“Walk down the road, and send a signal when I see them. A retard could do this,” she spat.
“Then get going. And if you find them, you better not be a retard, or it’s your ass, in more ways than one,” McMannis said.
Fifty-two
They had been walking for hours, only taking a short break once in a while to have a few sips of water. When the sun went down, it was much colder than they had expected, but Emile knew it would be cold and he’d packed the best he could – one hooded long-sleeved sweater for each of them.
Charlie began looking for a place to sleep when it started getting dark, but he didn’t know what he was looking for exactly. Some place far enough from the road, but not so far into the woods that they could get lost, or be in danger from wild animals.
When he spotted a clearing to the right, they walked over for a closer look. It was visible from the road, but far enough away that anyone would have a hard time spotting them at night unless they knew what they were looking for.
They ate a meal of beef jerky and more water than they’d allowed themselves during the day since they could hear a stream nearby and knew they could refill their canteens in the morning. They did not build a fire for warmth, and all three of them were too exhausted for much conversation.
Charlie showed them how to unfold their space blanket sleeping bags, spread them out, and carefully slip inside without tearing them. They all fell asleep quickly despite the lack of comfort lying on the forest floor without even a bed of leaves.
Just before dawn, Charlie awoke to the sound of footsteps and couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw a teenaged girl walking toward their camp. His mind wanted to say that it could only be Michelle, but there was no way in hell that she could’ve cut her hair, dyed it purple, and arranged it in spikes while he had slept.
He was surprised to the point of being speechless and was grateful that she spoke first.
“Hi. I’m sorry to wake you, but is that Deron?” she asked, pointing at a sleeping form under the shiny silver material.
“Who are you, and how did you possibly know to look for him here?”
Charlie felt a surge of alarm ripple through his frame. Deron couldn’t have told her in advance about coming here because he hadn’t even known.
“I didn’t know – but I hoped,” she said.
Deron and Michelle awoke from the conversation and Deron sat up, startled.
“Jacey!? What are you doing here?”
“Who’s Jacey?” Michelle asked innocently, but afraid of the answer she might receive.
“She helped me escape from the center we were in, but we split up in the air vents and I haven’t seen her since. How did you get here?”
“I hitched a ride for most of the way, and I’ve been walking since then. I’m glad I found you. It’ll be nice to have some company. Walking alone through the woods really sucks.”
Charlie slid out of his bag and quickly folded it back into a five inch square and tucked it into his backpack.
“You asked for Deron by name as if you expected to find him here. How is that possible? No one knew he’d be here, including him.”
“I was on the run going in this direction so I thought there was a chance he might have also. People escaping the city usually come this way hoping to find the free zone. That’s what I’m doing anyway. Aren’t you?”
Again, Charlie felt ill at ease with the coincidence and he wasn’t sure if he was able to think objectively or if he was being paranoid. When people talked about the free zone in southern California, reference was always made to “the mountains.” Charlie had never heard anything specific regarding the road they were on that led toward Big Bear Lake until Emile told him this was the best intel he’d picked up over the years. And now, someone who Deron met in a government facility had met up with them on the same road they were on. But if it wasn’t just a coincidence, he didn’t know what else it could be. If the police knew their location and brought Jacey to them, why wouldn’t they have just arrested them and taken Michelle home?
Charlie felt that it was impossible to tackle this mystery so early in the morning without the benefit of some coffee. He told the kids to find a tree to take care of their business, then they’d fill up their canteens and be on their way. He welcomed Jacey to their group but the mystery of her arrival wouldn’t stop gnawing at him.
As they walked that day, the three teens engaged in conversations about their former concerns, goals, and problems. They speculated on what it would be like to live without electricity and they listed the things they’d miss from their former lives.
Charlie tossed ideas around in his mind and tried to come up with explanations for Jacey’s appearance – other than the one she gave. He finally decided that when they went to sleep, he’d go through her backpack and look for anything suspicious like a communicator. He knew if he found something like that, particularly a sat-com which was the only thing that would work out here, he’d know she was a plant. But if she was, what would he do about it? What could he do?
At the end of another long day of walking through the trees and listening to the birds and the teens, Charlie began seeking a place to stop for the night. He was concerned that there might not be any water nearby. He hadn’t heard the sound of any streams since the one they’d left this morning.
He tried looking past what he could easily see at the sides of the roads, looking deeper into the woods for any clearings when suddenly Michelle cried out and stopped walking. He went toward her just as she began to fall, then he felt a stinging sensation in his neck and as he went to lower her to the ground, he collapsed to his knees. The last thing he saw as he toppled over was Deron crumpling to the ground as if he’d suddenly decided he was going to sit down on his butt in the middle of the street.
Eight dark figures dressed head to toe in black emerged from the woods onto the road. They lifted the bodies in pairs and flitted back into the woods with them like thieving shadows.
Fifty-three
Deron was the first to wake up. He felt like he was floating and he heard the sound of water and the smell of kerosene. He opened his eyes and saw a rocky surface all around him. Orange flame flickered to his left. He turned and saw a figure in black holding a torch. Other dark figures sat silently. Charlie and Michelle were lying beside him.
