “The stories all say that there were cities with buildings reaching to the sky and towns full of American people. Now there are very few of them left.” His voice drops off and the rest of the conversation goes with it. No one speaks until we come across a set of ruins around midday.
What a sad sight. The ruins are rather small but all four walls and the roof are still standing. The structure is made of stone and covered in moss. Needing to stop anyways for lunch, we decide to explore. I drop my rucksack on the ground and walk towards the doorway. Drew blocks my path.
“That roof looks like it could cave in at any moment. Don’t go in there,” he says. I shove him out of my way and keep walking.
“I just want to take a peek,” I holler back. Everything a
bout this country fascinates me and I need to see more. I step through the doorway and scan the room. There are weeds growing through the floor and the air is stale.
Every time we come across these condemned places I hope to find something that will tell me about the people who lived here. It’s silly but they deserve to be remembered. I never find anything, though.
I run my hand along the wall as I circle the room. It is surprisingly sturdy being that it really shouldn’t be standing at all. As I touch each surface, my hand comes away covered in dirt. I am almost all the way around the room when I notice something on the wall where my hand had just been. I take a few steps back to where I was and brush some more of the dirt off of the wall. Color is beginning to show through the final layers of mud. I see red and blue and even some white.
“Guys! Get in here!” I am now scraping the wall frantically with my fingernails to remove the last bits of mud and moss. There are two images.
“Holy shit!” Lee is the first through the door. “Do you know what that is?” Sam drops to his knees in front of the images. He slowly reaches one hand up to touch the wall.
“It’s the eagle and the flag, it must be.” His voice is no more than a whisper. I look to Drew and our eyes lock. The image of the man lying unmoving on the ground over an image just like this is stuck in my head forever. We haven’t mentioned that man to Sam or Lee. Drew is still conflicted about killing him, which is why I’m surprised when he speaks up.
“We’ve seen the eagle before,” Drew says. Both Lee and Sam turn quickly to look at him.
“What are you talking about?” Lee asks. “Where?”
Drew doesn’t say anything so I tell the story. No one speaks until I am finished and even then, there are a few minutes of quiet. Drew is the first one to find his voice.
“What does it mean?” he asks.
Lee is the one who answers the question. “Ma told us about this but we’ve never seen a picture of one. The bald eagle used to be the national bird. During the war it represented freedom. It is still used by some groups I guess.”
Dawn of Rebellion (Dawn of Rebellion Series Book 1) Page 10