by Eric Walters
“I’ll join you there, but first, I need to see them.” He turned to me. “Emma, do you want to go with me or with Jess?”
“I’d rather stay above ground as long as possible.”
Ian gave Jess a long hug goodbye and then kissed Olivia on the forehead. I had a flashback to my father hugging us and giving my mother a kiss goodbye as he was leaving on a tour of duty. I wished he was here, with us. It would all be so different.
I turned away. There was no time for this. I rushed along the path and Ian fell in beside me.
“I wish my mother and the guys were here,” I said.
“I wish the pistol and the pellet gun were here,” Ian replied.
“I don’t think that’s much of a match for a bunch of guys with guns,” I said.
“It’s a better match than me with a knife and you like Katniss with a bow and arrows.”
“Actually, Katniss would have been a match for them.”
I was surprised to hear Ian laugh. “Sorry,” he said, “but doesn’t this all seem more like a movie than reality?”
“I was thinking more like a bad dream.”
We stopped at the end of the cover at the edge of the island, and I heard voices. A shiver went up my spine. Had they already landed? Were they on the island? No, they’d been too far away, and anyway I could still hear the sound of a chugging engine.
Ian moved forward, bent over to be better hidden, and I followed suit. Slowly, trying to be quiet, we poked our heads into and through the last row of bushes. The boat was close, but it had moved slightly past us. It was far enough away for me to feel safe looking, but close enough for me to see what I was looking at.
It was an older boat—its paint was peeling and the engine was loud and trailing a cloud of bluish smoke. On board were lots and lots of men. There had to be thirty—so many more than a boat that size should have held—and they were carrying weapons. I could clearly make out that there were rifles; at least a dozen barrels were showing. Others had bats and clubs, and I thought I caught the glint of light off a blade. It was clear that there was no way we could ever be a match for them.
“Where do you think they’re going?” I asked Ian quietly.
“All I care about is not here. And it’s clear now that they’re not stopping to visit us!”
The voices and engine noises faded away to silence as we watched them continue away from us.
“They’re going toward the marina and the community at Ward’s Island,” I said.
“I don’t know about the marina, but those people at Ward’s can handle a fight. They have weapons.”
“Not that many,” I said.
Ian gave me a questioning look. I’d said too much, but now I had to say more. “We’ve been there.”
“And they didn’t shoot at you?” he asked.
“Not then, but things have changed. We know somebody there. She gave us the seeds we planted, and some food,” I explained, making sure to leave out some other parts.
“Do you think they’d give us more, or even let us live there?”
“My mother doesn’t think the time is right yet to ask them for anything. Our friend gave us those things secretly, and some of the other people really didn’t seem too happy that we were even there.”
“Well, if they didn’t shoot at you then you got a nicer reception than we did. Maybe I should talk to your mother about them.”
“I’m sure that would be fine.” I wanted to change the subject. “We should get back and let people know we’re safe.”
Whatever danger those men meant was past us…and heading straight toward Ward’s Island.
—
It wasn’t long before my mother returned with Ken and Julian from their scavenging trip. We told her everything we knew about the boat, and about where it seemed to be headed. She calmly listened but didn’t react, except to ask Ken to go and get the others from our hiding spot. There was no point in hiding any longer, and even less point in wasting the dinner.
“This is really good,” Ethan said as he took another bite of the roasted goose. “This is even better than McDonald’s.”
“The words that all chefs long to hear,” Ian joked.
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” Jess said. “And this is coming from a vegetarian.”
“The protein is good for you. Any food is good for you while you’re nursing,” Ian said.
“He’s right, and that’s a medical opinion,” my mother added.
Eight of us—and Olivia in Jess’s arms—sat around a picnic table having our meal. Jim had agreed to stay on watch. Ian had set the picnic table with the fine dishes and silverware that my mother and the guys had scavenged from a little restaurant on Main Island. Unfortunately, with the exception of some spices and a few tins of tomato soup that had been hidden in the back of a cupboard, all the other food had already been taken before they got there. In the middle of the table was a large, formal, silver candle-holder with six candles. They weren’t lit—they were too valuable to waste for show—but it certainly looked nice. And surreal. It was like denying a pregnancy: we were sitting here eating a feast when we’d just dodged danger and maybe death.
“Did you hear that?” Paula asked.
We all stopped talking and listened.
“It sounded like thunder, or—”
My mother shushed us and the sound came again. I knew what it was.
“Gunfire,” Ethan said.
My mother got up from the table and started off toward the shore. I reached back and grabbed the small remaining piece of goose meat from my plate and followed, as did everyone else except Jess and the baby.
Reaching the edge of the island, we could still hear the gunfire and now we could also see where it was probably coming from. In the distance were thick, black pillars of smoke rising into the sky.
“That’s Ward’s Island over that way, isn’t it?” Ethan said.
“Yes,” my mother said. “I think they’re under attack.”