He slid his hand to the right along a wooden surface that only extended a few inches. He lowered his hand and felt water. He was at the back end of a wooden raft. It occurred to him that he could easily fall off into the water. What the hell was going on? He sat up.
“Where am I? Who are you?”
One of the dark figures looked at Deron and said, “Let me ask you a question first. Where was your group headed?”
Deron didn’t know at first if he should answer. He wished Charlie was awake to deal with this. He was sure Charlie would know what to do. He tried to analyze the situation the way he assumed that Charlie would have. They were on a raft, inside something that looked like a river in a long cave-like tunnel. If these were cops, they would’ve loaded them into police vehicles or maybe even a helicopter. He concluded that there’d be no harm in telling the truth.
“We were traveling away from the city hoping to find the free zone.”
“Congratulations. You’ve found it. Sort of.
“What does that mean?
“That means you’re as close as you can get without actually being there. But the good news is, you might make it the rest of the way.”
“Does that also mean that I might not?”
“We don’t grant access to just anybody who comes along. When we saw you, we figured you might be looking for us, so we’re bringing you in for a screening. We’re in constant need of new members.”
“I can’t say I like your welcoming committee,” Michelle said, surprising everyone that she had been awake and listening. “Where’s Jacey? That girl that was with us.”
The man with the torch answered. “That’s an odd way
to describe her – ‘that girl.’ How long have you known her?”
“We just met her yesterday. Well, except for Deron. He knew her a few days before that.”
“So she just showed up suddenly in the middle of the forest and introduced herself?” the man asked.
“Yes. She literally did.”
“That makes sense. She had a GPS tracker sewed into her underwear.”
“What the hell?” Deron couldn’t believe it. “What does that mean?”
“It means the feds put her onto you, probably hoping to find us.”
“But how could they… I don’t understand. Where is she now?”
“We’ll talk about that later. For now, let’s get off this raft and talk about you guys.”
Deron felt the raft suddenly tug to his right. He tilted left into Michelle who toppled over onto Charlie, waking the old man with an oomph as her hand came down on his stomach. Charlie jolted up and asked what was going on, thinking he must be in a dream. A crazy dream brought on by exhaustion.
“These are free zone people, Grampa. They want to talk to us.”
Charlie tried to shake the sleep out of his head and saw a black gloved hand reaching for him to help him up and off of the raft. He took the hand, and stepped into shallow water, then onto sand. Several torches lit up a large cave with orange fire light that cast dancing shadows. In addition to Deron and Michelle, he counted ten other people sitting in various places on the sand. Dressed all in black, they almost blended into the cave walls with only their hands and faces visible.
“This is it? The free zone is ten guys in a cave?” Charlie asked in disbelief.
A few of the men laughed and one said, “We’ll be twelve guys and a girl if we admit you to the club.” More of them joined in the laughter.
Charlie wasn’t seeing the humor in the situation. He looked around, needing to get away and collect his thoughts. He could make sense of nothing. Passing out on the road, then waking up in a river, and now sitting in a cave with these men. Too much was happening too quickly.
“Would anyone happen to have a cigarette?” he asked. It had been some time since he’d had one, but if ever there was a time to resurrect an old bad habit, he felt this was it.
One of the men pulled a small bag out of an inner breast pocket, loosened the tie string, then put a pinch of tobacco into a small strip of paper and rolled a cigarette. He stretched his hand toward Charlie who walked over and gratefully took it.
Another man offered Charlie his torch. When he took it and lit it, he saw that the cigarette was covered with small words. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. The tobacco had been rolled into a strip cut from a page out of a bible. He lit the cigarette and handed the torch back.
“Thank you,” he said and sat down, anticipating a head rush.
Deron asked if he could also have one and the friendly man in black rolled another. As Deron and Charlie enjoyed the unusual tobacco one of the men came over and sat near them, introducing himself.
“I’m Victor M.,” he said, extending his hand.
“Charles Young. Charlie. And this is my grandson Deron, and his friend, Michelle.”
“It’s nice to meet all of you, and I’m sorry about the way we approached you, but it’s a necessary precaution. The government would prefer to have absolute control over everyone, so our existence is a slap in the face to their authority and dominion. Officially, they claim we don’t exist. But unofficially, they’d love to eradicate us. We’re fortunate that they don’t try too hard. The majority of their resources are reserved for controlling the population within their borders, so we’re something of a wishlist item for them.”
“Is this why they haven’t found you yet – because you live in a cave?”
“Partly, yes. We’re actually spread out all across the state. All over the forest around Big Bear Lake and further east in a variety of places. There’s not one central location where we’re gathered.”
“Not even a central governing committee?”
“Some things we can’t reveal to you. You’re still outsiders at the present moment, and that brings us to the purpose of this rendezvous. Deron says you were looking to join us. Tell us your story – how you ended up in a position to leave civilization behind and seek out a legend.”
