by Bev Prescott
“They took Eve.” Sharon slid inside the protection of the Ryan property as he locked the gate behind them. “NONA soldiers dragged her away.”
“Shush.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Not out here.” He put an arm around her and pulled her close. “Rest your weight on me. You’re hurt.”
She collapsed against him, letting the strength of his friendship fill in the holes punched into her resilience by the events of the day.
Areva, his wife, appeared in the doorway. “Oh no. We’re too late,” she said. The slight Taiwanese woman took Sharon’s elbow and helped hustle her inside their home dotted with artificial flora tucked into colorful clay pots. It had the feel of a lush rainforest, with plastic reincarnations of long-extinct Asian plants. A Buddha statue embossed in gold sat cross-legged against the far wall. Above him hung an oversized, framed tintype portrait of an ancient Taiwanese King. “I’ll get your medical bag, dear.” The woman with perfect skin and ebony hair swirled into a tight bun shut the door behind them. As she went to the closet, she moved like fluid in a silk gown adorned in pastels.
“What do you mean too late?” Sharon asked.
“Speaking of my clandestine technology, I sent a drone with a message to your farm this morning.” Dr. Ryan eased Sharon into a chair. “You must not have received it in time.”
“No.” Boosted by a surge of adrenaline and worry, Sharon got up. “Tell me what’s going on.” A jagged bolt of pain stabbed into her brain, wobbling her. “Dammit.” She pinched the bridge of her nose.
“I will. But first tell me what happened to Eve.” Dr. Ryan tilted Sharon’s head, scrutinizing her injury.
“The NONA thought she was Chinese. They cornered us in the alley off Walnut Street.” She looked from Dr. Ryan to Areva. “You have to hide. They’re rounding up people of Asian descent without checking identity chips.” Fear sharpened her voice. “Eve is sick, and they simply took her. They wouldn’t listen.”
“We’d heard. That’s the message we tried to get to you this morning—that they’re rounding up any Asians they spot.” Dr. Ryan gestured for her to sit on the sofa situated at a right angle to the chair and table made of chestnut, a long-extinct wood. The well-cared-for antique that had been used for elaborate meals before the world’s food supply collapsed was now a makeshift medical table. “Either lie down or sit, please. You look terrible. You have to let me do something about that gash in your head.”
“No,” Sharon protested. “There’s no time. I have to find Eve. Why would they take her?” Her words tumbled out in a stream of consciousness, marking the chaos of the circumstance without her having any idea of what direction to move in order to get Eve back.
Dr. Ryan motioned to the chair. “At least sit for a minute. You don’t want to run the risk of infection. Please, let me check your wound. You won’t be any good to Eve if you’re sick.”
Sharon lowered herself into the chair. A sharp sting shot through her upper back when she leaned against it. “Ah,” she groaned.
“Do you have pain someplace other than your head?” He asked.
“My back.” She leaned forward. “Upper right shoulder. I must’ve landed on it when I fell.”
Areva set the medical bag on the table near her husband. “This can’t be happening.” She fumbled with its buckles.
Dr. Ryan took one of Areva’s hands and kissed the back of it. “It’s going to be okay, dear. I promise.”
“Tell me what’s going on,” Sharon interrupted. “You know something more, right?”
“I have an idea. It’s just a hunch, but please, let me take a look at you before we get into my theory. I’m worried about you. How’d you get the bang to your head?” Dr. Ryan plucked a pair of gloves from the medical bag and slipped them on.
“One of the soldiers hit me with his weapon,” Sharon answered. “It must’ve knocked me out.”
“From the looks of it, he hit you hard.” The doctor retrieved a penlight from his bag and clicked it on. Shining the thin thread of light into her right eye, then the left, he said, “Your left pupil is slightly dilated. Can you tell me who the president of NONA is?”
“Of course, it’s Miguel Lorenz.”
“Good. That suggests the concussion you likely have isn’t too bad.” He brushed a strand of blood-soaked hair from her forehead. “Now, how long ago would you guess you were knocked out?”
