by Joss Ware
Was it possible? Or was she jumping to conclusions?
“What is it?”
“I think…I think she might have been trying to keep them from taking me.” Sage’s mouth felt tight and worn. She could hardly say the words, could barely comprehend the possibility. “I was her only daughter. She made me wake up in the middle of the night, the night before the Strangers were supposed to come. We were trying to leave the compound and I thought she was trying to escape, but really, she was helping me. Maybe. They ran her down and the gangas came swarming in.”
Her heart was pounding hard and sickeningly in her chest. It was possible her mother had been trying to get her out of Falling Creek. And Sage, as an adolescent, had been focused on herself and her desire to see the Strangers—not what her mother wanted.
“I’m sorry.” Simon’s voice held a stronger hint of that accent, that intriguing inflection she noticed. “Losing a parent is hard, but to see it happen…that makes it worse.” He sounded as if he spoke from experience.
“I don’t know for sure…but I do know she died. And that when the Strangers came, I was effectively out of sight because I was grieving for her. So I never saw them.”
“And they never saw you.”
Sage shook her head. “No.”
“Any idea how they pick the girls they want to take?”
The nausea still heavy in her middle, she refocused her thoughts. “I don’t know. It could be random or it could be some negotiation with the Strangers. Or maybe the Strangers came and scoped out the girls they wanted and then they were later delivered.”
Glancing at the computer, she saw that there were status bars showing a good connection—which made sense, since the network access point was right next to the computer. She clicked on the message client that Lou and Theo had created—called WaxNotes—and waited to see if anything downloaded.
“How did you get out of Falling Creek, then? You must have left shortly after.”
“They wanted to marry me to a man who was fifty. He already had three other wives, and his hands…” She shuddered at the memory. “They were large and really hairy, with lots of black hair, and he looked at me funny and I knew I didn’t want to marry him. I didn’t want him to touch me.”
“And?” His voice was very low. Barely a breath.
“I hid in a crate that belonged to a traveling scavenger—someone who brought goods from other settlements and traded here anything he might find on the way, or anywhere else. Clothes, DVDs, books, anything he found that was usable. I was lucky he was a nice man, or I could have found myself in a much worse situation. And I was too dumb to know that at the time. Turned out he was married to Flo, from Envy, and when he found me huddled in there—you have to understand, I was still in shock from losing my mother, and I was a Corrigan, you know…but he took me back and let Flo mother me.”
“Lucky for you Flo was the mothering type.” Simon’s voice carried that accent, and a deeper inflection. Maybe regret?
“I never realized how lucky—at least for a long time.”
“And then you got to know Lou and Theo and Jade.”
She nodded, and looked down to check the computer screen. “Lou and Theo at first. Jade didn’t come to Envy until she escaped from Preston, almost four years ago. But Flo took her under her wing too.”
“And you’ve been friends with Lou…and Theo…ever since.”
Sage looked up and found his eyes heavy on her. “Yes.” Then looked back down, uncertain why that heavy ball in her belly had settled deeper. “We’re in,” she said, seeing the messages on her screen. “We’re connected!”
Simon settled back, extending his long legs and crossing them at the ankles as she skimmed through the messages. Several from Lou and Theo checking in with her, adding last-minute instructions for setting up the access point (although how they thought she’d be able to access them if she couldn’t get the NAP to work, she wasn’t sure), and then a final email from Theo sent earlier today. This last one had no subject header—an oddity that, for some reason, made her chest tighten. She waited to open it.
“No real news,” she said, glancing up at Simon. She thought she felt him looking at her, but when she lifted her face, he was staring in the opposite direction. “The only thing Lou said is that they hacked into some more documents on Truth’s flash drive, and they seem to have found a set of geographic coordinates. At least, that’s what they think they are. A list of ten.”
She skimmed the email from Lou. “But now that the earth’s axis has shifted because of the new landmass in the Pacific Ocean, he’s not sure how to plot the points any longer. Huh. Interesting.”
During the Change, a large landmass about the size of Colorado had appeared in the Pacific. The Waxnicki brothers had surmised that if it had risen from the bottom of the ocean—which they suspected—it had caused or at least contributed to the devastating earthquakes, tsunamis, and other weather-related catastrophes, and also had the effect of shifting the axis of the globe, due to the shift in weight.
No one knew for certain what had happened, but it was their best theory.
“What does Theo say?” Simon asked quietly.
Sage glanced at him. How did he know she had a last message from him? That she’d been saving because there was no subject header. Because she had a funny feeling about it. Simon was watching her closely now, and she clicked open the email hesitantly.
Sage. Pls tell me ur all right. Am very worried not to hear frm u. Pls write back asap.
Okay, no big deal. Whatever apprehension or trepidation she felt ebbed. What the heck was wrong with her? She clicked to respond, and just then, another email popped into her box.
Also from Theo. Also with no subject.
Huh. What was he doing up so late?
She clicked on it.
I love you.