That was what we’d feared was going to happen, but there was nothing we could have done except worry about Chris and Sam and the others. We couldn’t have warned them, and even if we had, what good would it have done?
The gunfire was soft and muted but steady.
“What should we do?” Jim asked.
“There’s nothing we can do,” Paula answered.
“She’s right,” my mother agreed. “Just like there was no way to warn them.” She paused. “Tomorrow, at first light, I’ll go out on a recon.”
“Recon?” Ian asked.
“Sorry, Marine talk. A reconnaissance mission. I’m going to go and look around.”
“I should go with you,” I said.
“I was thinking I should go alone.”
“Nobody should ever be alone anywhere now,” I argued. “An extra set of eyes can only help.”
“I’m not going to be able to convince you differently, am I?” she asked.
“Probably not.”
“We’ll watch Ethan while you’re gone,” Jess offered.
“Then I guess it’s decided,” my mother said. “Let’s get back and finish our meal.”
15
“Emma, it’s time to get up,” my mother whispered.
I opened one eye. It was almost as dark as if it was closed. “What time is it?”
“Around four-thirty. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”
I thought about my warm bed and about the rain that had sounded against the shelter for most of the night. I couldn’t hear it now. “Has it stopped raining?”
“It’s stopped for now.”
She crawled toward the door and out. Ethan was still asleep. I grabbed my bow and my quiver and crawled out after her. There was no need to put on clothes or shoes because I always left them on these nights.
Ken was on watch, and he and my mother were talking in low voices by the fire. There were still a few embers glowing, and other than the stars there was no other light
. The sun wasn’t even a rumor yet.
Single file, the three of us moved along the path toward the place where the canoe and swan boats were hidden. We all knew the path so well that we didn’t need to see it. The canoe was well up from the shore and hidden beneath some branches. Wordlessly we picked it up and carried it to the water’s edge. I went to get in the front and my mother stopped me.
“I’m taking the front. You should go in the middle,” she said.
“Ken, are you coming with us?”
“Only as far as the other shore,” he said. “I’m going to bring the canoe back here where it’ll be safe, and I’ll come back to get you later. Any idea how long this is going to take?”
“I’m not sure. It could be two hours or ten depending on what we find. Don’t worry if it’s longer. That might even be better news.”
“I’ll make sure the perimeter guard keeps an eye open for you,” Ken said.
Silently we glided across the water. I’d stopped thinking about this little opening between islands as a gap and had started thinking about it as a moat. It was protection for the castle of little wooden crates that we called home.
Once on Main Island, we got out and pushed the canoe back out.
“And Ken, could you watch over everything while I’m gone?” she asked.
“Don’t worry about anything.”
He paddled off and we started walking. The plan was to approach the community from the side facing Main Island. That meant we’d pass close to the marina to get there. My mother had assured me that we’d try to stay in the bushes and under cover as much as possible, but there were going to be some open spots, and that was why she wanted the darkness to provide cover.
I felt more than a little nervous. I knew people were living here the same way we were on our island. I often heard or saw them, either on the island or on the water in the lagoon.
As well, my mother had told me stories. She and the others would come across people while they were scavenging. Most, she said, were friendly, but they were scared and disorganized, and that made them potentially dangerous. It wasn’t going to be too long before there was almost no food left on the island that wasn’t already caught or dug up, and most people didn’t even have the skills or tools to get those things. Who would have thought that our fishing rods would end up being so crucial to our survival?
I tried to move as silently as my mother was moving. So far so good. We hadn’t seen anyone yet. My mother stopped and I almost bumped into her.
“Do you smell fire?”
“Is it a campfire?” I whispered.
She shook her head and continued moving. We were on the edge of a row of trees that lined the path leading toward the ferry docks and the marina in one direction and Ward’s Island in the other—the way we were heading. My mother darted across the path and I followed. It wasn’t nearly as dark now, and suddenly I felt exposed for the few seconds it took to get across. The sun still hadn’t risen but it wouldn’t be long now. Maybe we should have left even earlier.
Up ahead was the white outline of the bridge that crossed the channel separating Main Island from Ward’s Island. That was the bridge my mother had ordered to be barricaded, the only way across, and we couldn’t possibly know if somebody was up there, armed and waiting for us to approach.
“How do we get across?” I asked.
“We don’t. It’s too dangerous to try. Before they just shot into the air—now they might be shooting at people. Everything could be much worse now.”
“Do you think those men from the boat are there?”
“What I think doesn’t matter. We came here to get information.”
“But how do we get that information if we can’t cross the bridge?”
“We take a position on this island and watch. It’s amazing what you can find out just by watching.”
We moved toward the shore of the channel separating the two islands but away from the bridge itself. I tried to picture what was on the opposite shore. I thought we were close to where the baseball diamond sat. We settled into a little thicket of bushes that was right by the channel.
“If we’d canoed all the way we could have landed where we did before,” I said.