“I don’t know.” Sharon tamped down her building exasperation. “Your street out front is empty, which means that people are still waiting for food distribution. Maybe I lost twenty minutes or so.”
“Where were you when she was taken?” he asked.
“Close. Like I said, they cornered us on Walnut.” Instinctively, Sharon tried to stand. “I know you’re trying to help. But Eve doesn’t have time for this. Tell me why they took her.”
Dr. Ryan placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’ll tell you everything we know.” He maneuvered her back into the chair. “You have my word. But right now, we need to clean and close that cut. There’s a lot of nasty stuff out there waiting to infiltrate an open wound.” He touched her cheek kindly. “Please.”
“It’s happening sooner than you thought it would. Isn’t it?” Areva said, more as a declaration than question. Her expression was grave as she stared out the window before turning her attention to Sharon. “Let me get you some water.”
Sharon writhed in the chair trying to escape the pain. “Please tell me what’s going on.”
“Very well,” Dr. Ryan sighed. “All hell is about to break loose.” He moistened a piece of gauze with betadine. “It’s the news of the Thwaites.” He dabbed at Sharon’s cut.
She winced. In spite of the pain, her head felt clearer and clearer. “What about it?”
Areva poured water from a filtering-jar into a glass. “You need to hydrate.” She handed the glass to Sharon. “From the look of your skin, I’m guessing you haven’t had any water to drink today.”
Sharon took the offered glass in Pavlovian response. “Not since yesterday afternoon.” Ignoring the subtle metallic odor, she gulped the cloudy water, trusting that the filtering-jar had done the job of removing the things most likely to make her sick. “What does the Thwaites have to do with Eve?”
“The collapse of the Thwaites is imminent.” He tossed the bloodied gauze into a container. “Military personnel living on Antarctica are being evacuated now. They think that what’s left of the Thwaites glacier will go anytime. Most definitely by the time the southern summer solstice arrives. When the Thwaites goes, the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet will slide into the ocean.”
“They’ve been threatening that for years,” Sharon said. “What difference does it make now? With the collapse of the North Atlantic Oscillation, how much worse could things get?”
“Catastrophically worse.” Dr. Ryan cut the top off of a tube filled with synthetic bio-glue. “It may be the last nail in the coffin for humanity.” Sharon felt his gloved finger spread the material along her torn skin. “We received notice about it from NONA last night.”
“Orders,” Areva corrected him bitterly. “Orders in the form of notice.”
“What does all of this have to do with Eve?” Sharon closed her eyes as the doctor pinched her cut closed and held it until the glue dried.
“So much of Boston, like the world’s other cities, has been slowly drowning in the rising seas. When that ice sheet slides into the ocean, it will create what’s known as the Extinction Wave. It will obliterate all remaining life in this city. Other coastal cities will drown as well. It will be the kind of flood not seen since old Noah built his ark. The deluge will usher in the world’s fifth world war. Nation will destroy nation over what paltry resources will remain. I worry it will be called the End of Times War, quite literally.” He let go of her cut, dabbed at it, and stepped back. “The sea will instantly rise at least another three meters. Humanity has always had a little time to adjust by getting to high ground. Not with this one. To make matters even w
orse, it will not recede in our lifetimes.”
“Or that of our grandchildren’s grandchildren,” Areva added as she repacked Dr. Ryan’s medical bag. “Assuming, of course, any of us will be left to bear children.”
“Why the hell is NONA not telling us?” Sharon pressed a hand to her throbbing head. “So that we could get out of the way before it happens?”
“Because,” Areva said, “it will mean fewer mouths to feed.”
“So you’re saying NONA is sentencing us to death. Why would they bother taking Eve then?” Sharon asked.
“They aren’t taking any chances that anyone who might be an enemy survives the deluge that’s coming.” He pulled off the gloves and stepped on the foot pedal on the aluminum can. The can’s lid snapped open with a clang, and he tossed them inside. “Like my darling wife.”
“I don’t understand.” Sharon shook her head. “Areva is no more an enemy than Eve. They’re both citizens.”