That was all it said. But the effect of those three words was like a douse of cold water. And a vortex of shock and confusion. Theo loved her? Loved her, loved her? Her palms sprang damp and her belly swished. No, no, no…
Something of her reaction must have been on her face. “What is it?” Simon asked.
And before she could reply, he was up and over and next to her, looking over her shoulder. Before she could close the message and hide it from him.
“I promised I would get you back to him, safe and whole,” Simon said. Low and deep in her ear, and much too close. “And I will.”
And from the look in his eyes, one that she recognized even in the face of jinky moonlight, she saw the message there: flat, distant. Removed and full of warning.
Off limits.
When Quent woke, the dawn streaming hot and heavy through his window, he found that he was alone. Again.
His body was loose and sated, but he felt cold and bereft.
She’d told him she wouldn’t stay.
How long till she came back?
* * *
February 13
About eight months after.
Thad Marck lost the election for mayor, and Kevin and Robert Corrigan aren’t happy about it. Neither, of course, is Thad. He seems to have lost his sense of humor lately, getting a sort of scary-intense gleam in his eyes when he talks about his vision for the future. He doesn’t listen to any opposing ideas, he just spouts his own. Loudly and vociferously.
To me, he sounds like the CEO I used to work for, talking about mission statements and expansion plans and implementation procedures. Apparently enough people didn’t buy into his ideas and didn’t elect him.
Something else creepy happened a few days ago. A big black humvee drove up into town and these people got out. People here from N.V. swarmed them immediately, thinking that help had finally arrived…but there was something off about them. Something freaky and odd.
They didn’t offer any help at all, and just stayed for a while, talking, asking a lot of questions, and from what I heard, they didn’t answer any themselves. No one knows who they are or where they came from and pe
ople have been calling them the Strangers. Which, as unimaginative of a name as it is, it’s pretty accurate. So it will probably stick.
And speaking of weird names. Those sounds at night, someone calling for Ruth…well, they’re monsters. Orange eyes, horrible stink. They move like Frankenstein’s monster, sort of jerky and awkwardly—at least, from what I can tell from very far away. People were calling them zombies and some other people said they looked like a jiang shi—which I guess is the Chinese name for zombie or vampire or something.
Anyway, so now people are calling them jiangas or ganga because they don’t want the kids to hear the word “zombie” and get scared after watching horror movies.
Seriously…we’re already living in a horror movie.
—from Adventures in Juliedom, the
blog of Julie Davis Beecher
* * *
CHAPTER 10
Dawn streamed through the room Simon shared with the woman who’d kissed him into a puddle of melted brains. He’d watched the pale sunlight start as the faintest of illumination, then as it spread into a wide swath over the bed, because he’d not closed his eyes once since returning from their midnight activities.
Was he afraid she might reach for him, roll into him with that soft, curvy body, brush against him as she slept? Yep.
But he was even more afraid of what he might do of his own volition. Now that he’d had a sample.
Theo. Remember Theo, who’d known her, wanted her, loved her for longer than Simon had.
And aside from that, even if Theo weren’t looming over the whole damn picture, with his flashy dragon tattoo and his electronic brilliance…Simon had nothing to offer a woman like Sage. Really.
Yes, he’d reformed. Yes, he’d wanted to, needed to…even prayed for it. But that didn’t change the violence of his past and the sins he left behind. Would a woman like Sage ever suffer such bloodied hands on her? Knowing the evils they’d committed?
What woman would love or even want a murderer?
He supposed—when he realized what a bittersweet, backward gift the Change had been for him, the elusive escape from Mancusi’s golden handcuffs—he could picture himself as a lone do-gooder. A drifting Good Samaritan. One who showed up when needed, and left when done.
No relationships. No back story. No ties and certainly no responsibilities. And with the additional abilities he’d acquired, he really had no excuse for not living like some hermit-ish superman.
Which was what he was going to do as soon as he got Sage safely back to Envy. And now that they’d set up the NAP and they’d found no clues to Remington Truth’s location, he figured it was about time to go.
The sooner the better.
When he slid from the bed, Sage murmured and shifted, as if fully aware that he’d left. Even though he’d made certain not even the heat of their bodies connected beneath the sheets, she seemed to sense the loss of his presence.
But he looked away and stole into the bathroom, where he took another shower and dressed for the day. They were going to leave as soon as she woke up.
Even if they had to barrel their way through the gates.
When he came back out into the bedroom, he found her sitting up in bed, looking at a full-sized laptop computer—definitely not the one she’d had last night. The one that had downloaded Theo’s love letter.
“Good morning,” she said, looking up at him through a tangle of hair that didn’t seem to bother her. It bothered the hell out of him, though, because it looked like she’d just been well-loved. Her blue eyes skimmed over his chest, covered but a little damp beneath the T-shirt because he’d been in a hurry. A hurry to get the fuck out of here.
“Where did you get that?” he asked.
She glanced beyond him at the picture, as if to point out that it was still crooked and covering the camera, and replied very softly, “Last night. When you went to check to make sure we could leave safely. I put it in my backpack.”