Charlie told them the whole story, leaving out none of their crimes. A society based on fugitives and outcasts was bound to have its fair share of people who had run afoul of the law, so he didn’t fear exclusion on those grounds. He was more concerned about what contribution the three of them would be able to make. And that’s exactly what Victor wanted to know after hearing Charlie’s story.
“What can your group do for ours if you were to become members?”
Charlie considered this a moment. “I don’t know how valuable it would be, but Deron is really good at reading and writing. He’d be good at studying a subject if you have books on it, and then sharing what he learned with others in an easy to understand way. He’s really good with words. I’ve only just recently met Michelle, so she’ll have to let you know what skills she has. As for myself, I’m ex Special Forces with plenty of weapons training, some rusty wilderness survival skills, and I have experience in masonry, carpentry, plumbing and general handyman work.”
“Charlie,” Victor said, “I think your skillset alone will cover your small group.”
The word “group” reminded Charlie of something he’d been curious about since he got off the raft.
“Where’s Jacey? The purple-haired girl who was traveling with us.”
“She was taken to another location.”
Charlie just looked at him confused and waited for a more detailed answer.
“She was bugged, Grandpa.”
Charlie looked at Victor. “Is that true?”
“Yes, she may not have known it but she was wearing a tracker. We removed it and took her to another location where she’ll wake up and be questioned extensively to determine if she was knowingly working for the government or not.”
“We woke up this morning and she just appeared at our campsite. Are you saying the government knew where we were all along and put her onto us?”
“That’s very possible, and sounds most likely but I don’t have any details at this time. Considering that she and Deron escaped this new program they’re using to brainwash children, it would seem that she was caught, recruited, then brought right to you. I’d like to think she was coerced and isn’t a willing rat.”
“What if she is?” Charlie couldn’t help but ask.
“Then she’ll be exterminated,” Victor said plainly.
“So, what about us?” Michelle wanted to know, not really concerned about whether or not Deron would get his purple-haired friend back.
“That depends on you. We have to assume you were tracked before your friend with the hair arrived. Are any of you chipped?”
Charlie and Deron shook their heads. Michelle turned white and nodded.
“Oh, shit. Emile and I didn’t even think of that. We’ve probably led them right here to you. You should all get out of here while you still can.” Charlie had lost hope for him and the kids.
“Relax, Charlie,” Victor said. “The signal range in Identi-Chips is very short. They were never designed for long-range tracking. Personal Communicators on the other hand, were. So we’re safe, depending on how far away they’ve been tracking your friend from.”
“So I’m okay then?” Michelle asked hopefully.
“Presumably, but we still can’t take chances. We’re willing to bring you in, but it will require the removal of your chip. I wish I could say it won’t hurt, but it will. And we have to do it here. We don’t have hospitals or clinics.”
“Forget it, Michelle. We’ll find somewhere else to live. I won’t—“
“Do it,” she said. “I’ve been through worse already this week, and this is actually my choice and it’s for a good cause.”
�
��Michelle,” Deron started to protest.
“It’s okay, Deron. I want it out of me anyway. I never wanted it in the first place, but my parents said it would make me safer.” She looked at Victor. “I’m ready.”
Victor nodded at a young man named Alex who walked over to the water and dipped his knife into it, rubbing it on both sides. He came back, picked up a torch and held the knife in the flame, turning it from side to side.
“Come over here and lie down.” He held the blade in the flame.
After a minute, Alex laid her arm out at a forty-five degree angle from her body, with her wrist close to the torch sticking out of the sand. He pressed his fingertips in the flesh at the base of her palm and slid them slowly up her arm. After two such passes, he said, “Got it,” and kept one finger on the spot. He held his knife over the spot and said, “It won’t be too bad, but it’ll hurt like a bitch for a while. Are you ready?”
She nodded and closed her eyes as tight as she could. “Go ahead.”
Deron came over and held her free hand. When the knife tip punctured her skin, she winced and gripped Deron’s hand tightly. Alex pushed the tip in another eighth of an inch and got it behind the microchip, lifting it up and pushing it out through the incision. He quickly placed his thumb over the cut.
“Michelle, you’re gonna want to put your thumb where mine is and hold it there until the bleeding stops.”
She let go of Deron’s hand and put her thumb next to Alex’s. “Okay.” He removed his, and hers took its place. “That wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.”
“Most things aren’t,” Alex said and went away to wash his knife.
“Now what?” Charlie asked.
Victor smiled. “Now I think you’ll make a fine addition to the group. If you’ll just agree to the few but vital rules we have, we’ll take you to one of our residential dens and setup temporary quarters.”
The rules were pretty simple. For the sake of the group’s survival in all California locations, a man named Harrison Smith was essentially their dictator. But he was benevolent and not at all power-hungry. He had to exercise total authority because there just wasn’t the time or practical ability to have a democratic underground society. Harrison gave orders, and everyone followed them. If they didn’t understand them, or didn’t agree with them at the time, the rule was to obey first, and ask questions later. Smith could grant temporary proxy powers to anyone at any time and that person spoke with the same authority as he did.
2043 A.D. Page 24