“I suspect that NONA isn’t taking any chances since the new prime minister of the United Kingdom of Asia has had his army drop propaganda pamphlets from drones all across NONA, urging people of Asian descent to rise up for the motherland. NONA must assume anyone of Asian descent is capable of being seduced by Prime Minister Tang. He’s a very charismatic demagogue, hell-bent on convincing Asian people to betray NONA for what’s left of its dwindling resources.” With his thumb, he spun his wedding ring around and around his finger. “We received orders yesterday that we are to report to the Asian internment camp in Chicago.”
“I’ve been ordered to register there in person,” Areva said. She squeezed her husband’s hand. “You always fidget with your ring when you’re nervous. You’re making me worry.” She turned to Sharon. “The only reason NONA didn’t yank me from the streets like they did Eve is because my husband is a doctor.”
“Eve is sick. I have to get to her now.” Sharon jumped to her feet. “I’m going to Chicago to get my wife back before it’s too late.” The quick movement brought a wave of dizziness. She gripped the edge of the table to steady herself.
“Listen to me,” Dr. Ryan said. “I’m confident that once NONA checks Eve’s identification and learns that she’s a well-respected botanist, they’ll take care of her.”
“Why would they?” Sharon asked. “You just told me they think she’s an enemy.”
“Because,” Dr. Ryan said, “she’s a scientist. That makes her an asset. As for you, you have to go back to your farm in Maine where you’ll be on high ground. Wait things out. Give yourself plenty of rest in order to heal that concussion. Believe me, you don’t want it to worsen. You’ll be safe at home. Let Areva and me find Eve.”
“No.” Sharon rubbed her temples, trying to clear the wisps of fog from her head. “I’m going with you. I can’t just sit back and wait.”
“We’ll find her,” Areva said. “We will.”
“And when we do, we’ll bring her home,” Dr. Ryan added. He rapped his knuckles on the table. “We have contacts within the government who will help us.”
“Then bring me with you.”
“No. We don’t want to arouse suspicion. The authorities are expecting just Areva and me.” Dr. Ryan reached underneath the table and retrieved a silvery metal case the size of a small over-night bag. “Besides, now is not the time to leave your farm.” He placed the case on the table in front of her. “When that glacier goes and the ice sheet behind it slides into the ocean, chaos and anarchy will reign. And the United Kingdom of Asia will use its military to take over what’s left of the Manitoba grasslands. It’ll be one of the last places left on earth suitable to grow food for thousands of people. You need to protect your apple tree and whatever else you have there that keeps you and Eve fed.”
Sharon felt the urge to tell him what she’d never told anyone. To come clean about the secret that she and Eve kept from the world. But the secret was also a pact between her and Eve. “When do you expect to come back?”
“As soon as I register, and we find Eve,” Areva said.
“What if they won’t let you leave?” Sharon asked.
“All they want is for us to register Areva in person. As long as I pledge to be responsible for her loyalty to NONA, they’ll let her stay with me.” Dr. Ryan opened the case. “While we’re away, I need your help.”
Sharon put a hand to her unsettled stomach. “What do you need me to do?” Her gut begged her not to put Eve’s safety in the hands of anyone other than herself. Dr. Ryan had never let her down, though. His contacts within NONA might be her only hope of getting Eve home safe and sound. It was all so complicated.
“You trade apples for medicine.” He turned the open case to face her. “I trade medicine for supplies for Areva and me. This little titanium case is all that I have left, including the synthetic molecule that I use to make Eve’s cancer treatments. I can’t bring it to Chicago with me. NONA will surely confiscate it. Maybe even put me in jail for having it.”
“But what about your contacts?” Sharon asked. “Won’t they protect you?”
“Their protection only goes so far.” He explained the contents of the case: an SComCat phone; six 30-milliliter syringes filled with Eve’s medicine, Sprucanidone; a vial of the synthetic molecule to make it; and a wide assortment of other medications in small glass vials and dark brown pill bottles. “That medication is every bit as dangerous to be walking around with as your apples,” he concluded. “I can’t take the risk of having it with me.”