On their way back out of the house, he’d left her for a few minutes in the same room where they’d kissed so that he could check below to make sure no one was about. Apparently, she hadn’t been content with sitting quietly and waiting.
“I found this and grabbed a few books too,” she added. And smiled. “I saw them when we were in there…before.” Her cheeks tinted pink and she looked back down at the keyboard. “It’s an old computer. I just thought…well, Lou and Theo like to keep parts on hand.”
“Oh. Well, look,” he said, coming close enough so she could hear his low voice. “I think we can leave now that the NAP is up and running. Get back to Envy by tonight.”
Now she looked up again, her face filled with surprise. “You mean today?”
He nodded, wincing at her louder tone. Why was she so shocked? “There’s no reason to stay.”
“But….” She lowered her voice. “We can’t leave. We haven’t found Remington Truth yet, and besides, if the Strangers are coming tonight, it’s possible they’re taking people with them. We have to stop them. Don’t we?”
Simon opened his mouth to argue.
“You can do it,” she added, looking at him fiercely. Before he could react, she closed her fingers around his wrist and tightened them meaningfully. “You have the ability to do anything with your power,” she whispered.
Aw, fuck.
He extricated himself carefully, but the feel of her fingers still remained. “We don’t know for certain,” he began, but at the mutinous look on her face—pinche, could he deny her anything?—he continued, “all right. One more night. We’ll poke around and see if we can find anything more about Truth, and we’ll see if there’s anyone to be rescued from the Strangers. But I don’t know how to figure that out.”
She smiled. Again. And his heart dropped. Again.
Damn it to hell.
“You will. We will,” she said.
And then he realized he’d just agreed to spend another night with her…with Sage, who was definitely still ovulating.
Who kissed like a goddess and had no idea what that little freckle on her lip…not to mention her quick mind and endearing clumsiness…did to him.
“Yeah,” was all he could say. And he fled the room.
Sage’s face didn’t return to its normal temperature for several minutes after Simon left, and that was only because she forced herself to concentrate on navigating through the old computer she’d found.
It had been a moment of whimsy—or maybe just a way to relieve some of her underlying tension—that caused her to get up and investigate the dusty desk next to where she crouched. Or perhaps it was simply that she needed not to be sitting, crouched, in the place where she’d kissed Simon.
Regardless—heck, she could make up reasons all day—Sage had grabbed the computer and a few paperbacks and stuffed them in the small backpack she wore. And now she’d managed to boot up the old, cranky computer where she found a document called “Juliedom.”
She opened the file and began to read through it…and with a wave of surrealism, realized two things. First, that it was a sort of diary of a woman who’d lived through the Change. And secondly, and most importantly and amazingly, that it belonged to Julie Beecher Davis Corrigan.
Her paternal grandmother.
The realization was enough to send rampant prickles down her spine.
What were the chances?
Of course, the electronic diary captured her attention and the next thing Sage knew, a knock at the door roused her from her reading. Crap. Late for her morning breakfast, prenatal vitamin acquisition, and temperature reading. The Falling Creek ladies were going to be horrified.
“Oh, dear,” she called. “I’ll be right there!”
She stuffed the laptop beneath the dresser and reluctantly left the room to begin her day. Later, she’d be able to read the heartbreaking, fascinating account of her grandmother’s survival and new life.
When she left the room, Sage had the picture of Remington Truth tucked into her pocket. On the prev
ious days, she’d simply attempted to drop the name into conversation to see if anyone recognized it, but today she would try a different tactic.
Hurrying off to the medical area of the Community House under the watchful eye of her nurse, Sage tried not to think about where Simon was and what he was doing.
And she certainly didn’t want to think about Theo’s email. Every time she did, her belly felt like it was cramping up.
And yet, she couldn’t quite keep her mind off the great revelation.
I love you.
In the movies she watched, books she read, and even in real-life observances, that declaration was tantamount to a new beginning. Fireworks! Passion! Look at Jade and Elliott. She’d never seen her friend happier. And Flo and dear Ferguson, who’d passed away four years ago. There’d been such love and affection between the two of them…partnership and respect. Something she’d never really experienced before or since leaving Falling Creek.
So why did Theo’s message make her sick to her stomach?
And how was she going to face him again?
One thing was certain. Until she had a better idea of how to react, Sage did not want to go back to Envy. Even if it meant staying here and pretending to make love to Simon every night.
“Ouch,” she said, snapping back to awareness at the prick of a needle. “What was that for?” She hadn’t even realized they were drawing blood.
“Just checking your hormone levels,” the nurse said with relish. Sage was pretty sure she was a distant aunt or directly related to her father. The tip of her hook nose was tinged red with what Sage presumed was enjoyment. “To see if you’re pregnant.”
“What?” What?
“Hormone levels can shift as early as twenty-four hours after fertilization,” lectured the nurse. “If we can verify fertilization, then you and your husband can cease having relations and he can save his semen for another wife.”