“We’re better here. On the water there’s no place to hide and no place to run.”
It was starting to get light. The outlines of buildings across the way were the first things to emerge, backlit by the rays of the rising sun. Next to appear, over to the right, was the backstop of the baseball diamond, which was right across the way. Everything was quiet and still.
Then as the sun continued to rise I could make out more detail. There was smoke rising from one of the cottages and its front was a blackened skeleton. Behind the façade of other houses there were two more pillars of smoke rising into the sky. Were other cottages on fire?
Suddenly there was motion as goats and sheep came running around the side of one of the buildings. Among them were two zebras and an ostrich. I watched, amazed, as they ran onto the baseball field and—I saw something out on the field.
“Are those people lying on the field?” I asked.
“They were people,” my mother said.
I felt a chill go up my spine.
“There are also bodies on the path leading to the bridge,” she added. She was looking through the binoculars.
I looked toward the bridge. I saw another bump and a second and a third. The picnic table barricades had been pushed aside and the bridge was deserted.
“There’s nobody on the bridge. Is there anybody in the houses? Are they all gone?”
“I only know what I can see, and I can’t see anybody,” she said. “Just the animals and nothing—”
She stopped at the sound that we both heard. Our heads swiveled in that direction, toward the bridge, but on our side, on Main Island. A group of people had appeared on the path. They were huddled together so it was hard to tell but there had to be a dozen…no, definitely more. I felt a rush of fear. Was it those men? No. I could make out a couple of smaller figures. There were children and people in dresses. There were also rifles visible in the hands of two of them.
“I think it’s people from the Ward’s community,” my mother said.
I looked harder, trying to pick out Chris or her grandson or anybody I knew by sight. We continued to watch as more people gathered. They were materializing out of the underbrush and the trees.
“I’m going to approach them,” my mother said. “I want you to stay here.”
“No,” I said. “We need to go together.”
She looked as though she was going to argue, but she didn’t. “Okay, we’ll go together. Follow my lead. We move slowly. Be prepared to duck and run if we need to.”
We stood up and walked away from our hiding spot. We left the cover behind, but instead of walking directly toward the people we headed toward the path.
My mother undid the flap on her holster but didn’t remove the pistol.
“Should I get an arrow out and put it on the string?”
She shook her head. “No. I want to be ready but not threatening. Just remember, calm and slow.”
There was a sudden movement off to the side, and I jumped. My mother’s hand went to her holster. There in the bushes were two figures—two children—a boy and a girl. They couldn’t have been any older than six or seven. They were clinging to each other and they were wide-eyed, their faces dirty. They looked terrified.
“It’s all right,” my mother said. “We’re not going to hurt you. Are you alone?”
The boy, who looked to be slightly older, nodded.
“Didn’t I see you riding your bike over on Ward’s Island?” I asked.
He nodded again.
“We’re going there now. Do you want to come with us?”
By way of an answer they both came out of the bushes. They were holding hands, and then the little girl threw an arm around me and buried her face in my side.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “You�
�re safe.”
Strangely, saying those words—even if it was just a reassuring lie—made me feel less afraid. It was like I had to be brave for them. I guess I’d already had practice doing that for Ethan’s sake.
We started back along the path with me holding the hands of the two children. My mother was slightly in front of us.
“My name’s Emma. What are yours?” I asked.
“I’m Liam, and my sister is Allegra,” the boy said.
“Can you tell us what happened?” I asked.
“Men came with guns. They were shooting. We had to run. Everybody had to run.”
“And your parents?” I asked without thinking.
“It’s just our mom,” Allegra explained.
“She ran with us, but it was dark, and there were people running, and then she wasn’t with us anymore.”
“We’ll help you find her,” I said. “I’m sure she’s fine but I bet she’s worried about you two.” Was that another reassuring lie? How could I know how or where she was or whether she was fine?
I turned and realized there was a couple with a small child between them on the path behind us. We must have passed them hidden in the bushes. I didn’t see any visible weapons. They didn’t look dangerous, just scared. I gave a small wave and they weakly waved back.
“Mom, there are people behind us,” I called out.
She turned slightly around. “I saw them as they came out.”
We rounded a turn in the path and the mass of people were there a couple of dozen yards in front of us. It was a larger group now, and more were still coming out of the trees as we approached.
“Mommy!” Allegra yelled out.
The children let go of my hands and ran toward the crowd. A woman broke free and ran out to meet them. Liam and Allegra jumped into her arms, practically knocking her off her feet.
A group of people came out of the crowd toward us and I felt panic—then I saw Chris and Sam among them. Chris waved to us, and then she wrapped her arms around the mother and two children. Sam motioned for us to come forward.
We stopped beside the family. “Thank you, thank you so much!” the woman said between sobs.
People were gathering together now all around us. The couple and child behind us rushed to join with others, and there were more hugs and tears as happy reunions took place.