“We can’t leave it here, either,” Areva added. “As soon as we’re gone, NONA will search our home.”
“Take it.” Dr. Ryan snapped the case shut and pushed it over to Sharon. “You have your apple tree that needs to be kept safe. I need you to keep this supply of medicine safe as well. Hide it on your farm. Try to rest so that you heal quickly. We’re all going to need our strength and health to survive what’s coming. Wait for us to find Eve.”
Sharon studied the shiny, hard case. The Sprucanidone-filled syringes inside of it kept Eve alive. So did the apple tree. But the idea of leaving the work of finding her spouse to someone else pressed in on her. “I don’t think I can.”
“You must,” Dr. Ryan cut her off. “If you leave your farm unattended, it will most certainly be overrun by Banditti.”
“They’re opportunistic criminals.” Areva paused as if remembering something terrible. “They’ll tear your farm apart.”
“And if the Banditti don’t get in, the Yěxìng will.” Dr. Ryan’s eyes narrowed. “You and I both know what those feral humans are capable of. You need to protect your farm so that you can provide for Eve when she’s returned to you. What good would it be to find her, only to see her starve because you’ve lost your farm and that precious tree?”
“And the medicine.” Areva touched Sharon’s arm. “We love you. You’ve been like daughters to us. Now more than ever, we need to help each other to survive.”
“Let us find Eve. You keep our medicine and your food supply safe in the meantime. Is that a deal?” He reached into his vest pocket. “Here’s a contact number. If you need to reach me, use it. But only if it’s an emergency. As for the SComCat inside the box, turn it on every day at six in the evening for exactly thirty minutes. Even when it’s off you can still tell the time by running your finger over the clock icon. The satellite that it communicates with scrambles signals every day at six ET. If I need to call you, that’s when I’ll do it so that our conversation can’t be intercepted. Otherwise, keep it off and hidden.”
Sharon took the small square of fragile, yellowed note paper. She hadn’t touched paper in years. It felt brittle between her fingers.
“Hide it on your person where it won’t be lost.” Dr. Ryan resumed twisting his ring around his finger with his thumb. “It’s the only way you’ll be able to reach me.”
Sharon folded the note and tucked it in between her leg and boot. The heavy leather boots on her feet had belonged to her mother. They were as rare now as paper, which had bec
ome obsolete in the wake of technology that replaced books in the years before Sharon was born. She touched the scarf at her neck for strength. “I’m scared.”
“We are too,” Areva said.
“Please bring Eve home.” Sharon swallowed a rush of gloom and worry. “She’s everything to me.”
“I promise you.” Dr. Ryan took her hands in his own. His eyes were kind and reassuring. “We will all be together again soon. For now, you should go. We haven’t much time. Anyone left in the city when that glacier gives way will die.”
“Do you have your solar-bike?” Areva asked.
“I do. It’s hidden in some brush on the outskirts of the city so the Banditti don’t see it.” Sharon calculated time in her head. If she cut through the alleyway, she could shave off several minutes getting out of the city. Something other than time dictated her route, though. Without a second thought, she planned to take the Inuit boy to safety. If, that is, he was still in that alley, and she could find him.
“Thank you.” Sharon lifted the flap of her satchel and felt around inside for two of the largest apples. “Take these for the road.” She set the perfect red fruit on the table. “Please, bring my Eve home. If you do, I’ll make sure neither of you ever go hungry.”
Chapter 3
Sharon’s right knee bounced. Anticipation of hearing from Dr. Ryan gradually replaced the headache she’d been nursing since leaving the city. Turning her eyes to the boy, she said, “You must have someone somewhere.” She pressed the button on the sleeve of her shirt. The tiny clock imbedded in the cuff lit up with LEDs marking the time at 5:35 p.m. Twenty-five more minutes.
Inu sat mute in a chair facing hers. With his hands clasped together in his lap, he looked everywhere but at Sharon.
“I can’t take care of you. But I’ll help you get home, wherever that is.” The titanium box rested on the floor at her feet. “I have to go wait for a private call in a few minutes. So start talking.”